Adam The God

I would too (RE Viney), but will they? Fritsch Jackson Melksham Viney Weideman Pickett That's a reasonably mobile forwardline. @Patches O’houlihan and I were sharing teams in PM yesterday and I'm sure he won't mind me putting forward his idea of Melksham off half back. I know Melksham played half back at Essendon to inconsistent success, but I reckon this would be a brilliant move. Use his kicking off half back, next to Salem and Rivers. It then opens up that forwardline to: Fritsch Jackson ? Viney Weideman Pickett If we could bring in someone like Brayden Ham or another zippy small like Jack Higgins to play at half forward, that would give us Higgins, Viney, Pickett and Jackson to apply pressure at ground level and bring x factor and unpredictability. Fritsch, Jackson and Weideman as the marking targets. I think moving Melksham out of there, moving Viney and another small into the mix, as well as Petracca rotating through there, provides far more balance to the forwardline than we've had at any point during 2020. Then one of Merrett/Polec/Smith/Phillips and Langdon on the wings. Oliver, Petracca, Harmes and Brayshaw (?) in the middle. If you got Merrett, he'd replace Gus as a midfield rotation and a wingman. Otherwise, Gus would be another midfield rotation, along with Viney. We can dream.

Sure, I don't rate Smith either. I guess I just meant Hore probably won't be on the list, so the comparison will become moot. I wouldn't have either on my list post 2021. I'm not sure I agree with either of these points, but each to their own mate.

I think if you're bringing Merrett in where does Gus play? You've got Viney, Oliver, Petracca, Harmes and then Merrett. Maybe Merrett plays on a wing and that enales Gus to play midfield, but it's tough fitting in all those mids, particularly when Gus has shown he can probably only play one position to a high level.

It seems clear neither McDonald will be on the list next year. If we can get a pick for Oscar, we should do the deal.

Hore is a turnover merchant and I wouldn't be surprised to see him moved on.

There's ruthlessness and then there's stupidity. I don't rate Sparrow or Smith, but the reason for Smith's re-signing is down to defensive cover. We're moving on Oscar and as @Lucifer's Hero said, we need defensive cover. I hope Petty ultimately goes back next year, but we've got to get his body right. Hibberd probably has one year left in him. For a year, we can't afford to go into 2021 and not have enough defensive KP coverage. If we want to go deep next year, we need this cover. I'm reading between the lines here, but given they've re-signed Sparrow, I'd say we'll trade one of Gus or Harmes. The latter two are eminently better players and natural ball winners. Sparrow doesn't win enough ball and as @rjay has previously touted, would be better tried in defence where his role is locking down and not accumulating.

Sure, but I meant more that Malthouse managed to win a flag at Collingwood after winning two at the Weasels.

I meant Hawthorn during Clarkson's super team era, not the 80s/90s.

I'd trade Gus and a future first for Merrett. Would Essendon? If we could convince him, I reckon they would.

Is Mark Stevens an Essendom supporter?

No, that's all fair from an argument standpoint mate. I'm not an AFL footballer, but I do know the wage of a relatively senior footballer and it's not as high as $365k, even when you factor in match payments. So where have you got that average player wage from? I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just asking, because my understanding is that the average player wage would be a lot lower than some think. It's still far higher than the median or average wage of Australians though, which is the point I've been making. Still, you're right, it's not apples with apples, but if he's been offered $300k or more, that is considerably higher or at the least in line with many middle rung FIRE employees, and FIRE are the three industries that basically prop up our GDP, so the top earners. Anyway, perhaps I'm getting dragged into the microeconomics of Australian society and I should simply concede. This is quite right. I'm happy to concede I don't know enough about the facts to make an accurate assessment.

Well, hang on. You're imposing what you think he's worth. What happens if the club took the view that it doesn't see him as "one of our best players"? Jake Lever may have been worth say $650k a couple of years ago, in order to get him to change clubs. He's a good player, but if we want to keep building our list, his next contract should be worth less (unless AFL wage inflation brings it in line with his last contract by then). Likewise, Jack's last contract, might have been $650k, when he was one of our best midfielders and a captain or soon to be, captain of the club. But value shifts all the time. If you are a leader, I would expect you to take what is in line with similar players of similar worth. And the point I'm also making is that it's not like these guys are going to be destitute at the end of this tax year.

Yeah, I get how contract negotiations work, thanks very much. The reality is someone like Viney has been paid a large sum of money over the years (millions and millions of dollars by the age of 26) and this latest offer would almost certainly be a minimum $300k. And you're saying that's not enough value to his worth. The fact he may or may not have turned down other offers is irrelevant. By demanding more, he's putting list management into jeopardy. You may call that loyalty and leadership, I don't. We're not talking about $30,000 here, we're talking about a significant amount of money. I'm not sure what world some people are living in. The median Australian income for 2019 was $48,360 before tax. This is pre COVID. And we're talking about a person here that is on $300,000+! Are you kidding me?

Indeed.

There is one happening, yes. If one wasn't happening, you'd be more likely to get a conciliatory email.

I'd have a look. Play him at half forward. Neat ball user, bit of pace. Would be an upgrade on a few of the guys we've had running through there.

Interesting. I wonder how far off further list management decisions are. I assume as the external review is being conducted, the FD just operates as normal.

Most spending occurs digitally these days. The private banks issue loans by crediting debtors' bank accounts. The central banks spend by crediting bank accounts - overt monetary financing it's called. I did think about this the other day though. We're quite lucky that most transactions are digital these days. I'm sure it's stopped the spread to some degree.

I see you wanted to play Frost alongside Hunt. I think you'd enjoy the APS Aths carnival. Those two might be okay in the 50m sprint. At least Hunt's improved his game sense, but still has no consistency whatsoever.

Interesting. That said Cornes is not the most trustworthy commentator.

You've got no idea how we've handled our cap. You've got speculation and that's it. I'm happy to say that Mahoney's internal review from 2019 was not good enough, but as for list management, it's mere speculation on your part. Well, you can't really win then can you. I think this is a good move and yeah, what's wrong with ensuring we play finals next year? Our core is good enough. Tomlinson is a handy player. No star, but does his job at CHB, can go into the ruck if we need him, can go onto a wing if we need him and can even play as a half forward flanker. I think he's a handy acquisition. And a vast upgrade on Frost and Oscar McDonald. Completely disagree. I'll never understand people's obsession with Frost. More often than not he'd sprint out of defence with no idea what was going on and couldn't hold team defensive structure.

It feels like if he's out of Essendon it'll be because he's going back to SA, but stranger things have happened. His injury history has to be a concern at this stage, but he's a handy player and would add goals to our forward set up.

Who says he will leave?

I get that the game is a job for players, but I don't like hearing that a guy with so much history tied to the club has basically refused to take unders (which is still likely to be way above the top tax bracket - surely he was offered $300-400k) in order to secure his signature. I know McCartney was big on instilling a culture of guys taking unders, so that the club could manage its list better and keep the core together. Geelong do this and Hawthorn did this for years. If true, I don't like it and to me that's not leadership at all.

I'm not saying I don't believe you, but if he's going to sign the contract, what would caps and list sizes have to do with his signature? That seems at odds...