Free Agency/trade Targets

[The Redeemer]

I hope we are not stupid enough to go after FA's this year. The end of the 2016 season should be the earliest we look at this. I would actually delay it until the end of 2017. For Crikey's sake, lets get out of the bottom 4 first before we go down the path of FA's.

Over the next 3 years the Saints need to orchestrate ways to get more top 20 picks onto the list. We still have massive holes in our list and some massive retirements coming up.....Riewoldt, Montagna, Dempster and Fisher. Not to mention Gilbert who is on his last legs (literally). There is no way that we should even be considering FA's.

Like I have said before, if we just go to the Draft each year without trading up or letting go a FA, it will take us over 5 years before we get back into the top 8. By then we will start losing our second tier of players to retirement. I don't think many people realize just how bad our list is.

so not end of 2016
go end of 2017 you reckon

the only reason the date would come into pay would be the list of who comes into the FA area each year
soooo, if youre wanting to go end of 2017 which is for 2018
whats the diff in the lists?
who is coming out at the end of 2015(for 2016) and at the end of 2016(for 2017)
because that would be a decent chunk of the reason why you would pick a certain year
the other reason would obviously be where the list is out with coin

Or we could wait until we begin to look promising. At the moment, we do not.

We look promising, win a few games and become a suitable place where players want to play football and probably get paid overs for doing so.

I do agree, 2016 is probably too early regardless of the Free Agency targets. Essentially 40 more games of development into some of the keepers with some dropping away and some never getting started.

People tend to forget that not all of these kids will make it despite getting early games due to the list. The best way forward is just to play everyone to try and figure out who is worth keeping.

If the keepers get to 50-70 games, we have a skeleton of an older core with Armitage and Steven with possibly Gilbert then we can maybe go hard and splash some cash.

So the longer the youngens take to become keepers, the longer we should resist Free Agency. Otherwise it is just a waste of time and money.

[Pleasing]

We are likely to have Pick 1 this year and now Jack Steven is tied up the chances of a round 1 compo pick are pretty much gone. Therefore if we are considering trading for one of the GWS or Suns gun midfielders it is going to cost us pick 1. (I am extremely skeptical about there ever being a Priority Pick assigned ever again and if it was it would probably be end of first round not pick 2).

I imagine if we were to trade pick 1 we would want a player and a pick in return because that fits our strategy but equally I am sure GWS would want pick 1 plus extras for Treloar or Sheil. I think ultimately these guys will cost too much now, at the very least-pick 1. The time to grab them was before they had proven themselves to be the best of the young crop coming through.

What will be on offer are the guys surplus to needs for example Coniglio who was the sub on the weekend and Toby Greene who can't kick, these guys are going to get pushed out of the GWS midfield but probably aren't what we need.

I would rather go to the draft we can't afford to be throwing first rounders and/or multiple picks at one player there are too many holes on our list to fill.

[footynut]

If we give up pick 1, we must play hard ball and demand 2 quality mids in return.

[plugger66]

If we give up pick 1, we must play hard ball and demand 2 quality mids in return.

Well that wont happen so it looks like you think we should keep it and that's fair enough.

[remboy]

Isn't it a bit early in the year to be talking about trading pick one? I wasn't aware the season was over.

[borderbarry]

What we want to remember is that if we pick up a uncontracted player, and then lose one, there is no compensation. At this stage we should be looking losing a player to free agency and the resultant compensation.
I strongly believe that for us to improve we need as many 1st round picks as we can get.

[Con Gorozidis]

Are we any chance at Dylan Shiel or should I forget about it now?

[FQF]

A Dom Tyson type trade would be ideal, especially if the top 10 in the draft are considered even.

[borderbarry]

I understand that we now have a recruiter whose sole job is to look at players for other clubs. I wonder if part of his duty is to sound them out?