Season is nearly over what do we need for next year?

[swansrule100]

id like to see some of the potential delistees just retire and get a farwell game next week (if in form) eg Crouch, who is playing ok footy, why not go out on a mini high?

[originalswan]

Unless Fosdike is injured, the omission from this weeks team against Collingwood is not a good sign.

Good to see Veszpremi & Jack back this week.

To be honest I wouldn't be too disappointed if we did lose our next two games. Simply for the fact that we could get a top 10 draft pick - which usually means a ready made player. Can't see us causing much trouble in this years finals.

Don't forget with the new GC17 coming in - draft picks this year are at a premium!

[digital]

We assume that Nicky D has gone, though that could be a pity.
Matthews and Spida are definites.
Crouchy has shown enough that he will go on.
Fossie, will stay.
Buchy could go for a second rounder.
LRT would bring us a 3rd round pick, but is worth more to us than that.

[mcs]

Yeh give up ROK you have got to be kidding. Unless he wants to go back to Melbourne there is no way he should traded (He has had a poor last month or so but a pretty decent season). Maybe Buchanan or Fosdike or LRT, but you are not going to get much. Matthews and Everitt I expect will hopefully disappear, but maybe Crouch has 1 good season left (certainly hasnt looked out of place recently).

I agree with Robbo- we shouldnt trade for players to try and extend a premiership window that in reality is 99.99999% closed, but should instead be lookcing to getting some more quality kids in the draft. For if we can find 2 or 3 more young quality kids, then we can soon have the nucleus of a very good team in a couple of years.

[Robbo]

I think we should avoid trading for players. I think a high emphasis should be put on getting some quality kids in the draft.

We could maybe shop guys like Buchanan, Fosdike and LRT around.

Mathews, Crouch and Everitt all need to go.

[digital]

Drafts/trades/recruits

Although not determined the success or failure of 2008, with pending retirements, an "ageing" list, some just not cutting the mustard, and our history of looking for "recycling", who should be our targets, and what are we prepared to give up?

Kosi would be a great fit for us: what would we give up? I think the Saints would be looking for a first rounder.
What would Dal S be worth to us?
What would we get for:
1. ROK
2. Monty
3. Melco with his ?? knee.
4. Others.
Roosy said last year, no one was untouchable, and thats the way it should be.

[TheMase]

The club has a rap on Meredith he was picked up for his disposal...hope that's true.

YouTube - Brett Meredith - Sydney Swans - Pre-Draft Highlights

[Ludwig]

In terms of potential KPPs among the up-and-comers: Barlow has currently stalled, Grundy is presently just marking time as a stopgap defender (when the only really impressive footy he's played at the top level has been as a marking forward), White might make it but is yet to impress at the top level, Faulks is probably a tall flanker/pocket rather than a true KPP, Playfair is best politely described as a 'depth player who makes a contest' (and is none too young anyway), and the likes of Murphy and the Canadian rookie are still very speculative. We look pretty light on for quality KPPs.

This was part of my point. We have a number of players, particularly KPPs as you have noted, that are too good to delist but perhaps not good enough for the seniors just yet. We just don't know, and won't be in position to know until they can get some more playing time. If Grundy, White, Barlow and Murphy all come through, and many on this board have suggested that they will, the KPP problem is solved, even with a bit of overkill. I think 2 out of these 4 will suffice until Goodes retires.

If you start to do the end of year list changes, you'll see how difficult it will be to both take advantage of a good draft without dropping players with potential. And if we trade for a KPP it will only make it harder to evaluate the potential of these taller KPPs now playing mostly in the seconds.

With Leo, MOL and Barry all looking like they are near certain to go on at least through next year, there will hardly be many KP opportunities until these retirements materialise, maybe in 2010. I think it will be next year that a trade or draft decision will loom large. Hopefully by then we will better know the destinies of the likes of White, Murphy, Grundy, Faulks, Barlow, Pyke and Orreal, and we might add to that list LRT and Playfair.

I think this is a good year to get the most we can from the draft and leave the big trades for another time.

[Lohengrin]

How old is McPhee

He's 25.

[smasher]

3 ex Gaelic footballers - don't forget the Swans have already signed Kyle Coney onto the rookie list for next year.

+1 National underage RU representative (LRT)

Goodes maybe fits the bill as an ex-soccer player. Only switched to AFL aged 15,

Don't forget the cricketers: Moore and Buccy

[hammo]

History suggests that we will trade for a KPP (as we do need one) rather than draft one with our first-round pick.

Our first round pick (and almost certainly our second as well, if we don't trade it) will be a mid, again, unless the Swans have an unexpected change of heart.

Top of my wish-list among realistic options is Adam McPhee. Has the body and ability to be a true KPP, but is generally played in a second-fiddle/Teddie Richards style role at the Dons. Hard to see them being interested in any of our players who would be put up for trade (JBolt is now approaching an untradeable age, and his current form would probably make us disinclined to trade him anyway), and they might blanch at our 2nd rounder. But you can't win if you don't try.

Talking of the likes of Roughead is like saying, 'Hey-- why don't we pick up Jono Brown and Nick Riewoldt? They can both play a bit.' Fantasyland stuff. Certainly don't go anywhere near Courtney Johns. Alan Didak won't be going anywhere near Sydney (nor are small forwards a special area of need), so no point speculating about him.

How old is McPhee, Simon? It's an interesting proposition and certainly Essendon are a rebuilding club who may be looking to trade for picks. I wouldn't want to offer a lot for him though and therein lies the problem.

Contrary to the popular opinion here, I also don't think Fremantle will be willing to offload any of their talented youngsters. It will be a big cut at the top for them with a lot of experience retiring or being delisted so they can build from the bottom.

Kosi's name keeps being mooted for trade and it is one of those trades that has the potential to benefit the player, old club (St Kilda) and new club. The Saints will have to do some rebuilding as their current list won't get near a flag and have the sort of players that would interest a lot of clubs in trades. Roos' relationship with Lyon could assist us in this regard. I would say as far as St Kilda goes, Kosi has the most trade value and could be expendable to them. Del Santo, Milne, the Raf and Xavier Clarke may all go as well, as well as the Gerhig and Harvey retirements. That's a good position for St Kilda to be in as far as trade week goes.

If ROK is going to play more of a midfield role for us, I wonder if Ash Hansen at the Eagles is worth looking at for our forward line? A change of clubs might benefit him as well.

And given the huge gap in experience between our current midfield and our future one, Ben Cousins shapes as the perfect, albeit flawed, pick-up to rotate between the midfield and forward line. Players of his class rarely come along as cheaply as we could get him for (a PSD pick) and we could still get 3 or 4 good years out of him. Our young mids would also benefit from training and playing alongside one of the best attacking players to have played the game.

Despite the Chambers debacle, I am confident we won't go anywhere near O'hAilpin and Johns.

[Donners]

Wouldn't it be ironic to sign White to play second-fiddle to Jolly?

[ScottH]

Another "couple of years left" ruckman?

Melbourne ruckman Jeff White vows to play on | Herald Sun

[Jeffers1984]

They are all no good. Ryce Shaw was the one who got off lightly out the debacle a couple of weeks ago.

Tim Boyle, absolute waste of time. Ordinary player at the very best. When he has played against us he has been pretty weak. Wouldn't think he is any better than Henry Playfair.

Agree Nico. No to Tim Boyle for me. Would struggle to hold the number 1 forward position for us.

[ScottH]

Kelly was a League boy up to about 15/16.

He turned out OK, AFAIK.