Rumour Thread

[Baltimore Jack]

To those still perpetrating the "Fact" that Fev will be at Collingwood next year because he is training at Collingwood.

From his own mouth:
"I haven't been able to train for over two weeks now, I have a PCL and other Medial damage and I have a cracked tibia, I need to get jabbed up just to stand in the goal square for the Pigeons, after the season is over I will need to take 8 weeks off to get over the injuries I am carrying"
Mark Fine interviewed him last night on SEN

 

[jimmy35]

Come on that can't be right, someone knows someone that knows the personal trainer that's taking him through his stuff at Westpac.

 

[blaze036]

Whilst I won't argue that in statistical terms he doesn't have the output of our A grade midfielders, he's an integral part of our best 22. A team is the sum of it's parts, and he clearly has a role to play. I think his pace is a large factor that cannot be dismissed, as teams with a lack of pace on the outside have been consistently shown up this season. Sydney and Hawthorn have been addressing this through recruiting, and Geelong have been fallible due to their lack of. He has had an inconsistent season (I thought he was workin' into some form with good intensity prior to gettin' rubbed out) but his ability to kick important goals roving packs or finding space in the forward line's something I like from our 5-6 mid. Can frustrate the **** outta me at times and does have the occasional propensity for laziness, but I believe his best is yet to come. He's still 24 with around 100 games to his name, a bit more maturity and polish and he should improve his game to the next level.

He's very required

Im not sure if 3 premierships in 5 years can be caled fallible...

Also didn't hawthorn win in 08 without a fast outside midfielder? they had lewis sewell hodge mitchell all pretty slow. The current swan midfield of kennedy jack bolton hanneberry mcveigh goodes is also very bulky and slow... so i dont think having a player like wellingham is needed at all. People have been saying wellingham will take his game to the next level for years and its never happened, i dont think it ever will.

Caddy will be a much better midfielder than wellingham soon, he already has more clearances and goals for memory in his 2nd year in the 2nd worst team.. imagnie in 2 years how good he'll be

 

[Number 10]

Im not sure if 3 premierships in 5 years can be caled fallible...

Also didn't hawthorn win in 08 without a fast outside midfielder? they had lewis sewell hodge mitchell all pretty slow. The current swan midfield of kennedy jack bolton hanneberry mcveigh goodes is also very bulky and slow... so i dont think having a player like wellingham is needed at all. People have been saying wellingham will take his game to the next level for years and its never happened, i dont think it ever will.

Caddy will be a much better midfielder than wellingham soon, he already has more clearances and goals for memory in his 2nd year in the 2nd worst team.. imagnie in 2 years how good he'll be

Varcoe, Enright, Wojcinski all line breakers for Geelong.

 

[rand corp]

I wouldn't be trading an established, regular, top flight senior player who is still young and still has development in him such as Wellingham. I really don't get why his name keeps coming up as trade bait, he is a young gun and should be kept.

I don't really like the logic of selling off a bonafide regular on the hope of maybe filling another hole in the side.

If it was a quality player that was just being squeezed in and out each week because of other stars then perhaps yes, but Wellers is an automatic selection each week.I mean I can understand it when say a JMac or a Scotland or a Rhyce Shaw want to seek more opportunity else where and good luck to them and we are able to get then something for them because other clubs can read the situation, they are good players but in a queue of very good players who should blossom given more opportunity.

We do need to think about a decent ruck to ease the strain off Jolly and fill the gap when he retires and that is not going to be Wood. Witts and Ceglar are still a couple of years of being more than possibilities at this stage.

If Payne continues on his tantalizing promise of next season and becomes a genuine goal kicking KP forward, then life for whoever plays the relieving ruck, 3rd tall forward role becomes a hell of a lot easier in my opinion, even if that's Dawes.

Wood is a right off for mine, he had a big opportunity this year and showed SWFA!

 

[Bay Pie]

All Barrett said was there is now a performance based 5th year option* if he stays with Collingwood. Carlton have put up an un-conditional 5 year deal, on slightly better money.

*Club decides whether or not to extend in the fourth year.

I'm not doubting you but you are aware Collingwoodfc has the final chance to match any carlton offer. carlton despite their average year are a decent team. Adding Cloke probably propells them to genuine top 4 chance and flag contender. Now considering we are also in that same boat, do you think we won't do everything in our power to keep us strong and other contenders weaker?

