List Mgmt. 2025 Premiership(s) List Making and Trading

[Scorpus]

Nick Murray was a rookie this year?

I don't think so. He was upgraded at the end of 2023

 

[blighty]

The pending new ruck rules for 2026 will make ROB almost redundant.
Ruck emphasis will be on jumping for the ball so Gawn, Xerri, Briggs and Witts will be invaluable.
We need to recruit a ruck who can leap & use his body to best advantage. The taller the better.
I would talk to North & offer Butts for Goad as straight swap of players. The ruckman will become even more influential.
It's absolutely pointless chasing midfielders if we aren't going to be competitive in ruck.

 

[AFC979810]

Its not that people dont want him, its the cost of doing business to get him.

We were exposed in finals in the midfield, he no doubt helps. But we were also exposed for a lack of transition from the back half, we have poor small forward depth and we will need to sort out our forward structure.

How was our depth exposed?

We had 23 of our best 24 available for the game vs Hawthorn.

We need a better best 23.

 

[Cromulant]

How was our depth exposed?

We had 23 of our best 24 available for the game vs Hawthorn.

We need a better best 23.

23 of our best 24 and we got spanked. Having Petracca, who doesnt give you a first possession midfielder and who's well known for being a "hack it forward" merchant wouldnt have won us those games,

Brodie Smith played, we lacked any sort of transition from defence because he, Hinge and Laird provided nothing. If we had suitable depth, we wouldnt have needed to play him.

Every time we called upon a SANFL player to cover, whether it be Smith, Jones, Harry, or Cook..... they failed.

We need to replace all of that, trading away 3 picks around the 20s for 1 guy past his best might be ok for a year.

 

[AFC979810]

23 of our best 24 and we got spanked. Having Petracca, who doesnt give you a first possession midfielder and who's well known for being a "hack it forward" merchant wouldnt have won us those games,

Brodie Smith played, we lacked any sort of transition from defence because he, Hinge and Laird provided nothing. If we had suitable depth, we wouldnt have needed to play him.

Every time we called upon a SANFL player to cover, whether it be Smith, Jones, Harry, or Cook..... they failed.

We need to replace all of that, trading away 3 picks around the 20s for 1 guy past his best might be ok for a year.

Huh?

Petracca isn't a first possession midfielder? Jeez - I dont know why I even bother with you.

In 2025 - a year that has been acknowledged as a down year for Petracca - he was #7 in the AFL for centre clearances. Dawson was #33.

 

[AFC979810]

Brodie Smith played, we lacked any sort of transition from defence because he, Hinge and Laird provided nothing. If we had suitable depth, we wouldnt have needed to play him.

We have Petracca & Rankine - Smith dont play.

Every time we called upon a SANFL player to cover, whether it be Smith, Jones, Harry, or Cook..... they failed.

We had 23 of our best 24 available and got spanked. What use is depth if the best players aint good enough?

We need to replace all of that, trading away 3 picks around the 20s for 1 guy past his best might be ok for a year.

Yeah - cause our picks in the 20's have turned the club around. Amazing... Look at our history.

 

[Cromulant]

We have Petracca & Rankine - Smith dont play.



We had 23 of our best 24 available and got spanked. What use is depth if the best players aint good enough?



Yeah - cause our picks in the 20's have turned the club around. Amazing... Look at our history.

The last time we traded multiple first rounders for a guy this age it worked real well too.

If Rankine and PRIME Petracca play, we might win.... he's not that anymore.

 

[crows dude]

Nick Murray was a rookie this year?

No
Toby is

 

[AFC979810]

No
Toby is

There it is! Thanks for the clarification. I read Murray in the article and completely forgot about Toby.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

So we've done it again this year, put games into 3 guys who aren't at the club anymore at the cost of developing the next gen and seeing what they can do.

 

[ams4crows]

Taylor to me has more natural centre square mid capabilities than what Berry has. It's only fitness letting him down, if he could focus purely on fitness Taylor could be a Lachie Neale

9

Lachie Neale

Age

32

Ht

177cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.0

5star

K

11.5

4star

HB

15.5

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.7

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

28.3

5star

K

13.9

5star

HB

14.4

5star

M

4.6

4star

T

4.0

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

12.0

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

7.4

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

CL

0.4

3star

type with some time, Taylor has high footy IQ

 

[Cromulant]

So we've done it again this year, put games into 3 guys who aren't at the club anymore at the cost of developing the next gen and seeing what they can do.

That 1 quarter Harry played will come back to bite us

 

[MrBarry]

With those outgoing players, we've now got one of the youngest lists in the competition again.

 

[Crow till I die]

With those outgoing players, we've now got one of the youngest lists in the competition again.

