CBDees

I think that every Club looking at an Essendon player will have this covered. It is just a shame that the hearing cannot be concluded prior to trade week.

I am surprised that Fitzy was one of four delistings yesterday. Not sure that we couldn't have worked with a 200cm versatile KPP or at least retained him on the list for the upcoming trade period!

You are talking about semantics. Any game played other than on the MCG is an "away game". Beating Collingwood on the MCG is also an away game!

Why not for pick 5? With Prestia and Petracca both joining our midfield mix next year we will be competitive with anybody else in the competition!

That would make 5 players from Brighton Grammar (Kelly, Watts, Dawes, Salem and Hunt)! Maybe we might win a Premiership in the Old Boys?

Based on the above figures, I would prefer to retain Garland and Toumpas. I quite like Demon Andrew's proposal to trade Howe and our first two picks for Bennell and Dixon.

Don't write off the possibility of being influenced by your peers moreso than the elder statesman! From what I have seen of Petracca, he is infectious, has good values and a professional approach to his AFL career. I think that the influence of him, Hogan and Brayshaw will carry this Club further (in the right direction) than any other three players on our list, despite their relative youth and time in the system.

Not sure that Bennell would be beyond the ability of Roos, Goodwin and McCartney and mentors such as Cross and Petracca. I think that we should give it a go!

Send him a tape of the Dees vs. Cats match and then remind him that Salem, Hogan, Petracca, Trengrove, Vanders, Kent & JKH still have to come into the team!

One post and already you make sense! I think that the four players you suggest are better suggestions than the three de listings suggested in post # 506

I don't think anywhere near enough Demonlanders appreciate the improvement that Petracca will make to our midfield next year. Why trade away the best forward in the League ( plus our first draft pick) when we may already have the best midfielder already on our list?

He would have scored more if he wasn't forced to play up the ground for so much of the match. The shot for goal from the 50 metre line unfortunately tested him, especially when (after his overly-long run up) he din't have enough energy left to roost it.

RN I had to read your stats a second time to try to justify my hunch on Watts. What your stats show are that, despite Watts being 22nd and 26th respectively in both uncontested and contested possessions, he has managed to end up 3rd and 6th respectively in goal assists and goals. That is what I was alluding to in the value of Watts. He may get less of it than most yet he generally impacts positively on the result. If he got more of the ball, his impact on the goals would be greater still. There is upside in keeping him IMHO!p.s. It worries me the stat that the only two ahead of him in goal assists are Mitchie and Matt Jones, both of whom I rate as less value. Assess these stats carefully is my advice.

DD you are so blinkered against Watts that you wouldn't even acknowledge it if he got a hard ball. Watts is one of the most elite users of the ball when he gets posession and is responsible for more goal assists (and goals) than anybody else on our list. I always know that something positive is going to develop when Watts gets the ball in the same way that I do with Garlett and, before that, Jurrah.We have got enough players that can get the hard ball and it will improve even moreso when Petracca and Trengrove come on stream next year, joining Brayshaw, vandemBerg, Riley, Jones, Hogan etc. Watts was never recruited as an inside midfielder so let's appreciate him for his set of skills. His teammates are always supportive of him, a far cry from many Demonlanders who refuse to move on because we drafted him instead of Nic Nat. It is the same arguments that the same people throw up against Toumpas vs. Wines.

Of course they want Fitzy as they can see his potential strengths and want him in their team rather than against them. If you knew that there was a guy out there capable of restricting your $7Million prize full forward to one solitary handball in a game of football, surely you would want him in your side. It is a shame that more Demonlanders cannot see the immense potential of a 200cm player like this (who is also capable of kicking goals and assisting in the ruck)!

I see that you are planning to trade ten from our list who you feel Roos cannot turn into A-graders for eleven+ proven stars. Dee-luded indeed!

Loved that sledge when I read it over coffee this morning. I had only just logged on to post it but pleased to see that BBP had beaten me to the punch.

Looking at the marked improvement of a few players last weekend (against the Dogs), I think that we should shelve this post and revisit it at the end of the season!

Maybe because he was in our top five players (and most Clubs would do exactly the same on that basis)?

Clive Palmer?

Lawrence Money - journalist Bruce Armstrong -sculptor (the Big Bird at Docklands) (Both are passionate Melbourne supporters)

It is quite appropriate to make the Watts vs. Nic Nat comparison. Watts was 10th in the Demons' B&F in 2014, Nic Nat was a comparable 9th in the Eagles' B&F the same year. Judging on pre-season form, Watts will become more valuable to us this year if Roos settles him in a constant role, while I cannot see any similar exponential improvement occurring with Nic Natanui. Wait until Toumpas has been given a similar opportunity to find his role and develop on his performance in the preseason and the Doggies match!

P-Man I wish you every success with the continued popularity of the OW Lounge. What an exciting development and long overdue for many disgruntled Demonlanders. I hope that it quickly becomes a haven for all those amateur recruiters out there. Imagine that ill-informed people actually exist who could have believed that Whitfiel, O'Rourke, Plowman, Toumpas, Stringer or Macrae could have represented a better choice than this out-and-out little Champion, clearly the "Player of the Century"! I hope that you rapidly develop a massive membership, that they are all happy drowning themselves on the best whines that this great country produces and that they never wish to ever leave the sanctuary of the Lounge!

Have faith in what is happening around the Club! He will be still there!

Correction: These boys are just so happy to be playing together at the Demons