Rumour GFC 2025 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 1

[Mangy Carl]

taps the sign

We have no vacancies for a ruckman.

Who do we have?

Conway - REALLY hope he can get fit. Huge injury concerns
Edwards - Looked good for the 5 minutes he played in the 2's - Injury concerns
Stanley - Cooked, there simply for backup now. Injuries also catching up with him
Furphy (rookie) - IMO, did nothing to impress in the 2's

BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY OPTIONS -

Blitz - Now only good for a 5 minute burst.
DeKoning - Required in the backline.

Looking REALLY thin short term.

Can certainly see an open spot on the rookie list, we have upto 7 spots to fill.

 

[Reg Hickey]

Everyone is applauding. I don’t get it at all. They just moved out 4 of the best 5 players on their list out. There is f all talent left, outside of Taranto, Hopper, Lynch and Balta. The majority of their picks are in that danger zone, where if draft evals don’t plan out, youre left with a whole crop of Billie smedts type players. History has proven time and time again, you can’t blow a list up and expect a group of 1st or 2nd yr players to shoulder the load. It will be 4-5 years before they are competitive, and that’s if they nail picks, and not screw their development by expecting too much too soon.

How would Taranto and Hopper be feeling about now?

Got sold the premiership dream and instead are coming off a 2 win season and clearly facing multiple more years in the bottom 4. Sucks to be them.

 

[Oisin_the_Goat]

Who thinks the Cats might take a low/rookie pick gamble on Werribee ruckman Brayden Crossley?

Would be handy backup for Conway/Stanley...

Add to our list of maybe ruckmen. One of them will eventually be a hit !

 

[Reg Hickey]

I hope you are correct. I have faith in the club, but until we know the details it is all just guessing.

I have a question though - why would Bailey Smith accept less from Geelong than he could have gotten in the open market? Out of the goodness of his heart?

Really? Now you're just trolling.

The list of players who took less from us than they could've gotten on the open market is long and distinguished, and includes names such as Jeremy Cameron, Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood, Tom Hawkins, Tom Stewart and a few others.

The reasons have been speculated to death, and I suspect Bailey's reasons have substantial overlap with the reasons of the above players.

 

[Reg Hickey]

I am always astounded when posters store other ambit claims somewhere deep in their memory bank only to resurface them weeks/months later for a Gotcha. Honestly, I don't think anyone else really cares. You were right, someone else on the internet was wrong. It's a bit of a Tallest Dwarf competition

He did say bookmark it.

 

[Reg Hickey]

Who do we have?

Conway - REALLY hope he can get fit. Huge injury concerns
Edwards - Looked good for the 5 minutes he played in the 2's - Injury concerns
Stanley - Cooked, there simply for backup now. Injuries also catching up with him
Furphy (rookie) - IMO, did nothing to impress in the 2's

BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY OPTIONS -

Blitz - Now only good for a 5 minute burst.
DeKoning - Required in the backline.

Looking REALLY thin short term.

Can certainly see an open spot on the rookie list, we have upto 7 spots to fill.

I agree.

Edwards and Furphy are not realistic AFL options yet. Maybe in a couple of years.

Which leaves Stanley, who struggled this year and is likely declining at an accelerating pace given his age and physical state, and Conway, who I think could be the long term answer but is very likely going to need more time to get his body ready for the rigours of 20 games a year.

Blicavs can pinch hit for a quarter or two in an emergency, but if he is playing long stretches in the ruck in 2025, we have serious problems.

So I think it all comes down to what happens with SDK.

If he wants to play ruck, and he spends the entire preseason training for it, then fine. I think in that case we'll be OK ruck wise (we'll need another key defender though!).

If SDK is going to play as a defender, we need a mature ruckman. Whether that's Blakiston, Crossley, Soldo or someone else, I don't have a strong view. We just need someone who could play 10-12 games and be competitive.

 

[catempire]

Who do we have?

Conway - REALLY hope he can get fit. Huge injury concerns
Edwards - Looked good for the 5 minutes he played in the 2's - Injury concerns
Stanley - Cooked, there simply for backup now. Injuries also catching up with him
Furphy (rookie) - IMO, did nothing to impress in the 2's

BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY OPTIONS -

Blitz - Now only good for a 5 minute burst.
DeKoning - Required in the backline.

