List Mgmt. 2023 GWS Giants List Management - Academy, Free Agent, Trade, Draft

[Giant Strides]

Trade Period, October 6–18

• Restricted & Unrestricted Free Agency Period: Friday, October 6, 9am – Friday October 13, 5pm (bid matching ends Monday October 16, 5pm)
• Trade Period (1), picks & players: Monday, October 9, 9am – Wednesday October 18, 7.30pm

Quiet Period, October 19–November 20

• Trade Period (2), picks only: Monday, October 23, 9am – Friday November 10, 5pm
• List Lodgement 1*: Tuesday, October 31, 2pm
• Delisted Free Agency Period (1): Wednesday, November 1, 9am – Wednesday November 8, 5pm
• Delisted Free Agency Period (2): Friday, November 10, 9am–5pm
• List Lodgement 2*: Tuesday, November 14, 2pm

Here's the list of GWS players who are out of contract in 2023 (I'll progressively cross them out as they re-sign):

• Lachie ASH
• Callan WARD (Free Agent)
• Brayden PREUSS
• Tom GREEN
• Finn CALLAGHAN
• Lachlan KEEFFE (Free Agent)
• Jake RICCARDI
• Harry HIMMELBERG (Free Agent)
• Cam FLEETON - delisted (25/9/23)
• Matt FLYNN (Free Agent) - signed by West Coast as an Unrestricted Free Agent
• Xavier O'HALLORAN
• Jack BUCKLEY
• Callum BROWN

Rookie lists:

• Phil DAVIS (Free Agent) - retiring at end of 2023 season
• Jacob WEHR (Free agent)
• Dan LLOYD (Free Agent) - retiring at end of 2023 season
• Cooper HAMILTON
• Wade DERKSEN
• Nick MADDEN (Cat B) - assumed re-signed due to 2 sources of info
• Jason GILBEE (Cat B) - delisted (25/9/23)

Current list sizes (for when we get to list/draft/trade speculation):

• main list = 36 minus 3 (Fleeton, Flynn + Kennedy delisted with a view to be re-selected in the rookie draft)
• rookie A = 6 minus 2 (Davis, Lloyd)
• rookie B = 2 minus 1 (Gilbee)
• total = 44 minus 5

This is the future pick spreadsheet that comes into play only at trade time, as future picks are used in end of season (2023) trading:


Here's the 2023 AFL Academy Squad, so these (roughly) represent the best players for next year as they stand now:

2023 NAB AFL ACADEMY​

NAME	SURNAME	STATE	STATE LEAGUE CLUB	COMMUNITY CLUB
Lachlan	Cabor	NSW/ACT	Sydney Swans Academy	Shellharbour
Nate	Caddy	VIC M	Northern Knights	Yarrambat
Jack	Callinan	TAS	Tasmania Devils	Clarence
Caiden	Cleary	NSW/ACT	Sydney Swans Academy	Sydney University
Daniel	Curtin	WA	Claremont	West Coast
Jack	Delean	SA	South Adelaide	Reynella
Zane	Duursma	VIC C	Gippsland Power	Foster
Mitchell	Edwards	WA	Peel Thunder	South Mandurah
William	Green	VIC M	Northern Knights	Northcote
Riley	Hardeman	WA	Swan Districts	Caversham
William	Lorenz	VIC M	Oakleigh Chargers	Boroondara Hawks
Kane	McAuliffe	SA	North Adelaide	Central Augusta
Colby	McKercher	TAS	Tasmania Devils	Launceston
Ashton	Moir	SA	Glenelg	Plympton
Connor	O'Sullivan	NSW/ACT	Murray Bushrangers	Albury
William	Patton	SA	West Adelaide	Mitcham
Nathan	Philactides	VIC M	Oakleigh Chargers	Blackburn
Ethan	Read	QLD	Gold Coast Suns Academy	Palm Beach Currumbin
Archer	Reid	VIC C	Gippsland Power	Inverloch-Kongwak
Harley	Reid	VIC C	Bendigo Pioneers	Tongala
Archie	Roberts	VIC M	Sandringham Dragons	Hampton Rovers
Jake	Rogers	QLD	Gold Coast Suns Academy	Broadbeach
Ryley	Sanders	TAS	Sandringham Dragons	North Launceston
Cooper	Simpson	VIC C	Dandenong Stingrays	Mount Martha
George	Stevens	VIC C	GWV Rebels	South Warrnambool
Koltyn	Tholstrup	WA	Subiaco	Newtown-Condingup
Orlando	Turner	NT	West Adelaide	South Alice Springs
Jed	Walter	QLD	Gold Coast Suns Academy	Palm Beach Currumbin
Nick	Watson	VIC M	Eastern Ranges	East Ringwood
Darcy	Wilson	VIC C	Murray Bushrangers	Wangaratta Rovers

