binman

5 minutes ago, Adam The God said:

Jack seems like a top bloke.

I heard he's not a particularly demonstrative leader, but he seems to just ooze class and respectability. And we have other blokes who are more demonstrative if needed.

But wowee, what have St Kilda done to their culture?

If I was a St Kilda player prior to this year, I'd be thinking WTF.

All feels like a Ross Lyon vanity play- I want my flag and I want it now!

8 hours ago, Dee Dee said:

This has something of a Daniel Cross feel to it. Good bloke, excellent trainer, good to have around our younger players.

Excellent comparison.

Another that comes to mind is James McDonald - a solid citizen who does the basics consistently well and works super hard. Like Steele, a leader.

There's an interesting parallel in the shameful, not to mention plain stupid, way we treated Junior

Heart and soul players, leaders that positively contribute to their club's culture, and both captains.

We essentially forced Junior to retire and the Saints basically forced Steele to leave.

Crazy stuff.

King is doing the complete opposite - instead of moving on leaders and culture builders he's getting rid of two senior players who, in recent seasons, have not been great for the culture and bringing in a senior player who will be.

Steele is a dual All-Australian and has won two best and fairest awards. He served as St Kilda co-captain in 2021, and as the sole captain from 2022 to 2025.

Exactly the sort of player we need as we look to rebuild our culture.

20 minutes ago, Fritta and Turner said:

CJ has played 76 games. Sometimes I wonder where have I been. Still, I dont like the Hawks.

Twenty of which were last year, in a season where the hawks made the prelim.

Given he essentially replaces mcvee the comparison between the two makes for interesting reading.

Jiath is on the left

5 hours ago, RedsoxMan said:

Bin man

What's your opinion on his ability to kick accurately?

Did we want another player who cannot kick well ?

I would be interested in your thoughts 😀

He's somewhere between hit and miss and a turnover merchant.

My thoughts are we only had to pay pick 42 and a future fourth-round selection for him, peanuts in the scheme of things (which by the by makes the pick 23 we got for mcvee look like a first class deal), and so, well worth the punt.

I don't love the fact he's not an elite kick but do love his leg speed and creativity and preparedness to take the game on.

On kicking skills, every team has its share of below average kicks, the key is not having too many.

We do have too many but funnily enough tracc and claz going helps on that front and hopefully we can turn the tracc picks into a couple of players with elite kicking skills.

I think XL is a really important piece of the puzzle - if he has an uninterrupted preseason he'll get a lot more of the ball next season. He is a beautiful kick, weights it well and has great vision.

Miochek is an excellent shot for goal and Steele is a decent kick.

Sineama looks to be a beautiful kick and i think Adams is likely to be best 22 next season and he's a good kick.

So it's not all doom and gloom on the kicking front.

9 hours ago, Ted Lasso said:

I was meaning Langdon

Yep, Langdon has got good wheels.

Langford not so much - Bisons are slow off the mark but once they get up to speed can go fast and hard.

The other player with decent wheels, one i think we really missed last year (which is strange to say given he's barely played an AFL footy) is AMW.

It has become super important in footy to have a lot of players who can sustain high speed running but as importantly have really good acceleration from a standing start.

Such speed is important on offence of course, but i think it's even more important on defence (all team defence and the back 7) as with al teams now playing a variation of the aggressive back half transition game getting back quickly in numbers when the ball is turned over has become super critical.

Without wanting to disparage Clazz and Tracc, one benefit of both leaving is that is two less players in our best 22 who are slow both from a standing start and at striding pace (though Steele, who i think is terrific addition and will be a lock in our best 22, offsets that a bit as he's not super quick).

6 hours ago, Ted Lasso said:

Rapt with this signing. our team suddenly has a lot of leg speed with CJ, Windsor, Langford, Chandler, Kozzie and others.

Langford?

3 hours ago, Axis of Bob said:

The CJ acquisition is interesting as it is one of the first real ‘King’ moves that might tell us a bit about what we’re trying to do. CJ is an agent of chaos that runs hard, creates space and thinks about what to do with it later. It’s the sort of early tenure trade a new coach can make because you absolutely know that he’s going to encourage the style of play that you want, even if he isn’t perfect.

I like the move because it can be so hard to break the habit of the old team, so having someone come out to create that sort of chaos with a coach’s license can be the sort of thing that makes it feel ok for established players to do something different. Given the conservative habits we’ve built over a long, successful period under Goodwin, it can be real hard to abandon those habits.

Whatever the case, King-ball looks like it is going to be a much looser and chaotic style than the Goodwin wall.

Top post.

Agree on what CJ brings. I'd add that he's pretty quick, and we're a slow team so that's a big plus.

