Good Times Grimes

Not sure I follow... They had a tilt, they were unsuccessful, they continue to suck because of it.

They made the playoffs six years in a row and were always competitive. They brought in some very good players and looked fantastic on paper, but they never gelled as a team and injuries took their toll as well. It's a very similar situation to the Cats, except they never tasted ultimate success.

Yes, I absolutely agree that they will be competitive next year. I never stated otherwise. I think that they will be in trouble in the future when their experienced players retire and they don't have the young guns coming in to replace them. I probably just have a skewed view from having supported so many terrible teams for so long and having seen them go through prolonged pain after trading future picks.

The Leafs did do it at the right time, but it didn't pay off for them. They came close to making the final, but just missed out. Lots of retirements and no good young players coming through the system meant that the next decade was a disaster. Trading future picks is a very risky business and can lead to extended periods at the bottom.

List managers should study examples from other leagues where trading future picks is accepted. It has absolutely destroyed the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL). In the early 2000s, The Leafs did essentially what the Cats have done by loading up on stars and removing themselves from future drafts. The gamble didn't pay off as they never made it to a final and struggled for years. Not learning their lesson, they made a trade to acquire a star player (Phil Kessel) from Boston in 2009. This trade involved two future first round picks, and sure enough, the Leafs finished near the bottom despite having Kessel. Boston ended up having the second overall selection at the 2010 draft and the 9th overall selection in 2011, and landed two very, very good players. Toronto has qualified for the playoffs once since 2009, losing to, as you'd expect, Boston. They're now back down at the bottom of the standings with a terrible list, no end in site, and Kessel is now playing for Pittsburgh.

There is no doubt that they will be competitive next season with the additions that they've made, but I don't think that they'll be good enough to win a flag and their youngsters aren't good enough to cover their old players when they retire. I suspect that they'll be competitive for another few years, but trading away their draft picks will hurt them in the long run. Their fall will be spectacular; I can't wait for it to happen.

It's reported that the Tigers want to keep him and he wants to stay, so the issue must be contract terms.

It would effectively be the same as the three way deal. We'd end up losing Toumpas and gaining Melksham and retaining all our current picks.

Very happy about yesterday's results, with the exception of Houston/Kansas City. Houston seemingly had it in the bag but managed to cough up their 6-2 lead and now have to head to KC feeling deflated. I don't like their chances.

If Houston were able to knock off the Royals that would be a massive upset. I think today will be the Jays last game of the season...I have absolutely no confidence in Dickey, especially away from the controlled climate of the Rogers Centre.

I was about to post the same thing. Don't scare me like that, beelzebub.

But surely we hold all the bargaining chips here. Why don't we offer Essendon a lower pick? They can either take a third rounder or lose him for nothing.

He's not under contract, and nobody else seems to be interested in him. This just doesn't make much sense to me.

Why trade for him when we could just take him in the PSD?

Time to leave this thread after hours of my life have been wasted...

He wants to be a #1 ruckman, and we've got Gawn to play that role for us.

Sounds like his cards are remaining close to his chest.

Given that Bugg and Melksham sound like they're just about locked in and it looks like Howe and Toumpas will both leave, I think we will see at least four trades. Not convinced we'll land a big fish, but would be happy enough to see us enter the draft with a high pick. I'd also like to see us secure a decent forward that's ready to go in round one as a foil for Hogan. This trade period is absolutely huge for our goal of making finals in 2016. I'm both excited and nervous at the same time.

Before making those sorts of statements, remember that we're meant to be in the middle of the Watts-Cook era.

Question for whoever knows this sort of thing (looking at you, rpfc): If, in theory, we were to pay out the final year of Terlich and M. Jones's contracts to free up list space, does that money count towards our 2016 salary cap?

Mentioned in an article on afl.com.au that he's taken a development coaching role with GWS. Good luck to him.

I'm devastated, Macca. I was at the game yesterday and the whole crowd seemed to be in disbelief after the Rangers took the lead in the 14th. I think the Blue Jays have been overconfident and let being World Series favourites go to their heads. It would take a miracle for them to come back from this. I agree that the regular season needs to be shortened, and I quite like the idea of lengthening the first two rounds of the playoffs. I also think it wouldn't be a bad idea to let in 8 teams from each League and remove the wildcard playoff. Really hoping that the Cubs can win today to even their series. They're the only other team in the playoffs that I would like to see win.

JKH is a much better footballer than either of them. I can guarantee you that he will play out his MFC contract and will likely be signed to a new one when it expires.

I reckon he's a fair chance to be on a list in 2017, given that he's contracted until then.

Only Howe, Toumpas, Hunt, Michie and Harmes are left OOC. At this stage you'd have to think that Harmes is the only one that we're likely to see in red and blue again, but the fact that he is still unsigned makes me feel slightly uneasy. I really hope he's not delisted.