Recruiting AFL Trade & Free Agency XII - 💰💰💰

[Lore]

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Spoiler: 2024 Draft Order

 

[ant555]

Is it crazy to suggest Merrett to HB, Martin to the wing and then give Tsatas way more responsibility in the middle?

Caldwell, Durham and Tsatas has a nice balance to it.

Parish, Shiel & Stringer should be traded for points and a F1st.

Not totally crazy no .

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Any 23-26 year old elite marking KPFs out of contract we could “buy”?

i want to throw kitchen sink at max king

 

[revival_mode]

Not totally crazy no .

it'd be crazier to persist with the current set up tbh, we know its not good enough.

 

[cAsEy_18]

Yeah Merrett moving...somewhere, makes a lot of sense.

It's the one strength of our team, is the number of guys who can run through the midfield. So much so that we're probably playing 1 too many as it is with Merrett, Durham, Caldwell, Shiel, Parish and Hobbs. If we have genuine interest in getting Tsatas in this team anytime soon, something has to give.

Merrett is the most flexible out of that group, the guy who could best serve a purpose and use elsewhere. Partner that with a Shiel trade, and it opens up midfield time for Hobbs and Tsatas.

 

[Milanista28]

Did anyone hear what Jake FLAGPIES23 heard?

 

[wichidi]

Yeah Merrett moving...somewhere, makes a lot of sense.

It's the one strength of our team, is the number of guys who can run through the midfield. So much so that we're probably playing 1 too many as it is with Merrett, Durham, Caldwell, Shiel, Parish and Hobbs. If we have genuine interest in getting Tsatas in this team anytime soon, something has to give.

Merrett is the most flexible out of that group, the guy who could best serve a purpose and use elsewhere. Partner that with a Shiel trade, and it opens up midfield time for Hobbs and Tsatas.

The few times Merrett has moved into FWD pocket he has done really well. We are lacking good small FWD with pressure, if he moves out, this could be a good place. Might also give his body a bit of a break and get a few extra years out of him. Kind of like Luke Hodge at Hawthorne.

 

[YEMOC NAYR]

Saw a clip of Sam Mitchell on footy classified defending trading out JOM and T.Mitchell early last year that has aged beautifully. Spoke about how if they kept those players, he couldnt get Will day into the midfield and they'd be squeezed into different roles, so they made the decision to go backwards now to go forwards. Most clubs in our situation would have something similar to this.. but can't help but feel we are in this same predicament with Parish and Tsatas right now.

Also do not hate the idea of Merrett to half back.

 

[Bjchan13]

View attachment 2084386

Did anyone hear what Jake FLAGPIES23 heard?

Same as pretty much every player on our list. Is tradeable for the right price.

 

[Milanista28]

Saw a clip of Sam Mitchell on footy classified defending trading out JOM and T.Mitchell early last year that has aged beautifully. Spoke about how if they kept those players, he couldnt get Will day into the midfield and they'd be squeezed into different roles, so they made the decision to go backwards now to go forwards. Most clubs in our situation would have something similar to this.. but can't help but feel we are in this same predicament with Parish and Tsatas right now.

Also do not hate the idea of Merrett to half back.

I've been on the take a few steps back to go forwards train for a while.

I genuinely think picking the team to win now is moronic, we should be picking the team we think might be able to win in 2 years time.

That means Bryan over Goldy, Hayes over Lav, Roberts over Hep/Kelly, Tsatas/Hobbs over Shiel

It meant Massimo over Heppell in 2023.

 

[HirdyLannister]

Parish, stringer, 2MP and Shiel should be traded.

 

[Bjchan13]

Parish, stringer, 2MP and Shiel should be traded.

They definitely can be traded. Someone needs to want them and we need to make sure we get a fair return. No point moving on 4 AFL standard players unless we think we can improve our list with the return

 

[Keystone agony]

List management goal should be to recruit the sort of players that ensure we never need to play Kelly, Laverde, or Menzies in the 23 again.



Strong agree. Given our next pick gets eaten up by the Kako bid anyway, I'd happily take a future 2nd which we either hold for next year or us to try and trade back in after Kako this year.

