O'Meara

[s'dreams]

According to Jon Ralph (I know not the most impartial or reliable of sources) in tonight's Herald-Sun article, Essendon has the salary wriggle space for O'Meara:

And with the first pick in the national draft, pre-season draft and as the only club with salary cap room, picks and a real inclination for Jaeger O’Meara it must be the warm favourite for his services.

Essendon can afford to take the chance on O’Meara’s injury status given its stocks of kids, especially if he can be landed in the pre-season draft.

Then either of the options with the no. 1 pick appeal — taking Warrnambool midfielder Hugh McCluggage or trading it for a pair of top-15 selections.

With a potential second-round pick in exchange for Michael Hibberd, Essendon could march into the draft with four picks inside 25 to boost their stocks.

.... how many days until trade week and the draft again?

Oh, Ralph also reports:

IN another time with less forgiving insurers and no TV rights bounty, Essendon might have been bankrupted by its four-year ASADA scandal.

If the resilient playing group that had splintered rather than bound even tighter together, the Dons might have taken a decade to rebuild a competitive list.

Finally, 1204 days and a million headlines after Essendon self-reported in February 2013, it will all be over next Wednesday.

On that day — September 14 according to ASADA advice — Essendon players are permitted to begin trickling back into the club before a November 7 start to the pre-season.

And in a development expected by absolutely no one this January, the Bombers will enter 2017 as optimistic as any club about their fortunes.

Those players will have medicals and meet with club staff before mid-November returns, with the club planning a later welcome home function that will be open to its fans.

It has tapped into the excitement, set to bring forward its membership campaign a full six weeks as it hopes to stir the fans ahead of a potential Round 1 blockbuster against Melbourne

Look forward to it if true. What's the parking like up at Tulla???

s'd

[boncer34]

I read somewhere in this thread that Essendon are notoriously difficult to deal with.

That's crap, we have a very good relationship with pretty much all clubs ever since Dodoro was given complete control after Sheedy left. Don't be fooled by media hyperbole.

GC offered Jaeger $750k and he knocked it back which is why people think he is going to cost an arm and a leg. That's false. He would've knocked back any money from the GC, he flat out wanted out of that place. $500k would put us in the picture but from what I know his manager has floated a $600k price to clubs, my guess is he'll get mid to high 500's.

PSD won't be happening unless GC decide to throw the ultimate tantrum and refuse any offer put to them.

Oh and he's passed his medical with us.

[Gimps]

I read somewhere in this thread that Essendon are notoriously difficult to deal with.

That's crap, we have a very good relationship with pretty much all clubs ever since Dodoro was given complete control after Sheedy left. Don't be fooled by media hyperbole.

GC offered Jaeger $750k and he knocked it back which is why people think he is going to cost an arm and a leg. That's false. He would've knocked back any money from the GC, he flat out wanted out of that place. $500k would put us in the picture but from what I know his manager has floated a $600k price to clubs, my guess is he'll get mid to high 500's.

PSD won't be happening unless GC decide to throw the ultimate tantrum and refuse any offer put to them.

Oh and he's passed his medical with us.

I'm still hearing Hawthorn. Hope not, of course.

[boncer34]

I read somewhere in this thread that Essendon are notoriously difficult to deal with.

That's crap, we have a very good relationship with pretty much all clubs ever since Dodoro was given complete control after Sheedy left. Don't be fooled by media hyperbole.

GC offered Jaeger $750k and he knocked it back which is why people think he is going to cost an arm and a leg. That's false. He would've knocked back any money from the GC, he flat out wanted out of that place. $500k would put us in the picture but from what I know his manager has floated a $600k price to clubs, my guess is he'll get mid to high 500's.

PSD won't be happening unless GC decide to throw the ultimate tantrum and refuse any offer put to them.

Oh and he's passed his medical with us.

I'm still hearing Hawthorn. Hope not, of course.

Well it's either us or them.