Happy speculating for 2023!

EDIT: 11/12/22 - Added Free Agent status to OOC player list
EDIT: 24/2/23 - Crossed out Tom Green

12

Tom Green

Age

23

Ht

192cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.5

3star

K

4.3

2star

HB

7.3

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.3

4star

CL

2.8

4star

D

11.5

3star

K

4.3

2star

HB

7.3

4star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.3

3star

CL

2.8

4star

D

11.5

3star

K

4.3

2star

HB

7.3

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

2.3

4star

CL

2.8

5star

from OOC player list! (Woo Hoo!!) & Added 2023 Coates Talent League Fixture Link
EDIT: 27/2/23 - Crossed out Finn Callaghan from OOC player list! (Woo Hoo Hoo!!!)
EDIT: 27/4/23 - Crossed out Jacob Wehr from OOC player list
EDIT: 10/5/23 - Crossed out Jack Buckley from OOC player list
EDIT: 9/7/23 - Crossed out Callum Brown from OOC player list
EDIT: 18/7/23 - Crossed out Lachie Ash from OOC player list
EDIT: 20/7/23 - Crossed out Xavier O'Halloran from OOC player list
EDIT: 3/8/23 - Crossed out Harry Himmelberg from OOC player list
EDIT: 9/8/23 - Crossed out Wade Derksen from OOC player list
EDIT: 17/8/23 - Noted Dan Lloyd retiring at end of season
EDIT: 19/8/23 - Crossed out Jake Riccardi from OOC player list
EDIT: 28/8/23 - Noted Phil Davis

1

Phil Davis

Age

34

Ht

197cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.0

3star

K

7.6

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.7

4star

MG

55.5

1star

D

8.5

2star

K

4.4

2star

HB

4.1

3star

M

3.4

3star

T

1.3

2star

MG

55.5

1star

D

14.0

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

6.0

4star

M

5.8

5star

T

1.4

4star

retiring at end of season
EDIT: 25/9/23 - Noted Cam Fleeton & Jason Gilbee delisted
EDIT: 4/10/23 - Noted Flynn, Preuss & Keeffe situations
EDIT: 9/10/23 - Updated Flynn to WCE, removed Preuss from OOC player list
EDIT: 12/10/23 - Updated Madden with 2 sources of information
EDIT: 19/10/23 - Updated Keeffe & Hamilton re-signed
EDIT: 31/10/23 - adjusted main list numbers with Adam Kennedy

40

Adam Kennedy

Age

32

Ht

183cm

Wt

80kg

Pos.

D/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.9

4star

K

8.4

3star

HB

6.5

4star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.8

4star

MG

245.6

4star

D

1.0

1star

K

1.0

1star

HB

0.0

1star

M

0.0

1star

T

0.0

1star

MG

10.0

1star

D

18.6

5star

K

9.8

4star

HB

8.8

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.4

4star

delisting (with a view to be re-selected in rookie draft)

 

[GWS Goose]

I'm chuckling at the Tigers' BF board tearing themselves apart over Jacob Hopper, now that his price is confirmed as picks #6 + #31.

