Now this speculative trade is certainly not the answer to our forward woes but a trade I would like to consider.
Currently we have one player on our list who is a 195cm + key forward that being Liam Jones. You could add Jack Redpath (194cm) to this discussion but Redpath also spent a considerable amount of time in defence in the past couple of years and hasnt player a senior game of AFL yet.
We have tried Campbell and Cordy (who are our project ruck combination in a few years time) as kpf/2nd ruck and both have only shown minor glimpses (Campbell moreso than Cordy).
Considering our father son picks which hopefully will be Z Cordy as our fourth pick and Foster as as a Rookie (who will spend all of 2015 in the 2s), we will still need roughly 1 - 2 more KPF with one of them hopefully being able to play forward and back.
Currently our first round pick will stands at 5 and could either drop a position or depending on mid and end of season input from our additions to the side (J Grant) we might end up with pick 7. With picks 4 to 7 we may or may not end up with 1 of the 4 KPP that everyone talks about (Wright, Goddard, McCartin, Durdin). I am also worried about McCartin having Diabetes but thats for another discussion. So if our worst fears are confirmed and we end up with none of the 4, we take Pickett or Duggan for speed and outside class. My preference is to trade our first rounder for a good up and coming key forward but clubs certainly arent keen to enter into those discussions (Patton, Lynch, Dixon) etc all would be great targets but very difficult to pry away.
Taking all that into consideration and a slighty different subject, lets leave Christian Howard in the seniors for one purpose and one purpose only (to try and increase his trade value). If we can do this we can then entertain trading him back to a SA club for a KPF that maybe the crows or PA might be using as depth.
Currently for PA and the crows they have all of these players out of the seniors who dont play regular games and are KPFs, these include...
John Butcher
Mitchell Harvey
Lewis Johnston
Whoever adelaide are forced to leave out through Tex coming back.
From this list it can be suggested that Harvey is only one year into his career and won't be traded away, Lewis Johnston is a good kick at goal but doesnt get his hands on the ball enough and is only 192 - 193 cm, not really the type we are looking for. Adelaide may or may not be able to play all of Walker, Jenkins, Pods and Lynch in the same team but I doubt it. Pods is probably the guy to be left out but he is 32 and not even worth considering.
From that John Butcher is the only player that I would pursue, despite his inability to kick straight plus his regularly injury rate, we can ill afford to have only 1 true KPF (on our list in 2015). Without Jones, we got towled up by GC having only Crameri in the forward line and against Freo, Roberts played out of position, who I think is a far better defender, and Williams was ineffective, too injury prone and slow to take marks inside 50.
That being said if by trade period we only have 1 true KPF (being Jones on our list), unable to pry a gun KPF from the expansion clubs and unlikely to get a top KPF from the draft (who even still might take 3 - 5 years to come on). I would strongly entertain.
Christian Howard (in form Christian howard) and Pick 42 (3rd rounder) for John Butcher.
Thoughts?
Feel free to suggest other draft pick options for this trade.