List Mgmt. 2017 List Management: Contracts, Trading, Drafting, Academy

[coniglio_number1]

There's only one problem with that ... both are no longer tied to GWS's academy.

Yes but if we get a first round pick via trade then we can take spargo

 

[Giant Strides]

There's only one problem with that ... both are no longer tied to GWS's academy.

Methinks you didn't read the whole discussion. He clearly said the likely academy options were Powell, Shipley & Richards. Spargo & Brander were mentioned in respect of live selections if round 1 picks came in on the back of players leaving (such as Kelly & Hopper); Brander primarily as a 'LOL the Vic melts' sense.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Yes but if we get a first round pick via trade then we can take spargo

Methinks you didn't read the whole discussion. He clearly said the likely academy options were Powell, Shipley & Richards. Spargo & Brander were mentioned in respect of live selections if round 1 picks came in on the back of players leaving (such as Kelly & Hopper); Brander primarily as a 'LOL the Vic melts' sense.

It seems you're both right. I'll run along and climb back in my hole.

 

[Turbocat]

Haha that would be funny. It's so funny how they overrate them every year.

I actually am not concerned with the Academy stuff at all. Without Live Draft trading it can be more a hinderence in that it kind of forces your hand to draft higher rated kids even though they are not the best list fit.

Live Draft Trading would be a major win for us and everyone I suspect. Can't believe these morons haven't brought it in, they are slower than molasses at AFL House and only react to the media.

How do you see it being such a win for you and all clubs Andre.. are you referencing overseas examples or are you just projecting what you think will happen?

 

[Turbocat]

The leads we have suggest it's him or Josh but we won't keep both.
Not 100% I agree but I appreciate the logic so if the flipside of this is Josh re-signs I am a two thumbs up kinda guy.

Are both expected to cost that much? Id say going by the numbers mentioned Kelly would be far in excess of Smith.

 

[Andre the Giant]

How do you see it being such a win for you and all clubs Andre.. are you referencing overseas examples or are you just projecting what you think will happen?

It will be a win for us because we have an inordinate amount of talent and the Academy so live trading would add flexibility and allow us to pick and plug any gaps.

It's an advantage for all teams because the draft is a fluid process and as it unravels teams preferred players get selected and this often changes strategies. If a team lost all its preferred option it could potentially trade out of the draft or look to pick up future value. It's just better.

 

[Determinant]

Are both expected to cost that much? Id say going by the numbers mentioned Kelly would be far in excess of Smith.

Smith considerably less, but the gap between what we want to give Josh and what he will accept may well be enough to mean there isn't enough pie for a satisfactory offer to Smith.

 

[Turbocat]

It will be a win for us because we have an inordinate amount of talent and the Academy so live trading would add flexibility and allow us to pick and plug any gaps.

It's an advantage for all teams because the draft is a fluid process and as it unravels teams preferred players get selected and this often changes strategies. If a team lost all its preferred option it could potentially trade out of the draft or look to pick up future value. It's just better.

It may be more interesting to some while for those who moan about the length of the current draft may well abhor it. It would have to take longer. As I understand it the first stage of it will be picks only so that would be relatively limited in affect I'd assume. Very hard to trade players unless the right to push trade is introduced.

 

[Andre the Giant]

It may be more interesting to some while for those who moan about the length of the current draft may well abhor it. It would have to take longer. As I understand it the first stage of it will be picks only so that would be relatively limited in affect I'd assume. Very hard to trade players unless the right to push trade is introduced.

It's not too bad, in the NFL they give each team more time in the first round and then it cuts back. It would be longer but would also be more interesting.

The AFL has bowed to player power to allow free agency and now it's time to give the clubs a bit more too.

The AFL players are spoilt. In the NFL they have more freedom but the clubs do as well!

 

[Turbocat]

It's not too bad, in the NFL they give each team more time in the first round and then it cuts back. It would be longer but would also be more interesting.

The AFL has bowed to player power to allow free agency and now it's time to give the clubs a bit more too.

The AFL players are spoilt. In the NFL they have more freedom but the clubs do as well!

Cant see it happen atm.. Perhaps in the future. NFL 7 minutes between trades .. our trade night would be considerably longer.

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

Thing with the NFL (& MLB & NBA) is that players can be traded without consent. We're a little more civilised than that which would slow the problem down to unworkable.

 

[dlanod]

Thing with the NFL (& MLB & NBA) is that players can be traded without consent. We're a little more civilised than that which would slow the problem down to unworkable.

