I'd argue that bar Betts and Waite prior to signing the infamous last 3 year deal that there was any value in the names listed, but I'm not going to argue opinon.

We tried Bootsma and Lucas for example last season for no takers. Unofficially West Coast having 'slight' interest in regards to a late pick or a trade for an Ash Smith type was as far as we got.

I'd agree that in previous year we have been risk adverse. There was offers in picks for Russell, Thornton and Whitnall that we knocked back that would have been handy. Then there is of course the 'Kreuzer/Boyd' pick 1 deal, that may or may not have happened.....

Not many clubs now are willing to throw picks at average players. The ability to pick up players for 'nothing' in free agency, the reality of how strong GC and GWS should be in a few years, the elite standard of Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong etc means most teams aren't looking to top up and would rather go to draft to rebuild and use last picks or the rookie draft to acquire recycled types.

Most clubs are reluctant to put names on the trade table to try and improve their draft or list position.

Most of the big deals done this year revolved around players who were wanting to leave for reasons beyond the clubs doing. Boyd, Griffen, Beams, Ryder, Christensen, Jaksch, Ryder, Frost, Patfull, Jones, O'Rourke.

Probably only Stanley and Cooney trades came out of the blue in regards to movements that seemed to be more orchestrated by the club than the player.

Fringe players at a club that has not finished better than 5th in nearly 15 years aren't highly sort after. As an example Hawthorn were premiers, yet could only get picks in the late 40's for Hallahan, and slight pick upgrades for Cheney and Lowden.

Another is Sydney who got nothing for Biggs this year, and a slight pick upgrade for a guy who played 20 games in 2013 in Everitt.

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"They're [REDACTED]'

If only I had been saying this about some of these names for years...

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Getting value for Bootsma was never on the cards. Lucas remains a player that I would have opted to keep and continue working with, especially with those kinds of offers.


You'd have been silly to entertain trading Kreuzer at that point in time. Still would IMO.

Thornton would be a prime example of extracting value. Lance and Russell deals depend on when they were offered and what was offered of course.


Which is why you trade a year before contract expiration at the minimum.

A frank discussion with the player about their prospects vs the team prospects for the likely remainder of their career and then you make the move. Pragmatism usually works.


Conversely clubs didn't seem to want to be parting with top 40 picks too often.

Naturally GWS were going to be looking to upgrade their draft position, but so did Geelong, while Hawthorn moved out of pick 19 for a pick 2 bust that would probably go 5-25 in this draft. Two of the best drafting clubs in recent memory and they don't want to be in this allegedly even spread... hmmm.


The next 5-8 at any football club are worth looking at, as evidenced by the bulk of the trades made this year. We're set to secure a total of 4 of such players by the time the PSD is finished, and we've likely lost 3 of our own to other clubs.

The pick downgrades for players are keeping the list alive at the moment. Or is everyone else comfortable with culling a third of the list in one off-season?


Hawthorn picked Cheney as he was getting delisted from Melbourne, Hawthorn just moved him on the same way. Like I said, top 40 picks were not given up easily and Hallahan is a foot soldier for Hawthorn, not part of the core squad; value trade.

Lowden had potential but had no real currency outside of Hawthorn. Still got value out of him.


Biggs is a mature age player who was shuffled onto the Swans senior list as slowly as possible. Everitt was the result of signing Buddy on a shit ton, and he wasn't the only fallout.

These aren't examples of situations where you can swing value. Hawthorns are, and they did. It wasn't much, but it's more than we managed with players of lesser overall value.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

I'm comfortable with it. The most frustrating part of the Ratten years was watching the same players make the same mistakes over and over again. If anything Mick's first season was wasted as there was minimal turnover between '12 and '13.

I agree there now has been 3 yrs of list turnover crammed into 2 yrs and we might not get everything right but the trade ins worked last year and look promising for this. Drafting too early to be assessed but if Sheahan can get up to speed in 14 games then perhaps development is heading in the right direction as well.

To my eye there was a line in the sand moment during last season that coincided with Warnock being dropped. Sure Wood is nothing but a good honest battler but having 18 players rather than 17 and a statue on the ground just seemed to allow us to control our defensive pressure for longer and retain the ball longer than we had been (except the PA game).

Most of the players seemed to embrace what was happening at the end of the season and those who didn't have been moved on hopefully to bring in others who will.

