Rumour Speculation, Rumours, Lies Thread 2025 - Part 2

[1970crow]

Sounds like GC are struggling to get JUH to do a medical

This would be about the most expected thing with this kid. He’ll blow it somehow.

 

[1970crow]

Is GEEL who got pantsed in their midfied, and with a 36 yo Dangerfield .....are they chasing a MID ?
Is COLL ?


Terrible statement ....smacks of desperation to make a point .....so you're in favour of selling the farm for a 30 YO Petracca

You obviously were a huge supporter then for the deal used to secure Gibbs .....you must have been overjoyed

So turns out both Pies and Cats are looking into improving their midfields. Oh Waynus, you’ve done it again.

 

[crow2crow]

Sounds like we might be open to trading out to next year rather than up. If we don't rate the depth of this draft, or we need top end next year, don't mind that.

i didnt take that at all out of what he said... he said we are keen to improve our draft hand. that means this year. also means we arent getting any A grade ready made mids. i'm sure cody curtin would still be a priority

 

[daniel_4tw]

No one should give JUH a lifeline. Seriously. Pay the kid out and tell him to get a real job.

 

[feenix67]

So turns out both Pies and Cats are looking into improving their midfields. Oh Waynus, you’ve done it again.

Waynus predictably quiet this morning after being shown up as wrong repeatedly. Perhaps he's listening to the wrong podcasts

 

[UcantCme]

Could hawks come up empty handed ?

Had a big crack at Merrett which triggers him to go nuclear - hard to see this getting done, if Bombers do trade Merrett - maybe a they put foot down and say Hawthorn

 

[UcantCme]

No one should give JUH a lifeline. Seriously. Pay the kid out and tell him to get a real job.

And to think we put a bid on JUH

He has gone into self distraction mode

Even watching footage yesterday of him playing a local game - he looks so far from AFL ready

 

[1970crow]

Waynus predictably quiet this morning after being shown up as wrong repeatedly. Perhaps he's listening to the wrong podcasts

What a surprise, 2 months ago David King has a bit of a go at Newcombe’s form and old WaynesWorld19 is in here regurgitating it. Totally ignored the context around finals because Kingy said he’s playing no good 2 months ago. He really is just a parrot.

 

[feenix67]

What a surprise, 2 months ago David King has a bit of a go at Newcombe’s form and old WaynesWorld19 is in here regurgitating it. Totally ignored the context around finals because Kingy said he’s playing no good 2 months ago. He really is just a parrot.

View attachment 2447638

Waynus' problem is they don't do supercoach in finals so he's completely unaware they exist.

 

[Scorpus]

Could hawks come up empty handed ?

Had a big crack at Merrett which triggers him to go nuclear - hard to see this getting done, if Bombers do trade Merrett - maybe a they put foot down and say Hawthorn

It'd be hilarious if Essendon actually do trade Merrett after categorically saying they wouldn't

Their members would be mega pissed

 

[PortlandChris]

dont give a f**k if he is free cos he is trouble

He puts his head in the hole but that's it. nothing else is good

Merrett is a fix
Zac Bailey is a fix
Zac Butters is an awesome fix

again watch our finals CBAs, its the reading off hands and gathering tap at speed that is the weakness.

Gathering the tap is very hard when your ruck has no idea where it is going most of the time or too busy worrying about his opponent to get a hand on the ball........makes any midfield look slow and reactive.

 

[UcantCme]

It'd be hilarious if Essendon actually do trade Merrett after categorically saying they wouldn't

Their members would be mega pissed

I could be wrong

- it seems Essendon will not trade Merrett to Hawthorn, gloves are off there

What if - late in trade week a another club that Merrett believes is in oremoership contention comes knocking

Would Essendon deal with another club if the deal is juicy enough ?

 

[daniel_4tw]

I could be wrong

- it seems Essendon will not trade Merrett to Hawthorn, gloves are off there

What if - late in trade week a another club that Merrett believes is in oremoership contention comes knocking

Would Essendon deal with another club if the deal is juicy enough ?

