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From AFL.com.au
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Whispers: The silence is deafening on the trade front at Whitten Oval. The Dogs have stated a clear strategy to develop from within - to produce the right type of people to play the right way. If you listen to them, they won’t be active this trade period. But like any of their rivals, they would consider deals in the right circumstances, and probably only for players no older than 25.
Commodities: The Dogs have eight players aged at least 29 and plan to - and need to - retain most of them to teach the younger players (a philosophy of coach Brendan McCartney). They also have an abundance of forward-flanker types and young key-position players, and they would hope to nurture the latter and transform them into one of the strengths of their list.
Needs: Players in their mid-20s to balance out their stocks of experience and youth; a key forward (maybe impossibly Adelaide's Kurt Tippett or, more realistically, Essendon's Scott Gumbleton); a key back such as Collingwood star Ben Reid to take some pressure off veteran Brian Lake to both stop goals and create them; and a couple of classy, pacy midfielders - 22-year-old versions of Ryan Griffen and Adam Cooney would be ideal - to complement, long-term, the inside work of youngsters Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis and Clay Smith.
Trade history: The Dogs have been busy over the past two years. Last year they traded Josh Hill to West Coast for pick 49 (which they used to get Daniel Pearce) and Ben Hudson to the Brisbane Lions for pick 70 (which they used to upgrade Luke Dahlhaus from their rookie list). The previous year they snared former Brisbane Lion Justin Sherman in exchange for the round one compensatory pick they received for losing Jarrod Harbrow to Gold Coast; traded Andrejs Everitt to the Sydney Swans for Patrick Veszpremi; and traded pick 58 for Geelong's Nathan Djerrkura.
Fantasy trade: The Dogs desperately need midfield pace and precision, the likes of which could be provided by Collingwood's Sharrod Wellingham, who could potentially be wooed by the prospect of greater responsibility away from the Pies' star-studded midfield. The sting for the Dogs would be the need to dangle a big carrot - a Bob Murphy, for example. The Dogs veteran would have a far greater chance of playing in a premiership with the club he supported as a boy.
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WESTERN BULLDOGS
Whispers: The silence is deafening on the trade front at Whitten Oval. The Dogs have stated a clear strategy to develop from within - to produce the right type of people to play the right way. If you listen to them, they won’t be active this trade period. But like any of their rivals, they would consider deals in the right circumstances, and probably only for players no older than 25.
Commodities: The Dogs have eight players aged at least 29 and plan to - and need to - retain most of them to teach the younger players (a philosophy of coach Brendan McCartney). They also have an abundance of forward-flanker types and young key-position players, and they would hope to nurture the latter and transform them into one of the strengths of their list.
Needs: Players in their mid-20s to balance out their stocks of experience and youth; a key forward (maybe impossibly Adelaide's Kurt Tippett or, more realistically, Essendon's Scott Gumbleton); a key back such as Collingwood star Ben Reid to take some pressure off veteran Brian Lake to both stop goals and create them; and a couple of classy, pacy midfielders - 22-year-old versions of Ryan Griffen and Adam Cooney would be ideal - to complement, long-term, the inside work of youngsters Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis and Clay Smith.
Trade history: The Dogs have been busy over the past two years. Last year they traded Josh Hill to West Coast for pick 49 (which they used to get Daniel Pearce) and Ben Hudson to the Brisbane Lions for pick 70 (which they used to upgrade Luke Dahlhaus from their rookie list). The previous year they snared former Brisbane Lion Justin Sherman in exchange for the round one compensatory pick they received for losing Jarrod Harbrow to Gold Coast; traded Andrejs Everitt to the Sydney Swans for Patrick Veszpremi; and traded pick 58 for Geelong's Nathan Djerrkura.
Fantasy trade: The Dogs desperately need midfield pace and precision, the likes of which could be provided by Collingwood's Sharrod Wellingham, who could potentially be wooed by the prospect of greater responsibility away from the Pies' star-studded midfield. The sting for the Dogs would be the need to dangle a big carrot - a Bob Murphy, for example. The Dogs veteran would have a far greater chance of playing in a premiership with the club he supported as a boy.
Read about other teams here
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