Recruiting EFC Trade/Draft Talk II with F/A rules in OP - Billings for a fourth rounder the latest rumour

[WEEVZ]

How about Zach Merritt for your second rounder?

Don't encourage him.

I'd consider it, assuming we drafted with our first pick. No way in hell we will trade both picks for players, after doing that last year. Merrett is an interesting one though, Not sure he'd be in our best 22 when squad is fit, and not sure i could justify using a second rounder just for depth.

It was a joke buddy, if you came to us and offered your 2nd rounder for Z.Merrett we'd tell you to bugger off and stop being silly. Z.Merrett would be in a lot of teams best sides including yours especially given what he's been able to do for us when moved into the midfield, he could possibly be our most improved player this season thus far.

 

[Pugz89]

Don't encourage him.

It was a joke buddy, if you came to us and offered your 2nd rounder for Z.Merrett we'd tell you to bugger off and stop being silly. Z.Merrett would be in a lot of teams best sides including yours especially given what he's been able to do for us when moved into the midfield, he could possibly be our most improved player this season thus far.

He might be your most improved player but in a side thats gone backwards on ladder position, as opposed to ours which is 3rd youngest list and has jumped up 6 or 7 positions. We already have plenty of Mid depth and small/mid fwd options. I still stand by what i said about him just being depth.

 

[BrewSmackerVeiny]

Merrett is an interesting one though, Not sure he'd be in our best 22 when squad is fit

 

[matty lloyd the champ]

He might be your most improved player but in a side thats gone backwards on ladder position, as opposed to ours which is 3rd youngest list and has jumped up 6 or 7 positions. We already have plenty of Mid depth and small/mid fwd options. I still stand by what i said about him just being depth.

Merrett has had a more consistent year than Bontempelli. Try watching some games please.

 

[Big Fresh]

I cannot believe the ambivalence toward Carlisle. It's showing up a few for not having a clue what they are talking about.

Trade out a 23 year old almost developed CHF for a top 10 pick? Might as well just close the doors now. When are we next going to be good?

It's due to the rumours that he wants out, as opposed to people not valuing him.

 

[freddy mercury]

I have recently decided to put my thoughts to paper and get my opinion heard. Please take the time to read and comment, please go easy as I have never written anything like this before.

If deleted, please point me in the right direction of where to post.


Essendon Football Club rebuild.


Forget all the WADA stuff, the drugs whatever. Let’s face it, we need to rebuild.
Sign James Hird, I believe he is the right man for the job.

Two weeks ago I asked myself if our list is going anywhere, I came up with the conclusion that right now, we are going nowhere fast.

At Essendon we have a few players who are over the of 28 and some players I feel are not required anymore or have not got a role to play on field anymore.
Paul Chapman, a guy who we recruited at age 32 has not lived up to the hype and was recruited because the club believed we were in the premiership window and needed some experience to help take that step, we have not got near that window and that step has became a giant leap. A player I absolutely loved watching at Geelong has lost all he had, it is such a shame seeing him run around this year after the stellar career he forged at Geelong.

Jason Winderlich another player who has got so much out of his AFL career. Winderlich has suffered from countless hamstring, knee and back injuries has effectively cut 100 games off his AFL career. He has elite speed and is a very reliable one on player, unfortunately Jason looks as though he will retire or we should move him on, which would be very hard to see, let alone hard to do if I was the person in charge of breaking the bad news.


Finally, Dustin Fletcher, an all time great of the AFL, 1 of 3 400 game players, dual premiership defender, is I feel, set to call curtains on his career at the end of the Season. I myself, would love nothing more to see him play on beyond 2015 but we as a club are more important and need to start our rebuild, as much as it hurts, it needs to be done, one way or the other. Again, what a hard conversation to have with a club great.


On our list, there a couple of players I would like Essendon to move on, Alex Browne, he has been on our list for five seasons and managed just 8 games, we have no trade value for him. James Gwilt, I do not know why we picked him up when we should have had a closer look at Jared Petrenko, he has taken Tayte Pears’ spot, who is a fantastic backman. He is currently among our best each week in the VFL and it is so frustrating seeing him there. I would not be surprised if he requests a trade come seasons end.

