List Mgmt. Taylor Adams

[Mitt Romney]

Firstly, apologies if a thread like this exists already.

I read the following article:
http://www.afl.com.au//news/2013-06-08/taylor+adams+post+geelong

Taylor Adams (Pick 13 2011) has put off contract talks until the end of the season (one of only two Giants from 2011 draft to do so). He's played exceptionally well this season. It's been known previously that he was very homesick, and this may still be a factor in his contract talks. As a junior he played for the Geelong Falcons, so I assume his family and friends live in or around Geelong. Thus if a battle between Victorian clubs for Adams ensues, we might have a leg up in terms of his preference (which I understand mightn't count for much).

Would the Cats make a play for him? I ask this because he would fit nicely into the young crop of players we're developing who are within 3 or 4 years of each other. For one thing, he seems to have shown much better form than Caddy did at the Suns. However he's played far more than Caddy had.

Given there are key position players at our club who struggle to get games, and then struggle when they do gets games (Dawson Simpson, Mitch Brown), and the Giants are week in some of these areas, would this make us a front runner if we were interested?

This might be a stupid thread, but I couldn't help but wonder if we might pursue Adams like we chased Caddy last year. Thoughts?

 

[Selective Retention]

They would want a first round pick for him, not players like Simpson and Brown.

The same clubs that went in for Caddy will go for Adams.

North, St Kilda and Essendon all look like they will have better picks to bargain with than us.

 

[Mitt Romney]

They would want a first round pick for him, not players like Simpson and Brown.

The same clubs that went in for Caddy will go for Adams.

North, St Kilda and Essendon all look like they will have better picks to bargain with than us.

So you think that rules us out?

Personally I don't think GWS will want high draft picks. They don't need them. They've had heaps both 2011 and 2012, haven't managed to procure decent ready made players with a few years experience from successful clubs, which many would say has let them down.

 

[Jef Costello]

GWS are definitely in the market for players at the end of this year. They are willing to trade away their own high picks for ready made guys.

 

[JPod_31]

As much as I want the kid, Melbourne, North, St Kilda and Richmond would have better picks as Selective said. Unless GWS are interested in players like Brown, Cowan and Simpsons there is no way Adams can come to the club .

 

[supahoops]

Mitch Brown would compliment Patton and Cameron, and our first for their second could do the trick, can't have too many quality midfielders if that's what he turns out to be.

If he's desperate to come home, as it would appear by not re-signing, we are in pole position. The rise and rise of Blicavs, Pods' form and Vardy's fitness put real pressure on Mitch to hold down a spot in this side.

Clearly we are being more aggressive in chasing players these days. Watch this space.

 

[Vdubs]

As much as I want the kid, Melbourne, North, St Kilda and Richmond would have better picks as Selective said. Unless GWS are interested in players like Brown, Cowan and Simpsons there is no way Adams can come to the club .

we could swap him for Caddy?

 

[Mitt Romney]

Mitch Brown would compliment Patton and Cameron, and our first for their second could do the trick, can't have too many quality midfielders if that's what he turns out to be.

If he's desperate to come home, as it would appear by not re-signing, we are in pole position. The rise and rise of Blicavs, Pods' form and Vardy's fitness put real pressure on Mitch to hold down a spot in this side.

Clearly we are being more aggressive in chasing players these days. Watch this space.

It's also worth considering that GWS are likely to have this years #1 pick too (if not, then #2). They won't draft Boyd because he's a KPF very similar to Patton, which means they'll likely draft Aish-the run of the mill midfielder that dominates U/18s, ala countless GWS kids have done in recent years. Can't say they'll want to trade Adams to whoever offers them the highest pick, just wouldn't make sense.

Giants have gaping holes in key areas. Areas that can't be filled by high draft picks. They need experience and tougher bodies. They also need key position players. Dawson Simpson will struggle to get a game at the Cats from here on out, and Mitch Brown can (theoretically) play either that key forward role (would be a supporting role at GWS) OR key backmen role.

