Akum

Good (and very coherent!) thinking.

Was going to "like" this post, except for this bit. Do you mean that they'd want a first round pick for Trengove? Agree that he would be a great fit. He'd be a tall-forward-second-ruck, which is exactly what we need and we haven't got on our list into the future, and in the event of injuries to our key talls, could pinch-hit very well as KPF, KPD or even first ruck, like he has at Port. Otherwise we're going to struggle for this sort of "spare-parts tall", especially after Pedo ends up, though Trengove could even be an improvement on Pedo. Then again, if Gawn, Hogan & T-Mac are all fit and firing for the next 3 seasons, he could end up playing a lot of games for Casey. As it seems to be getting increasingly likely that we'll delist our Jack Trengove, I'm tempted by the symmetry of swapping Jack Trengoves, though we'd have to give them a decent (not first round!) draft pick too. On the other hand, the Toump might have put them off taking any more returning Croweaters from us.

Nailed it. But reality isn't popular in these types of threads so prepare for backlash!

This is really interesting. I haven't quite connected all the dots yet but I think it has something to do with what's expected of a zone defence. Corralling, intercepting & spoiling & smothering are much more important than tackling, contested marking and kicking long down the line. Tackling an opponent gives you a ball-up. Corralling them and covering all their teammates means that you force them into attempting a pinpoint disposal by hand or foot, which will most often lead to an intercept and possible scoring opportunity. Likewise, it used to be that defenders were to stop their immediate opponent from scoring, and if they won the ball, get it to the mids to take it out of defence. Now, the defenders are supposed to run it out with quick breakaways, while the mids are making position in the corridor or running forward to get to the drop of the ball in the f50. Buckley & Treloar have said repeatedly in interviews since that they knew we were the No. 1 "pressure acts" team in the AFL, as if this was the outstanding thing about our game style, and that they were expecting to have to perform under immense pressure. If they're right, this is no accident, but part of what Goody's trying to achieve. I also think this is the style that Buckley's trying to emulate. Again, this is not the total thing, but I think the "low-tackles high-1%ers" is a part of this in some way.

Had a great passage of play in the first quarter where he made three or four great efforts in succession and was rewarded with a free. Made a couple of mistakes in the first, hacking it about 30m up the ground with his left foot under pressure, instead of kicking it with his right foot out long to an unguarded flank. Then again, if he'd done that and it had rolled out, prob would have been pinged for deliberate OOB, and this might have been on his mind. Some of his other kicks under pressure were very good. Kicking it to space in front of Harmes (instead of kicking it straight to Harmes) was the perfect play, to allow him to run on to it and move it on to Watts for THAT goal.

I really like what he brings, and wouldn't at all be surprised if, when he's ready to step up to AFL, he makes a big impact. He was thrown into the ruck at Casey a few times last year and I was surprised how well he did, considering his height. But he definitely shouldn't be pushed before he's ready.

Clearly needs to learn how to get away with a blatant push in the back to be as "good" as Kennedy.

So how did that make you feel?? Hmmm???

Apparently you can get pills for that.

Mainly because trade week relies on everybody acting reasonably, because they all have to deal with each other again next year, and the year after that. 17 clubs are usually prepared to do the right thing by each other. They try to not get into a situation with the 18th club where they have to rely on them to be reasonable and to do the right thing by everybody else. But sometimes it's unavoidable.

Yeah they might. But Dodo's not admired on SEN; he's ridiculed. And he may have cost them any number of good trades over the years.

But that's such an easy thing to do. Yet a week and a half and it's still not done. Every time I've heard this trade mentioned on SEN, it's been with the comment that "shows what it's like to deal with Essendon".

Yep, this is my impression too. Last year it suited us to get the Melksham deal done quickly to be able to get others done. Dodo probably thought we caved in easily, but we had a larger purpose. Dodo doesn't do "larger purpose". This year there's no hurry about the Hibberd deal. We can wait until the last minute if we want to. If they're waiting on 29 for something else, too bad. They either won't get it, or (because we probably really do want Hibberd, whatever it takes) they'll get it with no time to complete their other trades. I'd hate to have Dodoro at MFC.

Probably just me, but I have this automatic reaction against any trade involving Essendon that doesn't result in them being completely done over.

This explains why Dodo might be holding it up.

This is your opinion, or something else?

Really hope you're right. On the other hand, at that point in time it may say a lot that Roos et al even thought it was worth meeting with a player who wasn't even a regular at Casey. Surely the brains trust would think differently about him now. He could develop into a real utility, in the sense of specialist "makes-a-big-contribution-wherever-the-need-is-greatest" utility, rather than "not-really-good-enough-for-any-one-position" utility. And therefore valuable to have on the list, especially if (God Lucifer forbid) a couple of our falls get injuries next year..

Well, they did pay the moon & stars for Carlyle. That should keep the fans happy.

He's got the type of attributes we need, and he wouldn't cost much. But he seems like an "in-between" type of small forward who may well end up just doing well for Casey. I'm all in favour of regularly trying out unloved C-graders from other clubs (e.g. Michie, BenKen, Newton), on the grounds that one of them one day might make the big leap up to become A-grade. Let's face it, you don't trade players like this in because you need another C-grader; it's because you hope that one of them will thrive in a different environment, or given a better chance. It's just that the hit rate isn't all that high. Almost all the time, you do end up with just another C-grader. On the other hand, trying to find the "next" Isaac Smith is going to cost a whole lot less than the "real" Isaac Smith.

Think this makes good sense, and can understand why we'd baulk at guaranteeing him the captaincy.

Or grab "perpendiculating" arm at elbow & hold it up while teammate smashes into unprotected ribs.

(Can't stop this quote appearing - sorry) Some have remarked about Jack Watts going around firing up all his fellow forwards after his goal at the beginning of the last quarter. But there's a telling bit of footage on the replay just before the next bounce. Marchbank goes to Watts, and Hogan physically pushes his way between them, while Watts stands in the way of the incoming Davis. They were working really hard to get the match ups to favour them - Hogan on Marchbank, and Watts on Davis. Both these match ups worked outstandingly well for us and were probably what got us home in the end, with both Hogan and Watts smashing their opponents in the last qtr. Is this our new "game analyst" at work???

About one great quarter IIRC.

It's Addam Maric, not Bennell - they're supposed to be top 20 picks. That's one of those useless pieces of knowledge that, no matter how hard I try to evict it from my memory, it just keeps on squatting there, taking up the room that could be used by something vitally important..

Yeah fair enough. Let's face it, he's had major surgery on each of his ankles a year or two apart. I guess the main questions are how well he'll recover from the surgery, and whether he's going to be susceptible to further injuries. If he recovers well & avoids further serious injury, the ceiling is very high, especially in combo with Hogan. Or he could be Gumbleton Mk.II.