In an incredibly rare event Adam apologises! The first week of the finals in 2024 offered up delight and disappointment across the board, but it exposed a few ugly truths. Adam, Joe and special guest Footyology's Rohan Connolly go through some of the questions those truths exposed, including Port Adelaide suffering stage fright in the big games, the Kardinia Kittens turning into big Cats and Sydney's three tenors go large or they go home. 

Down the Guts - The truths of Week 1 of the finals feat. Rohan Connolly

Brisbane triumph in a roarsome performance, leaving the Swans tasting grand final defeat twice in three years. The Lions also become the first club to simultaneously hold both the AFL and AFLW cups at the same time. Adam and Joe explore how they got to this point, and whether they truly have the beginnings of a dynasty. 

They're joined by special guest commentator Matt Clinch from ABC Sport, as well as check in on their Lions spirit animal Ash from the "We are the Footy" and "We are the Pride" podcasts. 

Plus a look at the beginnings of the AFL free agency period begins, as clubs beginning jostling over trade. 

And you'll never guess who Adam has been wining and dining with!

Down The Guts - Brisbane's redeeming roar bellows beyond 2024

There's never been a better time to be a mid-tier player coming out of contract with free agency beckoning. That's shown by the stream of players switching clubs as soon as the AFL's Free Agency period opened up and the salaries they're being offered to register Band 1 compensation. 

With that in mind, the boys look at the players on the trade market, who are trying to find new homes are really worth. Joe's number 1 pick might surprise you. It knocks Adam's socks off

Down the Guts - Bulls out of the Free Agency gate, plus the DtG Trade Value Draft

A trade bomb lobbed by Hawthorn has put a fork in the road for several clubs and several headline trades. 

Adam and Joe look at who's got the leverage after the reshaping of the trade landscape, as well as look at the remarkable deals Geeloing has pulled off in recent years. 

Plus why it is the clubs that have the power to enforce the right prrice is paid for top draft picks, and why this is the year they need to do it.

Down the Guts - A trade bomb blows up Broadway trades

The AFL's trade period has again thrown up choas as it came to a close. But it's struck Adam and Joe there were several clubs on the sideline who should have been in the fray.

The boys run their eye over whether each club has improved their squad or seen a regression, plus looked at the strategy the clubs are employing with their remaining list spots remaining. 

Richmond 3:05
North Melbourne 8:22
Carlton 13.35
Adelaide 19:10
Melbourne 23:43
St Kilda 28:17
West Coast 32:49
Port Adelaide 38:11
Fremantle 45:14
GWS 49:35
Western Bulldogs 54:45
Sydney 59:21
Brisbane 1:03:41
Essendon 1:07:33
Hawthorn 1:12:37
Gold Coast 1:16:57
Geelong 1:22:01
Collingwood 1:25:34

Down the Guts - Who used what strategy in trade week?

At the end of the 2002 AFL Season, Brisbane has completed back-to-back flags, and thanks to a shrewd trade shipping Des Headland off to Fremantle, jag pick #3 in the  following draft. That pick was supposed to be pick #4, had it not been for Carlton paying a hefty price for breaching the salary cap and being stripped of their #1 draft pick, which cost them Carlton supporter Brendan Goddard. This was also the same draft period that Adelaide tapped out of, having traded Kane Johnson to Richmond, only to use the majority of that trade haul for a 32 year old Wayne Carey.

In this edition of Down the Guts, Adam and Joe try reshuffle the picks and reassign the first round of the 2002 AFL draft, trying to find the top 15 players of this year's draft class featuring the likes of Daniel Wells, Jobe Watson, Craig Bolton, Andrew Mackie, Brad Sewell and Nick Maxwell. 

Down the Guts - What would Carlton have been if they had the 2002 top draft pick?

At the end of the 2004 season, Richmond were one of three clubs which had priority picks, having just won the wooden spoon. They also had 5 of the first 20 picks - not too dissimilar to what they have in 2024. 

Adam and Joe cast their eyes over the 2004 draft, redrafting the first round, and see what could have been for the Tigers as well as what lessons they could learn as they look to rebuild for the 2025 season and beyond. 

Down The Guts - What have Richmond learned from their last mega draft hand of 2004?

How to build a list like Gold Coast? In their first 14 years, the Suns are yet to play in the finals, while fellow expansion club GWS have played in multiple campaigns and even made it to the Grand FInal. Although, that's not exactly comparing apples with apples. 

Adam and Joe go back to 2010 and examine what the Suns did well and the picks they'd like again, plus the lessons learned for Tasmania when they head to their first draft. 

Down The Gut - What Gold Coast's inaugural national draft in 2010 will teach Tasmania

If you're a long time listener to Down the Guts, you will have heard the boys' redraft series, where Adam and Joe have re-examined and re-drafted the years 2000 to 2010. 

Now comes the mega-draft - ranking the best players of a decade, the decade which dramatically shaped modern football. A decade which started with an unbelievable and almost unbeatable Bombers outfit, and ended with a drawn Grand Final, a feat we'll never see repeated. It saw a three-peat, dour defence, and birth of Hawthorn and Geelong dynasties. 

So who are the best players, and which draft classes were they from? 

Plus a quick preview of the 2024 AFL draft, and getting hyped for the AFLW Preliminary finals.  

Down the Guts - Decade draft: The best players drafted from 2000 to 2010

Summer is almost here and for many of us, there's a few months off before the next AFL season roars back into life - but the latest draft period has many wondering what 2025 will bring. 

Who got what they needed in the AFL National Draft? Is there a clear strategy for clubs like North Melbourne, St Kilda and GWS? Did Carlton overplay their hand by moving to pick #3 to take Jagga Smith? And did Essendon play it too safe in not wanting to trade up in the draft?

And a bg thank you to everyone who contributed and tuned in at some stage throughout this season. Your support is invaluable - with big thanks from Adam and Joe. 

Down the Guts Season Finale 2024 - What a draft to finish on!

Welcome to Down the Guts where we get to the guts of what’s happening on the footy field and try not to get bogged down with the trivial stuff. This is unfettered and unfiltered footy discussion!

New tracks tagged #essendon