"We are up to pick 6... Sounds like a trade might be in the offing! Boy oh boy they're flying down Johnno Patton to have a tour of Whitten Oval. We'll be back tomorrow with more."

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

"We are up to pick 6... Sounds like a trade might be in the offing! Boy oh boy they're flying down Johnno Patton to have a tour of Whitten Oval. We'll be back tomorrow with more."

Johnny P knows all about the Whitten oval having toured there a couple of years ago before the Boyd deal.

But what I don't ever want to get to is this. 2 balls, 2 strikes, bases loaded, one out in the top of the 7th in a one run game....

 

[Jaffa Fan]

AK+3

 

[captainMyCaptain]

Fantastic news and hopefully we will have a few more re-signings during the bye

 

[Ellie Aquitaine]

AK+3

Doing happy dance!

 

[BLERN]

Doing happy dance!

 

[_GT_]

Great to see Kenners sign on. A big 2018 awaits!

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

Once again, we stick by and re-sign someone with a long term injury.



But hey, we're just a soulless plastic franchise

 

[Giant Strides]

OK, so a few re-signings have occurred, much speculation & trade hypotheticals on those few who remain unsigned, and the U18 Div 1 Championships start this weekend, so I thought I'd throw down some thoughts about the list & drafting. A long way out from the trade/draft period & much unknown, so I'll try to remain broad with 'options' rather than 'resolutions', with a mixture of my own thoughts & my speculation of what the club might be thinking.

Start with list size: currently 38 on the main list (excluding in-season rookie upgrades) + 6 rookie list (Patfull of course just taking salary). I'd expect the situation to be the same or similar next year, in terms of 38 + 6 (or otherwise + 5 or 7).

Of the rookies, Patfull will come off & I'd expect to keep all of the rest. Reid, Lloyd & Sproule have all been good & are easy retentions - indeed I would have no qualms if any of them were to be put into the main list, with Reid the most deserving. We haven't seen much of Tendai M'zungu yet and I'm not sure how Stein would be graded by the club, but I think the club would be unlikely to cut them after only one year.

In terms of the 44 players, I characterise them as 2 teams of 22 with a formulaic approach (that's my mild OCD kicking in) such as 2 x KPFs + fwd/ruck, 3 x inside mids + 2 inside/outside mids + 2 outside mids etc to take a view of list balance (so my 'best 22' doesn't necessarily conform exactly to how Leon might choose his 22). Players in bold will leave end of 2017, players in italics are OOC at 2017 & at risk of leaving, (R) marks rookies (obviously also OOC at end of 2017 but not italicised) & * marks players OOC in 2018 who might retire (I'm looking at age/output primarily):

Best 22
KPFs: Cameron Patton Lobb
S/M Fwds: Greene Johnson Deledio Smith
R: Mumford*
Mids: Ward Kelly Coniglio Scully Whitfield Griffen* Shiel
S/M Defs: Shaw* Williams Wilson Buntine
KPDs: Davis Tomlinson Haynes

Second 22
Finlayson Sproule(R) Flynn
Taranto Reid(R) Lloyd(R) Tiziani
Simpson Downie
Hopper Setterfield MKennedy de Boer Cumming Mzungu(R)
AKennedy Perryman Stein(R) Patfull(R)
Corr Mohr* Himmelberg

Don't get too caught up on where exactly I've pigeon-holed players, it's just to look at the whole picture. Taranto, for example, I see following a Kelly-like pathway to being a good (hopefully great) inside-outside midfielder; Perryman could be categorised as an inside mid rather than medium defender. The obvious point to make is that the second 22 has that extra ruckman (which I think is needed as a specialised position, just in case) in lieu of a mid.

List assessment: Overall, I don't see too many glaring deficiencies in the list. Sure we'd all like 'more quality' in both best 22 & depth players, but to be honest, GWS is in a pretty good place. I'd definitely say that retaining Kelly, who looks like becoming a 'top 10 in the comp' midfielder is shaping as critical. We are developing replacements for impending departures: Johnson (Taranto initially, but need to then go to draft for longer term), Mumford (Flynn in combo with Lobb, short term Simpson is probably OK), Griffen (Hopper with MKennedy a backup - which entails the obvious risk with those 2 unsigned).

