Western Bulldogs 2018 trade guide: Who should the Dogs chase this off-season?
HE’S a favourite son no more. Mitch Wallis looks set to leave the Western Bulldogs this off-season while Jordan Roughead is also on the trade table. David King looks at how the Doggies can cash in.
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It has certainly been bizarre.
After winning a premiership just 40 games ago, the Western Bulldogs are now consistently the youngest selected team each round.
Luke Beveridge is engaging in a mini-rebuild and the exposed young talent on show has significant potential.
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Aaron Naughton, Ed Richards, Patrick Lipinski, Tim English, Billy Gowers and Bailey Williams are adapting to AFL football with haste.
Combine these types with Jackson Macrae, who was in Brownlow Medal conversations prior to injury, Marcus Bontempelli, Toby McLean, Lachie Hunter and Jason Johannisen in another 40-50 games and look out.
The Bulldogs will need better seasons from Caleb Daniel going forward and Tom Liberatore, who has been sorely missed this season, will be the club’s best recruit in 2019.
Currently the Dogs have pick 5 and then their next pick is in the third round.
I’d imagine if this is a reset then trading for mid-tier draft picks would be desirable. It was rumoured that Luke Dahlhaus was potentially attainable but there’s grey area in that discussion. Mitch Wallis is likely to vacate but the Bulldogs will receive nothing in return as he’s a free agent.
How crippling is the Tom Boyd contract? Time will tell.
The draft has been a happy hunting ground for the Western Bulldogs over the recent years and you’d expect that will be the course navigated at season’s end.
Beware the Dogs of 2020.
HARRISON REID PREVIEWS THE DOGGIES’ OPTIONS
IN PLAY
1. Mitch Wallis
Age: 25
Games in 2018: 9
Still belongs at AFL level, yet has found himself fighting for senior selection in the VFL multiple times this year. At his best, he slots into most, if not every midfield in the competition, so he has value on the market.
2. Tom Campbell
Age: 26
Games in 2018: 0
With 13 other key-position players 193cm or over on the Dogs’ list, including five who have played roles in the ruck, Campbell’s spot is unnecessary. Still only 26 though, and could find a new home which needs ruck depth.
3. Jordan Roughead
Age: 27
Games in 2018: 5
Luke Beveridge caught the footy world by surprise when he threw the ruckman’s future at the Kennel into doubt earlier in the year. But given five appearances in the VFL already and with Tim English in the wings, the coach’s doubt may have had significant substance.
BUY BUY BUY
1. Rhylee West
Age: 17
Club: Calder Cannons (TAC Cup)
The son of Bulldogs great Scott West was among Vic Metro’s best again at the weekend and looks likely to attract a first round bid from a rival club. Dogs will match the bid to secure the talented midfielder.
2. Rory Sloane
Age: 28
Games in 2018: 4
Club: Adelaide
As time goes by a return home to Victoria looms as increasingly likely for Sloane, who would revive the Dogs’ depleted midfield if he chose Whitten Oval as his preferred destination. We’ve seen worse combinations than Sloane and The Bont.
3. Andrew Gaff
Age: 26
Games in 2018: 13
Club: West Coast
Looks set to stay at West Coast on a long-term contract, but if the Dogs could prize him out, his class would fill a gaping void in their midfield and until he has signed, he’s on the market.
WINS AND ROUNDABOUTS
Ex-Docker Hayden Crozier has added some class and precision distribution from half-back after overcoming a slow start to the season which was interrupted by injury. The Dogs will have to wait for a return in the investment they put into 20-year-old Josh Shache, who has only broken into the senior team in recent weeks and has yet to have an impact. The relationship between the club and Jake Stringer was broken after his exit interview last year so parting ways was inevitable, but Dogs fans will be frustrated to see Stringer finding glimpses of his All-Australian form at Essendon.
FANTASY QUICK FIX
With a list decimated by injury and thin midfield depth, a mid-season trading window could put out spotfires everywhere at the Bulldogs. Dom Sheed has fallen down the pecking order of a powerful midfield at West Coast and could easily walk into the Bulldogs’ midfield.
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