Recruiting AFL Trade & Free Agency XII - 💰💰💰

[Lore]

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The embedded resources below are kept up to date by the trade board mods (as much as possible – we are human after all). Enjoy!

Spoiler: 2024 Draft Order

 

[Hird05]

The play for us to get in front of the Kako bid may well be find someone 23 or under who we could trade our first round pick for and maybe get a third round back the other way . Would not be a Houston type and I have no ideas right now as I have not looked much but surely there is someone we could trade pick 8-10 for who is young and good. Otherwise we are likely to just land Kako which is not terrible but not the best result.

 

[ydc55]

Have they fixed the loophole where you can trade out your first and then trade it back?
Sydney did it with rowbottom selection

 

[jdstorm]

Have they fixed the loophole where you can trade out your first and then trade it back?
Sydney did it with rowbottom selection

Yes and no.

It has to involve 3 teams now

Ie Essendon trades pick 10 for Sydney F1

Essendon trades Sydney F1 for pick 11 ect

 

[Zach Package]

Wonder if we could weasel our way into an Alex Neal-Bullen

30

Alex Neal-bullen

Age

28

Ht

182cm

Wt

80kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.3

4star

K

8.7

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

2.8

3star

T

4.1

5star

G

0.8

4star

D

10.5

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

4.5

3star

M

2.0

2star

T

1.5

2star

G

1.5

5star

D

10.0

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

1.4

2star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.0

4star

to the Crows, Sam Berry to the Dons and picks to the Dees 3 way dance?

 

[Blind Turn]

If we kept Mass he would not have been lining up on a wing for us . That was not the plan. The reason he fits on the wing with the Hawks is there midfield has Newcombe 187 cm / Worpel 186 cm / Nash / 198 cm / Day 191 cm . The midfield has height and some marking power so the do not need it on the wing . There is no chance we where playing D'Ambrosio on the wing. If they offered 2 years at the start and he stayed he would have been half back and Martin and Duursma would have shared the wing with Cox.
The mistake that lead to D'Ambrosio not being protected from poaching is the list was not set up to use him in a spot where he could shine. Given we have a bunch of 180cm midfielders we need to be running / finding tall wings who can mark and push forward and back to be dangerous forward and an extra hand in the back half. D'Ambrosio gets 3 ticks for disposal but a blank for defensive transition, a blank for marking and a blank for contested possessions. So it was basically one elite trait out of 4 we could really use.
I am pretty confident he would not have been as effective with us. Yes it would have been good to have him playing loose at half back and use his kicking skills and have Martin on a wing but we still would have had trouble covering the back half unless we changed the whole system we use and played a loose in defense and one short forward .
He is a good player and is playing great footy at the hawks which I predicted he would in the role he was given . If we have not had so many small midfielders and as a whole average contested ball winners he would still be with us.

The thing is, I think Martin has had a vastly superior season to Mass. Recency bias is a very real thing. Marto wins his own ball through congestion and pushes forward to kick multiple goals and has done it since the start of the season. But he shouldn’t be AA and nor should Mass. People are getting narky around here because the Hawks are winning and Mass is contributing. The media are building him up based on the same thing.

 

[Hird05]

No takers on Peatling then? Out of contract and looking around apparently

 

[Snake Charmer]

Wonder if we could weasel our way into an Alex Neal-Bullen to the Crows, Sam Berry to the Dons and picks to the Dees 3 way dance?

