In reality, I'd say we've been very good at picking up players we've targeted: Clark in 2012 and Dawes last year come to mind. Not to mention, Hogan and then Viney at 26, were the result of some smart moves behind the scenes. I think the only thing that stopped us doing a bit better last year was the unexpectedly low compo we received for Moloney and Rivers. I also think we did very well last year to offload unwanted but contracted players (Bennell, Gysberts, Morton, Martin).
There are a huge range of variables involved in these kinds of trades, and it's a bit more complicated than "player x doesn't want to come to Melbourne".
There are a huge range of variables involved in these kinds of trades, and it's a bit more complicated than "player x doesn't want to come to Melbourne".
Dawes I guess is different. Let go from a successful club but nobody else wanted him. We had Neeld at the time. Yay.
As for who we let go. Completely irrelevant to my argument, but I agree we did manage to offload some crap.