 

[Turbocat]

MItt , the name has been thrown around a bit of few different threads. Personally Id love the kid but considering their list I doubt they want fringe type. They have too much talent and a fringe player would just struggle to offer anything.

They will have P1,P10 and a P20 (guessestimate). Would they want our R1 pick? Well they be willing to swap their R2 for our R1 , gives them a few places earlier but really thats icing. What they really want is mature players to help the kids. Its why they have already flaged trading those picks for the right player.

If they do trade picks for a player for eg Frawley for P1 and P10 and a player. They may just think our R1 is more attractive.

The only alternative is players but I doubt they will do it for snacks , they will want main meals. Players not in our side would not look attractive to them

 

[Mitt Romney]

MItt , the name has been thrown around a bit of few different threads. Personally Id love the kid but considering their list I doubt they want fringe type. They have too much talent and a fringe player would just struggle to offer anything.

They will have P1,P10 and a P20 (guessestimate). Would they want our R1 pick? Well they be willing to swap their R2 for our R1 , gives them a few places earlier but really thats icing. What they really want is mature players to help the kids. Its why they have already flaged trading those picks for the right player.

If they do trade picks for a player for eg Frawley for P1 and P10 and a player. They may just think our R1 is more attractive.

The only alternative is players but I doubt they will do it for snacks , they will want main meals. Players not in our side would not look attractive to them

Of our best 22, the only one that comes to mind is West

 

[Jmac2225]

Of our best 22, the only one that comes to mind is West

West isn't the kind of quality they are looking for. Very similiar to player to Giles who performed better today.

Infact its arguable that West isn't even in our best 22 (if we can ever get it on the park) but that's for another friend.

Have to agree with most here. We haven't got much to offer (that we would be willing to anyway).

 

[Strangled Cat]

I would love to go after him. He's a Geelong boy who has stated that family is very important to him and he also has younger siblings. I'm sure he'd love to come home to the Cats but I struggle to see what we would be able to offer GWS over another Melbourne club.

If he states clearly that he only wants to go to Geelong and no one else for family reasons, we may have a shot with our first rounder over another Melb clubs obviously lower first round pick, but a sweetener may be required to close the deal.

This kid is a gun and very much worth a first rounder and a second round pick too, not that GWS need any more picks but I just used that as a guide as to how highly I rate him.

 

[Vdubs]

I would love to go after him. He's a Geelong boy who has stated that family is very important to him and he also has younger siblings. I'm sure he'd love to come home to the Cats but I struggle to see what we would be able to offer GWS over another Melbourne club.

If he states clearly that he only wants to go to Geelong and no one else for family reasons, we may have a shot with our first rounder over another Melb clubs obviously lower first round pick, but a sweetener may be required to close the deal.

This kid is a gun and very much worth a first rounder and a second round pick too, not that GWS need any more picks but I just used that as a guide as to how highly I rate him.

Hyphen?

 

[Strangled Cat]

Hyphen?

Hmmm no sorry. I'm an unashamed Hyphen fan. My affinity towards him is the result of having contact with someone who knew him personally. No more glowing an appraisal could be bestowed on a young man than from what I was told. In every sense he embodies the values and culture of our football club.

The final piece of the equation is how distinguished his career will end up being, but I'll take the risk of missing another player like Adams to keep him at the Cattery. I just have a feeling he'll end up being a gun for us down the track, and if we traded him to another club only for him to blossom, I'd be spewing.

 

[coniglio_number1]

Would love to let Adams go home to Geelong if it is what he wants and gws have a history of being good traders. Honestly would love to secure a mature best 22 defender ala mackie. Would a straight swap suffice? Or do we need to sweeten the pot?

 

[THE CAT WRANGLER]

How' his form been ?

 

[catempire]

Would require something similar to the Caddy deal - first rounder plus. Talk of fringe players getting it done is nonsense.

And while players of his quality always pique interest, I question whether spending our 1st rounder on another mid is addressing the greatest need for 2014 and beyond. Filling a key defensive post with a 10 year player should be the number one priority.

