Rumour GFC 2024 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 2

[cats_09]

Ask and we'll try our best to assist - so here's 2024 Provisional AFL Draft Order

As normal, would like to acknowledge & thank Lore for creating this, keeping it up to date and making it available for all users on BF to use and keep track of the picks ahead of the upcoming draft





I'll also sticky this post to ensure it's easily accessible for discussion of our hypothetical trader

 

[year of the cat]

We need three of them IMO. Two isn't enough, and four is too many.

There's just not enough actual on-ball time available for it to work with four elite mids, when it's highly likely that none of them run both ways, or apply defensive pressure around stoppages or in transition.

It throws your structure and system out of whack, and there's always the likely possibility that salary cap issues, and/or players leaving for more opportunity/money eventuates.

On the contrary, two isn't enough. Unless you've got a generational type like Martin, it's probably the difference between being a prelim side and a premiership side.

We expect Holmes is one, and we hope Smith is the other.

Brayshaw, Butters, or LDU would round that trio out perfectly IMO.

Leaves Bruhn, Clark, & potentially Bowes to do more of the grunt and defensive work, and leaves Dempsey to do his thing on the outside withing the pressure of needing to become an inside mid immediately.

The Swans & Port would be a good model for us.

Warner, Gulden, & Heeney, with the defensive grunt work from Rowbottom.

Rozee, Butters, & Horne-Francis, with the defensive grunt work from Drew.

Holmes/Smith could be our Warner/Gulden, or Rozee/Butters, but we need to find our Heeney/JHF to round it out, and the easiest way for us to do that is through a trade.

Drew/Rowbottom types are easier to find, and you could argue Bruhn & Clark are already capable of those roles it they have elite talent ahead of them.

If we're not going to be able to draft them, then we just have to be going hard at LDU, Brayshaw, Callaghan, or Butters.

Do that on top of Smith, and we're just about there.

Fair call. We are all assuming of course that Smith gets back to being an A grader. Hopefully that’s true. Coming off an ACL, I don’t think we should have lofty expectations for ‘25.

If he does, AND Danger remains healthy AND Holmes’ game continues to develop we could be very good next year. All other things being equal.

But looking forward there will need to be at least one other A grade mid sourced one way or another.

 

[Max Rooke]

The big reason why George Stevens didn't set the VFL on fire is most likely he didn't play in his prefer position in the midfield.. Lets wait and see how he plays when he gets his chance playing there.

Probably why they delisted Hardie. Once they decided he wasn’t going to make the AFL team then him racking up 30+ possessions in the VFL is potentially counter productive to development of Stevens, Clark etc who need more experience winning the ball cleanly out of stoppages.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Fair call. We are all assuming of course that Smith gets back to being an A grader. Hopefully that’s true. Coming off an ACL, I don’t think we should have lofty expectations for ‘25.

If he does, AND Danger remains healthy AND Holmes’ game continues to develop we could be very good next year. All other things being equal.

But looking forward there will need to be at least one other A grade mid sourced one way or another.

Agree, my premise is more talking about 2026 onwards.

- Smith has had a year under his belt to get his bearings back.

- We've brought in one of Butters, Callaghan, LDU, or Brayshaw.

- Conway, Bruhn, Holmes, & Dempsey are another couple of years older.

Just as an example, if we're lining up in round one 2026 with something like this, then we could be in for something special.

C: Dempsey - Smith - Holmes
FO: Conway - Butters - Bruhn

Bench/second rotation: Clark, Bowes, Mullin.

Providing players keep developing how we expect, and Smith keeps his trajectory pre-knee, that's plenty IMO.

In that scenario, we're not expecting anything ridiculous out of Bruhn or Clark, and can just let them develop at a steady rate.

At best, they're 4th/5th on the rotation, and can shine with three elite midfielders ahead of them in the Joel Corey, Willem Drew, James Rowbottom mold.

Just feels like the way forward for mine, particularly if we're finally lucky enough to get someone like LDU/Brayshaw as a genuine free agent.

We need a balance. People love the idea of four elite midfielders on paper, but the execution rarely (if ever) lives up to the fantasy.

Three, with a balance of defensive players in the side is the perfect mix.

 

[cats_09]

Good to see Bulldogs fans still in denial

They aren't happy with a Herald Sun article from today and have decided, "**** Bailey", the club shouldn't even bother with a trade and just walk him to the PSD where he can play for the Eagles or Richmond, especially as whatever pick Geelong offers won't be worth accepting

They seriously don't get that he nominate for the ND and not the PSD. Plus, if the club took that approach and decided to not even entertain a trade, both the AFL & AFLPA would step in to ensure that Smith isn't left in limbo due to his original club cracking the sads

 

[Cursed Cat]

This is a good call.

