DeeSpencer

Hinkley, Horse, Simpson don’t surprise me or really count as snubs. Horse is the best candidate there and he’s set in Sydney. Simmo’s in no rush to move from Perth. Kenny’s getting 400k not to coach and needs a year of less pressure. For now it’s Enright who seemingly has a good thing going for himself at St Kilda and maybe isn’t really the strongest candidate and the Brisbane guys - one of whom is going to take over from Fagan pretty soon I think. West Coast really struggled to attract interest last year, few coaches want to sign up for a full deep rebuild. I imagine we aren’t the most desirable job but I also think both the Bucks factor and the jostling of where they sit in the rest of the pecking order are playing a role. People who are 7th or 8th don’t want to apply when they’re unlikely to get it.

He played really well, his kick off the ground inside 50 was pure class. The move to half back has done him well, there’s just a question of whether he can cover enough ground and break lines at the afl level. He’s the kind of player that makes me really wish we still had Burgo, he’d get him sorted.

An elim final win means nothing for the long term future of the seniors. But it gives them another chance to keep testing themselves in high pressure games. Guys who play well in the big VFL finals often translate to afl footy. Kolt - is finding composure and cutting down fumbles, still work to do but looks a cut above the rest of the mids. Laurie, Woey, K Brown - not showing me more than good VFL players (or very good for Laurie) Adams, Howes, Culley - have potential but have flaws, in 12 months they’re either afl players or depth. Kentfield, Mentha, (perhaps Yze) - promising kids Campbell, AJ - depth talls Billings, Fullarton - playing out their deals Spargo - depth flanker Sestan - most interesting guy out there, he’s been out forever and comes back and immediately looks a class above with his skills, just not sure how it translates to afl footy.

No one gets the ball on the forward flank for Melbourne tho. Not unless they’re the extra mid up at the stoppage or at the drop of the ball around a pack after a long bomb. He’s consistently wide open for the extra 2 kicks he need a quarter and ignored. There’s issues with Spargo’s game, his lack of burst means he’s often caught running in circles these days and often tries to do too much. And similarly even if he’s a really smart pressure player who gets to the right spots he doesn’t nail enough tackles. And it shouldn’t stop him getting a contract offer but needing to rehab a shoulder over summer is far from ideal.

Even with McLaughlin kicking a some goals I thought that was a strong Jed Adams quarter. Love to see him keep intercepting and attacking. Spargo injury the big downer.

I actually think Allen fits what they need to compliment Morris and Hipwood. But they’d want to have confidence they get his body right. Same for their interest in Draper

CHF Luka and then super smart rolling back and marking down back is cool but we’ve got the wind, put him in the square!

Pretty much, but I suspect Butters is no chance when he can choose between Hawks, Dogs, Cats next year. Bailey might not be too keen on Carlton either but 1.5 x 7 might turn his head.

Paddy Cross is a guy who should get a train on invite, he’s got class and could go up a level with an afl preseason

If Carlton haven’t squarely shut it down they’re considering it. But they’ll want to spin those picks in to a ready made player. The best semi available option is convincing Zac Bailey to join on a huge money deal. He’s a free agent next year (so pre agent now) and if Brisbane actually have a salary cap they won’t be able to pay him anywhere near top of the market. Likewise Brisbane will have to think long and hard about 2 firsts for Bailey when they’ve got so many mouths to feed

It’s not a big loss as our current pick 5 probably becomes 9, but we gave up 2nd and 3rds for no gain. It’s a big warning for trading future picks again next year for example. We couldn’t trade for McKenzie expecting to be giving up a 10-15 pick. With a new coach and a genuine rebuild we could easily be genuine bottom 4 in a less compromised draft.

