MadAsHell

FB: Lever, May, TBC HB: Hibberd, Tomlinson, Salem C: Langdon, Petracca, TBC HF: Melksham, Weideman, Harmes FF: Hunt, TBC, Pickett FOLL: Gawn, Oliver, Viney INT: Brayshaw, Fritsch, Jackson, Rivers Lots of water to go under the bridge yet. Ben Brown, Phillips, Polec, Treloar, Brodie Smith, Jack Higgins, Webster etc. Still too early for best 22's I'd suggest.

While I'm all for getting Brown and Polec in the one transaction, no way would I give up a future 1st rounder for them! McDonald to Essendon or Collingwood for a 3rd rounder and use that pick with Pick 23 to North for Brown and Polec is a bit more like it.

Not as disastrous as some make out, though I concede it does hurt sometimes. Quoting myself from the Trade Radio thread below. "And finally while I'll concede the Kennedy trade was a bust in isolation with us giving up Howe and Toumpas for Kennedy, Pick 29 and the pick we used for Hulett. We shouldn't forget that we used Pick 29 in a packaged deal with Gold Coast to move up the draft order to secure Clayton Oliver, so again it makes it hard to complain about that trade."

If he was 24 I'd be all for it. But at 29 and being in decline and a role player only I'd have to pass. I'd rather see us continue to get games into the likes of Pickett, Spargo, Chandler and Bedford instead as well as move Harmes into our forward set up.

So my guess is that we wont have divisions and it will just be 22 teams and a non even fixture with maybe a top 10 or top 12? You fix it so that each of the 14 clubs who aligned or direct reserves teams of AFL clubs will all always play eachother each season (takes up 13 games). Apsley and Southport you'd probably also play games against the other Qld teams and NSW teams as well (that gives 15 games to each of GWS, Syd, Bris and GC). The stand alone VFL teams will all always play eachother once (gives them 5 game each) as well as Apsley and Southport (suddenly up to 7). So going off a rough structure like that, of each of the 22 teams 16 games we have set matches for each: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney & GWS 15 games each (will need 1 each against stand alone VFL teams). Casey, Sandringham, Carlton, Collingwood, Richmond, Essendon, Box Hill, North Melbourne, Geelong & Footscray 13 games each (will need 3 each against stand alone VFL or QAFL teams). Apsley & Southport 10 games each (will need 6 each against AFL reserves or AFL/VFL aligned teams). Port Melbourne, Williamstown, Werribee, Frankston, Coburg & Preston 7 games each (will need 9 games each against AFL reserves or AFL/VFL aligned teams).

It is, though Phillips is hardly the greatest kick either. Seems that over the last 5 years Phillips has a disposal efficiency of about 71.5% and Treloars is a tick over 68%, hardly polls apart. If we can land Treloar we should take it. Don't get me wrong, would be happy with Phillips, but would be happier with Treloar.

I wouldn't be surprised if Egan ends up with the gig or if they even go back to Plapp to tie in with their other responsibilities. Will be interesting to see.

Here's a conspiracy for you all. (And it's just that, no inside word or anything) Maybe we're the ones who have cooled since the new about Treloar broke and are now in talks to bring him across on a Tom McDonald trade and plan on playing him on a wing instead given his outside speed???

So first of all Corey Wagner wasn't traded in. He was taken in the rookie draft I'm pretty sure after his B&F season at Casey the year after being delisted by North. Balic cost us Pick 66 which Freo used to draft Tom North who never played a game. Nil all draw. Michie cost pick 56 which Freo used to draft Brady Grey who played 21 games, the same as Michie for us. Also worth noting we got Michie in Roos first year where he was looking for immediate help and depth for our midfield. I'd say at worst it's a nil all draw, if not having us slightly ahead. McKenna like Balic didn't play for us, but all we did to get him was a pick swap with GWS which we used to get Mitch Hannan and Dion Johnstone. GWS used the picks for Tiziani and Matt DeBoer. Maybe they came out slightly ahead, but barely I'd suggest. Bugg came as steak knives in a trade that saw us get the pick we used to draft Weideman. In exchange the 3 picks GWS got gave them Matthew Kennedy (now Carlton), Matthew Flynn (delisted) and they passed on the pick we gave them in the 60's. A comfortable win for us IMO. And finally while I'll concede the Kennedy trade was a bust in isolation with us giving up Howe and Toumpas for Kennedy, Pick 29 and the pick we used for Hulett. We shouldn't forget that we used Pick 29 in a packaged deal with Gold Coast to move up the draft order to secure Clayton Oliver, so again it makes it hard to complain about that trade. So out of those 6 players you mentioned, I'd argue that the overall picture of each of them coming to the club was a win. Bar Wagner who wasn't traded in.

Would take him for sure. Nibbler and a future 3rd rounder maybe?

