List Mgmt. Which free agent should we be targeting?

[mike123]

We would have to make the Finals for me to even think about Trading our 1st Round Pick

Well then, I geuss your going to be thinking about trading our 1st round pick

 

[NT.Thunder]

You'd have to say Dangerfield but my concern with him is his body holding up with the crash and bash style of footy he plays.

Michael Johnson would be nice but i doubt he'd leave WA.

MJ's back is pretty ordinary also atm.

I like Suckling - I think he could work well for us. Although he doesn't have a defensive side to him does he.....should slot in.

Are there any power forwards that can't kick straight? Would work out perfectly if we get another with an accuracy of 50% if they get in sync.

 

[Chilli Con Incarnate]

None. Too much money and we have a lot of talented kids coming through. Reward our own players first so they stick around longer down the track.

 

[popin]

I'm not sure if I'd go after a free agent this year. I'd perhaps look to trading our first round pick this year for a player in the 21-23 age bracket.

We need our first rounders for our next FWD future star

 

[BEEG]

Dangerfield

If we cant get him someone like Sloane should be the next target

 

[Shaneprice97]

Jack Steven.

he would be a great get, cant imagine him asking for massive money either.

a wing type role i can see him thriving at.

 

[Lefthanded]

I'm not a fan of overpaying (which you basically have to) for any restricted free agent. Thus I'm happy to largely target unrestricted free agents, especially if fairly priced. That said I think we keep the lines of communication open with any of the player managers if they are any sort of need for us. eg I might not want Hawkins now (cost vs benefit when we potentially have Cloke, Reid, Moore anyway) but opinion could change depending on what happens this year. The closer to premiership we get the more you are willing to target a need (but the less cap space you probably have). Home grown talent the best course for me.

 

[Baird]

he would be a great get, cant imagine him asking for massive money either.

a wing type role i can see him thriving at.

He's the most realistic get imo.

 

[TradeDraft]

Well then, I geuss your going to be thinking about trading our 1st round pick

We are no Guarantee to make the Finals

 

[Horaceg]

I'm not a fan of overpaying (which you basically have to) for any restricted free agent. Thus I'm happy to largely target unrestricted free agents, especially if fairly priced. That said I think we keep the lines of communication open with any of the player managers if they are any sort of need for us. eg I might not want Hawkins now (cost vs benefit when we potentially have Cloke, Reid, Moore anyway) but opinion could change depending on what happens this year. The closer to premiership we get the more you are willing to target a need (but the less cap space you probably have). Home grown talent the best course for me.

Agree with this, if some of the top 10 draft choices, Freeman, Scharenberg, Moore, DeGoey and any of the other recruits pan out over the next couple of years, we will need to pay them. There needs to be a balance.

That said Dangerfield would be handy but let's see what this year unearths.

 

[whiskeytown]

better off waiting, saving some salary cap space and making a move for a forward like jeremy cameron... gun midfielders come through the draft every year, gun forwards don't. structurally we need a - reliable (sorry reid) - second key forward more than another midfielder... even if it means passing up on someone as good as dangerfield.

 

[MagpieBat]

With it becoming common practice now to target your free agents for the end of the season during the preceding pre season, who should we be throwing everything at right now?

The contenders;

Dangerfield; Bonafide gun who can win games on his own. Would arrive, slot straight in, probably as our second best player and make life easier for Pendles and co going forward. Will be 25 if we get him, so plenty of footy left in him. The obvious problem is the bidding war that will develop around him at the end of the season which may mean the offer and cost may be extreme.

Hawkins; Key forwards don't grow on trees, and with Cloke closer to the end then the start, and with very little else on our list in the way of key forwards, he'd be a nice addition. Negative is he'll be 27 at years end.

Rance; A little left field here but Rance is an All Australian calibre defender and at 26 (if he arrives) he has 4-5 very good years in him.

Others; There are others too (see list below) that we may consider as easier options to get, although the list doesn't seem that strong past the above three mentioned players.


http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-12-17/north-faces-free-hit

I know most of you will vote for Dangerfield, but is he really worth the probably 5-6 year deal at over $1 million a year?

It depends on how you view our window.

Are we in the hunt for a premiership in 2016 after a development year in 2015? If so, you probably target Hawkins, if you think our young kids can become the midfielders we need next year. Cloke all of a sudden can't be double-teamed, Reid goes back to defence for all of the 5 minutes he can get on the park, and good times are shared by all.

On the other hand if you think our window opens more around the 2017/2018/2019 mark, you target Dangerfield, by selling him on our future, given he will still be young enough to give us great service by the time the window opens in 2-3 years time. By then, Moore should be able to meaningfully contribute at CHF with Cloke hopefully still having good footy to contribute playing permanently deep forward (ala the Cloke/Rocca partnership of 2006/2007), thus still giving us a viable key forward setup. Pendles will probably be more of a forward by then as well, so another good man to have in the front half. The kids will all be either priming or ready to prime, so our midfield is taken care of post-Pendlebury and Danger becomes our midfield leader.

Danger into our midfield setup means that for the next couple of years, either he takes the tag, giving Pendles free reign to run riot away from the coal-face, or Pendles still keeps getting the tag, leaving Danger to go beserk. Meanwhile our kids spend the next few years developing behind the mature bodies of Pendlebury, Dangerfield, Greenwood and Sidebottom. Not a bad quartet to be shielded by.