So where we need to look in the draft is mainly as replacement for those expected to step up - specifically a small/medium forward as Johnson's follow on, and with Patfull gone and Shaw's time ticking down (personally, I don't think he'll retire at end of 2018, but with an existing hole in the medium backs the fact that he may retire or degrade sets up an obvious need) a medium defender. The ruck situation has been discussed in these pages so I'll only briefly comment: either the club sees Flynn as a viable long term ruck & trusts he continues to develop, or it will go to the trade period looking to buy a quality replacement for Mumford when it thinks he's done - so the club doctors need to be really honest in their assessment of his capacity beyond next year. I'd still look for one more ruck this year as a Downie replacement just to allow coverage for in season injuries, but a young ruck to develop on the rookie list would be fine (Nathan Richards is the obvious close-to-home candidate, if he can get through without being bid on by any other club).

In short, with the known departures this year, my thought of priorities for the 2017 draft: medium defender, small/medium forward, ruck (rookie list).
There must be a third departure from the main list to allow a third draftee, but I expect that to occur naturally with one of the 5 OOC players leaving. That will provide a need for roughly a like-for-like replacement.

Cogs No1 has analysed GWS' draft position previously: two mid second round picks (from Saints & Pies) & two around 70. Another pick to come from a trade for a departing player.

The GWS academy draftable options include: Jack Powell (mid, small forward - likely early/mid second round), Nick Shipley (tall midfielder, secondary fwd or defender - anywhere from second round to rookie list depending on U18 Championship performance), Nathan Richards (ruck/fwd - anywhere from second round to rookie list depending on U18 Championship performance), Tom Highmore (overage 192cm defender - probably rookie or not drafted) & Brendan Myers (plays inside but has speed, can be mid or back - probably rookie or not drafted).

Of the excluded academy players, who would need to have a live pick used: Jarrod Brander (advertised as a KPF & possible top 5 pick, but being played as a KPD at U18 Champs) & Charlie Spargo (described as 'Toby Greene' like in intensity, a small mid/fwd, originally top 10 but potentially dropping back into second round - will depend on U18 Champs performance) are the most likely. Other possibles are Alex Paech (KPD) & Doulton Langlands (running medium defender).

Looking at possible departures this year, I think that de Boer & Simpson will likely go around again & to be honest are small fry in the overall discussion. The issue centres on the 5 remaining OOC players: Kelly, Smith, Hopper, Matt Kennedy & Himmelberg. The GWS drafting strategy will ultimately rest on who stays & who goes, and what we get for them:

• Kelly: if he goes, we should get a 2017 pick around 4 - 8 from NM or StK. I'd suggest that Setterfield & Taranto are the immediate options for Kelly's role, and that provides some outlet for that pick to be used on best available. Depending on who else leaves, it could be used on best available for their desired replacement. e.g. If Smith also leaves, then Jaidyn Stephenson as a medium forward would be a quality option; Brander (for the LOLs) could be a Himmelberg replacement.
• If Hopper leaves, I'd hope that both $ available and opportunity sees Matt Kennedy remain; Perryman could become the secondary inside midfielder in the succession plan, but with Griffen degrading and likely to retire in 2018, a quality inside midfielder would be high on my list. It's too hard to say what might happen; Carlton is keen on Hopper & he might follow SOS, but Carlton won't give up their likely pick #2 with their next available option not anywhere near value; but the possible outlet of pick #15-18 from Adelaide for Gibbs would provide poorer quality replacement value. Shipley is likely to be somewhere in the mix of speculative options (especially if Taranto steps up), but we'll need to see how he copes at Div 1 level.
• There's no real standout replacement for Patfull/Shaw in the draft among GWS academy kids; Highmore the closest in characteristics but not in quality. I see Buntine as possibly being the guy on our list who steps into that role (can mark, ground ball ability, leadership qualities), but for mine, we still need to go to the draft for someone longer term. Tom Highmore is a faint possibility, but I suspect unlikely. That's where a live pick in the back end of the first round or early second round might be needed. Personally, I like the look of Nick Coffield (190cm attacking half-back & Northern Knights captain described as a 'natural competitor') in that likely 15-20 range. I'm not expecting GWS to go that way though!
• I can see Spargo being an option if NM use their first round picks on Kelly, Dusty Martin or Hopper & GWS gets a mid-teens live pick from a Smith/Hopper/Kennedy departure.
• I reckon Jack Powell is most likely as a second round academy selection as Stevie J's replacement. That would be a good outcome - naturally competitive, we get another Canberra lad on the books, easily done with points/selections, doesn't create too many waves as second-round talent. (Sorry Cogs, personally I just can't see Connor Owen-Auburn being a likely rookie pick.)
• Nick Shipley should be another likely selection. Late crossover to AFL from soccer, so should have some upside, but we won't want to pay too much for him. Is flexible - started as a half-back, won MVP for Giants in this year's Div 2 U18 Championships as an inside mid with an ability to go forward & take marks & kick goals.

