Trade Targets ~ Free Agency & MSD player discussion

[Pies2016]

@gurugeoff AFL footy is so much about taking your opportunities when they present. I think we would all say Macrae didn’t take his opportunities in 2024. You can’t ask for much more than to be a 22 year old inside mid at a club with medium term injuries to the likes of Pendlebury, Mitchell and Degoey in the second half of the season. He got his chances but ultimately couldn’t hold his spot. He wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t enough for him to be continually selected.
I’m not writing him off yet but with the club seemingly focussed in inside mids during the silly season, you would think they also have some concerns about him taking a step up in 2025.
If we’re talking trades ( Vic only ) he’s possibly a reasonable fit for a club like StKilda, who are so bereft of mid field talent, they could play him until their next crop of young mids develop. Maybe Richmond too, given the direction they’re taking.

[Charlie Oneeye]

Stringer ?
Pendles/Howe/Sidey/Elliott will all probably all be gone within 2 years, leaving us with a 33 yr old on his last legs, providing he makes it to 33!!!.

On the back of the 23 GF I'm taking our current predicament, but a couple of years ago I thought our list would be forging for the future, as it is, we are treading water.

[Newelly]

Many were calling Dan McStay 'Dan McStayaway' prior to the 2022 trade period. Without him, we wouldn't have beaten GWS in the prelim.

[stoliboy]

^
Jake Stringer is a good player. 42 goals this season.
So wouldn’t say NO but is over 30.
Can’t see Essendon letting him go.

[gurugeoff]

If we win the flag in 2025, the mass exodus of older guys at season's end '25 will be greatly soothed....

If we win flag in 2025, it does not matter what the following 4 or 5 years look like

[Newelly]

^hang on, aren't we wanting to inject some youth, address our ageing list?

Grabbing another flag while the premiership clock is starting to fade is a great plan to make happen before embarking on a youth muster for future glory. Let’s have a serious crack and send our goat Pendles off with a big cerebration

Yep agree. Assuming the normal start to the season in late March 2025 we will have 8 weeks extra preseason this year which should help with prep for injury plagued players.

[Newelly]

^
We definitely want to be on the lookout for a younger players and we have been linked to some. Re: JDG - he should benefit from 7-8 weeks extra pre-season. If Stringer did come to us he would be in a system that has played in 6 grand finals and won 2 since the Don's last played in a GF in 2001. It is not being arrogant to suggest we have a better system at present. Stringer won a flag back in 2016 but the hunger to win another could still be there and motivation increases if his fitness improves. We also have a better midfield than the Don's if Mitchell JDG and Daicos are all part of it. I think

[SLORT]

Ash I think will be swapped for Keane. Are all parties happy with this straight swap? If the Crows arent interested in Ash, do WCE/Freo have any interest? He is contracted to Collingwood for 2025.

If Adelaide get Lukosius I doubt they'd bother with Ash. Port Adelaide are also a bit light on forwards, so if Richards is going there then we may be able to create a package deal? Gonna be a complex silly season that's for sure.

[piffdog]

Yeah I think a straight swap Ash for Keane is an optimistic take. If we can get that done would be great, but not sure it’s realistic.

[qldmagpie67]

Forget about Stringer he isn’t the answer to any question we have
If we can land Peatling and either Hobbs or Davies it works two fold
Firstly we get that young big bodied mid we need.
Secondly with the return of Mitchell and the emergence of Allan this would allow us to play JDG more as a forward (and he’s at worst equally as dangerous as Stringer and younger)
Noble will get us either pick 20 or 26
Richard’s will get us a pick in the second round
I’m hearing Adelaide might be interested in Krueger as well. He won’t fetch loads but we might be able to do a pick upgrade. Send Krueger and pick either 48 and 50 to Crows get back 25
If we can some how end up with 4 second round picks we can bundle a few of them up (dealing with Suns or Lions who want draft points) and get back into the 1st round in what called a fairly deep draft without a absolute standout
We have options just depends on which pieces fall and how they fall really

[The Black and White Lion]

If I were in Adelaide's shoes I'd be trying to trade with the lions to get Darcy Fort. Stuck behind Oscar there playing a bit part role, tearing it up all year in the VFL and can't get a game in the lions best 23. Reckon he would be number 1 ruck over O'Reilly at the Crows. If Lukosius ends up there too, where does Himmelberg then fit. If the crows want Kreuger also where does Himmelberg fit?

Some fascinating possibilities here but I reckon Kreuger showed his worth this year, particularly against Melbourne on KB when he was our only tall forward. If we were to trade Kreuger out I'm struggling to see how we could cover that 3rd tall option. It's not Ash. It's not Reef. It didn't look like Eyre. Looks a bit early for Smit. Unless we're getting overs for Kreuger, or at least an upgrade on our trade for him, I'd rather keep him as insurance. If a KPF option is coming back the other way like Himmelberg then there might be something more to think about. Kreuger does have the occasional X factor though, never seen that from Himmelberg.

[Presti35]

I recall thinking to myself wouldn't it be great to get guys like Mac Andrew and Leek Aleer (Both after their game winning moments this year). SEN were talking about Aleer and seem to think clubs have circled him as a trade target.

Leek is 23yo, 194cm defender. But I could just be overhyped by him after his heroics against Geelong earlier in the year. Mac wont be going anywhere, but anyone that beats Essendon after the siren is welcome at Collingwood.

http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/ ... Aleer.html

Just going back to this.

Its been revealed today that a Melbourne based club is planning a $12M move to get Mac Andrew. That is some coin.

So Aleer and Andrew could be available afterall?

[Presti35]

We've enquired about Houston even though he has declared he will be a Port player next year and beyond. Cant see how it'd get done as Port will expect 2 first rounders.

[qldmagpie67]

I’ve heard we’ve put a 4 year offer to Peatling’s management (he’s open to offers as he’s down there pecking order)
As a mid season draft recruit he won’t take a lot in terms of draft picks and GWS won’t be playing hardball on him they have other priorities to worry about and limited cap space
We are also still interested in landing either Hobbs or Davies as well.
We appear to be really wanting to bolster our midfield with bigger in and under players which to me signals that we are planning for Pendles not to be attending contests as much so he’s likely to be used as a utility HBF or HF as required
If we also get these younger bigger faster inside mids there’s unlikely to be a role for Sidey in there as well. Could he play the Noble role if required ?
I think the clubs thinking is get bigger bodies in and around the contest to not only be a more contested team but provide some protection for Nick going forward. He can play outside more (maybe a wing role or off the HFF) but it signals some definite changes to our midfield group

The Noble deal will be done I’ve heard. The club isn’t going to stand in his way and they believe we have a couple options to fill the void

[SLORT]

If we also get these younger bigger faster inside mids there’s unlikely to be a role for Sidey in there as well. Could he play the Noble role if required ?

Noble's game is about leg speed, Sidey is endurance. This years stats show, interestingly enough, that they're both pretty close to average meters gained (Noble is 5th highest in the team at 368 vs 7th for Sidey at 333). However efficiency of disposal is 81.5 vs 65.8, so Nobes is breaking lines through pace, while Sidey seems to be more bombing it long.