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October 08, 2006
Open slather on the meat market
10am Monday marks the opening of the AFL’s version of a computer swap meet, only with less nerds, and more computers. Trade Week is my favourite week of the year. There is something about the wheelings dealings and the sense of new hope when a new player arrives that gets my juices flowing.
Teams coming off poor seasons talk the talk about major changes, whilst teams coming off good seasons do all they can to keep together their lists. In the meantime all clubs struggle to retain homesick players.
So where does this put Geelong in trade week 2006? Coming off a poor year with a number of underperforming players and there may well be the desire to trade away the likes of Kelly, Johnson, Tenace and even Wojcinski. All 4 were early picks in national drafts but failed to become consistent contributors in ’06.
The need for players with greater skill in the midfield is apparent (I don’t believe we need extra pace, look at our games against the dogs. A fitter team however is a must) but having picks 7 and 25 could allow for the club to bring in the required players.
Geelong’s record of trading away good players for draft picks has paid off handsomely in the past. Bizzel for pick 17 (Kelly) and Mansfield for pick 35 (Chapman) are examples of this. But after the year the club has had do they believe that a solid pre-season is a better fix than trading a few players away? Only time will tell.
Kolonels Trade Summary
Kent Kingsley – With the Bulldogs and Tigers interested, and possibly the West Coast should they fail to get Tarrant for the right price, we could possibly get something for Kent. However if offers coming through are a draft picks in the 50’s or 60’s (draft pricks received fromother clubs via trades have to be used) The club may opt to use Kent as one of the 3 required delistings.
James Kelly – Poor year but we all know how good he can be, would this be fixed by a solid pre-season? Essendon and the Hawks are keen, so a pick in the range of 18-23 is about the going rate you would expect. Is that worth trading him though? It may come down to whether Wells and co. have their eyes on certain players in the draft.
Steve Johnson - Unlikely to be traded, but if the possibility of requiring an early draft pick came about through trading him, then it is possible. A few clubs are circling, but expect him to be retained.
Kane Tenace – Our quickest midfielder a possible trade when we apparently lack pace? Hasn’t become consistent despite continually having impressive starts to seasons. Again, his departure would depend on what we would get in return.
Possible Targets
Daniel Bradshaw – 2 seasons ago, It would be a gimme that the Cats would part with pick 7 to secure Bradshaw so desperate were we to land a key forward to take us places. But with the drafting of Hawkins, continuing development of Nathe, re-emergence of Mooney as a genuine idiot/goalkicker and possibility of full pre-season from Brad Ottens, the Cats wont be so keen to part with pick 7. Unlikely to become a Cat yet again.
Chris Tarrant – A few seasons ago, the Pies were willing to part with Tarrant to get James Kelly. It wouldn’t be that far fetched to think the same could eventuate again. He wants out of Collingwood, so could be interesting to see where he goes.
Mark Johnson – I’ll end with one a little left field here. Brother David plays at the Cats and he could be the perfect foil in the backline for us as a small defender, a position we have struggled in for sometime. Sheedy has always been keen on Wojcinski, so a straight swap wouldn’t be out of the question.
Who knows what ideas Geelong has as they enter trade week. By 2pm Friday we’ll see the direction our club takes on the long road to victory.
- The Kolonel
Posted by Sammy D at October 8, 2006 07:46 PM
Comments
I'm glad you post info here, Kolonel - otherwise I would never know what's going on. Alison.
Posted by: Alison at October 9, 2006 03:54 PM