So, for mine, Jack Powell, Nick Shipley & possibly Nathan Richards the most likely from the academy. The remainder of the picture really depends on departures & incoming picks and how players do in the upcoming U18 championships.

[Edit: sorry, the formatting of the two teams got screwed up so I had to redo.]

 

[coniglio_number1]

Incredible write up GS

 

[coniglio_number1]

Also I thought we were going to have to choose between keeping bunts or kenners this year. Very happy to have both but where does this leave himmelberg? Would hate to lose this kid

 

[_GT_]

OK, so a few re-signings have occurred, much speculation & trade hypotheticals on those few who remain unsigned, and the U18 Div 1 Championships start this weekend, so I thought I'd throw down some thoughts about the list & drafting. A long way out from the trade/draft period & much unknown, so I'll try to remain broad with 'options' rather than 'resolutions', with a mixture of my own thoughts & my speculation of what the club might be thinking.

Start with list size: currently 38 on the main list (excluding in-season rookie upgrades) + 6 rookie list (Patfull of course just taking salary). I'd expect the situation to be the same or similar next year, in terms of 38 + 6 (or otherwise + 5 or 7).

Of the rookies, Patfull will come off & I'd expect to keep all of the rest. Reid, Lloyd & Sproule have all been good & are easy retentions - indeed I would have no qualms if any of them were to be put into the main list, with Reid the most deserving. We haven't seen much of Tendai M'zungu yet and I'm not sure how Stein would be graded by the club, but I think the club would be unlikely to cut them after only one year.

In terms of the 44 players, I characterise them as 2 teams of 22 with a formulaic approach (that's my mild OCD kicking in) such as 2 x KPFs + fwd/ruck, 3 x inside mids + 2 inside/outside mids + 2 outside mids etc to take a view of list balance (so my 'best 22' doesn't necessarily conform exactly to how Leon might choose his 22). Players in bold will leave end of 2017, players in italics are OOC at 2017 & at risk of leaving, (R) marks rookies (obviously also OOC at end of 2017 but not italicised) & * marks players OOC in 2018 who might retire (I'm looking at age/output primarily):

Best 22
KPFs: Cameron Patton Lobb
S/M Fwds: Greene Johnson Deledio Smith
R: Mumford*
Mids: Ward Kelly Coniglio Scully Whitfield Griffen* Shiel
S/M Defs: Shaw* Williams Wilson Buntine
KPDs: Davis Tomlinson Haynes

Second 22
Finlayson Sproule(R) Flynn
Taranto Reid(R) Lloyd(R) Tiziani
Simpson Downie
Hopper Setterfield MKennedy de Boer Cumming Mzungu(R)
AKennedy Perryman Stein(R) Patfull(R)
Corr Mohr* Himmelberg

Don't get too caught up on where exactly I've pigeon-holed players, it's just to look at the whole picture. Taranto, for example, I see following a Kelly-like pathway to being a good (hopefully great) inside-outside midfielder; Perryman could be categorised as an inside mid rather than medium defender. The obvious point to make is that the second 22 has that extra ruckman (which I think is needed as a specialised position, just in case) in lieu of a mid.

List assessment: Overall, I don't see too many glaring deficiencies in the list. Sure we'd all like 'more quality' in both best 22 & depth players, but to be honest, GWS is in a pretty good place. I'd definitely say that retaining Kelly, who looks like becoming a 'top 10 in the comp' midfielder is shaping as critical. We are developing replacements for impending departures: Johnson (Taranto initially, but need to then go to draft for longer term), Mumford (Flynn in combo with Lobb, short term Simpson is probably OK), Griffen (Hopper with MKennedy a backup - which entails the obvious risk with those 2 unsigned).

