Rumour GFC 2024 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 1

[Mr Meow]

Great post.

We're in a strange spot where we're really old and really young simultaneously.

The majority of our guns are either too young, or past their prime as you mention. The hole is the 25-30 range.

Because of that, we're a tough side to gauge and I genuinely believe anything is possible next year. Neither a premiership or bottom 4 would be a surprise IMO.

We'll have a huge amount of cap space in the coming years, so I reckon we'll either commit to finishing off the rebuild through the draft, or go big in the trade period and try to finish it with Cadman, JUH & Smith types (similar to 2015)

If I was to guess, I'd say the clubs goal will be aiming to start a sustainable premiership window in about 3 or 4 years time.

Our kids will be approaching their prime years by then, and because that group has been built from the ground up it'll have a 5-6 year window of winning a premiership, rather than the 'flag or bust' narrative we had for most of the 2010s.

For instance, a group like this in 2026 or 2027 with a long premiership window ahead of them is the goal I think the club is aiming for.

Incremental development and improvement year on year, with additions through FA/Draft with the end goal of winning premierships.

It won't look exactly like this, but off the top of my head and guessing 2-4 years into the future, I'd say we'd be looking at something like this.

Prime movers

Toby Conway - Ruck
Mitch Edwards - Ruck/Forward
Jhye Clark - Mid
Max Holmes - Mid/Wing
Bailey Smith* - Mid/Wing
Mitch Knevitt - Mid
Tanner Bruhn - Mid
Ollie Dempsey - Mid/Forward
Oisin Mullin - General Defender
Connor O'Sullivan - Key Defender
Sam De Koning - Key Defender
Shannon Neale - Key Forward
Aaron Cadman* - Key Forward


Veteran experience

Jack Henry - General Defender
Gryan Miers - Small Forward
Brad Close - Small Forward
Zach Guthrie - General Defender
Tyson Stengle - Small Forward
Jack Bowes - Mid/Defender
Shaun Mannagh - Mid/Forward
Hugh McCluggage* - Mid/Wing


**Possible inclusions over the coming years. Might not be these exact names, but similar types.

Nicely put together.

Ollie Henry a prime mover to add.

And perhaps still Atkins as a veteran until 2027/2028.

I'd say we should be looking for an elite jet half back type next draft that is hopefully contributing well around 2026/2027. Or a free agent.

 

[Oisin_the_Goat]

Great post.

We're in a strange spot where we're really old and really young simultaneously.

The majority of our guns are either too young, or past their prime as you mention. The hole is the 25-30 range.

Because of that, we're a tough side to gauge and I genuinely believe anything is possible next year. Neither a premiership or bottom 4 would be a surprise IMO.

We'll have a huge amount of cap space in the coming years, so I reckon we'll either commit to finishing off the rebuild through the draft, or go big in the trade period and try to finish it with Cadman, JUH & Smith types (similar to 2015)

If I was to guess, I'd say the clubs goal will be aiming to start a sustainable premiership window in about 3 or 4 years time.

Our kids will be approaching their prime years by then, and because that group has been built from the ground up it'll have a 5-6 year window of winning a premiership, rather than the 'flag or bust' narrative we had for most of the 2010s.

For instance, a group like this in 2026 or 2027 with a long premiership window ahead of them is the goal I think the club is aiming for.

Incremental development and improvement year on year, with additions through FA/Draft with the end goal of winning premierships.

It won't look exactly like this, but off the top of my head and guessing 2-4 years into the future, I'd say we'd be looking at something like this.

Prime movers

Toby Conway - Ruck
Mitch Edwards - Ruck/Forward
Jhye Clark - Mid
Max Holmes - Mid/Wing
Bailey Smith* - Mid/Wing
Mitch Knevitt - Mid
Tanner Bruhn - Mid
Ollie Dempsey - Mid/Forward
Oisin Mullin - General Defender
Connor O'Sullivan - Key Defender
Sam De Koning - Key Defender
Shannon Neale - Key Forward
Aaron Cadman* - Key Forward


Veteran experience

Jack Henry - General Defender
Gryan Miers - Small Forward
Brad Close - Small Forward
Zach Guthrie - General Defender
Tyson Stengle - Small Forward
Jack Bowes - Mid/Defender
Shaun Mannagh - Mid/Forward
Hugh McCluggage* - Mid/Wing


**Possible inclusions over the coming years. Might not be these exact names, but similar types.

Great post. Not sure we even need to "bridge the gap". Roll with the youth it will keep us at the top for a long period.

