Is Pelchen as good as we think

[Animal Enclosure]

The point being that Pelchen is getting a reputation amongst Saints' supporters as a master recruiter but he is a list manager who usually does well at the trade table.

He'll give Elshaug & co a brief in terms of where the list needs to be developed & will rely on their expertise to choose the right kids.

During the trade period is where we hope the Pelican can work his magic!

[Moods]

I'm not too concerned about some of his draft flops. Muston and Dowler were hugely rated juniors with injury concerns, very similar to Selwood - some pay off and some don't. Bailey has talent but struggles to get on the park, Schoenmakers is slowly improving, Ellis is ok and Birchall would be getting a regular gig at most clubs.

You'd hope so. He WAS AA this year

As for the others - Bailey will be a star. Is rated as their best pure tap ruckman - much in the mold of Ben McEvoy, just he wins taps outs...But doesn't take as many marks around the ground.

Schoenmakers will be a beauty. Is getting better every year. Ellis in injury prone, but loaded with talent.

[BigMart]

He's done well so far at StK as has Scott and the coaches with development...

Improvement wasn't difficult to achieve though....

Just happy to see a decent pick and a debut for a change

[gringo]

Pelchen isn't a one big trade type of recruiting man. His great talent at Hawthorn was to rebuild a list on the hop while losing no real ladder position and bring in cherry picked players to fill gaping voids.

They had a terrible injury run with rucks being the most glaring hole. His dumping of several talls was to allow to cherry pick types with accurate disposal, goal sense, and speed. Even the mids he lost were ok because they had the area covered. He doesn't seem to be the type who hangs onto dead wood- you want to show something pretty quick with him.

They have a huge amount of good quality players with class all over the ground now -they look the best list in the comp right at the moment on paper.

He may need to be very very good to rebuild from where we ran our list down to, but hopefully he has got a plan of action. Milera and Saad look awfully similar to getting guys like Puopulo etc. for not much outlay. He might be better at the speculative stuff but hopefully his team can find another gem in the draft. That Sam Calquhoun from SA looks a gun and might go around 12.

[WellardSaint]

Trading, whether its AFL or the stock market, has inherent risks and you can do all the research in the world, but both are waiting games, in most trades anyway. Hold your breath and pray for a bit of blind luck.

[gringo]

Trading, whether its AFL or the stock market, has inherent risks and you can do all the research in the world, but both are waiting games, in most trades anyway. Hold your breath and pray for a bit of blind luck.

What i do like is his ability to look big picture and recruit for a completion of the list not just grab the best individual like melbourne seems to be on the path of. Burgoyne, Hale, gibson are all great trades as they filled the deficiencies of the team. There is an element of luck in recruiting young guys that go on to be superstars but solid list managements skills are vital.

[andrewg]

Trading and player movement is the future of football IMO picking up 18 year olds is way risker than trading for players that fill a role within a team. For one you are trading for a purpose and not just for the next best kid. As well as this you do not have to bottom out and rely on picks which is never a guarantee for success.

The future of football is pick you 3-4 young 18 year old champs and build a team around them through trading, free agency and mature age recruiting. This will ensure you are picking the ideal players for your teams current needs and are not spending ample resources of development of payers that do not always make it.

[Teflon]

I think that's true Andrew but sadly what I see over time is greater erosion of player/club loyalty and perhaps disillusion among fans

If we are now akin to rugby revolving doors then surely at risk is our fans current passion and ability to identify with club and player??? I didn't just enjoy watching St Kilda with Robert Harvey in his prime..... I loved the fact I KNEW he would bleed for that jumper, same for Hayes.

I fear we see less of that cause had we won a flag with Harvs/ Hayes I think it makes it that much more special not only for the player (to be 1 club) but also for the fans who feel they have the common connection with the player.... love of the club. I realize some of this has already gone.... I do fear what free agency could do for the rest.

[mad saint guy]

You'd hope so. He WAS AA this year

As for the others - Bailey will be a star. Is rated as their best pure tap ruckman - much in the mold of Ben McEvoy, just he wins taps outs...But doesn't take as many marks around the ground.

Schoenmakers will be a beauty. Is getting better every year. Ellis in injury prone, but loaded with talent.

My mistake, I was thinking of Gilham. Agree that Bailey could be a gun, but I just don't know if he'll ever get on the park consistently. Ellis will probably go down as a decent player who never fulfilled his potential, but still played well in their GF win. Schoenmakers is improving steadily and could make some people look very stupid if he continues to do so for another few years.

[dragit]

I think that's true Andrew but sadly what I see over time is greater erosion of player/club loyalty and perhaps disillusion among fans

Has to go both ways though… the clubs are pretty happy to palm someone off whenever they feel like it, yet play the loyalty card like with Goddard at the moment.
I hated Michael Gardiner before he came to us, yet of course thought he was great playing in or jumper. You may lose a favourite player here or there but you gain some too like Sammy & Fraser.

Sydney & Hawthorn, probably the two most active clubs in trading over the past decade, both have recent premierships, both pushing for another this year… I'm sure their fans would have been a bit pissed about losing Schneider, Dempster, Jolly, Kennedy, McGlynn etc but it was done for the good of the club to cover genuine holes in their lists.

Free agency just gives long serving players a little bit of power back which is fair enough and hopefully it prevents the Luke Ball situation happening again.

[gringo]

Aussie rules is still a fairly loyal sport with very few moving around. Most stay despite the usual speculation every year. In the last few years we have really only lost Ball and Dawson to poaching- the rest we pretty much sent on their way. The two new franchises were the big tempter and we avoided it so we were pretty lucky over all.