2019 trading, drafting and list management: players and personnel

[wolftone57]

It's far too early in the season to project that we should go after a star player this year. It doesn't pay to put a lot of salary cap into a star at the top of his game, like Coniglio, if we're not in the premiership window, as they say.

The Swans have a lot of young players with high potential. We need to leave spots for them to develop. If not, our own future stars will want to go elsewhere for more opportunity. We don't want to create another Tom Mitchell situation.

We also need to retain players like Zak Jones, who are now coming into their prime.

I mentioned in another thread that I thought we had 6 players in our NEAFL team on Sunday who could easily become fixture in our 2020 side: COR, Melican, Stoddart, Ling, Cameron and Rowbottom. There are several others who are playing well and could also be challenging for spots, like Bell and Amartey. The only mature player in our senior side last week who might not be around next year is KJ, so we have a lot of players looking to get into the side and not that many going out.

It will be interesting to see how the team is going in August and what we think about our future prospects. We might see a turnaround within this season, putting us back on an upward trajectory.

A lot happens during the season beyond expectations.

I think there is an advantage of having a closely aged group of players coming through system together. It could presage a sustained period of premiership contention.

I don't agree that Jack will be the only player leaving. Macca and Reg are both on one year contracts and I don't think thry will be offered another contract. Rose, Pink (although a bit sad about this kid as I think he is jilust starting to dhow a bit after horrific injuries), Clarke if he doesn't come good.

Sent from my ANE-LX2J using Tapatalk

[stevoswan]

I don't agree that Jack will be the only player leaving. Macca and Reg are both on one year contracts and I don't think thry will be offered another contract.

Read Liz's previous post....posted 16 minutes before yours.

[Ludwig]

I don't agree that Jack will be the only player leaving. Macca and Reg are both on one year contracts and I don't think thry will be offered another contract. Rose, Pink (although a bit sad about this kid as I think he is jilust starting to dhow a bit after horrific injuries), Clarke if he doesn't come good.

Sent from my ANE-LX2J using Tapatalk

I figure there will be the usual 7-9 list changes this year, but that's just the normal course of business. Perhaps we will add another Irishman, a delisted or unwanted player or 2 from another club, a couple of academy kids and our 1st 2 ND draft picks. None of this changes the situation I was addressing. The remaining 35 players or so will all be competing for spots in the senior side, most having some legitimate claim for consideration. The main point is that the past 6 drafts have produced a higher than usual number of AFL quality players who will need to develop at senior level after doing a year or 2 apprenticeship in the NEAFL, and our capacity to find spots for those deserving players.

[caj23]

Read Liz's previous post....posted 16 minutes before yours.

It’s excluding some pretty important details when talking retirements and salary cap space hence wolfs comments

[wolftone57]

Are you sure we have cap space? Buddy's contract is heavily back ended.

We definitely have cap space

Sent from my ANE-LX2J using Tapatalk

[chammond]

We definitely have cap space

Sent from my ANE-LX2J using Tapatalk

How do you know that?

[caj23]

How do you know that?

The club has stated we have

[ugg]

Saints are chasing the out of contract Zak Jones according to afl.com.au

Need for speed: Saints to target out-of-contract Swans jet - AFL.com.au

[Steve]

Premiership teams inevitably have a combination of drafted players as well as those brought in from other clubs - and usually multiple players who weren’t ‘big name’ signings.

When you look at the players who have moved clubs for greater opportunities across the league in the last few years, it is glaring that we have missed out.

Hopefully that is just a combination of the trade ban, and then a priority to draft a core of players who we wanted to give the opportunities to - rather than us trying and failing to attract such players. And that once we settle that core of young talent we can start to bring in the next version of a young Kennedy / Mumford / C.Bolton / Jolly / Richards etc etc.

We have had some bad luck as well - I think if Naismith wasn’t injured we wouldn’t be talking about Nankervis, and it seemed perfectly reasonable to offer Hannebery a big contract at the time given his performance and age back then.

[Auntie.Gerald]

I remember a fair few not liking Richards and Grundy in their first season or two here

When I watched kennedy at the hawks I thought his skill levels were terrible

Will be interesting to watch Thurlow and Clarke

I expect Menzel to have an impact as soon as he is playing and could really help with his2 goal per game average

[liz]

I remember a fair few not liking Richards and Grundy in their first season or two here

When I watched kennedy at the hawks I thought his skill levels were terrible

Will be interesting to watch Thurlow and Clarke

I expect Menzel to have an impact as soon as he is playing and could really help with his2 goal per game average

Grundy is an odd player to include in this comment.

[caj23]

I remember a fair few not liking Richards and Grundy in their first season or two here

When I watched kennedy at the hawks I thought his skill levels were terrible

Will be interesting to watch Thurlow and Clarke

I expect Menzel to have an impact as soon as he is playing and could really help with his2 goal per game average

Yes I'm with you AG, even though Clarke and Thurlow have had some bad games I'm not writing either of them off yet.

Thurlow has shown he can get the pill, but his disposal and decision making (which was supposedly his strength) has been poor.

I feel Clarke has been played out of position, he was bought in to replace Hanners gut running on a wing and should be used that way. Having said that his disposal has also been poor. I don't think I've ever seen someone with such poor handball skills at AFL level. How he has got this far without something so simple being remedied is puzzling, its easiest skill to learn

[Ludwig]

Saints are chasing the out of contract Zak Jones according to afl.com.au

Need for speed: Saints to target out-of-contract Swans jet - AFL.com.au

Nothing new here. The Saints and NM target everything not bolted to the ground.

No one would be surprised if we offered Jones something like a 5 year deal between $3-4 million. That would get him through the free agency start in 2 years and take him to 29 yo.

In his 6th year, it's just about when these players start producing at their peak level. He's a very important component of the team and will surely be treated as such. He's not a player we can afford to lose, considering where we are in our rebuild.

[wolftone57]

Yes I'm with you AG, even though Clarke and Thurlow have had some bad games I'm not writing either of them off yet.

Thurlow has shown he can get the pill, but his disposal and decision making (which was supposedly his strength) has been poor.

I feel Clarke has been played out of position, he was bought in to replace Hanners gut running on a wing and should be used that way. Having said that his disposal has also been poor. I don't think I've ever seen someone with such poor handball skills at AFL level. How he has got this far without something so simple being remedied is puzzling, its easiest skill to learn

I could be wrong but I have mostly seen Clarke running off the wing.

Sent from my ANE-LX2J using Tapatalk

[caj23]

Nothing new here. The Saints and NM target everything not bolted to the ground.

No one would be surprised if we offered Jones something like a 5 year deal between $3-4 million. That would get him through the free agency start in 2 years and take him to 29 yo.

In his 6th year, it's just about when these players start producing at their peak level. He's a very important component of the team and will surely be treated as such. He's not a player we can afford to lose, considering where we are in our rebuild.

I think 5 years at $800k is overpaying and that's what got us into trouble in the first place. He's a good player but I'm not sure he'll ever be a real topliner. 5 @ $600k is probably close to the mark