Irrespective of what we've said to Travis before regarding our offer, it's quite clear we've decided, you bring us your best offer that you are going to accept (unlikely to be Freo, Richmond or Melbourne) and we'll be the ones who decides if you stay or go. It seems odd that a select few players remain uncontracted for us. Perhaps just in case we really need that extra cap space we let a player go to afford Travis.

I'd be shocked if carlton land Cloke purely on a deal that differs from ours, only on the 5th year no performance base and a little more money. If carlton try to secure Travis on a deal not much more then ours, we'll match it. We are not St.Kilda, like Luke Ball saga, and we also have the last reply. Free agency does not allow the inclusion of the contents of brown paper bags to be included in any free agent bid.

carlton get one bid and one bid only under FA. If they really want Trav they'll need to make it a big offer that will most likely do them more harm then good.

 

[Old Spice]

As a general approach to the list, we have to ring in some changes based on need.

We definitely need a 2nd ruck, or someone who can play both ruck or a forward position. A lot of the presumption on these threads is that Witts will begin to dominate in 2014. We don't know that at all and I think it certainly doesn't hurt to bring in another dominant 1st ruck, rather than leave things to chance.

If Witts becomes what we hope we will become, well, any Giles type we bring in would be squeezed out - and the salary cap damage won't be enormous. Giles wouldn't cost a packet nor would Witts in the next two years. Whoever is the most talented wins the 1st position. If both turn out good, then we have a good problem.

I also perceive a need for an inside mid. Swan will be gone soon and Ball isn't a spring chicken. Again, people hope Josh Thomas is the man, and hopefully he is, but the same competition should apply as per the 1st ruck position.

What is an issue on this board is that some people think you don't need to trade anything decent to address needs. That's fine as an aspiration, but it's a real risk based on faith more than anything. Will Witts step up, will J Thomas, what about post Tarrant.

We have some great players and it would be a shame to squander that talent by not gunning for proven AFL standard players to shore up some of our weaknesses.

 

[Obese Arachnid]

What is an issue on this board is that some people think you don't need to trade anything decent to address needs. That's fine as an aspiration, but it's a real risk based on faith more than anything./quote]
Testify baby!!!

One of Wellers, Krak (yes I think it will be him-maybe 2 of 3) Goldsack will not be playing at this club next year, unless Cloke goes.

 

[BEEG]

Wish Tarrant was not retiring he still is a very good player

Hopefully should resign Cloke

What I would like to see

Trade Wellingham I just don't rate him his disposal at tomes is terrible and I think we can live without him

Jolly still is very good but needs help and should be managed again similar to how Ottens was managed

Trade - Wellingham, Wood, 1st Round Pick
Delist - Tarrant, Buckley
Gain - Caddy, Giles

If we can land these two and will Ball Didak and Macaffer returning and players getting better with age we could easily challenge next year if things go out way

 

[upnsmoke]

Tarrant needs to come back. Still a good defender and has 1-2 seasons left, but maybe he wants to spend more time on other things while he is youngish.... Gonna miss him. Should join the team as health and fitness consultant, like his business but a tie in with the Pies.

 

[HFF]

In the opening term when the whips were cracking and we were getting jumped everywhere, Wellingham was quite good IMO winning his fair share of ball in close and tight and getting a rare clearance- something most of our players could not do for the majority of the night.

He is a midfielder, lest keep him in there and develop him over the pre-season further to take more strides in the engine room. I hated him playing permanent forward for most of 2012.

 

[daics_35]

Wellingham is a very patchy player, he is not a bad player but he also goes missing a lot and really struggles under pressure. He did some good things at the start of the game but then did some very silly things and that's how he has been playing for a very long time now.

Free agency and trade period will be very interesting to see what happens, hopefully we can get Giles.

 

[Old Spice]

In the opening term when the whips were cracking and we were getting jumped everywhere, Wellingham was quite good IMO winning his fair share of ball in close and tight and getting a rare clearance- something most of our players could not do for the majority of the night.

He is a midfielder, lest keep him in there and develop him over the pre-season further to take more strides in the engine room. I hated him playing permanent forward for most of 2012.

I've liked Wellers too, particularly as a forward in the bounce downs where he can break through for a goal. He's also handy as a second stringer in the midfield rotations.

However, he's returned to some of his silly footy and showed this year he still has some issues with taking the game seriously off-field. Swan is talented enough to get away with his off-field laddism, Wellers is not. He cost us the TAC sponsorship by acting as chauffer to Buddy and then had his lapse with hitting the piss during recovery this season.

