Trade Dunkley

[dog town]

I never really thought about having Libba being back to his best (or very close to) as ever being a risk for the club, but here we are. While I'm sure playing in the ruck may have been enough to frustrate, I have a feeling it's the fact Libba had a resurgence that triggered any apprehensions about midfield minutes with us......if indeed Dunkley actually had apprehensions.

Forward minutes were more significant than ruck minutes.

[Hotdog60]

What happened in the good old days when it was frowned upon poaching players from other clubs.
Did that go out the door with free agency? Back in the day clubs would get into a lot of trouble poaching now it seems part of the norm.

[Bullies]

Out of curiosity, has there been a rumour of when Essendon first got in his ear?

I think you will find the Managers shop them around as well. Liam would have checked in with him during his time in Qld and he would have said he would prefer more time in the middle. I think the ruck part would just be an excuse they are looking for. At the end of the day it is the $$$$$ will be the main reason and Pickering likes the coin as well. I noticed they have pulled the line that the culture was bad which was going around before. Some of his team mates and the club may not have been too impressed with that. Now they are saying it is more about opportunity. More about the $$$.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

Managers are the problem

[Danjul]

So how many games had he been rucking and not playing mid minutes by then, to a demoralizing point, such that he was receptive to moving to another club? 6-7 games in a weird season was his breaking point?

Dunkley has always been viewed as a ruckman. He got his first hitout in his first game, early 2016. It was the start of the ‘ruck is not important nonsense ‘ that has helped hold the team back. He had 1 hitout and 15 disposals.

When used in the ruck In the 5 years since then he stood flat footed while bigger bodies have crashed into him and handed the ball to the opposing rovers. He has been effectively out of the game while the opposition gets a free run. We have seen it with others- we did it with Bont in the 2019 elimination final and it helped GWS take him out of the game.

When Dunkley has spent significant time in the ruck his stats are half (or less) of what he would expect. He loses and the team loses (big time). We could have won the 2020 elimination final by treating him and the ruck position with some respect. In that game he got 0 hitouts and 13 disposals- worse than his first game.

Maybe he is smart enough to know he is not progressing the way professionals should. Who’s next?

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

We're playing a very straight PR bat here but it already feels like posturing to make Dodo try harder, and more crucially, sooner.

The one bit of legit leverage the conniving turd has is - assuming we have now multiple marbles in play, be they Treloar, Stephenson or anyone else - how do we achieve certainty with other targets when we're not sure if and when Dodo makes an offer worth our time, and the nuisance stalling that ensues.

His trump card is basically I can and will f**k you around. Take my ambit claim now and get on with your life, or wait and hope I take things seriously enough with a real offer, if it's not too late. *insert troll grin*

If he's still yanking our chain inside the last couple of days I hope we draw an internal line, resolve to hold Dunkley and leave time to conclude other business.

Yep, agree, I think we need to turn the tables on Dodo here.
Let him know that if we were to let Dunkley go, it's only going to be off the back of the deal being done early enough in trade period, to our satisfaction whilst other replacement targets are still available.
Once that door closes, sorry we're not taking any more phone calls this year, come back and talk to us about Josh in 12 months... or 2 years for FA.

[hujsh]

I think this is sensible. Do we really think Dunkley is or could be at the Dusty/Danger/Ablett Jnr/Judd level? He is a beast as an inside mid, but I still think he is an ordinary kick (where the above aren't) and he is one paced, where again the above aren't. In the short term 2 to 3 seasons, losing Dunks will place more pressure on Libba. It will mean that we are short if Libba goes down which given his history is not beyond the realms of possibility. We have options though. Lippa is a year behind Dunks in his development, but like Lippa is constantly played out of position. He could fill the inside mid role; Westy is one who will benefit from one of Dunks/Libba/Lippa going as it would free a spot for him and he showed enough this year to convince me that he will be a gun; Garcia - who knows, but was drafted as an inside mid; and left field Wallis could in a pinch be the inside mid.

Aside from half backs who we have plenty of, I think inside mid is a position we can cover. If we play this right it sets us up well. He is worth more to the bombers that he is to us, so lets make them pay or we keep him.

