corowa

I think I'd be more interested in how he gets the ball and disposes of it!

You can also add the following players to your list of 'tacklers': Harmes, Jetta, Vandenberg, Oliver

Whilst I'm sorry to see such a talented young player leave MFC, Hogan going is a relief in some ways. We will not spend next season worrying about getting him to sign a new contract or that we will not get adequate compensation if he was to leave as a RFA at the end of 2019. It would seem that May wants to be with us. His dedication to his new club and his on field aggression can only motivate other players. He can also play as a key position forward, if required.

A lot of posts here suggest that we want to trade Hogan more than Fremantle want to recruit him. Nonsense! As such they pay OUR price or miss out. We shouldn't bend over to help them. They won't let Neale go to Brisbane for peanuts! The other point that intrigues me is that many posters believe that selling Hogan means getting May. Is this guaranteed? I would think not. Conceivably we could go into 2019 without Hogan and also without May. Imagine the furore if that happened. What's that old saying ............ 'A bird in the hand .....'

This whole scenario portrays the power of the media. They keep hounding until they get what they want - new Prime Minister - AFL coach losing contract, Hogan leaving MFC and on and on and bloody on! Keeping Hogan would not be the end of the world. Who says he'll just leave at the end of 2019? So might Oliver, or Gawn or Petracca.No one knows - yet the media hypothesize. Mud-rakers and morons like Sam Maclure. Replacing Hogan with May would strengthen our backline but would do nothing for the forwards. What if T Mac or Weideman sustains an injury? How would our forward line look then? And Hogan is 4 years younger than May! At least the backline will see the return of Lever during next season. At one stage this season commentators were speaking volumes of our 'twin towers' up forward - T Mac and Hogan - and what a huge advantage they gave us over most other teams. How has this changed of late? To win matches you have to kick lots of goals - we did this very well most weeks. Why change a successful formula?

My understanding is that Scully looked a terminally ill Jimmy Stynes in the eye and told him he would stay at Melbourne. I don't think that my loathing of Scully can be attributed to 'immaturity'. No matter how good a player he might be, I would hope that he never dons a Melbourne Guernsey again.

From what I've heard of Bennell's attitude, behaviour and social skills, he makes Bomber Thompson look like a choir boy. No thanks!

Yes, the way he rag-dolled Selwood and Dangerfield in the semi final was wonderful. Players as hard as he is are intimidating to opponents and motivational to team mates. Great news!

Only a season or two ago, Preuss kept Goldstein out of North's team, so he must have talent. He is certainly a better back up for Max than any of the options we had this year. However, having both Max and Preuss in the same team might unbalance it. I can't see him playing too many games with Max next season, so I would question his reason for wanting to join us.

What the media thinks Hogan is worth should be of no consequence to us. If Hogan wants to go to Fremantle we set a not negotiable price. If it's not met he stays with us. It will be interesting to see what Fremantle demand and get in return for Lachie Neale. It would seem that Geelong have taken a firm line with Kelly. I hate Geelong but I do admire their recruiting strategies and success with recruiting. We need to take a leaf out of their book. We must not be pushovers.

If the 'deal' for Hogan improves the team for 2019 make it. Otherwise keep him. 2 draft picks will most likely take 3 years or so to reach their potential - if they ever do! Draft picks only of use if traded for high quality players. Our 'time' is 2019 & 2020. We need quality players now.

It's not that many weeks ago that we were extolling the virtue of having a pair of big forwards the equal of the best in the league. We were the highest scoring team this season. I can't see the need to change this style of play. Losing one of the big two KPF will do nothing to maintain our high scores. Or am I missing something?

The success that a team has over a season is greatly influenced by the 'quality' of the 'bottom 6' players and the 'quality' of the next 3 or 4 who replace those who get injured. Our 'bottom 6' this season were 'good' players. Our next 4 were 'OK'. This might not be the case next season if we lose Hogan, VandenBerg, Tyson and Kent.

Or none! We need top players now, not in 4 years time when draft picks might or might not have come good.

OK, ProDee, I'll take your bait! My ranking of our players is based primarily on a geriatric 71 year old's assessment of our 2018 performances : 1. Gawn 2. Oliver 3. T McDonald 4. Lever 5. Viney 6. Jetta 7. Hogan 8. Harmes 9. Hibberd 10. Brayshaw 11. Salem 12. Petracca 13. Melksham 14. Vandenberg 15. Fritsch 16. Frost 17. Jones 18. Weideman 19. Lewis 20. Neil-Bullen 21. Jones 22. O McDonald 23. Hannan 24. J Smith 25. Spargo 26. Tyson 27. Garlett