St Kilda Star In Talks With Sydney

[CAS79]

Agree with every point in your post but particularly about Nicoski, I think he could be an absolute superstar, I'd love to see him in the red & white.

A third motion. Nickosi must be getting pissed at not being able to hold down a regular spot and there is no sign there are going to be retirements to help him break the mold in the next couple of years, Certainly worth sniffing to see if he is available.

 

[rancidpants13]

A third motion. Nickosi must be getting pissed at not being able to hold down a regular spot and there is no sign there are going to be retirements to help him break the mold in the next couple of years, Certainly worth sniffing to see if he is available.

and he's just been cut again from the weagles side for tomorrow night....he looked really good early in the 05 grand final, has a good long kick on the run
hey, forget warnock, why not chase sandilands.....another player who's failing to deliver on potential at his home club, surely we could turn him into the superstar he should be, and he's bigger than cox

 

[TonyModra]

Scott Harding at Brisbane. He cant get a game but his in and under skills are superb. Very much a Sydney style of player. Probably wont cost much either.

mate you gotta be kidding...

Robert Warnock of Fremantle. There are no rumours what so ever that I've heard that he is available, but we should change that status. Warnock is a bigtime star in the making. He just looks good on the field, Fremantle have a track record of giving away young guys with potential(especially ruckmen), why should we not try and exploit it?

you couldnt afford him and they wouldnt let him go

 

[liz]

A third motion. Nickosi must be getting pissed at not being able to hold down a regular spot and there is no sign there are going to be retirements to help him break the mold in the next couple of years, Certainly worth sniffing to see if he is available.

Not sure about this notion that he can't hold down a spot in the Eagles team. West Coast fans love him; Worsfold talks him up at every opportunity.

The reason he's not been playing in the senior team until recently is entirely down to injury (and then the need to regain some match fitness before regaining his spot). He didn't spend long in the WAFL before coming back into the senior team.

He's a good player, maybe the potential to become a very good player. Whether he's as good as most Eagles fans think is debateable, and we need to see how he returns from a long injury stretch.

But while I'd have no objection to seeing him run around in red and white, he'd cost a lot and surely a flanker type - even a very good one - is pretty low down on the recruitment priority list when we have the likes of Malceski, Kennelly, Dempster all capable in this area, plus hopefully the likes of Barlow and Laidlaw to provide more options in the near future.

 

[CAS79]

Not sure about this notion that he can't hold down a spot in the Eagles team. West Coast fans love him; Worsfold talks him up at every opportunity.

The reason he's not been playing in the senior team until recently is entirely down to injury (and then the need to regain some match fitness before regaining his spot). He didn't spend long in the WAFL before coming back into the senior team.

Liz as always your comprehensive football brain is respected and it is appreciated Nickoski has had some unfortunate injuries.

But the fact remains he has again been cut for the finals and at the age of 24 and not yet at 50 games,

Injury aside he has still spent plenty of time as back up boy. His disposal is excellent and I would have him more in mind as a running half forward flanker where as Mal, Kennely and Dempster all seem to run of the HBF. The Eagles are not going to lose too many over the next few years through age but salary cap pressure may mean that if Nickoski wants more opportunities to impress for more dollars in the future he may want to look outside the Eagles and that may lessen what we give up for him,

To top it all off I’m talking about him as the sort of player where an opportunity may arise.

 

[footy block]

Go Swannies on the week end

 

[crimson]

Honestly can't see why Luke Ball would want to come to Sydney.

His father Ray played for South Melbourne!!!! Maybe he likes the swans.

 

[liz]

But the fact remains he has again been cut for the finals and at the age of 24 and not yet at 50 games,

Suspect he's been cut because he's a long way off fully fit. And injuries over a few years (plus the fact that he was a late developer, coming off the rookie list) will contribute to his lowish games tally. At the start of the year he was on 44 games whereas Malceski (one year younger) was on 22 - ie a difference of one season's games which equates to their age difference.

I agree with your point about the Weagles maybe needing to lose players to stay within the salary cap but doubt Nicoski costs them very much compared to their roster of higher profile "stars". In terms of value for money he'd probably be one of their most valuable had it not been for his injuries.

 

[CirrusC2]

Teams often need to cut back when a heap of midrange guys 'emerge' during a season - so, someone starts a season as an average or good footballer and becomes a gun during the course of the season. You wouldn't say this has happened at west coast this season apart from Priddis (maybe). I can't see Nicolski leaving...

