Akum

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.

As far as I'm concerned, when you pick up a fringe player (especially a fringe mid) from another team, it's with the expectation that, given a better chance, they'll improve and move up a grade or three. You don't pick up a C-grade mid in the hope that they'll remain a C-grade mid. If they're still a C-grade mid after two seasons, there's not much point holding on to them. Apart from Vince, Garlett and perhaps Cross (though he was always that good) toward the ends of their careers, we've had success with only our GWS pick-ups - Tyson outstandingly, but also Frost & Bugg - and to a lesser degree Matt Jones. All others - Michie, Newton, possibly BenKen (though he still has another year) - haven't really moved on from where they were at their previous clubs. I really like Michie & Newton (and I really liked Aidan Riley), and part of me hopes that they will come good one day, but unfortunately it's hard to argue that they should be kept on our list, especially with the vast improvement in our midfield with the addition of Oliver, Brayshaw & Petracca and the improvement in Kent.

Yeah, but a lot less interesting. Know anyone who might apply?

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.

If a tall player was coming back after ankle surgery ... ... could that perhaps influence his speed and turning circle?

Oh well, they did get Howe.

Looks very much like a half-smile too.

far too zen for this thread!

I think he's good at finding space in traffic too. If that's not speed or agility, it's just knowing where to run to - again, the best comparison is with Sam Mitchell, not quick or agile, just knows where to go. He also seems to have a good sense of when he's about to be tackled and has to unload, and when he's got a bit of space and can run it out of congestion.

I think this deserves another look. The thing is, if this is our 6, there may well be only two of them left by the time of pick 7 (or 10 if you prefer). For example, if we take Parish at 3, Bummers take, say, Weideman & Curnow, Suns take Oliver, that leaves us Milera & Francis. Maybe they're good, but they're not the type of player we need & I'm not the only one who'd be surprised if we picked up either of them because no mock draft has us even considering them. So giving them two spaces in our top 6 seems odd? On the other hand, we seem not to be looking at another potential tall-forward-second-ruck in Harry McKay. Or any mids other than Parish & Oliver, who will both be gone before pick 7/10. I hope they are looking a bit more broadly outside this 6.

I think it's likely that Parish and Weideman were our original reasons for trading up to picks 3 & 7 respectively. And that JT and his team have had a really close look at all the other options, but come back to their original preferences.

How about the possibility that he's faking it to lower his value and get (past the Bummers) to us?? Wasn't there a report that he was very happy when he found out that we'd traded up to pick 7? JT: "We'll pick you at 7 no matter what your beep test is." Everybody else: "Not interested unless beep test better than 13" Well, it's a possibility. If you were a KPF, wouldn't you want to get to the team that has Hogan?

What I like about Parish is his ability to move the ball quickly and effectively from a tightly congested situation into space. He also seems to have very good awareness of when he's got a bit of time to run the ball out and when he's under pressure and needs to dispose of it quickly. With the Falcons and Vic Country, his teammates knew to provide options. My concern is that this will be completely lost on our midfield, though maybe the likes of Brayshaw, Salem & Petracca may be able to anticipate what he might do when he has the ball and run to the right places.

And wasn't Josh Mahoney himself telling us all along not to judge the trade period by any single trade, but to wait to see the overall picture? Some were fine with that because they understood that to be wise strategy. They just got swamped by the doomsayers.

Could it be possible that there's a slight difference in quality of the merchandise being traded - Beams vs Howe?

This. Been overlooked in the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Quite possible that we'll go to the draft with pick 6 (pick 3 if we're lucky) and 2 late picks for rookie upgrades.

Perhaps more likely that we're waiting on the 3rd rounder from Essendon to trade for Kennedy. Or Bugg. 25 for Kennedy would be way overs. If we get a 3rd rounder back for Melksham, it means we've got Melksham PLUS Kennedy for pick 25. Which sheds a totally different light on our trading.