So where we need to look in the draft is mainly as replacement for those expected to step up - specifically a small/medium forward as Johnson's follow on, and with Patfull gone and Shaw's time ticking down (personally, I don't think he'll retire at end of 2018, but with an existing hole in the medium backs the fact that he may retire or degrade sets up an obvious need) a medium defender. The ruck situation has been discussed in these pages so I'll only briefly comment: either the club sees Flynn as a viable long term ruck & trusts he continues to develop, or it will go to the trade period looking to buy a quality replacement for Mumford when it thinks he's done - so the club doctors need to be really honest in their assessment of his capacity beyond next year. I'd still look for one more ruck this year as a Downie replacement just to allow coverage for in season injuries, but a young ruck to develop on the rookie list would be fine (Nathan Richards is the obvious close-to-home candidate, if he can get through without being bid on by any other club).

In short, with the known departures this year, my thought of priorities for the 2017 draft: medium defender, small/medium forward, ruck (rookie list).
There must be a third departure from the main list to allow a third draftee, but I expect that to occur naturally with one of the 5 OOC players leaving. That will provide a need for roughly a like-for-like replacement.

Cogs No1 has analysed GWS' draft position previously: two mid second round picks (from Saints & Pies) & two around 70. Another pick to come from a trade for a departing player.

The GWS academy draftable options include: Jack Powell (mid, small forward - likely early/mid second round), Nick Shipley (tall midfielder, secondary fwd or defender - anywhere from second round to rookie list depending on U18 Championship performance), Nathan Richards (ruck/fwd - anywhere from second round to rookie list depending on U18 Championship performance), Tom Highmore (overage 192cm defender - probably rookie or not drafted) & Brendan Myers (plays inside but has speed, can be mid or back - probably rookie or not drafted).

Of the excluded academy players, who would need to have a live pick used: Jarrod Brander (advertised as a KPF & possible top 5 pick, but being played as a KPD at U18 Champs) & Charlie Spargo (described as 'Toby Greene' like in intensity, a small mid/fwd, originally top 10 but potentially dropping back into second round - will depend on U18 Champs performance) are the most likely. Other possibles are Alex Paech (KPD) & Doulton Langlands (running medium defender).

Looking at possible departures this year, I think that de Boer & Simpson will likely go around again & to be honest are small fry in the overall discussion. The issue centres on the 5 remaining OOC players: Kelly, Smith, Hopper, Matt Kennedy & Himmelberg. The GWS drafting strategy will ultimately rest on who stays & who goes, and what we get for them:

• Kelly: if he goes, we should get a 2017 pick around 4 - 8 from NM or StK. I'd suggest that Setterfield & Taranto are the immediate options for Kelly's role, and that provides some outlet for that pick to be used on best available. Depending on who else leaves, it could be used on best available for their desired replacement. e.g. If Smith also leaves, then Jaidyn Stephenson as a medium forward would be a quality option; Brander (for the LOLs) could be a Himmelberg replacement.
• If Hopper leaves, I'd hope that both $ available and opportunity sees Matt Kennedy remain; Perryman could become the secondary inside midfielder in the succession plan, but with Griffen degrading and likely to retire in 2018, a quality inside midfielder would be high on my list. It's too hard to say what might happen; Carlton is keen on Hopper & he might follow SOS, but Carlton won't give up their likely pick #2 with their next available option not anywhere near value; but the possible outlet of pick #15-18 from Adelaide for Gibbs would provide poorer quality replacement value. Shipley is likely to be somewhere in the mix of speculative options (especially if Taranto steps up), but we'll need to see how he copes at Div 1 level.
• There's no real standout replacement for Patfull/Shaw in the draft among GWS academy kids; Highmore the closest in characteristics but not in quality. I see Buntine as possibly being the guy on our list who steps into that role (can mark, ground ball ability, leadership qualities), but for mine, we still need to go to the draft for someone longer term. Tom Highmore is a faint possibility, but I suspect unlikely. That's where a live pick in the back end of the first round or early second round might be needed. Personally, I like the look of Nick Coffield (190cm attacking half-back & Northern Knights captain described as a 'natural competitor') in that likely 15-20 range. I'm not expecting GWS to go that way though!
• I can see Spargo being an option if NM use their first round picks on Kelly, Dusty Martin or Hopper & GWS gets a mid-teens live pick from a Smith/Hopper/Kennedy departure.
• I reckon Jack Powell is most likely as a second round academy selection as Stevie J's replacement. That would be a good outcome - naturally competitive, we get another Canberra lad on the books, easily done with points/selections, doesn't create too many waves as second-round talent. (Sorry Cogs, personally I just can't see Connor Owen-Auburn being a likely rookie pick.)
• Nick Shipley should be another likely selection. Late crossover to AFL from soccer, so should have some upside, but we won't want to pay too much for him. Is flexible - started as a half-back, won MVP for Giants in this year's Div 2 U18 Championships as an inside mid with an ability to go forward & take marks & kick goals.