U/18 highlights for those interested:

 

[DanA]

We're not going to get Taylor Adam. He's a 5'11 midfielder we don't need. He has quality, no questioning that but we're not going to have the picks to get him and GWS aren't going to accept fringe players. To get him we'd have to give up someone like Vardy. IMO it just wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Strangled Cat]

Would require something similar to the Caddy deal - first rounder plus. Talk of fringe players getting it done is nonsense.

And while players of his quality always pique interest, I question whether spending our 1st rounder on another mid is addressing the greatest need for 2014 and beyond. Filling a key defensive post with a 10 year player should be the number one priority.

U/18 highlights for those interested:

It has now become slightly less of an issue with Harry's impending signature on his new contract. We have 3 defenders in Rivers, Lonergan and Taylor in that 27-29 age bracket, and one would assume that they all have at least 2 years left in them with the latter being Harry Taylor at 27 who I'd say has a good 5 years left in him.

The other thing to take into consideration is that Lonergan who did have a kidney removed which obviously is no small thing, by virtue of having a slow start to his career means that he hasn't amassed the same amount of games as some others his own age, so physically his joints et al are of an equivalently younger age. Coupled with that, he has proven to be fairly durable over the journey as well.

I know it's not the same, but I wonder if in 2003 Essendon supporters were thinking that their club needed to start looking for a replacement for Dustin Fletcher. Only very few players make it to 38, but lucky for Essendon they didn't just get a 10 year player, they got a 20 year player.

If need be we can always go to the trade table or nab a free agent. We got rivers for nothing, and although some might question right now what exactly we gained in getting him, we have to remember that his injuries were impact injuries sustained during a match and not as a result of some underlying issue. He was pretty unlucky, but when he does return I'm confident that moving forward his prior knee injury won't be an issue. If he has ongoing issues with the knee though, that's as a result of sheer rotten luck and nothing to do with anything that the club should have forseen.

Don't get me wrong though, I totally agree that we need to shore up our defensive stocks for the future sooner rather than later. Mitch Brown won't have any future in our best 22 moving forward, Hamling is an unknown quantity thus far, and is looking to be the logical Mackie type replacement if he does happen to make it. If the club goes out and drafts a big KPD with our first round draft pick then that's great, let's hope he comes on. But I would hate to miss out on a player of Taylor Adams' ilk who wants to come home only to have a crack at a big gorilla who may or may not make it. I'd want to be pretty certain we were going to get a good defender with our first rounder. Harry Taylor being the case in point here.

I'd also like to explore options from some of our existing players too, before we can categorically identify a pressing need to bring in big guys from outside of the club to fill in voids that will be left in the next few years. We have to find spots down the track for West and Walker. West isn't a first ruckman, and as a second ruckman has already been overtaken by Blitz IMO.

Once we get Hmac out on the park, West won't have a spot in our team. I think that West will need to reinvent himself as a KPD in order to stay on our list. Same goes for Walker. He won't make it as a KPF because there's too many players ahead of him, and his kicking for goal is attrocious. But there's a lot to like about his mongrel and endeavor, and with his defensive pressure acts and hard at it approach, I think there's more of a chance of him making it in defence than anywhere else on the ground.

 

[catempire]

I don't disagree with what you're saying Strangled Cat, but the point is if you draft an 18 year old KPP they are usually not ready for the rigours of AFL footy for at least 2-3 years by which stage all our existing stocks will be around 30 years old. I take your point in Dustin Fletcher but he is certainly the exception, not the rule! And while we can always say we can trade someone or pick off a free agent, it's always easier to develop our own and Wells has such a good record of picking them out you'd be mad to rely on recycling rather than home-growing a key need.

Interesting perspective on West. I can't ever see him playing on a Franklin, Taylor Walker or players of that ilk. And I wish I saw the mongrel you do - I think he'd certainly make it as a ruckman if he possessed such traits.