Nah. I could see Kennedy (Sydney) or Tom Mitchell level though.

[Axe Man]

Dunkley has always been viewed as a ruckman. He got his first hitout in his first game, early 2016. It was the start of the ‘ruck is not important nonsense ‘ that has helped hold the team back. He had 1 hitout and 15 disposals.

When used in the ruck In the 5 years since then he stood flat footed while bigger bodies have crashed into him and handed the ball to the opposing rovers. He has been effectively out of the game while the opposition gets a free run. We have seen it with others- we did it with Bont in the 2019 elimination final and it helped GWS take him out of the game.

When Dunkley has spent significant time in the ruck his stats are half (or less) of what he would expect. He loses and the team loses (big time). We could have won the 2020 elimination final by treating him and the ruck position with some respect. In that game he got 0 hitouts and 13 disposals- worse than his first game.

Maybe he is smart enough to know he is not progressing the way professionals should. Who’s next?

Can you please stop inventing facts to suit your narrative? Everybody here knows the drum you are banging and it's worn out.

He didn't play in the ruck in his first game, yes he had a hitout, so did Jordan Roughead and Tom Boyd who were the actual ruckmen. It was 2016 and third man up was still a thing. Mitch Wallis, Michael Barlow and Nat Fyfe also had hitouts in that game, I suppose they were all playing in the ruck too?

There is no issue arguing that Dunkley shouldn't play in the ruck but saying that if he didn't play in the ruck he would get +20 possessions, we would be better off and win is a massive over-simplification and conveniently ignores a great number of factors. There are pros and cons to the approach to the ruck we have taken, maybe the cons outweigh the pros but to continually argue it's all negative and not even recognise the reasons why the coaches have gone this way is completely unbalanced.

Serious question - how much time did Josh spend in the ruck in the final? My recall is that it was minimal but happy to be corrected.

[bornadog]

Can you please stop inventing facts to suit your narrative? Everybody here knows the drum you are banging and it's worn out.

He didn't play in the ruck in his first game, yes he had a hitout, so did Jordan Roughead and Tom Boyd who were the actual ruckmen. It was 2016 and third man up was still a thing. Mitch Wallis, Michael Barlow and Nat Fyfe also had hitouts in that game, I suppose they were all playing in the ruck too?

There is no issue arguing that Dunkley shouldn't play in the ruck but saying that if he didn't play in the ruck he would get +20 possessions, we would be better off and win is a massive over-simplification and conveniently ignores a great number of factors. There are pros and cons to the approach to the ruck we have taken, maybe the cons outweigh the pros but to continually argue it's all negative and not even recognise the reasons why the coaches have gone this way is completely unbalanced.

Serious question - how much time did Josh spend in the ruck in the final? My recall is that it was minimal but happy to be corrected.

Good post Axeman.

I also want to know how many minutes Dunks spent in the ruck during this season.

He played 12 games this year. Certainly didn't ruck in the first three games. Then he was injured and came back for round 10 v Power. I don't recall him in the ruck that night. Then it was Lions, Crows, Demons, Cats. I think he played in the ruck against Crows and Demons. Didn't ruck against WC, but did in final for 5 minutes here and there.

Maybe my memory is going

Yes it is not ideal, but it is over blown by many.

[Grantysghost]

Nah. I could see Kennedy (Sydney) or Tom Mitchell level though.

He reminds me of Luke Parker, and he was a cornerstone of the Swans successful periods over the last 10 years.

[westbulldog]

As far as I am concerned Dunkley is no longer a bulldog. If he is made to stay he can play VFL all year for all I care, his credibility is now zero.

[jeemak]

He reminds me of Luke Parker, and he was a cornerstone of the Swans successful periods over the last 10 years.

In that there's literally nothing on the planet as adorable to himself as himself?

[Mofra]

This is an incredible opportunity, as much as it hurts to lose Dunkley.

[bornadog]

This is an incredible opportunity, as much as it hurts to lose Dunkley.

Play our cards right and we could fill the gaps.

[The Pie Man]

He reminds me of Luke Parker, and he was a cornerstone of the Swans successful periods over the last 10 years.

Good comparison - think Parker uses the ball better, but there’s similarities for sure