RalphiusMaximus

Nope. However, if they don't show up recruiters would have to question how serious they were about playing AFL. Could be an early sign that they'll pull a Swifty. :D

Mike put Jones in his top 50. He's not wrong all the time.

Perhaps we should have had him show up in thongs, do a couple of agility tests and walk out.

Maybe it's all an elaborate smokescreen to draw attention away from our real objective?

I don't rate the guy, but he has asked to be traded from the Swans. Might be a better bet than Dawes. Article.

For the record, I believe that any chance of snaring pick 5 went out the window the moment Byrnes signed on. That being said, I agree with this post pretty much 100%. He is what we want and need at the club and whether we pay over or under for him, we should grab him. Also, the intrigue surrounding the pick is fascinating. No FS pick has ever been taken with a top 10 pick before. We could make history here.

I do not believe this is the case. He can pick whichever offer suits him and this is the offer the Saints have to match. Otherwise the entire point of FA is lost.

Can't wait to hear that he is officially going to West Coast.

Happy now. This is the one FA I liked the look of as a fit for us. Now can we sit the rest of FA out and concentrate on trading and maximising our compo?

Honestly, the closer this gets, the less I think we'll let him slide. I was very much in favour of calling their bluff if they were to bid on him, but the kid is exactly what we need, and history has shown us time and time again that there is often very little different between the top half dozen or so in any given draft and you just can't tell who will be the best of the bunch. I say we need to take him regardless.

We'd have to trade for Ray. Personally I don't see why we would, but if Neeld and Co see a role for him... At least he isn't Dawes.

We have the rest of the month to spend up. I don't doubt that there will be plays made. I just hope they aren't for Collingwood rejects.

The difference between Dawes and all those mentioned is that they are athletically gifted far beyond his wildest dreams. He has neither the pace nor the leap of these players. He is a huge man, but somehow this has not translated to strength in the contest and he is not known for his ability to monster defenders in a wrestle. So again, he is not tall enough to take the ball above his defender. he is not quick or agile enough to get separation from his defender, and he is not strong enough to out-muscle them one on one. NQR.

What I'm concerned about is that we may be giving up a first round pick at all. Neeld an Co. tm are supposed to be helping US win a flag, not Collingwood.

Funny, Once upon a time I liked Dawes, but now I see him as the very embodiment of a NQR player. He's not tall enough to play as a tall marking target. He's not quick enough to play as a mobile forward. He's not strong enough to play as a gorilla. His kicking is adequate but not great. His stats are mediocre. He's just not what we need.

Not really. I don't want either of them at the club, so I wouldn't be up for swapping anyone for them.

Still paying overs. Again, SEN today were talking about Dawes and had trouble rating him as a third round pick/trade. Wellingham Collingwood couldn't offload for a mid-second round pick. Neither of them is good enough to warrant that sort of trade. We're better off looking to the draft with our first round picks.

If we get Wellingham and Dawes for a first round pick I will sacrifice small animals in an attempt to curse the entire recruiting department. A soft outside mid (gosh, we don't have any of those) and a NQR forward for a first round pick is know as a terrible deal. It's very much along the lines of those guys on these forums who come up with "If we package Bennell, Morton and Cook to GWS for pick 1..." A bunch of crap players do not make one good player. A first round draft pick on the other hand, has a very good chance of making a good player.

Here The section on compensation:

Pick 4 is way too high for both of them together, even if they package the pies' first round pick as well. I would hesitate to give pick 13 for the pair of them. As I have said before, I don't rate Dawes in any way shape or form. Listening to SEN today, they were hesitant to rate him as a third round pick, and I would go along with that notion. More likely 4th. I will be furious if our club is insane enough to throw away one of our prized top ten picks on a forward who is too small to play tall and too slow to play mobile. His currency right now has to be at an all-time low. If someone at the club seems to think he would be of benefit, offer up our third round pick. Even then we'd be paying too much, but better than giving up a top 20 on the guy. As for Wellingham, why would we want him? Neeld has been preaching his manta of tough, accountable workhorse-style players and then we go and make a play for a soft outside mid who is considered expendable by his old club. We already have players who can play that role and Neeld seems hell-bent on getting rid of them. Seriously, I am a big fan of Mark Neeld, but he needs to get it through his head that he doesn't work for Collingwood any more and his job is to get us to a flag, not help them to their next one.

Read the FA rules dude. We get one pick based on the overall value of players lost and gained. There will be no multiple third round picks. Also, a third round pick is the lowest compo available. Are you really saying that Rivers and Moloney are in the bottom tier and won't be worth any more than that? Also, I don't see us getting Wellingham. He seems pretty set on WA or staying a pie. I would say that anything we pay to lure him to Melbourne would be way over what he's worth and as such is not something we want to do.

Tanking!!!

I just don't rate the guy. Yes he fits in the age bracket we like, but he's not overly large by today's standards, he isn't mobile and his record is mediocre at best. I much prefer the mooted Butcher trade or making a move on Gumbleton (I'm sure I've mentioned this before).

I'd take Martin over Dawes.

I really hope not. Exactly what we don't need.