We cant keep everyone. We need to improve the list to take the next step. Owies may be good, but is he elite ? Unfortunately we have signed Durdin and Fogarty now. And Durdin has more upside.

Owies may have a bit of currency so we need to use him. And he probably will no require a salary of $400K+.

Whilst i feel sorry for Owies. We cannot keep everyone. Do we want to feel all lovey dovey about players or try and win a premiership?

I get it - I have no confidence in using the draft picks and chasing the right players, but need to use a player/s that can give us some currency that are not going to take us to the next level either via ability or injury. This is why players like Owies, Cerra, Kennedy, Young. I would even put in Williams in the trade for the right price category.

Young I would hold onto for security - depends if we bring a KPP in or not.

I even think Pitto is currency and for the right price i would trade. Would rather grap a ruck from the state leagues instead of persisting with Pitto. But that is probably just me.

I watch too much footy
That’s where Houston plays
The easiest position on the ground
That’s why he ain’t worth selling the farm
How many times does it happen early spring when Carlton pay overs
Look at Geelong
There up there because of their recruiting
They only will sell the farm for someone like a Cameron who has real impact
Use Pick 36 and 63 to get Mannagh and Humpries
One played VFL last year
One played WAFL for Swan Districts
One plays in the same position as Houston with similar impact and is 21
One is roughly the same age as Houston who plays as a small forward centre position with arguably more impact
And you want to load up our hard cap and give away draft picks for a guy who plays exclusively on a HBF
Haven’t you had enough of blokes like
McGovern
Martin
Williams
You need to watch more footy

Should we extend Williams and try to smooth out that contract? I get spots are tight but so too is money

I get stats, but stats need to be analysed and scrutinised.
Just because you get all squirmy, most peoiple don't. Get that checked. Kemp, and Young I get, but the rest are part of a beautiful picture at times.

You want a flag in 2025. Me too.

I follow a lot of the stuff you post and like some, but all I read from your recent posts and taking in your previous opinions, is we may as well blow the place up because as you say, we can't win a flag with Voss as coach, can't win with assistants he has got, can't win with 2 rucks, can't win with shit kicks in the backline: Newman, Saad, Doc, Boyd. We are desperate for a KPD, desperate for a quick mid, and desperate for a spicy small forward. Now all of the sudden Houston is the Messiah.

We are not trading Harry for Petracca
We are not trading Charlie for Petracca
So we have to prioritise. Now you've got us worried about all the backline except when the ball is in Saad's hand, or Gov's who is unaccountable and has time to kick to a target.

Is it the players or is it the game plan? because I saw some great passages of play from D50 (our turnover game you wanted) and great execution from defense, when we won 5 in a row to start the season, and you said so, and then 5 in a row before the GWS game. ie we have the players to execute, and you laid the blame fair and square on Voss. Now its the shit kicks we need to fix up. I'm getting dizzy. Its like that bash a mole game. We are doomed.

I thought the backline's issues were game plan, and strategy marking players, and a midfield that isnt quick to stop the onslaught into our defense.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

As mentioned in a previous post, what I'd like to see:

Marchbank- Pick 11 Draft best quick goal kicking mid or Trade for a developed young goal kicking mid.
Cuningham-Pick 20's Draft or Trade for developed young KPD, or Houston if we can't get him with F1
Martin-Ben Camporeale
Owies- Boyd
Carroll- Trade a good player in position to improve us or Houston with F1 and player or picks

Lucas Camporeale hopefully is a rookie, if not...another player has to go from main list

I don't want to offer pick 11, let alone 2 first rounders for Houston. How do we get him?

Next years draft is the last of the uncompromised drafts.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I've thought about this too Des.

I thought this after the loss in Final to Lions.

I thought Williams can be depth if that's all he offers when things get tough, and its a lot of money to be sitting parked in the VFL.

I guess with Haynes, with the exception of the 8 AFL games he played, GWS parked $1M in the VFL with him.