Berry is an honest battler who tackles well but is a pretty average footballer. Not sure what he’d add to the side when he’d be fighting for a spot with Hobbs

 

[footyfanatic111]

The draft that may have doomed Essendon amid rise and fall as ‘bold changes’ loom

The draft that may have doomed Essendon amid rise and fall as ‘bold changes’ loom

www.foxsports.com.au

Think they took a deep dive in the kids pool.
If we trade Shiel / Hobbs / Tsatas who the **** are we playing in the midfield and yes clubs will come for Bryan but if we let him go are we going to ruck Perter Wright ?
Hobbs was only out of the side because he got injured and did not get back in because they rushed Parish back.
Tsatas has almost got the kicking issues sorted. Sorted not fixed as he hardly kicks it when he is running flat out and when he is in space and steady he just looks to kick it 40 meters rather trying to kick the cover of it to get 50.
Would seriously be the dumbest thing ever if we traded Hobbs or Bryan or Tsatas

Struggle to see how Hobbs cracks in the midfield properly. Needs to play mid but isn’t getting before Merrett, Caldwell, duz and we have parish signed for another 5. He ain’t going anywhere

Hobbs feels too slow for a high half forward, struggles to chase. Has decent pressure in tight but when it gets on the outside he’s left for dead. His decision making also seems slow. Obviously can improve on that but I seem okay letting him go if we can get some half decent


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[gillon]

If we kept Mass he would not have been lining up on a wing for us . That was not the plan. The reason he fits on the wing with the Hawks is there midfield has Newcombe 187 cm / Worpel 186 cm / Nash / 198 cm / Day 191 cm . The midfield has height and some marking power so the do not need it on the wing . There is no chance we where playing D'Ambrosio on the wing. If they offered 2 years at the start and he stayed he would have been half back and Martin and Duursma would have shared the wing with Cox.
The mistake that lead to D'Ambrosio not being protected from poaching is the list was not set up to use him in a spot where he could shine. Given we have a bunch of 180cm midfielders we need to be running / finding tall wings who can mark and push forward and back to be dangerous forward and an extra hand in the back half. D'Ambrosio gets 3 ticks for disposal but a blank for defensive transition, a blank for marking and a blank for contested possessions. So it was basically one elite trait out of 4 we could really use.
I am pretty confident he would not have been as effective with us. Yes it would have been good to have him playing loose at half back and use his kicking skills and have Martin on a wing but we still would have had trouble covering the back half unless we changed the whole system we use and played a loose in defense and one short forward .
He is a good player and is playing great footy at the hawks which I predicted he would in the role he was given . If we have not had so many small midfielders and as a whole average contested ball winners he would still be with us.

The role of a winger is not to be a contested ball winner. You only need to look at the past decade of premiership winners to see that.

Those Hawk mids average less than 3 marks a game and do not drift down forward and hit the scoreboard either. If midfield size and contested ball is a problem, you do not try to replace that on a wing, you change the midfield. Premiership teams are built on good kicks and contested ball winners. Those assets usually come from different players unless you have a freak like Dusty.

 

[ghostdog]

Is that Peatling?

 

[ant555]

The role of a winger is not to be a contested ball winner. You only need to look at the past decade of premiership winners to see that.

Those Hawk mids average less than 3 marks a game and do not drift down forward and hit the scoreboard either. If midfield size and contested ball is a problem, you do not try to replace that on a wing, you change the midfield. Premiership teams are built on good kicks and contested ball winners. Those assets usually come from different players unless you have a freak like Dusty.

No it is not always contested ball but as I said the reason he fits in well with them is the size of their midfield. I have seen the Hawks play live 6 times this year and have had a look at what is going on. We can hardly replace all our midfield can we just to fit one player.

 

[ant555]

Struggle to see how Hobbs cracks in the midfield properly. Needs to play mid but isn’t getting before Merrett, Caldwell, duz and we have parish signed for another 5. He ain’t going anywhere

Hobbs feels too slow for a high half forward, struggles to chase. Has decent pressure in tight but when it gets on the outside he’s left for dead. His decision making also seems slow. Obviously can improve on that but I seem okay letting him go if we can get some half decent


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Midfielders do rotate .

 

[Snake Charmer]

Mass is a good player.. Essendon have kept such shit players for years yet the buck stopped with him for some reason. Argue roles and deficiencies all you want. He showed good signs last year and we ****ed that one up.

