New : Warchest

[Number 35]

Reviewing the Season that was and now that our window is open, As of now, what position would you like Collingwood to uprade in for next season.

1 player only at value of 800,000 - 1million

[Tannin]

We don't need a million dollar full back. We can do better than OK with a good, workmanlike player. Dunne has demonstrated that. He won't be back for the start of the season, but we should be OK to pick up another player of his type and it won't cost us a fortune.

If we are going to spend the big dollars on a top-class player, what about a forward? Nope. Nothing wrong with our forward line just the way it is. Could a star improve on Cox? Not unless he's 8 feet tall. Could an imported star improve on Checkers? Sure - but not all that much. Not too many key forwards do more, all things considered, than Checkers does, and very few of them are as good at the tackles and the blocks and the ground-ball gets and all those team things that Checkers does so well. You are not getting value for money paying big bucks for, when it's all said and done, a small improvement. (And, to be honest, we are not going to get a genuine star key forward in the same class as Kennedy or Franklin or Jack for a lousy million; on that money we are looking at a very good second rank KPF.)

A small/medium forward? Not really. We have four very, very good ones in Stevo, J de G, Elliott, and the Hyphenator, not to mention Thomas, who can be more than handy, and three or four good midfielders who can rest forward and do damage.

Nope. What we want is a midfielder. Yes, really. A mil should bring in a midfielder similar in class to Treloar or Sidey. Right now we have three genuine A-Grade mids (Sidey, Pendles, Teloar), arguably four counting Adams, who has improved a lot towards the business end of the season and has become a possession machine.

Throw in one more A-Grader, and we go from having one of the best two midfields in the comp to having unquestionably THE best midfiled there is - in fact, with five A-Graders plus J de G (who will be an A-Grader soon enough, you'd reckon) and a more than capable supporting cast, we could just be looking at the best midfield there has ever been.

Spend spare change on a key defender. Spend the big bucks on yet another top-class goal-kicking midfielder. What about the Bont? Or Cripps? Wouldn't mind either one, and they aren't going to see finals action at their current clubs, so why wouldn't they want to come and play in black and white?

[Abdul The Bull]

I would suggest that at least half the games we lost this year have been attributable to the lack of defenders, whether it's in game injuries - think Richmond game with Howe and Shaz, or the Sydney game with Moore. Even the Suns game was nerve wracking when Dunne went down.
We are desperately lacking an honest, shut-down Full Back.

The speculation around Steve May is exciting me as he has the ability to curb good key forwards and he has a booming and accurate kick in his arsenal.

I sincerely hope that a deal for May can be negotiated as this will fill a need we have right now.

[Tannin]

But Abdul, we already have the "honest, shut-down full back" you say we need. His name is Dunne, and he will be back in the side in just a few more games. (Early to mid-season next year.)

Plus we have Moore, who (if he can ever get his hammies right) can play as a key back.

Plus we have Ben Reid, who has been known to go OK in the back half on a good day.

Plus we have a couple of youngsters in McLarty and Madgen (three if you also count Magden) who aren't ready for prime time yet but could well be looking good as early as next year.

Plus we have Goldsack, who isn't really a key backman, but does a good job standing in as one when he has to.

So that's five or six players in that category. (Seven if you count Magden.)

Plus, we have less need for key talls down back than most sides because we have a wonderful set of mobile medium defenders who take marks, spoil well, and play tall in Howe, Berg, Langdon, and Crisp.

And we can recruit a ready-made spare for small coin - somebody similar to Dunne, who cost us next to nothing.

Number 35's question is about getting ONE star player for $800,000 - $1,000,000. We don't need to waste a million bucks on a full back.

You can't have too many good, big-bodied midfielders. It's not possible.

Our success this year has come about because of our policy of recruiting lots and lots and lots of midfielders. Our forward line is running hot because we have a good second ruckman (Cox), a competent tallish utility (Checkers), and a whole fleet of midfielders playing as forwards - look at them: Thomas is a mid playing forward a lot; J de G is a mid; Stevo is a born outside mid playing as a forward; WHE is a wingman kicking goals; we have had success resting Adams, Pendles, Treloar, and Sidey up forward. And our three current wingmen - Phillips, Mayne, and Aish - are all competent up forward - Phillips is deadly.

And out backline has stood up this year - despite horrendous injuries, despite not having anyone left in the genuine AFL-ready tall back category - because of the ability of our hard-running mids (especially Adams, Phillips, Greenwood, Aish, and Mayne) to get back and help out.

You can't have too many midfielders.

What happens if we spend Number 35's million bucks on a Cripps or a Bont? Why, we wind up doing things like playing Pendles on the half-back flank, or J de G in the goal square.

You can't have too many midfielders.

[BazBoy]

Can we off load / negotiate the Wells situation as I believe his injuries not clearing up & with oncoming age ,even more so

Our midfield is Pendlebury/ Treloar/Adams/Sidey and Sier

Free up the War Chest

[Stinger]

We need a lock down CHB - as good as Howe, Langdon & Dunn have been a 5-8 year player will set us up for decade - we can't rely on Moore filling this space just yet.

Then I would go with pacey midfielders that can kick. How much better have we looked this year with pace going into the forward line and out of the middle?

[Lutts]

Don't need to spend the money this year on a big name recruit. As per most above comments, if we are lacking it may be another good tall defender, but they don't cost $1M a year.
The club should be front loading contracts, because we HAVE to spend the money due to salary cap rules, but that means in a couple years the contracts will be lower thus giving a war chest to then chase a big name midfielder to replace Pendles (31 next year), and Wells (34 next year).

[Number 35]

25 people?????? WTF

Please dont tell me you all want to spend the $$ on May.

Our forward line is working very well, lets add another weapon to the artillery to ensure we have 1 of or the best offense next year.

If Essendon get Wingard, we will regret it.

Somebody needs to set DeGoey loose. Aint gunna be Elliot

[Abdul The Bull]

[Boogie Knights]

^^^ McLarty has been playing forward pinch hitting in the ruck this season - so I assume this is why he has not been considered for the key defender role.

[Rd10.1998_11.1#36]

[Tannin]

And I can't believe you guys STILL can't read a simple question.

Go on, go back to the top of the thread and actually read the question. We are talking about recruiting one star player on top dollars. We can pick up a competent full back for spare change. Not only can, have done, and there is no reason at all why we can't do it again. (If we even need one at all - having Moore, Reid, Dunn, and Berg go out all at the same time was very bad luck and almost certainly won't happen two years in a row.)

The question as asked is what STAR do we recruit. And the answer has to be a midfielder - 'coz A-Grade mids are hard to find, and there is no such thing as too many of them. Competent full backs are not something you have to pay a million bucks for.

[Abdul The Bull]

[HAL]

More narration. . . .

[Abdul The Bull]