Freo's problem is we seem to chase the big trade targets and then hold back at nothing to get them.
In the end I agree with you, we put too much faith in recruiting ready made players.
At the same time we put too much faith in the current squad we have, we persist for years with players that are never going to reach their potential. Polak should have been traded years earlier.
We need to find a good mix of both recruiting and drafting, the eagles have recruited Stenglien and Chick while developing their young players.
But you can't deny the fact that the likes of Cousins, Judd, Kerr are rare find's, you could hang on to every pick we have and trade for more pick's and still not find a player anywhere their calibre.
It is all a calculated gamble.
What isnt a gamble is persisiting with dead wood, undiscplined players or one M Pavlich.
/quote]
Spot on.
Why waste spots on our list for the likes of a Benet Copping when he has shown very little in his time at Freo or playing with East Perth. He should have been delisted last year and his rookie spot should have gone to a young midfielder. We have enough of his size at the club. This is an example of what the club has done for the last 6 years. Hold on to players for too long. Rumble could also fit into that catergory - good WAFL player but not big enough to be a KPP in defence. Why beef up with players of this size when it was obvious to everyone in the country that we needed midfielders!!!!
Gilmore has been at the club since 2003...Browne we got in the 2001 draft. Haines was on our list for too long for little reward.
In the end I agree with you, we put too much faith in recruiting ready made players.
At the same time we put too much faith in the current squad we have, we persist for years with players that are never going to reach their potential. Polak should have been traded years earlier.
We need to find a good mix of both recruiting and drafting, the eagles have recruited Stenglien and Chick while developing their young players.
But you can't deny the fact that the likes of Cousins, Judd, Kerr are rare find's, you could hang on to every pick we have and trade for more pick's and still not find a player anywhere their calibre.
It is all a calculated gamble.
What isnt a gamble is persisiting with dead wood, undiscplined players or one M Pavlich.
/quote]
Spot on.
Why waste spots on our list for the likes of a Benet Copping when he has shown very little in his time at Freo or playing with East Perth. He should have been delisted last year and his rookie spot should have gone to a young midfielder. We have enough of his size at the club. This is an example of what the club has done for the last 6 years. Hold on to players for too long. Rumble could also fit into that catergory - good WAFL player but not big enough to be a KPP in defence. Why beef up with players of this size when it was obvious to everyone in the country that we needed midfielders!!!!
Gilmore has been at the club since 2003...Browne we got in the 2001 draft. Haines was on our list for too long for little reward.
