Lucifers Hero

An ambitious opening ambit! They selected him @ pick #38 ie late 2nd round/low 3rd round, has played a handful of games in two years and has application issues. Hard to argue he is worth a pick better than around #40. If mfc agree to more than what Freo gave up for him we have rocks in our heads. He is no Hibberd or Melksham to go for a mid/late 20 pick.

Probably just a 'real' rumour ie its true that a club has inquired but doesn't eventuate. There are probably dozens of those made by each club every year - most inquiries go nowhere.

Mentioned as a hypothetical perhaps but where has MFC's interest been noted or reported?

The Age is reporting we are interested in Harley: "Melbourne are believed to have shown interest in Fremantle youngster Harley Balic, who is eyeing a move to a Victorian club after two seasons with the Dockers. The 20-year-old spent extended periods on leave from Fremantle this year as he dealt with personal issues. The Demons are remaining tight-lipped on the matter". Who knows how accurate that is! Demons are saying nothing (and I like that). I don't usually try and imagine trades but if the report is true might we trade Kent for him?

Something has gone terribly wrong with our salary cap management if we need to give up our only silky players to fit in Lever, given we have a $2m windfall (and having Lumumba off our books). Grain of salt needed - make that a kilo!

You misunderstand. I was giving you credit for being on the money.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/adelaide-tells-melbourne-it-wants-two-firstround-draft-picks-for-talented-defender-jake-lever/news-story/dbe7542425f46d6e0852f5b44c034fce From the article: "ADELAIDE ... want two first-round draft picks ...if he seeks a trade back to Victoria". "Some observers, however — and it is safe to say Melbourne will agree — argue that Lever isn’t worth two first-round choices". "Another option ...would be to give up two first round picks and receive a decent pick back, or to give up a first rounder and then swap picks". That is pretty much as @Judd's Granny describes. The article also says that Coll has dropped out of the race. If a trade doesn't involve a third club there is a fair chance it will be done early in the trade period which starts on October 9 (if he decides to come to us). I'm starting to get my hopes up!

If correct, its good to see mfc protecting our 2018 picks (said to be a very good draft vs 2017).

Hope that isn't correct! Especially as earlier this year Lewis was encouraging the young guys to stick together as a team even if it means forfeiting some money along the way. We have quite a few top end players to accommodate: Petracca, Oliver, Gawn, Viney, McD, Hogan who will all be looking for big $$ in the next two years. There will be clubs out there making big offers to those guys even if they don't have elite years. Will be hard to keep the team together if they are all looking for near $1m contracts! And our next tier (Tyson, Brayshaw, Hunt, ANB, Garlett etc) need to be looked after as well.

I didn't mean to say he 'only wants money' more that he may be 'bought' (ie attracted) by the best package - he has said: “It is not just about team success. And it is not just about money. It’s not just about your family. It is a combination of three or four things...“For me, when I make my decision, it is going to be about a whole range of things I need to think about.” So in addition to 'team success', 'money' and 'family' what are the other things. He is touted as a future Crows captain, so lets add 'club captain. He has a guest spot on Adelaide radio so perhaps 'public profile' can be added especially if future career ambitions are media related. And Premiership medal would certainly be on his list. If he wants finals he should stay with Adelaide. If he wants money any number of Vic clubs can give him that. A number of clubs can offer him captaincy (Carlton, Hawks, Pies, StK). Fewer clubs can offer him a public profile. I really hope we get him but I 'm trying not to get my hopes until the deal is done as he wouldn't be the first player in recent years (think Clarke, Tippett, Buddy) to do a list minute about face to a verbal deal, which at best is all mfc have right now.

With Pendlebury earnings potential near the end Collingwood would throw 'Marquis Player' type incentives into the deal. Lever has a spot on an Adelaide radio show - Eddie can offer him that and offer him TV spots as well. They would all be legit 3rd party deals. If young Jake still wants a public profile then that deal would be hard to beat. On a side note, last week I thought we might be outbid by another Vic club. Yesterday @Abe said the Crows were surprised at the $ we offered Lever. If he is coming to us for the big $ then Lever can be 'bought'. North, Coll, StK all have the potential to outbid us with $ to Lever and a trade package to Crows. We are better placed to progress than those clubs so there is every reason for him to chose us. But clearly there are other factors in his decision. I just hope we don't pay significant overs - we aren't a destination club if we have to do that. There is enough noise around to say that Lever is 'playing the trading game' so I'll wait for the announcement with him in a Dees jumper before believing he will be one of us.

Here is an interesting article estimating how much some key players might benefit from the CBA windfall on their contract renewal. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/show-me-the-money-afl-players-seeking-pay-days-in-2018-20170907-gycjyw.html Summary: TOM LYNCH - $1.3 million BEN BROWN - worth more than $700,000 CHRISTIAN PETRACCA - between $550,000 to $600,000 TOBY GREENE - up to $700,000 SAM DOCHERTY - more than $600,000 PATRICK CRIPPS - $600,000 a year is within reach MAX GAWN - over $700,000 MARCUS BONTEMPELLI - around $800,000 OTHERS TO WATCH: Rory Sloane, Marc Murphy, Cam Guthrie, Lachie Whitfield, Jamie Elliott, Phil Davis, Oscar McDonald, Luke McDonald That suggests a player needs to be a potential match winner/champion to earn over $600,00. It makes me wonder if we on DL sometimes overestimate a targeted player's package. Having said that I'm sure clubs would pay a lot more to lure them away. If we get Lever and if reports of $800,000+ are correct I would imagine Maxy would be rather put out! Lever would become our second highest paid player behind Hogan. Won't be easy keeping all our talent if rumours on Lever's package are correct and if we get him.