Especially if Tex hangs the boots up

 

[Brenton Davy]

Any thoughts on maybe rookie pick on Jack Petruccelle

21

Jack Petruccelle

Age

26

Ht

188cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.2

2star

K

6.2

2star

HB

3.0

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

6.7

1star

K

4.0

1star

HB

2.7

2star

M

1.7

2star

T

1.3

2star

G

0.7

4star

D

7.8

2star

K

4.6

2star

HB

3.2

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.6

3star

? Delisted by WCE and injury prone recently. Do we roll the dice and hope Burgess can work his magic?

 

[Crow till I die]

Any thoughts on maybe rookie pick on Jack Petruccelle? Delisted by WCE and injury prone recently. Do we roll the dice and hope Burgess can work his magic?

I'd be hoping we might rookie Verrall since he was delisted. I think he might just be worth a look in that role we are desperate for - developing ruck forward.

 

[Skippos]

So Petracca is better than all of our midfielders and your take is we don't want him?

You don't think that Trac winning the hardball allows for Rankine and Dawson to get more outside ball which absolutely makes us a million times better?

Peak Petracca is better than our current crop at stoppage. Just. But peak Petracca also attended a lot more stoppages per match than our current group who rotate a bit more. Peak Petracca was excellent, but clearances weren't his one wood.

Current Petracca is no better than what we currently have at this specific job.

Do I think he's probably going to be better next year than this year? Yep. Do I think he'd make us better if we got him? Yep. Do I think we should chase him? Yeah, depending on cost and other options.

But I think we have a clear deficiency in our midfield group that was exposed at the back end of the season, and that's not something Petracca's particularly strong at, not to mention his lack of defensive running means to have him in a midfield group you need to set up around him with some strong defensive options or clubs will get out easily.

It'd be like the Bulldogs, a club who are thin on quality key defenders, but the ones they do have are reasonable interceptors and distributors and they just struggle one-on-one, chasing Mark Keane. He'd probably make them better because he's a good player, but his strengths aren't what they're weak in, and his weaknesses aren't ones they'd be well equipped to cover. They'd probably get more benefit out of a Jordon Butts type than Keane, even though Keane's a better player and if asked to, he can play a lockdown role.

We want Trac being the one to exit the stoppage, not the one to distribute. If we ask him to be the distributor, we're taking him away from his strengths. I'd suggest if we get him we'd still need to look at surrounding him with a solid extractor and a solid defensive mid (I think Peatling can do this).

If we are so bad at stoppage, and so good outside stoppage (and that seems true to the eye test) do you have an opinion on why have we went with a long-down-the-line game plan which seems destined to generate more stoppages? I don’t get it

Edit so you’re saying what our midfield needs is a Tom Green/Serong/Rowell first possession type of player?

Yeah, I'm not really sure why we relied on long down the line. My feeling would be that it wasn't the plan, but the bail out when the plan wasn't working. I imagine our desired style and ball movement was restricted effectively by the opposition so we had to resort to 50/50s. Which probably is in and of itself the issue - because we're a weak stoppage size, the bail out down the line option that clubs go to when they're not going so well hurts us even more.

Yes, I think we probably need a first possession player. Obviously those guys/Libba/Newc/Neale types would be nice. Even guys like Parish. But we may need to find it from within or get creative (who's out there who could do that role well, but is stuck behind a better distributor/s at their own club). That said, if Greg Swann gets his way stoppages could be reduced enough that the importance first possession has on winning is diminished & we could get away with it being a weakness.

Guys like Davies @ GC, Tsatas @ Essendon, Sheldrick @ Sydney could be those guys, all limited and have issues but have shown strong signs of being a useful distributor. Rowbottom I reckon could be redirected from a defensive mid into it too. Or we might find it internally.

 

[Crow-eater]

How we stand now



Taylor likely joins Bond in signing an extension, as was rumoured a week or two ago. Most likely announced tomorrow.

That leaves Tex and Burgess. I fully expect the club to give Tex a week or two to make his decision, and Burgess is likely linked to it. Tex retires, Burgess gets another year. Tex goes on, Burgess is delisted.

Tex retiring leaves us with 5 senior list spots, if he stays we have 4.

 

[fossilllCrow]

How we stand now

View attachment 2429560

Taylor likely joins Bond in signing an extension, as was rumoured a week or two ago. Most likely announced tomorrow.

That leaves Tex and Burgess. I fully expect the club to give Tex a week or two to make his decision, and Burgess is likely linked to it. Tex retires, Burgess gets another year. Tex goes on, Burgess is delisted.

Tex retiring leaves us with 5 senior list spots, if he stays we have 4.

As much as I love Tex brining in 5 new players would be great.

1 delisted player maybe from GC or elsewhere
Draft 2
Trade in 2

Would love to look at Roos they have young players who could be an opportunity to raid before they become stars.

 

[VT0100]

Peak Petracca is better than our current crop at stoppage. Just. But peak Petracca also attended a lot more stoppages per match than our current group who rotate a bit more. Peak Petracca was excellent, but clearances weren't his one wood.

Current Petracca is no better than what we currently have at this specific job.

