List Mgmt. 2025 List management
- Thread starter Lach72
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We'd have to trade someone good out and trade future firsts out to make it happen. Are you still as keen if it involves trading out Brayshaw?
Or losing someone because we can't match an offer.
Of course it is all about a premiership. But we've had messiahs before. Croad and Tarrant come to mind.
Said goodbye to a few players and draft picks because they would lead us to the promised land.
If we didn't have a pretty well stocked midfield with a waiting list wanting opportunities, I'd be in on Warner. But I'm excited to see Erasmus beast his way into the side, MJ to consolidate, NOD to come crashing through and Reid and Simpson make selection night a very difficult event every week.
- Apr 26, 2011
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Can still feign interest to blow west Coast cap skyhigh ..
West Coast need him like life needs oxygen
Of course. But a huge part of what you're saying is fan-speak. The club would value professional relationships with other clubs, players and player agents.
No harm with confirming that at the right price we'd love him though.
I choose to believe.Had a chat with Daniel’s, he said don’t rule out both
We'd be taking the **** if we added both and lost nobody.
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I hope we’ve Cottoned On to some way to achieve it
freo84
Norm Smith Medallist
What I meant by both is....I'd be happy with either one coming to Freo. And no I wouldn't trade out Brayshaw for one of them.
freo84
Norm Smith Medallist
Had a chat with Daniel’s, he said don’t rule out both
Purple Pills
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- Jul 10, 2014
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I'd love to get The Chad, but not at the expense of AB. Andy just brings that non negotiable defensive effort and chase that's guna be critical for us in big finals of the next half decade. Chad is an incredible offensive talent, a real cherry on top type player who can break games open. Happy to give them 2 late future firsts and someone like cooper Simpson in return? You also have to consider salary cap implications with bringing in yet ANOTHER A grade talent through trade which inevitably means you pay every bit of market value (and some) in salary. But I'd still do it. Feels like adding Chad or Kozzy next year would take us to absolute critical mass levels of Talent. This list would be getting close to hitting their prime all together and could potentially become a juggernaut for a few years until players have to start getting squeezed out for salary cap. Whatever the cost to finaly get that illusive first flag.
- Sep 29, 2013
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Spoke to Andy briefly yesterday, after winking and saying I promise not to tell, I asked when he is signing. He smiled and said it will be soon. 
Now that I have written this , I hoped he meant he would sign for US soon.
Now that I have written this , I hoped he meant he would sign for US soon.
He was pulling your...leg.Spoke to Andy briefly yesterday, after winking and saying I promise not to tell, I asked when he is signing. He smiled and said it will be soon.
Now that I have written this , I hoped he meant he would sign for US soon.
He signed weeks ago, for lots of years.
Ballas is training his horse!
Secret Sauce!
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King Huskii
Norm Smith Medallist
- Apr 19, 2022
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Shì de, shì de.
ABN are one of the countries top builders, we have contacts.
Apart from Murphy Reid who is an unknown that none of us have yet seen play (but every team has a couple of them since the national draft), none of those players you mentioned waiting for opportunity are remotely comparable to Chad Warner in talent or ability.
It’s purple delusion and fan speak to suggest otherwise.
If it’s possible to get a player of warners ability into your football club - you just make it happen. Thats what the Geelongs and collingwoods of this world do, and Brisbane too in recent times. They arent sitting around placing their faith that some fringe guy on their list is going to reach the levels of proven elite talent that’s available on the market.
If it means losing a different elite player like Serong or AB - well then that’s a different debate. Thats not what was suggested though.
We should not turn down Warner just because he’s going to take game time off Johnson or Erasmus or Simpson. Thats irresponsible list management that harms our chances of winning a flag in this window.
I think this list has just 3 guaranteed top class midfielders moving forward for the next 5 years.
Andy Brayshaw
Caleb Serong
Hayden Young
We could all see within 5 games of these three guys debuts that they would be A graders in future.
There is then a BIG gap to the next players in that position.
Johnson
NOD
Brodie
Erasmus
Simpson
I’ve seen very little evidence these batch can ever reach the level of the top 3. It’s far far more likely they are going to peak at a level around what the likes of Darcy Tucker and Conor Blakely did.
Fyfe and JOM are barely relevant anymore.