As someone else posted, essentially a same-as-original-pick selection + Toby McMullin thrown in for free.

And it's released Tom Green to be the big dog in the contest.

That said, I do think we need to get some more midfielders into the squad. However, some lower pick players who can be grunts at VFL level and called up occasionally to cover for injuries is probably the main need IMHO, other than maybe one decent inside-outside mid addition.

Im pretty confident in Rowsten to be a very serviceable (or better) AFL midfielder. Im thinking that if we cant find an inside-outside mid, that Brent Daniels pinch hits in there pretty well, might open the way for Jones to go into the forward line.

 

[Giant Strides]

Im pretty confident in Rowsten to be a very serviceable (or better) AFL midfielder. Im thinking that if we cant find an inside-outside mid, that Brent Daniels pinch hits in there pretty well, might open the way for Jones to go into the forward line.

Agree, but we need more backup than him. The top team is pretty good, but it's the depth we need to refine.

 

[GWS Goose]

Agree, but we need more backup than him. The top team is pretty good, but it's the depth we need to refine.

absolutely, always need to keep re-stocking

 

[sydney_gws]

I wonder if we can be involved with Bailey Smith

6

Bailey Smith

Age

23

Ht

185cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

8.5

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

3.8

5star

CL

2.7

4star

D

19.8

5star

K

9.6

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.2

4star

CL

3.2

4star

D

14.8

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.2

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

3.4

5star

CL

1.6

4star

, Hawthorn to improve our draft hand without getting ripped off.
We could trade 6,14 for 3, hawks 2024r2.
That gives them 14 to use as well as 6 to trade to dogs for BS.

 

[Danny88]

Im pretty confident in Rowsten to be a very serviceable (or better) AFL midfielder. Im thinking that if we cant find an inside-outside mid, that Brent Daniels pinch hits in there pretty well, might open the way for Jones to go into the forward line.

Jones is an interesting one. My understanding is he played a lot as un undersized midfielder as well in his draft year did he not? Imagine him as a dynamic high half forward/wing role! Would be a point of difference.

 

[BarryAglett]

Lloyd retiring opens up a few possibilities as replacements.

 

[Giant Strides]

Lloyd retiring opens up a few possibilities as replacements.

Who, or what type of player are you thinking?

 

[Teeso]

Who, or what type of player are you thinking?

Unless we trade up the draft, hard to imagine the Wizard falls down to us. Maybe trading for Charlie Spargo is more realistic. Has been pretty consistently productive in VFL, runs hard, applies good tackling pressure and creative forward 50 entries. Seems a very coachable type. Might be harder to pry out given still contracted with Melksham's ACL injury though.

 

[BarryAglett]

Who, or what type of player are you thinking?

I was thinking about within the current list. Rowston, McMullin, Jones, Stone (is he signed for next year?), ??

 

[Orange crush]

I was thinking about within the current list. Rowston, McMullin, Jones, Stone (is he signed for next year?), ??

I reckon Stone/Jones would be excellent if we get him right

 

[Giant Pete]

I reckon would be excellent if we get him right

Jones will come in first provided he is recovered and fit.

 

[GWS Goose]

I wonder if we can be involved with Bailey Smith, Hawthorn to improve our draft hand without getting ripped off.
We could trade 6,14 for 3, hawks 2024r2.
That gives them 14 to use as well as 6 to trade to dogs for BS.

this Baily Smith thing is the best opportunity for us to trade up for,
Im not sure we'd get a second back, especially when 14 becomes 18.
We might even have to give up a bit more. There may be more too it from otehr trades.
But we seem like the obvious choice to split 3 to get Baily but not over pay.
C'mon Mckercher

 

[PaythePerryman]

I have a good feeling about Caddy. I know we probably need a midfielder but mids take way less time to make it into the squad and find their feet. I'd rather keep trying to stock up our key position future.
I like McKercher, Sanders and The Wizard.
I'm not sure it's worth trading up. Depends where our first round pick lands I suppose.

