2019 trading, drafting and list management: players and personnel

[Auntie.Gerald]

Yesterday I went back and looked at the top25 players from the drafts of 2016,2017,2018 etc

Fascinating to look who has progressed and who has not - so far - given they are still young ie turned 21 years of age this year are the oldest players

It got me thinking about our drafted players and in particular what roles they can play for our club given our current list and or possible recruitments this season.

I thought of Will Hayward and where he is at for our club and his year that went backwards but so often occurs for 19/20 yr olds.........and it made wonder - would I take Jamie Elliot to play the same role if Jamie was keen and is a free agent ? Would the difference in their salaries of $250k pa plus be worth it to take Jamie ? Or can Will go up a gear in 2020 and truly be a year in year out 30 goal pa kicker for us ?

I forgot that we took Will at pick 21 that we actually bid on Isaac Cumming first and GWS had to take Isaac at pick 20 from us.

Isaac is a fast running HBF who has had tough competition for a spot in the snrs ie Wilson playing that link role predominantly for GwS the last few years and prior Williams who went to Freeo and Shaw playing the qtr back role and Finlayson prior on the HBF but now more so HFF.
Isaac from all accounts was eased in for 8 games or so this season in Snrs.

So......Is our Forward line and best 22 better for Will Hayward playing?

What role does Will get now that Buddy, Sam Reid, Heeney and paps and Blakey and McCartin are more on the lead which is Hayward’s strength and a tough springy match up for defenders.

Can Will play a better role for us on the wing or off the HBF with his vertical leap and marking ability ? Similar to Sicily reinventing himself and similar build height etc

Hayward - 187cm and 84kg
Sicily - 186cm and 87kg

Ie both play well above their heights but Sicily a little heavier now 4 years older.

Or has Will got a desire to head to Adelaide and therefore trade currency for us?......as a pick 21 and 53 games in 3 years .....is Will a possible trade to a team like Adelaide who are running the bus thru their list right now and reenergising their player group?

Ie Will might be a pick 15-20 in a trade depending who the club is and or worth more as part of a trade like a crouch etc ?

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/sydney-swans-turned-will-hayward-away-after-their-first-meeting-20170428-gvurzk.html

[707]

Too much time on your hands Auntie, Will is very happy in Sydney, very close with Ollie, those two Paps, Ronke & McCartin are touring Europe together this off season. Will was frustrated with injury all this season but has had the surgery early to hopefully get in a full pre-season.

Keep on thinking Auntie but Will is going no where (other than Europe)

[Ralph Dawg]

Yesterday I went back and looked at the top25 players from the drafts of 2016,2017,2018 etc

Fascinating to look who has progressed and who has not - so far - given they are still young ie turned 21 years of age this year are the oldest players

It got me thinking about our drafted players and in particular what roles they can play for our club given our current list and or possible recruitments this season.

I thought of Will Hayward and where he is at for our club and his year that went backwards but so often occurs for 19/20 yr olds.........and it made wonder - would I take Jamie Elliot to play the same role if Jamie was keen and is a free agent ? Would the difference in their salaries of $250k pa plus be worth it to take Jamie ? Or can Will go up a gear in 2020 and truly be a year in year out 30 goal pa kicker for us ?

I forgot that we took Will at pick 21 that we actually bid on Isaac Cumming first and GWS had to take Isaac at pick 20 from us.

Isaac is a fast running HBF who has had tough competition for a spot in the snrs ie Wilson playing that link role predominantly for GwS the last few years and prior Williams who went to Freeo and Shaw playing the qtr back role and Finlayson prior on the HBF but now more so HFF.
Isaac from all accounts was eased in for 8 games or so this season in Snrs.

So......Is our Forward line and best 22 better for Will Hayward playing?

What role does Will get now that Buddy, Sam Reid, Heeney and paps and Blakey and McCartin are more on the lead which is Hayward’s strength and a tough springy match up for defenders.

Can Will play a better role for us on the wing or off the HBF with his vertical leap and marking ability ? Similar to Sicily reinventing himself and similar build height etc

Hayward - 187cm and 84kg
Sicily - 186cm and 87kg

Ie both play well above their heights but Sicily a little heavier now 4 years older.

Or has Will got a desire to head to Adelaide and therefore trade currency for us?......as a pick 21 and 53 games in 3 years .....is Will a possible trade to a team like Adelaide who are running the bus thru their list right now and reenergising their player group?

Ie Will might be a pick 15-20 in a trade depending who the club is and or worth more as part of a trade like a crouch etc ?

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/...28-gvurzk.html

Trading Will would be equivalent to Longmire trading his own son! Those 2 are tight as. I think Will will bounce back in 2020 and maybe as you suggest, expand his playing role given he will be a third year player.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, surprised he is comparable in size to Sicily. Wonder how he would go in defence, marking up on guys like Toby Greene or even guys slightly bigger?

[bloodspirit]

Will is a major talent. He hasn't had his best year but there's no way we want to trade him. He's a big part of our future. Worth way more to us than a pick 15-20! I told you I think some people here underrate Will. (I know you're not saying he's no good AG, just that we can perhaps do better - a legitimate point of view but not one I share.)

