List Mgmt. 2023 AFLW trade and draft

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I'm surprised Bridie Kennedy survived.

Don't speak too soon! I wouldn't be surprised if there are more delistings yet. Given that we have to reduce our list size by 3 and we're no doubt planning to acquire some players by trade AND draft I figure we will have to delist more.

What I am tempted to infer is that we haven't yet won the commitment of any players to transfer here (or we are not confident that we'll be able to strike a deal for them at the trade table).

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One moral to the story: avoid injury!
 
Yeah, I think we’re almost guaranteed to release more. Elsewhere on BF (can’t quite remember where) I found a clarification of our draft obligations. It states that were required to have at least TWO (not three) spots open when the draft takes place. I infer from this that Cooper is in addition to our draftee intake.

So that requires us to clear at least seven players from the list before thinking about who we might trade in.

B. Kennedy? Szigeti? Woodward?
 
Yeah, I think we’re almost guaranteed to release more. Elsewhere on BF (can’t quite remember where) I found a clarification of our draft obligations. It states that were required to have at least TWO (not three) spots open when the draft takes place. I infer from this that Cooper is in addition to our draftee intake.

So that requires us to clear at least seven players from the list before thinking about who we might trade in.

B. Kennedy? Szigeti? Woodward?
Woodward played a lot of games didn't she?
 

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Woodward played a lot of games didn't she?
So did Ryan Clarke.

Not saying she'll go, but given her age (and therefore relatively low scope for improvement) she must be in the mix.

We still need plenty of improvement across the board, but two areas where I think our needs are most apparent are:

- height, especially in the forward line. Probably in the backline too, but I see Mitchell improving (she's still young and inexperienced) plus Tarrant and Heads mark better than their height suggests.

- better kicking skills out of the backline. Yes, better kicking right across the ground, but we found a way to make it work going forward, including the use of chaos ball. But, against the better teams (and some of the lesser teams), clearing the ball out of our backline was a big challenge. Tarrant's kicking got better as the year went on. Heads' remained a bit iffy but she at least took off with ball under arm and gained territory that way. McEvoy's was reasonably sound. Mitchell's I don't have any clear recollection of. But Woodward stands out in my memory as someone whose kicking rarely got the ball going to our advantage.
 
Just a reminder of the concessions given to us last year. We were given 3 extra list spots for this year and still keep an extra two spots for next season so only drop the one list spot in total. So with 30 on our list, we currently have our required 2 open spots before heading to the draft. Would imagine if we were to sign anyone from this point someone would retire (Woodward) or we would delist someone to open a spot.

Sydney Swans
  • Will be granted three additional list spots for Season Eight, reducing to two for Season Nine.
  • Will be permitted to sign up to five players during the PSP.
  • Will be permitted to offer a ‘Secondary Relocation Reimbursement/Payment’ to players signed during the PSP.
  • The ability to offer a longer-term contract with an additional two seasons more than allowed in the Season Eight list rules for two players.
  • Permitted to offer a longer-term contract with an additional one season more than allowed in Season Eight list rules for three players.
 
Updated list Draft combine invitees
 

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Well, trade period is under way. So far the only thing reported is that we might be interested in Vaomua Laloifi who has been delisted by Carlton FC. She's an experienced but still young defender, drafted in 2019 at pick 52. The Bulldogs are reportedly also interested in acquiring her: Wild West: Eagles, Dockers set for Trade Period signing spree.

I can't believe that's the only thing we'll do. Surely we need more and I think we're an attractive enough destination to succeed in acquiring more if we want to.

Will we go back to the Irish well given the success we've had so far??

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Not long until the 18 December draft.

I note the Swans Academy players Kendra Blattman and Serina Baukes have not nominated nationally so I wonder if that means they are confident of being drafted (whether by us or GWS)? Gabby Eaton is another Academy player who is a netball convert but she has nominated nationally which may mean she is not so confident of being picked.

Assuming we hold our first pick, I reckon we should go for one of these players if they are available:

Georgia Clark (TAS)
Jessica Rentsch (Vic Country)
Meg Robertson (Vic Country)
Ella Slocombe (WA)
Kaitlyn Srhoj (WA)

Georgia Clark really fits a need because she's a strong, marking forward (with a club-favourite December birthday ;) ).
Rentsch looks a really good, versatile prospect - she'd be a fabulous get. Doubt she'll last to our pick.
Robertson is a super-solid inside midfielder. She may be the last drafted of those I have listed.
Ella Slocombe is another Claremont special and probably my favourite option. She's fast (for those who care about such things)! But I think one of the WA clubs will snap her up before we get a chance. She's the best WA player in the draft.
Srhoj must have a Slavic (Croatian?) background with a name like that. She's also from WA and is a taller mid who is very strong overhead.

Some other options I favour are: Cleo Buttifant, Evie Long, Kiera Whiley.

Anyway, people who know much better than me will be selecting and I will wait with bated breath for to welcome our new players to the club in 11 sleeps!
 
With Reynolds de-listed, we will need a back up ruck to Morphett. Lexi and Smith are more KP options who can give a chop out.
 
The W show is not that illuminating in terms of trade and draft. It features a newbie previewing 3 top draft prospects (none of whom you would expect will be available to us) and then Riley Beveridge concisely recaps what he wrote in his article about mooted trades (nothing Sydney related except our interest in Mua Laloifi).
 
According to this article AFLW Draft Order: Your club's picks as they stand we have 4 picks in the upcoming draft: 15, 34, 55, 73. Our first selection is pushed back by two earlier compensation picks (one of them given to Collingwood for losing Molloy).

I would like to hear the club speak about our draft plans. Who even are our recruiters? As far as I know the AFL recruiters don't double up for AFLW (although surely - surely! - they must be sought out for a little bit of feedback/tips??). Maybe one of our stats analysis guys helps them out (Chris Keane?).
 
Well, I haven't heard anything more about Vaomua Laloifi so far, but instead we have brought in the promising young KPD prospect, Kiara Hillier. In return we have given up one of our draft picks. It's our last pick (pick 73) so the main significance is that we will draft one fewer player (having filled the place with Hillier). An extra KPP (albeit on the shorter side (173 cm) - still much shorter than Mon Ham (179 cm)) is an important addition to our list. I hope if we get another KPP in the door we can get someone taller and I don't think Laloifi is.

What I infer from this trade is that we are building for the future and not the now. I don't think we're aiming for a flag in 2024. And I'm content with that - if we can return to finals and consolidate our gains this year with a tougher fixture that will be a strong outcome. What I'd like to see is us closing the gap with top 4 teams (and ideally finishing top 4) so that we can hope for a flag in the following seasons. It looks like we're going to grow primarily organically and we'll save the 'topping up' for later.
 
There are a fair few rucks on that listed of delisted players. A mature bodied back up ruck wouldn’t go astray on our list. Given we seem unlikely to snare a gun tall forward, having some ruck back up would enable Lamilton and Smith to focus on becoming more effective tall forward targets.
Good call. Sadly Kate didn't cut it. Perhaps we can snag someone a bit more athletic.
 
I'd hold our first pick or even trade up, our main objective should be getting the BEST AVAILABLE key position FWD. We have got the defender from Brisbane, I'm not worried about the midfield we matched the real top sides in there this year. It was the KPP's we were found wanting all season.
 
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