 

[Vindicater]

Who would want Stringer?

I thought Melbourne but they are in all sorts at the moment.

Would he accept a move interstate? He could be dangerous in the Freo forward line.

 

[FootyGuru]

Mass is a good player.. Essendon have kept such shit players for years yet the buck stopped with him for some reason. Argue roles and deficiencies all you want. He showed good signs last year and we ****ed that one up.

It was definitely a stuff up, but you need a decent role to get the best out of your footy. Mass saw that duursma was likely coming in, as a winger, and Gresham was coming in as a fwd so it was mainly as a back he would find a game. He left for a better role and security of a longer deal. It’s not as if Essendon delisted him.

I would have given him two years, but a lot on this forum are angry about one year for menzie. Menzie season last year was better than Massimo ever produced for bombers.

the posters than continue to bring up mass are the same posters that want trade all senior players but will complain when we lose and add to the years without a final.

Much better to look to the future than focus on the past

 

[FootyGuru]

Who would want Stringer?

I thought Melbourne but they are in all sorts at the moment.

Would he accept a move interstate? He could be dangerous in the Freo forward line.

I don’t think there are many teams that fit the bill, only premiership threats would cough up a second rounder or more, Jake won’t move interstate so that cuts a few teams out.

Essendon won’t accept a third rounder for a 40 goals forward.

Would it be wiser to try move Langford and get a first rounder

 

[fairbump_playon]

The thing is, I think Martin has had a vastly superior season to Mass. Recency bias is a very real thing. Marto wins his own ball through congestion and pushes forward to kick multiple goals and has done it since the start of the season. But he shouldn’t be AA and nor should Mass. People are getting narky around here because the Hawks are winning and Mass is contributing. The media are building him up based on the same thing.

You don’t need to think Massimo is an All Australian or better than Martin to think we should have kept Massimo

Ant’s post on why he was not held was a good one. Yes for us he would have probably been at half back and no he’s not a great defender. So in the short term.. perhaps understandable.

Though I personally think his point of difference was so clearly valuable to us that we should have found a way to look beyond the short term.

But anyhow, the best question now is.. if you could have him back for free, would you take him?

And the answer would surely be 100% yes.

 

[cavalcade]

No it is not always contested ball but as I said the reason he fits in well with them is the size of their midfield. I have seen the Hawks play live 6 times this year and have had a look at what is going on. We can hardly replace all our midfield can we just to fit one player.

Hawthorn has 4 quality smalls in their front half. Including D'ambrosio. Essendon has one Merrett. Unless you count Gresham and Menzie.
Hawthorn moves the ball with run, carry and link by handball and with speed. They set up easy goals for themselves by opening up space. Just the kind of footy you want to see. When Essendon moves the ball it's all very careful. Or just a long bomb to tall marking targets that often crash into each other because there's so many of them. Essendon has been too big and slow for more than 20 years. We are the dumbest football club on the planet.
Yet you manage to come here with excuses every day. I think I understand the way you and Brad Scott want to play, but I prefer the way Hawthorn does it.
D'ambrosio was a terrific mistake.

 

[Zach Package]

Berry is an honest battler who tackles well but is a pretty average footballer. Not sure what he’d add to the side when he’d be fighting for a spot with Hobbs

The club doesn’t think Setterfield is the answer unfortunately so I think we definitely need to go out and get a really good defensive inside midfielder to help with the balance.

I don’t think there is another better, realistic option out there. Peatling is probably a better option but not realistic , the other one is maybe Dev Robertson given the Lions are about to get seeded by another couple of quality academy mids.

 

[FootyGuru]

We offered Mass a contract, we didn’t delist him. He left for greater security and role. Based on what he had done for Essendon did he deserve more than one year? It happens! I bet we could scroll back and see the same posters wishing he remained at Essendon potting him. It’s much better to look to the future.

