bluehammer wrote:
mojo31 wrote:
You want to trade Stevens then do it for value.
Ask for pick 10 from the Pies or pick 12 or is it 11 ? from the Saints.
Both need class in the midfield. Both might think they are not far off a serious tilt at winning it. For me the Pies are not close enough and it would be silly but you never know. Saints with Hayes back and the injection of Stevens would go pretty close next year with a reasonable run with injuries.
Those picks fall smack bang in the section where a quality runner will be available.
Gibbs, Leunberger, Thorp, Sellar, Gumby and Hansen are gone already (you would think) and then runners like Proud/Jetta/Collard and Selwood come into the picture. Throw Riewoldt in and you look at pick 10 to 12 and can see you either get a very good midiflelder or get "lucky" and do even better with a tall dropping through inexplicible.
You get a pick at 15 to 20 and we start to enter an area of a lot of ? about who is left and what to do. 10 to 12 players in the draft who are top 5 most other years.
After that its Connors, Brock, Schmidt, Benjamin and others who are very good prospects but not as good as the others before . I think we can get 1 of those at 17.
But doubt very much we will get the speed/flair/skill of Proud/Jetta/Collard or class of Selwood at 17.
Those 4 will play right away (if Selwood's knee is passed fit before the draft). Jetta is short but is not skinny. Collard is bigger than Murphy. Proud is Murphy + 5 kgs and Selwood is 6 foot 1 and 80kgs (at least).
It wont be a 5 year wait on those players.
So to me is you want to trade Stevens then you would do it for that. Midfielder for midfielder in the draft and pout yourself in a spot where you cant miss one of those 4 or get lucky with someone else dropping through (like a Thorp or Sellar etc - very unlikely as it is).
One of those players on the half forward flank kicking a few goals and slowly pushing into the midfield and changing with Murphy would brighten up the brand a bit. Give us some genuine silk in the forward line and create a few goals with precise kicking and goal sense and an ability to take players on.
Selwood is different than the other 3 and is more like Murphy and is a Luke Ball clone in style. Which we can also use and give us a feeder to our few good delivers of the ball in Murphy/Scotland and Kade (assuming we traded Stevens). All 4 would help our run and class a greta deal and generate some excitement in games.
We can pick up more blue collar workwers at 17/19 and 35. Players with less scope to improve and maybe a bit more developed but not quite the level of class and skill.
Players like Hislop/Petterd/Armitage/Boak/Moss/Urquhart etc.
and hope that the "in between" level of Brock/Schmidt/Connors etc slides through to 17.
Well summarised as always Mojo.
As mentioned in my post for troybond's amusement, there are people like your good self and I'd hope Wayne Hughes who know a lot more about what will likely be available at different points in the draft.
This really all depends on how a given club values Stevens.
A club like West Coast wouldn't give a pinch of shit - no need. Collingwood however need running midfielders (Licuria and O'Bree, anyone??

) and would value him more.
But we shouldn't entertain any trade whatsoever because "you don't get rid of good players"

Trading with teams who have coaches under pressure and perhaps an "inflated' opinion of there list also.
Geelong, North, Us, Essendon* and a few others have coaches under pressure. Maybe Malthouse is.
Maybe the new coach of the Saints will be picked and told its all out to win a flag in the next 2 years. Maybe its not and a gradual rebuild is what will be looked at.
The salary cap goes up 450 next year. 500k the year after. So teams have room depending on who they re-sign now.
You would think the Didak injury will mean the Pies feel they cant challenge seriously next year. Maybe they think they would have anyway and getting Stevens will cement that.
I would not be in a hurry to trade Stevens. More to give him support and use him better. But if a good offer comes then I would consider it. To me thats pick 10 to 12 in this draft. Its more than Stevenes is worth all said and done and its in our favour.
But thats why you do trades. You dont do them if its not in your favour.
I think Stevens is worth 15 to 20 in this draft. 10 to 12 is the premium I place on doing it as well as stategically positioning the club right where we can get a very very good runner to add to our biggest weakness.
Thats how you can trade a midfielder from the "worst midfield in the comp" and make some sense of it. That one is directed at TroyBond.
Its taking a calculated risk and getting younger and assuming the risk the youngster will not make it/versus getting a player who will be blossoming if they do in the period of time when we will be much better.
Its opening the window a bit down the track and foregoing a few years of performance now in a calculated sacrifice.
Its also a way to cut the salary cap back a bit to re-sign Thornton and Fish and JR if its needed on top of that.
Thank god we have Kouta re-signed is all I can say.
Him being a 22 year old KP defender and all.... with his whole career in front of him..... we look a bit thin down back if we had not locked him away.