Good news! Any idea what the trade might be?

Its a worry that our coaches saw fit to change our fundamental game plan midseason! And supporters want to blame the players! Fundamental game plan change is for the preseason and not when we are in contention for the top half of the 8! The coaches have a lot to answer for in our failed season!

WOW...Melbourne has exited the race...? IF, IF true it could only mean the club has found a bigger fish or Lever's price/trade deal got too high. Will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Crows probably will but I think it is bit of a myth to say that they have to. They can play hard ball like GCS did with O'Meara, forcing Hawkes to sell their 2018 1st pick cheaply to the Saints. Crows have shown they won't just play the game in past deals; they fight for what they want and don't fold lightly. And, Jake may be seduced by the $$$ North might offer...It wouldn't be the first time a player has been diverted to another club: Clarke, Tippett and to a lesser extent Buddy. My initial point was a deal isn't done until its done.

Agreed. Can't see why a player would go there. But my concern is North interest/effort will push up the contract price and/or the Crow's trade request.

North have $2m+ to splash around. Watch them come and trump MFC offer. They are desperate to get an 'in-demand' player. They also have better picks to offer the Crows. Crows have shown they will play hard ball with trades in recent years. Lots of water to go under the bridge still.

Does he have mail? It sounds like he is making out he does to cover himself in case it happens: "...There’s people at Melbourne whispering to other people that they believe that Lever may have had a verbal commitment to join Melbourne,” Robinson said...That’s just speculation..." Doesn't sound convincing! Maybe he is listening to the same Melbourne people who thought we were in the finals...

The AFL are pumping up their tyres. (Gil chairs the Rising Star Selection Committee) Ess aslo have 5 current or ex players in the final 22 AA team, 3 of whom were suspended; one of whom (Daniher) is a dubious selection (in front of Ben Brown) and Zac Merrett in before Kennedy? Not saying they are all undeserved but their is a definite selection bias toward Ess from the AFL.

Much of the dialogue on this thread has 'saviour' written all over it and the salivating is a bit OTT! He plays his role very well but he isn't the major cog in the Crows defence. So I'm not sure he is a Key Position Player. He might be one day but not right now. Will he be the defender we need to play on Brown, Daniher, Moore, Hipwood etc? I am a little cautious in assuming he will be. TBH I am skeptical of the $850K being bandied around. That is the sort of money paid to a match winner and I don't see Lever being a match winner. Don't get me wrong. I am glad we are chasing him. But I hope we don't pay overs in $ to him or trade value to Crows.

That is not surprising since most of the team have had only a few preseasons. I think those guys are giving it their all but do need to conserve energy. Many of them should have been rested at some stage during the year. The best coaches have a game plan that suits the players they have. Then develop it in tandem as the players develop. That is what Roos did at Sydney - he didn't have stars; he had a tough team and had a defensive game plan to suit. It may not have been pretty but it worked. Clarkson did the same and is still doing it. He wanted a precise disposal team and gradually recruited that type and developed his high possession, pin point game plan accordingly. This year he lost a lot of his speed and accurate players, he modified his game plan accorndingly. Goodwin has a game plan that does not match the players he has right now. It doesn't match because most have poor disposal skills and because many have not had enough pre-seasons to sustain a crash, bash and run style. Goodwin's game plan may be the one that wins a premiership but he doesn't have a team to carry it out right now. He needs to recognise his plan is part of the problem. He needs to modify it to match the team he has now. Then develop it in tandem as the players develop. To do otherwise risks the players loosing belief in the game plan.

On the Marngarook footy show last night Jetta and Harmes were asked about how the dees were handling the pressure of getting to finals and if they get there playing in them. Jetta said the leaders were encouraging players to 'embrace the pressure'. That phrase has Jordan Lewis writ large over it. Lewis has gone up a gear over recent weeks but now his best work may well be off field getting our excitable lucifers into the right mind space!

They have the same manager so doing the contracts at the same time makes sense. Also, 2 years is the initial renewal term for a recent draftee. Hunt, Petracca, Brayshaw etc had 2 years on initial renewal. So Oscar got the standard 2 years. The club wanted Tom to sign a long-term contract as he was in hot demand. He declined. He signed for 2 years as it takes him to 8 years with the club ie he has Unrestricted Free Agent status. Tom had seen so many false dawns that even if blind freddy could see the direction we were going there was still serious doubt. I don't see any signs of a brotherly bloc. But I will leave it at that as I have no more facts to offer.

That seems to be the view on the Match Preview thread - we will soon know.