Paul Johnson Discussion

[CarnTheHawks!]

Greetings Big Footy members,

After the news of Robbie Campbell's retirement, I would have to say that it has left a few of us Hawks supporters in a bit of a state of panic.

The grand plan for next year was that Max Bailey and Robbie Campbell would be our starting ruckmen, allowing us to delist or trade Taylor and allow Renouf to develop.

That plan has gone to sh!t.

I'm not trying to start any rumors but I just have a few queries regarding the Melbourne ruckman Paul Johnson.

Is he in Melbourne's best 22?
Would you be willing to part with him?
What do you think a fair trade would be?

As I said, not trying to start any rumors, just looking for a friendly discussion.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

 

[Captain Jack]

Please, take him.

He's behind Jamar, Martin and Meesen (if fit) in the ruck queue which says something. But saying that, he's not hopeless at all, he goes alright and would look much better in a decent team as opposed to the spooners.
I reckon we'll be looking to draft a ruckman this year meaning one of the incumbents probs has to go - Johnno is top of the list IMO.
A 3rd-rounder would be a stretch.

 

[demon2]

not in our best 22 if u want him u got him.....would prob fit in well with renouf...he is def better than taylor anyway

 

[benrey_demons]

Roughead

lol, would definatly consider 3rd rounder, or maybe Thorp (since noone else wants him)

 

[whiteTiga2k]

everyone is better the taylor.... mayb except blake!! hahaha probably on par! hahaha

 

[The Dr]

Not a bad thread. From a Dees perspective, he's on the periphery of our best 22. We have a few ruckmen on our list who are all about equal. Jamar had his best year but was restricted by injury, Meesen finally showed something but he had a season-ending injury mid-year too. Spencer, a rookie, showed a bit, but is raw, and we seem to be grooming Stefan Martin as an everywhere man.

I would happily say goodbye to PJ for a third round pick or as an upgrade. He has tremendous athleticism, moves well and tries his guts out, but his actual ruckwork isn't great and he can fade in and out of games.

He's a handy 2nd ruckman imo. Without trolling, considering the Hawks' ruck stocks, I could see him being a very good aquisition.

Not sure of his contract status though.

 

[deanBartel]

take Mark Blake for a 3rd rounder

 

[spina#39]

I'm not a Dee fan, but I reckon that the Dees would probably go for a late pick, maybe even a "goodwill" trade for a pick the Dees won't use.

 

[GriffBlick]

johnson for thorp

 

[The Professor]

What do you think a fair trade would be?

I'm happy with a simple upgrade of picks.

What have you got. Pick 26? for Paul Johnson and Pick 34.

 

[CarnTheHawks!]

johnson for thorp

I would definitely do that.

Assuming that we don't trade Beau Dowler.
We can't afford to get rid of too much depth.

 

[rohansword]

I'd take Jamar and Martin into our best 22. Johnson just outside.

For johnson you'd probably think a 3rd rounder is fair but the dees already have 5 picks inside 34 so a third round pick becomes kind of irrelevant for us.

It seems as though the hawks will use there 2nd rd pick on Gibson. Otherwise i'd suggest you take Johnson, another melbourne player and our 4th rd for your 2nd rd.

 

[rohansword]

I'm happy with a simple upgrade of picks.

What have you got. Pick 26? for Paul Johnson and Pick 34.

I'd be pretty happy with this. Would think gibson may go with 26 tho.

 

[swannies]

Dees supporters, I watched this guy in his first 2 years at Swan Districts, when he was on the Eagles list. He's actually a fairly capable forward, just didn't seem to try hard enough at the time, but he was young and Dees supporters now say he tries his guts out.

That being said, does he/could he, play regularly forward for the Demons? He's not really a ruckman, but has a huge armspan and handspan.

 

[Bollox]

I think a few others might be interested too. Surprised the Dee's fans treat him as next to worthless.

Nothing beats raiding a spooner for a bloke who might play a hellova lot better with better around him. Certainly if he was cheap then the risk becomes negligable and enquire.

Dees fans might think he's worthless...but he aint. Has shown at least enough to suggest that at this stage of his development that a better current list could do something with the bloke.

 

[On the bench]

Big & useless but not slow!

 

[dee64]

He may be the sort of ruckman that may come into his own once given the responsibilities of being the no. 1 ruckman at a club.

Our ruckmen have been much maligned in the past 2 seasons, but statistically we get our fair share of hitouts. Our problem has been the set-up at clearances. In that area, we've been poorly coached.

I have more faith in Johnson than I do in Spencer being a capable AFL player.

