Whew, another week of boring trade week with 11 trades in 7 days and then in the space of four odd hours we see almost 20 trades. So why do we need to extend the week to four weeks again? Today we look at the week, the trades and some of the news including Mitch Clark proving that the Go Home Factor is a load of rubbish.
Talking Points from the Trade Week
GWS Giants Coach Sheedy and his boys were the big winners of the week as they gathered several top picks & now have 11 of the first 14 draft picks
Melbourne, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Hawthorn and GWS were the winners imo this week. Melbourne stepped into the big league by pinching Mitch Clark from Fremantle’s nose while Adelaide have been one of the busiest clubs with seven different trades. GWS have now 11 of the first 14 picks after some clever trading and the Gold Coast picked up the first pick in the mini draft and Matthew Warnock to help strengthen up their defense and upgraded several picks for #24.
Hawks were another winner imo as they get what they wanted with Jack Gunston and Jarrad Boumann as they chase another premiership with their current squad.
It is rumoured that Melbourne was not included in the discussion with Josh Caddy, why not? Surely if the AFL and Josh Caddy was serious about getting back to Melbourne, he would go to any Victorian based club. Its idiotic to think Gold Coast would accept a pick #19 and a dud fringe player from Essendon. However if Melbourne offered one of their Tom Scully Compensation pick – surely it would have had more chance of it happening.
Mitch Clark made noise about coming home to Perth so he could be closer to his grandmother and jailed cousins but when a better offer comes along he takes it. Now the Go Home Factor has been an ongoing discussion for many years (Chris Judd, Jeff White, Des Headland, Shane OBrea, Nick Stevens, Anthony Rocker, Brad Ebert and the list goes on) but maybe just maybe its all bull dust!
If the player really wanted to go home, he would choose any club that could make it possible yet they choose the club they want to go home too. Every player I named above only gave their club the one club to select and deal with. To me the clubs that initially spend the time and money on the kid looses out 9 out 10 times.
The Trades
Now lets looks at the separate clubs and I will let you know what I think of each clubs week.
Adelaide Crows trade week
Gained: Luke Brown, Tom Lynch, Lewis Johnston, Josh Jenkins, Brad Crouch
Draft Selections: 27, 41, 46, 64, 89
IMO besides GWS, Adelaide was the best performed side were while they lost several important players they gained a lot more with Brad Crouch who will be a star and is one of the first times they get access to one of the best kids in the country. Luke Brown will be a top 20 pick in the 2011 draft and Tom Lynch was a 13 pick a few years ago while Lewis Johnston and Josh Jenkins are highly rated.
Brisbane Lions trade week
Gained: Jordan Lisle, 12, 69, Dayne Zorko, 47, Ben Hudson
Draft Selections: 8, 12, 30, 47, 69, 88
Dayne Zorko and Ben Hudson are depth players and Jordan Lisle will be a very important player and will play 22 games a season unlike at Hawthorn. They were always going to loose Mitch Clark but with what they could get for him, they would be happy – must question why they did not chase a Blake or Seaby who you will get 5+ years from.
Carlton trade week
Did nothing and was the only club to do so
Collingwood trade week
Gained: Marty Clarke, Jamie Elliot, Peter Yagmoor, 50, 67
Draft Selections: 50, 65, 67, 83, 101
Jamie Elliot and Peter Yagmoor are unknowns but 25 for Marty Clarke who was an average depth player at best. Andrew Krakeour was a steal last year but I think Collingwood have maybe spent too much for their two first round picks.
Essendon trade week
Gained: 31
Draft Selections: 19, 31, 59, 77, 95
Only traded Josh Jenkins but still is a loser from the 2011 trade period as no one wants to deal with them. Whether its a legacy thing from their past reputation or the fact that they over estimate their own list as no one wanted to touch Gumbleton, Myers & Hooker.
Fremantle trade week
Gained: 20, 29, 58, 71
Draft Selections: 16, 20, 29, 58, 71, 74, 92
While they stuffed up the Mitch Clark trade, they gained a lot of earlier picks which will help them continue to build their squad as they push for a top four spot in season 2012. Surprised they did not chase anyone else as they need goal kickers and quality.
Geelong trade week
Gained: 32, 34
Draft Selections: 32, 34, 48, 66, 84, 102 (Jed Bews)
Won in the sense that they kept Tom Gillies and gathered an extra pick – a quite week.
Gold Coast trade week
Gained: Jaeger O’Meara, Matthew Warnock, #24, Compo pick
Draft Selections: 24, 86
Its obvious they needed to get rid of several draft picks and by picking up Jaeger O’Meara and Matthew Warnock, they would be happy.
Greater Western Sydney Giants trade week
Gained: 4, 10, 14, 25, Compo pick x3, 10, 56, Chad Cornes, Dean Brogan, Luke Power
Draft Selection: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 56, 85
11 of the first 14 draft picks… Enough said!
