DeeSpencer

I guess we folded which is a bit disappointing but we needed Hibberd in and to do the right thing by him, and we got a nice little steak knives upgrade. Time to turn that upgrade plus Dunn plus next years 2nd rounder in to a top 30 pick this year.

That's a little overdoing it. We aren't going to give up a young player we like (even just a little) as steak knives. They won't give up pick 41. But I'm sure both clubs are going through their late picks trying to find a swap to make it work. Or at least have that option open to them. Our pick 68 for their pick 59 if they do it their way. Our pick 68 for their pick 77 if they do it our way.

Essendon are smart. I love Dodoro. He doesn't bend until he has to. We should wait it out. Otherwise, GC still have picks 24 and 26 with 2 first round picks and 2 more to come for Prestia and O'Meara. If we give them our future 2nd rounder and Ess (or Melb) pay the difference with some 4th round picks or 3rd round upgrades then both clubs get what they want.

They say that every year. A pick in the first 2 rounds is worth more than not next years 2nd rounder that we can always get back in another deal next year.

On an individual basis the late pick gems would surely give recruiters the most joy but adding talent consistently year after year is the point of their jobs so if I was a recruiter I'd be frustrated if I didn't have a pick in the first 2 rounds. I'd want to fully explore the option of trading a future 2nd round pick. We have a nice group of young talent but we are a long way from fully stocked. We need more guys who can run and kick and the 2nd round is often where you find them.

I think Jason Taylor would've been beating down Goodwin, Mahoney and Viney's door saying don't leave me out of the first 2 rounds of this draft. Gold Coast have pick 29. We could trade next years second rounder for that and on trade 29 or even 28 to Essendon if that's what it takes. I think GC will do it, they have too many picks in this draft. But they won't do it until they get deals for Prestia and O'Meara sorted as they need all options open to them whilst they are doing those big deals.

I have thought all along our 2nd rounder next year is a better deal. Not sure why Mahoney ever talked our pick this year unless it was to avoid focus on the issue. We lost Melksham for a year. The bombers can wait until next year for the Hibberd pick. Half a chance it ends up a better pick anyway. But for us we need to get in to this draft and there's every chance an even draft a kid we rated in the top 15 or so gets to 28. Too important to give that up.

New England Philly San Diego

Not sure it's unders for a guy who's nearly 27, had a year out of the game, has only played 80 games and has had a few injuries. I think it's more than fair given 100 solid games is really the maximum we can get from Hibberd. That's higher than the return on most pick 26'ers who have to develop and could easily flop but it's also a risk of giving up the 1 in 10 or so shot of getting an A grader around that mark.

It seems popular and I like it as well. Tipple D. Denver Dallas Detroit On pure line betting I like KC, the Rams, Buffalo and Cleveland all to have a crack at being competitive and covering. Thinking 3 of those cover the line.

I'm a big wrap for Smith but wouldn't Wagner be more likely to play early next year than Smith? If I were to promote a back flanker it would be Wags although I'd rather just go in with extra rookies and the flexibility to promote when needed. And yep. Michie would be staggering. I'd rather Newton because he's a lovely kick of the ball, if he could by some miracle find a tank he'd have something to offer. Surely we wouldn't ever try Michie as a backman again so what role would he play next? Back to the midfield/forward spot where he never touches it at AFL level? Are we going to a bulldogs based rotation system where 8-10 guys rapidly rotate between wings/mid and forward, that could help him (maybe). Another year of Dawes/Pedersen seems counter productive as well. Roll the dice with 1 guy from the state leagues or delistings. Yeah it's a small chance of finding a player but you don't exactly lose much either.

Farewelled in front of 100 Melbourne supporters in a 100 point loss. No thanks. His farewell game was the VFL grand final. Farewell games only really make sense for club champions retiring who can be rushed back in from injury to play one last game.

Matt Jones managed to play what 10 games this year? Terlich and Grimes shouldn't have been on the list this year but there was no way to get rid of them and their contracts. Certainly a long way to go. Now that said: Grimes was a warrior when he first started. Unfairly burdened with the captaincy and injury. Gave his all. Just didn't have the skills or speed of decision making for the modern game IMO. I thank him for his service. Terlich gave us something in 2013 with his willingness to run and attack the game, great tackler as well. Another who's skills weren't up to it. Seemingly a popular team mate. I'm glad he had a good year in the VFL this year. Matt Jones was a polarising player. I thought we had a good one in 2013. Fantastic spread from a contest and decent work rate. Yet his skills weren't great and more so his physicality was poor. Good luck to all of these guys.

Same. Not sure he's as good a goal kicker as Dickson. But I think he's more athletic, takes a bigger grab and is more of a bull with his tackling. If he was 21 all the clubs would want him, at 25 I'm not so sure. He battled away pretty well in the grand final given he got a nasty corky.

Houston Arizona Pittsburgh Will likely regret tipping against the Pats at home on a short week but seriously a 3rd string rookie QB against a good defense. At least I'll see the wizardry of Belichick once again. Couldn't bring myself to tip anyone else, Atlanta and San Diego the best I could think of and they aren't very good.