Looking REALLY thin short term.

Can certainly see an open spot on the rookie list, we have upto 7 spots to fill.

We did not create space for a ruckman on our list, ergo there is no space for another ruckman on our list. The club has committed to the players you mention + Neale.

 

[iameviljez]

We did not create space for a ruckman on our list, ergo there is no space for another ruckman on our list. The club has committed to the players you mention + Neale.

If they want to carry another ruckman, there is space.

 

[Bald]

Where's the dogs' post thanking Baz?

It was posted last night on all the socials.

 

[goyoucatters]

How would Taranto and Hopper be feeling about now?

Got sold the premiership dream and instead are coming off a 2 win season and clearly facing multiple more years in the bottom 4. Sucks to be them.

Their respective bank balances would suggest otherwise. They're getting paid very good coin for years on end to languish towards the bottom of the ladder. And it's not like the tumble down the ladder wasn't reasonably foreseeable, with or without Dimma at the helm. They have been far and away the least talented team to win three premierships in the modern era.

 

[Oisin_the_Goat]

How about Richmonds haul this year -

Richmond: 1, 6, 10, 11, 18, 20, 23, 24

 

[goyoucatters]

It was posted last night on all the socials.

What is Bevo's Insta alias, by the way?

 

[Bald]

What is Bevo's Insta alias, by the way?

I have absolutely no idea.

 

[michelzing]

Guys - A forward Scout report from family in Ireland
Cillian Burke (Pronounced "Kill"- "i" - "an") - Is a midfielder with good size (considered big at around 6 foot 1 - approx 185).
He's from the same county (Kerry) as Mark O'Conner and Stefan Okunbar (remember him?)
He is like Osion Mullin in that he is one of the best younger players in Ireland - some believe he might be a touch more naturally suited as he loves the physical contest and has good vision and scores -though not as quick as Mullin, he still has good pace.
He is very strong (for the GAA competition) - not sure he's giving the "don't argue" but he does break tackles and runs with the ball
Kerry are disappointed at losing him but they do understand the opportunity (the chance to have an opportunity at 300K Euros if he's half decent) and a paid holiday to train with a professional club for 2 years in Australia if he doesn't make it.
Apparently Geelongs history with Tuohy and O'Conner and more recently Mullin, makes Geelong a bit of a favourite over there and helps win them over potential prospects when picking between clubs.
I know whenever I am there (in the South of Ireland - the North is a little less AFL knowledgeable) - I always wear my Geelong gear and the amount of "Go Cats" or questions I get is quite amazing (We generally go once a year).
Long may this Irish association live - It's one of our great untapped recruiting fields - abd given we never get early picks in Australia - we may as well get the early picks in Ireland

 

[cats_09]

Where's the dogs' post thanking Baz?

Though based on majority of the replies to this, the fans would be happy to see this deleted and no mention made of Smith




There's been highlight reels for both Daniel & Macrae, but crickets for Smith - the suggestion that if no trade was done that maybe he re-signs with the Dogs for 12 months was never happening and the idea from Dogs fans that they should have sent him to the draft only to pick him back up is laughable as there's clearly some deep rifts there

 

[Hinkley29]

Really? Now you're just trolling.

The list of players who took less from us than they could've gotten on the open market is long and distinguished, and includes names such as Jeremy Cameron, Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood, Tom Hawkins, Tom Stewart and a few others.

The reasons have been speculated to death, and I suspect Bailey's reasons have substantial overlap with the reasons of the above players.

Quit the trolling accusations.

I simply asked a question that apparently not many people on here want to consider.

If that upsets you, I am sorry.

But it is not trolling.

 

[Munich]

Though based on majority of the replies to this, the fans would be happy to see this deleted and no mention made of Smith




There's been highlight reels for both Daniel & Macrae, but crickets for Smith - the suggestion that if no trade was done that maybe he re-signs with the Dogs for 12 months was never happening and the idea from Dogs fans that they should have sent him to the draft only to pick him back up is laughable as there's clearly some deep rifts there

Wow those comments are unhinged.

