Watts Jurrah Dunn?

Dawes? Third rounder? Laughable. Carlton want as many picks inside 25 as possible. Bell is on his way to the Lions and they have said 'throw in Levi and we'll give you the compo pick we get for Luenberger (approx 22) for both of them'. To suggest Carlton would move a 25 year old genuine forward/ruck on for old iron gloves or pick 50+ is just laughable.

I was fascinated to hear that Bugg kept Travis Boak to 11 touches in 3 quarters this year before he was inexplicably moved off him at 3 quarter time. Have heard from a reliable source (and I'm sure the poster that earlier claimed to be a mate of Bugg's can confirm) that Bugg isn't interested in coming to a club to be a tagger or a back pocket though. He feels as though he has much more to offer than this, and often enjoyed playing NEAFL and having a license to hunt the ball and kick a goal like he did in his junior days. Melbourne has offered him 3 years with a vision that he'll be given much more than just shut down roles. It will be interesting to see how it pans out, but maybe they see him as being able to fill the Bernie Vince-type of role off a wing?

For Toumpas to make it at Port he will have to completely change his running and strength/power. At the moment he looks as though he runs up and down on the spot. We have never really seen any of his football skills because he is always under too much pressure and can't get any separation from opponents. He doesn't have any agility/evasive skills, he doesn't have a burst of speed, he doesn't have power to break or shrug a tackle, he has no vertical leap. He's a poor athlete in football terms. If Port can change that, then good luck to them. All it would prove to me is that Misson has no idea. If we can trade Toumpas for Melksham who has some strength, some toe, some mongrel, and can kick a goal, I'll be doing cartwheels, because unless you can completely rebuild Toumpas, he is absolutely no hope.

I really hope we're into Scott Selwood. Fully fit he's a genuine B+ midfielder that would cost us no draft picks as a Restricted Free Agent. There's talk of giving pick 25 for Melksham and paying him $400k a year when Selwood and Suckling as free agents would be much better targets IMO. I know Selwood wants to get to Geelong to play with Joel but again, make him an offer he can't refuse.

Plays 15 games a year with wooden hands. He's got 2 - 3 seasons left. We'd be lucky to get pick 50 wouldn't we? I'm all for improving the list but not sure the return for Dawes would make it worthwhile.

If a young Melbourne player played a game like that he'd be considered an absolute star on here.

How do you expect Melbourne get better if you want to hold onto players like Howe? He's 25 - he's not going to improve any further - and he has 1 trick. He's an ordinary shot for goal and a very poor field kick. He's also, like Watts, one of the players that have been there for years now that continually go missing when the game is on the line. Did Howe touch it against Hawthorn, West Coast, Freo? What about all those matches we've been out of the game by quarter time? Where's Howe been then? It appears Roos is going to get rid of Howe, Watts and Toumpas and replace them with goers like Melksham and Bugg. The grass might not be much greener but at least these blokes will have a go every week.

Very nothing article but any Freo offer would likely depend on whether GWS decides to let McCarthy go. The Dockers would need to hand over their 1st and 2nd rounders for him you'd think? Not sure what they'd offer for Howe? Perhaps future picks would come into it. You can on-trade future picks i take it?

So we should just stick with the same bunch of players that completely suck, rather than go for players that regularly get games in the best sides?

For what it's worth Greg Denham just said on SEN that Watts, Toumpas and Dawes are all on the trade table. Didn't mention Dunn.

Greg Denham just reported on SEN that the Bombers have asked for Melbourne's first pick & Howe for Melksham. Oh dear. You can only hope that with such a ridiculous request, the Dees and Dons don't get a deal done and he comes to Melbourne for nothing in the PSD.

Looks like the GWS 'cat amongst the pidgeons' offer on the final day of trade-week has had the desired effect and absolutely farked with Jeremy's head.

Over his career, you're right, there's nothing to be excited about. But clearly Goodwin thinks he's a midfielder with all of the traits that we need that has gone backwards over the last couple of years and needs a change of scenery. Worth considering Melksham's stats before the ASADA derailment, once he'd had a few years in the system. Averaged 20 disposals a game in 2013. Kicked 16 goals for the season too. If Goodwin brings the best out of him you've got someone in between Ben Newton and Dom Tyson there for output. As I say, over his career he's certainly no star. But he's played over 100 games in a better side than ours, and in a side that has, in my opinion, a finals-quality list but for the ASADA stuff.

