Trade Whispers / Rumours and Confirmations

[Swansongster]

Come on, keep up!

OK I made it. Been away fishing with the kids for a few days. So my summary of this thread is that we all still have no idea what is going to happen.

For mine. Jesse expendable (for a reasonable trade - such as H. Shaw) but please keep Mummy and Reid.

[Matt80]

Nick Riewalt is also from the Southport Sharks. There is some serious key position talent coming out of that club!

[BillyRayCypress]

OK I made it. Been away fishing with the kids for a few days. So my summary of this thread is that we all still have no idea what is going to happen.

.

That will probably still be the case with 24 hours left on the trade countdown clock.

[0918330512]

I do rate Jesse highly and have always been a believer. He came in for Hall in 2009 and played very well. In 2010 he had to deal with Bradshaw coming in. In 2011 and 2012 he had to deal with Sam Reid, LRT, Mike Pyke and Tom Walsh being rated ahead of him.

He has the most talent and potential out of all those guys with the exception of Bradshaw!

More talent & potential than Reid? I respectfully disagree

He would play very well for Collingwood in supporting Travis Cloke, but I would like him supporting his old Southport teammate Kurt Tippett!

You want to trade BOTH White AND Tippett to Collingwood?!

[Ludwig]

We should have read the signs that he was heading for Collingwood, as he's added a few new Tatts this year. He still has a way to go to keep up with his new teammates. It will be a good fit.

- - - Updated - - -

Didn't someone say that Jude was his agent?

[liz]

Those arguing that retaining Jesse should be a priority for the Swans need to understand that even if the club would like to keep him, it is out of their hands.

Look at things from Jesse's point of view. His football improved markedly in 2012. His fitness improved, he finally seemed to accept that his chances at sustained senior football would be enhanced if he could become at least a semi-competent back-up ruckman, and offer something around the ground. He played much of the reserves season in the ruck, winning himself the ruck spot in the NEAFL Eastern Conference team of the year. When he went forward, he was productive and kicked a couple of big bags of goals.

Despite this, senior opportunities were few and far between. The Swans senior team was going great guns and there were few injuries that opened up even the glimmer of senior opportunity for Jesse.

At the end of the year, the Swans set their sights on Tippett, whose arrival at the club would limit even further any chances Jesse might have to force his way into the senior team. To add insult to injury, he was offered up as a trade to Adelaide - not in itself a bad thing for Jesse - and promptly became a source of ridicule, with the media speculating (possibly correctly) that the Swans were desperate to rid themselves of him and his fat contract so that they could fit Tippett under the cap.

The trade falls through, and Jesse has to front back up to the Swans for the start of the new pre-season in the knowledge that he was a long way from being a required player and further than ever away from senior footy. Despite this, he knuckles down, applies himself, and continues to improve his endurance.

The new season starts and he is, of course, in the reserves team. He plays well, taking up from where he left off the previous year. On the injury front, things are a little different for the Swans. First they lose LRT to long term injury, a player directly competing with Jesse as a forward cum makeshift ruck. Mumford's not in top nick and Pyke is shouldering much of the ruckwork on his own. Still Jesse's stuck in the reserves. The Reid gets injured. So does Goodes. What happens? Walsh gets called up for a senior game ahead of Jesse.

Fortune only changes for Jesse at Walsh's expense and he is literally the only tall player left standing. He gets a senior recall and, to his credit, makes decent contributions in some games, very good ones in others. The media starts talking about him, suggesting how much Adelaide must wish they'd taken him, especially with Walker gone for the season. By the end of the year he's put together a pretty reasonable three months of football on the public stage and the general perception of him is that he's not such a dud after all.

But still, he looks at the Swans list and realises that Goodes and Reid and LRT are all expected back next year. Tippett won't be suspended for half the season. Players like Membrey, Rohan and maybe Towers are breathing down his neck fighting for spots in next year's forward line. He's not going to be in the best 22, even after the relatively good show he's put on when opportunity finally came knocking.

Other clubs have taken notice of his decent form, and some of them are crying out for a player like him, They have a clear spot for him in their senior team. Collingwood is an obvious case in point. They recruited Lynch to provide big-bodied senior support to Cloke, and to pinch hit in the ruck but it was clear early in the season that Lynch was on his last legs. They were forced to play their best key defender as a forward just so that Cloke wasn't triple teamed the whole time. By the end of the season, they have also realised that their number one ruckman of the past few seasons is physically shot, and delist him, leaving two very young and inexperienced rucks to lead the way in 2014, supported by the near pensioner in Hudson. They desperately need someone like Jesse who they don't expect to become a world beater but has a definite role to play over the next couple of seasons. They offer him a 3 year contract. Jesse may never get another opportunity. His stocks aren't going to rise if he plays another season or two in the NEAFL and he's 25 already, so should be in peak of his career. He can't afford to wait around for another two years for Goodes and LRT to retire and hope that no-one else has emerged ahead of him.

