2026 Trade / FA Thread

[No SPIN]

We don’t have one best 22 lock player under 23 atm and 10 above 30. That’s a huge concern.

It’s only a huge concern if you dismiss the quality of our kids, before they’ve had a chance to prove themselves.

 

[HFF]

Agree that some players like Lippa would respond well to some tough love at selection
One or two weeks in the magoos isn’t going to kill them and might sharpen them up for rest of season
Penalize a few to educate a thousand

100%
You need to send some tough love rather than a cuddle all the time

 

[10571z]

It’s only a huge concern if you dismiss the quality of our kids, before they’ve had a chance to prove themselves.

Sure, but we aren’t talking a bunch of top 20 picks running around. They are all poor draft picks. Sure our record is ok at that but the chances there are 2-3 gems running around is tiny.

 

[No SPIN]

Sure, but we aren’t talking a bunch of top 20 picks running around. They are all poor draft picks. Sure our record is ok at that but the chances there are 2-3 gems running around is tiny.

If they were all Top 20 picks it’s means we would have tanked over the last few years - which is not our style.

We’ve been ultra competitive in the past without Top picks no reason why we won’t in the future.

 

[cityslick1]

I've read a few times how we went with HDM over Morris, I kinda get it as while LM was a list need he wasn't rated as high at the time, that happens. Freijah went at 45 in the same draft, we wouldnt be complaining about that over LM. I'm still losing sleep on how we went Stevenson over Naughton, both similar rated but the latter a clear need (yes I know his disposal wasn't rated pre draft).

Hine constantly said that “we” will only take a key forward IF we think they’re up to the level… no matter what our needs are.

Problem is, he failed to identify that all of
Mitchell Lewis, Tristan Xerri, Aaron Naughton, Logan Morris, and Shannon Neale are all easily up to the level, and would’ve made us much better…

And eventually cost him his job

 

[Bussie]

De Goey is nearly 200 games and 12 seasons in to a breakout game is a breakout season.

 

[10571z]

If they were all Top 20 picks it’s means we would have tanked over the last few years - which is not our style.

We’ve been ultra competitive in the past without Top picks no reason why we won’t in the future.

We’ve rightly traded off our first rounders and nearly reaped the rewards last year. Unfortunately we now seeing the punishment for that. I don’t begrudge doing it as it nearly got us another GF but it’s kids we now don’t have and need to find.

 

[10571z]

De Goey is nearly 200 games and 12 seasons in to a breakout game is a breakout season.

He is one we need carrying the load but isn’t.

 

[No SPIN]

We’ve rightly traded off our first rounders and nearly reaped the rewards last year. Unfortunately we now seeing the punishment for that. I don’t begrudge doing it as it nearly got us another GF but it’s kids we now don’t have and need to find.

Again you make the mistake of insisting first rounders are a panacea- they are not. Ask Ess and Carlton.

 

[soreplums]

Concern about the demographic of our list. We need to be smart not to fall off a cliff right around Tassie time.

Unfortunately if we don’t navigate it well we could be absolutely cooked

Our list is in a serious pickle.

In the next 3 seasons we will say goodbye to

Pendles
Sidebottom
Crisp
Howe
Elliot
Degoey
Moore?
Membrey
Cameron?
McStay

Unfortunately we don’t have anything promising coming through under 22.

It’ll be intesting the strategy we go with.

Unfortunately no currency to get some picks in either.

To me that sounds like we have a lot of cash available to go shopping!

 

[Bussie]

Hine constantly said that “we” will only take a key forward IF we think they’re up to the level… no matter what our needs are.

Problem is, he failed to identify that all of
Mitchell Lewis, Tristan Xerri, Aaron Naughton, Logan Morris, and Shannon Neale are all easily up to the level, and would’ve made us much better…

And eventually cost him his job

"We have no depth"
You can thanks Hine for that, all the cute picks, all the 'left of centre' picks, have single handedly set us back. We won a flag, we won with an aging side, a side that is now old.
De Mattia, Ryan, Jiath still have some time, but it's ticking away.
Mclarty, Sier, C.Brown, Macrae, Draper, Murley, Rantall, Bianco, Ruscoe, W.Kelly, Poulter, all speculative pics, mostly mids that never came on.
It's no surprise that the first draft without Hine we picked well ranked mids and a tall forward, even after bringing in Buller.

I'd be more than happy to see kids played, even if it meant losing the games. Who knows, maybe we could pinch one like the baby Bombers of 1993, I doubt it though.
Swadling, Prindable, West, Saxena, Anderson, Harrison, Howes, Cochran, Steene...a spine. McCarthy is too thin, give him 12 months in the gym and nothing but chicken and beef, get some size on him and away we go. Keep all our early picks and use them carefully, not a 'rough in the diamond'. Add some serviceable UFA or a DFA.


Happy to endure losses with an inexperienced side.

 

[sr36]

We don’t have one best 22 lock player under 23 atm and 10 above 30. That’s a huge concern.

Here's the situation

We didn't have many draft hits between 2015-2020. So we've recruited to back fill that age group - Hill, Schultz, Perryman, Houston. That results in us being competitive, but the cost is that we've reduced the likelihood of hits between 2021-2025. Fair chance not enough come good and well have to back fill that age group too. I think we'll just keep rolling and adding players however we can. It might not work, but it's more likely than just bottoming out and trusting a weakened draft to get you back up.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

what do you think we'd get for JDG now? It would be a 3rd rounder.

