Diamond_Jim

Nail on the head. Free Agency probably adds 20% to the amount a club will pay for a player as no need for a trade.

Hard to see anyone around that we would not have to trade for. Big decisions to be made

I posted a few days back that the North offer is longer at seven years and is worth almost $2M more. The only way he would come to Melbourne is on the hope that he would be able to make up the difference on his next contract. Not much hope.

Last year he was almost continuously pushed under the ball and lacked leading skills. This year his ability to stand his ground has improved and he has added relief rucking to his repertoire. Definitely improvement but remember the VFL skill level has probably been on the decrease and most of the other back up AFL affiliated clubs are not necessarily full of KPD's. So yes... he's worth a go... Would he have been selected int he absence of injury to Hogan...probably no.

Agree ... he has not shown much more than Sam but the difference is he was payed all last year. Tom Mac playing forward has really made it difficult for Sam. Not sure how it will play out in the 2019/2020 timeframe. Perhaps his relief ruck work will help him but he has to have another few strings to his bow. PS: I see in the Trade Hogan thread mention is made of playing Sam at CHB. A possibility. The jury is still very much out on whether it has worked for Moore.

Interesting point and I probably agree. Out of interest what do you think Moore and McCartin would command on the trade market. Not much more than the Weid perhaps a second round.

Why am I suffering flashbacks to the Juice ? Mind you his form at VFL level was pretty stunning before he got his call up.

yep... of the three games we all knew Sydney was the easiest if there is such a thing.Not much mention on the board about how lucky we were that Buddy kicked 1:5. In a way it would be very Melbourne to beat WCE and then fall to GWS. The unfortunate reality is that while our VFL team kicks butt in their competition they have produced very little even by way of depth for the senior team. Not one inclusion has stayed the course. I thought we had found something in Tim Smith but that failed as well. PS: I rate Spargo as a worthwhile product but I am not sure he qualifies as coming from the VFL as he only played about 6 games at that level.

you must still have some optimism BB. Season officially ended I think last weekend. WCE and GWS much better than the Swans.

agree... time to see if Weideman has improved... A game in good conditions in Perth should suit him. After last weekend I have zero expectations for the remainder of the season so a few good games from Weideman may be a little fillip to take into the off season.

This season just keeps on giving.... Oh well Weideman has got two weeks to show if he has improved this year. Personally that just about does me for this year... time to pick a team to watch in the finals as usual

I suspect Hogan is on around 600k but is likely to go to 800k next contract renewal if his 2019 form justifies it. Lynch arguable 1.2M. Worth doing the sums but I would want Brayshaw and Freo's first rounder for Hogan. Might work.

I'm not saying trade Hogan because of any problem with his form. In fact I think he has the ability to deliver us a premiership playing at CHF. What I am saying is that we may have a chance of covering Hogan with Weideman, Mc Donald etc while adding significantly to our list through the draft or by trade. Cannot think of another player on our list that we could cover for who has decent trade value. Time to get smart as a football club. We have a decent list and the club would be wanting if the analysis was not done.

Make sure you sit at the Vardy end ? Enjoy ...

why.... we need to talk about how we win a premiership so all things should be able to be discussed.

so would I but no one is going to offer it unless you want to take it over three years. BTW I would want two first rounders in the first 8 before I would think about it.

worth a discussion if you think we can cover his goal scoring ability with Weideman and improved mid field kicking. So what do we get in his place. Two first round picks ... I like the idea but we all know it's a lottery. We also save a lot of money that allows us to go after Gaff. Assuming you go for a trade or an ontrade of the two picks who do you trade for. I'm neutral but I would be disappointed if the list committee wasn't doing the SWOT analysis. You have to look at where we have trade currency and Hogan is where it's at.

Hunt was a strange selection and Pederson is probably too slow to play down back at AFL level. It was our bad kicking that cost us the game but the questionable selections didn't help. We won the hitouts decisively but only broke even in clearances which also didn't help. A very disappointing day and almost the end of what has been a very underwhelming season. This was on paper the easiest of the three games so I hold out little hope for the next few weeks. Perhaps they will surprise us all.

fat lady gargling

I love symmetry.... 1:6 to 6:1 that quarter

my first post in the changes thread was that we needed to man up on Aliir... he is the big interceptor and the main distributor from their backline.. seems like no one listened

Woof Woof ... bye bye Roos

I come and go from Asia and have a local cable subscription over here. May have to succumb next year. and pay for a watchafl account as well. Would be good if they could up the quality of the transmission of the AFL on the Australia Channel as well. The EPL etc is crystal clear but the AFL is far from that. Do you happen to know what the quality of the watchafl product is like on a 70 inch screen

For the second week in a row the Australia channel in Asia has dudded me and no MFC on television today. They are taking that other big match between Freo and Carlton !!!

not the greatest.... but it was the best I could find ?