McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

No point in trading for mediocre players, or top up players.

That leaves us with the hope of securing a 'good young talent' ... but you overpay for these types.

Alas, our only trading should be to get draft picks for any of Hill, Stack, Addison, Reid etc.

[The Underdog]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

No point in trading for mediocre players, or top up players.

That leaves us with the hope of securing a 'good young talent' ... but you overpay for these types.

Alas, our only trading should be to get draft picks for any of Hill, Stack, Addison, Reid etc.

More likely that we'll trade these players for draft picks with which we'll draft our future mediocre or top-up players, but you never know we might get lucky.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

More likely that we'll trade these players for draft picks with which we'll draft our future mediocre or top-up players, but you never know we might get lucky.

And thats the logic we should follow

Turn over the the list and give new players an opportunity. If we can unearth a few surprise packets a season e.g Dalhaus then we will be back in business quicker than we will be having the list full of fringe players

[Bornadog]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

And thats the logic we should follow

Turn over the the list and give new players an opportunity. If we can unearth a few surprise packets a season e.g Dalhaus then we will be back in business quicker than we will be having the list full of fringe players

I agree, we don't want hasbeen players, lets just keep recruiting some young players. There are plenty of players out there looking for an opportunity, just as you mentioned BR, ala Dahlhaus.

[Mofra]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

Seriously though they must think our list is pretty good.

Either that, or we've identified talent with our available picks we want to target and aren't prepared to sacrifice those picks for fringe players at other clubs.

I'd suggest Dalrymple, on what we've seen in his short recruiting career, is performing better than par.

[Remi Moses]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

Hopefully no list cloggers. The only activity I think we'll see is Sam Reid to West Sydney for an upgraded pick.

[LostDoggy]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

I have no problem if the club trades Gia. We have plenty of young players who could be moved into his position to get experience for our next tilt.

Could get a decent draft selection for him too.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

I think trading Gia would be condemming the club to a couple of years of celler dwelling. Gia was our second highest goalscorer last year. He was a shining light through a very grey period durig the season. I'm not sure who you think could step in and play the role he plays?

[soupman]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

I have no problem if the club trades Gia. We have plenty of young players who could be moved into his position to get experience for our next tilt.

Could get a decent draft selection for him too.

Do we really? His output has been pretty good and at times exceptional just this year. I'm also not sure that getting rid of him is the best message to our players that we are the club they want to finish their career with, because creating an image as a club that kicks you out once you are 30 means players at 28 are going to start looking at jumping ship. And don't kid yourself, Gia is worth little on the open market, and is worth substantially more to us as a player, let alone clubman, leader etc. than a mid 3rd round pick.

[Missing-Dog]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

Do we really? His output has been pretty good and at times exceptional just this year. I'm also not sure that getting rid of him is the best message to our players that we are the club they want to finish their career with, because creating an image as a club that kicks you out once you are 30 means players at 28 are going to start looking at jumping ship. And don't kid yourself, Gia is worth little on the open market, and is worth substantially more to us as a player, let alone clubman, leader etc. than a mid 3rd round pick.

Very much agree with this. Whether people like it or not Gia is both a leader and a great clubman. You don't trade his sort.

[Maddog37]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

The other side of the coin though is that a little like the Australian cricket team, you need to stagger the departure of the older guys. You do not want to lose Warne, McGrath, Hayden and Langer all at the same time.

Having said that I would be very surprised if he is traded.

[1eyedog]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

I think trading Gia would be condemming the club to a couple of years of celler dwelling. Gia was our second highest goalscorer last year. He was a shining light through a very grey period durig the season. I'm not sure who you think could step in and play the role he plays?

Small forward? Vez, Higgins or Cooney if he is unable to play in the midfield.

[Missing Dog]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

Small forward? Vez, Higgins or Cooney if he is unable to play in the midfield.

If Higgins is still playing as a small forward by the end of next season than I would be bitterly disappointed as it shows he will never become the quality midfielder we had hoped for.

In relation to Vez, he is currently coming from a long way back as he was overlooked for the Williamstown GF side and despite the 'potential' he has no proven track record and the question still remains as to whether he can make AFL level similarly to Djerkurra.

[1eyedog]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

If Higgins is still playing as a small forward by the end of next season than I would be bitterly disappointed as it shows he will never become the quality midfielder we had hoped for.

In relation to Vez, he is currently coming from a long way back as he was overlooked for the Williamstown GF side and despite the 'potential' he has no proven track record and the question still remains as to whether he can make AFL level similarly to Djerkurra.

I didn't say they were any good in the short term, but that's who would step into the role. Higgins will never be a midfielder and he hasn't been playing forward as much this season, he will not apply enough defensive pressure, he still does not have a big tank and he is too slow to be an effective outsider. Another preseason will not change it, he isn't a mid and I never saw him as one. I think you are going to be bitterly disappointed.

Vez showed glimpses at the end of the year and I'm hoping he just needs his chance. That's what we traded him into the club to do, so that's who would fill the role if Gia moved on. Either way Gia has a season or two tops and the players I mentioned previously will be the ones we look at IMO. Hooper is behind Vez IMO, Macca has indicated Grant may go back and Hill may be traded out. Other than DJ, I don't see any other options which highlights that we have a distinct shortage of forwards. We need to sign Gia up for two years.

[jeemak]

Re: McCartney says he doesn't expect to be active during trade week

I didn't say they were any good in the short term, but that's who would step into the role. Higgins will never be a midfielder and he hasn't been playing forward as much this season, he will not apply enough defensive pressure, he still does not have a big tank and he is too slow to be an effective outsider. Another preseason will not change it, he isn't a mid and I never saw him as one. I think you are going to be bitterly disappointed.

Vez showed glimpses at the end of the year and I'm hoping he just needs his chance. That's what we traded him into the club to do, so that's who would fill the role if Gia moved on. Either way Gia has a season or two tops and the players I mentioned previously will be the ones we look at IMO. Hooper is behind Vez IMO, Macca has indicated Grant may go back and Hill may be traded out. Other than DJ, I don't see any other options which highlights that we have a distinct shortage of forwards. We need to sign Gia up for two years.

Vez showed a fair bit at the end of the season and if he works hard over pre-season he'll be able to play a role forward for us however, he's a fair way off the output of Gia. I find it funny how the emphasis on all forwards these days is about how hard they chase and how many tackles they get. People tend to forget how important it is to kick goals along the way. Some people also need to take into account the areas a non-crumbing medium sized forward has to place themselves to either present as a second or third option providing space for the main forward targets within the side. A good reason why guys like Garlett etc. rack up the defensive stats is the fact their role is to be at the fall of the ball, not running away from it like Gia has to do regularly. I'd give Gia two years as well.

Higgins can still play a role rotating through the half lines and midfield for us. You're right, he's not a pure outsider though and never will be due to his pace issues. I look at a guy like Joel Corey from the Cats and see a role like his as Higgins' future. A clever linking player that can set up play is critical for our success going forward, and you don't need to be quick to fulfill that role. Don't underestimate what a couple of years of continuity can do for a player like Higgins by the time they reach the age of 25-26.

I'll vomit if Grant gets turned in to a defender, as he's clearly a natural and talented forward. He and Jones would present a tough combination of tall quick forwards rotating between high and low in a couple of years. Both need some time to develop, and patience from the football club and its supporters.