He's on the board and so is his main supporter Kevin (the footy department and coaching has been a mess since I left but everything with list management is great) Sheedy!
Hopefully he's going nowhere.
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As much as I have enjoyed sticking it to Essendon, I do feel a little uneasy about their plans for the future. I can't see them taking our stance lying down and have no doubts they will come hard again at our players, whether it is Dunks, Bont, Baz, Naughton, Marra etc. They are the dirtiest of operators, so while we may have won this battle, the war isn't over.
AFL.com just dropped their draft ratings. Give your eyes a good rub, this is not a misprint...
Essendon
Who left: Joe Daniher, Adam Saad, Orazio Fantasia
Who arrived: Jye Caldwell, Peter Wright, Nick Hind
2020 NAB AFL Draft picks: 6, 7, 8, 44, 67, 74, 85, 87
Future picks: The Bombers threw a few around here. They sent the Suns a future fourth-round pick for Wright, but received a future third-round selection from the Power. In landing Caldwell they gave up a future second-round pick.
We say: Glass half full or glass half empty? The Bombers lost three quality players, but all three didn't want to be there. There’s genuine star factor that has left in Daniher, Saad and Fantasia, though, that hasn’t been replaced. They picked up Wright very cheaply in trade terms (although will take on the large part of his hefty wage), and brought in some speed from St Kilda with Nick Hind, while the Bombers also did a good deal to land Caldwell as an up-and-coming midfielder but paid a big price with two second-round picks. Their huge and lucrative bid for Josh Dunkley went down to the wire, but ultimately the Bombers weren't willing to give up two first-round picks for the midfielder – which leaves them with probably their best draft hand in history with three top-10 picks. They must land these selections to turn this period into a win. Two midfielders and a tall should be on the menu. - Callum Twomey
Grade: 4.5/10 (ranked 17th)
Western Bulldogs
Who left: Lachie Young
Who arrived: Mitch Hannan, Stefan Martin, Adam Treloar
2020 NAB AFL Draft picks: 26, 33, 41, 42, 54, 90
Future picks: They gave away a future third-round pick for Melbourne goalkicker Hannan, and also a future second-round pick as a key part in the Treloar deal.
We say: Wow. Not only did the Bulldogs hold their nerve and keep the Bombers' bid for Josh Dunkley at bay, they also managed a last-minute deal to snag Adam Treloar from the Magpies to add serious speed to their midfield mix in exchange for essentially a future second-round pick. The pick 14 they sent to the Pies as part of that deal netted them No.26, 33 and 42 – which will give them more points to select highly-rated Academy talent Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. That pick was always on the move and eventually found a home as they searched for draft points. The Dogs targeted a ready-to-go mature ruckman to complement Tim English and picked up Brisbane's Stefan Martin in a three-way deal that saw them lose Young to North, while Hannan gives their forward line another dimension. The Dogs' list only got better in the exchange period, and will get better at next month's draft, too. Huge winners. - Callum Twomey
Grade: 10/10 (ranked 1st)
For extra LOL's:
Collingwood
Who left: Jaidyn Stephenson, Atu Bosenavulagi, Tom Phillips, Adam Treloar
Who arrived: Nil
2020 NAB AFL Draft picks: 14, 16, 65, 70, 75, 92
Future picks: Collingwood received a future second-round selection from the Western Bulldogs in a deal for Treloar. Despite publicly putting its future first-round pick on the trade table, it didn't relinquish any 2021 picks.
We say: How did it come to this? Collingwood's desperation to push Stephenson, Phillips and Treloar out the door led to cut-price deals for all three. Stephenson, a NAB AFL Rising Star winner just two years ago, left for little more than a second-round pick. Phillips, a solid servant with a bright future, left for a pick in the 60s. The club did receive pick No.14 from the Bulldogs in a deal for Treloar, but also gave up one of its most important midfielders and was forced to shift picks No.26, 33 and 42 to get that earlier selection. It's a lamentable Trade Period for the club. - Riley Beveridge
Grade: 1/10 (ranked 18th)
This indeed is the potential grey cloud on the horizon. It may well be Collingwood as the threat, who have now released a great amount of cap space this year. Whilst the logic of their salary / player dump is bewildering now, it may well be that their strategy is all about being in a position to replace Pendlebury by throwing an offer at Marcus that he couldn’t refuse, and we wouldn’t have cap space to cover.
If we start winning finals, then guys might accept a small amount less like we've seen at Hawthorn, Geelong & Richmond by and large. That's the ideal scenario.