Akum

So what pick are we likely to get back? Or could they have a player in mind?

Either way, there's going to be massive competition for spots in the 22. And we're already much better placed to handle a run of injuries should it occur.

This explains why Dodo might be holding it up.

... and would definitely change the future of the club!!

Wondering if it's because another deal needs to be completed before we can finalise exactly which pick we're going to give?

Interesting point. If we're about getting "exactly what we need", none of them fit the bill. Though all of them would add something, it's not like we couldn't get by without them. Hibberd fits the "what we need" space best, but even he'd be competing with a growing list of promising HBFs who are potential distributors. While Hibberd's probably the best / toughest / most experienced / best kick of them all, he's not a massive gain on the likes of Salem, Hunt, Wagner, Jetta if any of them steps up another level. Perhaps this reflects where the team is at - we don't have massive gaps to fill any more, we just need fine-tuning in certain areas, but that might come anyway with further improvement in any of a number of current players. Then again, it might not.

Welcome, Tram! When everything on D'land starts to make sense, then you're in real trouble!

OK, butter is often served in "Pats" to make it easier to spread. And there's this thing called the "buttered cat phenomenon". It comes from the observation that a cat dropped from a height always lands on its feet, and a piece of buttered toast dropped from a height always lands buttered side down. So what would happen if a cat that had a piece of buttered toast tied to its back with the buttered side up was dropped from a height? So we have a cat called Pat who's spread his wings and flown the crow's nest. Just need to work out the other 3/4 of it now!

IMHO the potential benefits of Lewis are to improve three qualities we needed to improve last season: (1) his ability to get his team over the line in tight matches; (2) his skill at getting the ball from contested to uncontested - getting it from a stoppage into useful space; (3) general organisation at stoppages, especially if Max is being nullified.

No way! He'll be turning things over in his mind all weekend. Things like: "Me and Sam were the only contested ball guys. Who's going to do it now? Do they expect me to take the whole load? Or is Clarko going to revamp the game plan again, to take even more emphasis off contested ball? "Or do they expect me to just start from scratch working with this other Mitchell (who's nowhere near as good as Sam) plus a guy who's not played for two years? And with a whole lot less pay than either of them? It's like I'm having to teach them to take my place while on half their pay! If I'm going to have to start from scratch with different mids, I'm better off to do it with that team that smashed us in contested ball. And for a reasonable wage! "And what if I stay and it doesn't work out with Mitchell-2 and the other guy? Clarko won't dump them, that's for sure! So I'm stuffed. "But what if it DOES work out well? Clarko will just say, "Well, Lewy, these guys are going great!! I guess we don't need you now!" So I'm stuffed after next year, however it goes! There's actually no upside in staying! "What about me with the Dees and their young midfield? If it goes well, they'll want me to stay for another couple of years for sure. And if it doesn't work, they'll still want me to hang around to help them improve. Either way, I can't lose! "So what's it like for Crossy? He's still highly respected at the Dogs, and now he's highly respected at two clubs, so that's likely to happen to me (and to Sam, come to think of it). And he's preferred to stay on here, rather than go back to the Dogs, even though they've just won the big one. Crossy's not a fool!" Not a difficult decision, the more he thinks about it. It's cold hard logic, not anger, that will push him to make the move. It's anti-logical for him to stay at Hawks.

For those who didn't hear it, this is more or less a record of the discussion between Hutchy & Pickering on the "Off the Bench" program this morning on SEN. Really liking the fact that Lewis isn't angry (any more), but still interested. Makes him more likely to move.

These bolded words should be pinned at the top of each page of threads like this every year. Those with genuine sources can only report on discussions that are taking place, because that's all that the sources themselves can say. Sometimes they can give information, with varying degrees of accuracy (depending on the source), about the actual offer on the table at a particular time. But they can't predict the outcome in advance. And they can't guarantee the outcome until the signatures are actually on the dotted lines. Most of us are aware of this and are OK about it. So to those who do have sources, please don't be put off by those posters who think that by putting you down they make themselves look less inadequate. And please don't feel that you need to argue your credibility with them. Try to ignore them, like most of us do.