DeGoey would get us a 2nd rounder at least. He does have a very good finals record, so a club contending l can see wanting to take him on board...

 

[Doc1763]

DeGoey would get us a 2nd rounder at least. He does have a very good finals record, so a club contending l can see wanting to take him on board...

no chance we are getting a 2nd rounder for him now.

 

[Bussie]

He is one we need carrying the load but isn’t.

He'd be an out and out star if he played consistent footy, not one great game here and there.

 

[manicpie]

He'd be an out and out star if he played consistent footy, not one great game here and there.

It's time to play him FF, he can't impact in the middle like he used to

 

[Go Woods]

It's time to play him FF, he can't impact in the middle like he used to

Agree, play Jordy 100% forward.
Play Beau 100% mid, I've got more faith in Beau than Jordy playing midfield.

 

[brysie]

A side that gets ignored but won a flag and is resetting very shrewdly is the dees.
Look good with a modern game decent younguns and a smattering of a and b+ players.
Great recruits.
Should be a model we follow.
Maybe not finals but will be at least wild card this year

I agree with your assessment of Melbourne, however don't think that we can replicate or follow their model, for the simple fact that we haven't lost the likes of Jackson and Petracca that have netted Melbourne some very good draft hands.

King is a revelation and their drafting has been top notch, both from a national draft and a rookie/MSD/SSP perspective.

Given our list profile, I'd prioritise the following:

• Keeping our first-round pick
• Prioritising the best unrestricted free agents
• Adding any restricted free agents / out of contract players who won't cost the earth but will fill out the list

The restricted free agents/out of contract players that are of interest to me at the end of this season include Zak Bailey (provided Brisbane don't match), Jordon Butts, Sam Berry, Bailey Fritsch (provided Melbourne don't match), Mitch Hinge (UFA), Mark O'Connor (UFA), Tom Sparrow (UFA), Buku Khamis and Calsher Dear.

Note that the names above were taken from a list of restricted/unrestricted free agents published by the AFL in March. Some may have re-signed.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

no chance we are getting a 2nd rounder for him now.

A team contending would pay a late 2nd rounder for him, if push came to shove...

 

[Dtennent94]

Here's the situation

We didn't have many draft hits between 2015-2020. So we've recruited to back fill that age group - Hill, Schultz, Perryman, Houston. That results in us being competitive, but the cost is that we've reduced the likelihood of hits between 2021-2025. Fair chance not enough come good and well have to back fill that age group too. I think we'll just keep rolling and adding players however we can. It might not work, but it's more likely than just bottoming out and trusting a weakened draft to get you back up.

Why don’t we set up an unofficial academy and brainwash kids into dreaming about playing for the Pies? Think the Geelong Falcons. That way we can effectively get freebies without an official AFL-approved academy.

Can’t we tee up some wealthy coteries to give baby bonuses to all of our players for every boy they have? Maybe we can tie in a coitus-per-week KPI into player contracts? And obviously start prioritising getting as many players as possible to 100 games, starting with Perryman.

 

[Scodog10]

Care to define that?

They’re correct depending on whatever you use as a definition of showing promise. The way list management works most if not all of them won’t get to 20 matches and they currently have a combined 6 senior games to their name.

If you wound the clock back 4 years you could just as easily replace all of those names with T Brown, Kelly, Macrae, Ruscoe, Bianco, Draper, Murley and Poulter. IMO, being young and playing decent VFL footy in patches doesn’t warrant a declaration that they’re showing promise.

 

[Apex36]

Hine constantly said that “we” will only take a key forward IF we think they’re up to the level… no matter what our needs are.

Problem is, he failed to identify that all of
Mitchell Lewis, Tristan Xerri, Aaron Naughton, Logan Morris, and Shannon Neale are all easily up to the level, and would’ve made us much better…

And eventually cost him his job

To be fair, Naughton played as a defender as a junior and in his first year at the dogs. Nobody could have predicted he’d be able to make the switch forward so well, not many defenders can.

 

[Scodog10]

To be fair, Naughton played as a defender as a junior and in his first year at the dogs. Nobody could have predicted he’d be able to make the switch forward so well, not many defenders can.

His kicking was also horrible at a time when kicking was a big issue for us. Stephenson was clearly a roll which went against us post 2018, but there’s every chance that we’d have gone Brander or Murphy had we passed on Stephenson. Unlike the 2020 trade that’s not one I’d be handwringing over.

 

[granniewolf]

They’re correct depending on whatever you use as a definition of showing promise. The way list management works most if not all of them won’t get to 20 matches and they currently have a combined 6 senior games to their name.

If you wound the clock back 4 years you could just as easily replace all of those names with T Brown, Kelly, Macrae, Ruscoe, Bianco, Draper, Murley and Poulter. IMO, being young and playing decent VFL footy in patches doesn’t warrant a declaration that they’re showing promise.

Ed Allan has 18 games in seniors and he's still 21.
Last year we were going all in for the flag so blooding kids wasn't a priority.
I think more than a few of them will get more than 20 games .
Of course we have to wait and see.

 

[sr36]

His kicking was also horrible at a time when kicking was a big issue for us. Stephenson was clearly a roll which went against us post 2018, but there’s every chance that we’d have gone Brander or Murphy had we passed on Stephenson. Unlike the 2020 trade that’s not one I’d be handwringing over.

2020 trade just reeked of a marketing decision more than a football decision. "Get in a heap of draftees to talk up, because we're on the nose ATM"