 

[sydney_gws]

this Baily Smith thing is the best opportunity for us to trade up for,
Im not sure we'd get a second back, especially when 14 becomes 18.
We might even have to give up a bit more. There may be more too it from otehr trades.
But we seem like the obvious choice to split 3 to get Baily but not over pay.
C'mon Mckercher

We might be better off trading 12 (or 13 assuming we win a final then lose) for a future first, so that can be used by say Geelong or hawthorn.
Like every other draft, the so called Super 5-7 may only have 3-4 good afl players in it.
It looks like it will be pretty hard to make our team next year for a 1st year player. I can't think of a player likely to become injury prone and decline next year ( like many of Geelong's good players).

 

[Brave New World]

A couple of interesting articles in the ‘News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom’, about the early possibilities for the upcoming 2023 draft.

The first (by reporters Jay Clark, Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane) discusses the potential plays for the Number One pick:

“Could Melbourne make an audacious play for the No.1 pick to secure Harley Reid by securing Gold Coast’s No.4 draft selection to add to their own No.5 pick?

North Melbourne’s victory over the Suns and Fremantle’s victory over Melbourne ensured the Eagles won the wooden spoon and meant the Suns’ first pick remained at No.4.

The Suns will trade out that no.4 overall pick to secure maximum points for their trio of academy picks.

Melbourne, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs are all suitors to trade up to No.4.

The Demons not only have their own first-rounder, they have the Dockers first rounder (pick 5) and second-rounder (pick 22) courtesy of the Luke Jackson

9

Luke Jackson

Age

23

Ht

199cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.3

2star

K

3.3

1star

HB

5.0

4star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

3star

G

0.3

3star

D

8.3

2star

K

3.3

1star

HB

5.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

2star

G

0.3

3star

D

8.3

3star

K

3.3

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

3star

G

0.3

3star

trade.

The Demons could offer their own first-rounder (currently pick 15), the Dockers second-rounder (23) and their own second-rounder (33) for the Suns for pick four.

It would arm them with picks four and five to trade to the Eagles for pick one, and give the Suns an extra 460 draft points to secure their academy players.

The Demons might ask for a later pick back from the Eagles, but it would allow West Coast two absolutely elite draft picks and the Demons could secure Reid.

North Melbourne still believes it is a chance to trade up to the No.1 pick given it has pick two and seems destined to secure pick 3 as compensation for the departing Ben McKay

32

Ben Mckay

Age

26

Ht

202cm

Wt

104kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

7.5

2star

K

3.7

1star

HB

3.8

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

1.7

4star

MG

77.2

1star

D

7.5

2star

K

4.5

2star

HB

3.0

2star

M

2.5

3star

T

1.5

2star

MG

88.5

2star

D

7.0

2star

K

3.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.0

4star

MG

67.8

1star

.

Their advantage is the Eagles would retain pick 2 and could secure the second-best kid in the land, which would allow them to secure local kid Daniel Curtin or one of midfielders Zane Duursma, Colby McKercher or small forward Nick Watson.

The Dogs could offer up their picks 9 and 17 (from the Josh Dunkley

5

Josh Dunkley

Age

27

Ht

191cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.8

5star

K

10.4

4star

HB

11.3

5star

M

4.3

4star

T

5.8

5star

CL

3.2

5star

D

20.7

5star

K

7.0

3star

HB

13.7

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

5.3

5star

CL

2.7

4star

D

14.2

4star

K

7.2

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

4.0

5star

CL

1.4

4star

trade) for pick 4, which would be an identical amount of points as the Demons range of picks.

Adelaide has pick 10 and two second-rounders linked to Gold Coast and North Melbourne so also has an excellent hand to get up to pick 4 overall.”