Our list is full of players who have potential trade value but are not apart of our future, Courtenay Dempsey, 28 year old defender, still has age on his side, brings a lot of pace and that’s about all he brings, has poor skills and cannot handle any pressure whatsoever. Pace is something we lack, but so are good kicks and decision makers. He would be worth in my opinion a late third round early fourth.


Jake Melsham, while he is 24, he has no footskills, he has as tough as a cats head, can perhaps become a tagger for us, but we have Heath Hocking, who is a very similar player but slightly better at his role. I would put him up for trade but would not take anything less than an early third late second round pick as I still think he has something to offer.


Jake Carlisle is another. Jake refuses to play anywhere but back. He has such horrible body language , its so infectious. Jake has the forward capabilities, he has shown he can go forward, take strong contested marks and cause real headaches, but when he is out of touch he whinges and wants to play back when there are more preferred players down there, Hurley and Hooker with Hibberd taking a small, Stanton roaming around there too, three tall backs is pointless. We need to go forward, we need to get every single player on our list on the same page, if Carlisle doesn’t want to be on the page, then I would have no hesitations in offering him up for trade. He is worth a first round pick, no questions about that. He is 24 in October, he has so many good years ahead of him. Having said that, if Jake can pull his finger out and play where we as a team and club want him to then I would love nothing more to see him remain on our list for as long as his career last.


Patrick Ambrose is a player I look at wonder if he is worth anything or if in fact he is not required. It is too early to tell, so lets see how it pans out over the next couple of seasons.

This is what excites me about our list, more than anything. We have a number of fantastic young players, which I believe are as good as any clubs in the AFL, besides GWS and the Gold Coast Suns, due to obvious reasons.

Jake Carlisle (23)

Michael Hibberd (25)

Joe Daniher (21)

Zach Merret (19)

David Zaharakis (25)

Michael Hurley (25)

Dyson Heppell (23)

Kyle Langford (18)

Travis Colyer (23)

Jayden Laverde (19)

Martin Gleeson (20)

Nick Kommer (24)

Tayte Pears (25)

Shaun Edwards (21)

Shaun McKernan (24)


Throwing in a few older players who have are good footballers who are all 25 plus but under 30.

Jobe Watson

Brent Stanton

Cale Hooker

Heath hocking

Ben Howlett

Brendon Goddard
Adam Cooney


If I were to pick a side right now it would be out of those above players. Brent Stanton, Jobe Watson and Brendon Goddard are 30 or 31 next season, which is fine, they have so much experience to offer.


Dyson Heppell, he is a genuine star and a shoe in to be the next Essendon skipper. Ever since his first season he has shown he belongs and was an absolute steal at pick 8.

Zach Merret, has genuine leg speed, tackles as good as anyone at the club, pressure is high. Next season I expect he would be running through the midfield more often than not.


Laverde and Langford have hardly played this season but both have genuine skill and can kick goals, Laverde is more a mid who has some pace which we need more than anything. I want to see him played for the remainder of this season, get some games into the both of them.


The other players, they all speak for themselves, Hurley who is in all Australian form and has been a shining light this season. Zaharakis he has suffered injuries this season but we all know how good he actually is. Gleenson is primed for a half back role, quick and nimble I have full confidence in him to play 200 games. Pears, who is a gun, if he does not want a trade should play every game this year and next. He is as good as any defender we have. McKernan, he has been fantastic in the two games he has played, he is not 6’6 like most rucks but he gets the job done.


In the draft, I see us finally getting early picks, we need pace, outside run. We have the inside mids but the outside mids, ball carriers are not there. We need one or two players with leg speed, use our earliest pick on the best young forward we can possibly get. We also need a ruckmen, losing Ryder was massive for us. Tom Bellchambers is a shadow of what he once showed.


If we can 4 picks inside top 25 like St Kilda did, I and the fellow Essendon members and fans would be over the moon with. We only trade for young players who can fill our spots or picks, that’s the mentality we need to go in with come trade period.


