Yes how he played this year at GWS is not a good guide. There midfield is stacked to the gills, and with players that are pure inside mids such as Ward and Coniglio and now also Hopper. Plus Kelly who is ridiculous.
They tried Shiel in another position not because he is not a gun simply they have an embarrassmentof riches. He is much better suited to inside mid who can burst away.
Shiel is going to be a fantastic asset to our midfield, and will let us compete with the top mdifields.
Shiel, Merrett and Heppell is an excellent starting midfield combo.
One final thing, when GWS dont rate a player or think a player will not recover they tend to offload them for a bag of chips. The quality players they hold onto and make clubs pay a premium if they want them.
In hindsight I don’t think we ever had much chance of getting him for much less. We were no chance of getting an early trade done with less because they only wanted the 2 picks.
Once the other 3 trades happened they had the cap space to keep him to they didn’t need to budge.
It was a totally different situation with Smith last year (aside from the fact he was a lesser player) so we had a better hand in those negotiations.
Having said that, i’m a bit disappointed we couldn’t also get a 3rd rounder back. I’m sure they’ve got one they won’t use
I agree, although we clearly thought that we did have a chance at getting him for less early in the piece.
I guess we were a bit surprised that GWS was willing to enter “Fire Sale” mode to free up the cap space to keep him. In the end, we were probably a bit lucky that they let him go at all.
Whilst the Lobb and Scully deals weren’t done it was worth holding out. If they’d have fallen over for whatever reason we’d have been a better chance to get him cheaper, all be it marginally. But the minute they were done then stumping up the 2x 1st was the only way it was going to go and we should’ve just pulled the trigger.
Maybe. But getting the player we need has probably put us ONE OR TWO SEASONS CLOSER TO A FLAG.
Worth every cent. We will see the Bombers fly up to win the premiership flag, no doubt about it.
I dont think he would stayed. Would have been very embarrassing for all, GWS included. I think both parties were happy in the end.
It will be very interesting next year if they lose Kelly and Coniglio, as they have traded out and freed up cap space to retain them.
If Kelly leaves it will have to be a deal comparable or better than the Judd deal. Two top 5 picks, or one top 5 pick and an emerging gun young player. North might have the money but not sure they have the trade currency.
If I had to guess it was never about the two first rounders, we were always going to have to give them that, it was what was coming back. I’m sure Dodoro was trying a bunch of angles and even maybe the Lobb pick or a player to get as a sweetener, but in the end all we got was next years second. Which I am quite happy about.
In theory, if GWS and North cannot agree on a trade then he could enter the draft. The condition being that whoever tried to draft him would have to be able to match the financial terms of the offer that he agreed upon in principle with North. I get the argument that North may not have the draft currency. But realistically, if their cap space exceeds everyone else it may not matter. If they offer up 1.3-1.5mill per season then almost nobody could meet those terms (certainly not GWS). Most of these arrangements are conducted in good faith though, with picks going back to compensate. But may not be 2x top 5, even if that is his worth.
And Dodoro and co would have their spreadsheet mapped out with their list ages and contracts and a plan on needs to be done. When to go to the draft for kids and when to top up via trades. It’s a massive and demanding job with so many unknowns - injuries, players not developing as expected, players wanting to leave, competing against war chests and massive offers from rival clubs etc. All of that and balancing a budget to keep your list happy and together, whilst under the media / social media spotlight and fans demanding success NOW.
Boyd was close to BoG in that grand final and kicked some massive momentum changing goals. They wouldn’t have won without him. If that’s all he does for them in his whole career he is close to the best trade in club history