EDIT: my gut feeling is lets get his contract done with just as we have with Martin

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

very interesting. Tom Stewart plays the same position as houston, and stewart is in the convo for their most important piece. he sets their whole attack up from halfback. and defends like a lion. and many people, including me, say they'd take houston over stewart bcos he's 4 years younger.

geelong's drafting is league best. no one comes close to them, and no one knows how they do it. as good as mannagh or humpheries are, they not anywhere near similar to houston. and to even say that, i'm not sure you've seen houston play or watch much footy.

but to say geelong aren't topping up in free agency is wild. cameron, tuohy, henderson, stengle, gary rohan, dangerfield, oli henry all free agents. all off the top of my head. and this summer they'll buy Bailey Smith. so save me the cats don't give up the farm for players - they give plenty up.


we've waited 30 years since our last flag. it's time to go all out and get another one, yeah?

YES I have, but I have to wait till end of next year to see the back of Gov who is 31yo next year, and Williams will be 31yo (or was Williams 6 year contract?) and Fantasia 30yo.

Glad to see Martin gone.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

it's both. voss needs tactical support from his assistant coach that's a few levels above what hansen is doing. and we need to turnover some list and rejuvenate the roster by way of upgrades.

our pressure & F50 turnover game was excellent at times. our D50 was abysmal and among the worst in the whole league.

i dunno old mate ... we've made harry available if the price is right. same with cerra. that could mean we're after a gun mid for harry and cerra?

talk is we want houston (and voss espeically), and if richmond take our 2025 1st pick, for one of their '24 1sts' we're the front runner to land houston too.

charlie, weiters, cripps are untouchable. all our good players on rookie contracts - also unavailable. that leaves us with some flexibility and if the front office is good enough, they could put us front and centre in the mix for a flag in '25.

over to you voss. we find out if he's a good coach, or a great one. only great ones win flags.

Stewart does defend like a lion. But every time he won an AA and Weiters didnt I always said Stewart is the only CHB without an opponent to mind. He was the extra free in the backline. When Carlton put time into Stewart, ie make him accountable, Cincotta kicked 2 goals against Stewart.

I agree Houston over Stewart for now, based on age. Stewart looks like he can go till he's 36. He's got that wiry body type.

Keogh is firm on draft before the trade and finding rough diamonds in the lower leagues. He was right about Gov. I lost that argument. He was right about Williams. I lost that argument. He was right about Martin, but he cost us nothing and we needed a front ended contract to meet the salary cap requirements. He was righ about Martin's body. I lost that argument too.

In a few years time, I will be happy to say I lost an argument to you. Point is keogh knows his footy. One time BV stuck up for me when keogh went all nuts on me.... a bit like you do.

I keep looking at our team and all I see is half the team is made up of imports because imo SOS failed us badly in the draft after his first draft in 2015. We need a combo of high draft picks and good trades (right price and fit for purpose).

I'm sure Austin is weighing up TDK's massive contract from 2026 onwards when looking at Houston, but he can also say goodbye to the contracts of Williams, McGovern, Docherty, Fantasia and Newman.

I will not be surprised to see Houston traded to Carlton despite what he said about staying at Port next year.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I thought our D50 was good in the first half. Crows were the first to kick 100 against us, then a few weeks later in a game we should've won Cats kicked more than 100. Otherwise we were really good.

Harry wont go. Therefore the Cerra talk, albeit disappointing, may be very real. Cerra doesnt have to agree to a move...yes I know they can make him feel like shit by staying, like old Carlton did with Josh Kennedy.

