List Mgmt. Contracts, trades, draft - 2021 offseason edition

[Keys]

So the 2021 season is officially done and dusted.

It’s time now to fully turn our attention to the off season and what we can do through the trade period/draft to chase down Melbourne in 2022.

List and personnel changes have already been made and I’ll update this OP as and when any further changes are made.

As it stands these are our official list changes :

Out -
• Venables (R) - retired
• Vardy - retired
• Hutchings (R) - delisted
• Ah Chee (R) - delisted
• Ainsworth - delisted
• Johnson - delisted
• Collins (R) - delisted
• Brander - cluster*
• Cameron - retired/delisted not that it was officially acknowledged by the club
• Sheppard - retired

Inactive listed -
• Cole
• Chesser

In -
• Petrevski-Seton - traded for pick 52
• Chesser - Pick 14
• Hough - Pick 31
• Bazzo - Pick 37
• Williams (Jack) - Pick 57
• Clark - Pick 62
• Dixon - SSP
• Joyce - SSP
• Strnadica - SSP
• Naish - SSP

Players on main list - 37 (Including 2 inactive)
Players on rookie list - 7

Future trade picks :
In - Port Adelaide future 2nd
Out - Future 4th

Assistant Coaches :
• Out - Graham, Hickmott
• In - Schofield (Strategy and Stoppage), Knights (Midfield), Wiley (WAFL coach), Brennan (development)

Link to contract status of all players -

The Contracts Thread

Updated (20/3/24) the status of all contracts for people’s reference : Overall List - 44 Players : Main List(37), Rookie List(5), Cat B(2) Contracted until the end of 2027 (2) : Tom Barrass (8/10/95) - Signed a 5 year extension (2023,2024,2025,2026,2027) on an existing contract set to...

www.bigfooty.com

 

[The wily weagle]

Our love affair with half back flankers has even Freo trolling us

 

[Chris_6678]

A bonus is we were able to get a second rounder for next year.

 

[shooshka]

If yeo, Kelly, Shuey, Nic Nat all stay healthy (a big if) our contested ball will be good enough next year.

It just means though we are playing with fire if we have any injuries.

I'm not saying any of the following are going to be AFL quality, on the list next year, or elite inside mids of the future - but we actually have drafted a number of inside leaning types recently.

Trew, West, Clark all fit that category (and all are depth currently).

Winder, LEdwards, Chesser, Hough, Duggan, Gaff (then pinch hit forwards like Rioli) are all players who can play at the coalface for short stints (hopefully less of Gaff doing that as others have said). The 'potential' is there for Chesser and/or Hough to move into a Kelly style role (or they may end up more like a Kelly from GWS...)

I think we do have depth there - the quality of that depth is a massive ? - but that can go either way

 

[bluengold89]

View attachment 1287659
Our love affair with half back flankers has even Freo trolling us

nah that’s a freo board meme, pretty much goes all the way back to Pitt over darling.


They’ve addressed it this year, but their board has an issue with them taking flankers over talls, while ours is flankers/talls over mids.

 

[southcoast]

You get an A, you get an A, everybody gets an A! (except Sydney)

Due to Covid cuts Fox commentators will be awarding participation certificates in 2022.

 

[WCErevival]

Duggo to the midfield. This is the year.

You're right. 2021 was the year and he was average

 

[Dark Sharks]

Kade Dittmar in the rookie draft today please. That fend off on Matty Roberts is deserving of a list spot just in itself.

If i'm not able to say "Ditmah' with the Dustin!!!" when i'm watching the eagles next year, i'm going to be hurt.

 

[Happy Mastenator]

When is the rookie draft?

EDIT: AFL.com.au saying its 3pm eastern.

 

[bzparkes]

You're right. 2021 was the year and he was average

He was also injured for half of it..

 

[RookiePick]

To sum up from ROB

• Clark could play next year but that's not why they drafted him

This clown actually draws a paycheck from the club?

WTaF would you bother drafting a 24 year old if you don't intend to play him?

The club is off in ******* la-la land.

 

[Dark Sharks]

If Redden is injured and unavailable... which he is currently... there is absolutely NO reason not to play Clark in round 1.

He should be the first player tapped on the shoulder the second one of our first choice contested midfielders are out (Yeo, Shuey, Redden)



On his output compared to XON, Trew, West and Winder he'd be leading by the length of the Flemington.

 

[Into The Black]

If Redden is injured and unavailable... which he is currently... there is absolutely NO reason not to play Clark in round 1.

He should be the first player tapped on the shoulder the second one of our first choice contested midfielders are out (Yeo, Shuey, Redden)



On his output compared to XON, Trew, West and Winder he'd be leading by the length of the Flemington.

Yep. No 18 year old mid was ever going to be ready for 2022. We have mids developing, think Chess may have been a very smart move. Time will tell. Wonder if any of the feeble minded on here would offer their apologies to O'brien if Chesser becomes A+ ?

 

[Obeanie1]

LOL. Its almost as if the club is trolling us on here!!

Draft wrap: Eagles swoop on local talent (westcoasteagles.com.au)

The West Coast Eagles concentrated entirely on local talent on the second night of the NAB AFL Draft today, selecting both untried talent as well as a mature age WAFL star.

