DeeSpencer

Zak’s not a wingman, plays his best footy on ball or at half back. Contested players without great skills on the wing isn’t a recipe for success. Langdon doesn’t have great skills but is a more natural runner. Tomlinson was free (from draft capital). I would’ve liked Zak but you have to draft and develop as well. Can’t be throwing 500k+ and 2nd rounders at every gap

There's a chance when we missed out on Elliott we heavily frontloaded Tomlinson and Langdon to buy us flexibility in the future. I'm not sure it's possible to rework deals to create more room, so we really could be low on cap flexibility for 2020.

That's from a herald sun article in 2016. My questions about Stephens are: 1. What's his contested ball percentage? 2. Does he have Brad Hill or Whitfield style speed/endurance that it almost doesn't matter.

A team that finished 4th a year ago easily could. It's obvious we've got money tied up in our backline and in the midfield - especially with 2 expensive wingers bought in and Petracca, Harmes, Viney all out of contract. Then Fritsch out of contract as a forward. We targeted Elliott and my guess is it was for about 600k. Martin was rumoured to be offered 700k for Carlton and if he heads to the PSD they'll look to ward off other interests by structuring that to make it uncomfortable. Should be able to make room for him but it might be the kind of deal that puts us in salary cap trouble next year and then we have to ship out a good player cheaply like the Pies/GWS have done. How exactly do we get compensated by Carlton for letting him slide? A one sided trade of draft picks on draft night maybe? But the AFL might not be too happy about that. I'm not even sure it's allowed.

I'm a big fan but I don't think he has the x factor to be the number 1 small forward, I prefer him as the number 2 small forward rotating up through the midfield or even getting a go at half back after a preseason. We need 1 more x factor forward but we can get bye pretty well if the whole forward line takes a big step forward with a functional structure, much cleaner entries and defensive pressure for all of the forwards. A combination of Betts, Rioli and Charlie Cameron all in 1 would've struggled last year.

Just had a look at the points deficit rules, I thought you could rack up a big tab but seems I'm wrong. So if we trade 3 for 6 and the Green bid comes at pick 4 (2034 points), less a 20% discount becomes 1627. Assuming these rules are correct the most the Giants can carry over next year (less a first round pick) would be 1723 - 985 = 738 (less if they use pick 19 rather than pick 18). https://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-08-12/afl-closes-draft-bidding-system-loophole So the Giants would need 889 points in this years draft which they don't have. They've really stuffed up not getting an extra 2nd rounder so they can offer us more and have the flexibility to match any bid with a deficit.

40+59 = 32 based on points. Could be a team in the 30's somewhat interested in that. 6, 32, future first has me at least interested.

I can't see what's stopping Gold Coast and Carlton doing a trade of picks at any stage between now and the draft and then Gold Coast delisting Martin once that occurs. They can pretty much just extend the deadline until the draft. Clever.

C. Good: - Langdon Meh: - Frost out - Tomlinson in, he might be useful but he's chewing up some serious salary. Bad: - Refusal to trade out anyone aside from Frosst to redeem value whilst they still have it - Gus Brayshaw mainly, although I wonder if Melksham and Hunt had interest. Ugly: - Not turning over the bottom of the list - Not bringing in a variety of players Expanding on these two I just don't see why we've kept the Wagner's, Jones, ANB etc instead of signing a key forward/ruck, a small forward, a key defender, outside speed etc. I look at Ryder, Butler, Cutler etc getting traded for nothing and think why not us? Incomplete: - The pick swap deal with North - Plans for the final couple of list spots

Hardly a surprise given the Tigers game plan lets inside mids without great skills rack up the ball. And McCluggage was good in both of Brisbane’s finals and maybe best on against the Cats in round 22 that set them up with home finals. The point is I don’t mind giving up a Taranto if we get a McCluggage and Berry and ideally a 3rd piece.

Being the second best team in the comp behind GWS is a pretty good situation. Richmond were that and just won the flag by 89 points. In 2016 Brisbane traded pick 2 and late picks for 3, 16. Taranto for McCluggage and Berry. As good as Taranto is the Lions got 2 core pieces of their rebuild who both stuck around and a couple of years later really should’ve beaten GWS in a semi final.

