Better late than never

Trade week has been and gone. This is truly what I think. There was some good trades and ones in my book that left me scratching my head. It does leave a lot of questions that I think in time would be answered of who is going to get value when it does come to the trades that have been made. Let's look at these and what I think of them. I would love to get your views on this.

First trade of the week came on the Monday Morning where Josh Gibson and pick 69 went to Hawthorn from North Melbourne in exchange for Picks 25 and 41. Hawthorn have picked up a quality player in Gibson and still only 25 there are still some good years left in him. North Melbourne still are going for the youth which is where they are heading building for a future. I personally think that this is a good trade as North have picked up higher picks for Gibson.

Second trade of the week saw Andrew Raines going from Richmond to Brisbane for pick number 44. Interesting trade. Raines wasn't getting his opportunities at Richmond and is more than a capable player who would be of benefit to Brisbane. Whether pick number 44 would be a fair trade is another thing. I personally think that was fair as he is a little older and if Richmond picks up a star in the rough then they would get the upper hand in this deal.

The third trade which had been pre-organised before trade week but was made official was the Brock McLean trade which saw him go from Melbourne to Carlton in exchange for pick number 11. This probably seemed fair for both parties but realistically I don't think that he was worth giving up a top 15 draft pick and would have given something around the 20-25 mark for him. Don't get me wrong, he is a good player and in a better side like Carlton he would be of benefit to them but wasn't worth pick 11.

The fourth trade of the week was one of the more complicated ones. This one was a three way deal that involved Brisbane, Sydney and West Coast where they exchanged players and picks. In the deal, Brisbane received Brent Staker from West Coast, Amon Buchannon from Sydney and the Number 39 pick. Sydney received Mark Seaby and picks 28 and 55. West Coast received Bradd Dalziel and picks 22 and 118. Not a bad swap really as quality players have gone to the three clubs plus the picks really matched the players that they had to give up.

The fifth trade saw Barry Hall being traded to Western Bulldogs for pick 47. To me the pick matched the player. The dogs were looking for a power forward and probably can only give 2 years to the Bulldogs which would mean that it could put them in a position to win a premiership which to me has been the only thing that they have lacked and now have. Pick 47 means that the Swans can look at getting someone that they can invest time into to create value to the Swans.

Trade number 6 saw Andrew Lovett go from Essendon to St Kilda for pick number 16. To me really the ones that got the best deal is Essendon. Lovett is a good player but isn't worth pick number 16 so this is now good bargaining power for the Dons. St Kilda are going with the building players from other clubs again, to me they have some good youth and should look more into that.

The next trade saw St Kilda get Brett Peake from Fremantle in exchange for pick 48. Not a bad exchange really as Brett Peake has good potential but was being held back at Fremantle and the Dockers have found diamonds in the rough back in the draft, so I believe that this is a good deal.

The next trade saw Jay Schultz go from Richmond to Port Adelaide in exchange for Mitch Farmer and pick 72. Not really sure about this trade really. Don't really know much about Mitch Farmer but Richmond probably have seen enough in this kid that he can be a real find for the Tigers. Jay Schultz is not a bad player. But I think in this case it's a matter of finding young players for each side to build a foundation for the future.

The next trade saw Darren Jolly go from Sydney to Collingwood in exchange for picks 14 and 46. Collingwood are at a stage where they need to go for a quality ruckman in Jolly as Fraser and Wood are not holding the fort well especially with Fraser breaking down with injury. This trade probably means that the young wood is going to be shut out a little more. Getting pickes 14 and 46 for Jolly is good and Sydney have done really well in this trade as they can look to rebuild with some quality young players as well as the experience that they have. They have obtained Mark Seaby which is someone to take the more senior ruck post in the absence of Jolly.

This trade was an interesting one. Xavier Clarke going from St Kilda for Pick 60. Not a good swap in my book. I know that Xavier has had his injury worries but St Kilda should have kept him. There are a lot of people that have said that they have got rid of the wrong Clark and I am kind of agreeing with them although I do believe Raph will come good. Pick 60 though is not worth it!

The next trade saw Shane Mumford go from Geelong to Sydney for pick number 28. As a Geelong supporter I am sad so see Shane go as he had a great season playing 18 games while Brad Ottens was injured. As he is only young at 23 he could be of value at the Swans and with them picking up Mark Seaby as well that's going to enhance their midfield division. Pick number 28 is not bad get for him though as Geelong can go for players who will then stock them up for the future.