Midfielder Brady Hough, from Peel, defender Rhett Bazzo, from Swan Districts, tall utility player Jack Williams, from East Fremantle, and experienced Subiaco defender Greg Clark rounded out the evening with that quartet all given an opportunity in their home State.

The Eagles selected Hough with their first pick (31) of the second night, adding another versatile youngster to the squad.

Hough hails from Harvey, but also made his senior debut with Peel in the last qualifying game of the season. He has good speed and played wing and high half-forward, but at 189cm has the capacity to develop into a quality midfielder.


Greg Clark is a defender? Really!

Hough named as a midfielder! We hope!

The tall utility added some were joking about.

 

[Obeanie1]

If Redden is injured and unavailable... which he is currently... there is absolutely NO reason not to play Clark in round 1.

He should be the first player tapped on the shoulder the second one of our first choice contested midfielders are out (Yeo, Shuey, Redden)



On his output compared to XON, Trew, West and Winder he'd be leading by the length of the Flemington.

100% agree with the obvious condition. He's fit with good form preseason.

Cant gift debut games on reputation alone, gotta earn it.

 

[JoshWoodenSpoon]

Saying the reason we drafted him was not simply for next year is not implying that he won't be played or be integral next year. We said the same thing about Kelly, it just means they consider him to have plenty of strong football left and that is the fundamental basis for the selection. If you really want to be cynical, you could maybe say the statement is to dilute any notion that we are "all in" on next year, but "WTaF would you bother drafting a 24 year old if you don't intend to play him?" is not a very strong comprehension and reads like you just want to be aggrieved.

 

[Chris_6678]

AFL Draft 2021 - Every club's draft haul rated (espn.com.au)

D+ lol

 

[FKASC]

Duggo to the midfield. This is the year.

Agree. I would love for the assistants to tell him he’s going into the WAFL for a few weeks to play as the beagles number 1 on-baller. He’s not adding enough as a backman. Has enough tools to be an inside mid. Put the blowtorch on him.

 

[Dark Sharks]

We have mids developing, think Chess may have been a very smart move. Time will tell. Wonder if any of the feeble minded on here would offer their apologies to O'brien if Chesser becomes A+ ?

Absolutely.


Just like the "feeble minded" on here who thought the Brander and Ainsworth selections were dumb, should be expecting a similar apology from Rohan, correct?

I mean selecting a first rounder like Brander ahead of actual midfielders, and then letting him walk out the door for absolutely nothing 4 years later is genius.

Because Rohan doesn't make mistakes. His drafting and the clubs list management is flawless.

 

[wirra44]

How many picks do we have in the rookie draft?

 

[bzparkes]

View attachment 1287659
Our love affair with half back flankers has even Freo trolling us

Except Chesser's actually a unit, overlarge WCE notwithstanding.

 

[DanWCE]

Absolutely.


Just like the "feeble minded" on here who thought the Brander and Ainsworth selections were dumb, should be expecting a similar apology from Rohan, correct?

I mean selecting a first rounder like Brander ahead of actual midfielders, and then letting him walk out the door for absolutely nothing 4 years later is genius.

Because Rohan doesn't make mistakes. His drafting and the clubs list management is flawless.

I don't know if the Brander selection was a mistake in isolation, or if it was an indictment on our development and inability to create a proper position for him.

Sure, in hindsight, Allen comes on and we have no use for Brander, but at the time taking Allen with 13 would've been a reach. Brander was very highly rated and we obviously hoped he'd play for us for many years. It didn't help he became scared of contact when he started playing against men. Not the first tall taken early this has happened to.

 

[bzparkes]

AFL Draft 2021 - Every club's draft haul rated (espn.com.au)

D+ lol

That's because Knightmare does not rate Chesser at all, helped by the fact that I'm pretty sure he said in his draft thread that he's never actually seen him live due to covid.

 

[ziad]

I don't know if the Brander selection was a mistake in isolation, or if it was an indictment on our development and inability to create a proper position for him.

Sure, in hindsight, Allen comes on and we have no use for Brander, but at the time taking Allen with 13 would've been a reach. Brander was very highly rated and we obviously hoped he'd play for us for many years. It didn't help he became scared of contact when he started playing against men. Not the first tall taken early this has happened to.

or that Brander dint have it despite all the early signs. most dont make it

 

[WCE_phil]

Hough can play anywhere. I've seen him play midfield in the seniors in the SWFL at 16. Super aggressive at the ball, good above his head and a neat not great kick. Can also kick a goal and applies lots of pressure. Hence I see him playing half forward in a similar way to ok Cripps last year where he would go all the way to half back

 

[Obeanie1]

Saying the reason we drafted him was not simply for next year is not implying that he won't be played or be integral next year. We said the same thing about Kelly, it just means they consider him to have plenty of strong football left and that is the fundamental basis for the selection. If you really want to be cynical, you could maybe say the statement is to dilute any notion that we are "all in" on next year, but "WTaF would you bother drafting a 24 year old if you don't intend to play him?" is not a very strong comprehension and reads like you just want to be aggrieved.

Agreed.

I also interpreted that as saying we have his positions covered for 2022 but in the future he will get more opportunities as players retire.

Redden and Hurn play in 2022, both could retire next season. Clark can play inside mid and hey half back too.

That is not to say Clark cant force his way into the side and take his chance and hold his spot in 2021.

Nelson is another who potentially take games off Clark as a defensive mid / half back. And my prediction is Nelson will move as a RFA.