Watts Jurrah Dunn?

Because, by even the most conservative estimates, we've offered him 4 years at $750k, which is an A Grade salary. Adelaide are quite rightly saying - you've made Lever one of the highest paid 22 year olds in the game - we've developed him beautifully - you're going to get 200 games out of him - your '17 and '18 first round picks aren't particularly special. 10 & 12 are hardly rolled gold top 5 picks.

I think it was Greg Denham the other day that said Freo are heavily into Menzel and he will be heading there.

Yeah, let's stick with the quality finals players we have that can't make it into the finals. Hall would be a really handy pick up IMO. Who is shovelling it out to him at Gold Coast? The only bloke there that can win it is Ablett and then he gets the Clearance as well. I think Hall would be a good fit to complement Oliver, Viney, Brayshaw and add some acceleration away from stoppages. If you said to me we get a pick 30 for Watts and then send that to GC, I'd do it. I'd prefer an inconsistent lightning fast, line-breaking midfielder to an inconsistent half forward.

He's that smart he doesn't let himself get caught in positions where has has to wrestle with a gorilla one-out. I watched him closely in the GWS first final. A GWS player has the ball at half back and is kicking long down the line to a contest on the wing. Lever has Rory Lobb, who he gives 3-4 inches away to. As the ball left the boot, Lever bumped into Lobb and put him off his line. Lobb didn't even make the drop of the ball. Later in the night, when Patton wanted the ball put on his head in the pocket, Lever stood 5 meters in front of Patton and just blocked his leading space. If the GWS player kicked it high onto Patton's head, Lever backed himself to get back in time and fly for the spoil. Wrestling is not his go. Playing smart is. Oscar and Frost are still crucial to play on the Daniher, Riewoldt, Brown types, with Lever taking a less dangerous forward and zoning off for the most part. And when it is Lever's turn to mind a Ben Brown, he'll certainly play it shrewdly.

Paul Connors spoke at an Old Xavs golf day yesterday and said Lever will be a Demon, and he will be the highest paid player at the club. He also specifically mentioned that it is a very interesting move as he manages Petracca who, next year, might be asking for similar money.

Yeah you're right. When players nominate clubs they always seem to get there for a bit less than market value, so I was holding out hope it might not be much more than pick 10. A 1st and 2nd Rounder for him now is a win for Melbourne. Another final or two like that and we'll be looking at two 1st Rounders.

It just became a 1st and 2nd rounder with no sweetener back from Adelaide.

Alright hero, watch the tape of every contest T McDonald was in last week. Plenty were against Hipwood. McStay and Close and all the others beat him too. If you reckon that's an acceptable match for a 24 year old, leadership group, established, key position defender, that holds the club to ransom with his 2 year "you'd better improve" contracts, you've got rocks in your head.

Got taught a football lesson last week by Hipwood. Insipid again today. If you're picking between two blokes with vafa-level disposal, you'd be better keeping the one that turns it over after plenty of run and carry (Frost). Cash in on McDonald who holds the club to ransom with his 2 year contracts.

Not only is he better, he's significantly younger. Lever will play next year as a 22 year old. Prestia was 24 this year, Henderson 27. So he should be good for 50 more games than Prestia, and 100 more than Henderson. Plus we're gonna hopefully have a pick around 12 or 14 - hardly a priced top 5 or 10 pick. I hope I'm wrong, but I can't see how you can offer a 22 yo $800k a year and not cough up a 1st and 2nd rounder.

Agreed. Lever's Manager meeting with the Dees would be one thing. Lever himself meeting with officials and players, in season, is enormous. He's gone.

Lever is a beauty but I'm not sure how he'd go one-out against Ben Brown, Joe Daniher etc? Are there any statistics on how much time he's actually spent on the number 1 forward? I was under the impression Talia is doing that job? The contested marking is infuriating. The Hawks did it so well the other night. It seems they are experienced enough to block/protect/not all get hands to the exact same ball and spoil one another and leave no one down. None of our talls are strong enough overhead. Gawn's a foot taller than most so of course he takes a couple. Watts and Hogan are useless overhead. I thought Hogan was supposed to be a contested marking beast?

If our first pick this year is pick 12-14 and next year is 14-16, I think we'll definitely have to give up two first rounders. We don't have prized top 5/10 picks anymore. Lever is 21. He's a KPP. He has 200 games ahead of him and we're supposedly offering to pay him A-Grade / Elite money. He was pick 14 purely because of his knee and missing the year as an 18 year old, and his value has gone through the roof since then, so he's worth much more than pick 12-14 this year in what is supposedly a weak draft. He might nominate us, but if he feels as though he owes Adelaide there's also a chance he asks for Adelaide to be well compensated. Brian Waldron gave that example on SEN yesterday with Aaron Hamill in discussing Josh Kelly's situation and North playing for pick 1.