If we trade well and draft well, I see us being competitive in 3-4 seasons, get 60-80 games in our young kids and another 60 or so games into the young guns we’ve already got we can go anywhere.

I would also throw the kitchen sink at Lewis Jetta, he has genuine leg speed, kicks well and is that outside run we need. He could be squeezed out due to the other stars and salary cap issues at Sydney, no way can they continue to fit them all in. Perhaps Carlise and our second pick would be enough, purely an example of what I would consider.

Aaron Black from North Melbourne is another good young forward not getting a game at AFL level. James Sicily from Hawthorn is an amazing talent.

That is my two cents, I am 25 and I have not seen any real success, I was 10 years old when we won the flag in 2000, I do not even remember watching it or where I was. I love the Essendon Football Club more than most things in my life.

Thank you for reading and go Bombers.

 

[WEEVZ]

He might be your most improved player but in a side thats gone backwards on ladder position, as opposed to ours which is 3rd youngest list and has jumped up 6 or 7 positions. We already have plenty of Mid depth and small/mid fwd options. I still stand by what i said about him just being depth.

1. Losing two key players in Crameri and Ryder in the space of two years, is enough to make any team struggle to win, and fall back on the ladder so that comment is just plain ignorant.
2. Have you actually watched all of Merrett's games this year? He is yet to play a bad game, and has been very consistent.

 

[Gumby2Hurley]

No love for Myers? Dempsey has no trade value, if a club wants him they'll pick him up as a FA and we would get a 3rd rounder at best imo. Little harsh on moving on Browne i reckon, would play him for the rest of the season with spots opening up with Jobe and Cooney injured.

 

[Gumby2Hurley]

He might be your most improved player but in a side thats gone backwards on ladder position, as opposed to ours which is 3rd youngest list and has jumped up 6 or 7 positions. We already have plenty of Mid depth and small/mid fwd options. I still stand by what i said about him just being depth.

I'd consider lachie hunter as depth. Zerrett would get a game easily, but i guess you haven't seen him since he was drafted.

 

[freddy mercury]

No love for Myers? Dempsey has no trade value, if a club wants him they'll pick him up as a FA and we would get a 3rd rounder at best imo. Little harsh on moving on Browne i reckon, would play him for the rest of the season with spots opening up with Jobe and Cooney injured.

ABSOLUTELY love myers, dont know i left him out. A third round is what he is worth. I hope we play alex brown all season man. I love the kid watched a few games this season. Just struggled to break in. You'd think we would bring him in for either Watson or Cooney, surely?

 

[freddy mercury]

Edwards or pears even. Obviously not mids but Shaun Edwards had a good game then after our bye couldn't get near it then we dropped him, that is exactly opposite of what we need to be doing. Id almost play Giles and have him rucking forward with McKernan.

 

[calyam]

He might be your most improved player but in a side thats gone backwards on ladder position, as opposed to ours which is 3rd youngest list and has jumped up 6 or 7 positions. We already have plenty of Mid depth and small/mid fwd options. I still stand by what i said about him just being depth.

I'm sure you haven't seen much of Merrett so I thought I'd offer you some perspective. What you've just said is almost as dumb as Bomber fans saying that Bont would be a nice addition to our VFL side. Merrett would get a game at any of the 18 clubs.

 

[Pugz89]

I'd consider lachie hunter as depth. Zerrett would get a game easily, but i guess you haven't seen him since he was drafted.

Hunter is definitely depth, most likely to be trade bait actually. Will admit i've seen little of Zerrett, so only have small amount to go on, yes.

 

[Pugz89]

1. Losing two key players in Crameri and Ryder in the space of two years, is enough to make any team struggle to win, and fall back on the ladder so that comment is just plain ignorant.
2. Have you actually watched all of Merrett's games this year? He is yet to play a bad game, and has been very consistent.

We've lost Griffen and Libba, Yes we got Boyd but that was with a pick. so not exactly apples and apples but perhaps apples and pears.

