Judd Week, or, Who's got Gardiner?

Trade week, as always, has raised some issues about player movement, club interference and the transparency of the whole process. Due to the current guidelines, however, this will always be the case. God knows, I’ve read enough ‘Carlton-worked-the-system-beautifully’ articles this week to know. Talk about your back-handed compliment.

The problem, as I see it, is that because Chris Judd chose Carlton as his preferred destination, and was then dutifully traded there, it appears is if the clubs are at the mercy of their players. For if the Eagles chose not to deal with Carlton, Judd would have walked, leaving the Eagles with nothing and leaving Carlton free to grab him anyway in the pre-season draft. That the Blues had enough draft picks and talent to satisfy the Eagles was either a lucky coincidence, or a thoughtful gesture on Judd’s behalf: Either way, the AFL needs to tidy this whole off-season process up.

They need to view the off-season activities holistically, rather than as separate entities. We shouldn’t have trade week, followed by the national draft, followed by the pre-season draft – they should all be one process.

Have a longer period up to and including the national draft so teams have the opportunity to trade into and out of the national draft on the day, as well as after it. Scrap the pre-season draft altogether, along with any ‘priority pick’ system and put out of contract players into the regular draft along with the under-18 talent.

I love trade week and seeing players changing teams, wondering how they’ll fit in and if they’ll finally realise their full potential in new colours. So let’s get it right, because one good trade can turn a club around.

The Blues have been on the border of irrelevancy for 3 years now. Hell, if it wasn’t for their captain being potentially involved in a double family homicide any day now, they wouldn’t get any press at all. But all of a sudden, they’re the most talked about club again. And that’s the thing about getting a player like Chris Judd is that it’s not just about his on-field performance. As soon as Judd nominated Carlton as his preferred destination, Blues fans found that intangible thing that makes sports so appealing; hope.

You watch, Carlton fans will come out of the wood-work to buy memberships. They’ll clean out the stores of over-priced jumpers, with Judd’s new number (I’m guessing maybe 22. He seems like the kind of guy who wouldn’t take the number [5] of player he was traded for). They’ll tell anyone who’ll listen that Judd, Nick Stevens and Marc Murphy is the best midfield going around. They’ll be dreaming about the lace-out delivery that Fevola is going to get. They’ll even start saying things like, “Brett Thornton is one of the best young defenders in the league.” That’s what hope does to you, and that’s what trade week is all about: Hope that your team can improve, that they can pick up that player that will put them over the edge and that they don’t end up holding a press conference featuring Sam Power.

So with that in mind, let’s assess trade week using my patented (read: lazy) system of ‘thumbs up/thumbs down’!

Thumbs Up

Carlton: The Blues got the best player in the league and still managed to hang on to pick number one, which they’ll use on talented ruckman Matthew Kreuzer. They also managed to snag Brisbane midfielder Richard Hadley, who was slowed last year due to recovering from major knee surgery. Add them to a full-forward who sulks and assaults Irishmen, a captain recovering from a broken vertebra and all they need is a full-back, centre half-back and about 12 more consistent performers. Other than that, they’re good to go.

West Coast: They’ve ended up with a young key forward, which they desperately need, and five picks inside the top 30 in the national draft, all for a player who could have hobbled away for nothing. (Which reminds me, would there have been a bigger kick-in-the-balls in AFL history if Judd never fully recovered? Blues fans around Australia are collectively vomiting blood right now.)

Richmond: Apparently Greg Miller came out of his coma some time last year: First Graeme Polak and now this? Jordan McMahon is young enough to turn it around and Mitch Morton was brought in as company for his brother, whom the Tigers will be drafting with their no. 2 pick. Should have a decent list by the time Richo is 45.

Sydney: I like the Marty Mattner pick up for them, I really do. Their most important player is Tahdg Kennelly and when he went down, so did the Swans. Mattner is essentially the same player, only with half the press and an unflattering accent. Plus, Paul Roos has a history of turning big, uncoordinated chops around (Ted Richards, Lewis Roberts-Thomspon, Darren Jolly) so if anyone has a chance with Hank Playfair, it’s him.

Melbourne: If I was Dean Bailey I would be moving a few more guys other than just Travis Johnstone. Still, it’s a good start and more of a statement that anything else. They have picks 4, 14 and 21 in the draft and also brought in young ruckman John Meesen, who apart from posting disturbing pictures on MySpace, is apparently quite a talent.

Thumbs Down

St. Kilda: I think Ross Lyon should just change his name to Paul Roos Junior and be done with it. I mean, it’s not enough to steal their ugly style of play, now he’s taking Sydney’s players and gambling on washed up ruckmen?

Adelaide: Lost both their ruckmen and their best running defender in exchange for an Englishman (Moran) and a player who crapped the sink in the Grand Final (Symes). Where have all those ‘Neil Craig is a Genius’ articles gone?

Brisbane: The Lions somehow get a first round pick for a ruckman who couldn’t beat out Jamie Charman, Beau McDonald, Clark Keating or first year player Mathew Luenberger, and they then turn around and trade that pick for Travis Johnstone. That’s like finding $100 on the ground and then spending it all on a vest: Sure, you found the $100, but when are you ever gonna wear a vest?

Western Bulldogs: When will they learn? Last year they overpaid for a washed up Brownlow medallist, this year they did it for a washed up 3rd string ruckman. Has Rodney Eade taken a massive fall, or was he just over-rated to begin with because he started in such a blaze of glory? He’s the AFL coach equivalent of Sharon Stone.

What Thumbs?
Geelong: Despite the loss of a number of players for relatively little in return, I don’t mind the trade week for The Cats: Most of the moves were necessary due to salary cap restrictions and somehow we were able to talk Sydney into a 3rd pick for Hank Playfair. And, really, who have we lost? Can you ever see the situation arising when Geelong plays St. Kilda where you say, “Geez, who’s gonna cover Charlie Gardiner tonight?” Plus, if Steven King didn’t go it would only have been a matter of time before Mark Blake pulled a Nancy Kerrigan on him anyway. It’s just better this way, trust me.