I think he's referring to the likes of Hannan, Preuss, Oscar, Neal-Bullen etc as opposed to Harmes or Brayshaw. Enough of these types of players agree to move and then a more suitable spot position opens for Harmes, we keep our core together and we're the good guys in trading away other more expendable players for other opportunities.

I dare say thats likely nothing more than a fluff piece. If you can go back through all the phantom drafts and material from recruiters from 2009 and find more than 1 person who had Martin in the top 2 of that draft class I'd be surprised. Richmond probably say now they had him at 1 as they knew Scully & Trengove weren't going to be there.

This. Half forward is where he showed his skills in his first year on the rookie list at Casey. I remember watching him a number of times where he may of only had 12-14 touches and kicked 1 or 2 goals a game at most, but you could tell he had something. Move him to half forward where he can play ahead of the likes of Hannan, Vandenberg and Spargo and have a real impact. Let Petracca, Oliver, Viney and Brayshaw rotate through the midfield roles. Can always move Harmes in there if we pick up a long term injury or two.

Any context to this? Is he on the table is he? If so where has that been reported?

I'd prefer 149, but maybe I'm over-reaching?

He'd be behind James Jordan in the pecking order. Better off getting an 18 year old to be in line at that position.

My earlier post from the Braydon Preuss thread. I agree with what other posters have said in relation to needing a player to replace Preuss as opposed to just a draft pick. One of the areas we need some cover aside from key forwards and another wing, which we already seem to have targets for, si another half back/small defender. Jetta seems to have hit the wall and Hibberd isn't getting any younger, so this is something we should target. Sadly GWS don't have any obvious candidates that come to mind, but a team they they'll be trading with (St Kilda) certainly have a few. I wouldn't mind seeing us send Preuss to GWS and Pick 47 to St Kilda. GWS send Pick 39 to us and Caldwell to St Kilda. St. Kilda send Pick 14 to GWS and Jimmy Webster to us. Improves our draft hand slightly and Webster would walk straight into our back pocket/half back flank position. Hasn't played a heap in the last two years due to injury, but his numbers are all good. Good turn of pace and kicks it nicely, plus with St Kilda developing the likes of Hunter Clark, Nick Coffield and Geary still going, he's a surplus to their requirements.

Maybe you're right, though pending what happens this off-season we may end up seeing Adelaide end up with Pick 2 for Crouch. Getting clubs to pay realistic trade value would be ideal, but if we can't get there, then having them at least pay the compensation value is better then what the current situation is, surely you'd have to agree with that? And if it's a case of a restricted free agent, then clubs should certainly match bids more often in an attempt to get a realistic trade through. For that reason I don't begrudge Essendon for matching the Daniher bid this year. Though they're still idiots for not entertaining the trade request last year when they would have got so much more!

Not necessarily. The best case in point being us receiving Pick 3 for Frawley. And beside that point, the main thing is that the club doing the pillaging is finally having to give something outside of just cap space. It's not perfect, but it's a start.

I think we're not far off a similar position to it DS. Whilst I'm not completely against the idea of Free Agency, it's the secrecy about it, special herbs and spices and the cultural differences between here and the USA which makes it all problematic IMO. The whole banning the Preliminary Finalists from the previous year from signing free agents was/is just one of several options that the nleague could look at to even the competition out. Personally I'd be more in favor of the club getting the free agent paying the draft pick points the make up the compensation pick the club losing the player gets. Gives us a more even/no such thing as a free meal type set up.

There's several fields where you get to pick the broader field of what you want to do, but not necessarily the venue. I work in such an industry myself where you can potentially go your entire working career getting moved across the state every few years. One could argue then that the handsome pay-packet players get forms part of the compensation of not having as much control over their movement of work location.

Was always going to happen and no shock that we're (the competition) in this situation. It was never going to work for two main reasons. One because we're not the USA. Here not many players will move to poor clubs for a pay day, they'd rather play in a successful team as long as they get a reasonable paycheck. And two in the USA in sports like the NBA the players salaries are known, so anyone and I mean anyone can tell if there's dodgy deals going on. Also means you can tell if your or any club can realistically afford a certain free agent. Fact is the cats out of the bag now and there's no getting rid of free agency. I think the best we could hope for would be options such as 1) All Preliminary Finalists are banned from signing free agents for that off season 2) Any club that signs a free agent has to pay the compensation pick the the club through points from the father/son draft index which obviously effects their picks for the upcoming draft. Or 3) All players salaries are made public. Puts greater emphasis on the clubs and players so the public know when dodgy deals are getting done.

I can't believe the Bont wants out! You reckon Carlton might lead the race for his signature???

One guy is 28 and struggled to get on the park the last two years due to form and injury in a team that's failed to play finals. The other is 24 and a regular 22 whose had consistent top 10 finishes in the B&F of a team who has got to the 2nd week or better of the last two finals series.

Yep, I'm certainly more keen on Phillips then I am Smith. Tom McDonald for Phillips is a no brainer. Wouldn't even mind throwing one of our 3rd rounders in with it in order to get it across the line.