Add TDK to the untouchables. Walsh should be in that group too, given he's only 23yo.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Stewart didn’t have an opponent till this year
Scott stuck him in the guts cause he had to
To his credit he has been ok but not as good this year
As for selling the farm in relation to Geelong you don’t do your research very well
We basically gave up Tuohy for Smedts and some GWS spuds
Stengle they got for a bag of chips
Want me to keep
Going
And as for Cameron where did they get some of those draft picks
Because West Coast gave up the farm for Tim Kelly a player got as mature age from South Fremantle for pick 24
In pains me to say that Geelongs recruiting and List Management strategy shits over us

Tell me Braithy why is Houston so good to give up even pick 11 or 12
Do you play him at HB and try Saad in the middle
Is our window open
What we desperately needs is another big key back to support Weitering
Young is simply back up
Lemmey has the size to do it
At least train him up to play key defender in his third pre season
Our small forwards are shit
The one that gets a pass mark is Matt Owies
Why hasn’t he signed
Meanwhile Motlop Fantasia and Durdin have been shit but seem safe
I would turf the first two off in a heartbeat
Durdin can offer something if his shoulders get fixed
One we need more pace
That’s where you would use our first rounder on a quick midfield kid in a midfielders draft

But no
We have to panic now and load up on a HBF
I think I’m a reasonable judge of a footballer
I thought giving pick 26 28 and McAdam for Mc Govern was lunacy not too mention the $700000 5 year deal
The guy has delivered one passable year in 6
Martin cost us around $85000 a goal or $7500 a possession
His gone and I thought he was not much chop
Zac Williams
Now there is a guy who plays similar to Houston
$850000 a season for 6
Next to useless
All Houston has done is okay HBF
He is beautiful kick and reads it pretty well
But not worth a first rounder
And he not what we need unless he becomes a quick mid
He ain’t quick
Unless he becomes a effective small forward
Unproven
He is 186 cm so not going to support Weitering in the big man department down back
So why the love?

Agree, an extension is extremely unlikely. He’s not going to take an extra year for zero cash. Even if he did, what’s $250-300k going to do?

Let’s also not forget that he would’ve copped a significant haircut through covid as well.

If there’s a Grundy-style conditional trade, then sure. Otherwise, just see it out. Who’s to say that he doesn’t come good under a different S&C program?

Funny how stretching things to breaking point results in broken things…

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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill.

It would allow us to pay him out at a lower figure down the track.

... stewart has been ok? over the journey he's been top 5 or 6 in the league for me. the drive off halfback he gives them, it sets everything up for them; and we could get a player of the same ilk?

how about dangerfield? two firsts and a player from memory? that's a hefty sum, but they've won a flag with him, and maybe another with him this year as a 34 yr old. so you'd say it was worth the price?

... we'll make players available and hopefully someone will pay us for cerra like they did tim kelly and we'll flip that into someone like houston. maybe we'll find someone for harry too, and bring in a gun mid to upgrade cerra.

i'm such an impatient turd, i know... i also know we don't draft or develop very well. and this list is close, we could deliver voss a flag potential list for the next 3 years this summer - then the rest is up to him. i really want that for us

Thinking man Des.
Good onya.
but as Cru said, he's not going to extend the contract by a year for only $300K on top of the $800K?? Making it $1.1K or 550 a year to pay out in his 2nd year. We save $250K this year, then drop him for 550 next year. I get it.
Lets hope the new S&C work out for him. He owes us a Flag!

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

And I’d add that we recruit even more poorly when bringing in players from other clubs

Wouldnt teams want the reliable Kennedy more than Cerra and his hammie battle scars?

Where there's smoke.....

so the names we've heard rumoured as trade bait are: Owies, Carroll, Harry, Kennedy, Cerra, Young. Obviously haven't got a Fwd-Ruck on the radar to replace Pitto.

I reckon someone will come for Young, and I hope we don't let him go without replacing him. Maybe that's why Sam Durdin is still on the list.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Dangerfield was traded from Adelaide for pick 9,28 and Gore a midfielder who didn’t nothing at The Crows
Geelong also received pick 50 which didn’t really do anything
So theoretically a first and second rounder
So not the farm
More like a hectare and I think Dangerfield has had a greater impact than Houston will ever do