borderbarry wrote:I ask myself why Dawson and Ray have not signed new contracts at this point of time. Have they had better offers from elsewhere I wonder?
The club has suggested through a few quotes that Dawson especially is waiting to hear from the new coach about what sort of role and worth he will have to the team moving forward. Perhaps he is worried that he may not get the run of games as he had under Ross, hence why he would walk out to Freo if it didnt work at the Saints.
My worry is that it is unlikely we will have a coach to have this conversation with Zac until after trade week... So what happens if he is given no guarantees (as he shouldn't) and he walks? For nothing? Would be a real shame.
If other clubs are actually chasing Ray and Dawson (as opposed to us just shopping them around), then they are likely to offer above market rate and would be stupid not to listen to overtures.
Whilst Zac is one of only a couple at the Saints capable of playing FB, he is no world-beater and I would be happy to back in Blake/Simpkin to fill his role moving forward. Ray, whilst he has been great for the Saints, is also no 'star' - he plays well and does the team thing, but it's not like we are losing a similar aged star like Dal or Goddard, or some young guns in Steven or Armo. Ray is expendable IMO.
I believe we should target youth from other clubs, rather than going for picks.
Best example is Sydney in 2009 - They picked up Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn and Shane Mumford for picks 39 and 28. Ridiculous. They were all fringe youngsters who lacked games due to the depth of talent in their positions at their previous clubs.
So the clubs looking at maybe picking up Ray and Dawson are Freo and WCE.
So I would be pushing very hard for Koby Stevens from WCE - he is a fantastic ball winner - an in-and-under pro, but also uses the ball well. WCE have too many in-and-under players to keep them all - they are already losing Ebert and I'd say Stevens would be expendable too. And if not him, look at Masten.
Freo have Suban, who has struggled for games. In one of Ross's first interviews he singled Suban out as being a player who has failed to live up to expectations at Fremantle. Knowing Ross, this either means he won't 'trust' him, or it means he wants to turn his career around. Perhaps it is worth sounding them out anyway - Suban has good pace off half-back and uses the ball very well. Had some great form in his first year, but since then has had injury set-backs (mainly impact injuries) which have stalled his development.
Ask the question Saints. Ray and Dawson (and even Peake or 1st pick) for Stevens and Suban would be a huge win in my book. Maybe I'm overvaluing our boys, but I would love to see a trade week played on our terms for once.