He's still a very talented player though. I think if we can get something good for him to address needs, it's worth doing.

Building a list is not a zero-sum game. Sometimes you have to give something up you have in surplus to get something you lack.

 

[HFF]

Wellingham is a very patchy player, he is not a bad player but he also goes missing a lot and really struggles under pressure. He did some good things at the start of the game but then did some very silly things and that's how he has been playing for a very long time now.

Free agency and trade period will be very interesting to see what happens, hopefully we can get Giles.

He wasn't alone in the "silly" department and he wasn't the worst either. Johnson, Harry, Sinclair, Swan, Goldsack and Toovey all had multiple horror moments that were just costly and amateur stuff.

Thought Wellingham really battled and worked hard to fight for his position vs his opponents.

He will get better and more consistent as we give him the midfield minutes he deserves to improve his game- very much like Beams, Blair and Sidebottom were given in 2012. He is not a forward line player- he is a follower.

 

[loki04]

Im not sure if 3 premierships in 5 years can be caled fallible...

Also didn't hawthorn win in 08 without a fast outside midfielder? they had lewis sewell hodge mitchell all pretty slow. The current swan midfield of kennedy jack bolton hanneberry mcveigh goodes is also very bulky and slow... so i dont think having a player like wellingham is needed at all. People have been saying wellingham will take his game to the next level for years and its never happened, i dont think it ever will.

Caddy will be a much better midfielder than wellingham soon, he already has more clearances and goals for memory in his 2nd year in the 2nd worst team.. imagnie in 2 years how good he'll be

In 08 Hodge wasn't slow.

I remember him burning Judd off when at WC out of the centre both started side by side and ran onto a loose ball.

They went head to head all day and Hodge smashed him.

 

[Old Spice]

He wasn't alone in the "silly" department and he wasn't the worst either. Johnson, Harry, Sinclair, Swan, Goldsack and Toovey all had multiple horror moments that were just costly and amateur stuff.

Thought Wellingham really battled and worked hard to fight for his position vs his opponents.

He will get better and more consistent as we give him the midfield minutes he deserves to improve his game- very much like Beams, Blair and Sidebottom were given in 2012. He is not a forward line player- he is a follower.

I can't see this happening when he doesn't get his nose over it consistently. Look who he is competing with. Ball, Pendles, Swan, Thomas, Beams, Blair.

From memory you also rate Josh Thomas as filling a mid role. How on earth is he going to play a consistent centre square role? He is a winger, forward opportunist at the forward ball-up.

The one thing that works for Wellers is his pace. That's certainly an advantage, I'll grant that, but we might be looking for a Williams or similar to provide that toe.

If we didn't have a need in the ruck department, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. I don't mind at all if we keep him, but if it means we land another good ruck, that's the price we might need to pay.

 

[loki04]

Look you all don't want to trade anyone but (lets face it) scrubs! Hence the Wood, Buckley and Sinclair names put forward...

Fact is a Wellingham, Goldsack and Blair currently have worth and all 3 should be shopped to secure genuine talent from either GC, Melb or GWS disgruntled talented players (no scrubs plz).

This team as it stands will not win another flag unless changes are made in both personnel and game plan (which closely relates to the personnel as you need the players to be able to carry it out).

 

[DivideandMultiply]

In 08 Hodge wasn't slow.

I remember him burning Judd off when at WC out of the centre both started side by side and ran onto a loose ball.

They went head to head all day and Hodge smashed him.

Judd didn't play for WC in 2008.

 

[HFF]

I can't see this happening when he doesn't get his nose over it consistently. Look who he is competing with. Ball, Pendles, Swan, Thomas, Beams, Blair.

From memory you also rate Josh Thomas as filling a mid role. How on earth is he going to play a consistent centre square role? He is a winger, forward tap specialist.

The one thing that works for Wellers is his pace. That's certainly an advantage, I'll grant that, but we might be looking for a Williams or similar to provide that toe.

If we didn't have a need in the ruck department, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. I don't mind at all if we keep him, but if it means we land another good ruck, that's the price we might need to pay.

He is as hard as any of those guys you named over the ball. He has spades of courage and hardness. He also has super evasive ability in traffic and can explode from congestion- something most of our mids don't have. He needs to be used more as part of the rotations and spend time in the centre square. He does his best work in traffic IMO, be in in defensive 50, middle of ground or forward 50. Competiton isn't an argument, nowadays you need 10-12 midfield runners to be competitive. We need to start using Wellingham more frequenty as part of the rotations because it plays to his strengths. He is not a creative outside half forward. He is a follower.

