poita

Yep, the Strauss / Watts / Trengove choir boy prototype has worked a treat in recent times. It's lucky we didn't lower ourselves to the gutter drafting a Dustin Martin or someone of that ilk.

That's about where I'm at as well. How do Collingwood have any bargaining power in this deal? In fact, I'd be getting them to pay half Lumumba's wages for the first year while they're at it.

The kid can play, but there is no point hanging on to players the coach doesn't like and won't play. We'll get next to nothing for him, and then presumably watch him kick 5 goals against us next year for his new club.

You had me until you mentioned Fatboy Pickett. Lumumba will be to Roos what Pickett was to Daniher.

Dalhaus is a very good player and I would definitely trade down a few picks to get him. Especially if we sense that Brayshaw will still be around at pick 6. And yes, accepting pick 33 for Clark would be a disgrace, but still better than Varcoe or any other of Geelong's dud players.

A very sad day. Robbie was one of the greats of the club and the sport as a whole, and more importantly one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Best wishes to his friends and family. I was only 8 in 1987 but it was a massive thrill to see Robbie's finals dream come to fruitition and I named my Demon Ruckle after the great man. RIP.

The problem is that players leave better sides mainly for money, meaning that the lesser clubs have to pay overs to attract anyone half decent (hello Dawes & Clark). The minimum salary cap needs to be much less than 90%, because the remaining 10% is not nearly enough to cater for the 5-6 decent players that sides need to move up the ladder. Players leave lesser sides for success, and players such as Lake, Frawley, etc are likely to take pay cuts to play finals, so you can squeeze more top end talent on to these lists. And so the cycle continues forever and ever. If the qualification period for free agency reduces to 5 or 6 years, players could easily qualify twice in their careers. So in time you will probably see a bloke like Dawes (but one who is actually good) pick up his massive pay check at a crap team for the required period then move to a finals contender on a pittance for the last few years of his career.

Don't know much about Membrey, other than that he is too small to be a genuine key forward. The only way Reid's name should appear in the same sentence as pick 3 is if he is the steak knives thrown in with Tom Mitchell (or Hannebery or Parker for that matter).

I don't get this attitude that some people have that players should give undying loyalty to a club, just because the club drafted them X years ago, regardless of how the club has performed and how the club has treated them. The player's only obligation is to give all they have for the term of their contract. Once their contract expires they have the right to get the best outcome for themselves, just as any worker does, irrespective of whether they are working as a cleaner for $20 per hour or as a CEO for $10M per annum. As with Scully, I don't blame Frawley for taking an offer that nobody in their right mind would knock back. Clark, on the other hand, is a completely different story and I have no qualms wishing him the worst of luck for the remainder of his contract.

I don't understand the love for Roos and his list management approach around here. Cross did his job in 2014 but faded towards the end and will be gone by the end of 2015. Vince was good in 2014, but not great and I suspect we paid at the top end of his worth. Tyson was excellent, but the overall success of that deal depends on Salem becoming a decent player - at the moment it is pick 2 + 21 for Tyson + fringe player, so the jury is still out. Riley and Michie will be depth at best. The names of the players mentioned as possible trade targets this year fill me with absolute dread, Frost aside. Most are well past their best, or just plain average footballers. Other than the fanciful approach to Dangerfield, I can't see that any of our deals are going to help us fix our biggest problem, ie the midfield.

Other than Roos wanting to stack the backline and play an even more defensive style of football than we did last year, why on earth would we need another key defender? Especially one who is almost 30 years old. You couldn't play Merrett in the same forward line as Dawes & Hogan, and I can't see how you could play him in the same defence as McDonald, Dunn, Frost & Garland. We already have Pedersen and Georgiou as depth defenders, surely we don't need another. I wouldn't give up anything more than a 4th round pick and, even then, only if we weren't planning on using it anway. How about going after some midfielders Roos?

Fair question, exactly how many unaccountable defenders does a side need?

6 months ago Roos is playing the "woe is me, we've lost our best player" card to protect his reputation after our putrid start to the year. Now he is about to trade the same player for a Varcoe or a Hunt who would rate somewhere around 30th on Geelong's list. You can't have it both ways, champ. I'd rather get nothing for Clark than players who are going to spend more time at Casey than at senior level.

Not sure what your point is. Franklin was the best forward on the ground and his team got smashed. Roughead played well, but received plenty of support from players who weren't anything like first round picks (eg Breust). That game, like the vast majority of games, was won in the midfield. That is where we should be spending up big.

Young key defender on the way up vs half back flanker on the way down. Late draft pick vs pick 21. A couple of big differences there.

Except Cross didn't cost us anything. Lumumba is going to cost us pick 21. Massive difference. Poor comparison. Jones's disposals are generally contested. Lumumba's are generally uncontested. 4.6% higher effective disposal is pretty ordinary in that context.

I would much rather we spend pick 21 (or whatever it ends up being) on a player like Greenwood, than Lumumba. Greenwood is on the rise and is a genuine midfielder, whilst Lumumba's best football is four years behind him and flankers are a dime a dozen.

Saturday showed once again that games (and premierships for that matter) are won in the midfield and down the spine. Even the best half back flanker (and Lumumba is a long way from that) will rarely influence the result of a game, and certainly will not bring us any closer to being a decent side. Malceski was close to Sydney's best, and he had zero impact from his flank. We need to build a core group of the calibre of Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis, Burgoyne, Roughead, Gibson, etc. If that means throwing everything at guys like Dangerfield, that is fine by me. But, unless they are prepared to come through the PSD for nothing, wasting our time on players like Lumumba and Malceski is ensuring that we remain mediocre for the forseeable future.

I think Mitchell is probably more likely to leave after Saturday. He is on massive dollars to be a fringe player and, even if he does become a regular next year, he would only be replacing a similar type, not adding somtheing different to the mix. They have invested too much in Jetta and Rohan to let them go, but Rohan in particular is a very ordinary footballer. I would also not be suprised to see Reid on the trade table - the Swans will be keen to bring in a decent ruckman, so a trade with the Dogs might be of interest to them.

A major disappointment in 2014 after a bright finish to 2013. He was given a golden opportunity to cement a spot in the senior team this year and was found wanting. Must surely be on his last chance in 2015.

I wish we had worked on getting the basics right, ie high national draft selections, before we went chasing international rookies. Nothing against Maia Westrupp, but nailing our first pick in the 2012 national draft was a higher priority.

I hope they put an M rating on that part of the telecast, some kids would have nightmares for weeks after seeing those abominations saunter down the red carpet.

I can't believe people would put Jason Tutt in the same basket as Ben McGlynn. Hawthorn wanted to keep McGlynn but at the time couldn't match the dollars or opportunities offered by Sydney. Tutt can't get a game in a bottom 6 side. We need to turn over the list, but not just for the sake of seeming to be doing something.

If Roos could have his time again, I wonder whether he would still choose to publicly berate Terlich in the manner he did after round 3. I don't think Dean's form ever recovered from that point, which is a shame, as he showed in 2013 that he is a decent player. I'm glad he has a contract for 2015.

Well, given that Spencer and Gawn have taken 6 years to become passable AFL players, King should be paying his way by about 2020.