Sydney will always have that Hall/Lockett type thing happening as an alternative to a high pressure lifestyle - So who is there around in that category? Fevola? It would be interesting to see what the bounds of our 'no d|ckhead' policy are

Not sure it'll ever happen, but i'd love to see some of those guns with a NSW origin come back - Lenny Hayes, Mark McVeigh, Kosi, Jacob Surjan, Hamish McIntosh, etc..

 

[Anything Footy Related]

Luke Balls Dad played at south melbourne and we had the opportunity to get him under father son rule but he decided to go into the draft so i cant see him leaving a club hes captain of now???

 

[rancidpants13]

I personally think we should be looking at several guys.

First and foremost is Brendan Fevola. He reeks of Hall or Lockett, a guy who is frustrated at being on a poor team. Everything bad he does reeks of frustration(Irish Barman aside) and his talent is obvious. Hall and Mickey are not getting any younger and both have been average this year.

Robert Warnock of Fremantle. There are no rumours what so ever that I've heard that he is available, but we should change that status. Warnock is a bigtime star in the making. He just looks good on the field, Fremantle have a track record of giving away young guys with potential(especially ruckmen), why should we not try and exploit it?

Simon Taylor at Hawthorn. Again, looks really good to me and they clearly prefer Campbell over him. We need someone to replace Spider because I still dont rate Jolly as a #1 ruckman(every time he isnt rucking we make runs then he starts rucking and we stink).

Luke Ball wouldn't be bad. His health issues are big but Sydney has a pretty damn good record on that front. If our medical staff cant get his body right, no one can. The talent is obvious, leadership aside, he would be an obvious replacement for Kirky.

Mark Nicoski. He has to be frustrated that he cant get a game for the Eagles and believe me, he is super talented. His kicking skills and versatility make him an obvious choice for Sydney.

Scott Harding at Brisbane. He cant get a game but his in and under skills are superb. Very much a Sydney style of player. Probably wont cost much either.

Cameron Bruce. Melbourne are a team that could be worth raiding. They seem lost(they hired Connelly to manage their list, that screams that they have no idea). Bruce has supreme talent. While we are there, Brock McLean would be worth a look.

Biggest area of need for us though is the key position defensive spots. Craig Bolton is ridiculously good at overachieving but he shouldn't be playing CHB. LRT shouldn't be in the AFL. Barry shouldn't be at FB. If we got legit options at those positions we would be damn near impossible to beat and would free Kennelly and Malceski up to cause havoc.

i like fev, and yes i think we'd make him the superstar he should be, but at what cost?
but certainly the likes of nicoski, harding and bruce, geez, can you imagine bruce soaring up and down the flanks feeding off the ball delivered to him from our in-and-under brigade....as for mclean, i think the dees still see him as captain material, even though he's had a very up-and-down year
but the idea is right; the dees seema club ready to clean out some players...there's talk travis johnstone may be put on the table, and he or cam bruce would be a nice fit....but maybe they're too old for where we are now

 

[rancidpants13]

Teams often need to cut back when a heap of midrange guys 'emerge' during a season - so, someone starts a season as an average or good footballer and becomes a gun during the course of the season. You wouldn't say this has happened at west coast this season apart from Priddis (maybe). I can't see Nicolski leaving...

Sydney will always have that Hall/Lockett type thing happening as an alternative to a high pressure lifestyle - So who is there around in that category? Fevola? It would be interesting to see what the bounds of our 'no d|ckhead' policy are

Not sure it'll ever happen, but i'd love to see some of those guns with a NSW origin come back - Lenny Hayes, Mark McVeigh, Kosi, Jacob Surjan, Hamish McIntosh, etc..

surjan impressed the few times i saw port in the second half of the season, seems a real hard goer with a touch of flair.....where's he from in nsw? i think macintosh would be untouchable at north, i wouldn't want another mcveigh, he's had his career best season at the dons this year, saints won't trade kosi but hayes would certainly be of interest

 

[robbieando]

surjan impressed the few times i saw port in the second half of the season, seems a real hard goer with a touch of flair.....where's he from in nsw?

South Fremantle. Fair distance away from NSW

i think macintosh would be untouchable at north

Untouchable and the fact he is from Albury means the go-home factor isn't in our favour because Melbourne is closer to where he is from than Sydney.

saints won't trade kosi but hayes would certainly be of interest

Saints might not trade Kosi, but as he is out of contract they might be forced if he doesn't re-sign. But again the go home factor would favour a Melbourne club over us because he is from a border town. As for Hayes that just isn't going to happen.