 

[moond0g]

I think if he has a poor year, it could be even cheaper than a late first, and in all honesty, I'd reconsider looking at him at all if that's the case.

In this hypothetical, that would be 2 and a half years of poor football. It would be October 2024, so a farcry from September 2021 where he would have last reached the form we're looking for.

He'd be falling into the flash in the pan category, rather than the elite young mid we need to finish off this midfield rebuild.

If all of that happens (admittedly, a long way to go) I'd really consider looking at another target, or finishing off the rebuild through the draft

I think we tend to overlook other players flaws when we're not seeing them every week, where as we write off our own after 1 or 2 poor weeks.

If one of our players hadn't played well in almost 3 years, I wouldn't even want to imagine how we'd react here. We couldn't wait to get rid of them quick enough, but we seem to change that for opposition targets.

I can't see a world where Smith costs less than a late first rounder.

He's only 22yo, which is the main reason. And even this year, where he vastly underperformed compared to the previous couple of years, he still averaged 23.5 disposals a game. For context this is higher than every one of our midfielders, even though he was playing half forward for a fair chunk of the year.

 

[Footy Smarts]

Saw a post today that we have he 4th MOST players on our list from ages 18-21 in the entire League, i believe only behind Eagles, Tigers and someone else?

It's not Richmond. We have 17. Tigers have 13.

Looks like it might be West Coast (20) and North (19) above us.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Nicely put together.

Ollie Henry a prime mover to add.

And perhaps still Atkins as a veteran until 2027/2028.

I'd say we should be looking for an elite jet half back type next draft that is hopefully contributing well around 2026/2027. Or a free agent.

Can't believe I missed that, Ollie's quickly become one of my favorite players!!

Late at night, just had a complete mental blank.

 

[FootyLad0]

It's not Richmond. We have 17. Tigers have 13.

Looks like it might be West Coast (20) and North (19) above us.

Ahh so we are third then? I only briefly saw it so I appreciate the correction!

 

[FootyLad0]

Great post.

We're in a strange spot where we're really old and really young simultaneously.

The majority of our guns are either too young, or past their prime as you mention. The hole is the 25-30 range.

Because of that, we're a tough side to gauge and I genuinely believe anything is possible next year. Neither a premiership or bottom 4 would be a surprise IMO.

We'll have a huge amount of cap space in the coming years, so I reckon we'll either commit to finishing off the rebuild through the draft, or go big in the trade period and try to finish it with Cadman, JUH & Smith types (similar to 2015)

If I was to guess, I'd say the clubs goal will be aiming to start a sustainable premiership window in about 3 or 4 years time.

Our kids will be approaching their prime years by then, and because that group has been built from the ground up it'll have a 5-6 year window of winning a premiership, rather than the 'flag or bust' narrative we had for most of the 2010s.

For instance, a group like this in 2026 or 2027 with a long premiership window ahead of them is the goal I think the club is aiming for.

Incremental development and improvement year on year, with additions through FA/Draft with the end goal of winning premierships.

It won't look exactly like this, but off the top of my head and guessing 2-4 years into the future, I'd say we'd be looking at something like this.

Prime movers

Toby Conway - Ruck
Mitch Edwards - Ruck/Forward
Jhye Clark - Mid
Max Holmes - Mid/Wing
Bailey Smith* - Mid/Wing
Mitch Knevitt - Mid
Tanner Bruhn - Mid
Ollie Dempsey - Mid/Forward
Oisin Mullin - General Defender
Connor O'Sullivan - Key Defender
Sam De Koning - Key Defender
Ollie Henry - General Forward
Shannon Neale - Key Forward
Aaron Cadman* - Key Forward


Veteran experience

Jack Henry - General Defender
Gryan Miers - Small Forward
Brad Close - Small Forward
Zach Guthrie - General Defender
Tyson Stengle - Small Forward
Jack Bowes - Mid/Defender
Shaun Mannagh - Mid/Forward
Hugh McCluggage* - Mid/Wing


**Possible inclusions over the coming years. Might not be these exact names, but similar types.

F%%% yeah! If that’s our team in a few years there’s no way we aren’t competing for multiple Premeirships.

I reckon we can definitely snag one or two really good players with the pull our club has.

 

[Footy Smarts]

Ahh so we are third then? I only briefly saw it so I appreciate the correction!

I haven't gone through every team. We must be right up there but not sure who else has more.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I haven't gone through every team. We must be right up there but not sure who else has more.

Would have to be Hawthorn.

Breust, Gunston, Sicily & Wingard are the only players on their list who are 'old' so to speak.

