Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

According to this morning's Australian we have offered Smith a very lucrative three-year contract which he is considering. Apparently the deal will see us swapping our pick 7 with the Hawks pick 10. The Oz didn't mention any other draft picks or players but you'd have to assume Hawks expect more than 3 places up the trade ladder for a player of Smith's calibre.

I'm with you MarkT.

Just remember everyone, that despite being 27 or 28 years old, Joel Smith missed 18months of football in his mid twenties and still has a fair bit of gas in the tank. He also gives you the flexibility in having him play in the midfield or in defence, he can coverr bigger and smaller opponents like Jimmy Clement and is an attacking half back flanker when given enough rope.

If it costs us a player and a pick in the second round, no big issue, doesn't phase me at all. If Pick 7 is all they want, tell them to get nicked.

Chicken Nixon isn't the kind of manager that releases info along teh lines of bolstering his player's pay packet, that's a Ron Joseph trick.

I wouldn't be surprised if Hawthorn on trade one or two of those picks you've already mentioned (Pick 2,5,10,21,26,37,53) to recruit a forward, be it Big Red Whitnall or someone like Troy Longmuir from Fremantle who is leaving as well.

Brown26 wrote:I'd do it - He'll give us a few years good service and a bit more run out of the bakline, release a few other guys, ie. Johnno and Cole, to the midfield, add a bit of versitility, and we can get (hpefully) moloney or someone from the Cats for pick 10. Smith, Moloney and Morrison (PSD) is better than Morrison and pick 7 IMO.

- Ben

I'd do it as well. It's only 3 more picks up. Btw, we won't be getting Moloney, because he is involved in the Ottens deal.

As was mentioned so many times over the last three months since it became apparent where we'd end up, why trade pick 7, which brings you a potential 10-12 year player, for one with maybe 2-3 years left in his career? Joel Smith would be handy, but you hand over pick 7 only for a star and Joel Smith is just a good ordinary player. He's worth maybe a second round pick at best. Plus, it depends on how much he wants. At the moment, no-one knows. If he asks for too much, we shouldn't do any deal, not even for a second round pick. Let him go into the PSD and we still have the option to pick him up with our pick 20 in that which, make no mistake, he'll be available at if he nominates a high salary.

Looks like we didn't need to worry.

And it looks like it was, indeed, a strategy just to squeeze more money out of the Dawks! Good on Swann/Balme for holding tight and not dealing away pick 7 for a very ordinary player.