Hawthorn trade week
Gained: Jack Gunston, Jarrad Boumann, 53, 33, 38
Draft Selections: 33, 38, 53, 82, 100
Apparently the trade with Fremantle was so they get access to Boumann which is obviously why they traded Lisle as he would have been playing in Box Hill again for majority of the year. Many see them as winners in the Adelaide trade of Jack Gunston but I think they paid too much for him as he is unproven and Adelaide have gained a lot more with the picks.
Melbourne trade week
Gained: Mitch Clarke, 52
Draft Selection: 36, 52, 54, 72, 90
Alongside Adelaide were the big winners with Mitch Clark and almost pinched Josh Caddy from Essendons grasp. I agree with Schwarz that he is better than Tom Scully.
North Melbourne trade week
Gained: Will Sierakowski
Draft Selections: 18, 40, 76, 94
Promised to be big players yet hardly got out of second gear, they are scared to make mistakes like they did when they traded in Hay and Thompson in the early 2000′s. Will always be the poor struggling club of the AFL…
Port Adelaide trade week
Gained: Brent Renouf, Brad Ebert, #45
Draft Selections: 6, 28, 45, 51, 87
Port got what they wanted and lost very little – Renouf and Ebert will add depth and talent to their thin squad while they can get a good few kids in #6 and #28.
Richmond trade week
Gained: Ivan Maric, Steve Morris, 14, 26, 79, Comp Pick
Draft Selections: 15, 26, 55, 73, 79, 91
Lets face it, if Richmond tarded they would screw it up so its best they do not trade too much. I wonder if Steve Morris was worth swapping #14 and #15 with GWS but only time will tell if GWS selects a player that Richmond need. To get Ivan Maric for #37 is a win-win but do they need him? Is he a number one ruckman? To end up with two first round picks could be a good pick up, if it was a solid draft but again only time will tell.
St Kilda trade week
Gained: Terry Milera, Ahmed Saad, #25
Draft Selections: 25, 35, 37, 42, 60, 68, 78, 96
After the selection of Milera and Saad who I thought would be solid pick ups. They then lost Walsh and Lynch two key position players for next to nothing. Big losers of the week! I expect St Kilda to be struggling down the bottom of the ladder for a while now.
Sydney Swans trade week
Gained: Mitch Morton, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Walsh
Draft Selections: 21 (Tom Mitchell), 43, 61, 97
Sydney would have been disappointed to loose Lewis Johnstone but to pick up Mitch Morton, Tony Armstrong and Tommy Walsh for next to nothing sees them as one of the big winners of the week… They add goal kicking ability and pace to an aging and one dimensional side.
West Coast trade week
Gained: #28, Josh Hill
Draft Selection: 23, 28, 63, 81, 99
Losers of the week behind St Kilda, Josh Hill is a WAFL/ VFL reserves player at best and to basically only get a #28 pick for Bard Ebert is a bad decision – would have been almost been better to let him go through to the Pre Season .
Western Bulldogs trade week
Gained: 49, 70
Draft Selections: 17, 39, 57, 70, 75, 93
Its time to rebuild and was lucky to gain anything for Josh Hill who would have been delisted and a retired Ben Hudson so a big win for them!
Your Opinion on Trade Week
So what do you think of the 2011 trade week? What do you think of your club’s trade and what they did? Was your side a winner or a loser trade week time? Give us your comments below and let us know your thoughts.
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October 21st, 2011 at 3:53 am
Seems to me that GWS and GCS are gambling on a premiership in 3-4 years time. By gambling on recruiting so many elite players of the same age they must be risking huge salary cap problems in the future.
How for instance will the suns be able to afford O’Meara, Swallow, Ablett, Karmichael Hunt plus a host of other high draft picks in 3 years time? By then a lot of their homesick players will be prime targets for poaching by the big Melbourne clubs. Free agency will only make that worse. Thats right about the time when they will be needing to consolidate their fan base.
Surely they would be wiser to look at a few more mature players and slightly lower picks.
The Melbourne club will be looking at recruiting a lot of older VFL players and less touted picks over the next 2 years, they may not have as much natural talent but at least they won’t blow the cap.
October 21st, 2011 at 3:56 pm
@Bob, The Go Home factor is a load of bull (hence the post title) – Mitch Clark proved that with his back flip – or maybe he thought he would look less ridiculous in a Melbourne jumper than a purple one.
GC and GWS will loose a few players (every club does – even Geelong lost Mumford & Maloney) but most of them will stay.
Its called giving them all the money at the start of their contract and then paying minimum when the young kids will be asking for pay rises – by then Ablett & Scully etc will be on average wage of 300k a season. This is why its rumoured that Scully will be earning 2 million dollars in 2012.
Jermayn´s last [type]: 2011 Trade Week Wrapup & Mitch Clark proves the “Go Home” is a load of bull
October 21st, 2011 at 4:21 pm
@Jermayn,
Thats fine for a year or two at the end of these guys 3-4 year contract. What do you do after that? Ablett, Scully, Callan Ward, Swallow, Scully, O’Meara, Jonathon Patten and the other 8 first round picks aren’t going to play for an average contract. Free agency and the cap will strip these two clubs bare.