Unlikely but we can always hope. I think GC would agree to delist him and let him sign with Carlton rather than have him come to us in the PSD, no point being cruel if you’re already getting nothing but who knows. I’d call his manager and the Suns and say we’ll find pick 30 and 500k a year for him if he wants it.

It's not just 3 spots in the draft for them it's the chance to get 2 top 5 picks. 27 and a GWS future first is probably worth about pick 12. We paid a lot more (given our likely ladder finish) to North for pick 8. 12 and 6 for 3 is about right. 6 and a future first isn't enough, has to be at least another 2nd round pick.

Forget pick 50, it's not worth much when there's preseason and midseason drafts. The point system is rubbish valuing a pick that late. So it's Pick 9 (after Tom Green bid) for pick 29 (at least 3 father sons/academy picks - Greene, Henry, Maginness) and a future first rounder. If we finish 7th then we give over pick 13 (Gold Coast mid first round priority pick) which after 3 academy picks in the top 12 which recruiters all think is very likely it becomes pick 16. Forget about points. Pick 9 - with a years development and hopefully some games - for 16 and 29. Is that really losing? IF - and it's a big if - but if we play finals next year the deal will work out. North are banking on us missing finals.

That's what he's saying after trading up for one of them and with another on the market to sell for a big offer. If he's realistic about where the list is at and if Jason Taylor has the confidence to nail some picks then pick 3 should be split to 6 and a fair bit more and then we should really consider moving around at draft time. Pick 6 should get us one of the top guys on our board, unless it breaks just right there's no point using pick 8 almost straight after it.

If it were up to me, I'd do: 3 for 6, GWS' future first, 33 (Bonar pick via Ess). That's the price GWS. Then I'd go to Geelong and say how about 8, 33, Hawthorn's future 2nd for 14, 17, 24. Hit the draft with 6, 14, 17, 24. Or take out 24 and 33 from above and go with 6, 14, 17, 33. Then I'd even consider trading back with 17 on the night if I can get a pick in the 20's or 30's and something to carry over for next year. We need quality, but we also need to bring in a depth of selections. We need a quick mid, a small forward, at least 1 young tall prospect (ideally 1 at each end) and some kicking skills. Overdrafting a small forward with pick 8 does not interest me. Pick 8 is a nice rental so we can say we split 3 in to 6, 8. Once we get pick 6 and restore our future first and a mid round pick it's time to split pick 8 in to some more useful pieces.

I can't find any rule that limits the draft to 5 rounds, nor the picks attributed to rookie players any longer. Last year GC, Coll, Western Bulldogs (2 rookie upgrades), Geelong (2 rookie upgrades), Port and Melbourne all had 5th round picks and rookie elevations. Toby Bedford was our 5th round pick last year. So what pick did we use to elevate Corey Maynard?

Hard to overcome lack of ability but he had a hip operation to recover from last year. If he’s fitter, stronger and faster he has a chance. Then it’s on the coaches to train some intensity in to him. When he plays with a bit of belief he usually does ok. Cant say I’m confident but I haven’t ruled out all hope.

I'm far from a fan of the trade but back in the real world if we play finals next year and hand over a pick outside the top 10 then it's about even. The fatal flaw with the points system is that you can't add points from completely different rounds of the draft together. They are practically a different currency. A top 10 pick is a fully built house. A 2nd round pick is a block of land. A 3rd round pick is a stack of timber.

I'll put it another way, if we wanted Phillips to play half back we may as well just get Sam Murray for free and get the same result. Tom Langdon can play half back but we have Jake Lever (and Hore as back up), he'd be excellent for our backline in a variety of roles but he's not replacing Salem as the efficient kicker every team needs. There's no system of play that doesn't require a good kicker at half back. I'm sure every Collingwood player was somewhat on the table given their salary cap pressures next year but if they've found homes for guys like Scharenberg and Aish who are at best fringe 22 they'll move them first. The Tom's would be on the table for a price and it's not a price I want to pay. Nor can I understand why we'd trade out the 2nd and 3rd round picks that could form the basis of a deal (along with future 2nd/3rd rounders) to get pick 8.

