My views on this trade period I've sort of made known. As I have said before, it comes down to money and need. What do we need, and what do we have to spend? Keeping in mind that in the future, we will have to re-sign Vlastuin, Ellis etc.
It is obvious to me we have a few holes. I would love to see us pick up a small forward, and a third target as well as a young back-up ruckman. Keeping in mind our fiscal issues with the salary cap, we have only hit one of the three. For me that is understandable, though I would rather it be 3 from 3.
But there is some players on our list that can develop into that role. I feel like a broken record mentioning Griffiths, Elton and McBean, and even Chris Knights - but the reality of the situation is that they could all potentially fill that void.
The other thing that really needs to be stated is that at the end of the day, under Hardwick we have seen an increase in wins and development each year - culminating in our first Finals series in 13 years. I think when people start to throw up names like Deledio, Foley and Grigg (admittedly I am not against trading the last two if its the right deal) it sort of goes against the grain at what got us to where we are in the first place. It has once been said that the process of change is the hardest at the start and at the end. The middle (the longest part) is the easiest.
People are going to look at the Pies and say we got beaten there. And credit where credit is due, they have done extremely well in this trade period. The giving up pick 11 and pick 40 odd for pick 6 and Jesse White is fantastic. But again, they've lost Daisy Thomas (nearly a Norm Smith medal winner, and top 10 player in the AFL 2 years ago) and Heath Shaw. Two players who have been staples in previous premiership sides. That's to say nothing of Didak, Johnson, Jolly and Kracker. Have they gained more than they've lost - at least in the short term? That's really the question that needs to be answered for the Magpies off-season I believe.
I am disappointed we've lost Matty White. I think he's injection of pace has been crucial in critical moments this past season. Its also disappointing to see we haven't found a replacement for him at this stage. The player I would be targeting is Rohan from Sydney - though would be a hard sell I would have thought.
I am all for picking up Hampson, all for not overspending on Adams. Think they are smart moves, but that is not to say we could've and should've done better.