We have zero margin for error and need a lot to go right beyond expectation.
I don't think it's really thinking out of the box to trade Gibbs and Kruezer if we can get something really good for them. Seems a pretty obvious and necessary move, given neither of them will be there when we are in a Premiership window and I feel it would be more counter-productive to trade for Murphy who is a) our captain and b) older.
Our ideal scenario is:
a) Kruezer
- Kruezer has a fantastic and full season, maintaining or improving on his round 1 form
- A good team loses their first choice ruckman (e.g. Mumford gets injured or his form drops)
- This team (let's call them GWS) either loses the GF by a few hitouts or wins but it becomes clear that their ruckman is on his last legs
b) Gibbs
- Gibbs has a fantastic season
- Adelaide loses a Prelim or the GF and realises that Gibbs could be (have been) the difference...
We need to keep being creative to try to get more talent than we have the chips to trade for. As we have done the past two years where, in addition to our high natural draft picks, we are hoping that Marchbank, Plowman, Pickett and maybe Smedts find a way to reach the potential they showed as juniors.
This, in addition to our successful high picks/recruits: Cripps, Docherty, Weitering, McKay, C.Curnow, SPS... and hopefully a couple of our lower picks from the past couple of years e.g. Cunningham, Fisher, Polson, Macreadie... and throw in a few 'hail Mary-types' e.g. Wright, Kerridge, Lamb, Sumner. I assume Jakcsh is beyond repair