They just have more pressing issues at the moment.

[DC2]

will hawks give up their first round pick for omeara, as i bet thats what GC wants.

what do we have to give? surely not our no.1 pick.

plus i read that the saints are very interested too.

[boncer34]

will hawks give up their first round pick for omeara, as i bet thats what GC wants.

what do we have to give? surely not our no.1 pick.

plus i read that the saints are very interested too.

The difference between their first and our second is negligible.

I'd throw them the pick from Hibberds trade as well which I think will be about 27.

[DC2]

will hawks give up their first round pick for omeara, as i bet thats what GC wants.

what do we have to give? surely not our no.1 pick.

plus i read that the saints are very interested too.

The difference between their first and our second is negligible.

I'd throw them the pick from Hibberds trade as well which I think will be about 27.

so 2 second rounders you think?

appears dawks are getting both mitchell and vickery. will this help us in that they wont be able to offer as much?

[Gimps]

will hawks give up their first round pick for omeara, as i bet thats what GC wants.

what do we have to give? surely not our no.1 pick.

plus i read that the saints are very interested too.

The difference between their first and our second is negligible.

I'd throw them the pick from Hibberds trade as well which I think will be about 27.

19, 27, and Dempsey so he can be their waterboy.

[boncer34]

will hawks give up their first round pick for omeara, as i bet thats what GC wants.

what do we have to give? surely not our no.1 pick.

plus i read that the saints are very interested too.

The difference between their first and our second is negligible.

I'd throw them the pick from Hibberds trade as well which I think will be about 27.

so 2 second rounders you think?

appears dawks are getting both mitchell and vickery. will this help us in that they wont be able to offer as much?

Isn't Vickery a free agent?

Look I'd be stunned if the Hawks get all 3. Can't see how they have the assets to trade for both Mitchell and O'Meara for a start and buggered if I know how they fit the cap if they get those 2 plus Vickery.

But if there is one club that you don't underestimate with list management its the Hawks.

As for the trade itself I wouldn't give up Pick 1 unless a top 10 pick was coming back our way, even if it was a pick 5-10 I'd still hesitate because I'm a tight ass. Being realistic though I know our 2nd and 3rd rounder probably won't get it done so I'd chuck them the Hibberd pick, or even next years second rounder but I'm not confident enough our rise will be as meteoric as we expect to give up next years first.

GC reckon they want 2 firsts, they'll need to be realistic and accept its more like 1 first rounder so I would give 2nd's to equal that 1 first. Which might be pushing my luck if I was opposite them at the trade table, who knows.

[Gimps]

Like the bloke tied to the vehicle carrying Lord Humungus in Mad Max 2, said...

GIVE THEM NOTHING!!

[j-mac31]

Next year we'll be paying good coin to 10 or 11 guys who haven't played for a year and most of them are average or worse players.

You saying Watson, Heppel, Hurley, Hooker are average or worse and not worth the coin????

No, the other 7.

[Windy_Hill]

Hearing from a source currently very close to the inner sanctum at GC that O'Meara is Hawthorn bound subject to the final deal of course.

Expect the Hawks to offer players and future draft picks. Doubt it will appease GC but it will force Essendon's hand.

I've also heard that Mitchell to Hawthorn is not a done deal.

[F111]

JAEGER O’Meara will spend the next fortnight overseas considering his future home after undergoing a series of medical examinations last week.

The Gold Coast midfielder has met Essendon and Hawthorn, with that pair the clear frontrunners for his services.

Clubs are understandably concerned about his durability, but it seems certain they will offer him long-term deals given his extraordinary potential.

St Kilda and North Melbourne are also keen to meet O’Meara, with one club prepared to offer a five-year deal worth as much as $4 million.

But that seems well down the pecking order given Essendon has multiple options to get a deal done for O’Meara and Hawthorn remains the ultimate destination club.

