So, is it worse than I thought? (The sequel...)

[Podpicken]

PP, great stuff. I like Harry's style and reckon you could be right on the money. Would like to see him finish the year off strongly, however. Just may be a little too soon for Harry just yet, but who knows either next year or year after in particular, he just might be the one we need to step up.

[Pied Piper]

In part II of this post, I'd like to address the issue of whether we should boost our list via trading or consolidating through the draft. I've left it longer than I would have liked since beginning this thread yesterday, but as it became clearer that the truth behind the Shaw/Didak saga was still unfolding, it made sense to wait and see what the club decided today, particularly regarding Alan Didak's future. As it turns out we don't have a lot more clarity than we did before. Gary Pert has said repeatedly that the future of both players will be reviewed at season's end.

My guess is that Heath Shaw, at least, will be safe. Although he has committed the greater sin in this instance, he is young and deserves another chance. The same cannot be said for Alan Didak. The fact that he has lied to the club shortly after signing an $800,000 contract stinks. This is not to say I am personally in favour of a trade, but you'd have to say the club is very likely to look at it. So, he is probably on the table.

I don't want this to be a thread about this incident, though. More rubbish is spoken on this board about trading than perhaps anything else, due to ignorance regarding the draft and salary cap, mainly. We are NOT going to get up to four champion players from other clubs, as has been widely mooted. At best we will get one, maybe two if a deal is (or has already been) done with Ben Cousins.

Of course, there is the question of whether to trade at all. It depends on where you think the club is at, and what the club needs. A huge number of factors need to be weighed up. There is no doubt a Jonathan Brown or a Daniel Kerr would add to the football club. But let's face it, you don't target those kinds of players unless you think they will deliver you a premiership. Will they?

The risks are huge. Jonathan Brown is demanding a five-year contract from the Lions. He won't get one, and I think it would be folly for any other club to give him one. He will be lucky if he is still playing football in four years, and if he is I predict he will be a shadow of the player he was. He is playing hurt every week. But, if he comes to Collingwood and we win a premiership in 2010, the risk will be well worth it.

Daniel Kerr is another interesting case. He too has injury concerns, though not as severe as Brown's. However, his disciplinary record is appalling. He has been suspended virtually every year of his playing career - it has probably cost him two Brownlow medals. He also has had a litany of off-field indiscretions, serious ones at that. If we were to offload Alan Didak, what would it say if we were to bring in Kerr? (I am only raising questions here, not offering answers.)

Ben Cousins is a different matter, but if he is to be taken on, no matter how fit he is, a year out of footy is a year out of footy, and he is 31 next year I think. He is - or was - a champion. But I'm not sure he will be a champion at Collingwood.

Of course, targeting a Kerr or a Brown - especially a Brown - will not come cheaply. Collingwood would need to give up a prized asset, and I don't mean the RT Rush Stand. I mean a Thomas, a Pendlebury - or just maybe a Didak, who has shown this year he is a superb footballer; maybe one with his best years still ahead. But there is no guarantee a deal could be done. There is also the potential distortion to the salary cap recruiting a Brown would cause.

However, Brown would certainly offer LEADERSHIP (see yesterday's post on page one) - he would probably be offered the captaincy, maybe already has been. He would certainly help players walk taller. And he is a consummate professional. I cannot deny that at this point, the club must consider pulling all stops out for a top-end trade. Last year, in the wake of the preliminary final, I wouldn't have thought that to be the way to go.

The safer option, however, is consolidation. This is the route that shows the greater faith in our young players to recover from this year and deliver. It is still very much a viable path. While we are about to lose many of our older stars, the core of our emerging side is very young indeed - mostly around 20-21 years old. Harry O'Brien, my mooted captain, is a bit older but has only played 50 games, after coming through the rookie draft - and he is already one of the best rebounding defenders going around.

Hawthorn and Geelong did not rebuild quickly, as some have suggested. Hawthorn, especially, has painstakingly built its list under Alastair Clarkson and now they are peaking. Brent Guerra, hardly a star, is one of their few "name" trades. The Western Bulldogs have Akermanis who is very much a top-up player and he almost fell into their laps. Geelong have Brad Ottens. Other than that, they built their own teams.

Collingwood will be a much better team in 2010 by which time Pendlebury, Thomas, O'Brien etc are 100+ game players. At the moment they're barely out of their apprenticeship. Travis Cloke has played 70-odd games but he's barely 21 and playing the hardest position on the field - with no serious backup at full-forward!

This is where we as supporters most need a sense of perspective and a sense of history. It's not time to rebuild again, as I've heard a few posters suggest. The fact is we are still building; our side is simply NOT READY. It sounds like a cliche, but our estimable Nickster pietillidie is right, some of the ups and downs we are seeing is par for the course for a team with Collingwood's age and experience level. I suggest to you that this club still has the talent, which we have recruited ourselves, to go all the way in the years ahead.

Yes, we are still a few players short of the ultimate and that is why we face hard decisions at the end of this season. But while the decision to create a stand-alone VFL side looked like folly earlier in the season, right now it is looking increasingly like the right one. We have a very young list in the VFL who are slowly showing they can match it with men and gaining confidence. Geelong has already shown the way. I am very confident that some of the holes that need to be plugged will come from this side.

That is enough for now. I will return to the final part of this post - on the coach and administration - tomorrow, and return to the question asked of this post in conclusion: "Is it worse than I thought?"

Floreat Pica

Pied Piper

[3rd degree]

Danny Stanley says " Carn Grover's"

[John Wren]