Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

[Mantis]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

This game and North have exposed us in depth of another tall forward. Watts (FA) & Vardy are the two I can think of who are gettable, but are they going to fix it enough?

With Boyd, Redpath and Crameri to come into the team we aren't that bad off.

[GVGjr]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

This game and North have exposed us in depth of another tall forward. Watts (FA) & Vardy are the two I can think of who are gettable, but are they going to fix it enough?

I guess the thing that we need to be mindful of is much the Australian test selectors ongoing search for all-rounders, we can certainly get players who on paper meet some of our requirements but more often than not just add depth more than what we genuinely need.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

With Boyd, Redpath and Crameri to come into the team we aren't that bad off.

True, but that's the extent of our cupboard. I like Campbell & Roughy rucking, but my faith of either them being a decent forward has gone now. Some real competition for spots should in theory be a good thing and cover injuries and suspensions.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

I guess the thing that we need to be mindful of is much the Australian test selectors ongoing search for all-rounders, we can certainly get players who on paper meet some of our requirements but more often than not just add depth more than what we genuinely need.

I guess that was my question. If Vardy came at a good trade or Watts via FA, would that be worth the investment in trade or money? Is our forward KPPs sufficiently well stocked?

[Mantis]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

True, but that's the extent of our cupboard. I like Campbell & Roughy rucking, but my faith of either them being a decent forward has gone now. Some real competition for spots should in theory be a good thing and cover injuries and suspensions.

It is thin, but hard to get someone decent to possibly just be back-up.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

It is thin, but hard to get someone decent to be possibly just be back-up.

It's a fair point, which leaves free agency which narrows the search to pretty much Vickery or Watts.

[Bornadog]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

It's a fair point, which leaves free agency which narrows the search to pretty much Vickery or Watts.

I still think a more pressing need is in the backline, a 198cm plus CHB/FB

[lemmon]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

I still think a more pressing need is in the backline, a 198cm plus CHB/FB

I think when we've been found out this year it's been highlighted by an inability to score, the defence has always been okay. Whether a group Roberts/Collins/Adams/Cordy/Hamling will be the answer in the future I'm not sure, but at least it's somewhere we have depth.

I like the idea of targetting the expansion clubs and making them work to keep guys like James Stewart and Tomlinson

[Bornadog]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

I think when we've been found out this year it's been highlighted by an inability to score, the defence has always been okay. Whether a group Roberts/Collins/Adams/Cordy/Hamling will be the answer in the future I'm not sure, but at least it's somewhere we have depth.

Crameri will be back next year, which will make a big difference. Plus we have Redpath and Boyd.

[Remi Moses]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

I think who we have out is rather significant here .
Watts has no second effort, and Vardy can't get on the park .

[GVGjr]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

I guess that was my question. If Vardy came at a good trade or Watts via FA, would that be worth the investment in trade or money? Is our forward KPPs sufficiently well stocked?

Here is a hypothetical challenge we face with recruiting a player like James Stewart who is the type of player we probably need to consider

- Could he play in a team that has a forward line of Boyd, Crameri, Stringer, Dickson, Bontempelli and has Redpath knocking on the door?
- If we said lets play him mainly as a forward and use him as that 5 minutes per quarter ruckman instead of Tom Boyd then could that still work with our current ruck tandem of Campbell and Roughead? Does that mean Roughead needs to go into the back line a bit more?

The only way I could see it working is to delist Redpath, which would be a harsh call, return Roughead to the back line and use both Stewart and Tom Boyd as that back up ruck option to support Campbell.

Strangely our list is still a bit misaligned. We still have some gaps but it's increasingly hard to fit players in unless we are prepared to make some very hard calls.

[lemmon]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

The other thing to consider is how well clubs are doing playing three big guys up forward and how they're managing that. Adelaide, North, GWS, Geelong at times, even St Kilda and Melbourne seem to be trying to play very tall up front with us and Hawthorn going the other way.

[Doc26]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

GWS's elite talent is where we should be targeting in the coming seasons. Nick Haynes should be coming out of contract at the end of 2017 at a great age of 25 and would be an ideal target for us given his talent and flexibility. Hopefully the lure back to Melbourne might be a strong point. Continuing on the speculation theme, Daniel McStay, at Brisbane, is another we might be interested in given he also is a Melbourne lad, best mates with Tom Boyd and with Brisbane likely to be in turmoil while Leppitsch is at the wheel.

[GVGjr]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

The other thing to consider is how well clubs are doing playing three big guys up forward and how they're managing that. Adelaide, North, GWS, Geelong at times, even St Kilda and Melbourne seem to be trying to play very tall up front with us and Hawthorn going the other way.

Great point. The general consensus is two key forwards is a good option but a number of sides are bucking that trend and squeezing in another tall. Does it come down to how many mid sized players are also playing forward?

North tend to have 3 talls, and 3 smalls. Brown backs up the durable Goldstein and Nahas, Thomas and Harvey apply a bit of pressure when the ball hits the ground.

[Twodogs]

Re: Early Trade talk - Anyone we want that may be available?

Great point. The general consensus is two key forwards is a good option but a number of sides are bucking that trend and squeezing in another tall. Does it come down to how many mid sized players are also playing forward?

North tend to have 3 talls, and 3 smalls. Brown backs up the durable Goldstein and Nahas, Thomas and Harvey apply a bit of pressure when the ball hits the ground.

North have radically gone back to organising their forward line the way forward lines were set up for a hundred years.