The Blair "Which?" Project | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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The Blair "Which?" Project

It can be argued that both Hopper and Taranto if they were still at GWS would both be depth players . You don't sell the farm for someone else's mature age depth players. What's more galling of course is that they are now contending plus have the benefit of all that quality youth courtesy of our draft picks, whilst we are not contending and are in fact rebuilding.

If you can't find learnings from this episode you're not trying very hard (although having watched Hawthorn go down a similar path post dynasty I had hoped we could have learnt from their mistakes rather than our own).

Anyhow the decisions made in the trade period of 2022 will have ramifications for many years to come. Expect it to be bought up repeatedly in the future and rightly so. Especially if it looks like we are toying with the idea of doing something similar again.
Both TT and hopper when he’s available will play a key role in the rebuild as they shoulder a load that young players are incapable, ref NM , haw and wc . We will have the luxury of introducing talented mids with out expecting them to carry the side . Pretty simple really and was the back bone of blairs plan
 
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For the record I was one of at least 10 percent that weren't happy. Back then I thought we misjudged where our list was, that selling the farm for these two players, especially considering the age and injury history of Hopper, was problematic to say the least. But yes pointing fingers won't change anything, but we are stuck with the consequences irrespective and it's fair enough to discuss them.

And as for where those players selected would have been if we had gone down the draft path, who knows? But at least we'd be two further years into the rebuild, as opposed to starting it this year in earnest with Tasmania lurking just over the horizon. There are no guarantees in football, but I'd rather be in that place than where we are now....
Was hardly selling the farm , if you ID the players that were drafted in their place it might embarrass the lame point u make
 
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Call me crazy but I would go after Andy McGrath as a free agent.

Kid can play but is going nowhere fast at the Bombers.
I'm not a fan.
All evidence points to a solid vanilla back pocket.

For so long the bombers have been crying out for midfield talent and matchwinners across the ground.
And Mcgrath has not been good enough.
He reminds me of Daniel Rich. Both number 1 picks expected to change the fortunes of the club. Rich didnt have it to be elite, and needed to build a career as a solid footballer. Only towards the end when surrounded by a v good side did he shine.

Mcgrath. Not competitive enough for midfield for mine.
Not blistering fast for halfback.
Where would he play for us? Why would we need him?
How does he fix our list holes?
We've got better options and bigger holes.
 
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Was hardly selling the farm , if you ID the players that were drafted in their place it might embarrass the lame point u make
Cornes showed the player's that were picked up with the picks we traded away.
Not 1 has burst onto the scene.
I haven't heard of any of them.
Tarranto would 100% in GWS team today..besides Taylor Green and Greene he would the next 1 selected.
 
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Smoking smoking?
the mask smoking GIF
 
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With both Yze and Newman having coached him and we didn't do research? Sometimes I wonder where you get your ideas.
He was earmarked to come to RFC before YZE and Newman were even offered their roles
His manager shopped him around to 4 clubs
Hawks recruited him as a back
And played him forward
Clearly is extremely limited but maybe had “ price tag “ that fitted the situation
Maybe we play him back ? Who knows
There are plenty of “ Kossi” playing in the VFL who can’t step up to AFL
 
There are plenty of “ Kossi” playing in the VFL who can’t step up to AFL.
Clearly is extremely limited.
Agreed. But maybe, just maybe, today it all goes right for the big lug.

Today he crashes packs, brings the ball to ground, negates Saints defenders, provides presence and aggression that lifts those around him, goes on long searching leads, acts at times as a decoy, and maybe gets a goal or two himself.

I think Yze adapts his plan to the available cattle, and molds his cattle to the plan.

So maybe, just maybe, cattle and plan come together, and Kosi shows he's a worthy member of the herd.

Maybe, just maybe.

And if it all comes to pass, how good would that be?
 
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Agreed. But maybe, just maybe, today it all goes right for the big lug.

Today he crashes packs, brings the ball to ground, negates Saints defenders, provides presence and aggression that lifts those around him, goes on long searching leads, acts at times as a decoy, and maybe gets a goal or two himself.

I think Yze adapts his plan to the available cattle, and molds his cattle to the plan.

So maybe, just maybe, cattle and plan come together, and Kosi shows he's a worthy member of the herd.

Maybe, just maybe.

And if it all comes to pass, how good would that be?
castle.jpg
 
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If, Bakes wants to back to to Wa, (i hope like hell that he doesn't want to) Blair should negotiate a deal involving Josh Treacy. Is still only 21 and has a lot of improvement in him.
 
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Was hardly selling the farm , if you ID the players that were drafted in their place it might embarrass the lame point u make
'Selling the farm'...a colloquial football expression, meaning seriously overpaying for players that will supposedly radically change a clubs fortunes. In our case two years worth of first rounders plus other very valuable picks. And for what? (and yes the critics of the deal still do remember). So we'd be contenders again, not that we wouldn't bottom out and or provide 'hard bodies' as we 'rebuild'. That was the selling point that fans like you were creaming their pants over.

Anyhow, Taranto, well he has his faults, but his performance last year was good, at least up to the half way point. So can't complain too much there. Hopper on the other hand, for a top ten pick plus steak knives, for a player with his limitations, age and susceptibility to injury, on that kind of ridiculous contract, that's a 'S' show and a half.

And again I know you are a bit slow, but I don't know which players that we would have picked, but they probably wouldn't have been exactly the same ones that were eventually drafted. So it's a stupid point you are trying to make. But yeah, I'd take those Hopper picks back in a heartbeat even not knowing whom we would have selected. Much rather that than what we're stuck with now.
 
But yeah, I'd take those Hopper picks back in a heartbeat even not knowing whom we would have selected. Much rather that than what we're stuck with now.
This is where coaches need to be kept out of long-term list management decisions. Dimma wanted one last dance as there was no way he was going to be around for a rebuild.