 

[robbieando]

First and foremost is Brendan Fevola. He reeks of Hall or Lockett, a guy who is frustrated at being on a poor team. Everything bad he does reeks of frustration(Irish Barman aside) and his talent is obvious. Hall and Mickey are not getting any younger and both have been average this year.

Two things about Fev:

1) He has stated that he doesn't want to leave and Carlton have stated that they aren't going to trade him. So I doubt this is even a possible move for ANY club let alone us.
2) If he was up for a trade, the cost would be TOO MUCH. Carlton would be expecting at least 2 First Round Draft Picks (which we don't have anyway) or 1 First Round Draft Pick and Best Player under the age of 24 (which would be Melceski). So I don't see the club making that sort of trade to get Fevola, which would risk our long term future for the sake of the short term.

Robert Warnock of Fremantle. There are no rumours what so ever that I've heard that he is available, but we should change that status. Warnock is a bigtime star in the making.He just looks good on the field,

Hence why he ISN'T rumored to be available.

Fremantle have a track record of giving away young guys with potential(especially ruckmen), why should we not try and exploit it?

They make a few bad trades over a decade ago and all of a sudden they have a track record and BTW the only ruckman of note they have "given away" was Jeff White who they traded to Melbourne because he requested to moved back home. I don't see an opening here that we can exploit and certainly not under a new coach.

Simon Taylor at Hawthorn. Again, looks really good to me and they clearly prefer Campbell over him. We need someone to replace Spider because I still dont rate Jolly as a #1 ruckman(every time he isnt rucking we make runs then he starts rucking and we stink).

Won't happen. Taylor and Campbell are seen as Hawthorn's ruck duo for years to come.

Luke Ball wouldn't be bad. His health issues are big but Sydney has a pretty damn good record on that front. If our medical staff cant get his body right, no one can. The talent is obvious, leadership aside, he would be an obvious replacement for Kirky.

Don't see it happening. Sure his father is an ex-Swan, but that really means little. His body is banged up and will miss most of the pre season having undergone a groin op during the week. If he is still contracted to the Saints, the cost would again be too much and I doubt the Saints would be willing to trade him and if out of contract, there would be other clubs ahead of us, with far larger amounts of money to throw at him.

Mark Nicoski. He has to be frustrated that he cant get a game for the Eagles and believe me, he is super talented. His kicking skills and versatility make him an obvious choice for Sydney.

No doubt the Eagles rate him highly, but has played very little senior AFL football over the last two season because of injuries. If he was put up for trade and the cost not too great then we should look at it.

Scott Harding at Brisbane. He cant get a game but his in and under skills are superb. Very much a Sydney style of player. Probably wont cost much either.

I don't think so.

Cameron Bruce. Melbourne are a team that could be worth raiding. They seem lost(they hired Connelly to manage their list, that screams that they have no idea). Bruce has supreme talent. While we are there, Brock McLean would be worth a look.

Yeah, Melbourne are going to be easy pickings for every club because of Connelly being the Football Manager

We have no chance at Bruce or McLean and I wouldn't look at any of their players that would come available in trades or dislistings.

Biggest area of need for us though is the key position defensive spots. Craig Bolton is ridiculously good at overachieving but he shouldn't be playing CHB. LRT shouldn't be in the AFL. Barry shouldn't be at FB. If we got legit options at those positions we would be damn near impossible to beat and would free Kennelly and Malceski up to cause havoc.

Only way we can work this area out is though the draft and develop KP Defenders. We won't be able to trade for players because no club will give up "good" KP Defenders.

 

[WoGiTaLiA]

you couldnt afford him and they wouldnt let him go

They are very high on Gilmore as the backup and are also keen on getting Kepler Bradley in for the same role. Freo are a team with a track record of trading potential to try and win now. I dont expect to get him, but it cant hurt to try.

The reason he's not been playing in the senior team until recently is entirely down to injury (and then the need to regain some match fitness before regaining his spot). He didn't spend long in the WAFL before coming back into the senior team.

The thing is that while he has been out injured Hurn and Waters have both passed him for the back flank positions. It may come to a situation where Nico becomes available because he wants an opportunity to go further. Again, my list is full of guys that I've heard no rumours of potential trades, basically I thought of guys that might be available and listed the ones I like for Sydney. I dont expect us to end up with a single one of them.

Not sure it'll ever happen, but i'd love to see some of those guns with a NSW origin come back - Lenny Hayes, Mark McVeigh, Kosi, Jacob Surjan, Hamish McIntosh, etc..

