Dees2014

I think losing Dew might be a blessing in disguise. If it is true they have postponed the appointment of Roos successor for twelve months, then it would certainly ensure Roos has a third year, and maybe even PR gets the taste of coaching again and decides to commit for the long term. If we have some success next year (and the way we are positioning ourselves over this trade period I think that is increasingly likely), Roos might be so encouraged by this that he might once again see himself again as a 5-8 year coach. And that would have to be good for all of us.

Good post. I would trade Jamar and Spencer, and go after Longer. After all, we tatgetted Hannath last year and just missed out. I think also Roos has plans of using Fitzy and Clark as ruckmen particularly in the front half. Clark, I think I'm right in saying, played the majority of his football in the ruck for Brisbane, and is very competent at it. With Dawes, Hogan, Fitzy and Howe down forward this year, Clark's forward skills are not so much needed, although he was extraordinarily good at it in his first half year at the club. The thing I really like about Clark up forward is he is an elite kick for goal. Nevertheless, I think we will see big Max and Clark as our primary ruckmen this year. I expect max to be one of the standout improvers under Roos.

Yes, and you can see how acutely embarrassed Gerard Whateley is by his antics, particularly his bizaar habit of periodically wanting to give Gerard a hug.Robinson is a [censored] and a lightweight. He is simply unable to match either Caroline Wilson or Patrick Smith for intelligence and professionalism. It says as lot about the standards of journalism at the Herald-Sun that he is still employed, particularly when he missed most of the twists and turns in the biggest AFL story in a decade, the Essendon drug scandal. He has no business being employed at such a senior level by a major metropolitan newspaper.

Robinson is probably the most ignorant (yes I'm including Damien Barrett which is saying something) Afl journalist going around. He was constantly behind the Essendon story when Patrick Smith and Caroline Wilson were breaking stories on it almost everyday. When he did tackle it, his prejudice as a Dons fan shone through which made him look not only ignorant but dishonest. His stories on the Demons singularly lack intelligence and insight. He is not up to his job.

Let's try: Dunn Nicholson Jamar Bleese Tapscott Pederson What do we think?

Yes, I think we could do with another big bodied defender. I think when we play sides with two or three big attacking options eg where the Swans are now, I think we are better off having Garland as the fourth tall after Frawley, McDonald and yes Pederson. As good a player as Garland is, I think he can, like Rivers, struggle against big opposition. Pederson is also big enough to match up on the resting ruckmen as well. If Roos could get him to play to his potential he may become a handy player for us.Mind you, ALL teams will have the same problem matching up on us this year. There will be very few who have the cattle to go toe to toe with Clark, Hogan, Howe and Dawes, and throw in big Max and it will be a nightmare for opposition backs. It also goes to emphasize the importance of getting a classy crumbling forward. I'm sure they are looking, and probably have someone lined up in the draft ot the PSD. This all of course pre supposes we fix our mid field otherwise we won't get it down there often enough to score anyway. I think the signs so far are good and we will make real progress between now and December on that score.

I think there will be certainly over 10 players. Hird will be charged with serious offences and as a result won't be back. It will hang around EFC for years. Meantime we should have nothing to do with them.

That is the point. We hold the aces, it is up to them to play for them. Valuable negotiations never get done quickly. Look at last year. We had it nearly all wrapped up in the first week and look at the duds we got. It is a matter of who blinks first. We mustn't

I'm sure that Hird et al will try and tie it up in legalieese just as Armstrong tried to. It won't wash with ASADA (or WADA). Eventually they will face the music, but it could go on for a year or more if they don't come clean, which they show no signs of doing. Demetriou's style is to do deals, and I'm sure he would like to here. But neither ASADA nor WADA do deals. It must be driving him to destraction, so he is leaking stories about them (ASADA) " not knowing what they are doing", or worse still, " they have found nothing", which I must say a lot of people, particularly on here, seem to be swallowing. It will all come out in the end, and those found guilty will be severely punished with much higher penalties than if they had cooperated from the beginning, and with the AFL red-faced and very much poorer particularly when the writs from players start flying around after the infraction notices are issued. I'm predicting EFC will be in severe financial difficulty as a result of this.

Because they desperately want to get back into the draft, and while the clock gets closer to midnight they will become more and more desperate. We should just hold our fire and the cards will fall our way. I'm very impressed how well the guys are playing this. I expect nothing more from PR and PJ. We are in expert hands for a change....

If we trade jamar ( which I think we will), then they will keep Fitzy, and I hope for one, they do. Now he is over his injuries and illness, his potential is enormous, just the sort of player who would really thrive under Roos. See jolley......

Nothing is embarrassing in this game. It is the original "can't be shot for trying" game. It does make some sense in that Geelong need a big man to replace Hawkins who seems to be chronically injured, and the Pod. You would think they would move mountains to get Boyd, particularly if GWS experienced mid fielders are more their need and he actually goes at 2. This is just the sort of trade which may work for both parties. As I said, "you can't be shot for trying". Good on them for thinking laterally. Eventually they will become aligned.