So, for mine, Jack Powell, Nick Shipley & possibly Nathan Richards the most likely from the academy. The remainder of the picture really depends on departures & incoming picks and how players do in the upcoming U18 championships.

[Edit: sorry, the formatting of the two teams got screwed up so I had to redo.]

GS, great early picture of how things are shaping up. Will be coming back to this post numerous times as the season progresses. I hope Shipley continues to improve and step up, esp. in Div 1 games.

 

[Giant Strides]

The defenders were the hardest for me to analyse. In the setup over last 2.5 years, Heater has been critical to success, which IMHO is a mixture of his raw footy skills, his leadership & tactical nouse, and rebounding ability. But Patfull was also very influential in providing coverage across multiple skills - playing on both talls & smaller attackers & reading of play. In both cases - and as we see in Haynes - the ability to read the upcoming play & defuse it is critical. Our best setup IMHO was with 2 talls, Haynes as a third intercept marking tall, one 'multi-purpose' back (Patfull) then three counterattacking medium defenders. Our current setup with Davis, Corr, Tommo & Haynes doesn't quite mirror that, but has been successful - and with Whitfield out earlier in the year we played the 8 defenders (4 talls & 4 medium counter-attacking defenders). However, when Haynes was injured we tried to continue the 4 talls with HH in place of Haynes, but it didn't seem to work as well - often these things seem to be as much a success of personalities & intangibles (but that was a really limited number of games in which to assess things). Stein's an oddity - tall but very athletic - TBH I'm just not sure where he best fits in, apart from questioning whether he can develop the footy skills to 'make it' at AFL level. Last year we were very keen on McGrath as a possible successor for Heater. Although I've sorta rolled the dice on Perryman fulfilling that role in my setup, I'm unconvinced at the moment. Hence why I included my comments on Coffield as potentially having some of those skills, and also on Buntine possibly providing the same from within.

Apart from that, I also meant to say that I don't see any burning need to go out & trade in any players. However, since this draft is shaping up as potentially quite shallow, we might not want to take too many draftees. Shouldn't be a problem if we don't lose too many of the OOC players - and I've always thought that 1 to 3 was likely - but if we did happen to lose 4 or 5 of those remaining OOC it will be interesting to see what GWS does. That's when I would not be surprised if someone like Reid were to be upgraded and a punt on a rookie draftee. That could look something like:

• OUT: Johnson, Downie, Kelly, Hopper, Smith, Himmelberg, Patfull(R) (I still think we'll retain Bam Bam if Hopper goes)
• IN: approximately picks #6, #15, 2018 pick, late first round or early second round pick (& existing 2 x second round picks plus 2 around 70)
• leaving selection questions around:
  • the early pick, do you go perhaps Brander as a HH replacement or a balanced midfielder - for mine Brander as a defender is too high at that number & we need to be careful not to let sentiment or 'screw the Vics' thinking cause us to select poorly?
  • Spargo with a live pick might be possible & shapes as potential replacement across Hopper, Smith or Johnson (would be both a poetic win but a good fit from the list perspective)
  • Powell a no-brainer replacement for Smith or Johnson
  • Reid as a rookie upgrade costs nothing and covers Johnson or Smith (admittedly as less quality)
  • Shipley as a speculative replacement for Hopper or could he be groomed as a defender (replacement for Patfull)
  • Richards (rookie) for Downie plus someone else - do we try for a trade rather than the draft?
  • leaving potentially a late first early second round pick for either a defender or mid, depending on how Shipley is seen, which could be used for a trade rather than a draft choice.

Interesting period for us.

 

[captainMyCaptain]

Once again, we stick by and re-sign someone with a long term injury.

Indeed we do

"Just before I did my knee I started (negotiations with) the club and they said they want to keep me on, which I was over the moon about because I love the club; and then after I did my knee, I was a little bit worried and so was my family, being (the) last year of (my) contract," Kennedy told the club website.
"But the Giants pretty much got straight on the phone and said, 'Mate, nothing's changed – we want you for another three years.' "It just shows what type of club this is. Obviously I'm out for the year and we've got a lot of guys signing on, and for them not to forget about me – you do play things (out) in your head – it makes me feel at home."

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-06-10/injured-giants-defender-signs-on-for-three