dogwatch
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It’d be nice but why would Bevo do that? He hasn’t shown any inclination so far.
Strategy Trade and List Management Thread Part 7 (opposition supporters - READ posting rules before posting)
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I will never make assumptions about that man again.
Thought he'd be reduced to a bit player after his knee and came back better then ever. Wrote him off mid season and he managed to tick off all the boxes and come back without missing a trick. Libba's are just built differently, I hope we have one for every generation.
He used Dunkley as a tagger can see Kennedy as a cheap Dunkley replacement who can actually kick
seaweed
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It’s kind of nice having not watched AFL for years (worked in a footy club so was fairly over footy for a while) and only having gotten back into it this season. Means I barely know who anyone is and I can judge them on their own merits when I see them play, without going into it with a pre-conceived notion of what they might be like as a player.
I’ll reserve judgement on Kennedy until after he’s played a few games for us.
I’ll reserve judgement on Kennedy until after he’s played a few games for us.
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Just out of interest, how long do the Macrae supporters (and we all love him) think he's got left?
He's a great player and forever will be a Premiership player, but don't suggest to me that he doesn't have limitations.
It was terrible losing Cameron, Montgomery and Powell in 99, but if we didn't, we don't get Murphy, Gilbee, Gaia and that crop of players.
You get nowhere standing still.
Or is it that whatever the club does you have an issue with?
He's a great player and forever will be a Premiership player, but don't suggest to me that he doesn't have limitations.
It was terrible losing Cameron, Montgomery and Powell in 99, but if we didn't, we don't get Murphy, Gilbee, Gaia and that crop of players.
You get nowhere standing still.
Or is it that whatever the club does you have an issue with?
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Norm De Guerre
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Being an ideas kinda guy. Ive got a better idea. The entire trade period should be like a televised game of demented speed dating between desperates willing to do anything to consummate the deal. A spectacle that begins at 2pm and finishes at 7.30pm on the same day.
Id watch that. You'd watch that. We'd all watch that.
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Hoges64
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I think he's got 2 VERY GOOD (not great) seasons left, then a third where he winds down a little. He's had a grand total of 2 soft tissue injuries his whole career, so he's not susceptible to them, and speed and agility has never been his skillset anyway.
Saints will love him in their midfield for the next couple of years, someone that can actually be relied upon week in week in out, that doesn't fade in and out of games like Crouch and Steele can do.
Whether he's a good idea for them as a whole is questionable, but that's for their list managers and supporters to squabble over.
Richmond have done well here
I actually don't think Libba should start in the middle at all next year. His effectiveness was way behind, Bont, Treloar and Richards. For me, it should be his final year, take the pressure off and give him the high half forward role (can snag a goal) and give him some rest weeks, sub weeks etc. What a warrior but he hit the wall last year, like most do at his age and the amount of damage his body has taken.
I guess they declined the Carlton offer.
I'm sure we will.
Sorry I love Libbas work but he really struggled season end and his form was pretty average
Dannnnnnnnnn
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Macrae came fifth in our B&F in 2022, taking 64% of centre bounces. From there, he was suddenly and deliberately taken out of his best position - dropping to 36% in a single season. This year, that trend continued and he dropped to 12%.
"How many years do you think he's got left" is a misnomer. It implies that his downtick in form has been driven by age-related decline, or that he was moved because of a decline. The latter just isn't true. The former certainly could be the case, but we don't have as much evidence for that as is made out because his "drop off" coincided with a preconceived intention to move him into another position on the ground.
When Beveridge came on board, he revitalised the careers of several club champs and helped them play on by carving out roles for them, even when we as a fanbase thought there was no way they could work. More recently, I would argue that we've marginalised at least three leadership group members - Hunter, Macrae, and now Daniel - without making meaningful upgrades at their positions, and all in the pursuit of "speed." They deserve better. I don't deny that Macrae has limitations - nobody would. I just don't think we've done enough to utilise him.
I get the arguments about pace and about him not being better than other mids... but every single other team in the league rotates their midfield more than we do. It's not "80% midfield or bust" - every other team in the league seems to find a way to have a second midfield rotation.
I suspect that Macrae is going to have at least two strong seasons for St Kilda. I may be wrong and will happily concede that I was wrong if his decline continues at the Saints.
But that's actually not my main frustration at all. Perhaps Macrae isn't the best fit for us - I can hear and acknowledge that possibility. What is undeniable, though, is that there has been a very considered plan to extract him from his best position. If that was always the intention, he should have been moved two years ago. That is where my frustration lies - we are now losing a club champion for nothing because we executed a plan to marginalise him to the point where he wants to leave.
And we might have done it with two players in one season.
threenewpadlocks
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Saints have relented and will pay 100% of Macrae's salary including potential performance bonuses for 2027 (which is why you're hearing conflicting news about how much he's due to get paid in 2027).
The end result is instead of Macrae to Kennedy and getting both a small draft and salary cap upgrade, it's Macrae to Kennedy with no draft but a medium salary cap upgrade.
The end result is instead of Macrae to Kennedy and getting both a small draft and salary cap upgrade, it's Macrae to Kennedy with no draft but a medium salary cap upgrade.
I wouldn’t say he came back last year without missing a trick, was well below what we’ve seen from him prior and unfortunately the end seems to be in sight.
Our future first could be enticing for them to target Warner next year.Could we go for 14 from Freo?