Of course, you could also make the argument that Danger coming to us opens the window up next year, given Cloke would (theoretically) have Reid to help him out up forward, Danger in the middle gives Pendles the break he needs, the kids would have had another year to develop and the defence would have had another 20-odd games to gel as a unit...

Having said all that, I fully expect us to target a 3rd stringer on that Free Agency list and spend all of next pre-season convincing ourselves that they will be able to become superstars in whatever role we recruit them to fill (which they won't)...

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Rance if anybody. With futures cloudy for Brown and Reid he'd be an ideal fit.

 

[soreplums]

Beams and H leaving would have freed up some future money in reserve, although some would have been taken by Varcoe and greenwood. Swan and young could free up some cash over the next couple of years which will likely be distributed to the young folk.

If financially it fits, Dangerfield would be a great get, but I'd be equally happy with Jack Steven. Has speed, gets plenty of the footy and we would be able to get him for about 300-400k less.

Not interested in Rance. Hawkins again would command big dollars that I would perhaps rather give to someone younger

 

[Kirby]

I do find it amusing that Rance went from one of the most bog ordinary footballers to now being regarded as a superstar by many here because he has had one good year.

 

[Tbone McGraw]

The interesting thing with Danger and Sloane is they were both overlooked for captaincy for the crows. I can not believe Tex was named captain.

Is there something to this or am I reading too much into this?

I am personally 80% sure Danger leaves but for Geelong.

 

[didaksrightfoot]

You'd have to say Dangerfield but my concern with him is his body holding up with the crash and bash style of footy he plays.

Michael Johnson would be nice but i doubt he'd leave WA.

^Our list really isn't at the point where adding a 30 year old is going to be benificial... and Johnson probably only has a couple of years left in the game, and I wouldn't be suprised if he joins Sandi/Macca/Pav and they all retire together... though for the Docker's sake, hopefully they are able to spread it out a bit.

 

[Kirby]

^Our list really isn't at the point where adding a 30 year old is going to be benificial... and Johnson probably only has a couple of years left in the game, and I wouldn't be suprised if he joins Sandi/Macca/Pav and they all retire together... though for the Docker's sake, hopefully they are able to spread it out a bit.

Yep all true and I actually thought he was a couple of years younger than that (I didn't check it). Cheers mate

 

[iGNITER]

Dangerfield would be great.

Get it done.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

I do find it amusing that Rance went from one of the most bog ordinary footballers to now being regarded as a superstar by many here because he has had one good year.

Exaggerating much?

One person has mentioned him and I have never called him bog ordinary. Certainly no superstar either but at age 25 (just turned 25) is a premium defender in the right age bracket. Its a matter of need. I think we have invested heavily in the midfield with a bunch of top 20 picks in the past three years so might not need a Dangerfield as much as we need a CHB. They are much harder to find.

 

[didaksrightfoot]

Generally, I would only really be targetting a player who we believe is elite, someone who we think will fit a specific role and is affordable, or a youngster with potential who we think we can develop.

So far in free agency we haven't gone after anyone in the first group, and with the current rules that 3rd group doesn't even qualify for free agency.

And we have been pretty hit-and-miss when recruiting guys in the middle group. This is the trickiest group, and one I would be very careful dipping into with our current list. We have so much "potential" on this list right now, that who knows what we'll be missing in 2-3 years time. Hopefully at the end of this year we have a better idea: If things go the right way, we could have most areas on the ground covered quite well... but obviously not everyone develops as hoped, and time will show what we need. (ie. Grundy and Witts could become a very dominant ruck duo, OR, we might discovers its a complete liability playing them together... that has a huge impact on future recruiting)
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Of the guys listed, Dangerfield is the only one I would be throwing everything at. He is clearly elite, in the right agegroup, and will immediately make our list better.

Hawkins would be very useful, but is only a year younger than Cloke, and I think is much more valuable to other teams (particularly Geelong) than he would be for us... so I doubt it would be make financial sense for us to make an offer that would entice him to leave.

Put me in the group that wouldn't want Rance, unless he goes up another level this year. Has had a good 2nd half of the season, but prior to that hadn't done much all of his career. IMO Frost will be better, and with one of Brown (health) /Reid (health, position) or Keefe (development, headspace) should be our KPD's for a few years to come.

The rest of the guys on the free agent list aren't particularly overwhelming.
Depending on how our young mids develop this year, either Andrew Swallow or Scott Selwood (but I did think he was younger than 24) would be useful, but you don't really wanna overpay for either.

 

[NT.Thunder]

Alastair Clarkson would be worth chasing maybe

 

[kaistar]

I think we would better off going after GWS guys. If we could pull of someone like Hoskin- Elliot Cameron Shiel treloar plus a quality free agent that would be great. Shiel and Hawkins?

 

[KJpie]

None of the 3 options for mine.

I would target one of 4 Giants and a Lion.

In order Cameron or Treloar, Aish, Tomlinson, Cam McCarthy (contract pending with Cam).

All are approx aged between 19 - 21 with the first couple noted already stars with potentially 10 + years of footy left in them.

Sloan also would be worth a try (even though I think he will stay) IIRC he was drafted by Rendell and there is the go home factor. Would be cheaper than Danger also I would think.

 

[rustyg70]

I've heard that Freo are going to go pretty hard for Rance to help sure up their back line now that Macpharlin is in the last year or two of his career.