so if cripps stays we do a hawthorn /Ess give away draft picks to get quality into the teaM

Time for some thought on where our list is at.
Simpson, Betts, Murphy, Jones, Newnes, Ed Curnow, Casboult, Kreuzer arn’ t going to get any better.
The former three will most likely not be there so can the list improve given we clearly are still a bottom six team. Tag Cripps and Docherty out of the game and where done and dusted.
Let’s look at some of players the club has invested in given their ages but also what they have shown and what their ceiling may be
JOS
Probably best suited in a tagging roll with oppositions number one mid. Too slow and lacks height to play forward.
Dow
Still contracted till 2022 hasn’t shown enough. Time is on his side but his lack of awareness and game sense is a concern. Kicking is below standard and like many on our list lacks size.
SPS
Major disappointment. His body shape has not changed. Gets rag dolled too often. Kicking lacks depth.
Fantastic game awareness but he is been wasted in the back half. How much better can he get. Too me he doesn’t seem to want it enough. For a top 10 pick has been average so far
Kennedy
Simply hasn’t been fit enough until this year where he looks in great shape.
Shown a bit up forward but brought to the club as an inside mid which he has to be because he is so slow. For a pick 28 his output has been ordinary. Not a lot of upside
Cripps
Absolute champ but no player should have the burden of carrying the weight of a team on his shoulders given his age. More on him later.
McKay
Injuries and development aside( big guys take time) McKay needs to learn to play elsewhere. Defence is an option. He has the tools but to me his career is going nowhere as a deep forward. Certainly intensity seems an issue so get him involved more in the game
McGovern
Yep gave up a lot for mid sized power forward whose best is very good but worst is the worst and very little in between. The problem is his best is not often enough. At 25 should be better
DeKoning
I would play this bloke for an extended period in the seniors. One of the few players that seems to have a big upsize. McKay needs to drop down a level to re invent himself.
Stocker
What I saw of him I liked. Actually has some size about him unlike many on our list. Needs to show some continuity in his development. We gave up a lot to get him.
LOB
Gave up a top 10 pick and can’t get a game in an ordinary side in his third year. Not looking good.
Lang
Has been horrible. A good junior injuries have sapped his confidence and his development. Some guys develop too early. He definitely looks like one of those players playing forward . Was brought to the club as a mature mid and to my recollection hasn’t played there.
Setterfield
A bit like Lang. Definitely better but what is the upside. Looks not strong enough to play inside mid. Slow lacks depth in kicking. Has some footy smarts. As I have said repeatedly we gave two picks including a top 20 for him. So far not enough bang for the buck.
Walsh
Having the second year blues which is not uncommon. The question I have is how much better can he get. He isn’t big and isn’t quick. Good recruiting involves some luck but also a Crystal ball approach.
I for one would have entertained the notion of trading pick one for Ports first 2 picks. Duursma and Butters look to have more upside. Given the way the game is played these days the more quality mids who can hit the scoreboard the better you are. Don’t get me wrong. Walsh is obviously very good but the option was there and we didn’t take it. Given the state of our list at the time I believe SOS should have done it
Plowman
Lacks pace. Kicking is average. Like many on our list he seems to have lost weight and doesn’t seem to be as strong in the marking contests. His roll is that last man in defence. To me he provides little positivity to the team. An ordinary player at best and he has been around a while.
Cuningham
His best is elite. Doesn’t happen near enough for a fifth year player
Weitering
Excellent key defender. The question is do you use your number one pick on that type of player.
You would like to think that in the future he can go forward and impose himself on games.
Williamson
I’ll cut him some slack because of he has missed so much footy. Unlike most in our team he does take the game on. Has a lot of upside.
C Curnow
To me our most important player because he is the one bloke who win a game of his own boot. Sadly missed.
Pittonet
Looks an honest toiler Actually needs to bulk up a bit. Being a young big bloke has upside
Fisher
Been pretty good. Only concern for me has been his lack of size. Has upside with a decent run at it.
Marchbank
Lacks core strength. Another player who seems to have been at his best compared to his opponents as a junior.

The rest of the list are in two categories.
Simply not good enough or too early to tell.

With Austin at the helm and Brodie’s roll reduced how will Austin assess the list and will he deliver the goods.
To me the list has more holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese.
Would you trade Cripps before he becomes a free agent and his contract is up in 2021.
That will obviously depend on the performance of the team in 2020. So far it’s not looking great.
Our recruiting has been our major issue over the last 20 years which has lead to such poor performances.
The AFL is a reasonably level playing field. We have a salary cap, a soft cap, all the clubs have great facilities Coaches have to do a course to be a possible AFL coach but recruiting varies in its quality from club to club. We have a system where recruiters predominantly recruit 18 year olds.
Good recruiters seem to be able to have a better crystal ball than the ordinary recruiters in which ones become successful AFL footballers in their mid 20s
And whilst it’s fairly irrelevant in 2020 Austin and his team need to look more closely at the VFL WAFL SANFL etc than their predecessors.
Weitering was a number one pick
Sam Collins was running around at Werribee when GC picked him at 55.
They are similar quality players playing the same position.
Don’t get me wrong.
Weitering is one of our best players
To some degree you can say that these leagues are like the college system that exists in USA
All these decisions add up to a successful team

i used to hate your posts, keogh, but you seem less angry and more rational this year. this is a very thoughtful post, and imo quite accurate.

do you think, like i do, that cripps will ask for a trade?

This club biggest problem is that they are to loyal or aren’t brave enough
to make tuff calls on senior and high paid players who should be dropped
or traded.
They refuse to play younger players for extended periods to prove themselves.

Under Bolton we played younger players all the time and everyone was seething because the kids couldn't stand up against the big boys.
Now under Teague he is playing all the older blokes to win games and intern putting the brakes on our youth development.
Maybe the next coach will have the balance of old and young right.

SPS
Dow
LOB
Stocker
Kennedy

All midfield types, young, cost us good pick/s to get, how do we think these players are progressing?

SPS
Dow
LOB
Stocker
Kennedy

All midfield types, young, cost us good pick/s to get, how do we think these players are progressing?

I don’t think there’s much wrong with our list at all, put any of our players in another club and they’ll thrive. Their lack of consistent performance Is simply a mental and club culture problem

We need to find a bully who can play footy and not just rely on skinny athletic types.

I'd be asking Charlie Constable how he is going down at the cats.

Deano are we asking or should we be asking re Constable ?