Nothing there about the Giants making any kind of play. However, a subsequent article (by reporters Chris Cavanagh, Dan Batten and Jordan Pinto) gives each team’s possible first pick. For the Giants they write:

“GWS

Current Indicative Draft Order: 7, 11, 49, 67, 73, 85

The Giants are the major beneficiaries of Richmond’s slump, holding a prized top 10 pick in the draft – which the Tigers gave up in the Jacob Hopper

22

Jacob Hopper

Age

27

Ht

187cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.0

5star

K

9.9

4star

HB

11.1

5star

M

2.9

3star

T

4.5

5star

CL

4.3

5star

D

17.6

4star

K

8.8

4star

HB

8.9

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

4.6

5star

CL

4.0

5star

D

18.6

5star

K

8.4

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.8

5star

CL

3.4

5star

trade – despite making the finals. GWS is in a promising position to pounce on a slider at pick seven, and livewire Nick Watson would suit the Giants’ needs perfectly, adding some serious spark to their attacking 50. The mix will matter for the Giants at the top end: if they go with a small forward like Watson at seven, they are likely look for a different type of player with their other first round choice. Well stocked for talls with Harry Himmelberg committing to the club, hybrid forward-midfield option Nate Caddy is another who could appeal. Don’t be surprised to see the Giants package their selections and move up the board, as they did last year to secure the No. 1 pick. GWS also has access to academy prospect and state combine invitee Harvey Thomas, who has played three games at VFL level for the Giants this year.”

 

[Giant Strides]

Unless we trade up the draft, hard to imagine the Wizard falls down to us. Maybe trading for Charlie Spargo is more realistic. Has been pretty consistently productive in VFL, runs hard, applies good tackling pressure and creative forward 50 entries. Seems a very coachable type. Might be harder to pry out given still contracted with Melksham's ACL injury though.

Charlie Spargo was a GWS academy kid, from Albury, so removed from GWS getting priority access in his final year. We could have taken him that year anyway, as he was available at #27 & #28 - but we took Binga & Slammer at those picks instead. Which in hindsight, can't grumble about!

I would have been happy to take him then, but I'm not sure of the point now? Lloyd was good as a reliable but journeyman - and therefore cheap - player. Spargo has two years to run on a contract, which I'm sure is decent-sized. And he's another very short player - 173 cms - whereas Lloyd was mid-sized.

I assess that we currently have 8 small & medium forwards on the list for next year: Greene, Brown, Bedford, Daniels, Jones, McMullen, Stone & Peatling. (Three of those players are sub-180 cms.)

That's one more than we really need for list balance, so replacing Lloyd with a like-for-like player isn't necessary IMHO. Of course, if Nick Watson were to fall to our pick in the ND, I could see us snapping him up! But not us going out and paying to nab someone from mid-contract. A moneyball approach would indicate going out to get someone who could be that "Mr Reliable if others fall over, but absolutely cheap". Boyd Woodcock is one who springs to mind - but I just don't think we need to, given the current list balance. (To me, Peatling is sort of close to what Lloyd offered - their stats are similar, both mid-sized players, and as a local comes relatively cheap. For list balance, I'd chase a cheap midfielder to sit in VFL but be capable of filling in for injuries in AFL.)

 

[Orange crush]

Charlie Spargo was a GWS academy kid, from Albury, so removed from GWS getting priority access in his final year. We could have taken him that year anyway, as he was available at #27 & #28 - but we took Binga & Slammer at those picks instead. Which in hindsight, can't grumble about!

I would have been happy to take him then, but I'm not sure of the point now? Lloyd was good as a reliable but journeyman - and therefore cheap - player. Spargo has two years to run on a contract, which I'm sure is decent-sized. And he's another very short player - 173 cms - whereas Lloyd was mid-sized.

I assess that we currently have 8 small & medium forwards on the list for next year: Greene, Brown, Bedford, Daniels, Jones, McMullen, Stone & Peatling. (Three of those players are sub-180 cms.)