Off the top of my head, it would probably be

Norf
Hawthorn
WCE
Geelong

 

[Footy Smarts]

Would have to be Hawthorn.

Breust, Gunston, Sicily & Wingard are the only players on their list who are 'old' so to speak.

Off the top of my head, it would probably be

Norf
Hawthorn
WCE
Geelong

Yep. I count 20 aged 21 or under for the Hawks.

 

[BORIS332]

I haven't gone through every team. We must be right up there but not sure who else has more.

We're 6th for players aged 21 and under:



Though we're last for the next age group:



And we have the third oldest list weighted by age:

 

[Kobe Gryant]

We're 6th for players aged 21 and under:

View attachment 1862190

Though we're last for the next age group:

View attachment 1862193

And we have the third oldest list weighted by age:

View attachment 1862198

Finally, the media might get what we've been saying for months on here.

It literally takes 5 minutes to look at our list and figure out where the hole is, and people keep failing to do it.

26-30, aka the prime age. That's the hole. Send this to Jon Ralph and David King ASAP.

 

[And_ROOS]

Finally, the media might get what we've been saying for months on here.

It literally takes 5 minutes to look at our list and figure out where the hole is, and people keep failing to do it.

26-30, aka the prime age. That's the hole. Send this to Jon Ralph and David King ASAP.

 

[CatRiot]

Finally, the media might get what we've been saying for months on here.

It literally takes 5 minutes to look at our list and figure out where the hole is, and people keep failing to do it.

26-30, aka the prime age. That's the hole. Send this to Jon Ralph and David King ASAP.

In 2 years time, we won't really want to recruit that age bracket so much as they head into the 28-32 bracket... Stick with Youth and Top up with Free Agents, or OOC stars that are upcoming.

 

[Hinkley29]

Really, though? Mitch Clarke and Jack Steven fit that archetype? Reality is we'll take quality players when we can get them. If we took chances on risky prospects like Mitch and Jack, we wouldn't hesitate with Smith.

The cost for Clark and Steven was very little.

The cost of Smith will be steep.

It is a very different risk.

Having said that, I didn’t want Clark or Steven, and I don’t think smith is a GameChanger worth paying a big price for.

 

[Lana]

Great post.

We're in a strange spot where we're really old and really young simultaneously.

The majority of our guns are either too young, or past their prime as you mention. The hole is the 25-30 range.

Because of that, we're a tough side to gauge and I genuinely believe anything is possible next year. Neither a premiership or bottom 4 would be a surprise IMO.

We'll have a huge amount of cap space in the coming years, so I reckon we'll either commit to finishing off the rebuild through the draft, or go big in the trade period and try to finish it with Cadman, JUH & Smith types (similar to 2015)

If I was to guess, I'd say the clubs goal will be aiming to start a sustainable premiership window in about 3 or 4 years time.

Our kids will be approaching their prime years by then, and because that group has been built from the ground up it'll have a 5-6 year window of winning a premiership, rather than the 'flag or bust' narrative we had for most of the 2010s.

For instance, a group like this in 2026 or 2027 with a long premiership window ahead of them is the goal I think the club is aiming for.

Incremental development and improvement year on year, with additions through FA/Draft with the end goal of winning premierships.

It won't look exactly like this, but off the top of my head and guessing 2-4 years into the future, I'd say we'd be looking at something like this.

Prime movers

Toby Conway - Ruck
Mitch Edwards - Ruck/Forward
Jhye Clark - Mid
Max Holmes - Mid/Wing
Bailey Smith* - Mid/Wing
Mitch Knevitt - Mid
Tanner Bruhn - Mid
Ollie Dempsey - Mid/Forward
Oisin Mullin - General Defender
Connor O'Sullivan - Key Defender
Sam De Koning - Key Defender
Ollie Henry - General Forward
Shannon Neale - Key Forward
Aaron Cadman* - Key Forward


Veteran experience

Jack Henry - General Defender
Zach Guthrie - General Defender
Gryan Miers - Small Forward
Brad Close - Small Forward
Tyson Stengle - Small Forward
Jack Bowes - Mid/Defender
Shaun Mannagh - Mid/Forward
Hugh McCluggage* - Mid/Wing


**Possible inclusions over the coming years. Might not be these exact names, but similar types.

We've been too old and too young for quite a while by 2020 it became unavoidable, leaning into it even become our competitive advantage. At some point we'll have to take that leap from one generation to to next. A good result this year means we have a chance at a smooth landing. This year we have many names fitting into few spots. We just lack the superstars midfielders, development isn't linear, we might already have them on our list.

