Good move by the Doggies

They showed they lacked a tall forward against St Kilda in the Finals

If Hall can keep out of trouble, look for them to be a serious final contender next season

I still think the Bulldogs should have gone all out for Fevola.

I know they had committed to trading for Hall but Fev is one of the best key forwards in the league and his presence would have made the doggies a premiership contender rather than just a top 4 contender like Baz does.

The critics have preached for ages the dogs need for a game winning tall forward and Carlton hands them one on a plater yet they choose a 30+ average full forward?

Question: If Hall retired why does Sydney have the right to trade him? Shouldn't he just be able to enter the draft like Cousins did?

I guess the difference is that Cousins was de-registered by the league so he had no choice but to re-enter via the draft. While Hall retired, he was probably still under contract in some regards. I think it's fair that the Swans do get something otherwise players would be retiring all over the shop and joining other clubs in their "comeback season".

Mal Michael retired (Brisbane) before he ended up at Essendon...

He sure did and how much of a c*nt did he look like?

I think Mal was out of contract though.

Gotta agree that they should've gone all-out for Fev. Discipline has not been the only issue for Barry in the last few years, his form's been pretty poor too, and at 32 I can't see it getting much better.

MalMichael was actually contracted for 1 more year with teh Liona, then told the club he wanted to retre to go to PNG and work with the underpriveleged kids. The club worked with him and released him from the final year of his conract and dropped him off there list. Then he turned around and 'unretired' to play with the Pies - so yeah he certainly wasnt a popular chap with the people at the Lions.

Cousins also was delisted by the Eagles and therefore had to go into the draft. Sydney had kept Hall on their list so they could possibly use him as a trade - which they now have

I think he went to the Dons Statman. I agree that the Dogs should have gone hard for Fev. Halls form was pretty average & very inconsistent & was being injured a fair bit.

IMO Barry will be plagued with soft tissue injuries next year & end up retiring before the end of the season.

Mal Michael ended up a Bomber. I know as I was one of those pissed off Lions fans.

I'm a diehard Swans fan fellas so I feel somewhat qualified to comment on Hall as I watch all their games and keep a close eye on all there happenings.

Yes, Hall has been injured a bit recently, but 2009 saw him enter the pre season fully recovered from the injuries that had plagued him the last two years and he was fitter, stronger and healthier for the first time since 2006. He was in great form and you need to take into account the Swans style and structure when assessing Hall stats wise.

I think he will be a great asset to the Doggies and I'm still bummed he threw it in at the Swannies - but then again, I won't be too disappointed if we get the "get drunk and be stupid once a year" Fevola... ;P

If Carlton trade Fev, i may as well defer my AFL membership for the next 3 years

Just recruited Brock McLean

How many midfielders does Ratten want!!!

Judd, Gibbs, Murphy, McLean, Scotland, Stevens, Simpson.....just to name a few

If they are going to trade Fev, it means Waite will have to play FF or O'hailpin/Cam Cloke

We need backmen.......Goose MacGuire wants out of the Saints......recruit him u tools

Rumors are that a certain player from Carlton stated that either he goes or i go.
i'm guessing that its Chris Judd, on Brownlow night Fevola allegedly pulled down the top half of Twigley's dress and that is why the captain wants him gone!

Fez, McLean is a great pickup. You've got plenty of mids but none like him. I don't want to use the term 'downhill skiers' but Judd, Gibbs, Murphy, Simpson, Scotland, Stevens etc could all benefit from a tough inside guy like Brock.

I agree they should go for Maguire as well though, and ditch Hampson to Port for pick 9 if they want him.

Nick Stevens is about to retire and Gibbs would be better suited to being a running half-back.

Good call X . Not on Judd and Gibbs but Scotland , Murphy , Simpson , and Stevens for sure . Chuck in Carazzo and Houlihan and you have a fairweather bunch of pussies .

Bryce Gibbs is on the verge of elite and is wasted at half back . He is one of the best decision makers and kicks into the forward line . A true Utility that all great teams have . Sure he can steady the D if needed but only when .

