DeeSpencer

You have a source that you won’t name or you’re just speculating? JJ’’s all but gone so that’s irrelevant. Id be happy to move on Tommo but the key defenders available are limited, can see more over the last week why they’d keep him.

Something went wrong for Lynch, the Suns stank and were stripping it down and almost entirely starting again. I’m still shocked Jezza Cameron moved but it took a rare combination of Leon Cameron being terrible and Geelong literally selling the farm (to him). Free agency opens opportunities now as players don’t look as bad for sniffing around, but guys are signing 18 months out if they’re happy. I don’t blame our list managers for not getting a big name. I do blame them for not taking more risk/reward chances searching for someone who can do a job.

There’s wasn’t really a time in Larkey’s career when he was out of contract and wouldn’t have had 17 clubs on the phone to him. When we got Brown after 2020 North knew what they had in Larkey and were happy to ship Brown off, there wouldn’t have been a reasonable offer they’d have accepted. Same for this year, we’d surely have offered a boat load of cash and picks, Larkey trusts North’s vision and if they’re really getting more priority picks it’s hard to blame him. They’d have to fire Clarko and hire Neeld to stuff this up. Gun key forwards pretty much only move if something unexpected has gone wrong in their career or for personal reasons. Hogan, Daniher, Buddy and Barry Hall up to Sydney, not really all that many move.

There's danger signs. Game plan clearly is stale and they're having a hard time with the current players migrating from the 2021 plan to a new more expansive, skillful style that creates better scoring options. Plus the personnel: Our elite players are May, Gawn, Viney, Salem, Oliver, Lever, Petracca. 2 are very much in veteran territory now: Gawn is slowing down and we are unlikely to have a great back up. May, slow start to the year, epic finish 2 more might have to change roles: Viney had a great year but a year that ended with him butchering it. There's an argument he has to go forward now and be used in midfield bursts like Taylor Adams, we just can't have so many costly Jack turnovers. Tracc might have to be a forward/mid too if he continues his inconsistent defensive pressure. I'd still back him on his day to be the best player in the comp but he might not be a week to week superstar. 3 others: Oliver....where to start, where to finish. No comment Lever...maybe he just isn't that good? Great interceptor on his day but shaky at times and doesn't provide kicking skills or running the ball out skills to match the intercepts Salem - had a nightmare 2 years Do we have any other elite players on our list? Fritsch? Petty? JVR? Pickett? Rivers? Sparrow? Not sure. Now if everything goes well then we nail a new game plan in 2024. We do find out that possibly Petty and Rivers or others are genuinely elite. And we'll have added some real quality in the drafts. So there's hope. But we're much more in to the unknown now than we were these last 2 years IMO.

He looks the second best aerialist of the key forwards I’ve seen in this crop (behind Walter) but the reality is 191cm isn’t a good size. Really hard to make it as a tall forward that size these days, unless you have the ability to get it done on the lead and the ground like Fritter or really good defensive work ethic.

I’d be surprised if we don’t use a top 30 pick on a midfielder this year given we’ll likely take 3 or more picks in that range. But Im also not too worried by depth at the moment. If Gus needs time away then that changes things but we can wait until at least the trade period to know more about that. I can see a promotion of some of our maturing players to the level of playing 5-10+ games a year. Laurie - Dunstan Taj - JJ Howes - Harmes And then a fresh wave of kids coming in behind those guys to have a taste of afl footy if they are ready.

There’s another thread that has the list of names but it’s slim pickings. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some. If it’s Lynch it’s an early second, maybe a first if the Tigers pay a big chunk of his wage. If it’s Chol it’s probably a late second and the Suns pay his salary down to match his talent. If it’s Casboult then a good salary but no trade cost (free agent) If it’s Jacob Koschitzke then pick 60 and a 1 year deal with incentives. Id give a pair of 3rd rounders and 2 years on solid pay to Jack Buller (contracted). Id give a 3rd rounder and 2 years to Buku Khamis because he has swing man potential Lachie Gollant (contracted) - late second rounder, decent contract. Elliot Himmelberg - 4th rounder, 1-2 year deal

As long as it’s not silly money then I’d be fine with it. Maybe our initial offer was 330. Maybe the best he can get now is 360. I’d counter with 375 and if he stays for that then that’s fine by me. If the other teams offer 400 and get us a 2nd rounder then at least we haven’t lost him for nothing. Obviously all those numbers are made up but there’s a way to try to make sure we get compensated without blowing the bank. Teams with cap space will compete with each other and pay overs to preserve their draft hands. Apart from St Kilda, who might have to trade for him to preserve their Gresham compo. Heck if we really want to game the system and he picks Sydney then we could pay 200k pa of Grundy’s salary, have the Swans pay 200k pa extra for JJ and see if we can get an end of first rounder for him. That would be brilliant.