Assuming Smith gets over to us, I'm pretty comfortable with where our list is going into next year already. If C Guthrie can get his body right, even better, and if he does I think the couple of years he's had off could even extend his footballing life a little. He might be playing more like a 31yo than a 33yo.

There was a lot of talk about our midfield being a weakness this year, however Champion Data made the point that when Danger came back in we became the #1 team for scoring from stoppage in the AFL. That doesn't sound like midfield weakness to me. Add in Smith and potentially a fit Guthrie, plus another preseason into Holmes, Bruhn, Clark, Knevitt, Clohesy and others, and I think we're in very solid shape.

The fact that we were good when Danger came back in raises the most important issue for me though. He likely only has two seasons left, at most, and he won't play either season in full. So we need to be planning NOW for post-Danger.

We need a big, powerful, contested ball beast. Think Danger, Fyfe, Cripps, LDU, Tom Green. That will be our biggest hole very soon, when we can no longer rely on Danger to fill it.

The problem is that as solid as our midfield lineup looks, there is no obvious replacement for him. He was the best power mid in the game a few years ago, and right now is still formidable for the 12-15 games we can get him on the park. But I don't see any of our other mids being the type to fill that role for us - they're either small scrappers (Atkins, Clark, Clohesy) or runners (Holmes, Smith, Guthrie).

I suspect this was the reason we drafted George Stevens last year, because he looks to be that type, but by all accounts he hardly set the world on fire in the VFL so his future must be questionable. Bruhn often tries to play like a bull, but he's just not big enough to pull it off consistently IMO. Holmes is building impressive strength in his core, but again I don't see him playing the bull role - he's a metres gained type of player. Knevitt has height, but doesn't have the bulk or core strength.

So whatever draft capital we end up with this year, that type of player would be my priority.

Unless we can pull the proverbial rabbit out of a hat, then I reckon Jake Stringer is the closest possible ''beast'' type list addition for the 2025 season.
He'll turn 31 as the 2025 season starts. He managed 23 games this year.
I know the rap.
But if managed well both on and off the field then he's capable of making an impact at any club.
He's just as likely to go completely missing though, of course.
I'd probably have more confidence in Stringer having some sort of an impact for the club than Jack Martin, who has done sfa.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

Good to see Bulldogs fans still in denial

They aren't happy with a Herald Sun article from today and have decided, "**** Bailey", the club shouldn't even bother with a trade and just walk him to the PSD where he can play for the Eagles or Richmond, especially as whatever pick Geelong offers won't be worth accepting

They seriously don't get that he nominate for the ND and not the PSD. Plus, if the club took that approach and decided to not even entertain a trade, both the AFL & AFLPA would step in to ensure that Smith isn't left in limbo due to his original club cracking the sads

I think it's the "Outgrown the club" line that's really making them lose their shit.

Reading their board a bit, they've got a colossal chip on their shoulder as it is, and stuff like that's only going to fuel it.

Bailey could have meant something completely different, but that wording was always going to be like pouring petrol on the fire with the inferiority complex they've already got.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

I think it's the "Outgrown the club" line that's really making them lose their shit.

Reading their board a bit, they've got a colossal chip on their shoulder as it is, and stuff like that's only going to fuel it.

Bailey could have meant something completely different, but that wording was always going to be like pouring petrol on the fire with the inferiority complex they've already got.

I have never met a bulldogs fan irl that acts this way. It's psychotic

 

[GeelongFTW]

Fair call. We are all assuming of course that Smith gets back to being an A grader. Hopefully that’s true. Coming off an ACL, I don’t think we should have lofty expectations for ‘25.

If he does, AND Danger remains healthy AND Holmes’ game continues to develop we could be very good next year. All other things being equal.

But looking forward there will need to be at least one other A grade mid sourced one way or another.

conway + bruhn to elevate ala holmes this year

 

[year of the cat]

conway + bruhn to elevate ala holmes this year

That would be nice.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I have never met a bulldogs fan irl that acts this way. It's psychotic

Oh 100%. Not excusing it for a second.

Just the way they've acted though, that comment was always going to be taken the wrong way.

If you've already got the chip on your shoulder that you're some minnow club that nobody wants to be at, then hearing a player say "I've outgrown the club" would be the worst thing he could say.

I know a few Bulldogs fans too and they're all pretty normal.

I guess we haven't met the cheersquad types that the BigFooty board harbours though.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Duncan is done.
Lucky to play a few games this year IMO.
Lost his pace and inturn lost his time with ball in hand inturn his disposal/decision making was poor at times.
He'll get his 2 or 3 games??... His 300 and then cya later alligator.
The club has done the right thing here.
Allows us to upgrade someone when he retires mid season or add a pick in the midseason draft.