There is nothing unusual about this. It took 3 years for USADA(the US equivalent) to land Armstrong. It takes time to gather foolproof evidence, particularly in the face of an uncooperative foe such as Armstrong and Essendon. This of course bit Armstrong in the bum in terms of his penalty, as it will do with Essendon. The only way they can have their minimum sentences reduced is to show full cooperation. They are the opposite of this, and with minimum standard penalties about to go from 2 to 4 years, and eventually for life, the longer they fight it, the more likely they are to get harsher penalties. We should not touch Essendon player with a barge pole. it is simply too risky.

Explain Buddy then. The Swans overbid them because they didn't want to pay over the top and they didn't want to put future negotiation out of whack. If you are right, neither of these thing would worry them. Indeed they would use them to their advantage and intimidate other clubs with it.

God I hope not. We would have just thrown away pick 2 if that were the case. No Essendon player is safe from enfraction notices, and if they get them they will be out for between 2 and 4 years. We will still be up for paying them (unless there is a specific clause in the contracts not to), but in any case, we will be down two players because we will not be able to replace them. Far, far too risky. Oh, and by the way those same players will likely take legal action against Essendon and the AFL. Do we REALLY want to be caught up in this?

So does Roos, so I'm pretty sure he will get the balance right.

Well let's see, given past practices there is more than enough evidence. There have been infraction notices issues on a lot less evidence than has come out at Essendon, let alone what was gathered by the ACCC which has never been made public and is available to ASADA and WADA, which is rumoured in legal circles to be very damning.

All speculation at this stage. Hopefully it means we are not involved. Wonder if, given Neil Craig's inside knowledge of the dees list, if he will make a play for any now that he is Don's assistant coach. I'd be surprised if he didn't. If you were him, who would you target? Fitz is the obvious one I bet. He will know how incredibly hard he trains, how quick he is for someone 6'6", and his history of illness (now over thank god). It is a classic inside trade. I really hope we don't fall for it!

WADA, and their local associates operate that way worldwide - it is a thorough and diligent process, and WADA has successfully appealed against local rulings by the local bodies more than a dozen times world-wide. It was set up that way to prevent local corruption. There is nowhere for the bombers to hide. My source is reading the extensive material now available and reading between the lines of the WADA/ASADA releases. I also have a friend who is a QC who has operated in this area in the past. He has no doubt the Bombers are in for heavy penalties from ASADA/WADA, and can't see how they can possibility escape penalties given what is already on the public record. He said from his legal sources, the view is that the infraction notices will be lodged before Xmas. Nothing is guaranteed, but based on past events and what is already on the public record it is very likely in my view. The bit about the litigation to follow is what usually happens in these cases, and there is rarely such a blatant example of negligence of a sporting body to its players as in the Essendon case, although clearly Essendon will fight that every step of the way.. You would be staggered if at least some did not take legal action, and if some do then most probably they all would do together. It is also a reason why the MFC should not deal with Essendon until this becomes a lot clearer. The last thing we should do is sign a contract with an ex Essendon player which will be binding on the MFC, for either picks or players (or both), and then have someone on our books who is suspended for between 2 & 4 years. We will not be able to replace them. It would be very very costly for us.

I quite agree. Both first round draft picks so clearly have considerable natural ability. With superior coaching, they will both improve considerably. We would be selling them now at the bottom of the market. I'd hold on to them and see what happens. Tapscott I think is a case in point. He was drafted because he was hard at the ball and an AMAZING huge kick for goal. And if you looked at his highlight reels as a draftee he certainly was. Have we seen any of it at the MFC? No! It has been our incompetent coaching which was the problem. Roos will fix this. Both these guys have a great upside. Let's take advantage of it, rather than trading them in for has has beens, or never will be's.

It might also be a negotiating ploy targeted at those clubs who think our demands are too high for the type of player who will allow us to hand over pick two, thinking we are rapidly running out of options, but they really want a crack at Boyd. You are right, we should be patient (and our guys seem to be playing this time a pretty sophisticated game so I'm sure they are on top of it). Pick 2 is extremely valuable for top 4 sides, and we will land something outstanding eventually I'm sure.

Me too.

I'm sure you are right that it is not an easy sell, although I would rather it was PR and PJ doing it than almost any other combination. The nice part about at this situation is that if nothing appropriate can be found we have sufficiently high draft picks in sufficient numbers to draft some very high quality players, particularly considering that this year's draft seems to be top heavy with high quality mids. It might also dictate that we draft Ollie Wines types rather than say an Aishe or a Toumpas type ie those who will be "ready to go" at the beginning of next year. You are also right that considerable improvement next year will be critical in our attracting high quality free agents in the foreseeable future. If we were to sneak into the 8 next year, it will demonstrate the new PR led regime was much more than promise and players could come to us confident that in the foreseeable future we will be challenging in late September. The next twelve months I have no doubt will determine our long term future, but as I have written elsewhere in this post, I am very confident we will get a 30-50% improvement out of our CURRENT playing group due to superior coaching (and our appallingly bad coaching in our recent past). That, together with this year's high draft picks, may be sufficient to get us in the eight next year. Let's hope so anyway.

This is a ridiculous post. Can I refer you to this previous point as to why I think it is?

Agree. The top 4 is probably unlikely, but I don't think the 8 is in two years. Maybe that sort of progress maybe enough. Mateship and closeness of the playing group I agree would be important.