It's interesting the Fyfe 2017 vs Fyfe 2018 debate. Obviously there are the issues of, if we can get him now or wait and SEE if we can get him next year is a big debate but the one i want to bring up is the "for free" vs "trading picks part"
What those in the "for free" boat don't realise, I think, is that if we wait for Fyfe to be a free agent next year, not only do we have to hope he still wants to come here. But we have to put in an offer so big as to scare Freo away from matching or we'd have to trade picks anyway. Plus we'd have to outbid other clubs.
Say we end up offering Ffyfe 1.1million over four years as a free agent. We get him for "FREE" right? What if it's not right though. Looking at Sydney, and how Buddy Franklin's huge salary is hemorrhaging their salary cap. Players like Tom Mitchell are walking out and likely so. If they weren't such a strong club pre Buddy Franklin i think you'd have a lot of the Kennedy's, Parkers and Hannebery's walking out as well.
So the argument is, we can have Fyfe and two first round picks playing for us in 2018. Or we can have Fyfe and two less first round picks in 2017. What if our pick leaves the club in 2019 because we've paid Fyfe over the top to get him across. Signing him now and paying him less, like 800k a season, may be better in the long term
I think there are clearly two sides to this debate and one is not the clear cut answer.