Remember most of those guys are depth

Its just we dont have

Zac Reid
Ridley
Duursma
Guelfi

2 top 15 products also fixes that along with another year of development from

Davey
Tsatas
Hobbs

Types

 

[jdstorm]

Is it crazy to suggest Merrett to HB, Martin to the wing and then give Tsatas way more responsibility in the middle?

Caldwell, Durham and Tsatas has a nice balance to it.

Parish, Shiel & Stringer should be traded for points and a F1st.

Yes.

Because Merrett is a gun mid and as a secondary position he’s better as a SF

Top Rookie mids look good playing there and we should have a top 10 pick to draft an outside mid who will play there to start next season (or Roberts will play there)

 

[BrunoV]

Saw a clip of Sam Mitchell on footy classified defending trading out JOM and T.Mitchell early last year that has aged beautifully. Spoke about how if they kept those players, he couldnt get Will day into the midfield and they'd be squeezed into different roles, so they made the decision to go backwards now to go forwards. Most clubs in our situation would have something similar to this.. but can't help but feel we are in this same predicament with Parish and Tsatas right now.

Also do not hate the idea of Merrett to half back.

The young guys organically displacing the senior players may as well never have happened for any team at any time. The change has to be forced.

It's not really possible for a young guy to force a senior player out. The young player cannot accumulate experience that enables him to displace the senior player as experience can only be accumulated. What happens almost anywhere other than Essendon is that the young player arrives at a level of development where his strengths, as a compliment for the rest of the team, offset that lack of experience and allow for change to be forced. Essendon can't do this because it's always in some form of diminishing returns with its best team, trying to cover for numerous inadequacies.

The one thing we know is that at no point in the last 24 years has the team been well balanced. It's the reason we struggle to integrate kids into role playing positions in the 'bottom 6' because the coach is always using these players to cheat a game that can't be cheated. He needs experienced players to do that.

 

[Howard Moon]

The young guys organically displacing the senior players may as well never have happened for any team at any time. The change has to be forced.

It's not really possible for a young guy to force a senior player out. The young player cannot accumulate experience that enables him to displace the senior player as experience can only be accumulated. What happens almost anywhere other than Essendon is that the young player arrives at a level of development where his strengths, as a compliment for the rest of the team, offset that lack of experience and allow for change to be forced. Essendon can't do this because it's always in some form of diminishing returns with its best team, trying to cover for numerous inadequacies.

The one thing we know is that at no point in the last 24 years has the team been well balanced. It's the reason we struggle to integrate kids into role playing positions in the 'bottom 6' because the coach is always using these players to cheat a game that can't be cheated. He needs experienced players to do that.

There's something else that bugs me, the entire idea of having a VFL team affiliated with an AFL team is you get continuity of message and game style ect. We seem to have two separate programs that don't align whatsoever, kids get moved from position to position before they get a chance to build any kind of familiarity, players get called into the AFL in totally different roles to where they play in the VFL, players dominating VFL get passed over for players just getting a kick... It's all very weird and reeks of amatuer hour. I sit there watching both and can't see a describable game style that links the two sides

 

[Keystone agony]

There's something else that bugs me, the entire idea of having a VFL team affiliated with an AFL team is you get continuity of message and game style ect. We seem to have two separate programs that don't align whatsoever, kids get moved from position to position before they get a chance to build any kind of familiarity, players get called into the AFL in totally different roles to where they play in the VFL, players dominating VFL get passed over for players just getting a kick... It's all very weird and reeks of amatuer hour. I sit there watching both and can't see a describable game style that links the two sides

That happens everywhere

 

[Howard Moon]

That happens everywhere

Box hill seem to have their shit together with the parent club

 

[Yoda_]

Saw a clip of Sam Mitchell on footy classified defending trading out JOM and T.Mitchell early last year that has aged beautifully. Spoke about how if they kept those players, he couldnt get Will day into the midfield and they'd be squeezed into different roles, so they made the decision to go backwards now to go forwards. Most clubs in our situation would have something similar to this.. but can't help but feel we are in this same predicament with Parish and Tsatas right now.

