2023 List Management

[Captain]

Yeah I'm not too worried either. Aside from the ruck, we have a good list.

[Blood Fever]

Agree. Reckon we still will make a move or two though.

[KSAS]

TB appears to have changed his mind going by earlier reports he was a formality. Sounds similar Papley going to Carlton few years back when he had several years remaining on his contract and also decided to stay put. Contracts need to have some binding.

On another note, heard Gerard Healy on SEN recently say Dylan Stevens has been a "flop" for a pick 5. Suggesting he could be tried down back in defence where his gut running & foot skills might be of good use.

[111431]

I also wonder if we're targeting more than high profile players - I assume we are.

Two of the club's great recruits were players who couldn't crack a regular game in hot sides - Craig Bolton and Josh Kennedy.

Who fits the bill these days? Even Collingwood admits Fin McRae would be getting a game at 90% of other sides, and he's a good sized midfielder who finds it plenty. I assume the Pies will fight to keep him given they've got an ageing midfield, but you never know. What other players are out there that fit our needs that we might be able to wrinkle out?

Jordan or Swallow from Melbourne. I'm not sure which one, but one of them has been on the fringe all season and is a pretty solidly built midfielder

[BRS328]

You can’t be serious. Have you given thought to the fact that the cost of living in Sydney requires any player interested in moving to demand a COL allowance. The AFL in their wisdom chooses to ignore this basic fact. It is clear to most sensible people that this is the reason why the southern football states continually target the Swans and GWS players, and will continue to do so as long as the inequity exists.
Ask yourself why is it that most companies that move people other states do factor this into their salary packages. Football is no different

[Auntie.Gerald]

I forgot that North may get significant compensation for Mackay if he leaves......which makes it much more possible re a good value move for an incoming club.

For me he makes alot of sense at the right price for us to have a lot more flexibility to our game style. He is a serious mark.

Inside Trading: Key Blue starts talks, Roos hold firm on McKay, Docker hits trigger

INTRIGUE AS SWAN CHASE HEATS UP
TOM BARRASS' decision to remain at West Coast has added intrigue to Sydney's search for a ready-made key defender, with North Melbourne firming to match an offer for wanted restricted free agent Ben McKay if it doesn't receive top-end compensation.

Barrass, a West Coast premiership player and its reigning best and fairest, told club officials earlier this week that he intends to see out his long-term contract with the Eagles amid significant rival interest from Sydney.

It means the Swans' ongoing hunt for key defensive depth is set to continue into the latter parts of the season, with the club monitoring McKay as he comes to the end of his North Melbourne contract. Sydney has also had interest in re-signed GWS free agent Harry Himmelberg and re-signed Carlton tall Tom De Koning as they look to bolster that area of the ground.

"If Ben decides to leave and the compensation comes through, then we've got a decision to make. If it's end-of-first-round or a second-round pick, then that's probably not what we're after for a player of Ben's ability."

[Auntie.Gerald]

I was just remembering also the difference that Bryan Lake made when traded into the successful Hawthorn team. Coming in an playing such an important role to their structure and ability to nullify. Or Steven May to the Dees

Ben Mackay literally can block out a Hawkins type forward which was our achilles heal along with Dangers crash and bash midfield performance in the GF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1vnlXCDZ2E

Ben McKay | AFL

[longmile]

Third times the charm?

[liz]

The whole Ben McKay situation is fishy.

There is NO club that needs a key defender worthy of level one compensation more than North. They have a stack of ultra-talented smaller players and an excellent youngish key forward and a competent young ruckman who will probably get better. Defence is by far their worst stocked area of the ground, even more so now that Logue will miss the majority of next season.

There is NO club that should have more room in its salary cap to pay a key defender like McKay, even if that means they slightly over pay him for his talent/output. They have to use their salary cap somehow.

So if he really is worthy of round one compensation, just give him a contract offer he can't refuse, rather than chase more shiny young objects at the top end of the draft who will do very little to get the club towards being competitive in the short term.