[Hotpotato]

Cycling past the Moore Park Oval yesterday , stopped to watch the Under 15 Academy boys playing a practice match.
Their skill level was impressive, especially kicking and slick handball.
Can’t give you any names, but really enjoyed watching.

[TheGong]

Cycling past the Moore Park Oval yesterday , stopped to watch the Under 15 Academy boys playing a practice match.
Their skill level was impressive, especially kicking and slick handball.
Can’t give you any names, but really enjoyed watching.

Great to hear. William Sabolch from the u15’s made the All Australian U15 side. I think he would be the first academy member since Callum Mills to be selected. I am a bit disappointed that I can’t find any mention of this on the Swan’s site or the academy Facebook page.

[waswan]

Get Will a tank and put him in the midfield resting forward

[SeanM]

Pick 20 for Will Hayward from Adelaide could be worth considering.

Hayward seems like a good medium forward. He is fast, can take a leaping mark, pressures defensively and was a good kick. I was happy when we drafted him because we did not have that type of player.

I am not sure who we would take with pick 20 to replace him though.

[stellation]

Will is a major talent. He hasn't had his best year but there's no way we want to trade him. He's a big part of our future. Worth way more to us than a pick 15-20! I told you I think some people here underrate Will. (I know you're not saying he's no good AG, just that we can perhaps do better - a legitimate point of view but not one I share.)

I'd be very surprised if they considered trading him out without a handsome return; talent aside, they've invested quite a lot of senior game time into him- he's only turning 21 next month and has already played >50 games/kicked >60 goals.

[waswan]

No chance for trade, he is about to pay off considerimg his age.
Never get what he is worth

[Ludwig]

The current version of the Swans has been 6 years in the making, starting with the 2013 drafting of Jones, Hewett, Aliir and Rampe. And we've continued on with this 'rebuild on the run' ever since, year after year. Now that this group of players from the past 6 drafts is ready to take over the major responsibility of moving the club forward, some are suggesting we trade out players from this group for yet more draft picks, thus entering into an era of the perpetual rebuild.

We do not need more draft picks.

We need to keep the current group together, and intact if at all possible.

I don't think this year is one for major change. Perhaps next year will be. We will assess that strategy in the context of next September.

There's an article about Victorian clubs and Tom Cutler:

Carlton and Collingwood are “sniffing around” out-of-contract fringe Lion Tom Cutler, reports the Herald Sun.


After playing 18 of a possible 22 games in 2018, Cutler has struggled with a foot injury and, to a lesser extent, form during Brisbane’s remarkable rise to premiership contenders this season.

I've mentioned Tom as a player that I think the Swans should target this year. I hope our hat is in the ring.

. . . . .

On another matter, Mick McGuane on SEN named Lachie Whitfield as a player Hawthorn should target. Well, how many players from other clubs 'should' Hawthorn be targeting; especially from northern clubs. Don't they ever have to go to the draft. The only good players under 30 on their list that they've drafted themselves are Breust, Sicily and Worpel.

What I would love to see from GWS is "Giants targeting James Sicily as long term replacement for Heath Shaw." Makes a lot of sense. Why don't clubs start targeting Hawthorn's best players? It seems like there's an unwritten rule that says Hawthorn can go after any player they want and get them on the cheap, but for players to go in the other direction is verboten.

[Blood Fever]

I'd be very surprised if they considered trading him out without a handsome return; talent aside, they've invested quite a lot of senior game time into him- he's only turning 21 next month and has already played >50 games/kicked >60 goals.

South traded Terry Daniher at a similar age. He probably hadn't shown as much as Will by age 20. That was a disaster, almost up there with selling rights to Wayne Carey and John Longmire IIRC. Settle down about WH.

[bloodspirit]

.....is Will a possible trade to a team like Adelaide who are running the bus thru their list right now and reenergising their player group?

You asked... and now you have our unequivocal reply.

I (almost) completely agree with Ludwig's last post. I'm not excited about Tom Cutler (although I recall the year Brisbane drafting him and they got a lot of likely players in that draft, not all of them have come good) but Ludwig has made some good (and also some not so good) calls over the years. One good call that I would like to remember and acknowledge was the suggestion to see if we could get Finlayson: that was a good call. Too bad we didn't make it happen. But we can't listen to Ludwig all the time else we'd have a list comprising Abaina Davis, Tony Olango and somewhere between -3 and 8 rucks.

[Blood Relative]

Just read GWS will give up Patton for a 3rd rounder to the Hawks. How the hell do they continue to do such good deals? I need a new dryer, maybe should take one of the Hawks management down to the Good Guys to negotiate for me!

That is hilarious

[bloodspirit]

I don't know if this is good news or bad news about Bennell: More surgery for Bennell as he attempts to find new home - AFL.com.au. They're telling it like it's good news but it's more surgery. I suppose it could be good if it fixes the problems but seems pretty up in the air. I guess it does suggest they found something they thought they could fix that hasn't already been fixed giving rise to the idea that it could be fixed. Overall I'm struggling to see it as a positive that a player we are considering recruiting who has a long history of calf problems is having more surgery on, you guessed it, his calves.