Adam The God

As in Naughton to Melbourne, Andy? 😂

I'm not sure I agree with either point of view. Freo wanted Hogan, that's why they paid up for him. We want Grundy, so we'll pay up for him - his contract is irrelevant. We don't look to do other clubs favours. We look for win-win deals. There's a big difference there.

Which btw allowing a contracted player in Tomlinson to participate in a medical at the Bulldogs, provides us some leverage in any talks with the Bulldogs. Then there's the Lobb to Bulldogs machinations.

And what happens if in giving up a first rounder for Grundy, we can quickly move on to improving our list? Let's say we managed to get Grundy, Henry and an elite key forward, giving up a first rounder for Grundy won't even be remembered.

My feeling on this is we're more interested in players that can impact immediately in 2023 than moving up the draft.

Bingo. We need to look at the net result before we judge.

And likewise, I'm allowed to suggest that you don't have all the facts to make an adequate call.

Yep, Kozzy, Henry, Fritsch, Naughton, JVR and Max, plus Spargo and/or ANB is dangerous on the ground and devastating in the air. 😉

Nah, the Demonland brains trust has all the relevant information at hand, so they'll know best.

We could always go for Naughton. 😉

Henry JVR Spargo Fritsch Max Kozzy That forward half with the addition of ANB, Chandler and/or Ben Brown is getting more dangerous.

IMO Max's ruck work is very predictable and hit and miss. Where he's elite is around the ground. I agree with @Lil_red_fire_engine vis a vis Grundy being the better tap ruckman. So with Grundy we get elite tap work and with Max we get elite around the ground marking. As I've said, it's a dangerous combination.

I doubt it'll be a 50-50 split. He'll ruck more than Max.

Degoey may well sign for St Kilda...

Maybe not, but he's fast with elite foot skills.

If he does, I wish him nothing but failure. I don't ever want Essendon getting up off the canvas. Maybe in another 30 years I'd be fine with it.

Yep, good thinking, ET. Always on the ball. Keep your ear to the ground.

Again, who plays on the small forwards next year? It's all well and good to look at this from a numbers perspective, but IMV Hibberd is very much a required played unless all of a sudden Maynard was available or someone of that ilk and ability.

I disagree. I reckon we'll have cap space for an FA or a big fish, but GNF literally takes what he's heard on Demonland and repackages it as his own inside intel. He's been doing it for years.

Who is playing on Papley and Cameron next year if it's not Hibberd?

We've offered Melksham and Hibberd deals though. You don't renege on those now.

Yeah, we'd need to tinker with the list you'd imagine, like trading out Tomlinson and Hunt. I would assume that Lamb and co have deliberately offered long term deals to spread the dollars across years to free up some cap space for FAs over the next few years, so you'd hope we could use some of this surplus to pay Bowes. Agree, 5 years is the risky part, but IMV you have to be aggressive to win flags. Hawthorn were aggressive in their pursuit of backmen that were FAs, Geelong have been aggressive in their pursuit of Dangerfield and Cameron, and are on the precipice of a flag. We were aggressive with Lever and May. If Grundy helps us win even one more flag during his five year contract, it's a raging success. If he helps us win two, this seems like a completely pedantic conversation in five years time.

I get it, and I agree to an extent, but no two deals are the same. Gold Coast may not have the same leverage as Collingwood have. We want Grundy and have met with him. No one may be willing to take Bowes, so they've had to dangle their pick 7. Besides, Gold Coast are probably at a different time frame in their list build, where another top 10 pick is valued less than clearing cap space.

And 700k is a bargain for the second best ruckman in the game. I'd prefer we didn't give up a first rounder, but if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. What comes goes around comes around. Let's keep our powder dry in the trading stakes I say.

I agree it's a bad contract, but that wouldn't be the contract we're paying, so it becomes irrelevant.