[Auntie.Gerald]

Liz do you think it also possibly that North know they are vulnerable to the following year where he is a free agent unrestricted. Hence the lobbying for a serious pick via the AFL as they know they wont get enough for a trade?

ie Ben Mackay may be snookered by North for the next 12months (ie north may match any crazy bid) but then North miss out the next year if he decides to leave as a FA unrestricted?

ie he can always walk into the players draft.....which is rare and dangerous with West Coast at the bottom

[Roadrunner]

I was just remembering also the difference that Bryan Lake made when traded into the successful Hawthorn team. Coming in an playing such an important role to their structure and ability to nullify. Or Steven May to the Dees

Ben Mackay literally can block out a Hawkins type forward which was our achilles heal along with Dangers crash and bash midfield performance in the GF

Ben McKay highlights (2021) - YouTube

Ben McKay | AFL

True, Auntie but Ben Mackay is not in the same league as Lake or May, who were/ are top tier.
He has the build but not much of an improvement on Pelican, aside from injury issues. Also, as Liz says, Norf really need him in defence.

Hawkins is near the end of his career and is there another FF with his strength currently playing?

[Thunder Shaker]

This week's Gettable (Free agent's talks 'delicate', Swans' next move, Roos' top four locked):
Topics discussed:
* 1:17: Bottom four clubs including Tom Barrass, North Melbourne's possible interest in Lewis Melican (discussed last week).
* 9:18: Brady Rawlings, North Melbourne's list manager (18:59 McKay, 21:51 Lewis Melican mentioned)
* 28:56: Askable. (32:21 Swans trade targets: key defenders. Players mentioned: Ben McKay NM, Dougal Howard StK, Tom Clurey PA, Adam Tomlinson Melb, Esava Ratogolea Geel, Caleb Graham GC)

[liz]

Liz do you think it also possibly that North know they are vulnerable to the following year where he is a free agent unrestricted. Hence the lobbying for a serious pick via the AFL as they know they wont get enough for a trade?

ie Ben Mackay may be snookered by North for the next 12months (ie north may match any crazy bid) but then North miss out the next year if he decides to leave as a FA unrestricted?

ie he can always walk into the players draft.....which is rare and dangerous with West Coast at the bottom

He won't be a free agent in a year's time if they give him a five year $800k pa contract - which should be the bare minimum another club would have to offer to secure a level one compensation pick (though the way the AFL's secret herbs-and-spices recipes works means that a two year $800k pa contract from another club will probably get that, even if they then extend for another few years on much less money).

I suspect the issue is that they know that McKay isn't very good. He possibly has a questionable attitude. And given he seems to get injured a lot, maybe he isn't especially diligent in his preparation. (And yes, that might be unfair. It might just be bad luck. Or he might have body susceptible to injury that has nothing to do with ordinary preparation, but that wouldn't add to his value.)

North's priority doesn't seem to be to make themselves competitive in the short term. By competitive I don't mean challenging for finals, but able to win a small handful of games next year and the next and losing those that they do lose by under five goals, not by ten goals or more.

Instead they seem to think that bloating the list with lots of high draft picks, staying crap for another year or two so they can put out their hand for more assistance, and then suddenly rocketing to the top of the ladder when those young, high draft picks get bigger, stronger, fitter. Bloating the list with a swell of highly rated youngsters all at once didn't work for Gold Coast. It didn't work (sustainably) for GWS.

[liz]

* 28:56: Askable. (32:21 Swans trade targets: key defenders. Players mentioned: Ben McKay NM, Dougal Howard StK, Tom Clurey PA, Adam Tomlinson Melb, Esava Ratogolea Geel, Caleb Graham GC)

Clurey I don't think is really a key defender. Port are screaming out for a key defender too so they would surely keep him (or at least try to) if he were. Tomlinson isn't a key defender. Howard is OK. Not sure I know why he might be gettable. Do the Saints not rate him? He seems to be in their best 22.

Ratugolea is a big body. He doesn't have much finesse about him. I wouldn't be averse to getting him if we couldn't find anyone else, but the media seem to think Port is in pole position if he leaves Geelong.

I don't know much about Graham. I might go and dig into his background/status.

[waswan]

This week's Gettable (Free agent's talks 'delicate', Swans' next move, Roos' top four locked):
Topics discussed:
* 1:17: Bottom four clubs including Tom Barrass, North Melbourne's possible interest in Lewis Melican (discussed last week).
* 9:18: Brady Rawlings, North Melbourne's list manager (18:59 McKay, 21:51 Lewis Melican mentioned)
* 28:56: Askable. (32:21 Swans trade targets: key defenders. Players mentioned: Ben McKay NM, Dougal Howard StK, Tom Clurey PA, Adam Tomlinson Melb, Esava Ratogolea Geel, Caleb Graham GC)

If thats whats on offer, we definitely need to throw up our first pick for a contracted player