That's one more than we really need for list balance, so replacing Lloyd with a like-for-like player isn't necessary IMHO. Of course, if Nick Watson were to fall to our pick in the ND, I could see us snapping him up! But not us going out and paying to nab someone from mod-contract. A moneyball approach would indicate going out to get someone who could be that "Mr Reliable if others fall over, but absolutely cheap". Boyd Woodcock is one who springs to mind - but I just don't think we need to, given the current list balance. (To me, Peatling is sort of close to what Lloyd offered - their stats are similar, both mid-sized players, and as a local comes relatively cheap. For list balance, I'd chase a cheap midfielder to sit in VFL but be capable of filling in for injuries in AFL.)

Reading their board, I reckon the tigers would let go one of their mids pretty cheap and might even pay most of his salary …. Jacob something?

 

[Giant Strides]

A couple of interesting articles in the ‘News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom’, about the early possibilities for the upcoming 2023 draft.

The first (by reporters Jay Clark, Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane) discusses the potential plays for the Number One pick:

“Could Melbourne make an audacious play for the No.1 pick to secure Harley Reid by securing Gold Coast’s No.4 draft selection to add to their own No.5 pick?

North Melbourne still believes it is a chance to trade up to the No.1 pick given it has pick two and seems destined to secure pick 3 as compensation for the departing Ben McKay.

Their advantage is the Eagles would retain pick 2 and could secure the second-best kid in the land, which would allow them to secure local kid Daniel Curtin or one of midfielders Zane Duursma, Colby McKercher or small forward Nick Watson.

The Dogs could offer up their picks 9 and 17 (from the Josh Dunkley trade) for pick 4, which would be an identical amount of points as the Demons range of picks.

Adelaide has pick 10 and two second-rounders linked to Gold Coast and North Melbourne so also has an excellent hand to get up to pick 4 overall.”

Nothing there about the Giants making any kind of play. However, a subsequent article (by reporters Chris Cavanagh, Dan Batten and Jordan Pinto) gives each team’s possible first pick. For the Giants they write:

OK, so ...

• if we believe the rumours, WCE aren't keen on drafting Harley Reid, because he's indicated he doesn't really want to relocate to WA; but WCE will need to save face by only trading down if (1) they can get local boy Dan Curtin, and (2) be seen to be advantaged by trading the #1 draft pick.
• Swapping with Demons gets them greater compensation, but probably loses them Curtin (he'll be gone before #4, which will be #5 with McKay FA compo). The only viable option to get Curtin is trading with North Melbourne at #2 ... but Norths won't pay a premium to step up to #1, knowing that if WCE overlook Reid at #1 they'll get him at #2.
• If Norths get #3 as FA compo for McKay it gets more complicated (although, in some ways, perhaps easier). I could see a 3-way deal (like we participated in last year) occurring that saw Demons get #1 (Reid), WCE #2 (Curtin) & Norths slide to #5 (they'd also have #3) ... Melbourne needing to compensate both Eagles and Norths for sliding down the draft ... perhaps their #15 (becomes #16) to Eagles and #24 to Norths. A high price to pay for Harley. It might even need some extra jiggery-pokery to keep Norths happy, since they actually take the biggest hit ... perhaps they swap what are now #15 & #16 (to become #16 & #17) to get Norths the higher pick, and also giving Norths the WCE #19 in exchange for Norths' #24.
• Could Melbourne get Suns' #4 (before FA compo) for their picks: TBH, I'd be surprised if Suns did that, as they already have a bunch of later picks, and they are restricted in taking the number of picks to the draft that they have holes in their list, so giving three picks for one doesn't help. I think that there will be more attractive offers.

 

[Giant Strides]

Reading their board, I reckon the tigers would let go one of their mids pretty cheap and might even pay most of his salary …. Jacob something?

Ha, ha - love it.