Do I think he's probably going to be better next year than this year? Yep. Do I think he'd make us better if we got him? Yep. Do I think we should chase him? Yeah, depending on cost and other options.

But I think we have a clear deficiency in our midfield group that was exposed at the back end of the season, and that's not something Petracca's particularly strong at, not to mention his lack of defensive running means to have him in a midfield group you need to set up around him with some strong defensive options or clubs will get out easily.

It'd be like the Bulldogs, a club who are thin on quality key defenders, but the ones they do have are reasonable interceptors and distributors and they just struggle one-on-one, chasing Mark Keane. He'd probably make them better because he's a good player, but his strengths aren't what they're weak in, and his weaknesses aren't ones they'd be well equipped to cover. They'd probably get more benefit out of a Jordon Butts type than Keane, even though Keane's a better player and if asked to, he can play a lockdown role.

We want Trac being the one to exit the stoppage, not the one to distribute. If we ask him to be the distributor, we're taking him away from his strengths. I'd suggest if we get him we'd still need to look at surrounding him with a solid extractor and a solid defensive mid (I think Peatling can do this).



Yeah, I'm not really sure why we relied on long down the line. My feeling would be that it wasn't the plan, but the bail out when the plan wasn't working. I imagine our desired style and ball movement was restricted effectively by the opposition so we had to resort to 50/50s. Which probably is in and of itself the issue - because we're a weak stoppage size, the bail out down the line option that clubs go to when they're not going so well hurts us even more.

Yes, I think we probably need a first possession player. Obviously those guys/Libba/Newc/Neale types would be nice. Even guys like Parish. But we may need to find it from within or get creative (who's out there who could do that role well, but is stuck behind a better distributor/s at their own club). That said, if Greg Swann gets his way stoppages could be reduced enough that the importance first possession has on winning is diminished & we could get away with it being a weakness.

Guys like Davies @ GC, Tsatas @ Essendon, Sheldrick @ Sydney could be those guys, all limited and have issues but have shown strong signs of being a useful distributor. Rowbottom I reckon could be redirected from a defensive mid into it too. Or we might find it internally.

I think your idea of Petrecca is very different from reality. Let’s compare like for like.

Last weekend, these were our mids with disposals and clearances.

Dawson 21d, 4 cl
Soligo 15, 4 cl
Peatling 17, 2 cl
Berry 12, 1 cl

Last time melb went out in straight sets, these were trac:

29d, 24d
6 cl, 6 clr

He’s clearly an upgrade to what we have, and when it matters in finals, he still can win the ball himself and get in the game.

If you had to rate our midfield performance when it mattered, that was a D level performance. Tracs in his last finals campaign still produced a B level performance.

 

[Mr MysteryGuest]

If we are so bad at stoppage, and so good outside stoppage (and that seems true to the eye test) do you have an opinion on why have we went with a long-down-the-line game plan which seems destined to generate more stoppages? I don’t get it

Edit so you’re saying what our midfield needs is a Tom Green/Serong/Rowell first possession type of player?

Because Nicks

 

[Cromulant]

I think your idea of Petrecca is very different from reality. Let’s compare like for like.

Last weekend, these were our mids with disposals and clearances.

Dawson 21d, 4 cl
Soligo 15, 4 cl
Peatling 17, 2 cl
Berry 12, 1 cl

Last time melb went out in straight sets, these were trac:

29d, 24d
6 cl, 6 clr

He’s clearly an upgrade to what we have, and when it matters in finals, he still can win the ball himself and get in the game.

If you had to rate our midfield performance when it mattered, that was a D level performance. Tracs in his last finals campaign still produced a B level performance.

A lot has happened since they went out like we did.

Taylor Walker kicked 70 goals too

 

[Mr MysteryGuest]

Taylor to me has more natural centre square mid capabilities than what Berry has. It's only fitness letting him down, if he could focus purely on fitness Taylor could be a Lachie Neale type with some time, Taylor has high footy IQ

he will never have the fitness or strength of Neale, not even close.

 

[WAG]

Especially if Tex hangs the boots up

Are there any rumblings on this?

 

[Skippos]

I think your idea of Petrecca is very different from reality. Let’s compare like for like.

Last weekend, these were our mids with disposals and clearances.

Dawson 21d, 4 cl
Soligo 15, 4 cl
Peatling 17, 2 cl
Berry 12, 1 cl

Last time melb went out in straight sets, these were trac:

29d, 24d
6 cl, 6 clr

He’s clearly an upgrade to what we have, and when it matters in finals, he still can win the ball himself and get in the game.

If you had to rate our midfield performance when it mattered, that was a D level performance. Tracs in his last finals campaign still produced a B level performance.

My idea of Trac is based on a career body of work in the midfield role as opposed to a small sample size.

Trac is a good player. An excellent player. A difference maker. None of that is in dispute.

Dawson had 7 games this year where he had 6 or more clearances. I’m not citing them as reason for him the answer to our clearance issue because over the season he wasn’t at the production many starting midfielders are, and contributed in other ways.