RalphiusMaximus

I agree it's doubtful, but the OP did say that this was the case. I just don't see where a guy who can't cope with the workload and can't get a game with us will be doing any better at a successful club.

Well, if he has several clubs interested then we'll get something in trade for him. That's a good start. Sadly, I somehow doubt that he'll net us a first round pick, probably not even a second, but we'll get something.

Also, there is most definitely a Rookie Draft this year. There have been a few minor changes to the rules surrounding it, but Rookies still exist. Pretty sure the decided a year or two ago that trading rookies was also allowed.

I also am leaning towards 12. I could live with higher provided we were going nuts on trades and got either players or decent picks out of it.

Don't replace them. That banner is a curse. Leave them up there so they can cop it instead of players who are still with us.

Can't argue with that. This year has been a disaster from start to finish, but it's time to get over it and look at how to make next year better.

If we drafted him and he refused to play, he'd be out of all forms of the game for two years.

My question on the rumour about Gys to Geelong is about his motivations. Does he believe that he will get more game time at Geelong than at Melbourne? Laughable. Is he not happy with the work being asked of him at Melbourne? It will be worse at Geelong. I just can't see an angle where he wins in this deal.

Although we would have to keep paying him, I wouldn't be at all bothered if the club rookied him. PA won't move on him until the rookie draft, if then. Why would they waste a spot n the main list when there's no competition for him and they don't know if he'll be available? Then we'd still have his contract to on-trade next year.

I'm not a happy camper right now. I have to admit that I do not wish him well. It's not that he's decided to leave the club. I could stomach that. But he's gone down the path of Jeff Farmer and screwed us on his way out the door. The proper way to handle this would have been to quietly tell the club his decision and let them shop him around to the Adelaide clubs to see if they could get a bite. Instead, he's gone public, leaving us without a leg to stand on. We now have no chance of trading him and will be forced to watch as he is picked up in the rookie draft by PA. So, sorry Liam. I loved watching you play, and I stuck by you and defended you right 'til the end, but you've thrown it all in our faces and as far as I'm concerned you can go back to playing barefoot on a round patch of dirt in central Australia. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Haven't the foggiest. I think the Hawks are looking good, but it's very close. I look forward to seeing how it pans out.

Magner needs to be allowed to play his game. His year went downhill when they started using him as a tagger and in odd roles around the place. Put him under the feet of the rucks and let him rack up clearances. That is his value to the team. I also think Williams is showing a bit.

OK, I see the logic in that.

Riv as well? What do you expect to be getting for them? I think that would be quite a hard trade to put a value on.

I do find it funny that Matty Lloyd wouldn't have been drafted as a FF in this era because he'd be considered too small. Sometimes the recruiters are blinded by the stats.

Am I the only one who is only now getting excited about what Neeld might do? I've been saying all along that he planned on using this year to get a feel for the list and had pretty much written off the season in terms of competing on the ladder. I don't think he had planned on it being quite as bad as it turned out, but nobody can doubt that he now has the measure of the playing group. Obviously there are a few people thinking along similar lines given the threads showing up regarding who will be cut. I am really looking forward to the nest three months. This is the time when we're finally going to see what kind of stamp Neeld will put on the club. I expect us to see a serious cull on our playing list, at least an attempt to be very active in trade week, and the draft this year promises to be fascinating. In three months time our list will be almost unrecognisable. It may have been a shocking season to be a Melbourne supporter, but we are going to end with something to talk about if nothing else.

I'll pay that one. I've seen him play once and to my mind he is a couple of yards too slow. I can't fault his game sense, he certainly knows where to run, but it's not going to do him much good at AFL level if he can't improve his run or bulk up to Cloke-like levels and play as a Gorilla in the goalsquare.

Haven't read the whole thread, but don't forget that Cook was AA CHF. That's nothing to sneeze at. Since we didn't get a shot at Lynch, they went for a guy who was about the same size and had performed really well in the U18's that year. Was there ever any indication that Darling had campaigned to stay in the west with the old "I'll go home after my first contract" line? I have to wonder why every Victorian club passed over him. Surely they weren't all put off by the threesome.

Now, don't take this as doubting either you or Robbie F, but how does being a foundation member equate to knowing the interactions between the club and player managers?

Haven't Williamston beaten Casey every time they played for the last few years? Looks bad.

I can't see Nev going. I could be wrong, but I've always thought Neeld would love him. He does need to improve though.

For the record, rating NicNat higher does not mean that we got the call wrong, which is what you asked in your poll. Whether we made the right call on draft day has to be judged on many factors, only one of which is the relative ability of the two players. I maintain that we made the right call for the club, and even if Watts is never going to be another Buddy Franklin, he is going to be a valuable player.

The cull is almost upon us. Wait until after the ND, the list will look very different. I firmly believe that non-performing players are going to be moving on.

I don't entirely agree with the names on you list, but the sentiment I think is good. Also, I think you will be happy with the result when draft time comes around. I said earlier this year that we would see a cull at the end of the season, and all indications are that this will happen. Activating both compensation picks is just one more sign that we are planning on hitting the draft and trade period hard and turning over a lot of players. I think I said at the time that we would see 8 players gone. It could wind up being more, depending on the club's perception of draft depth.

I'm really hoping to see some better kicking from our midfield group. If they can start hitting targets rather than bombing blindly we may see some better scores on the board. Fitzpatrick has bulked up nicely in the two's, and with another pre-season could be in a good place to be our second tall forward. He and Mitch could be a very nice combo up there if they can both stay on the park. If we somehow manage to get Jurrah back on the ground as well, that could start to look like a truly scary forwardline. We have a wealth of options in our backline at the moment although they are still top-heavy. A lot depends on whether Bartram can get back from his knee problem. Otherwise we are going to be very reliant on Strauss and Nicho to be our small defenders, and this could continue to pose problems. Tynan has shown some promise in this area, and could be an option. Most of us still haven't seen Taggert play, but he's got some people very interested. If he can get his body sorted out and get onto the field we could see some improvement through the middle. Obviously we want to bring in Viney for this area as well. Trading for an quality mature mid would be a big help as well. Big names looking at being sacrificed at the moment: Morton, Moloney, Martin, Petterd, Gysberts and maybe Davey. I can see all of them being on the table at trade time. Of the five, only Martin and Morton have shown any liking for the new coaching style. The others seem to have dropped off sharply. Morton has stated repeatedly that he likes what the new coaches are doing, but he still hasn't been able to nail down a spot in the side and Martin is a very tradeable commodity and we have players to cover for his loss.