deelusions from afar

It's interesting as I don't think these guys will get a game while we have Trac, Clarrie, Viney, Harmes, Brayshaw in the same team. Love them all but can't see our fortunes changing much if this isn't shaken up a bit.

As others have noted, assuming all is fine with the medical, then Brown at this price is a steal! Will be interesting how our forwardline would look in 2021. I'd have fritsch playing further up in Melksham's role (who on form this year is no longer best 22). Fritsch would still kick a few but could be one of the important link men with the final kick inside 50. But if we are going to have Brown and Weid playing forward, then I think we will need another speedy pressure forward to help kozzie - can bedform / hunt play this role? Or is there someone else we can bring in.

Haven't seen a heap of Esava but when I have seen him he's looked impressive. Might have only been 8 possessions and 1 goal in that 2018 round 1 game but I remember thinking "who the hell is this guy, he's so dangerous!" every time he went near it in what was his first (?) game? Clearly (judging by the comments) he's had many games since where he has gone missing but at 22 surely there's a bit to work with? Would love to get Brown as it takes the pressure off Weid but obviously there's a big salary, the trade and question marks over his potential injury issues. Ironically I actually think a (physically and mentally) fit Hogan / TMac is actually what we need most - i.e. players that have running capacity to be a target up the ground as a CHF and run back to the 50 as Weid looks to be more of a traditional FF who will lead at the ball out of the goal square and crash packs. If we get Brown then both he and Weid seem more stay at home forwards so maybe Jackson would have to provide a lead up target to get the ball out of defence.

That doggies mate obviously knew something. Hope we can hold on to him

I agree - but if he can't get the mobility and confidence back then he is no use to us. If he is being shopped around, it might be an indication that the club don't think he can get it back.

I think we would get him very cheap (do we really want him?). This is what pie fans think of him on bf (it's brutal!): Dastardly form this evening. Needs some time in the twos. Needs to go back to the twos at Oakleigh Chargers!!! How bad is he playing? It’s amazing in his ability to hit new lows just when you think it’s impossible Do the Cats still want him? I'll take a meatpie and a fridge magnet at this stage... Take the rest of the year off to get over your Hammy mate. We need you back next year fit and firing ( after being traded ) This guy has fallen off a steeper cliff then Jaidyn. He's not worth anything, so unsure what we do with him - considering his contract ends at 2021. Might need to see how he goes next year with longer quarters, and more space to roam on the MCG. Reminds me of Jordan Russell. One good season. Then putrid performances from there on. Yea this season is not conducive to Phillips strengths. Smaller grounds, shorter quarters so less opportunity for him to use his endurance to find the footy and more pressure on his disposal which highlights his weaknesses in pace/agility/pinpoint disposal. https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/tom-phillips.1122615/page-36

A Doggies mate of mine said they were going to take Hannan back from us. Anyone else heard similar? While he's not always been in our best 22, he seems to play well in big games when we play well. Would hope he stays but I guess if we're looking to bring in a key forward our forwardline line up has to change.

Assuming Brown leaves the Roos, doesn't this ultimately come down to whichever club he nominates? So the media each few days name the suitor that's "in pole position" to get some more clicks (us, Bombers, Pies etc) but it's all irrelevant until Brown decides who he prefers?

Wouldn't mind Fritsch moving to the wing if this happens - I thought when he played there a few seasons back he actually did pretty well. On the otherhand, he's normally a good kick and had enough shots on goal to justify playing as a forward

Love Neita! But he did not have a great kicking action and other than a few brief periods (96-96, 02?) he was not a reliable kick for goal.

Hope you're right... but there's a reasonable chance his body is cooked. Do we know he has plenty of interest out there? He's done very little since 2018.

Isn't he rated pretty highly (likely inside the top 20) - i.e. will go well before what is our current pick? That would mean the only way to get him would be to trade the likes of Viney or Brayshaw - surely we wouldn't do that for a kid

Yeah I find TMac and the forward situation interesting. If he can get some agility and running capacity back he would have trade value but would be worth keeping - his general fitness will be handy if the game lengths go back to normal. If he can't recover his agilty, he's not worth keeping and wouldn't have much trade currency. Looks like next year will be his last chance (with us or anyone else). This year there appears to be a lot of big name key forwards that may be gettable. Maybe some are NQR but often a new club is what they need - Danither, Brown, Cameron etc are all big names that have been in the top group of players at the peak of their powers. Not against us going after one. But at the same time, I feel like most of the key forwards are FF and i think this is weid's best position. What is the Weid's ceiling if we get everything else right? I think our issue is really the CHF connection (arguably about the midfielders more than forwards). So ironically maybe a fit (and agile) TMac (and doubly ironically a Hogan) would be better for our team than one of the aforementioned key forwards if it means we can chase some run and class through the middle instead of landing one of the big (but NQR) fish. But if we don't land a key forward this trade period, we are clearly going all in on Weid, Tmac (our) Brown and Petty which doesn't fill me with confidence after the last 2 years.

