What would you consider constitutes THE "winner" in the trade period.

[Jeanette54]

There is always talk about which club "won" the trade period.

Is it about who best fills the holes n their team lineup, or is it about who grabs the best talent available, irrespective of position? Or is it holding a successful team together, irrespective of both the salary cap and the outside interest in their playing group?

I would be interested to hear from other woofers on what you would consider makes a trade period winner. As well as who you would believe to be the proven "master" of the trade period?

[Sedat]

It's in the AFL commission constitution for Essendon to win trade week every year

[GVGjr]

To me there is a clear distinction between what the list manager is charged to and that of the coach.
From a recruiting perspective I suspect the list manager is primarily focused on improving the quality and depth of the playing list and addressing the gaps the footy department have identified. Then there is managing the financial side of things and ensuring the age and experience profile of the list is projected out
This changes if the team is a realistic chance of competing as a top 4 side or is in a rebuild mode

So to get back to the OP, and thanks again for this J54, I think we can acknowledge that Gallagher from the Saints has performed well over the last 2 years and has quickly reset the Saints on the path of stronger performances. It's never an exact science and sometimes it will work or fall short and the ladder position won't always tell the true story.

Solid recruitment of experienced players to build on some of the younger talent has worked well for them but it remains to be seen who fronts up for them in 2021 and goes on with it but a lot of that will be up to Ratten and his coaching team

I think the Saints really leapfrogged us this year and it could be that they recruited better or that Rattan jumped on at the right time and inspired the playing list but most likely it's a combination of both aspects

The real test comes next year for them to see if they can go on with it

You can win trade week if you improve your list but it doesn't mean you will move up the ladder

[1eyedog]

If you can fill your biggest need with the best player available you've gone a long way to get your club in a winning position.

[bornadog]

Doesn't really worry me who wins trade week, as long as we get the right guys to fill the gaps in our best 22.