DeeSpencer

Commercial lawyer and head of the players association might be a step up from radio sales and following Eddie around. That said, our President’s one heck of a lawyer and he seems set on Pert

He was very well regarded as an assistant coach and he got just about the worst job possible at the Saints. He won more games there than a whole lot of coaches would’ve. Balme’s the best in the business and his Demons coaching career was hardly stellar. I have more confidence in Richo’s judgment than Mahoney’s. The whole structure seems wrong to me but as a temporary measure in a huge budget cut it might be the best we can do.

The one positive might be that if Goodwin and this new plan flop we can scrap all these changes and just start fresh. Richardson goes back to a primary coaching role, Mahoney moves out and we get a fresh GM with a fresh coach to completely redo things. This seems a compromise under pandemic circumstances trying to move people as best we can.

Mahoney negotiating the Ben Brown trade from both sides would sure be something. He could have the deal done at 9:01 on the first morning of the trade period and have somehow overpaid on both sides.

I don't. Almost by definition can't you only have 1 GM of the Department? The one person who works very close with the coach to set the direction of the footy program? There was too much on Mahoney's plate, but only because our list manager is some former copper, our coaching team was inexperienced and lacked direction and there's probably lack of support all around him. He might not have been good enough either. But find someone better to take the top job, and/or the coaches job and upgrade the senior footy department staff.

Same goes for the coaching. We're stuck with Goodwin obviously, right or wrong. We're stuck with Chaplin because he just fits the kind of mediocrity we so love. Yze comes in for what may be the 2nd most difficult job in footy. Then Stafford gets promoted to the toughest assistant job around in our forwards coach despite very little experience in coaching because why the heck not? Plapp had years of experience and did a pretty decent job dealing with a forward line that was Melksham, the ghost of McDonald and 6 blokes under 50 games.

Seems like drastic compromises everywhere. Co-GM's doesn't sound right. Mahoney will be desperate to get out of the club now. Richo gets taken away from hands on coaching which should be his bread and butter and put in to a decision making role which requires an analytical mind which I don't really think suits him. Surely the ideal structure is 1 person who can administer everything then having the right people with a variation of skills around them. Get a list manager who's great at managing contracts. Get a recruiting team that can recruit. Get a coaching team that can coach. Get a footy admin team that can make sure the boots and shined and the bills are paid.

2 of those guys are ruckmen, the other 3 all played a varying amount in the ruck at times. Tom McDonald had 33 pressure acts against North in a game where he rucked a decent amount and also when North's backline were a mess at inviting pressure.

Two of the best key forwards at pressure in the entire competition.

Hmmm I don't know. When did Richmond win 3 flags in 4 years and when has there not been a 100 goal kicker in over a decade.

2 big key forwards who don't get a lot of the ball and don't offer any defensive pressure. It's just not going to happen.

Do we trade him now, potentially for a 2nd round pick or do we let him battle away at the Casey Wind Tunnel for a year, by the end of which he'll be out of contract and off to a new home? If we're bringing in BBB we may as well trade Weid now whilst he has some currency.

Don't love it, don't hate it. I expect 2 years is because there was enough interest elsewhere. Isaac Smith doesn't come to us. Nick Hind rumoured to be off to Essendon. Hmmmm. A 2nd Burgo preseason and full time wing? Or a new forwards coach who can really teach forward pressure? Is there going to be something that really finds him a spot?

I’d much prefer McKernan to Mitch Brown as the 4th or 5th key forward and 3rd ruck option. He competes in the air which is the main thing you want from a player like that. That said, I’d be just as happy to just go in light on experienced talls and find a 3rd ruck option somewhere else. If it came down to Saints or Demons I’d expect McKernan would chose the Saints as there’s an easier path to him getting regular footy. We’re yet to be linked to any mature key defensive depth which is what I’d like to see us get in.

You can always get new coaches. We've had a lot of poor coaching over that time but have we ever had a top quality list with a lot of skilled players? Some quality in the 90's and in the Daniher years but never anything top notch. The President seems to think we've got a top 4-6 list but I don't agree. A Phillips type would help, but there's still plenty of other gaps that need long term solutions.

He’s absolutely walk in to the best 22. The question is whether a Langdon/Phillips wing duo has enough hurt factor and class to win it all but he’d certainly help short term.

I’m not convinced Weid, Brown and Jackson works. But if it does then Fritsch should probably spend at least part of the game somewhere else because 4 taller non tackling players certainly won’t work. Melksham’s never played wing for us. Or at least not with his career at stake. Harmes played wing pretty well in 16/17 I believe. If Sparrow comes on or Rivers/Salem have to be part of the midfield mix then we could move Harmes. Phillips is a clear solution that makes him attractive, but I’m just not a fan of the list strategy of plugging holes. Another one will always open up. If Phillips is so cheap that’s he’s a 3rd rounder and 3 x 400k deal or similar then I’d get doing it. But overall my strategy would be search for genuine quality smart skilled players and trust the coaches to make it work.

Josh Daicos went from a fringe forward to a better player than Phillips last year. There’s a lot of clubs without proven options on the wing who can train them up. Apart from Baker we’ve got Harmes, Melksham, Hunt, Fritsch and even Jordon as internal candidates. Richmond took Marlion Pickett (A career half back/mid) and made him a very good wingman in 1 season. With the right coaching it can be done. Personally I’d stop spending useful draft picks and hefty contracts on players who can’t kick. You get short term improvement but lose long term.

You just can’t pay some 700k who’s clearly outside the best 22. Far better off paying 200k for him to play elsewhere are putting those dollars to work. Extensions, front loading, saving for big names, even just making sure you get a delisted player or mature ager who has competition for their signature. There’s so many ways to use the money. If a team will give us a useable draft pick and take on a fair share of the cash it’s not even a debate.

The thing Geelong have historically done well is not paying overs because guys are happy to head home. Sneaky little land package opportunity and they’re happy. If Cameron is on 900k the question is how much is that overs? Not sure it really is for a big key forward. Their list is light on depth, light on young up and comers who get big pay rises and heavy on over 30’s who have made good money for a long time. It’s a good strategy if you want to always be in contention and constantly restocking with talent. And with so many players keen to head down to sleepy hollow they have a steady supply

My initial reaction was absolutely not. But then I remembered just how good he was in year 1. And his problems since - gambling and glandular - both could be behind him. If he got back to anything like his best even if it's one dimensional it could be a steal to get him. At least ask the Pies what their price is and kick the tyres a bit. After winning the Rising Star he probably would've cost a first round pick and more, now if the most he's worth is a 2nd rounder and everything points to his issues being fixable it's the right time to buy.

Worth 600k, free agents always cost most which makes him work 700k. Then they’d have to trade for him or could pay him 800k and get him for free. Smart work from Carlton.

I'm aware of that, but if the Hawks wanted to establish a culture of experienced players mentoring the kids they would've actually drafted some kids and kept the veterans around for longer. Instead they went down the route of trading for a raft of experienced players and cleared space for them. Most Hawthorn supporters would prefer it wasn't the Cats but don't begrudge Smith for leaving, I doubt it makes any difference to his legacy.

Narkle has a bit of class about him but he isn't a great pressure player as a forward and not all that dangerous, he really has to rotate in to the midfield to be the best player he can be. Would we be willing to play him as a mid/forward rotation guy? He's not slow but no one would call him quick if it wasn't for his skin colour which is one of my pet peeves.