Gilbert's value

[mad saint guy]

Gilbert has played some decent footy this year after a shocker in 2011, but I'm starting to wonder if we'd be better off seeing what we can get for him on the trade table. While he's quite tall, he plays as a medium defender - which we have an abundance of at St Kilda. Footskills are his major weakness which does not go with Watters and Pelchen's vision for the team.

As far as medium/tallish defenders go, we've got Fisher, Dempster, Gwilt and Simpkin already in the team with Goddard and Siposs both spending time in that role as well. Ferguson is also a similar player to Gilbert and should be ready for senior footy in the next season or two. And with Steven, Armitage, Ledger, Newnes, Dunell and Ross all pushing for more midfield opportunities I don't see a spot for Gilbert there either. If any of Gram, Blake or Raph stay, they can also perform similar roles to Gilbert.

I think it would be in our best interests to shop Gilbert around for a late first round pick or even to Gold Coast for one of their homesick young guns. I have nothing against Gilbo and I realise he's in our current best 22, but he's very easily replaceable and he drags the teams skills down. He's one of our few expendable players with any trade value and I think we need to make the tough call. We have an excess of tallish flankers and he could land us a good draft pick or another player who fills a need more than he does.

[Little Dozer]

Completely agree. Shop him around for a draft pick or prospect. We can't have so many poor kicks of the footy in the team if we're to contend again.

[BringBackMadDog]

Absolutely not. versatile footballers are hard to find, Gilbo can play in so many different positions, he takes the game on, is super quick for his height and a ferocious tackler. We would never get anything of equal value in a trade

[Dr Spaceman]

Absolutely not. versatile footballers are hard to find, Gilbo can play in so many different positions, he takes the game on, is super quick for his height and a ferocious tackler. We would never get anything of equal value in a trade

Agree BBMD. Gilbo's perceived/real deficiencies are likely to greatly limit what clubs would be prepared to offer.

In any event I reckon his kicking has not been too bad, particularly in the second half of the year. And besides, our desire to improve in this area should not be confused with the virtually impossible objective of having 22 great kicks in the side. The trouble at the moment is not that we have unreliable kicks in the side, it's that we have so many of them.

[Con Gorozidis]

Keep Gilbo. My basic rule of thumb is we cant afford to get too low on the ladder so we need to hang on to our guys who are 23-26yo to help us through the next few lean years.
Using the same argument - Id keep Faz and Wilkes on as well. They arent world beaters but we need some solid guys to help us through the lean patch coming up as we focus on re-building through kids.

[plugger66]

Everyone is tradable so he should be shopped around but so should everyone else.

[Beno88]

Gilbert does dish off the odd shocking kick every now and then, but this idea that he can't kick is a myth. Particularly in the second half of this season.

For the first eight rounds his efficiency was 70%, since then it's improved to 78%. That ranks him 5th at the club in that time, and 9th for the entire season. Ahead of Hayes, Dal Santo, Montagna, Riewoldt, Milne, Armitage and many more.

The best in the AFL for any player who's played more than a handful of games is 87%. Our best is McEvoy with 85%.

Given Gilbert is a running player who often kicks long and forward, 78% is excellent.

[NOTTHATAWKWARD]

Old mate Gilbo does produce a high amount of shockers i'll admit and sometimes feels like a liability, but he does prove very useful in those games when he can kick 2 to 3 goals from set shots.

[saintspremiers]

Everyone is tradable so he should be shopped around but so should everyone else.

Rooey is the only one I'd hate to see go. Has huge marketing value also for the club.

I'm not including Lenny, Milne as they are too old to be considered.

[Old Mate]

Tall, tough, quick running player and still quite young. My preference would be to keep him despite his deficiencies.

[SainterK]

Would be in the top 5 at the club for effort...

[mad saint guy]

Absolutely not. versatile footballers are hard to find, Gilbo can play in so many different positions, he takes the game on, is super quick for his height and a ferocious tackler. We would never get anything of equal value in a trade

Not sure about this versatility. I've been to almost every saints game in Melbourne this year and I've seen him play as a medium defender at half back and/or on the wing all year. Occasionally he's thrown into the forward line for 10 minutes every couple of months but his poor kicking for goal renders that move pointless. I was hoping that he'd be developed into our next key defender this year but that never happened. His tackling hasn't been anything special for the past few seasons either - it was fantastic in his first couple of years but definitely dropped off.

I'm not bagging Gilbert, I just think he's surplus to our needs and we could get someone more useful to St Kilda by trading him.

My basic rule of thumb is we cant afford to get too low on the ladder so we need to hang on to our guys who are 23-26yo to help us through the next few lean years.
Using the same argument - Id keep Faz and Wilkes on as well. They arent world beaters but we need some solid guys to help us through the lean patch coming up as we focus on re-building through kids.

That is a valid point and the only real reason why I think it might be worth hanging on to him. He is just about the only decent player we drafted over the space of 3 years.

Would be in the top 5 at the club for effort...

Polo, Raph and Jones would be close as well.

[BringBackMadDog]

Absolutely not. versatile footballers are hard to find, Gilbo can play in so many different positions, he takes the game on, is super quick for his height and a ferocious tackler. We would never get anything of equal value in a trade

Not sure about this versatility. I've been to almost every saints game in Melbourne this year and I've seen him play as a medium defender at half back and/or on the wing all year. Occasionally he's thrown into the forward line for 10 minutes every couple of months but his poor kicking for goal renders that move pointless. I was hoping that he'd be developed into our next key defender this year but that never happened. His tackling hasn't been anything special for the past few seasons either - it was fantastic in his first couple of years but definitely dropped off.