The role he is most suited to is the attacking high half back role Windsor was playing for the first half of the season.

Windsir was worth a try because he's quick and can run and carry.

But he never looked natural down back, runs in straight lines and his kicking is a bit hit and miss (which is disappointing as when drafted I hoped we were getting an elite kick).

Jiath's kicking worries me, particularly in that role as turnovers are in bad spots.

And being compared to Frost in style is some sort of backhanded compliment

But King had said he wants players to play more on instinct and with a bit more freedom

As you suggest AoB CJ brings a bit of chaos, and is certainly less straight line and predictable than say Windsor.

So in terms of adding a player who can support King to implement his desired method CJ will be a good addition.

Over the last few years many posters have been screaming out for less structure and more dare and risk.

Looks like that's what we'll get.

Hopefully those same posters won't crack it when we see the inevitable spike in turnovers (which was already a massive issue under Goody).

10 hours ago, SFebes said:

Hawks supporter at work said - turns it over, no composure, headless chook. And that he’s happy he’s coming to Dees. I’ve never watched him closely but doesn’t sound good.

That's funny. I texted a mate who is a huge hawks fan and asked him his views on Jiath.

Perhaps you work with my mate as this was his reply:

different views on cj:

👍young,athletic, fast, outside run.

👎🏼runs in circles, makes poor decisions and can over use it.

my view: please take him

1 hour ago, dustydemon11 said:

Relax champion I was asking a question I wasn’t definitely saying Humphrey is happening

To be clear, it would have been perfectly fine if you were.

1 hour ago, Very Jaded said:

I wish GC didn't know how much we needed Trac out

We have no hope to call their bluff

G'day Suns recruitment team - a PSA.

The post above is what's called in the trading biz as a false flag.

Classic disinformation.

The dees are actually desperate to keep Christian.

2 minutes ago, pewpewpew said:

Hey @Demon Forever

3 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Hosts confirmed before speaking with Bailey's manager that Bailey won't be a part of a trade this year.

So, you're telling me there's a chance?

28 minutes ago, Mel Bourne said:

130 pages of nothing.

Must be some kind of Demonland record, no?

Hah - not even close!

21 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

I think the club would hope with the fresh start, new coach, new standards, more attacking play style etc that Trac would buy in and produce his best again.

Sure, if we keep him.

But that wasn't my point.

My question was what would it say if they are offered a poor deal and choose to take it rather than keeping tracc?

46 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

So we would be giving up, Petracca and McVee for one single pick at say 3 and maybe a second rounder back (going by GC wanting Trac and pick 24 or whatever we have)

Still far from a Tim Lamb quoted headturner.

For the sake of argument let's say that's a poor deal for tracc yet the club is willing to take it.

What does that say about what our new coach and Football Department thinks about tracc in terms of what he brings to the club in totality - ie on field performance and off field contribution (eg leadership, role modelling, culture building etc)?

8 hours ago, Adam The God said:

Problem is, Binners, 7 and 8 very likely become 11 and 12 after academy and F/Ss, so two mid first round picks for him essentially. And we may well therefore give up other picks to allow them to match academy picks.

Fair points

But we got XL at 11 and i think he will be prove to he one of the best in his draft year.

No reason to think we can't turn picks 11 and 12 into two guns.

8 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Yes. 7 and 8 is reasonable.

Why do we have to bend over backwards to satisfy Gold Coast when they’re the ones gaining a player that could help take them to a prelim or even GF next year?

I don’t care about GC’s academy picks. I only care about getting proper recompense for losing a super star.

I guess that's what I'm really saying - is tracc still a superstar?

Not on his 2025 form.

And it's worth noting that whilst it's reasonable to fact the his injury into an assessment of his 2025 season he did in fact have an uninterrupted preseason (not to mention his red bull fitness camp) so it's not like he wasn't pretty close to his optimal condition.

It's no sure thing he will ever again be a superstar that regularly wins game off his own boot.

9 hours ago, GS_1905 said:

Prove nothing? I think after what he has done in the past 2 seasons. He has a lot to prove. A LOT.

Nah.

Tracc was flying before Moore pole-axed him.

And all things considered he had a pretty good 2025 season.

1 hour ago, DeeSince73 said:

I just hate to think that the MFC are prepared to just take picks 7 & 8 for a player of Petracca's ability. Surely someone with modicum of common sense will see that we are getting shafted by GCS.

Do not accept this offer or be bullied into topping up their academy picks.

A lot is riding on the outcome of this and we must be seen as strong.

As I post every off season I don't mind skimming all the trade and draft speculation, and think it's great the thought many put into all the variables.