Of the players we have lost:
Waite: at the end of last year the club probably viewed him as having 1 season left. A loyal, 1 club player who would see out his career with us. Until his late season form revival he'd done little to change that opinion of him. He tried maximising that form resurgence and the club chose to play hardball, as it should have with a player of his age and history. No free agency compensation is a bugger, but realistically I feel as though the club played that right.
Betts: wanted to move adelaide and adelaide knew it a year before it happened. They weren't going to pay fair value in a trade when they knew they were getting him for free 12 months later. I'd prefer the club to hold on to him. Get the value out of him for 12 months and try and change his mind rather than accept a below value trade.
Garlett: had value until his off field behaviour started to match up with his on field slump. Clubs were aware of his off field issues and this severely dented his value. Should he have been on the trade table a year earlier? Well that depends whether the club could've foreseen the issues occurring and whether the club would be comfortable off loading a player who is deteriorating off field. Something about duping a rival club with a trade when we thought these issues might occur seems like bad trade karma to me.
Robinson: clearly has value, and again is a potential player that we could've traded a year earlier instead. Hands were tied by this off season as everyone knew he was going to be delisted. This is probably the only player I feel we've failed to get true value for and missed an opportunity.
Bootsma: we tried last year. No value.
Lucas: again, we tried last year and I think most supporters agreed he was worth persisting with rather than accepting a very late draft pick in return (which we probably wouldn't have used).

Overall I don't think we could've extracted much out of that group, and every club is in a similar situation with losing players for minimal return that supporters believe should've been worth more.

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@cecil_anderson

Nah i think you are over rating those players.. Waite would have value, but no one would have supported trading a fs.
I think mick has been incredibly fair. He has given the entire list a thorough looking over. No knee jerk reactions. He has given all players time to show what is required, often with judicious use of the reserves.
These players have been found wanting. They are incapable of following the malthouse philosophy

Malthouse joined the club at the end of 2012. In the 2 years since there are only 17 players left at the club from the primary list of 38 that he inherited.

Walker
Murphy
Gibbs
Judd
Simpson
Buckley
Kreuzer
Watson
Warnock
Yarran
Rowe
Henderson
Armfield
Jamieson
White
Carrazzo
Ellard


There are 4 Rookie players still at the club who were elevated at the end of that season

Bell
Curnow
Casboult
Tuohy

Since 2012 it has been goodbye to

Russell
Lucas
Robinson
McLean
Laidler
Collins
Bower
Betts
Bootsma
Hampson
McCarthy
Mitchell
McInnes
Scotland
Waite
Davies
Thorton
Duigan
Kerr
Garlett
Joseph

Temay has come and gone as have some other rookies.

You would imagine that 2015 could also see the end of Judd, Carrazzo, Armfield, Warnock, Watson and possibly Ellard

This is similar to what Malthouse did at the Filth in 1999 and he made it to GFs in 2002 and 2003. The list has now been pared back to a core group of players who can play.



2 years is a long time in Footy and 3 is a generation.

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Ecclesiastes 1:4, "One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but The Blues abide forever."

Wow that's an awful list

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

The delistings over the past few years are exactly what has been needed. Next year, there will be a few more. Go through any of the match day threads to see people screaming for these players to be cut, as mentioned earlier, due to them making the same mistakes over and over.

The list was ageing significantly - and on the way down. Combined with players with less than perfect attitudes or limited skills - this is exactly what many have been calling for.

Well done blues for taking the kiddy gloves off. Granted, in some cases we should have received greater value, but it just depends on the market. Especially if we wanted them gone ASAP.

We've been calling for the club to get ruthless with list management for years.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

That goodbye list is a timely reminder to those who think we're not getting value for departing players.
Not a lot of success stories there.
I feel better about the direction the is now heading than I have for over a decade.

The most promising thing is that the players we have added to the squad since then are

Menzel
Docherty
Cripps
Giles
Holman
Graham
Everitt
Thomas
Jaksch
Whiley
Jones

With the following Rookies still at the club

Wood
Sheehan
Johnson

At this stage no-one is calling for any of their heads.

That leaves us with 6 spots on the primary list plus rookies.
I would imagine we will pick up 4 draftees and 1 or 2 delisted free agents, possibly leaving a spot open to elevate Wood.

In my eyes it's been short term pain for long term gain and the future's so bright I have to wear shades.

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Ecclesiastes 1:4, "One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but The Blues abide forever."

Actually I have strong reservations about Holman, Whiley and Johnson as long term prospects; but they're not all going to be winners.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Agree with jimmae on Holman and Johnson. Though I do think Whiley can play.

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O say does that star spangled banner yet wave.

The great thing is though, that this time we've quite a few of the proverbial "irons in the fire". We're not hanging our hopes on that #1 draft pick or expensive free agent. Sure, some of those kids won't make it, but some probably will. There seems to be that many blokes I'm looking forward to seeing in action next year it's as if the ND kids are just a bonus.

I agree.

Unusual comment from Jimmae.
Obviously the recruiters see something there, not sure what Jimmae doesn't see.

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dane's trolling again

The beauty of the Mick regime is that the Holman's Johnson's et als of the world will be gone if they can't cut it. None of the McCarthy,Mitchell, Austin, Bower list clogging of previous regimes.

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Ecclesiastes 1:4, "One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but The Blues abide forever."

Seeing the list turn over like this will surely make the fringe players work even harder.

Hone your craft, play your role effectively, when it's your turn, go at 100%.

It's called professionalism.

A coach can work with that.

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We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion.

You are a shocking judge of trade and recruitment value and incapable of acknowledging the improvement. Keep posting and we will keep scratching our heads

Bone vibration

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