Yes we have Bolton to pinch hit at a level comparable to the big 3 (hopefully) but I still think we are very thin for elite midfielders. I’ll tell you what - we better pray none of those 3 guys I mentioned gets injured, because we’ll start to look seriously light in that midfield. There is a reason the old cliche gets used so much - you can never have too many good midfielders.
Look at the competition - are we better than Brisbane through the midfield?
Neale
Will Ashcroft
Dunkley
McLuggage
Berry
I didn’t even list Cam Rayner, or Levi Ashcroft.
That’s what elite midfield depth looks like.
We need Warner. If he’s available, we should be going all in.
Purple Jesus
not jess
Hard agree. You just make it happen. The boys are fully bought in, they will make sacrifices to become immortal.
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- #1,119
Yes for mine if we have a choice I.e. Chad has said he’s open to coming, I’m taking him now.
He’s A grade, can kick goals midfield, is out of contract.
With Bolton up front we are more potent imo and more balanced with him than Kozzie.
If Chad has said he wants to go to the dirty birds, take Kozzie and develop Whan, Hart and Robinson when they’re on board.
Kozzie still has three years on a contract…he’d be a perfect trade in 2026/7 when we WANT to offload first rounds because of Robinson’s projected position and Tassie coming in.
Keeping Chad out of the Eagles hands is also a solid benefit
That's a good half-story.
Missing from it is the trade and draft capital invested. You want to spend it on another midfielder. Fair enough. I think we can cover that area and look at areas we aren't already dominant.
Taylor
Community Leader
- Moderator
- #1,121
It looked to me that last year Sydney were playing Warner out of the stoppages/bounce until they found themselves in a hole then put him back in there and he and Heeney dragged their team over the line. Starting Warner on the wing instead of inside the square a lot, then finally right on ball and he breaks it open.
If it's a fitness issue I wouldn't think he would be standing a wing, if it's to have him float forward then we certainly have a vacancy for that role. NOD could do exactly the same.
If it's a fitness issue I wouldn't think he would be standing a wing, if it's to have him float forward then we certainly have a vacancy for that role. NOD could do exactly the same.
That’s why I would love to see Freddy play wing.
Frederick has had some absolute fantastic plays on the fat side; however, pre Jezza.
Having said that, NOD was looking great on the skinny wing at the end of last year. I think with Noddy’s size and strength we would be under utilising him playing on the fat wing.
CaseySibosadoHOF
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- Sep 17, 2022
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Problem is that there's finite inside mid minutes. The "elite midfield depth" you list for Brisbane comes in the form of good players who you can play mostly in a different position and won't have an ego about it.
Neale and Dunkley are the "set and forget" inside mids. Neale is self explanatory, and Dunkley is more because of role coz at Bulldogs he would spend more time in other positions. Will Ashcroft was in his 2nd year, so he's not a set and forget inside mid yet. McCluggage plays significant minutes as a winger, and guys like Berry, Rayner and Bailey are closer to fwd-mids than genuine mids. That's something we lack that Shai brings.
The great thing about Brisbane's midfield balance is for all the star power in there, right now there's 1 player in that whole mix who can truthfully believe they're Brownlow Medal contender tier. Neale. Nobody else in that midfield mix belongs in those types of conversations, so asking them to play a different position isn't a hard conversation. And asking them to take on a pure defensive role, not a 2 way runner type like Brayshaw, is also not a hard conversation.
The problem for Freo is that arguably all 3 of our current top line mids are "set and forget" mids (they can go fwd but great majority of their TOG would be as inside mids), and arguably all 3 can truthfully believe they're Brownlow Medal contender tier. Young is the only one without a top 5 Brownlow finish to his name. But with the justified hype he was getting off being a sub-75% TOG midfielder, he could probably believe he can get to that tier of player himself. And now you add Chad Warner who has been spoken of in that tier himself.
Now if Chad's available you'd obviously be a fool not to throw your hat in the ring. But it's an entirely different equation to the Brisbane situation. If you bring him in, you've got 4 players who will all probably think that, in a predominantly freer inside midfield role, they belong in Brownlow conversations. And you've got to either put all/most of their noses out of joint a little or put 1 of their noses out of joint a lot.
Pearce captain again
We are already good at getting our hands on the ball, it's when the ball goes forward that we lack threat and repeat possession. Bolton improves that, Pickett makes it unbeatable.
Now I'm not saying that Chad won't make us better, he certainly will but I'm just of the belief that it's easier to bolster the midfield than the forward line, esp. small/mid forwards.
