Lol - finally been banned from the HH trade thread. Been the most comical experience.
No capacity to rationally discuss the trade circumstances. Clearly they are so used to their own board circle jerk, vigorously protected by Ford Cortina, that being asked questions which take them outside the 'gospel' turns them into quivering children.
It's clear that many of them aren't able to tell the difference between a repetitive troll and a person with an alternative opinion plus the willingness to debate it, argue long enough and you'll certainly be branded. Perhaps it really is the result of being reared on their board.
I wasn't aware of the thread in question until your post so I decided to take a quick look at the last few pages and here are some of my observations;
1. You asked why Hartlett was being singled out as trade bait and no one else of note. An answer you got was that it wasn't just him but "numerous" others as well. Obviously this was an attempt to eliminate the idea that there are any negative circumstances unique to Hartlett that would motivate Port to want to get rid of him, which in turn would also diminish his worth on the market. However even if we were to assume that it is true that they have said the same to other players, it still ignores the fact that Hartlett isn't just some ordinary Joe. He's a player on a sizeable and lengthy contract which makes him very difficult to move and therefor an atypical choice for trade bait, and he's a prominent member of the leadership group as well, the Vice Captain no less! No matter how they try to spin it, this is a very unusual situation in the AFL.
2. Again, if we're to assume that the club has indeed placed many of their players up for trade, then I can't see that as being conducive to a harmonious locker room. Not when there is a force sweeping through them threatening to tear them apart.
3. I've noticed that there seems to be an underlying view within their supporter group that they are free to ship their players off to the highest bidder because a contract allows them to refuse offers, but what about the player's themselves? Don't they get a say in it, aren't they also allowed to refuse? Sounds to me like some of them are so caught up in the fairy tale that all their players love Port so much that they'd happily uproot their lives to move interstate to the club of Port's choosing just to help them out. Funnily enough after effectively being told that the club would prefer to see them walk out the door.
No matter how you look at it Vice Captains on big deals aren't commonly offered as trade bait. Something stinks in Port Adelaide, and we'd be stupid not to look deeper to find out what it is before doing any deal with them.