P-man

Did you watch the Brownlow? If that’s any standard then two and a half hours will be cutting it fine.

These “off field issues” accusations seem like a crock to me. In his time at the club we’ve seen no public signs of any off field issues affecting his performance or training habits. Outside of injury he’s been a consistent performer. It seems to be a concerted effort to suggest where there’s smoke there’s fire. Literally. We all remember smoking-gate. People losing their collective minds over Hogan smoking a cigarette at a music festival. After his father had recently passed away. A Fremantle muppet on Bigfooty suggested there were links on social media to Hogan “twitching his face off”. The link he provided was the daily mail article which showed Hogan at that same music festival merely dancing and having a good time. It always seems to be mountain out of molehill stuff and it’s no surprise it is currently being driven by media voices in the West, along with flogs like Watson who can’t seem to get past his distaste for Melbourne.

Part of me wants him to go to Gold Coast at the final hour for a mountain of cash just to see the reaction from Freo fans.

The club is taking a purely needs based approach. If we can turn Hogan into May, KK (a former pick 5 let’s not forget) and some loose change, then given Jesse’s desire to leave I’d be content with that. The picks are just a means to an end. Alternatively I’d be fascinated to see what Jesse can produce next season were he to stay at the club. We’d get to see how much of professional he really is. Gibbs produced arguably his best football in his final year at a club he didn’t really want to be at.

Based on “likes”, which as we all know is the measure of a person’s worth, the comments on the Norf board getting the most likes are those that say it was a fair swap with Norf handing over the extra pick. There are a few lone voices claiming otherwise but the majority on there seem in favour. Supporters tend to revert to pom pom waving once a deal gets done. They can’t change it so they may as well go with it. On paper I don’t think it’s really up for debate which player is worth more on the open market. But Prussian met a pretty vital need so the deal got done.

I’m amused by it now more than anything else.

North board on BF saying they feel the new ruck rules will suit his style. He’s left there for greater opportunity so it will be interesting to see how he gets utilised. He obviously likes the plan we’ve put forward for him. Welcome aboard Prussian (love it) ?

lol how professional.

I saw a snippet of an interview with Bell where he said that keeping Neale would be a great feather in his cap as the new football manager. A feather in your cap? It’s not about you, wee man. Fremantle are the biggest clown show of the trade period so far.

It exceeded the crowd number on page 6.

From a football perspective, Fremantle would have to be one of the least atactive prospects right now. Neale was the only thing holding their midfield together this year. With him having one foot out the door and their arguably brightest talent in Cerra having a whiff of the same, where are they actually going? Their list is not in a healthy state. That would have to be weighing heavily on Hogan’s mind. The lure of home is all well and good but he’s still a footballer. An ultra competitive one at that.

I don’t think that’s the case anymore. I wouldn’t have described the Lever acquisition as reactive. Quite the opposite.

Goldstein turns 31 next year. How many more seasons are they expecting out of him? I like the look of Preuss but their willingness to part with him at this stage is...interesting. I’m hoping we see a pick upgrade in this deal.

Predominantly inside. Ranked fifth for clearances this season. He can snag a goal on occasion though.

Solid post and agree with most of that (I don’t agree that re-signing my man Jeffy was a mistake ) Mahoney confirmed on the club website that we are chasing those three areas you mentioned and rightly so. i like Preuss’s physicality in the little I’ve seen of him. I can see why the club would be into him. But it’s worth recognising that a straight swap for Tyson in the absence of a swap of picks is certainly unders from our end, whether or not it fits into the strategy. Preuss for me is a fourth round pick given he couldn’t manage a senior game last season. Tyson on output this season and the weight of his careeer is a late second. Vanders re-signing lessens the concerns around midfield depth, although Tyson leaving will test it that little bit more. The flipside is that there isn’t an abundance of ready to go ruckmen laying about, and if Preuss does turn out to be the goods then we have a ruck duo in place for the foreseeable future which is important to lock away. So I understand the need. I’m just acknowledging that we would be providing overs to get him.

We're getting the raw end if it's a straight swap for Preuss. Up to the wrist. Not quite the elbow. Somewhere along the way the rhetoric around Tyson changed to him becoming a no hoper. The reality is that as an inside mid he is a starter in the vast majority of teams.

Ballantyne was an extraordinary re-signing. They must be banking on him holding the one ring to rule them all. Cause he certainly can’t get a kick.

I don’t think he’s the devil incarnate. But I think there’s enough evidence to say he’s not worth the risk. But as I said like your openmindedness to the idea. My stance is certainly the more mainstream. His off field issues aside, I’m not convinced he can reproduce his best football.

I admire your openmindedness but the risk is just too high. Not simply in terms of the return we will get from him on the field, which alone is a risk, but let’s not underestimate the influence a player of his age could have on players five years his junior. It’s not a case of ruining an entire football club. It’s a case of being a contributor to standards dropping that 1% which can affect results, which can affect seasons. This is a bloke who after being given umpteen chances still finds himself involved in nightclub brawls and turning up to training late. The need for another classy outside player is great, but it’s not that great.

This. There have been some wasted talents over the years but this guy is right up there with the best/worst of them.

It’s almost a case of how do you even critique such stupidity? Talk about a tenuous link. “Melbourne wants two first round picks yet are willing to have cocoa pops for breakfast”.

He’s right with regards to the foot injury. That’s it. And the foot injury is said to be of no concern. The whole thing about negative body language comes from those who haven’t watched him play for 12 months. There was little sign of that last season. He’s maturing, like everyone does at different rates, Hogan had kicked 30 goals by the midpoint of the season, but this fool and others like him are talking about “body language” like it detracts from his trade value . He’s an idiot. Hogan is worth two first round picks. Minimum. If the club accepts anything less it will be daylight robbery.

Damn. I’m starting to get my hopes up that he will stay and sign an extension. Was hoping this wouldn’t happen.

I'm gonna lose my [censored] if we let him go for just pick 5. Meltdown warning.