There are a few mids that are probably on shaky ground at their clubs; someone cheap to sit in 2nds would be good, if they were someone who potentially has upside would be even better. Paddy Dow from Carlton, for example, but I doubt he leaves Melbourne. Brayden Fiorini from Suns is probably superfluous to their needs, but is in contract so might cost too much. Maybe Elijah Hollands, provided he wasn't too expensive - he's worth nowhere near the pick #7 Suns drafted him at. Matt Crouch would cost nothing if he was prepared to leave SA for NSW.

And I'd look at draft someone as well, depending on where our picks end up: Harry DiMattia, Clay Hall, Cooper Simpson are in that second to third round range - although we might need to trade to get an appropriate pick.

 

[Orange crush]

Ha, ha - love it.

There are a few mids that are probably on shaky ground at their clubs; someone cheap to sit in 2nds would be good, if they were someone who potentially has upside would be even better. Paddy Dow from Carlton, for example, but I doubt he leaves Melbourne. Brayden Fiorini from Suns is probably superfluous to their needs, but is in contract so might cost too much. Maybe Elijah Hollands, provided he wasn't too expensive - he's worth nowhere near the pick #7 Suns drafted him at. Matt Crouch would cost nothing if he was prepared to leave SA for NSW.

And I'd look at draft someone as well, depending on where our picks end up: Harry DiMattia, Clay Hall, Cooper Simpson are in that second to third round range - although we might need to trade to get an appropriate pick.

What about Finn McRae from the pies?

 

[Giant Strides]

What about Finn McRae from the pies?

Yep, he'd be a dream get. But I saw an article today that he didn't want to leave the Pies, and saw a future for him there.

 

[GWS Goose]

Charlie Spargo was a GWS academy kid, from Albury, so removed from GWS getting priority access in his final year. We could have taken him that year anyway, as he was available at #27 & #28 - but we took Binga & Slammer at those picks instead. Which in hindsight, can't grumble about!

I would have been happy to take him then, but I'm not sure of the point now? Lloyd was good as a reliable but journeyman - and therefore cheap - player. Spargo has two years to run on a contract, which I'm sure is decent-sized. And he's another very short player - 173 cms - whereas Lloyd was mid-sized.

I assess that we currently have 8 small & medium forwards on the list for next year: Greene, Brown, Bedford, Daniels, Jones, McMullen, Stone & Peatling. (Three of those players are sub-180 cms.)

That's one more than we really need for list balance, so replacing Lloyd with a like-for-like player isn't necessary IMHO. Of course, if Nick Watson were to fall to our pick in the ND, I could see us snapping him up! But not us going out and paying to nab someone from mid-contract. A moneyball approach would indicate going out to get someone who could be that "Mr Reliable if others fall over, but absolutely cheap". Boyd Woodcock is one who springs to mind - but I just don't think we need to, given the current list balance. (To me, Peatling is sort of close to what Lloyd offered - their stats are similar, both mid-sized players, and as a local comes relatively cheap. For list balance, I'd chase a cheap midfielder to sit in VFL but be capable of filling in for injuries in AFL.)

I think they may see Stone as being very Lloyd like, hope he kicks along, I think he will. I've seen a few moments where I think he is going to be awesome, but he is yet to put it together.

 

[Giant Strides]

I think they may see Stone as being very Lloyd like, hope he kicks along, I think he will. I've seen a few moments where I think he is going to be awesome, but he is yet to put it together.

Yep. Except if Watson's available to draft, sitting on that 8 small/medium forwards' list seems fine to me: 2 taller medium-sized players (Brown & Stone), 3 mid-180s (Greene, McMullin, Peatling) & 3 smalls (Bedford, Daniels & Jones).

I reckon that Brown is performing as we were hoping that Stone would (when we drafted him) - a goal a game & some pressure in F50.

 

[GWS Goose]

A couple of interesting articles in the ‘News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom’, about the early possibilities for the upcoming 2023 draft.