If I were Jesse, I know what I would do.

[gumby_bolts]

Great post Liz. I wish him all the best, seems like a nice guy and why shouldn't he make the most of his opportunities.

[Go Swannies]

A good summary Liz. There are times when I resent a player leaving but I'd be happy for Jesse if he gets a chance to keep improving at another club, even Collingwood. He was so much help when we really needed him at the end of 2013 and it'd be heart-breaking for him to go back to the 2s in 2014 when we have those ahead of him back in the team again.

The attempted trade for Tippett was certainly a wake up for Jesse and being traded to another team may be the next impetus to realise more of his potential. Good on him. If by leaving he gives us the ability to trade for H Shaw he should leave with our gratitude, both for the end of this year and the beginning of next.

[ernie koala]

Spot on Liz.

IMO, the only chance of White remaining at the Swans, is if Mummy is elsewhere.

[ShockOfHair]

Spot on Liz.

IMO, the only chance of White remaining at the Swans, is if Mummy is elsewhere.

+1. Well said Liz. We are overburdened with quality talls. No surprise seeing Jesse wanting to go while the going is good.

But I'm thinking more the opposite of Ernie, and as this story suggests: if White goes, Mumford is far more likely to stay.

Pies, Dogs in mix for Sydney big man Jesse White

[Ludwig]

Great writeup Liz. Should go into the 2013 History of the Swans archives.

I've been a big Jesse supporter this year, but have always said that if we sign him, we have to consider him in our best 22. I would have have preferred to see Mummy go and Jesse stay. But as you have pointed out, from Jesse's perspective he is better off at someplace like Collingwood. I thought Brisbane would also be a good fit, but he says he wants to move to Victoria.

Hope we get a deal for him.

[Melbournehammer]

Great post Liz, and that's part of the reason why I don't even care what we get for him. He was, I am pretty sure told, similar to svhauble in 2005, that he wouldn't get a game. But he stuck at it, didn't let his head drop and kept going. And he deserves a lot of praise in my mind for continuing to contribute in both the twos and more recently the ones when it was clear that the coaching staff didn't want to play him.

Imagine being at any workplace and turning up day after day with your papers marked only in case of last resort.

I hope he makes a real go of it wherever he goes.

[DK_]

Brilliant post Liz! I'm a big Jesse fan, and I'll be sorry to see him go, but cannot argue with your logic. He simply will not get a game in a team with Goodes, Reid, Tippett, Mumford and LRT.

Looking at it from the Swans point of view, you wouldn't want a player of that quality and age languishing in the reserves either. On top of taking up a list spot which could be filled by a future superstar, he would take up a lot of salary cap space for a backup player. Plus, he can only keep his chin up for so long before he becomes a cultural issue.

As unpleasant as it is for fans, this time of the year isn't about holding onto as many good players as possible. It's about getting the team balance across the field and across the years right. This means letting go of some quality players who have greater value elsewhere to get our hands on other team's quality players or quality draft picks.

We should be glad that Jesse had the perseverance and put in the hard work to increase his value this year. He was bumbling towards a delisting, but is now very valuable on the market, which is great for both Jesse and the Swans.

FWIW, I think he'll be a great fit for the Pies. Aside from the tattoo and empty CHF spots that others have raised, by all reports, he's a great clubman who has demonstrated a really good attitude in trying circumstances this year. For a team trying to effect cultural change like the Pies, this would be gold.

WRT his manager, Jesse himself tweeted that Jude will be his man about a week ago, though going by the SMH article, he hasn't taken over yet.

[Matt80]

Great post Liz.

If he was to get to Collingwood, he would do very well there! I still believe he is more talented than Sam Reid due to his superior kicking, greater physical durability and the ability to Pinch Hit in the ruck. Sam Reid is the better high mark and is more effective at defensive pressure!

The club has chosen Sam Reid as their preferred key position player and I hope he comes good! To be getting multiple soft tissue injuries as a 22 year old is very concerning and usually impacts players 10 years his senior!

If Jesse does get to Collingwood, I would probably prefer that the Swans received a good draft pick over an established player like Shaw. We could save the money and be ready for a big free agency push as the end of 2014, when some Swans big names are ready to retire. We need to also insure that we are paying players like K. Jack, Kennedy and Hananbery what they are worth!

[BillyRayCypress]

Good write up Liz.

Football is a meat market for players and they should do everything to look after their own long term welfare.