bing181

From the Codesports article re Pickett: KOZZIE PICKETT Melbourne’s No.1 priority with Pickett should be to extend his contract, not allow him to leave. He is a generational talent who transforms Melbourne from drab to dangerous. His new manager Anthony Van Der Wielen will spend the next few months finding out what Pickett really wants. Safe to say the Dockers are relatively confident given the links to their club – Shai Bolton, Isaiah Dudley, Quinton Narkle, whose partner Taylah Cubillo is the sister of Pickett’s partner Ardu Cubillo. Van Der Wielen didn’t take him on to move him west like fellow clients Tim Kelly and Bolton, he did it because Kelly and Bolton were keen to have him on board. He wants to set up Pickett’s financial future past 2027, so is open to a contract extension wherever it comes. So Melbourne’s priority shouldn’t be to retain him to 2027, it should be offering him a long-term deal on well over $1 million past that date. If it costs $4 million to extend him from 2027 to 2030, then so be it. They are very open to that possibility but for now are thrilled he is playing dynamic football and is enjoying his time at the club. Securing two mid-ranked first-rounders for Pickett (and some steak-knives picks) will never get them fair compensation so the only play is to keep him or extend him.

Feel like we'd lose on that, Pickett changes the team in a way that Jackson never will/can. Not knocking Jackson either, would be fabulous to have him back.

Interesting (?) article by Jon Ralph on Code Sports. (paywall): Nine weeks in and Melbourne has steadied its ship tactically, shored up its coach’s position, and yet still isn’t anywhere near the AFL’s best sides. At 3-6, it isn’t time for despair though. It isn’t even time to give the season away – the Demons face Brisbane (away), Collingwood, Gold Coast and Adelaide in the next 11 weeks but also West Coast, North Melbourne, St Kilda (twice), Port Adelaide and Sydney. But the sample size we have seen so far is enough to show the course ahead. Like Essendon has in recent years, the Demons can lift their eyes to the horizon and set that course for 2027-2029 through smart list management moves that require bravery and an element of risk. ... Melbourne hasn’t given up on Luke Jackson returning but every time Sean Darcy’s knee fails him the Dockers’ resolve to retain their unicorn of a ruckman should harden. Jackson is contracted to 2029, has games-based clauses for even longer, will soon be paid over $1 million a year and the Dockers would be plain stupid to let him leave for any sum or trade package. So the task ahead is simple. Keep playing the kids, slowly begin to integrate the Brad Scott-style message about considering the medium-term future, keep working on those relationships. Then if a knock-your-socks off offer comes for Lever or Petracca or Pickett, the discussions can be had in a calm, sensible manner instead of the Demons losing in the kind of fire sale they would have had to accept last year. A premiership within the last five seasons gives the club and its coach some breathing space, as does a president (Brad Green) and a new CEO (Paul Guerra) who would like Goodwin to be part of the future. https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/melbourne/wreck-it-ralph-melbourne-have-steadied-the-ship-now-they-should-look-to-the-future/news-story/70c1e8adad488405b1a75d7f2e0f706d?amp&fbclid=IwY2xjawKOlhpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFEalV4eEhjeVBwZXFEbTVkAR5S1pL-Vad8J-UQiWS6iS4lTheh-3mZJTtNJQ6EpF0Fhz4AqrUz4j3kCalbfA_aem_h6wxlHzIvKAGKRyL2DOt1A

Hindsight much? There's a whole thread here on Chol and you don't even need to go back and read it to guess what the vibes were.

Hopefully they don't. It's a recipe for disaster - increased injuries for starters.

Ridiculous, straw man response. Your claim was that "the club hasn't recruited big forwards". Which is demonstrably false. What you (or I) may feel about these recruits has no bearing on the facts.

A lot less than what you think, as numerous senior coaches have confirmed along the way. e.g. Chris Scott made very clear earlier this year when challenged on the way his team has been shaped that as senior coach “I am just one vote (of four) in list-management meetings.” https://www.indaily.com.au/sport/football/2022/09/16/when-list-manager-is-the-afls-most-important-job

You're shifting the goal posts, the discussion was about key forwards. Of the above list, only 3 are. Cameron was traded before we won a flag, and if we'd drafted Membrey or even McStay, this site would have gone into freefall. You're also ignoring all the clubs who haven't drafted a key forward in that time. Which isn't surprising, because decent KPF's rarely come up for trade. Who for example would you have taken in 2024? Jack Darling? Membrey - who was delisted by St Kilda? Himmelberg - yet to even play a game for GCS? We DID trade in a decent KPF in Ben Brown. Who could still have been playing for us, he's not that old. Otherwise ...

Seriously? From Schache through Fullarton, JVR, Jefferson, Turner, more recently Kentfield and Johnson ... that's over the last 4 draft/trade period. Whether they've worked or not is a separate discussion, but it's not for want of trying. But there again, they were selected by the same recruitment team that got us the likes of Windsor, XL, Langford, McVee etc.

I believe the people you need to be referencing here are Tim Lamb and Jason Taylor, responsible for list management and recruitment respectively.

Re Sestan: he has been playing down back. Not sure who he would replace, the smaller backs have been doing OK. Unless it's to move Windsor further up the ground, but then who does he replace there, Lindsay, Langford and Langdon are also doing OK. Sestan might have to wait for an injury to open up a place.

Deleted.

Suspect that the recruiting team are already working overtime desperately trying to find us a key forward. Or a key back, so Turner/Petty can stay forward.

Partly all of the above, but you only get AA May when Lever is in the side.

Reasons.

Because we had no other recognised tall backs with Petty and Lever out? Just a thought.

Melksham, Viney, Petty in. You could make a case for half a dozen to be dropped, mainly from the forward line, but hard to see Jefferson staying. For the rest ...

Can't see us winning this. No Viney, Melksham, Petty (or Turner) or at the other end, Lever is just a step too far. In an ideal world JVR would still be back in the VFL getting his game (back) together. As for Jefferson ... hard to see. Olivier looking a bit lost out there, he only knows one way to play. Inaccuracy not helping. Missed some very easy shots.

Nothing but projection. Adams has never played an AFL game, instead of being a "solution" he could just as easily be out of his depth and put in a shocker.

Plus Jefferson. Petty or Turner up forward offer so much more.

Oh FFS. This is such a vacuous, superficial take.

Not sure about nothing, he was doing well as a sub which is why he's been given a chance. Which he isn't taking, at least for the moment.

Suspect that it's a little more than "resting". At his age he could be one of those players who is week to week in terms of getting up for each match.

Not sure where else to put this: "With as many as 18 Melbourne players currently out of contract, a trio of developing prospects — including two untried rookies — have made their way into the notebooks of rival recruiters as they build strong reserves form. Category B rookie Andy Moniz-Wakefield remains unsigned more than two months after suffering a cruel ACL rupture during match simulation earlier this year. ... Meanwhile, two of his uncapped teammates from the 2022 Rookie Draft — Oli Sestan and Will Verrall — are putting together strong VFL campaigns as they push for an AFL debut." Fox SportsYoung gun’s aspirations could spark surprise exit offers...Young gun’s aspirations could spark surprise exit offers as rivals track Demons trio: Trade Latest

They have Barrass out (good), but Amon back in (not good).