From the article "Jack Silvagni deal up in the air as two Demons set to be traded" Edmund also reports the Giants are likely to part ways with at least one of their first three picks from the 2018 Draft, Jy Caldwell, Jackson Hately and Xavier O’Halloran. “These are the first three picks of the 2018 National Draft (for GWS),” Edmund reported. “The Giants are digging in letting Caldwell go to St Kilda and they love O’Halloran too because he’s got a bit of a versatility. “I think Jackson Hately is the one that falls out here, Adelaide prioritised him some time ago. “He hasn’t pulled the trigger on a move yet, but I’d say that’s a fair chance of happening in the near future.” https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/jack-silvagni-deal-up-in-the-air-as-two-demons-set-to-be-traded-c-1359718?fbclid=IwAR0eNlhwOiqaX1csQobnA-7vv8sksegAGdwG8Lz-uy7X2U7x1nhxSadMsBw Surely we'd be in to one of these? Potentially part of a Preuss deal?

That might be true - but at the same time it's an area that is a glaring weakness. We've got a very talented list that is probably 4 players away from a premiership threat (winger, key forward, fast / skillful outside mid, small forward). Smith fills one of these rolls. Potentially by filling the wing position an outside mid is not needed... but would still love to get one is there is one on offer. Still a lot to playout - but a good chance that Tmac, Pruess, ANB and one of Brayshaw / Harmes will not be at the club next year - so a good chance of trading in a player or two that gets us pretty close.

I find the TMac situation interesting. On the one hand, if he really is cooked (due to injuries etc) then surely he next to no value as anyone we trade him with is going to do their own medical assessments and come to that conclusion themselves. On the other hand, if he is not cooked, then given the shorter games this year and the fact that endurance has previously been his weapon, maybe there's more upside going forward. He's not suited to the backline - decision making / kicking makes him a liability but I've been a fan of him forward since he was moved there. But the last two years he has looked more and more like mechano man ben holland in terms of agility. Can he recover? Or is he done?

Pretty sure we'll be busy. We have a good team on paper with some obvious flaws / holes (running winger/hbf with good delivery skills, key forward). We have surplus talent with trade currency in areas that other teams need eg inside mids (viney, brayshaw, harmes), ruck (preuss) and a forward (tmac). While I don't want to see any of these players traded, you have to give quality to get quality and we are currently a few players short. E.g Preuss would be great as insurance but if gawn is injured, we have other options (none of them perfect) but since we are predictable with gawn at the centre bounces, maybe having a ruck s less important than we think. Or to put it another way, if we can find a kpf or skilled outside runner that is in our best 22, then this is better than keeping preuss who is at best our 23rd player.

Wouldn't it be about getting extra draft picks and freeing up some salary cap space? Whoever is the best forward in the game at the moment would have been useless at North this year

If we do keep him then I think it's an indication that the club think he is capable of reaching close to his best. He was coming from a long way back this year, but if his output in future is likely to be similar to this year then there'd be no reason to keep him.

While I really like the idea of getting Saad to the club - especially for a second round pick, I wonder whether that is his real value or just the demonland board value. For example, he's probably in essendon's top 3 performers this year. Would we have thought our third best player last year (Jack Viney) would be worth a second round pick? If one of Viney / Brayshaw / Harmes (inside mids that are behind Oliver and Petracca) want to seek opportunities elsewhere at the end of the season, would we be expecting a second round pick for them. Maybe that's generous for Harmes right now as he is out of the team.... but he was 4th in our BnF last year and one of our best in 2018. If Salem wanted out would we expect to get a pick in the 20s for him? I might be wrong, but I think Saad has more currency than any of these players - or is that just me?

I don't watch a lot of the pies but my sense was that he would get a lot of his goals from using his pace to get clear on the lead and being a reliable set shot. Rather than someone that gets goals from crumbing and pressure acts? Is that fair? If so, I don't think that's what we want - if we can't deliver properly to our current forwards then he's not going to make a big difference. If we could, I'd go after pace and skill in centre square and wings.

Can we clone Langdon's football brain (and maybe endurance) and give it to Jayden? Could be a weapon on the wing

Would hate to see him leave but could live with it if was part of the deal to get papley in - i don't think that's likely though!

Agree but if everyone was fit I feel like they would like to give Hore or Petty a go in this role. Also think the Smith experiment is not over - this year is hard for players to learn structures / improve when they're not in the senior team. Another defender would be great.. but i think that pace and skills in the midfield are a far greater need.

I think Goody is coaching us to play a different style - a bit more keepings off, switch of play and less manic pressure. Maybe this plan B or maybe it's just about conserving our players energy - especially when there are short breaks. When we now have a bunch of good users in the back half (May, Hibberd, Salem and Rivers), it makes sense for them to chip it around until we get an opening.