5+ years at $800K+ = 2 first rounders

You'd like to think so. But the middle is probably this years first rounder and ANB, or this years first rounder and next years second rounder. I'm not sure you could offer him 5+ years at $800k a year but then tell the Crows he's not worth anymore than pick 12 in what is regarded as a weak draft.

Perhaps Tom McDonald would play the Blicavs big-bodied midfielder role or the hard running, strong marking winger role Riewoldt has played over the past few years. He's got the tank, and certainly his kicking isn't as much of a liability if they get him up the ground. Super impressive game from Lever last night. He just makes the right decisions every time, and executes perfectly almost every time. He's like a taller, 21 year old version of Hibberd. What a pity Trengove's foot didn't heal and we couldn't get that pick 12. Encouraging that Taylor rated him so damn highly.

Lots of talk about the money for Lever, but no consideration given to what you'd have to give in the trade. $850k a year means AT LEAST a 1st and 2nd round draft pick. It's probably more like first round picks in 2 consecutive drafts given this draft is apparently shallow. Lewis and Vince are almost done, Jones has to slow down soon, Brayshaw is a question mark. Those that want Lever at any cost must love watching ANB, Harmes, Bugg etc run around up the other end? I'd be recruiting midfield class to force the NQR's to "depth" status. Heck, for $150k more a year and similar draft picks you could go for Josh Kelly and get the type of player we really need.

Fans have to look beyond 20 possessions from a midfielder as a good game. We get 400 as a team, so everyone is a chance to get 20. I thought Lewis' undisciplined free kicks in the 3rd were atrocious leadership. We needed calm heads and the late high spoil for the 50m penalty, and the blatant push into Petrie, were just dumb. Thought he was just ok again.

Why are clubs so keen to lure Crow Jake Lever? If Lever does leave Adelaide and clubs are willing to pay him $800,000 a year on a long term deal, then it looks like it will take a similar trade to the Treloar deal. Possibly even more given KPD are harder to find than midfielders, and our picks over the next 2 years are not going to be as high as what the Pies' picks were. That deal was Treloar and a 2nd round pick for a 1st Round Pick in 2 drafts. What do people think about potentially giving pick 10-12 this year and pick 12-16 next year for Lever? Taylor's love for Lever and picks like Hannan at 46 make me think he'd be able to find a couple of pretty handy midfielders with these 1st round picks?

May is a good player, and if we were right on the cusp of a flag tilt he'd be worth paying the $700k and first rounder that it will take to pry a captain from a club. But we are not that close. Vince and Lewis are almost done. Who knows about Brayshaw's future. Use the first rounder on a quick, classy outside midfielder and offer Jack Leslie $250k a year for the next 3 years and give Gold Coast a pick 40.

He's a key position player and the captain of the club, so I don't think a combination of 2nd and 3rd round picks with NQR's like Kent, Watts etc. will get it done. Gold Coast would ask for our first pick (10ish) and a starting midfielder. They'd ask for Salem and hopefully you could get away with Tyson. I agree he's better than what we've got right now but are Frost and the McDonald's developing that poorly to give Pick 10 and Tyson for a 26 year old? I really like May as a player and he has some real mongrel, but with Vince and Lewis almost done, and our only Ruck/Forward (Pedersen) 30 as well, I'd have other priorities.

For those that missed it, Sam Maclure asked Garry later in the program "You've brought May up twice this morning in relation to Melbourne...what do you know?". Lyon said he knew nothing other than May was "very gettable". Personally, giving our first pick and $600k+ for May (who plays next year as a 26 year old) wouldn't be my first priority. I appreciate you can't have too many good players but we have absolutely glaring deficiencies with outside midfield pace, and a genuine 200cm forward/ruck. I'd be fixing those gaping holes first. Alex Rance wouldn't have done much on Brown yesterday with the way it was being walked in through the corridor.

You're right. Let's stick with tough insiders with terrible skills.

You're such a limited football observer if you think Tyson's issues are purely pre-season related. He can't run, his field kicking is terrible and he is nowhere near aggressive enough. GWS knew which one to let go. Tyson was great in year 1, when the opposition had no idea who he was, and he was only competing against Nathan Jones as that first-possession midfielder. The opposition now know he's a left footer and that he doesn't have a right side, meanwhile Oliver and Viney have now gone ahead of him and he has no other strings to his bow. With Lewis back this week, I hope Goodwin sends Tyson back to Casey. You can't play all our slow mids at Etihad against the lightning fast bombers. We will almost certainly have to trade one of them out at the end of the year.

Lewis has been given 3 years at big money. He probably has 1 year of good footy left, 1 of ok footy, and then 1 at Casey. Obviously, we had to do it, but missing him now in 3 close, winnable losses has almost made this acquisition a failure before it has even started. We recruited him for matches like these past 3 and now our season is slipping down the drain. I hope Goodwin isn't always as friendly as he is in his post match pressers and has told Jordan how much he owes this club. The honeymoon is over.