Yeah I do wonder if we are in Merrett/Essendons ear.

I don’t think Merrett can go back to Essendon after everything. He has to move on. But I do wonder if Essendon will refuse to trade with Hawks given they hate each other and will blame them for how it played out.

If we come in and offer what we were going to offer Petracca… could it happen?

 

[Mutineer]

It would be great to be able to bring in a ready to go mid for 2026, but this is looking less likely. But that doesn't mean that we can't get better by fixing some of the mistakes we made in 2025

Realisation 1 - we are a big bodied mid short of contending.

• Curtin has been told he will train with the midfield.
• which frees up a wing for Draper (as well as some inside mid work)
• We can still get a ready to go mid next year, but the young mids around him will be better developed

Realisation 2 - 3 key forwards don't work in finals.

• Expect 2 key forwards and much more forward half pressure this year
• Tex told he will play a lot less AFL this year. Tex's games effectively going to Ah Chee, so little to no loss of opportunities for other players
• Tex will get games, meaning we can manage our forwards rather than playing everyone every week. Which leads us to

Realisation 3 - "focussing solely on the game this week" won us 18 minor round games but we were cooked for the finals

• Managing players during the year will cost us a couple of minor round games but we will be fresher come finals
• Managing best 23 players means fringe players will get opportunities
• Delisting/ retiring Smith, Crouch and Murphy (and not solely focussing on the game this week) means those opportunities go to players like Edwards, Draper and Dowling

Hopefully realisation 4 - our ball movement killed us in finals more than our midfield did (v Collingwood dump kicked inside 50 - won clearances by 2 and inside 50s by 1 but lost turnovers by 14 and ran at 38% efficiency inside 50, v Hawks got stuck in our back half - lost clearances by 6 but lost inside 50s by 21 and turnovers by 14 while running at 51% inside 50 efficiency).

• This is a systems issue rather than a personnel issue, so it is fixable without new players. We have a whole preseason to work on our ball movement so that our highly effective forward line can actually get a decent look at the ball. It does probably mean selection might favour players who can quickly move the ball from the backline to the forward 50 and hit a target.

Hopefully realisation 5 - we need more than one target for the free agency/ trade period

• 2025 - Callum Ah Chee. Last minute Petracca.
• 2026 - Zac Bailey, Tom Powell, Oliver Hollands, Will Hayward (if not at Carlton), Tom Sparrow, Joel Freijah, Henry Smith, Alex Dodson, Harry Barnett, Ned Reeves, Ned Moyle

Oliver Hollands...why?

Will Hayward...pass, offers little defensively and we will have Callum Ah Chee.

Joel Freijah.... you're dreaming, we had our chance to draft him, not happening

Harry Barnett...hell no.

 

[ABAB]

I could be wrong

- it seems Essendon will not trade Merrett to Hawthorn, gloves are off there

What if - late in trade week a another club that Merrett believes is in oremoership contention comes knocking

Would Essendon deal with another club if the deal is juicy enough ?

We have less trade capital to offer than the Hawks.

 

[pjcrows]

Merrett will go to Hawks. Everyone knows it.

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

I could be wrong

- it seems Essendon will not trade Merrett to Hawthorn, gloves are off there

What if - late in trade week a another club that Merrett believes is in oremoership contention comes knocking

Would Essendon deal with another club if the deal is juicy enough ?

Merrett will end up the Hawks.

 

[Geoffa32]

How many of you in here have moved interstate for work

I moved away from Adelaide in 2001 to Sydney for work - it was easier because I was single at the time

Everyone on here thinks it easy convincing a player, especially a partner to move to Adelaide

The club is not just selling the club, the on-field role but also the city

In selling the city - believe me it’s a hard sell to partners, no way my partner would move to Adelaide, even if I got an amazing role.

Living in Sydney - you very rarely meet anyone who has decided to visit Adelaide for a holiday - they have either been there for work, or not at all. There are perceptions it’s a negative city that hates change

All im saying - there is a reason why both Adelaide clubs have struggled to bring in an elite player from interstate that is not SA born.