 

[Lana]

We're 6th for players aged 21 and under:

View attachment 1862190

Though we're last for the next age group:

View attachment 1862193

And we have the third oldest list weighted by age:

View attachment 1862198

The age of the list matters a lot less than the age of the 23 selected each week.

Since 1991, our last four seasons are ranked 5th oldest, 2nd oldest, oldest and 4th oldest in that time period.

Link below for anyone who is interested.

Oldest AFL Club Yearly Playing Ages - Draftguru

www.draftguru.com.au

 

[CatRiot]

The cost for Clark and Steven was very little.

The cost of Smith will be steep.

It is a very different risk.

Having said that, I didn’t want Clark or Steven, and I don’t think smith is a GameChanger worth paying a big price for.

Not sure if there is a better alternative to that Inside/Outside pacey type that Smith could provide us... He would be our most dynamic mid if he joined us, and could be a huge point of difference in our squad.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

The age of the list matters a lot less than the age of the 23 selected each week.

Since 1991, our last four seasons are ranked 5th oldest, 2nd oldest, oldest and 4th oldest in that time period.

Link below for anyone who is interested.

Oldest AFL Club Yearly Playing Ages - Draftguru

www.draftguru.com.au

I think it's interesting the speed of ride up that table. We go from 36th in 2019 to top 5 for 3 years then 6th from where I assume we'll continue to drop.

 

[Lana]

I think it's interesting the speed of ride up that table. We go from 36th in 2019 to top 5 for 3 years then 6th from where I assume we'll continue to drop.

That 36th ranking still has us being older than 93% of teams.

 

[Hinkley29]

Not sure if there is a better alternative to that Inside/Outside pacey type that Smith could provide us... He would be our most dynamic mid if he joined us, and could be a huge point of difference in our squad.

Maybe I haven’t seen enough of him play, but what I have seen over the last couple of seasons hasn’t inspired me to think that he is a guy worth going all in for.

When Danger was available, I was happy for us to sell the farm to get him if needed. Same with Cameron.

Smith is just not that calibre of player. He is a nice to have, not a must have.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

If we finish with a top ten pick in next years crop I am very hesitant to go after smith… the top ten for next year looks to have an incredible bunch of potentially elite mids that is exactly what we need to invest in.

Would be very hesitant to trade out of that for 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

… would rather take someone like jagga and pass on 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

 

[D BRIDGE]

If we finish with a top ten pick in next years crop I am very hesitant to go after smith… the top ten for next year looks to have an incredible bunch of potentially elite mids that is exactly what we need to invest in.

Would be very hesitant to trade out of that for Bailey Smith… would rather take someone like jagga and pass on Bailey smith

I'm more inclined to push really hard and try to get good Free Agents (with what I assume will be a huge amount of cap room) & continue adding the best kids we can to the list with early draft picks.

In saying that... this is without knowing how Smith performs next year or knowing the talent that will be available to us at whatever pick we have.

Adding a good FA (without trading for them, the way every other club seems to get them) would be like landing bonus talent.

Trading for a good player is also nice... but if you give up a good draft pick (or even more) then It's not a bonus IMO.

Surely we have massive cap room on the horizon... I hope we use it (at the right time) and don't be tight.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

I'm more inclined to push really hard and try to get good Free Agents (with what I assume will be a huge amount of cap room) & continue adding the best kids we can to the list with early draft picks.

In saying that... this is without knowing how Smith performs next year or knowing the talent that will be available to us at whatever pick we have.

Adding a good FA (without trading for them, the way every other club seems to get them) would be like landing bonus talent.

Trading for a good player is also nice... but if you give up a good draft pick (or even more) then It's not a bonus IMO.

Surely we have massive cap room on the horizon... I hope we use it (at the right time) and don't be tight.

We seem to be the only ones who are forced to trade while everyone else walks off and accepts the compo… I hope we make it clear with whoever similar fashion to essendon that if you match we won’t deal… I liked dodoro on that one with Gresham. Would like to see similar with Bailey smith if he requests a trade

 

[Gee Class Loco]

Ben Keays

2

Ben Keays

Age

27

Ht

186cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.1

3star

K

5.8

2star

HB

7.3

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

3.9

5star

G

0.4

3star

D

13.7

3star

K

8.7

3star

HB

5.0

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

3.7

4star

G

0.3

3star

D

13.0

4star

K

4.8

2star

HB

8.2

5star

M

1.4

2star

T

4.4

5star

G

0.4

3star

UFA would be an easy get in 2024.
Undervalued outside but internally a key cog.
A plug and play and in the right age demographic.
Pretty sure we were into him 3-4 years ago.