RalphiusMaximus

Note the high up-and-under pass there? I hope our team are watching this.

The Umpiring tonight is a joke. They seriously need to overhaul the entire umpiring department.

This is brilliant news, especially for the Rookies. Interesting to look at our recruiting options now. We've cleared six spots on the main list. Presumably two will go to Harmes and vandenBerg, so four left for FA and drafting? How many more will open up during the trade period?

The Saints have de-listed White after a couple of non-eventful seasons. I know he was regarded as a huge talent before the draft. What's going on with him now? With the Saints so desperate for a key forward he's hardly had a look at a senior game and they've been trading to get other forwards into the club. Anyone know what the deal is with him and if he'd be worth a look?

I know he's asked for a trade. Didn't know that a destination had been decided yet. Interesting.

I find this quite funny. No wonder Talia jr wants to get the hell out of dodge.

I really like the look of Viv. He's never going to be a star, but I can see him being the B grade workhorse for the team. He's solid, gets heaps of assists and rarely makes the stupid mistakes so many of our players do. If he can work on his goal-kicking he'll be a real asset.

Here's the article. To me that looks like a hellishly strong side. I might have had different small defenders in there, but that's about it and I admit to a certain bias.

I have. The kid is going to be awesome.

According to the footy talk shows last night Howe has shopped himself around and failed to get any bites at the pricetag he was looking for. Now has to decide does he go elsewhere at a much reduced price or stay with the Dees and take what's being offered. They were also saying that Watts is most likely to stay at Melbourne.

Jesse White! Seriously! But actually seriously, what we have is a bunch of solid ball-winners who are pretty much one-paced and aren't the best kicks. We need to see an injection of pace and quality kicking. The talk of us making a play for Hamish Hartlett directly impacts this. He really is exactly what we need, even if I dispute the price people are willing to pay for him. There are also a couple of kids in the draft who fit the bill if we can't get a trade done (or we can enjoy the fantasy world where we lure Treloar and Prestia to the club). I think more key position talls is not really a priority. If they are clearly the best available at the time then certainly take them, but I'd rather see us getting more mids right now, then maybe a project ruck to spend five years working on.

A toe kept Sandilands out for a season or more did it not? They would have to be a hard injury for a footballer to get over given the pounding their feet take.

But the parts you highlighted were from Vince's career at Adelaisde. He won their B&F and was AA while playing at Adelaide. Hamish is good, but he's never done either of those things at Port. The only thing he has over Vince is he's a little younger.

I'd take Bastinac in a heartbeat. What isn't to like?

Vince had a B&F and an All Australian to his name at Adelaide before we traded for him. Pretty sure that trumps Hartlett.

I like the idea of a three-way swap involving GC and Howe. That could be workable. If Port wanted our pick 6 I'd want their pick 10 back. He was a high draft pick, but he's never quite managed to get his game to the level you'd want from a fourth pick (sound familiar?). IS he a better player than Vince? No. Why would we pay more for him then?

I'd have Watts over Melksham any day. We need more who can kick like him.

That really hits the nail on the head doesn't it? There's something there that gets the crowd standing up and screaming. He just has that pace and controlled aggression in the way he plays. He's another player who probably needs to gain a bit more consistency and up his disposal count, but he absolutely has a bit of X-factor to him. I really hope he can continue to improve and become a legitimate star.

Frost looks like he could turn out pretty well. Needs a bit of polish to go with the freakish strength, speed and athleticism, but he's certainly on the right track.

No way in hell. Second round pick for him. We don't need to spend it on Melksham.

I'd take him in a second. Pace and good kicking are exactly what we need.

I don't expect us to land one of the top players, although it would be nice if we at least tried. I just don't want us trading for players who are kind of ok if you tilt your head and squint a little. A marginal improvement on our current fringe players is all we'd get out of Melksham. As they said this morning on the Sunday Footy Show, he's your fifth or sixth midfielder. He's just not that valuable.

Sorry, couldn't read your post. Something was distracting me.

Maybe something to do with McCartney being in the running for the Bombers?

I'm backing the Doggies to grab Fitz as a delisted Free Agent. I'm not at all happy to see him go. There are others I would have had out the door well before him.