I do rate Josh Thomas too and can see him filling a rotational midfield role. As I said, you need at least a very good group of 10-12 mids. You can never have enough quality through the midfield so hopefully he kicks on next season and gets some games.

I still would not trade Wellingham. I think the club shares a similar view which is why they want to sign him on a 3yr deal. He has a heap of talent.

 

[Old Spice]

He is as hard as any of those guys you named over the ball. He has spades of courage and hardness. He also has super evasive ability in traffic and can explode from congestion- something most of our mids don't have. He needs to be used more as part of the rotations and spend time in the centre square. He does his best work in traffic IMO, be in in defensive 50, middle of ground or forward 50. Competiton isn't an argument, nowadays you need 10-12 midfield runners to be competitive. We need to start using Wellingham more frequenty as part of the rotations because it plays to his strengths. He is not a creative outside half forward. He is a follower.

I do rate Josh Thomas too and can see him filling a rotational midfield role. As I said, you need at least a very good group of 10-12 mids. You can never have enough quality through the midfield so hopefully he kicks on next season and gets some games.

I still would not trade Wellingham. I think the club shares a similar view which is why they want to sign him on a 3yr deal. He has a heap of talent.

10-12? Who do we put through the middle that constitute this 10-12?

Don't disagree he has qualities, which is why he has currency that we might trade on.

Who would you put up as trade bait that is not a likely de-listee?

Also, that silly tap tonight to no-one was one of his brain farts. Should have taken posession.

 

[loki04]

Judd didn't play for WC in 2008.

I know hence why it was in another sentence!

In 08 he still had his pace I believe the 08 finals took a lot out of him..

 

[HFF]

10-12? Who do we put through the middle that constitute this 10-12?

Don't disagree he has qualities, which is why he has currency that we might trade on.

Who would you put up as trade bait that is not a likely de-listee?

I think at the moment all we currently have as part of the rotations are
Swan
Thomas
Pendles
Ball
Beams
Sidebottom
Wellingham
Blair

Thats 8 names. We need to find another 3 or more.

Fasolo needs to build his tank because in 2010 we had Didak having stints but I cannot see Dids repeating this again.

Benny Sinclair is probably another who needs to work on his tank and start demanding some minutes to take some pressure of the above guys.

Josh Thomas is one we hold out high hopes for too.

So we still have plenty of work to do to get to that level again IMO and they don't all need to be full timers, just part timers will do to just keep changing up the combos and batting deep. As you can see, looking at our midfield mix- Wellingham is a must- he is completely different to what we have in there.

 

[Old Spice]

I think at the moment all we currently have as part of the rotations are
Swan
Thomas
Pendles
Ball
Beams
Sidebottom
Wellingham
Blair

Thats 8 names. We need to find another 3 or more.

Fasolo needs to build his tank because in 2010 we had Didak having stints but I cannot see Dids repeating this again.

Benny Sinclair is probably another who needs to work on his tank and start demanding some minutes to take some pressure of the above guys.

Josh Thomas is one we hold out high hopes for too.

So we still have plenty of work to do to get to that level again IMO and they don't all need to be full timers, just part timers will do to just keep changing up the combos and batting deep. As you can see, looking at our midfield mix- Wellingham is a must- he is completely different to what we have in there.

Wellingham and Sidebottom never start in the middle, they sometimes come off the square. In reality, the centre square contestants are Swan, Pendlebury, Ball, Thomas, Blair and Beams. You're also saying Josh Thomas could come into that mix.

So really, Wellingham is a winger, forward bounce-down opportunist and someone to play a negative role on occassions. On the latter, he may play that role well for all I know. I don't watch him, or anyone, intently in play.

What I really want to know though is if, at all, you have anyone in mind for trade bait? Besides people like Wood or Buckley, who have no currency at all, is there anyone you would trade?

 

[ash84]

Tarrant: Says he is leaving, would be good to keep him.
Johnson: Was horrible tonight, i think we really need to replace him. Imagine if we had someone like Suckling in his position.
Didak: 50/50 on whether he will stay on, maybe his body isn't up to it, and he has just had a kid....
Wellingham: I think he is where we can improve next year, get something half decent for him while he has value.
Wood: Delist.
Cloke: Sign.

 

[Go_Brad_Dick]

i would trade sinclair, and marty clarke if anyone would want him