Struggling to think of anybody else who considers "Trade Whisperer" an authority.

Hawks have won a lot of games by small margins last season. The thing about Lewis - and one of the things he's disliked for by fans of other teams - is that when Hawks are under pressure, he's always in the thick of it, helping to pull the game out of the fire. Him & Mitchell & Hodge. This is what Hawks are going to miss - who's going to will them across the line when it's tight? This is the aspect of leadership we really need - how to find a way to win when we're really up against it. So for that quality to soak into the likes of Petracca, Oliver, Tyson, Viney, Hogan et all for 2 or 3 seasons will be just what we need to deliver on our talent & "potential".

Sounds mostly like you enjoy it!

But Hawks also need something to offer GCS as a trade for O'Meara. As it stands at the moment, they don't have anything to trade that would satisfy GCS. Or do they think that O'Meara will do a Luke Ball and put such a high price tag on his head that he'll get to the PSD and only the Hawks will have enough salary cap room?

The Sam Mitchell trade hasn't gone through yet, right? He must be out of contract, because he said he's only been on 1-year contracts for the past 4-5 years. So my question is: how low would WCE have to go for Horks to refuse the trade? 2nd rounder? 3rd rounder?? After all that Clarko has said about wanting to do the best for Sammy-boy, all the talk about it being the right timing for the wife & kids ... Can anybody see a scenario whereby the Horks will refuse to allow Sammy to go through with what has been pumped up as his chance-of-a-lifetime?? After the backflip on Lewis, can they afford to backflip on Mitchell if they don't get the offer they want? They are banking on WCE coughing up a first rounder (for a one-year player, however good he is) in order to get the JOM trade up (surely a 2nd-rounder wouldn't get them JOM?) But ... why on earth should WCE give their first rounder when Clarko has put the Horks into a position where they'd look Trump-level disgraceful if they now went back on the deal? Will the WCE top brass be OK about Adam Simpson doing a sweetheart deal to help his mate Clarko out? Or will they realise that they totally hold the whip hand in this situation and try to get as good a deal as possible for the good of the club? Unless WCE are prepared to submit their interests to the Hawks' interests, this isn't over.

I hope to God we don't have two "strong first round picks" next year. In fact, I'd like to think that our days of "strong first round picks" are over for a number of years. We are unfortunately in that mid-stage, where we didn't finish low enough to get great draft picks, and we're not high enough to attract top players. This is where North, Richmond & Collingwood have sat for the past few years. The aim is not to stay mid-range for more than another year or two, or like them, we won't be able to renew our list & we'll slide back down. But our days of top-5 picks must be behind us. I'd like our first pick next year to be at least 12.

Crowed about it a fair bit at the time IIRC.

And the missing piece, that doesn't seem to have been mentioned so far, is that Mitchell apparently has a very good relationship with Adam Simpson, as does Clarko. This answers the "Why WCE?" question. Clarko was open about the Hawks' salary cap issues when he discussed it with Mitchell. Mitchell had also made Clarko aware 12 months earlier that he'd had discussions with Simpson to go to WCE as an assistant when he retired as a player, and Simpson was probably aware that Mitchell's long-term aim would probably be to coach the Hawks. Three mature & sensible men, being able to trust each other enough to be open with each other about their interests, working out a "win-win-win" solution.

8 clubs is surely a gross exaggeration, ben for Tradio?

The issue with O'Meara is that the effort the Hawks put into attracting him is commensurate to him being one of the all-time best talents. But they're trying to trade for him as if he's an injury risk. They're trying to have their cake and eat it too. They've said "no Breust" and "no Shiels" so far, and they've baulked at a first-rounder. It reads like they're trying to bend GCS over for a 3rd rounder and a fringe player (e.g. Brand), and get GCS to "pay" for O'Meara's injury risk. It's the Hawks who should "pay" for the injury risk. I just get the feeling that GCS will blink.

Good decision for Lin Jong.

It must be coincidence that this happens so soon after an "Etihad side" wins the premiership for the first time for many years??

"Conflict"????????