This trade was sort of a surprise really. Josh Kennedy and Ben McGlynn going from Hawthorn to Sydney in exchange for picks 39, 46 and 70. Not a good trade really! Sydney have the best deal here! Josh Kennedy maybe but definately not Ben McGlynn. He was one of the players for Hawthorn that held the fort while some of their stars weren't playing and Hawthorn shouldn't have let him go. The picks that they have got back for Josh and Ben to me did not match the quality of players that they are and if I were Hawthorn I would hope that there is some quality players of the future would be present for these picks.

This trade had been brewing all week and finally it got done, the Shaun Burgoyne deal would be the most complicated trade of this trade week. There were would be four teams involved swapping players and picks to make it all happen. Hawthorn got Shaun Burgoyne from Port Adelaide. Port gets Jay Nash from Essendon and picks 9, 16 and 97. Essendon gets Mark Williams from Hawthorn as well as picks 24 and 33. Geelong gets picks 40, 42 and 56. Very Complicated, don't know if I can truly understand it but Hawthorn finally got their man as I have said before I personally don't think that he's worth as much but Hawthorn obviously do. Mark Williams going to Essendon was a surprise but the pick 16 that they got from St Kilda was good as bargaining power to get Williams and also obtaining 24 and 33 is not bad. I think that Essendon and Port Adelaide have got the best deal is this trade.

The next trade had been in the mix and it got done late week. Marcus Drum to Geelong from Fremantle in exchange for pick 49. I personally think that Geelong should have gone after him originally being a Drum and he has presented well in what I have seen of him but really he needs a fresh start. This is good for the Cats but it's just a matter of what area he fits into the side.

Ok yes Brendon Fevola got traded and realistically there are a lot of people that aren't happy with this. There were a few clubs that were keen on him initially and there were rumours that were incorrect. Anyway Brendon went to Brisbane and pick 27 in exchange for pick 12 and Lauchlan Henderson. Hmm not too sure about this one. To me there would be other ways of dealing with the Fevola situation rather than the trade but I believe that they needed to take action so it's hard to know what to do. Lauchlan Henderson is a top ten draft pick that would serve the Blues well but by getting rid of Fevola they have put themselves back by some time unless they can recruit a key position forward for the intrim.

Well that's trade week over with. There were a lot of trades. What do you think? Were they all fair? Tell me by emailing me at carefactor0@live.com.au. More footy to follow. I will have my review of the year and also more on the draft.

Catch ya!

Trade week

Ok so as we know this week is the trade week. There has been some good trades and one's that I'm not too sure about. I will have more of what I personally think at the end of the week when everything's finalised.

The two main trades that nothing has been finalised or anywhere near finalised at this point of time is the Shaun Burgoyne trade going from Port Adelaide to his preferred destination which is Hawthorn. There is a number of sticking points including yesterday the reports (mind you from a Adelaide newspaper) that suggested that Campbell Brown would be involved with pick number 9 for Burgoyne. To me he's not even that good Burgoyne! He definately isn't worth that for sure. Definately pick 9 because Shaun isn't a spring chicken and to get a spring chicken for him now will definately pay dividends in the future! If you want to through in something then maybe a later pick but definately not as Hawthorn supporters are saying the Heart and soul of the club! My suggestion is think carefully about this Hawthorn! There is conflicting reports suggesting what actually went on of whether he was offered up or not, we'll find out more later on. The other trade on offer is Brendan Fevola. I would love to see him at Carlton cos he is a perfect fit for them to see out the rest of his career and besides without a forward like him, they can't win a flag! It was suggested by a strong source that Sydney had offered him a four year deal with what trades I'm not too sure! The other team after him was Brisbane who are aparently offering Daniel Bradshaw and Michael Rischetelli, which to me seems an ok swap but definately Brisbane will have a better deal, but something worth considering. More to follow...

I will post more after Friday about the trades. I will also have my year in review which will be a long one but definately worth it when I do post it. So stay tuned.....

Should he or shouldn't he?

Brendon Fevola....that's all I got to say! What do you do?

I don't know whether or not he should be cut from the Carlton list how do you ever know. All I know is that I have a theory of what could happen next.

You see take things back some time ago when Brendon acted up again and Carlton said that if he had one more incident where it involved alcohol then he would be out the door. That is clearly what they have done this time around. To me Carlton don't want to get rid of Fevola, I mean after winning the Coleman medal again this year and what he offers why would they want to. But due to the fact that they don't want to go back on their word and keep him this time round, they have decided to offer him as a trade. Not only do they want to get something back for him but I truly believe that they felt like they had to do this so that if no one wanted Fevola then they would keep him, hense then Carlton wouldn't look as bad. That's what I truly believe.

The next question is who would want him? Sydney looked to be the front runners although I think that their interest has declined. Others have said that they don't want him, maybe Brisbane. You can see that Carlton's plan is working can't you?