Couldn't play Phillips at half back, he's a butcher when not free running and making easy decisions, if anything I think Ed Langdon and Phillips would rotate wing and half forward in the ANB role. Tom Langdon another poor kick, his best work is his intercepting and lock down ability, would be a handy Frost replacement and could reduce the need to play another tall alongside May and Lever. The only way to move Salem is to find better kicks to replace him not worse! But I don't think either are seriously available this year. I think the Pies will deal Aish and Scharenberg and try to win the flag this year before moving guys like these 2 on next year to free salary cap space. Trading away best 22 players early doesn't make sense to me. I'd certainly be adding Tom Langdon to the list of Pies to target next year.

For some reason we like to keep a glut of useless flankers on the list rather than cut the cord and use list spots on developing players. That said, it is what it is for this year so I wouldn't bother using one of the precious list spots we have left on a back up to the back up. The big fella who played at Casey last year, Wale-Buxton? He looked more than adequate as a VFL ruck. And we've got the preseason and mid season rookie periods to add a state league option if needed.

He's also really really bad. Awful decision making and approach to the contest. That he's managed to be a useful player who's racked up a lot of games has only prolonged the pain. I feel like had we had more picks in the 20's and 30's over the last 5 years we'd have got more Fritsch's (high talent, high upside, needs to round out his game) and more ANB's but with enough polish to be long term players (good foot soldiers, always fit and healthy, plays every week ie. guys like Harmes or Langdon).

Taking out pick 50 we just gave up 2 useful picks (26 and a future first) for 1 pick. We did the same with the Oliver/Weideman deal - giving up the Howe pick and a future first for Weideman. We gave up a lot of useful picks for short term help when rebuilding (Vince, Hibberd) and a really valuable pick for Frosty and junk picks that have failed us (ANB, Stretch). I just think we don't value getting multiple quality shots at the draft. Not only does it give you more rolls of the dice it also strengthens the list by bringing in high quality prospects who have good healthy fit bodies and skills. Rather than later picks who are often guys with attributes but weaknesses who need a lot of work to get up to scratch. We started this trade period with pick 22. I thought great, we can see who falls out of the first round or we might be able to trade that back like teams did last year and bank another second rounder. Instead we've chewed it up completely with a little on Langdon and moving next years pick to this year and assuming a big risk/reward. That doesn't seem like maximising the value of the pick. If pick 8 flops then we've thrown away a 2nd rounder for nothing. By depth I don't mean useful VFL players who can play a few handy games, I mean the wave of talent in those 10th-20th spots on the list who do their job week after week. We've traded for Tomlinson and Langdon because we hope they can be those kind of players but how many others like that do we have on the list? Not nearly enough.

Don't love any of them, but's early days. Sparrow has speed, strength, goes in hard and a decent tank but the sum of the parts might not come together as well as the stand out attributes. I thought he'd be a tackling machine but he seemed to slip off them. I think South Australia had the right idea using him at half back to simplify the game. But at 182cm he won't take intercept marks at AFL level and the decision making/kicking will cause problems. If he were 190cm or if he had that elite zip rather than just good burst then he'd make it on athleticism alone but he's just lacking something special given the deficiencies so we'll have to work at it. He's a huge job for the development coaches to clean up his skills. There's some Harmes and Vanders about him though so in a year or two he could look pretty useful. Jordon's kicking is good but not great from what I've seen at VFL level and he's messy with his hands in tight - like most Melbourne players. If he's the skilled inside mid then lets see some sharp dual sided handballing. Lack of top end speed means he'll struggle to really excel back or forward. At 186cm and rangy he's got more scope at half back but he'll have to take some marks and use it very well. A bit of watch and wait to see how he comes out this year given he was so young and underdeveloped last year - which means potential to take a leap but that has been overplayed I think. Nietschke seems a smart ball winner but without speed or good kicking I just don't know what he is at AFL level. Hopefully he has better luck next year and can show his stuff at Casey. Long term - maybe a wing understudy to Tomlinson. Bigger body (think he plays taller than his 184cm) wingman who runs hard and does good team things? Maybe is more efficient than he looks?