I'm not bagging Gilbert, I just think he's surplus to our needs and we could get someone more useful to St Kilda by trading him.

My basic rule of thumb is we cant afford to get too low on the ladder so we need to hang on to our guys who are 23-26yo to help us through the next few lean years.
Using the same argument - Id keep Faz and Wilkes on as well. They arent world beaters but we need some solid guys to help us through the lean patch coming up as we focus on re-building through kids.

That is a valid point and the only real reason why I think it might be worth hanging on to him. He is just about the only decent player we drafted over the space of 3 years.

Would be in the top 5 at the club for effort...

Polo, Raph and Jones would be close as well.

In terms of versatility he has played on small forwards tall forwards, he has played wing, midfield, key forward, half forward and this year had stints in the ruck. To me that is very, very versatile. Plus we aren't blessed with quick players who run through the lines.

[BringBackMadDog]

Absolutely not. versatile footballers are hard to find, Gilbo can play in so many different positions, he takes the game on, is super quick for his height and a ferocious tackler. We would never get anything of equal value in a trade

Not sure about this versatility. I've been to almost every saints game in Melbourne this year and I've seen him play as a medium defender at half back and/or on the wing all year. Occasionally he's thrown into the forward line for 10 minutes every couple of months but his poor kicking for goal renders that move pointless. I was hoping that he'd be developed into our next key defender this year but that never happened. His tackling hasn't been anything special for the past few seasons either - it was fantastic in his first couple of years but definitely dropped off.

I'm not bagging Gilbert, I just think he's surplus to our needs and we could get someone more useful to St Kilda by trading him.

My basic rule of thumb is we cant afford to get too low on the ladder so we need to hang on to our guys who are 23-26yo to help us through the next few lean years.
Using the same argument - Id keep Faz and Wilkes on as well. They arent world beaters but we need some solid guys to help us through the lean patch coming up as we focus on re-building through kids.

That is a valid point and the only real reason why I think it might be worth hanging on to him. He is just about the only decent player we drafted over the space of 3 years.

Would be in the top 5 at the club for effort...

Polo, Raph and Jones would be close as well.

In terms of versatility he has played on small forwards tall forwards, he has played wing, midfield, key forward, half forward and this year had stints in the ruck. To me that is very, very versatile. Plus we aren't blessed with quick players who run through the lines.

[gringo]

Keep him, tall mid aged and quick and attacking. his good is out weighing his bad.

[mad saint guy]

In terms of versatility he has played on small forwards tall forwards, he has played wing, midfield, key forward, half forward and this year had stints in the ruck. To me that is very, very versatile. Plus we aren't blessed with quick players who run through the lines.

And how many of those roles was he any good in? He has rarely gone near a tall forward all year and he's useless as a forward himself. He sure as hell isn't a ruckman and he's not a midfielder. The only two roles he has played with any success are half back and on the wing. His athleticism and height creates this perception that he can play any position, but he hasn't actually done well in anything but his regular role.

Keep in mind that it's the likes of Newnes, Dunell and Siposs who would be taking his half back/wing spot instead of playing in the VFL or starting as sub; skilled, composed kids getting game time and responsibility is a major priority.

[dragit]

Doubt anyone would offer up anywhere near a first round pick for him going into a strong draft… mid second at best…

How about Gilbert & Raph & our 2nd pick for Caddy…

[matrix]

Would be in the top 5 at the club for effort...

agreed

but


has the kick always been this shocking?

either play him up forward or on a wing or get rid of him imo
we cannot afford turnovers down back

[Spinner]

Trade value: Nothing.

Would be lucky to get a third rounder....So not nothing, but next to nothing.

[Con Gorozidis]

He does try hard. He is a nice age and basically never gets injured.
Should keep.

Much rather we offloaded Gram or Kosi (although this will never happen).

[WinnersOnly]

Doubt anyone would offer up anywhere near a first round pick for him going into a strong draft… mid second at best…

How about Gilbert & Raph & our 2nd pick for Caddy…

Posted on Bigfooty a couple of weeks ago by a Melbourne supporter - was that the Saints had finalized a deal with GC that involved the exchange of Gilbert & Caddy plus to juggling of draft picks. Take it how you like but the guy seemed to have some inside knowledge of the exchange!

Would make sense with both players returning home plus Gilbert is a player with trade value but someone we could cover!

[skeptic]

I agree MSG

he's one of those players that's capable of being an A-Grader but he simply doesn't play that many good games... plenty of serviceable ones but few good-great games.

If you could get a mid 20s pick for him, I say take it

[Con Gorozidis]

Doubt anyone would offer up anywhere near a first round pick for him going into a strong draft… mid second at best…

How about Gilbert & Raph & our 2nd pick for Caddy…

Posted on Bigfooty a couple of weeks ago by a Melbourne supporter - was that the Saints had finalized a deal with GC that involved the exchange of Gilbert & Caddy plus to juggling of draft picks. Take it how you like but the guy seemed to have some inside knowledge of the exchange!

Would make sense with both players returning home plus Gilbert is a player with trade value but someone we could cover!

wow.
i would not rule it out. GC would be keen on someone around gilbos age who is reliable/isnt injury prone and will help out their youngsters for the next few years.....
this could almost make sense....

(p.s i dont think throwing raph in to the deal would sweeten the deal with GC. no offence intended )

[plugger66]

I would completely rule it out.

[dragit]

I would completely rule it out.

As in no chance GC would do that?
or
you don't like Caddy and want to keep Glibo?