 

[Turbocat]

The last two post are more intune why I enjoy this forum

Having Wells and his team is such an advantage , I don't expect miracles but I have confidence in finding quality somewhere late. Who know what Blitz becomes in the end. But for this period of the "New club draft flood" it make sense for us to try to use their abundance of talent to our advantage if we can. The backwash from the flood , their waste ... they cant keep them all happy and with a little encouragement we may be able to redress a weakness in our list of having a small dip in our 51-100 area.

Last year it was Caddy , this year id be happy if we could grab Adams. Who knows , there may be an opportunity to grab a young key with that principle. Its not like we are giving up R1's for failed players. We are paying for a R1 player who has player AFL , has probably been fast tracked due to the games they have played.

West or Walker at CHB is something that we need to explore. So much talent forward of centre , I cant see either of them playing roles there.

Some do not like Walker but I do. His setshots are ordinary , but I love his workrate and the way he make his body a weapon in packs. He doesn't have the smarts of a Cameron but if Lonergan can learn to play back , I think Walker can. Its easier to mark when other are trying to as well. I see him similar to Grundy at the Swans. His in play kicking would need a little work. He is no Mackie

West looks less likely than Walker for mine but who knows. He is very all round good player. He just lacks something to make him standout.Good mark, good kick , not slow. Is he agile enough? I agree that he is under pressure. Even today Chris Scott said that Blitz is basically a look for the role he has been playing and they have high hopes for when Hmac comes back for what he can offer. Not ideal for West I feel. He becomes an injury backup. Would GWS like him? Probably but more as the utility guy as well , but he'd have less comp for spots up there. Cant see a straight swap.. put it that way.

Coniglio_number1 raised Mackie. He did this on the GWS board as well. IMO , the trade would be based on a bit of a Golden Handshake for Mackie to finish his career , I certainly wouldn't be pushing any of our three time champs out the door against their will. But the trade proposed was Mackie<> Adams and a P10 or P20. That would be interesting especially if Taylor has now signed on and if it was P10 , that would get us close to drafting a young KPD as well.

 

[Strangled Cat]

I don't disagree with what you're saying Strangled Cat, but the point is if you draft an 18 year old KPP they are usually not ready for the rigours of AFL footy for at least 2-3 years by which stage all our existing stocks will be around 30 years old. I take your point in Dustin Fletcher but he is certainly the exception, not the rule! And while we can always say we can trade someone or pick off a free agent, it's always easier to develop our own and Wells has such a good record of picking them out you'd be mad to rely on recycling rather than home-growing a key need.

Interesting perspective on West. I can't ever see him playing on a Franklin, Taylor Walker or players of that ilk. And I wish I saw the mongrel you do - I think he'd certainly make it as a ruckman if he possessed such traits.

It's Walker who I said has mongrel and not West. I think West is deceptively quick and agile for someone 6'6" and built like him. I'd see him as mainly a stopper like what Lonergan is now.

Without wanting to get off topic even if the topic is relevant to the discussion, we are mostly well stocked in defence for the future. We have Thurlow who looks like a great Boris replacement, Guthrie who will replace Josh Hunt in a year or so, Hamling who will replace Mackie, Murdoch who when gets more games under his belt will fill the void that Wojak left. I think once Hmac comes back West might get a go in defence.

Pods is too good in the forward line and Vardy, as much as I rate him isn't ready to knock the old man off just yet. So instead of trying Pods in the back, put West in there for a few games as it will be his only chance to play with the GFC in the coming years. I'd like to think him and Walker could be our gorillas in defence in the years to come.

 

[tenderwarrior]

I would like to see Walker played purely as a CHB. He has the endurance, size and strength to be just what we need, and together with his defensive efforts could be a true gun in that role. To me it is clear cut, but I must be missing something as the club seem adamant on Walker playing as a forward... Am I missing something?

Brown could be a good AFL player, but he just looks, I don't know.. timid? He doesn't seem to have any urgency about himself - is it a confidence thing? What does he look like in the VFL? I would be interested in the thoughts of those who watch a lot of VFL football.

 

[footscore]

Hyphen?

Selwood?

 

[dazbroncos]

Selwood?

Troy... sure....

Go Catters