No, i'll admit i haven't. I can only go on what i've seen though. fair call, i'll take your word on it.

 

[WEEVZ]

We've lost Griffen and Libba, Yes we got Boyd but that was with a pick. so not exactly apples and apples but perhaps apples and pears.

No, i'll admit i haven't. I can only go on what i've seen though. fair call, i'll take your word on it.

Apples and oranges actually.

Correction you've lost Griffen and Cooney not Libba (Libba is injured or have you not been paying attention to your own list as well?). Neither were massive losses though Griffen was dragging your club down with his lack of effort, and Cooney spends most of his time injured anyway. And you've gained a player you've desperately needed (a genuine KPF, which I'm not sure you've had since Hall retired).

Whereas we've pretty much lost most of our goalkicking ability with Crameri and Ryder gone in successive years, as good as Daniher will be and Carlisle too (depending on if he stays or not and personally I think we need to play him as a defender especially if Fletch retires).

 

[Kakkle]

Nice.

 

[yaco55]

Having Weitering and Hooker in the same backline wriouslyould make us very vulnerable to teams that have more than one mobile forward.

Seriously - Do you think Hooker will play forever ? You are choosing a player for the next 10 years.

 

[WEEVZ]

Seriously - Do you think Hooker will play forever ? You are choosing a player for the next 10 years.

Nope he won't but its kind of a moot point imo. Yes we need to look for key defenders at some point, but right now our most pressing need is first and foremost a KPF.

 

[yaco55]

So your saying Jake Carlisle isn't worth a first round pick?

I understand what Yoda is saying - I'd rather have pick 7 and 9, rather than pick 4 - Carlisle is no certainty to get a top 10 pick - And even a first rounder could be 17 or 18.

 

[yaco55]

Nope he won't but its kind of a moot point imo. Yes we need to look for key defenders at some point, but right now our most pressing need is first and foremost a KPF.

Our most pressing deal with a high pick is the best available player.

 

[yaco55]

He might be your most improvedow player but in a side thats gone backwards on ladder position, as opposed to ours which is 3rd youngest list and has jumped up 6 or 7 positions. We already have plenty of Mid depth and small/mid fwd options. I still stand by what i said about him just being depth.

Wow

Z.Merrett like the other gun second year players would get a game at every club.

 

[Pugz89]

Apples and oranges actually.

Correction you've lost Griffen and Cooney not Libba (Libba is injured or have you not been paying attention to your own list as well?). Neither were massive losses though Griffen was dragging your club down with his lack of effort, and Cooney spends most of his time injured anyway. And you've gained a player you've desperately needed (a genuine KPF, which I'm not sure you've had since Hall retired).

Whereas we've pretty much lost most of our goalkicking ability with Crameri and Ryder gone in successive years, as good as Daniher will be and Carlisle too (depending on if he stays or not and personally I think we need to play him as a defender especially if Fletch retires).

But libba is off field this season, and arguably our best player.. Whether injured or gone to another club, we don't have his output and have still improved. We lost over 800 games of experience at the end of last year in fact AND had to learn a new game plan with a new coach. So to lose Crameri and Ryder and say it's expected to drop you down on the ladder is either naive or laughable.

EDIT: Crameri kicked 30 goals in 2013, Ryder kicked 10 in 2013 and 20 in 2014. So less than 2 goals a game on average between the two.

And you actually used the draft pick we gave you in the Crameri deal to get Zerrett, so would you rather him or still have Crameri?

 

[GUMBLETRON]

Jog on.

 

[Howard Moon]

I'd consider it, assuming we drafted with our first pick. No way in hell we will trade both picks for players, after doing that last year. Merrett is an interesting one though, Not sure he'd be in our best 22 when squad is fit, and not sure i could justify using a second rounder just for depth.

 

[Yoda_]

I understand what Yoda is saying - I'd rather have pick 7 and 9, rather than pick 4 - Carlisle is no certainty to get a top 10 pick - And even a first rounder could be 17 or 18.

We should be aiming for three picks (or more) inside the top 30.

Carlisle will help make this happen as would TBC, he seems likely to stay