Also do not hate the idea of Merrett to half back.

This is why backing Nick Bryan should have been paramount at round 1 this year.. take the short L for the long W

 

[faible]

This is why backing Nick Bryan should have been paramount at round 1 this year.. take the short L for the long W

Not every players development looks the same.

We've 'rushed' games in to Perkins and Cox and it doesn't appear to have done them any good.

 

[Yoda_]

Box hill seem to have their shit together with the parent club

Best 3 (Victorian) VFL programs over an extended period are aligned with AFL clubs. Casey, Geelong and Box Hill. You could argue we should be right up there as th local Essendon District League is apparently one of the strongest in Metro Melbourne. We are crap at using these outlets though. Go figure

 

[Yoda_]

Not every players development looks the same.

We've 'rushed' games in to Perkins and Cox and it doesn't appear to have done them any good.

Sink or swim perhaps?

Bryan has looked like a guy whom, albeit slight, embraces a challenge. Turns up every week in the VFL so would assume it’d be the same in the AFL.

If he was having a down game the main guy could play more minutes anyways. Im not suggesting we solo ruck him, just get him in alongside Draper &/or Goldstein. Hindsight but Bryan should have played 15 games this year imho

 

[eth-dog]

Best 3 (Victorian) VFL programs over an extended period are aligned with AFL clubs. Casey, Geelong and Box Hill. You could argue we should be right up there as th local Essendon District League is apparently one of the strongest in Metro Melbourne. We are crap at using these outlets though. Go figure

EDFL is like a distant 4th. VAFA, EFNL and NFNL are streets ahead. And if you include country leagues you'd have Gippy, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, O&M, Golbourn Valley and MPFNL ahead too. Not even in the top 10 in Victoria

 

[faible]

Sink or swim perhaps?

Bryan has looked like a guy whom, albeit slight, embraces a challenge. Turns up every week in the VFL so would assume it’d be the same in the AFL.

If he was having a down game the main guy could play more minutes anyways. Im not suggesting we solo ruck him, just get him in alongside Draper &/or Goldstein. Hindsight but Bryan should have played 15 games this year imho

eh it depends what they need.

Bryan's 'issue' is physical development, playing in the AFL wouldn't have made him be more physically mature. VFL gave him continuity the work on all the facets of his game while he adds size.

Players with outside game that can play on a flank can play before they're physically heavy and strong enough, but it's pretty hard to circumvent that as a ruckman. He's going to have guys like Xerri and Nankervis and Briggs smashing in to him with a significant weight advantage.

Doesn't appear to have done him any harm whatsoever to have played most of the year in the VFL, IMO it's probably been beneficial because he's been able to play as a solo ruck and really work on his game instead of just surviving the battering.

 

[ghostdog]

Yeah Merrett moving...somewhere, makes a lot of sense.

It's the one strength of our team, is the number of guys who can run through the midfield. So much so that we're probably playing 1 too many as it is with Merrett, Durham, Caldwell, Shiel, Parish and Hobbs. If we have genuine interest in getting Tsatas in this team anytime soon, something has to give.

Merrett is the most flexible out of that group, the guy who could best serve a purpose and use elsewhere. Partner that with a Shiel trade, and it opens up midfield time for Hobbs and Tsatas.

Less quality entries i50 though.
I'd happily do this and trade Hobbs for BCampbell, who's been played out of position all year when he has played, and been sub or in the 2s at other times. Then we could have our cake and eat it, too.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Sink or swim perhaps?

Bryan has looked like a guy whom, albeit slight, embraces a challenge. Turns up every week in the VFL so would assume it’d be the same in the AFL.

If he was having a down game the main guy could play more minutes anyways. Im not suggesting we solo ruck him, just get him in alongside Draper &/or Goldstein. Hindsight but Bryan should have played 15 games this year imho

It's an out there idea but what if we let the coaches assess whether a player would benefit most from being thrown in the deep end or given time in the VFL in their preferred position to hone their skills...