 

[Captain Jack]

Big & useless but not slow!

Ah, we'll always remember his chase-down of Sherman(?) on the Members' wing in 2008... classic.

 

[Punchy Demons]

I think Johnson is worth a 3rd round draft pick, but that said Melbourne probably won't use another selection past our third round pick (#34) in the draft.

The Hawks are in need of another ruckman & Johnson would be alot better than Taylor. Hawks need #25 to secure Gibson so it won't be available & over the odds for Johnson in a direct swap. I also don't think the Hawks would complete a direct swap of Johnson for Thorp. I think a win-win trade would be:

Hawks Gain:- Johnson & #34
Melbourne Gain:- Thorp

 

[DemonDynasty2010]

PJ has some value, no dount.


There arent many big guys who are as clean below the knees as he is. He is super quick for someone of his size, and he is a big boy.

He does make some boneheaded decisions sometimes, that cause me to tear my hair out.


In summary, he would be good value for the Hawks, Pies and a few other clubs.

 

[Goobernutty]

The thing about PJ is at his best he was a pretty decent ruckman, this year he went backwards, had a handful of okay games & a load of stinkers. At his best he would've been a late 2nd / early 3rd rounder, but now he's dropped in value I doubt we'd get a draft pick that we'd actually use.

 

[The Dr]

I think Johnson is worth a 3rd round draft pick, but that said Melbourne probably won't use another selection past our third round pick (#34) in the draft.

The Hawks are in need of another ruckman & Johnson would be alot better than Taylor. Hawks need #25 to secure Gibson so it won't be available & over the odds for Johnson in a direct swap. I also don't think the Hawks would complete a direct swap of Johnson for Thorp. I think a win-win trade would be:

Hawks Gain:- Johnson & #34
Melbourne Gain:- Thorp

Great suggestion....that could be a real win-win.

 

[demoniac]

26/6/84, 199cm, 103kg, 2008 games - 18, total games - 61

Good speed, athleticism and ball handling for a player of his height. Assuming we retain Jamar then I would say he is behind Jamar, Meeson and Spencer in the ruck and Martin appeals more as a utility tall who can pinch hit in the ruck.

Is an in between kind of player, hasn't nailed a position as a ruck or a forward. Was disappointing this year after showing promise previously. With injuries to Jamar, Meeson and Spencer really had the chance to nail down a ruck position but did not overly impress. Decision making and kicking were down on previous years.

Would be open to a trade but would not give him away. As I said he has good speed, athleticism and ball handling for a player of his size. Given you are likely to be using your 2nd and 3rd round selections on Gibson I am not sure what you could offer.

Not sure about Thorp as a trade. Would appear to have questions marks over his durability and general approach.

 

[Swampfox]

Not a bad thread. From a Dees perspective, he's on the periphery of our best 22. We have a few ruckmen on our list who are all about equal. Jamar had his best year but was restricted by injury, Meesen finally showed something but he had a season-ending injury mid-year too. Spencer, a rookie, showed a bit, but is raw, and we seem to be grooming Stefan Martin as an everywhere man.

I would happily say goodbye to PJ for a third round pick or as an upgrade. He has tremendous athleticism, moves well and tries his guts out, but his actual ruckwork isn't great and he can fade in and out of games.

He's a handy 2nd ruckman imo. Without trolling, considering the Hawks' ruck stocks, I could see him being a very good aquisition.

Not sure of his contract status though.

Good assesment Doc

Think the upcoming season is his last

Currently i would predict Melbourne to be looking for a young tall in their later draft picks as our ruck stocks are not very deep

Perhaps Mumford from The Cats could be an option but he is as raw as Spencer

There is nobody in the draft that is a ready made ruckman or better than what we already have

Jolly is really the only one on the trade table for Victorian club so if someone wants a ruckman you may as well get a good one

 

[Dez!]

Someone just needs to get into his ear and tell him that he isn't a midfielder and they don't expect him to be one. He tries to do too much which is why he turns the ball over a lot, I find that the problems in his game are mental ones. He thinks he has to be something that he isn't which costs him a great deal, if someone can lay out in black and white what they want him to do and what they expect of him then I'm certain he could be more than serviceable wherever he plays.

A couple of suggestions from me would be:

Paul Johnson and #34 for Beau Dowler - Unsure that Hawks supporters would go for that but seeing as they are giving up #26 for Gibson apparently I thought that perhaps #34 may carry a little more weight than if they kept #26.

Paul Johnson for Mitch Thorp - Straight swap seeing as Thorp has had an injury riddled past and PJ has seemed pretty durable during his tenure with Melbourne so far.