Hayes would play the exact same role as Kirky. I actually see Kirk being able to play to 35 if he wants to, he is already slow compared to most and his game is based on his mental aspects and his fitness, both things that wont reduce with age much. He also started late so the toll on the body should be lower. Hayes would be an excellent pick up, but the cost would almost certainly be too much. Saints still see themselves as contenders, which means that trading for any of their guys is unlikely.

Surjan would be nice. Can't see the power letting him go though.

McIntosh would be just about the most untouchable player in the league right now. North wouldn't trade him for anything right now.

Kosi is the interesting one. He is out of contract I believe and he can play. He would be a great pickup for us. His versatility would make him great, but he would cost a lot and would have to force the trade basically. I'd give up LRT and a 1st for Kosi. Saints need a KP defender and some people who only remember his grand final think LRT is decent. Worth a shot?

i like fev, and yes i think we'd make him the superstar he should be, but at what cost?
but certainly the likes of nicoski, harding and bruce, geez, can you imagine bruce soaring up and down the flanks feeding off the ball delivered to him from our in-and-under brigade....as for mclean, i think the dees still see him as captain material, even though he's had a very up-and-down year
but the idea is right; the dees seema club ready to clean out some players...there's talk travis johnstone may be put on the table, and he or cam bruce would be a nice fit....but maybe they're too old for where we are now

I think they are fine. Until Kirk, Goodes, Barry, Hall, Micky and a few others call it quits we are in a win now mode. I'd like Johnstone, his injuries scare me, but he can play and would be the class midfielder we haven't had since Paul Williams. Bruce would play the same role and can also push forward and give us an option. Those two would make a lot of sense, but both would also cost a lot. I'd give up a first for Fev or Bruce and a young guy. Not sure about Johnstone, I'd be trying to get him for a 2nd. Problem with our team is we haven't showcased any of the young guys so trading them is kind of hard because they have no value.

They make a few bad trades over a decade ago and all of a sudden they have a track record and BTW the only ruckman of note they have "given away" was Jeff White who they traded to Melbourne because he requested to moved back home. I don't see an opening here that we can exploit and certainly not under a new coach.

They've made more than a few bad moves. Bell, Croad, White, Simmonds(another ruck), Burton(another ruck), Polak and McPhee amongst others. Burton was very solid for NM and Simmons was excellent for Richmond, both they traded because they were happy with another player. So Sandilands, who they signed long term, could make them think of moving Warnock, who has got no press over here in the west.

Yeah, Melbourne are going to be easy pickings for every club because of Connelly being the Football Manager

Check his track record. As a coach and promoter he did a fantastic job. His trade and talent evaluation though would be the worst in the league if it wasn't for Richmond. He really seemed to hate developing younger players and was very happy to trade them for older guys. Sydney are a team that have a lot of older established guys and need some younger options.

 

[robbieando]

Luke Balls Dad played at south melbourne and we had the opportunity to get him under father son rule but he decided to go into the draft so i cant see him leaving a club hes captain of now???

While, Luke Ball's Dad did play for South Melbourne, he didn't play 100 games that would of enabled us to take Luke under the Father Son rule if Luke wanted to play for us. So we were never in the position to take Luke under the Father Son rule.

 

[Dudley]

Two things about Fev:

1) He has stated that he doesn't want to leave and Carlton have stated that they aren't going to trade him. So I doubt this is even a possible move for ANY club let alone us.
2) If he was up for a trade, the cost would be TOO MUCH. Carlton would be expecting at least 2 First Round Draft Picks (which we don't have anyway) or 1 First Round Draft Pick and Best Player under the age of 24 (which would be Melceski). So I don't see the club making that sort of trade to get Fevola, which would risk our long term future for the sake of the short term.



Hence why he ISN'T rumored to be available.



They make a few bad trades over a decade ago and all of a sudden they have a track record and BTW the only ruckman of note they have "given away" was Jeff White who they traded to Melbourne because he requested to moved back home. I don't see an opening here that we can exploit and certainly not under a new coach.



Won't happen. Taylor and Campbell are seen as Hawthorn's ruck duo for years to come.



Don't see it happening. Sure his father is an ex-Swan, but that really means little. His body is banged up and will miss most of the pre season having undergone a groin op during the week. If he is still contracted to the Saints, the cost would again be too much and I doubt the Saints would be willing to trade him and if out of contract, there would be other clubs ahead of us, with far larger amounts of money to throw at him.



No doubt the Eagles rate him highly, but has played very little senior AFL football over the last two season because of injuries. If he was put up for trade and the cost not too great then we should look at it.



I don't think so.



Yeah, Melbourne are going to be easy pickings for every club because of Connelly being the Football Manager

We have no chance at Bruce or McLean and I wouldn't look at any of their players that would come available in trades or dislistings.