He'll probably go on an all time great run now and make me look silly but I can't help but think there's something not right about Rodgers. I thought he fixed it in Arizona last year but he still seems to be jumping around way too much in the pocket. Moving in the pocket is great, but if the line is blocking well then just step up and make an accurate throw. I don't think he's selfish in any way but it looks like he's trying to create the great play and has lost confidence in his receivers and isn't getting the ball out and trusting them. Maybe the offense needs a tweak and some new plays mixed in to freshen things up. I'm super impressed with Stefon Diggs. He'll make Bradford look good all year. And if the Vikes O line can click in to gear and run the ball then they'll be a force. The Texans have impressed me and now get the luxury of the Pats playing an injured player/3rd stringer or guy off the street at QB on a short week. They should go up there and win and get to 3-0. Panthers still looking like the team to beat in the NFC. Nice to see the Cards bounce back. Some other teams I'm a bit up and down on including the Giants, Seattle, GB and the Vikes. Steelers looking the class of the AFC, with the Pats always in the equation and I expect the Texans, Denver, KC and Cinci to challenge in a strong conference.

I'm not sure he's as quick as someone like Hunt and I don't think he'll be a wingman, but his first few steps and agility impressed me plus his leap. And his willingness to tackle was great. I could see him becoming a rebounding half back, a lock down defender, a defensive forward or maybe even an inside midfielder with the ability to go 3rd man up in the ruck and to provide some burst to the contest. Half back is the best spot to train him up in and I think next year he could become a consistent VFL player and push to debut and play a few games, then it's a matter of where to from there. The big unknown with any mature age recruit and with any athlete from a non footy background is you can't tell how much they will improve. If he improves the same way Hunt did then we'll have a great player on our hands.

Kicking would have to be a big focus for him over preseason. I thought his action was fine if a little stiff, but given he's played all of about 10 games this year I didn't think it was too bad. His one kick to Dunn was perfect, others not so great.

Seattle Baltimore Green Bay Really wish I did the tips earlier and took the Jets. The Bills are a dumpster fire. They scored 31 and lost then sacked the offense??!

Yeah handy up forward and nearly took a screamer! Bit of a shame we didn't see him in his more suited spot down back or get him running in the ruck as the ball was just bombed forward a lot but he did look athletic and physical.

Essendon being Essendon will probably ask for the world. No point in going overboard if you're Goodwin. Given he was talking about being appointed the senior coach I thought it was more important to get the headlines on the club and current players instead of talking too much about a recruit.

Fair enough. I guess just being 195cm it's a fair effort to go against the 2nd rucks that are mostly 200cm plus these days. I'm sure he'd give it a go and probably be better than Pedda or Watts but I wouldn't recruit him for it unless he leaps like Nic Nat! Sounds like he's more of a power athlete so could be a full back a bit like Frost instead of a running CHB like one of the McDonald's. Might suit an Etihad team where he can camp back inside defensive 50 and then pick off contests. Could really suit North at FB whilst Tarrant does the running at CHB.

Feel free to correct any/all of this as I go but from what I've seen and heard: He's not big enough or athletic enough to ruck at AFL level. Nor does he have the talent to play forward - very few do. So we are looking at a key defender. To be a key defender I think you need: - Endurance: ok for a young VFL player but not amazing from the running I saw in preseason where he was a fair way down the pack - Athleticism: think he's pretty good in that regard, moves nicely considering he'll fill out in to a pretty strong lad - Speed: pretty solid but not Frost level fast - Good mark: yep - Competitiveness: yep, is willing to spoil and use his body - Kicking skills: doesn't make many mistakes at VFL but probably isn't his strong suit at the next level I think with good AFL development he could play a few games but in the few times I've watched Casey I haven't seen anything that really blows me away like a big game of intercept marks or a game where he's rebounded, broke lines and kicked like an AFL flanker. If we move on one of Dunn or Garland we probably need to add another young key defender, I guess time will tell who that will be. I certainly wish him well. It will be a big tick for the Casey program and help both the Dees and Casey to have someone drafted. The more players drafted from your VFL club the more incentive for young players to go there and as that talent develops the stronger your VFL team and the more entrenched your AFL players get with winning and winning culture.

I think whatever value there was to take from Hird and Thompson's time at Essendon we've got covered with Goodwin and McCartney. That said, the small group of banned bombers have been training with Sean Wellman who coached our backline better than anyone I can remember and it's been a select group featuring some pretty classy players in Watson, Hurley, Heppell and Hooker.

I don't know about that. I'm cautiously optimistic, although I would've preferred him playing this year. There's a few reasons: 1. He was very promising in his first few years and then seemed to hit a snag the last couple. Who knows how much the ASADA stuff played on his mind. 2. Then there's the chance that like many players they hit a bit of a wall around the 60-80 game mark where expectations have overshot performances and they have to fight through a bit of a dry spell to really become fully formed players. Nath Jones the best example of that. 3. The change of role to half back might see a lift in output. He can run, he plays well overhead for his size and he has kicking penetration. In our game style that is based upon defenders coming up to win the ball back and then attacking out to space and overlapping he might be valuable.