I particularly like reading Informed views about possible draft options

But personally I don't really care, particularly about the trading palaver. And I don't really have an informed view about value of trades etc

However I'm curious the consensus seems to be picks 7 and 8 is a bad deal.

I get that the context is its Humphrey or picks 7 or 8 and everyone is super keen on Humphrey so perhaps 7 and 8 seems bad in comparison.

But to be honest, assuming the Suns pay all of his salary, picks 7 and 8 for tracc ain't that bad.

Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe he is still a gun. But the reality is he is 30 next year, his kicking, which has never been elite, got worse last season and if I was brutally honest I'd say post injury he's still, 100% understandably, a little cautious in the heat of the battle.

Added together he's a ways off his AA best.

He may well get back to that level - and I sincerely hope he does whether that's at the dees or another club.

But as a punter I'd give no better than even money he will get back to his AA best.

In that context picks 7 and 8 is ok I reckon.

And if we take those picks to the draft (Ie as opposed to on trading for a player) that's pretty exciting.

21 minutes ago, pewpewpew said:

What happens when none of this pans out and none of these extra meetings, changes of management and medicals are spoken about.

Really - who cares?

I mean, other than you.

38 minutes ago, Axis of Bob said:

I'm a huge fan. Have been for a long time.

I wouldn't call him Petracca, because he moves in a different way, but I can see why some would do that. If I were to have a go at a comparison in style, it's much more de Goey. Petracca plays his power game more like a basketballer, whilst Humphrey uses his power more like a meat cleaver. He's not spinning around, he's just hitting the ball at speed, busting people out of the way, grabbing it first time and moving it on.

He's a pretty straightforward footballer, but in the best way. Less razzle dazzle and more 'big boy' football. The thing I like the most about him is his hands. He's so clean with players around him that he only needs one touch. It's just good, simple footy that does really difficult things pretty regularly in a way that doesn't look that difficult. Nightmare forward matchup with his ability overhead and one on one.

I'd do Petracca for Humphrey straight up in a heartbeat. The only thing stopping me adding a future first is the thought that we could be very early last year, but I certainly wouldn't rule the possibility out. He's one of my favourite players in the AFL.

Ta AoB

Kicking skills?

I'll confess to not watching a hell of a lot of suns games in the last few years.

Humphrey seems to be a player, but can someone who is a fan give me a summary of why we should trade him in.

26 minutes ago, ChaserJ said:

Sounds painful.

Don't knock it until you've tried it.

24 minutes ago, The Jackson FIX said:

Humphrey, Steele and Rogers

Sounds like a folk act from the 70s

More Laurel Canyon alt rock, alt country vibes for mine.

27 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

It doesn’t but you’re not getting the 6th best draftee you’re getting the 11th best draftee in a weak draft.

Not necessarily as your calculation assumes the draft is an accurate gauge of future relative performance.

I'd argue that's only true for the top 5 picks, and even then, there are plenty of top 5 picks that become decent AFL players but are well and truly shaded by players in the same draft who were picked later in the draft.

The handwringing about draft picks and purported salary offers does my head in.

5 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

I bet you already know this but I will humour you to highlight your point 🙂that it is a good deal in comparison.

Pick 28, that was used as 'steak knives' for the pick trade with Ess for their 2025 pick 9 which eventually netted Lindsay.

Yes, well perhaps not as clever a way to make my point as I hoped.

My point being i can't believe some posters think pick 23 is unders.

Nibbla has barely missed a game through injury, his last three seasons have been elite, is widely respected for his training standards and leadership, is an aerobic beast who plays a critical role and is a premiership player.

I thought pick 28 was unders for Nibbla, but nonetheless it gives us some sense of market value.

Mcvee has plenty of upside, is talented and has more footy left but he'll do very well to be the player nibbla has become.

So, if anything, pick 23 isovers for mcvee

But you touch on an important point luci., one I wasn't making.

Outside of say a top 10 or 15 pick the actual number is somewhat meaningless once filtered thru factors like how a club uses that pick (eg packaging it up, on trading it, using it on a player no other club is likely to take at that pick, points etc etc).

2 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Not sure what people are complaining about. A top of the 2nd round draft pick is not too shabby.

And if it is WCE ND23 it is the first pick in the 2nd round - a highly valued and in high demand at the start of the 2nd night of the draft. So I hope we hold it until then as traditionally clubs pay overs to draft any sliders from the first round.

Also, the trade people here wanted ND 12 for our pick 27 and McVee in points terms is approx ND 25. ND23 is a better result no matter how one looks at.

ps I'm still shattered at losing him🥹

Yep.

Remind me luci what draft pick did we get for nibbla?