Having passed up a monster two-year deal worth more than $800,000 a season at Gold Coast, he will choose the club with the best fit and best medical services. Jaeger O'Meara has not played for the last two years.

O’Meara will spend that time overseas pondering his future with a move to Victoria a certainty for a player with a Melbourne girlfriend and Armadale apartment.

Essendon and Hawthorn seem confident they are in an ideal position but with 41 days until the trade period closes there is plenty of time for unexpected developments.

On the open market without his patella tendon issues he would be worth in excess of $1 million a year and multiple top-10 picks in a trade.

But given he has not played senior football since the end of 2014 clubs will hedge their bets on what they are prepared to give up for him.

Hawthorn has consistently shown itself to be a risk-taker which recruits seemingly flawed players or drafts players with injury or character issues and tries to iron out their flaws.

But securing Richmond free agent Tyrone Vickery on more than $400,000 a year, Sydney’s Tom Mitchell on $500,000 a year and O’Meara would require the work of salary cap genius.

The Hawks will likely trade out Brad Hill to a West Australian-based club and have secured pay cuts from its four elder statesman but it would still need to find significant space.
Hawthorn is targetting Tyrone Vickery.

Former Hawthorn recruiter Gary Buckenara told Superfooty the Bombers and Suns should trade draft picks to secure a deal for O’Meara.

“If he picks Essendon a way they could do the deal is ask for the No.1 draft pick but give up one of their own first-round picks,’’ he said.

“They did a deal with Melbourne last year to get their first-round pick, currently No.8, while they’ve also got their own first pick, currently No.4.

“So they could say to Essendon we’ll give you O’Meara and pick No.8 for pick No.1 and see if the Bombers, considering they’re getting all their top players back, might be willing to drop back a few places in the draft.

“I think that would be a good enough deal to get Essendon to give up the prized No.1 pick. If he chooses another club his value alone is one top-10 pick.”

[DC2]

who would you rather, omeara or mccluggage?

i think given omearas injuries i would definitely want mccluggage. he sounds quite promising.

the no.1 pick should be off limits in this case, omeara is just too risky a proposition. i kind of hope he picks hawthorn now.

[Crazyman]

If forced to choose, McLuggage, if given choice, both
Given his injuries I would not cede pick 1 for a potential Jaeger-Bomb

[Gimps]

O'Meara for mine.

[Windy_Hill]

There's a school of thought that the top 4 rated players in this year's draft are pretty much of a muchness. McCluggage being the most recent standout of the 4. The others being Ainsworth, Bridie and Mcgrath.

As such, some ate suggesting we trade our picks 1, 19 answer 37 to GCS for their picks 4, 8 and JOM.

That's not such a bad deal and keeps us in line for one of the Top 4 plus, importantly another pick in the top 8.

And of course O'Meara

[BenDoolan]

"Whatever it takes"

[boncer34]

Hearing from a source currently very close to the inner sanctum at GC that O'Meara is Hawthorn bound subject to the final deal of course.

Expect the Hawks to offer players and future draft picks. Doubt it will appease GC but it will force Essendon's hand.

I've also heard that Mitchell to Hawthorn is not a done deal.

Can I ask when you heard that?

Because that whole situation sounds like it'd be fascinating to be a fly on the wall in Sydney.

[patoman]

There's a school of thought that the top 4 rated players in this year's draft are pretty much of a muchness. McCluggage being the most recent standout of the 4. The others being Ainsworth, Bridie and Mcgrath.

As such, some ate suggesting we trade our picks 1, 19 answer 37 to GCS for their picks 4, 8 and JOM.

That's not such a bad deal and keeps us in line for one of the Top 4 plus, importantly another pick in the top 8.

And of course O'Meara

I'd be rapt with that deal! I do like the sound of mcluggage and I can't wait to see us get our first ever #1 pick! However picking up Omera and swapping 1 19 for 4&8 would be a big win for the club. Assuming we don't spend the next ten years watching mcluggage become the best player of the comp in a GCS top