The reports say we want him to stay. So of course we offer him as much as we can afford to drive his price up. I’d even offer a fraction more than we’d ever want to offer just to inflate the market. The number of teams interested show how in demand free talent is. We have to be part of boosting that contract dollar and hopefully getting 2nd round compo.

Jefferson’s a 2025 prospect at best. Need someone, anyone to bridge the gap between the 2 main guys and Schache and the broken old fellas

3 centre bounce attendances. Hard to make an impact as a one paced mid playing in the half forward Death Valley

I’m not sure that’s true, we offer a fat contract that nets us a second rounder if anyone offers the same. If he was traded it would probably be for a 3rd. Teams will consistently pay overs for free agents because they don’t cost a pick. Classic examples include Adam Tomlinson, Mabior Chol and Rory Atkins

Pies and GWS who I’d have last because I’m not fully buying the Hogan resurgence - kicking still suspect, but in great marking form at the moment. Very much agree Mihocek is underrated, but JVR has all the same traits. Petty and JVR can both clunk marks and contribute on the ground, if they can play together consistently they’ll improve rapidly. Agree on what’s around the Pies guys but with Fritsch, Pickett, Tracc and soon to be McAdam we’ll have dangerous forwards. We need a playable second ruck, we need a depth tall back up. If we spend 2-3 first rounders on guys who make the ball move better up the field (be they mids, backs or half forwards) the tall forwards will have a lot easier time of it.

No, I like the look of him. Wouldn't be offering crazy money but far more than the Swans have got him on the books for and whilst I wouldn't straight swap him for Grundy I'd throw in a couple of 3rd rounders. We have to find a way to get someone!

I think he's been unlucky. The only unused sub is really unlucky. We should've had more foresight and got him on. To then play nearly a full season on the wing before getting injured and dropped for finals is unlucky. Carried a big load and wasn't rewarded. I had no issue with it, he tired at the end of the year and got injured. But unlucky. And then all those games he did play on a wing in '22 and as a rotational player in '21 took away from him developing his craft by playing as a full time mid in the VFL. Even this year he played 5 VFL matches, averaged 33 touches and a goal but spend most of his time in the senior side filling gaps. He hasn't been given a full run of VFL matches to really hone his inside game, yet alone take that form to AFL level. That's the reality of life in a good side and doing his job, but there's a lot of untapped potential in JJ if he can start winning his own ball at AFL level.

No.

Jack Buller was a Swans midseason draftee who kicked 22 goals in 8 VFL games. Big unit. Unfortunately he immediately extended his contract for a year before he made his debut. Swans really leveraged him. Rumour was he was going to play WAFL finals? Can we put a fat contract to him and try to force the Swans hand in the Grundy deal?

All aboard the Teakle Train

One things for sure, he knows where the points are

I'd have GWS 4th. Hogan beating up on bad Saints and Power* defenders is starting to overrate him. It's the strength of Petty and JVR together that will see them flourish IMO. Unless the deal was great I'm not that keen to pay for Tom Lynch's physical decline and injuries.

No idea where he's been but that's a first round pick, maybe even top 10. Sign me up.

Mihocek and McStay Hogan and Ricciardi Daniher and Hipwood Curnow and McKay I think they can easily be better than 2 out of 4 as soon as next year and not too far from the Brisbane and Carlton combinations that are amongst the best in the league. Unless we get one of the 5 or so genuine stars of the comp we need depth and particularly someone who can go in the ruck to take the load off JVR.

He’s an option but we need one more genuine tall in case Petty or JVR are both out.

We’d be in the prelim if we had Lord over T Mc the last two weeks. But I cant see Port giving him up with their current tall forward. Would be like us giving up JVR

Hawkins - won’t happen, can try. Riewoldt - not for me, he’s done. We need a fit, physical, agile role playing back up to JVR and Petty. Doesn’t have to be a world beater.