DeeSpencer

If Taj is to stay it may as well be as a rookie to save the cap space. If we took 4 National draft picks Taj and someone else (Campbell, Laurie, Melk) would get the drop down.

I’m not an expert but purely by the way the regular draft guys like Twomey talk about players before they were drafted if you were breaking the draft in to tiers and excluding academy/father son I’d say: S tier (Daicos, JHF, Harley Reid): 0 players A+ grade tier (Sheezel, McCluggage, Anderson, Jackson, Langford): At most 2 players - Duursma, CDT, it might be a reach to even put them in this batch. A tier: (Serong, Flanders, Sanders, Ginbey, Caldwell, Lindsay) at most 3 players - Robey, X Taylor, Sharp B+ tier: maybe 8-10 different players but very light on for talls or sure thing mids. It’s mostly flankers who can progress to midfield or star in their role.

Yes you can. We did it with Lachie Hunter. Essendon did it with James Stewart not long ago. If you do it before the final list lodgement the money goes into the 2025 cap. Do it after the list lodgements and the player goes on the inactive list. Although I believe most of these have been retirements or agreed upon by the player involved. I can’t imagine we’d do either tho. Give everyone a fair chance under the new coach at least until the end of preseason if not mid year.

I don’t think CJ is best used deep, he’s an attacking intercept defender who covers ground. But it’s an option. Dovaston is such a nice fit. We shouldn’t be drafting for need at this stage but if he is best available he’d slot right in.

FB: ???? Adams Petty-Lever HB: CJ Turner Bowey C; Lindsay Rivers Windsor HF: Chandler Mihocek Langdon FF: Fritsch JVR ?????? Foll: Gawn Pickett Langford Int: Salem, Steele, Viney, Kolt, Jeffo-Kentfield Backline: May, McDonald, the leftover from Petty-Lever, Howes, AMW Midfield: Culley, Laurie, Sparrow Rucks: Campbell, Heath Forward: the lesser of Jeffo-Kent, Melksham, AJ, McAdam, Henderson, Sharp, Mentha Would love a back pocket. Not sure Howes or AMW are the answer. CJ is better roaming up the ground. Someone who can contribute right away would really help. A small/medium with tackling and some energy.

Ahhh 3 year deal. He gets the Lamb special. Would be nice to have players join us because they see the opportunity to build something - especially when their current club have told them to pack up and go - without having to pay the extra year for once.

The smart move with 8 is to trade it with Carlton for 9 and a 2027 second and a promise of no bid on Dean at 7. Trading up for sure fire elite talent, all for it if we can, but not sure it exists outside maybe Duursma and very maybe Robey.

We’re in a competition with Brisbane, Gold Coast, the other clubs that get early academy or father son picks. So when they get picks before us it absolutely matters. It pushes us down the line of talent. Even if our pick stayed at 7 and 8 unfortunately it’s not a great group. There’s not a quality crop of mids and talls. It’s mostly flankers.

10 out. 6 in: Culley, Henderson, Mihocek, Heath, CJ, Steele 4 spots open and Woey. 3 picks: 7, 8, 37 2 rookies: White and Sinnema?

He's just a baby. Viney got 4 at that age. Why even stop at 3. Let's give him the Tim Lamb special cutlet

Apparently yes

Helped that he only had 1 year left on the deal. Whatever he's lost for 2026 he has a chance to make up and more over the next decade.

Cool story, but that's not how a contract works. We signed it, he has every right to that money unless we found a way to sack him

Of course, but you can't terminate someone's contract for stuff that doesn't even get out in the public. Plenty of questionable stuff going on in 2023, but same thing applies. For all the talk on here about how much we leak, seems we didn't leak enough!

Good news - 3 firsts. Bad news, it’s a bit like Jezza Cameron for Conor Stone, Ryan Angwin and Brayden Cook. JT has to work some magic!!

Good news - 3 firsts. Bad news, it’s a bit like Jezza Cameron for Conor Stone, Ryan Angwin and Brayden Cook. JT - please work some magic!

Clarry’s major crime was going to the pokies and putting someone’s wind screen wipers up. Some other stuff too but since the start of the ‘24 season he hasn’t made a single public error. Jamarra, well….google it I guess. At the end of the day there’s nothing in contracts about not being at your best. The Hawks had Chad Wingard unfit and playing Playstation all the time once he got his big contract. Even at GwS - Kelly, Coniglio, Haynes all played about half a good game between them in 4 years.

Aside from anything cultural the 5 years is the big factor with Oliver and the reason we aren’t getting anything for him even more than the money factor. The dees brains trust don’t like the risk of having him fully stinking up our cap for 28, 29, 30. Steele should be 2 years on less than moderate money, no ongoing downside after that. I do agree tho on taking our chances with a train on player. Probably won’t find a good mid but can find a wing or flanker and shuffle guys around.

Saints fans keep spruiking that all their senior players were heaving front loaded. Who knows if it’s true but could be. Either way we’d surely only pick up the amount that reflects his value as a guy who only got a game as he was captain last year.

Steele has a 2 year deal so we don’t get that flexibility for one year. Campbell, Melk, Laurie, May, McDonald, McAdam some of AMW, AJ, one of the young key forwards. Can already do next years delistings so list spaces aren’t a problem. Picks 7 and 8 are usually ready for the afl system. Not guys who need a lot of handholding to adapt to the basics. And our plan for the late list spots might be White and Sinnema who have spent time at the club and in academies. Mentha is the only real baby on the list as it is. He and Luker the only guys who haven’t played a game. I don’t think we should be worried about having too many developmental players on the list.

Even that’s too much. It’s fringe player wages and pick 100. St Kilda have told Steele to pack up his locker. Every dollar we save them on his contract is doing them a big favour.

We needed Cross because we were completely bereft of senior fit bodies and leaders in the Neeld years, it was Jones and nothing else. We have Max, Viney, Pickett, Rivers, Sparrow, Culley as well as the 4 young guys ready to play. Maybe we even give Bill Laurie a run and see what happens. Plenty of experience down back especially with CJ added. Mihocek to help Melk, Fritsch, Chandler forward. I’d rather roll the dice on a Fin Macrae, Henry Hustwaite, Tomson Dow if we want a mature body to shield the kids. Steele’s never captained a side to any kind of success and the Saints haven’t exactly been a great culture.

At some stage we should stop Alan Richardson collecting every one of his St Kilda rejects by simply firing him. Hopefully he can go to a new club and start collecting Melbourne rejects for us.

We’ll get smacked off the park regardless, why bother junking up the team with a plodder

They can have both if we get value out of the swaps. They have 29, 36, 37, Essendon’s future 3rd and all their future 2026 and 2027 picks. Swapping 28 for 29 is just a few free points for them given that pick will be consumed by bid matches, so that’s an easy option. Otherwise target Suns F2 or Essendon F3 which might be worth more than 28 (or even 24) in this draft. Both of those would be ideal.