 

[catempire]

If they want to carry another ruckman, there is space.

That’s the point. They don’t want to commit more list spaces than they currently do to ruckman.

 

[Strange Cat]

Guys - A forward Scout report from family in Ireland
Cillian Burke (Pronounced "Kill"- "i" - "an") - Is a midfielder with good size (considered big at around 6 foot 1 - approx 185).
He's from the same county (Kerry) as Mark O'Conner and Stefan Okunbar (remember him?)
He is like Osion Mullin in that he is one of the best younger players in Ireland - some believe he might be a touch more naturally suited as he loves the physical contest and has good vision and scores -though not as quick as Mullin, he still has good pace.
He is very strong (for the GAA competition) - not sure he's giving the "don't argue" but he does break tackles and runs with the ball
Kerry are disappointed at losing him but they do understand the opportunity (the chance to have an opportunity at 300K Euros if he's half decent) and a paid holiday to train with a professional club for 2 years in Australia if he doesn't make it.
Apparently Geelongs history with Tuohy and O'Conner and more recently Mullin, makes Geelong a bit of a favourite over there and helps win them over potential prospects when picking between clubs.
I know whenever I am there (in the South of Ireland - the North is a little less AFL knowledgeable) - I always wear my Geelong gear and the amount of "Go Cats" or questions I get is quite amazing (We generally go once a year).
Long may this Irish association live - It's one of our great untapped recruiting fields - abd given we never get early picks in Australia - we may as well get the early picks in Ireland

I’m really liking the club embracing and setting up long term foundations to develop talent outside the AFL pool …considering the advantages of the academy for the silver spooners it’s nice to see the club look outside the system to nab a few players

Won’t always work out but when it will it’ll be handy

 

[Mangy Carl]

Quit the trolling accusations.

I simply asked a question that apparently not many people on here want to consider.

If that upsets you, I am sorry.

But it is not trolling.

Simply put, ALL AFL players want Premierships.

Geelong can sell them that dream for less money than pretty much every other team in the competition.

The club refuses to pay overs and wont sign ridiculously long contracts for players, 5 years seems to the the longest.

To get success, you need players committed to success, not committed to money..

 

[Pure_Ownage]

We did not create space for a ruckman on our list, ergo there is no space for another ruckman on our list. The club has committed to the players you mention + Neale.

We basically have an empty rookie list. We absolutely have the space to add a ruck particularly if he's ready to go.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Though based on majority of the replies to this, the fans would be happy to see this deleted and no mention made of Smith




There's been highlight reels for both Daniel & Macrae, but crickets for Smith - the suggestion that if no trade was done that maybe he re-signs with the Dogs for 12 months was never happening and the idea from Dogs fans that they should have sent him to the draft only to pick him back up is laughable as there's clearly some deep rifts there

I wonder if we know anyone in the comments section

 

[Play it Sam]

Though based on majority of the replies to this, the fans would be happy to see this deleted and no mention made of Smith




There's been highlight reels for both Daniel & Macrae, but crickets for Smith - the suggestion that if no trade was done that maybe he re-signs with the Dogs for 12 months was never happening and the idea from Dogs fans that they should have sent him to the draft only to pick him back up is laughable as there's clearly some deep rifts there

Worse than crickets, just thanking the other two with no regrets. At the same time not just ignoring Smith but insulting him. I understand sour grapes but these people have no empathy. Considering the good games he gave their jumper and the anxiety he's copped there, abuse serves them rather than introspection.
Our majority acted with maturity and resignation when we lost players, very different from their supporters.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I wonder if we know anyone in the comments section
View attachment 2145724

Bald here's our man.

 

[Johanpetro]

Simply put, ALL AFL players want Premierships.

Geelong can sell them that dream for less money than pretty much every other team in the competition.

The club refuses to pay overs and wont sign ridiculously long contracts for players, 5 years seems to the the longest.

To get success, you need players committed to success, not committed to money..

Which is exactly what Tuohy said at the best and fairest.

He said all he wanted was to win a flag , and every year Geelong go into a season with that goal in mind compared to other clubs who rebuild etc. also said something along the lines of even if he never won one at least he knew Geelong were the number 1 option to TRY to win one