Having Brock in the Middle gives the blues some much needed grunt and probably prolongs Juddies career by a couple of years . He also allows the others the freedom the need to play to their strengths .
He is only 23 and just needs some good leadership and professionalism around him to truly reach his potential .
Maybe that and easing down on the booze and he serves the blues well for the next 6-8 years while there premiership window is open .

A Midfield of Judd , Gibbs , Murphy , Mclean and Simpson as A graders with a second platoon of Grigg , Hadley , Russell and Armfield carries a better balance .

They should of traded Scotland .

On Fev , after the Pressure point , Pressure point , Steven Segal , Steven Segal , lets pull Twigleys top down his ass was gone . Good entertainment though .

"lets pull Twigleys top down" Soooo mad at ch.9 for not showing that.

Gibbs IS an elite mid, shouldn't be played off HB at all. Scotland, Simpson, Johnson, Carrazzo, Walker, Houlihan etc. are better suited to that role.

Id far from say Murphy is soft

If that truly is the case with Twigley then i suppose he had to go

Dont think Carlton should trade Hampson, he and Warnock can hold down the ruck for the next 5 years, and Carlton can move Kruze to the forward line so they dont burn him out like the pies did with Fraser at a young age

Im not so sure Bradshaw and Rischitelli are a fair swap for a bloke who can kick 80+ goals a year

Yes Bradshaw can give you that when healthy, but why is Voss suddenly so eager to give him up....especially when he can play forward and back

Im thinking his body is gone.....just hope the Blues dont get sucked in and we get a dud who wont play more than a handful of games for us

Happy with Henderson and 12 Fez?

And I don't mean to call Murph soft, just more of a runner/outside mid, and he's brilliant at it, McLean will only help him.

Not really happy with it X, but Fevola has brought it upon himself, and if its true (email going round with all the crap he did brownlow night) then he had to go

He will be a big loss to the forwardline

Henderson can play back/forward and is still only 19/20 years old, and has plenty of footy in him

Basically we got Brock for nothing as we gave up 11 to get pick 12

Wouldve liked another player thrown in the deal from the lions

Now to wait and see what happens next season for my beloved Blues....lol

Im thinking a finish anywhere between 8-12

Fez... The blues (my team as well, BTW) have been craving a hard in and under guy to be the first at the ball. Their trying, IMHO, to replicate that tough midfield that the Eagles had.

What they have lacked, always, was a Daniel Kerr type. Stevens was meant to be the in and under, first at the ball guy and he WAS with Port Adelaide. But his body has never really been right with Carlton.

They drafted Murphy to do it, but he's more the Cousins type. With McLean, I THINK that we've finally got the right kind of guy.

We now have McLean (the equivalent of West Coasts Kerr) to get first hands on the ball, take the hits, get it out to the next guy in the chain.

We have Judd (the equivalent of West Coasts J....oh hang on) to get the first clean possesion, stand up in the tackle (something no-one does like Judd) and get it to the running players.

We have Murph and Gibbs (the equivalent of West Coasts Cousins and Embley) to be those run past and deliver into the forward line types.

Now....if we just had someone to deliver too :-(

Only kidding, we have the luxury of being able to play Kruze up front, O'Hailpin can dedicate himself to a forward role and will be better for not sharing the forward line with Fev, as will Fish who has been Fev's whipping boy for years.

Plus with Waite and Jamison back, we should strengthen our back line. We may even have the luxury of playing Waite and/or Andy Walker up front every now and then.

Obviously I would MUCH prefer a guy who you could bank on to kick 80-100 a season, but good delivery could see 3 guys kick 30-40 and cover that hole.

And you've got eddie crumbing the forward line as well.

I'm not overly happy about what happened, but he HAD to go. At the same time, I'm not overly panicked about the future either.

I don't think we're ready for premiership glory next season (didn't think we were going to be anyway), but I don't think we're plummeting to the bottom of the ladder in a hurry either.

Fev's behaviour brought all this about, but the media have absolutely crucified him as well and I don't think he deserves things like Saturdays Herald Sun front page announcing GOOD RIDDANCE over a full picture of him. Or the article headline of "The State is well shot of this lout". Over the top, when you remember that he didn't break the law and compare his treatment to Cousins, Hurley (in the same week), Didak/Shaw, etc.

Bit off, IMHO.