The first (by reporters Jay Clark, Jon Ralph and Glenn McFarlane) discusses the potential plays for the Number One pick:

“Could Melbourne make an audacious play for the No.1 pick to secure Harley Reid by securing Gold Coast’s No.4 draft selection to add to their own No.5 pick?

North Melbourne’s victory over the Suns and Fremantle’s victory over Melbourne ensured the Eagles won the wooden spoon and meant the Suns’ first pick remained at No.4.

The Suns will trade out that no.4 overall pick to secure maximum points for their trio of academy picks.

Melbourne, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs are all suitors to trade up to No.4.

The Demons not only have their own first-rounder, they have the Dockers first rounder (pick 5) and second-rounder (pick 22) courtesy of the Luke Jackson trade.

The Demons could offer their own first-rounder (currently pick 15), the Dockers second-rounder (23) and their own second-rounder (33) for the Suns for pick four.

It would arm them with picks four and five to trade to the Eagles for pick one, and give the Suns an extra 460 draft points to secure their academy players.

The Demons might ask for a later pick back from the Eagles, but it would allow West Coast two absolutely elite draft picks and the Demons could secure Reid.

North Melbourne still believes it is a chance to trade up to the No.1 pick given it has pick two and seems destined to secure pick 3 as compensation for the departing Ben McKay.

Their advantage is the Eagles would retain pick 2 and could secure the second-best kid in the land, which would allow them to secure local kid Daniel Curtin or one of midfielders Zane Duursma, Colby McKercher or small forward Nick Watson.

The Dogs could offer up their picks 9 and 17 (from the Josh Dunkley trade) for pick 4, which would be an identical amount of points as the Demons range of picks.

Adelaide has pick 10 and two second-rounders linked to Gold Coast and North Melbourne so also has an excellent hand to get up to pick 4 overall.”

Nothing there about the Giants making any kind of play. However, a subsequent article (by reporters Chris Cavanagh, Dan Batten and Jordan Pinto) gives each team’s possible first pick. For the Giants they write:

“GWS

Current Indicative Draft Order: 7, 11, 49, 67, 73, 85

The Giants are the major beneficiaries of Richmond’s slump, holding a prized top 10 pick in the draft – which the Tigers gave up in the Jacob Hopper trade – despite making the finals. GWS is in a promising position to pounce on a slider at pick seven, and livewire Nick Watson would suit the Giants’ needs perfectly, adding some serious spark to their attacking 50. The mix will matter for the Giants at the top end: if they go with a small forward like Watson at seven, they are likely look for a different type of player with their other first round choice. Well stocked for talls with Harry Himmelberg committing to the club, hybrid forward-midfield option Nate Caddy is another who could appeal. Don’t be surprised to see the Giants package their selections and move up the board, as they did last year to secure the No. 1 pick. GWS also has access to academy prospect and state combine invitee Harvey Thomas, who has played three games at VFL level for the Giants this year.”

I often read these and wonder who writes this.
Gold coast will happily have a small deficit which is all it will be and have one of 2 round 1 selections slide a few spots next year after they trade into next year. They will look to trade pick 4 into the next year with the exception of a very low possibility of them trading ahead of the Walter pick, which will have to be pick 1. In that case they will be taking 4 first rounders from one draft, creating a salary issue where you will have 4 contracts where you upgrade on potential, they are already pretty stacked cap wise and have some more academy players next year.

 

[GWS Goose]

Yep. Except if Watson's available to draft, sitting on that 8 small/medium forwards' list seems fine to me: 2 taller medium-sized players (Brown & Stone), 3 mid-180s (Greene, McMullin, Peatling) & 3 smalls (Bedford, Daniels & Jones).

I reckon that Brown is performing as we were hoping that Stone would (when we drafted him) - a goal a game & some pressure in F50.

agree, Ill happily take Watson if available, but wouldnt trade up. Id like to see them makes moves to get Mckercher or Dursma if possible.