Only way we can work this area out is though the draft and develop KP Defenders. We won't be able to trade for players because no club will give up "good" KP Defenders.

You seem to be so definite and know so much

Do you work at the Swans ?

 

[rancidpants13]

South Fremantle. Fair distance away from NSW



Untouchable and the fact he is from Albury means the go-home factor isn't in our favour because Melbourne is closer to where he is from than Sydney.



Saints might not trade Kosi, but as he is out of contract they might be forced if he doesn't re-sign. But again the go home factor would favour a Melbourne club over us because he is from a border town. As for Hayes that just isn't going to happen.

re surjan, i was going on what the previous poster said about him being from nsw...i know owt about him....apart from the fact he's a good goer

 

[DMJR]

I think we will tend to concentrate on young draft picks and promoted rookies in the comimg months; but if we had the nerve and the places to take one mature KPP and one experienced (pacey) mid-fielder I would suggest:

For the KPP, one of: Jamie Graham (can't get a game but is talented); Henery Playfair (showed promise in 2005 at CHF, ties to Sydney through LRT, junoir footy & also can't get a game); and Kepler Bradley (high draft pick (No 6) who has failed at Essendon - maybe Ted could show him the ropes).

For the midfielder we could take a gamle on Ash Sampi (to be mentored by MOL/Goodes).

If any of these came at a low cost they migt be worth the chance; to fill in while the curent crop move on and the next generation make the full transition from the Reserves.

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

I think we will tend to concentrate on young draft picks and promoted rookies in the comimg months; but if we had the nerve and the places to take one mature KPP and one experienced (pacey) mid-fielder I would suggest:

For the KPP, one of: Jamie Graham (can't get a game but is talented); Henery Playfair (showed promise in 2005 at CHF, ties to Sydney through LRT, junoir footy & also can't get a game); and Kepler Bradley (high draft pick (No 6) who has failed at Essendon - maybe Ted could show him the ropes).

For the midfielder we could take a gamle on Ash Sampi (to be mentored by MOL/Goodes).

If any of these came at a low cost they migt be worth the chance; to fill in while the curent crop move on and the next generation make the full transition from the Reserves.

Yeah, no! No disrespect, but that man is shot! and any club who even thinks about trading for him now would have to be out of their mind! The other options you named aren't too flash either, try again.

 

[smasher]

Luke Ball has been seen in sydney cause he has a surgeon there who operated on his troublesome groin this week gone by.

 

[DMJR]

Yeah, no! No disrespect, but that man is shot! and any club who even thinks about trading for him now would have to be out of their mind! The other options you named aren't too flash either, try again.

D.A your opinions are always worth reading and you're right about 'out of their mind'; and especially for Sampi I would only even consider very late draft picks (he might even be delisted). However, we do have a history of reviving careers with a strong club culture and a lack of the the public glare. As one football brain said you can't give a player talent but you can work with it. Sampi has loads of it and we have two mature potential role models for him. It could be worth a cheap punt for one year; the same with the other suggestions..they all showed some promise at one time, maybe worth a year. Sometimes it works (Jolly), sometimes it doesnt (Chambers).

 

[notting18]

Scott Harding at Brisbane. He cant get a game but his in and under skills are superb. Very much a Sydney style of player. Probably wont cost much either.

Harding can get a game (he played 11 games this year and missed the last few due to injury) , but is still a young player who hasn't fully developed his game.

He would be the type on on-field player who i would expect other clubs to target, but he is a brisbane born and raised guy who is strongly commited to the club. One example is that he was part of a group of players who voluntarily went to the club's management asking what more they could do for the clubs membership.

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

D.A your opinions are always worth reading and you're right about 'out of their mind'; and especially for Sampi I would only even consider very late draft picks (he might even be delisted). However, we do have a history of reviving careers with a strong club culture and a lack of the the public glare. As one football brain said you can't give a player talent but you can work with it. Sampi has loads of it and we have two mature potential role models for him. It could be worth a cheap punt for one year; the same with the other suggestions..they all showed some promise at one time, maybe worth a year. Sometimes it works (Jolly), sometimes it doesnt (Chambers).

Thank you, and i see exactly where you're coming from, but gee it'd be some awesome turnaround if we could get anything out of Sampi at this point. The Swans have pulled some rabbits out of the hat in recent years, but this one would surely be the masterstroke!

 

[bloods01]

y'mean like paul chambers?

Without doubt the worst trade by Barham and the Swans in recent years. We gave up a 2nd round pick for this hack. What were we thinking????