List Mgmt. 2025 List Management Discussion - Part V

[Hubnester]

2025 List Management Discussion - Part 5

Now that our season is over, and news is starting to break - it's time for a fresh thread.

This thread is to discuss all things list management - trades, draft, free agency, delistings and more.
As we are now officially in our off-season, we'll be wanting to keep this thread more strictly on-topic than the previous iterations.
Be respectful. You are allowed to disagree with someone - but play the ball, not the man. Repeat offenders will have their posting rights revoked.

Thanks to Lore once again for this incredibly useful spreadsheet.

2025 KEY DATES
Free Agency Period: Friday, October 3rd - Friday, October 10th
Trade Period: Monday, October 6th - Wednesday, October 15th
AFL Draft: Wednesday, November 19th - Thursday, November 20th

See Also:
2025 Year in Review Rumours & Confirmed Movements 2025 Draft Discussion
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[bergholt]

I get it - but he was a captain of the club. We want players like Nas to stay and this is how we treat St Kilda royalty?

Add a year, smooth it out, ask for him to take a cut, get him a Cotton On franchise - now maybe they tried this but it seems not. You can run a good business and maintain some form of moral fibre. They have gone complete and utter ruthlessness which is fine, but they would want to deliver.

We forget, these people (RTB SOS Gubby) come and go, they are there to fill their pockets. The players go out and bleed (literally). They are talking a big talk and there is no room for excuses now.

Bring it home or **** off and don't come back.

Sometimes you need a sacrificial lamb. Steeley is a great guy, universally liked, but never had the ability to drive a high-performing culture. That's no slight on him, most people don't. But with him still at the club he shaped it too much, being captain and a very senior player. If he was still performing on field then we would have been able to overlook it but unfortunately he's not the player he once was. It's a good deal for both parties.

 

[Vacuous Space]

21% of center bounces over 121 games for a total of 30 center clearances....0.2 per game. Doesn't sound like he's very good at that

121 centre bounces this year

 

[Gavinmitchell11]

I have thought long about this and my conclusion is that there is only one way for this to be ok: a flag

Anything less, with this list, is a failure.

I dont care what people say, you wanna gut guys like Steele then you go and win a flag, no more excuses

It’s really disappointing, I’m finding it difficult to understand the rationale.
He was ok with not being captain and that he’s likely in the VFL unless form improves - loves the club, wants to stay anyway,
List spots cannot be the issue when we will likely retain 4-5 players that are a lot less valuable, on/off the field than Steele.
So it’s probably a cap relief move. But, we supposedly have plenty of cash to splash around and we haven’t acquired anyone else after he was traded. So have we spent so much we needed to trade him to be able to afford a full list this season? Pretty reckless if so. Or, If we were still within the cap with Jack on the books where is the extra cap space going now that we’ve traded him?
He had 2 years left so the only way it’s acceptable for me is if next offseason, the money saved on his contract is used to sign a big fish. Otherwise, I don’t like it.

 

[Gavinmitchell11]

It’s really disappointing, I’m finding it difficult to understand the rationale.
He was ok with not being captain and that he’s likely in the VFL unless form improves - loves the club, wants to stay anyway,
List spots cannot be the issue when we will likely retain 4-5 players that are a lot less valuable, on/off the field than Steele.
So it’s probably a cap relief move. But, we supposedly have plenty of cash to splash around and we haven’t acquired anyone else after he was traded. So have we spent so much we needed to trade him to be able to afford a full list this season? Pretty reckless if so. Or, If we were still within the cap with Jack on the books where is the extra cap space going now that we’ve traded him?
He had 2 years left so the only way it’s acceptable for me is if next offseason, the money saved on his contract is used to sign a big fish. Otherwise, I don’t like it.

There’s also some hypocrisy there.i thought ‘We don’t trade contracted players’

 

[akaifu]

21% of center bounces over 121 games for a total of 30 center clearances....0.2 per game. Doesn't sound like he's very good at that

Their ruckmen were Matthew Flynn and Bailey Williams...

 

[heynow85]

We go from an A to a A+

 

[nikkig98]

We go from an A to a A+

We are rapidly running out of whipping boys, this could be a massive issue going forward

 

[HeavenlySources]

Well, did you all enjoy the show? See you next year-

 

[OxSaint]

if this draft is as poor as it is being treated by clubs I think Fincher plus a mature age recruit with upside is the way to go now we have our own VFL side. Getting it off to a strong start is important.

Voss, Blaimires types. I think Voss fills a depth need perfectly.

 

[stavro#4]

Cya Arie

 

[HeavenlySources]

Cya Arie

Byrnes safe?

 

[Half Back Pocket]

It’s really disappointing, I’m finding it difficult to understand the rationale.
He was ok with not being captain and that he’s likely in the VFL unless form improves - loves the club, wants to stay anyway,
List spots cannot be the issue when we will likely retain 4-5 players that are a lot less valuable, on/off the field than Steele.
So it’s probably a cap relief move. But, we supposedly have plenty of cash to splash around and we haven’t acquired anyone else after he was traded. So have we spent so much we needed to trade him to be able to afford a full list this season? Pretty reckless if so. Or, If we were still within the cap with Jack on the books where is the extra cap space going now that we’ve traded him?
He had 2 years left so the only way it’s acceptable for me is if next offseason, the money saved on his contract is used to sign a big fish. Otherwise, I don’t like it.

clearly, he didn't

 

[DougalHoward]

Byrnes safe?

How many list spots do we need

 

[XhazzafootyX]

I’d keep Carroll over Byrnes

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

I would keep Byrnes, he is not gun but his hard work will keep him in the AFL system.

 

[Sully111]

Shame about Arie

 

[malevu]

Not long ago Melbourne had the best midfield in the comp. Gawn, Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw and Viney.

Who would've thought that maybe next year if Gawn misses a game that the Demon's one-two in the engine room could be Moose and Steele

 

[westernsainter]

Byrnes is going to be a load-bearing whipping boy this year

 

[Mat Mann]

Shame about Arie

gotta be able to do more than just kick

 

[westernsainter]

gotta be able to do more than just kick

It's such a shame that he could never find other weapons for his game, and the VFL coaches tried a few different things with him too.

He really should try and get a college scholarship next year.

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

Not long ago Melbourne had the best midfield in the comp. Gawn, Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw and Viney.

Who would've thought that maybe next year if Gawn misses a game that the Demon's one-two in the engine room could be Moose and Steele

Dees should have won more but also the dees should have blown up their list 2 years ago.

4 years is a very long time in footy.

 

[Sully111]

Dees should have won more but also the dees should have blown up their list 2 years ago.

4 years is a very long time in footy.

Dees biggest improvement will come from getting rid of Goodwin.

 

[True Believer]

Jeez, timing is everything, I was talking to corporate at the club today about changing our player sponsorship to a different player next year, from the current ...........Arie Schoenmaker!!!

 

[FQFjt]

It's a brutal business. I imagine every additional dollar that Wilkie, Windy and Nas extracted from the club made it more likely that their mate Steele was going to get squeezed out. Right call for the club, but these contracts are ultimately zero sum.

 

[Nomis2933]

If we have to have 3 spots on draft night then Byrnes is a re-rookie by the look of things. The only uncontracted player left standing and 36 on the primary list currently.