Young Blood

I'm sure most clubs would prioritise a Walter trade if it was realistic. Unfortunately, its a fantasy. Not even a Petracca and first round picks would get a deal done. There is no way GC will part ways with their no.3 pick at 20 years old primed to be one of the best key forwards in the comp. I agree with you I can see him being Kennedy+ as a champion forward. He's a GC boy/academy player that they have developed with a huge ceiling, there is just no chance they would part ways with him now. Plus he's grown up in QLD where his family is. I doubt a move down to Melbourne would be a priority for him either. He'll slot next to King in the forwardline next year and star.

Turner? 👋

Seems clear that the key backs will likely be Turner, T-Mac, Patty, Lever with depth from Adams, Howes and Derksen. See what we can get for a 34 May who has been on the slow decline. Kudos to Turner for stepping up, hopefully Adams can really push for a spot next year. Still feels weird letting go someone whose been in our top 5 most important players up until last year. Will miss his aggression and although controversial at times, his leadership has been huge.

lol so you're examples of failed coaches are ones that inherited lists in full rebuild mode. None of those coaches joined teams that were only a few years beyond a GF and two prelims and have the type of list we have. Actually, maybe you're onto something by setting the bar that low.

Recommend gif's if you know how to 😉

lol the close mate thing always makes me laugh. Also saw another article that because his 'close mate' Nasiah signed on, Windhager is more likely to sign on with Saints as well now.

Makes sense to me why he'd want to play for Collingwood. The club he grew up barracking for, excellent coach, fresh start with a successful club and leave behind the basket case of his current team. Unfortunately the modern day players don't hold the same bias' we as supporters do or perhaps past players did. Anyway we can both be glad that he won't be getting to Collingwood this off season. It wll be hard enough potentially watching him dominate games in another guernsey, let alone for Collingwood against us on a Kings Birthday... Small wins.

Whats wrong with Cherry-picking if its a decent comparison for something we could aim for? If things were to turn around next season (sorry to be so positive). But if they did then it would be very similar in terms of timeline/playing group along with coaching changes resulting in success as Collingwood have done in recent times. From our 2021 to 2026 the path back to success could look very similar. 2018 - Buckleys Pies lose the GF by 5 points 2019 - Pies lose a Prelim Final 2020 - Pies get knocked out in a Semi Final 2021 - Pies miss out on finals 2022 - Under new coach McCrae in his first season Pies make a Prelim and lose by a goal 2023 - Pies win the flag with 9 players who also played in the 2018 GF Now I understand that in that time between 2019-2021 Collingwood picked up both Daicos' and other excellent recruits along with some luck with injuries. BUT why can't we look at this as some hope that with 14-15 2021 GF players, a new coach/playing style along with some list changes that we might be able to get back into finals. I prefer this to pulling out all the failed new coaches with new clubs to bring our spirits down. I'll stick with Collingwood and GC as good recent examples of new coach = better team, because why not?

Thanks I was going to bring this up. While I can concede the obvious that kicking is one of Trac's (very few) flaws. I think we can get shortsighted by this. If we lose Trac we lose a heck of a lot of scoring opportunities based off those stats you mentioned above. At his best he is simply elite for creating scoring opportunities. This guy has dominated the league for years and prior to the injury last year I thought he was well on his way to a brownlow (or at least top 3 finish) as evident in his form and the votes he received prior to the injury. There's many players who are average kicks that can change a game (Danger/DeGoey come to mind) based purely on power/ability to break lines and create for others. We have one of those and whatever we get back in a trade isn't going to replace that.

I agree. His best asset is getting ahead of the ball as a marking target or intercept marker so this rule if it were to come in next season will work in his favour. Max's ruck contest win % and hitouts to advantage has been diminishing the last few years and but I feel he's adapted more to the modern game with his work rate, contested marking and hard ball gets/contested possessions I wish there were split stats for both ball up and throw in ruck contests as I would be interested to see if different rucks excel more at throw ins compared to ball ups. Its my fear too that the last touch (regardless of possesion) may come in to play at some stage. I do think thats a fair way off and Max will be retired by then. But if we go to last touch it will bring in further video review for confirmation especially if they bring it inside the forward 50. I watch a lot of NBA and the review system for things like last touch out of bounds have ruined the game somewhat. Can you imagine a packed house at the G and we're stopping every 5 mins for an out of bounds touch video review? Lord.

I agree Melksham had an outstanding year and probably won us or at least kept us in quite a few games. But prior to this year he's only played 44 games in four seasons and hasn't played over 20 games since 2018. So at 34 years old and with a recent history of injuries I think we need to temper our expectations of Melk. The fact he got through 19 games this year is pleasing. But we definitely need to add to our forwardline depth and I think getting someone of Mihocek's experience to play alongside him or if Jake is injured/rested in that similar role is a smart move.

What makes you so sure King has mates?

I take your point that the teams left don't have multiple gun key forwards (besides Geelong maybe). But they do all have a forward whose kicked over 40+ Geelong - Cameron (85) Neale (42) Hawthorn - Gunston (70) Brisbane - Morris (51) Collingwood - Elliot (56) Not a KPF but plays like one So without a trade the questions become: Can Fritta get back to his best kicking 40+? Can JVR bounce back to get back on his post-2024 trajectory? Can Melksham stay healthy at 34? Does Kozzy go up another level and push 50+ goals? Does the Petty experiment continue until our aging backs can't play at the level? The answer to me lies in how we move the ball to these forwards and the how/where they kick their goals from. If we can transition the ball more efficiently and effectively the forwardline we have could work. Its more about the transition and how we set up/move through the middle of the ground for me. I am so sick of seeing our forwards lining up for set shots from severe angles or deep in pockets because we weren't able to get the ball to them quick enough meaning the only remaining space they had were the deep pockets or wide 50m arc where the defense is happy to concede if they have to.

I like the Hawkins idea but unfortunately, his interests post football lie elsewhere. Tom's now working for/with an agricultural company (started this year) and has his own hobby farm near Geelong. So I can't see him coming back to a full-time coaching role anytime soon. He's got his little foxtel commentary gig on Saturdays as well. Maybe we could get him in as a goal-kicking consultant at least perhaps.

Yeah thats how I'm reading this as well. Last year was things were obviously driven more by emotion and less considered. This year it sounds like Trac and his camp are much more considered and giving the club more options to explore a trade that would work for him but have better value for the club. If the trade value isn't good enough for the club then he simply stays on and tries out a new coach with hopefully a refreshed, invigorated playing group. I actually think we're in a pretty good spot. We're in a far better position than the poor Doggies last year. What a total disgrace that was.