But if he's not going to get through a full year next year why not retire him now?

 

[calder_daddy]

Good to see Bulldogs fans still in denial

They aren't happy with a Herald Sun article from today and have decided, "**** Bailey", the club shouldn't even bother with a trade and just walk him to the PSD where he can play for the Eagles or Richmond, especially as whatever pick Geelong offers won't be worth accepting

They seriously don't get that he nominate for the ND and not the PSD. Plus, if the club took that approach and decided to not even entertain a trade, both the AFL & AFLPA would step in to ensure that Smith isn't left in limbo due to his original club cracking the sads

What was the article about?

 

[GeelongFTW]

That would be nice.

and guthrie to get back to 2022 form.

Ok now we are getting very optimistic! But then again its not completely beyond the bounds of possibility...

 

[geelong_crazy26]

But if he's not going to get through a full year next year why not retire him now?

He will get the tuohy treatment is my feel. Sub and rested alot

 

[STPer18]

What was the article about?

Nothing sinister, just asked about his reason for wanting to leave Footscray. Some of their fans are nuts.

Bailey Smith has revealed the real reasons for wanting to depart the Western Bulldogs, with his manager saying it’s still up in the air where he will land.

The star midfielder, speaking on a panel at the EJ Whitten Grand Final Legends Lunch organised by RULE prostate cancer, revealed he fell out of love with the game but has regained his passion after injuring his knee.

“You never know, I still love the club that’s what people forget,’’ Smith said of the Bulldogs.

“But there’s a level of when you outgrow a place, or you just need a fresh change for whatever reason. I still love them, they’re still my mates. I won’t get too deep into it. I feel like I’d be doing myself a disservice for the player I want to become and the person I want to become by staying in the same environment but we’ll see.”

 

[Munich]

Nothing sinister, just asked about his reason for wanting to leave Footscray. Some of their fans are nuts.

Yeah it was innocent enough albeit PR-driven.

The statement didn't disparage WB at all.

 

[Hinkley29]

Oh 100%. Not excusing it for a second.

Just the way they've acted though, that comment was always going to be taken the wrong way.

If you've already got the chip on your shoulder that you're some minnow club that nobody wants to be at, then hearing a player say "I've outgrown the club" would be the worst thing he could say.

I know a few Bulldogs fans too and they're all pretty normal.

I guess we haven't met the cheersquad types that the BigFooty board harbours though.

To be fair, if someone said that about Geelong as they walked out the door I would think he was a complete tosser.

 

[Hinkley29]

Yeah it was innocent enough albeit PR-driven.

The statement didn't disparage WB at all.

He said he had “outgrown the place”. That is pretty disparaging.

 

[year of the cat]

He said he had “outgrown the place”. That is pretty disparaging.

Poor choice of words.

 

[Hinkley29]

Poor choice of words.

His statement made me think that he is either a raving egomaniac or not as smart as he thinks he is.

 

[Strange Cat]

He said he had “outgrown the place”. That is pretty disparaging.

How?

By all reports the culture at the Soggies is pretty shit atm

 

[year of the cat]

His statement made me think that he is either a raving egomaniac or not as smart as he thinks he is.

Judging from his social media posts he doesn’t lack confidence and he’s not going to qualify for Mensa anytime soon.

 

[Munich]

He said he had “outgrown the place”. That is pretty disparaging.

You can outgrow something at it not be a negative. Lack of opportunity, becoming stagnant, lack of excitement. Just means his future goals and motivation don't align with the club.

But I'm guessing he was coached in what to say.

 

[cats_09]

Nothing sinister, just asked about his reason for wanting to leave Footscray. Some of their fans are nuts.

Honestly, I've got no issues with that quote - feels like a player being honest and acknowledging that sometimes you've got to move on


It can be become very easy for one to stay in a known environment, that's when you can get yourself in a rut and be seen to be going through the motions

Taking yourself out of the comfort zone and testing yourself in a new environment can be what's needed for one to get the best out of themselves


"I've outgrown the place" in isolation probably isn't great but it's a line "journos" will love - when you then read the whole quote, it reads a lot better

 

[Munich]

Honestly, I've got no issues with that quote - feels like a player being honest and acknowledging that sometimes you've got to move on


It can be become very easy for one to stay in a known environment, that's when you can get yourself in a rut and be seen to be going through the motions

Taking yourself out of the comfort zone and testing yourself in a new environment can be what's needed for one to get the best out of themselves


"I've outgrown the place" in isolation probably isn't great but it's a line "journos" will love - when you then read the whole quote, it reads a lot better

Exactly. He did qualify it with saying he loves the club etc.