Heck - even some SA born players don’t want to return to SA

It is what it is……

When I worked at SA Health they couldn't fill some surgeon spots due to the people in that field not wanting to live in Adelaide.
Talking million dollar plus salaries. Offering more than Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne.

When COVID hit, it hit the media about sending kids for surgery to Melbourne and were delayed due to border shut downs.


It is hard to convince people to live here who have never been here. Especially in an industry bases in Melbourne ie AFL.

 

[Crow till I die]

Sounds like GC are struggling to get JUH to do a medical

Maybe he needs to wait linger before all the traces have left his sysyem?

 

[Coopers]

It would be great to be able to bring in a ready to go mid for 2026, but this is looking less likely. But that doesn't mean that we can't get better by fixing some of the mistakes we made in 2025

Realisation 1 - we are a big bodied mid short of contending.

• Curtin has been told he will train with the midfield.
• which frees up a wing for Draper (as well as some inside mid work)
• We can still get a ready to go mid next year, but the young mids around him will be better developed

Realisation 2 - 3 key forwards don't work in finals.

• Expect 2 key forwards and much more forward half pressure this year
• Tex told he will play a lot less AFL this year. Tex's games effectively going to Ah Chee, so little to no loss of opportunities for other players
• Tex will get games, meaning we can manage our forwards rather than playing everyone every week. Which leads us to

Realisation 3 - "focussing solely on the game this week" won us 18 minor round games but we were cooked for the finals

• Managing players during the year will cost us a couple of minor round games but we will be fresher come finals
• Managing best 23 players means fringe players will get opportunities
• Delisting/ retiring Smith, Crouch and Murphy (and not solely focussing on the game this week) means those opportunities go to players like Edwards, Draper and Dowling

Hopefully realisation 4 - our ball movement killed us in finals more than our midfield did (v Collingwood dump kicked inside 50 - won clearances by 2 and inside 50s by 1 but lost turnovers by 14 and ran at 38% efficiency inside 50, v Hawks got stuck in our back half - lost clearances by 6 but lost inside 50s by 21 and turnovers by 14 while running at 51% inside 50 efficiency).

• This is a systems issue rather than a personnel issue, so it is fixable without new players. We have a whole preseason to work on our ball movement so that our highly effective forward line can actually get a decent look at the ball. It does probably mean selection might favour players who can quickly move the ball from the backline to the forward 50 and hit a target.

Hopefully realisation 5 - we need more than one target for the free agency/ trade period

• 2025 - Callum Ah Chee. Last minute Petracca.
• 2026 - Zac Bailey, Tom Powell, Oliver Hollands, Will Hayward (if not at Carlton), Tom Sparrow, Joel Freijah, Henry Smith, Alex Dodson, Harry Barnett, Ned Reeves, Ned Moyle

Realization 0:

"Hey guys, sorry I missed the first training session of the year! We bought a house with a walk in pantry and... well... those things are just trouble!"

 

[dogs105]

Am I the only person getting loads of 404 errors on Bigfooty pages today?

 

[crow2crow]

I could be wrong

- it seems Essendon will not trade Merrett to Hawthorn, gloves are off there

What if - late in trade week a another club that Merrett believes is in oremoership contention comes knocking

Would Essendon deal with another club if the deal is juicy enough ?

living in melbourne you would find the hawks bombers rivalry is bigger than carlton collingwood. they absolutely hate each other much more like crows v port.

 

[Mutineer]

And to think we put a bid on JUH

He has gone into self distraction mode

Even watching footage yesterday of him playing a local game - he looks so far from AFL ready

LOL

Hamish made it clear that was purely a strategic move only because they were very aware there was no chance the Dogs weren't matching. Thilthorpe and his management were informed prior to draft night what was going to happen.

 

[ceebsaf]

Yes, I have. No, he is not.

did you watch the final againt gold coast? he absolutely shat himself. big reason why freo lost.

imagine him being in our side.

 

[crow2crow]

Am I the only person getting loads of 404 errors on Bigfooty pages today?

its rooted you're right