DeeSpencer

If Freo have offered us 13 and a future first then we can ask for the North future 2nd and in return give our future 2nd and throw in the Hunt compo pick. Heck, throw in a pair of 3rds. I suspect we hold off and do it all in one go, but as long as there’s genuine interest in 13 (or Freo’s future pick) and the North 2nd for a top 10 pick we could make progress on it ourselves

Doesn’t seem like a Jason Taylor type of tall forward.

A [censored] club that has pick 13, what do you call the clubs with the top 10 picks?

Heppell’s not afl standard, Harmes would immediately improve Essendon as an on baller if they wanted it, but they might prefer to play kids. Similarly he could be a consistent starting wingman there too. My guess is what he really wants is a 4-5 year deal on good coin to lock him to 31+. Especially if his existing deal was front loaded (as it should’ve been if we were switched on when he signed it). The rest of our mids waited until they were 26 (or 24/25 ahead of time) to sign long deals that will pay them forever. Harmes - as a rookie pick who battled his way to becoming a good player - took the early money. Had he gambled on himself he’d be a free agent now and teams would gladly offer him a very nice deal.

Have to factor in injuries but the 19th is a lot higher on points per game. Given Harmes has mostly been durable you can’t ding him for injuries too much. The 16th is about where he rates on our list, with the proviso that he can be a top 10 or higher finisher if we did just use him in a permanent mid role. Considering winning footy always starts with the mids there’s a premium. I get the feeling the list management plan is to draft or develop some proper midfield depth then reassess Harmes next year. Let’s see where Howes, Laurie, Woey and Chandler are at. They aren’t there yet

I think it’s as simple as Bedford leaving. Different players of course but Toby could’ve covered some of Harmes’ role. Without him we can afford to keep Harmes, don’t desperately need the pick and can’t get any skinnier with depth.

seems about right, just got to combo some picks to get Grundy

He’s played him 9 games per year on average and mostly out of necessity. He was ok as a defensive forward on Aliir and Lever in last years finals but doesn’t consistently compete in the air especially when he doesn’t have a starting point to work on. Hes played forward, defensive forward, ruck, wing, key back for the dogs, and even took centre bounces as a mid for Footscray this year. You name it, Bevo has tried it

Can I get your thoughts on the Sudanese, Lebanese, Macedonians and Indigenous players?

And what is Essendon. One of the journos seemed to imply yesterday that Dodoro was on his usual mission to win trade week but Brad Scott has been far more focused on the draft.

I’d have him train on with the team or play at Casey. With all due respect I’d want to see him fight for his afl future rather than just hand it to him

I'm not suggesting it's a full time role, but who would've had Blicavs, Guthrie and Atkins forming the basis of the Cats premiership midfield a few years back? Plus ANB was getting rotations on ball at the start of 2021 in particular. One thing we really need to do next year is rotate bigger numbers through the midfield especially early in the season so the big guns aren't tired out by the end of the year. If we want to foster a culture of ongoing player development then I'd love to challenge ANB to earn 5 minutes a quarter on ball. It might actually help him make quick decisions and stop trying nonsense like his attempted fends on far bigger players!

2020 just flat out wasn’t good down back. Last year his result from 18 games would’ve been very solid over 25 games, fringe top 10. Given he played 3 positions most weeks it was a great effort. Not a strong result this year but with a few missed games and the difficulty of his role he’s still around the mark for our role players.

Played every game in 2019. Backline moved failed in 20. Played every game when healthy last year. Missed a couple of games as sub post injury this year which was the only time he was actually omitted. Hardly a surprise when wing/mid/half forward is an insane ask of any player. Played wing the last 3 weeks and played it perfectly fine. A couple of injuries the last two years which are valid concerns on his value. But nothing major. If he could just play wing/mid or forward/mid he’d be as solid as a rock. Instead he’s moved around because we don’t have enough midfield versatility.

Maybe, maybe not. He’s physically mature now and could get cleaner in congestion with the practice. Midfields a more predictable form of traffic too compared to the half forward pinch point.

If Harmes played 22 games as an unaccountable mid and the umps gave him all of Oliver’s votes he’d be a chance of that absurd result too. 2018 Melbourne best and fairest votes 1 Max Gawn 657 2 Clayton Oliver 595 3 James Harmes 468 4 Nathan Jones 449 5 Tom McDonald 433 6 Angus Brayshaw 429

I don’t like these moves and I don’t like our young players for immediate help next year (Turner, JvR aside). But Chandler and Laurie will have to play at least some midfield time to make it at afl level, they’re 5th mid options. ANB could also be retrained as a mid too, his run would give us a point of difference we need there. Skills doesn’t help but he might be ready for that. Hunter could be cheap wing cover. If we snag a top 10 pick they might be ready to go for class on a forward flank. Maybe.

The same young guys who aren’t even trusted to have a proper go at Casey. Battling away in peripheral roles.

Or you can stick around and learn something. Your choice really

Might be a swap with Tomlinson. Saints then take Cordy. Dees pick up Lienert. Under that situation I can tolerate Hunter

B+ mid who doesn’t fit with our best mids B- wing B+ half back who isn’t tall enough to be an elite interceptor, isn’t quick or disciplined enough to defend and can’t hit targets, can’t play in the same side as Lever Could’ve kept Harmes and Hunt to provide the same output mid/wing and half back who compliment in some ways our best players. Then used the currency of Gus to find a long term midfield answer. Instead it could be Lachie Hunter and Joel Smith, yay

Yes, we panicked and overpaid the guy who doesn’t fit in our structure and had guaranteed currency so are now losing 3 best 25 guys who have far less value. I predicted this at the time.

Who do you like out of Mitch White, Jimmy Munro or Dunstan to step in to our midfield?

Langdon was playing great footy at Freo and just hitting his prime. There’s a myth the demons created him. Much different to trying to turn back the years on Hunter

The other difference is Spargo’s a good pressure forward who doesn’t have to kick long. Hunter’s a wing.