2022 List management, trading, drafting

[Aprilbr]

Some great comments above. It seems pretty clear to me that our priority as far as list management goes has been to re-sign our exciting young players plus our core types like Papley, Mills, Parker, Lloyd and Heeney. We have managed to do this successfully unlike some other Clubs, so this provides us with a stable, exciting list that is set to continue to improve and challenge in September.

In making these signings, it has probably left little money to bring in free agents etc. We also continue to prioritise the draft which I feel is a sound strategy. Teams that sacrifice draft picks for seasoned players can struggle if they don't get it right eg St Kilda. Also, Hawthorn have now fallen off a cliff because they kept topping up with players from other clubs but did not have the draft talent coming through. It will be interesting to see how long Geelong can hang on with their aging list and propensity to trade in from elsewhere. Richmond seem to have a good balance of drafting combined with selected players coming in to fulfil specific needs.

At the end of the day, its a balancing act to acquire players from a range of sources but the core of recent dynasties eg Hawthorn, Richmond were built on a foundation of quality drafted players. Our next premiership is likely to be built on much the same.

[Ludwig]

We have gone over the oncoming retirements. I don't think it's such a big deal and have most of it well covered.

The ruck will always be problematic when there's a rollover to the next generation. When Hickey retires, Ladhams will be the one who can carry us through the ensuing half dozen years. It's too hard to stockpile ruckmen, Lloyd Meeks is a good example. A 3rd quality ruckman will just demand a trade to another club. If Ladhams doesn't pan out, we might be in the market for that kind of player move. We've done it twice now with Hickey and Ladhams, so why not again? It's just one of those things to deal with when a problem arises. We were ruck stockpilers not long ago (Tippett, Nanka, Naismith, Cameron) and look how that turned out.

There are likely to be some rollover pains when Buddy and Reid are gone. I'm hoping Reid can stay fit and carry on a few more years. In any case, I think we more than likely have the KPF area covered as well. And if we come up short, we can just go to the trade period or draft to get that extra tall forward to fill the gap.

Compared to previous periods, the current list is the best I've seen. The depth of talent is very strong and runs well past a best 22. A couple of questionable areas is no cause for concern. Every team has to deal with injuries and retirements, and by comparison, our problems are small.

In that we have a limited number of possible gaps to fill in our list, we have the luxury of focusing on those area and target a player that fits the need. So if the need for a trade does arise, I feel confident that we can close the deal.