I’d like to see these kinds of moves done by Essendon. Chase a kid that suits our needs running flanker type who’s not getting a game and convince him on the switch for greater opportunity and security.

Anyone got any players in mind that could fill a need and wouldn’t cost the world in draft capital

I like max heath at st kilda. Competitive ruck/fwd

 

[footyfanatic111]

Midfielders do rotate .

Of course they do.
But Merrett, Caldwell and parish are at their most effective in the middle.
Durham is effective in and out,

For Hobbs to be best utilised I think he would need a 70% - 30% split inside and I just don’t think there’s enough minutes for him to do that.
So then it’s another parish situation where he gets pushed to a half forward where he isn’t best suited, and his career whittles away. Cause I don’t think he has the tools to be a high half forward, link up player. Won’t too slow and doesn’t have the tank.


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[Howard Moon]

Hawthorn has 4 quality smalls in their front half. Including D'ambrosio. Essendon has one Merrett. Unless you count Gresham and Menzie.
Hawthorn moves the ball with run, carry and link by handball and with speed. They set up easy goals for themselves by opening up space. Just the kind of footy you want to see. When Essendon moves the ball it's all very careful. Or just a long bomb to tall marking targets that often crash into each other because there's so many of them. Essendon has been too big and slow for more than 20 years. We are the dumbest football club on the planet.
Yet you manage to come here with excuses every day. I think I understand the way you and Brad Scott want to play, but I prefer the way Hawthorn does it.
D'ambrosio was a terrific mistake.

Now it's Hawthorn, before that it was Collingwood, before that it was Richmond, before that it was Hawthorn again..

I quote the great Carl Jung: "if the path ahead is clear, you are probably on somebody else's"

Are people ever tired of trying to copy the latest clubs method? it doseht work, it never works. We need to find out own path that shakes the competition and has them wanting to copy us.

All those other clubs didn't just stumbled on their game style overnight, they drafted for it and prepared for it , grew into it. It's nonsense to think you can just go copy another style despite your player list not being compatible.

 

[Rick Ross]

Not sure if they just ripped their talking points off BF or have come to similar conclusions on their own… but it’s like a summary of this thread.

The draft that may have doomed Essendon amid rise and fall as ‘bold changes’ loom

The draft that may have doomed Essendon amid rise and fall as ‘bold changes’ loom

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[MiguelM]

Mass is a good player.. Essendon have kept such shit players for years yet the buck stopped with him for some reason. Argue roles and deficiencies all you want. He showed good signs last year and we ****ed that one up.

And one of the few who can actually kick.

Lack of defence is overated as he is such a good kick the ball is not getting turned over, therefore not putting defence under pressure.

Good offence is why we are not winning. We get the ball inside 50 but we kick it to the opposition and nobody keeps it there.

 

[Mercurial89]

Hawthorn has 4 quality smalls in their front half. Including D'ambrosio. Essendon has one Merrett. Unless you count Gresham and Menzie.
Hawthorn moves the ball with run, carry and link by handball and with speed. They set up easy goals for themselves by opening up space. Just the kind of footy you want to see. When Essendon moves the ball it's all very careful. Or just a long bomb to tall marking targets that often crash into each other because there's so many of them. Essendon has been too big and slow for more than 20 years. We are the dumbest football club on the planet.
Yet you manage to come here with excuses every day. I think I understand the way you and Brad Scott want to play, but I prefer the way Hawthorn does it.
D'ambrosio was a terrific mistake.

Not that I disagree with your post really but just on the highlighted -

- it's also the type of footy that grinds to an absolute hault when there is no space. Where does space disappear? In a prelim final on a cold night when the pressure is up. I'm not saying it can't work, but it's not the finished product just yet.
I do love the model and how Mitchell has set the direction. Their philosophy is exactly what I'd love to have as a football club.

-we did try the super fast thing for awhile, it resulted in big wins and big defeats. I'd say the one thing that was kind of nice about those teams was they had an identity, it may not have worked, but it was an identity.