Loving the delay between the ball moving and camera catching up. Innovation

Geelong pick their targets knowing they can exploit teams in trades, generally out of contract or guys clubs want out. The only reason the Pies could get Houston so cheaply was because they knew Gold Coast were desperate for John Noble and Port wanted Lukosius. Both those clubs also don't care about first round picks knowing they can get elite talent in other ways. We can't mess around with our first round picks, this year has been a perfect example of it coming back to bite us. I don't see any leverage with Hawthorn unless they want Tracc. Maybe we can package 2nd and 3rd rounders and get to something that makes Hawthorn interested, but I haven't seen enough from McKenzie to put a first on the table.

McKenzie has scope but seeing Kolt, Billings and Laurie bash around the Box Hill midfield makes me less impressed with any of them. 12 months ago Ward was nowhere and now looks very handy, and McKenzie has some polish, but we aren’t picking him off for a 2nd rounder and a first is way too risky.

I wouldn’t say he small, and I wouldn’t say he doesn’t hurt sides, super clean short sharp skills are still valuable. The lack of pace is a concern tho, so I see why the Suns have struggled to fit him in at times. Dimma loves pace from half back so Rioli and Noble are the choices there. He needs a defensive mid to go with Rowell and Anderson so has tried Alex Davies and Will Graham. Then Touk Miller is perfect for that accumulating mid/high half forward rotation. He can play on the wing but has a ceiling there with the lack of pace. We could do with a skilled accumulator to fit our future midfield of Langford, Lindsay, Windsor etc but at what cost? Out of contract for a second rounder sure. In contract with the Suns holding the cards, no thanks.

Our priority was winning games rather than playing kids which then drops the performance of the team and takes away the high performance mindset. But aside from that Adams wasn’t ready for a long block of games. He’s a good VFL performer but he can still lift and become a great VFL performer at which time he demands a run of games. He has the talent to do so and is starting to get the frame to do it too. Next step is concentration and the belief to own a game of footy in the VFL (or in training over preseason). Not much point having him smashed in AFL footy until he makes that mental leap.

Looking at the list of uncontracted players https://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/out_of_contract_players Heath, Derksen, maybe Mal Rosas. Have a crack at Windhager. Campbell Chesser surely worth a phone call. Can we bring Roan Steele back where he belongs? Ted Clohesy is someone I wanted last year, solid depth mid/high half forward. Bodie Ryan at the Hawks? Campbell Gray from Richmond. Jack Buller at Sydney for the jokes alone.

Where has anyone from the MFC talked him up? His vfl form is excellent, he’s stuck behind 2 elite key backs and a far better depth tall (Aleer) than the rest of the comp has. He’ll be basically free and should be at a minimum good depth. Can play multiple positions too. It’s not easy to find talls in their mid 20’s ready to go for a cheap price. He might be no good at all but there’s enough to suggest he can be useful.

I guess he could teach our older players how to go to new clubs for superannuation top up deals. That would actually help us a lot

Lewis is qualified for head of rug procurement and that’s about it.

All our senior players pulled one over our list management committee last August in to trade period. None more so than the captain and vice captain. Embarrassing stuff really

He’s a 3rd round pick at best. If they move him on it will be to free up cash and free up a best 22 spot for an Adams, Derksen or Petty back. It doesn’t make sense to have Lever, May, McDonald all on the list when you’re not contending, and even if we have dreams of being right back in contention those 3 can’t play together anyway. Something will change with our tall backs.

Billings Laurie Woewodin Brown Fullarton Adams Campbell Verrall Mentha Kentfield Sestan (assuming fitness) Question marks: AJ - surely should be eligible Tholstrup - possibly eligible? Spargo - seems unlikely to be eligible Inj: Jefferson, Henderson

Richo back to a job that suits him with more coaching, hands on footy stuff. Someone with a more analytical background as the actual GM of footy. Might not be the cleanest transition but seems sensible especially with non footy CEO. The biggest issue is it’s very hard to find quality people with footy admin experience given it’s really only turned in to a professional role in the last decade.

Melk makes sense, in good form and it’s not like we were about to land a gun key forward. T Mc to me means either Wade Derksen ain’t coming, Lever is going or May is going (or more than one of those options). No way we carry all those key backs plus Turner and Adams. Not upset he’s going again, but we need to be turning talls over somewhere.