I just want pace and skill: Harley Bennell Billy Hartung Josh Green Paul Seedsman Trent McKenzie Matt Suckling

I disagree mate. Yes, Melksham has been disappointing the last 2-3 years but most Bombers have as it's been a toxic environment. But he obviously had/has some real talent if he was a top 10 pick. He's 25, hard, competitive, and was good enough to have 26 possessions this year against Hawthorn. Melbourne barely had 26 possessions as a team that day against Hawthorn when they flogged us by 20 goals without Hodge and Lewis. I think there is plenty for Roos to work with. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't give much for him, but I can't understand why people are so opposed to a 25 year old midfielder with mongrel when we are so light on for a) midfielders, b) 22-26 year olds and c) mongrel.

Melksham won't have turned his back on a 2 year contract from Essendon unless he has an offer in front of him. We are very light on for midfielders so I wouldn't be surprised if we are the club that's trying to lure him. He's no star but a walk up start for us at the moment, and in a couple of years if Melksham and Ben Newton are your fringe midfielders it's a massive improvement on the days where Bail, Jones and McKenzie were starting 22 players. I don't mind him as a player and I think a lot dislike him because he's often in the opposition's face. I wouldn't mind Melksham along with Kent, vandenBerg, Viney and Hogan trying to really hurt their opponents.

I really hope we're doing our homework on Bennell and would love for us to take a punt on him if he isn't too much of a basket case, but I wouldn't let pick 6 even enter the conversation. Not even if we got Bennell and pick 19. Would be happy to discuss Howe / Watts / 2nd rounder / 3rd rounder or a combination of these, but no way on earth should we be risking pick 6 on a bloke who is quite possibly one big night away from a spell on the sidelines. The top 10 is where the cream is and we should be adding another elite youngster to Hogan, Brayshaw, Viney, Petracca, Salem, Gawn etc. If a Prestia or Treloar had've been available then fine, but pick 6 should not be on the table at all for Bennell IMO.

I think blaming injury alone is a bit naive. Clubs also figured Tyson out and have put more time into him after a great 2014. He is so one-sided. Has no right side at all. Clubs played on his left side and took that away and he was caught so many times trying to get back onto it. It was interesting talking to a player that left the club last year. Said Tyson played well beyond himself in 2014. "He's just not that good" were his words. I hope Tyson proves him wrong. I'd love a big pre-season focused on Tyson's running and becoming more comfortable with his right side.

40 wins in 8 years. Out of games by quarter time. This list is not working. Aside from probably Hogan, Brayshaw, Gawn, Petracca and Viney I'll be open to moving on any player.

The answer cannot be a resounding yes when you win 6 games in a season and lose to the likes of Carlton, Essendon, St Kilda (twice), as well as Essendon's top up side and the Western Bulldogs U/21 side in the pre-season. When you kick 1 goal in the first quarter over 3 weeks against the Bulldogs, Carlton & Fremantle, your recruiting can NEVER have been a resounding success. I like the thread as I'm not a sycophant. When you win 6 games in a season you should question everything. In my opinion Tyson and Salem might be ok but have been absolutely useless this year having missed about 20 games between them to hamstring injuries. So how good have those recruits been for us given what we gave for them? Right now I wish we'd never done the deal and had taken Bontempelli at 2 and Lewis Taylor at 23. Who knows what it will look like in 5 years but Tyson and Salem would certainly want to get over these persistent injuries because at this stage, based on 2015 output, they are far from recruiting masterstrokes. My opinion is that Taylor is up to it, but it's not a resounding yes. 2013 is looking just ok. In 2014 vandenBerg was an absolute masterstroke. Neal-Bullen is an ok blue collar midfielder but I like the look of a number of zippy half forward flanks that went shortly after him in Lonie (41), Dale (45), Daniel (46) and Gregson (47). I really like that Taylor rated Lewis Taylor as highly as he did, and I like that they rated Jake Lever really highly too. We have been keen on a couple of really likely types.

Garry Lyon said on Triple M recently he rates the Melbourne side as having 3 really good kicks by AFL standards. Salem and Kent weren't in the side at the time so he named Watts, Vince and N Jones. Spot on I thought.

Off your meds!!!!

Been in the system now a few years and has probably missed as many games as he's played. He's injury prone. He'll get over these injuries but there'll be others. GWS knew exactly which midfielder to let go.

And how well has the injury plagued GWS recruit worked for us this year? Dom Tyson hasn't had a kick thanks to knee and hamstring injuries.

Spot on. Lynch will be a different proposition when Jack Viney is kicking it at his feet and Dom Tyson is kicking it over his head. Sam Jacobs is one of the best tap to advantage rucks in the comp, and he's putting it down the throat of Dangerfield, Sloane and Thompson, and there's an AA in Smith off half back. It'll be a bit different with our midfield and the likes of McDonald, Jetta and Grimes providing the rebound off half back. Don't get me wrong, we need good players all over the ground so I'm not opposed to Lynch, but I think whatever we give for him would be better spent on a pacy, skilful midfielder or half back flanker. If there's none of them out there that will come to Melbourne, sure go for Lynch.