Our list - what we have and what we need

[PaulP]

I agree with Shakin but I'm not sure the relying on the draft will fix it, the draft wipe outs are what put us in this predicament.

Hawthorn, Geelong and Sydney have relied more on trades and free agency for the last decade and they have consistently been up there. Port have gone down that path too and it might pay off for them.

Hawks excel at identifying talent wherever they look, whether it's the draft or trade, and are good at getting the best out of their players. Hodge, Mitchell S, Roughhead, Buddy, Isaac Smith etc. all through the draft. Frawley, Burgoyne etc. all trades.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Another rebuild?  It's only been since 2015.  Before that we were topping up with Boekhorst and the like.  That's 2 years (and a bit)

I am not selling a bottom 2 finish.  You don't need to sell anything when you have an honest look at our list.  It sells itself.

We won't have any issues finding players to delist and that doesn't include SOS's draft picks.

We have had three drafts since SOS arrived , most of the Hughes/Rogers players have been culled...its SOS killing his own bambi's next cull.
You said the list lacks top end talent ie we have Cripps, C.Curnow and then Murphy who many see as ok but not great these days......then you named Fisher, SPS and maybe Dow as potential good players with maybe a few to come from that list including OBrien, Kennedy etc.....thats probably around ten players with 30 odd in the firing line......
You want to go back to the draft and dont rate 3/4 of the list...thats a major rebuild...

Hard to attract readymade top end talent unless you have decent ladder position and the money......so that leaves us with more pain and misery for many years?

[flyboy77]

We need 1-2 gun mids which we can easily afford. Shiel, Kelly, Wines - we'll get at least one of them. I'd even take the Schloite guy who won the Sandover last year. Played with Kelly at South Freo and out performed him most weeks....

Must have plenty in the kitty already then Simo and Daisy goneski season end and Murphy not far behind....

Other than that, we'll presumably get Ben Silvagni, i don't think the forward line needs a more?

[ElwoodBlues1]

We need 1-2 gun mids which we can easily afford. Shiel, Kelly, Wines - we'll get at least one of them. I'd even take the Schloite guy who won the Sandover last year. Played with Kelly at South Freo and out performed him most weeks....

Must have plenty in the kitty already then Simo and Daisy goneski season end and Murphy not far behind....

Other than that, we'll presumably get Ben Silvagni, i don't think the forward line needs a more?

Sheil is signed to the end of 2019 and Wines is said to be close to re-signing with Port.....Kelly maybe a chance if GWS can win a flag and he can then look for a big deal....
I think we need a top end forward who can win games like Lynch, Patton or Cameron as well...

[LP]

Our problem isn't in the kids we draft, it's hiding in some of the players we keep.

The cause of our pain is there in plain sight, week in and week out, there is a reason we miss the close results, the same reason contributes to why we cannot attract major trade targets.

Cutting kids is the soft option, not the right option.

Everybody in the competition is laughing at us, and not because of who we draft.

[PaulP]

Sheil is signed to the end of 2019 and Wines is said to be close to re-signing with Port.....Kelly maybe a chance if GWS can win a flag and he can then look for a big deal....
I think we need a top end forward who can win games like Lynch, Patton or Cameron as well...

Yes, Wines has been anointed as captain in waiting, from what I read, and as you say, his signature is a question of when rather than if.

I can't see the other two coming unless we pay crazy overs, or unless our young mids come on and present as a strong, consistently performing midfield group.

[LP]

I reckon Boyd will be dirt cheap next time around, and assuming he gets his head right he'd be a massive improvement on what we've got.

[Shakin77]

We have had three drafts since SOS arrived , most of the Hughes/Rogers players have been culled...its SOS killing his own bambi's next cull.
You said the list lacks top end talent ie we have Cripps, C.Curnow and then Murphy who many see as ok but not great these days......then you named Fisher, SPS and maybe Dow as potential good players with maybe a few to come from that list including OBrien, Kennedy etc.....thats probably around ten players with 30 odd in the firing line......
You want to go back to the draft and dont rate 3/4 of the list...thats a major rebuild...

Hard to attract readymade top end talent unless you have decent ladder position and the money......so that leaves us with more pain and misery for many years?

I was only talking about our midfield.

[Shakin77]

I reckon Boyd will be dirt cheap next time around, and assuming he gets his head right he'd be a massive improvement on what we've got.

You would think about it under 2 conditions.

- Cost nothing in draft picks.
- Cost nothing in wages

Neither will happen.

[LP]

You would think about it under 2 conditions.

- Cost nothing in draft picks.
- Cost nothing in wages

Neither will happen.

I think there actually is a good chance both those scenarios will occur, just like they have in a couple of previous cases.

You would think the AFL as a group has now learned quite a lot from his case, which will only pump up the value of mature age players like Lynch.