And now what?

[Roost It 1,434]

I'd also like to see Miller and Newton play.

Is that so we could lose whilst not getting games into our future players.

[Adzman 2,154]

We play out hearts out for the next 2 weeks and get more games into our young list. Win or lose, it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that we play hard and continue to earn respect.

Then we wait until next season.....where we will rise again.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Tommy Mac played quite well yesterday- deserves another look- Garland needs a rest- I'd also like to see Miller and Newton play.

Garland - How so? Genuine question. I know he came off zero pre-season, but those clunky first 6 weeks or so are far behind him. You'd think getting as many games as we can into a young defender is more important than getting him fresh. There's only 2 rounds left after all.

Agree on the Miller/Newton thing too, on some level. I'd like to see Bate come back and finish the year well. He's the current whipping boy, but he has played some good footy this year and deserves o end it on a better note than this. If I were running the footy department I'd drop Bennell and Watts. I realise it wasn't the day for either of these types, but some of Watts' efforts looked sub-par, for whatever reason... be they tiredness, weather, experience. I just think our forward line was largely ineffective and needs a bit more grunt.

[Jack7 528]

Win the last 2 games and be the best team outside the 8,although i'm not convinced the Swans are better than us after we smashed them but they won more games than us so?

We'll be top 6 next year.

[Fork 'em 6,975]

Now the pressure of making finals is off , get back to what this year was about ... Developement .

Rest whoevers injured , get Maric in again and give Tapscott and Blease a taste of the big league .

[H_T 3,042]

Business as usual even if it is only a 5% chance of making finals. Play the year out with consistency. Good time to get a win at AAMI in SA with a vibrant young list.

[Jaded No More 68,692]

Some very interesting replies.

I'm all for going all out to win the last 2 matches. It is so important for us to put up a good showing in Adelaide, and break the ridicilous hoodoo of AAMI Stadium that has been haunting us for 10 years.

Port are not great, so w should be a serious chance.

Come round 22, and especially if lose next week, I'd really love to see Tapscott get a game, just to give him a taste of what is required of him at the top level. He's worked hard to recover from injuries, so if he's fit and plays with Casey this week, a round 22 game should be on the cards.

[Deeman 1,479]

Some very interesting replies.

I'm all for going all out to win the last 2 matches. It is so important for us to put up a good showing in Adelaide, and break the ridicilous hoodoo of AAMI Stadium that has been haunting us for 10 years.

Port are not great, so w should be a serious chance.

Come round 22, and especially if lose next week, I'd really love to see Tapscott get a game, just to give him a taste of what is required of him at the top level. He's worked hard to recover from injuries, so if he's fit and plays with Casey this week, a round 22 game should be on the cards.

Aside from resting Aaron Davey next week, I'd hope fopr a Hawthorn thrashing against the Dockers and go for it against the Power.

[titan_uranus 24,923]

Bring Miller in, he deserves a run. Jack Watts needs confidence IMO, send him back to Casey to help him find his feet. I'm not bagging him at all, but the truth is he was poor today.

Rest guys that need resting, and give the young kids a go.

???

Can't have it both ways. Miller didn't get near it on Saturday against a VFL side that isn't made up of skinny teenagers. He would be taking a game away from someone like McNamara, Cheney, Maric or Strauss if he did get a go. So he doesn't play.

[H_T 3,042]

Come round 22, and especially if lose next week, I'd really love to see Tapscott get a game, just to give him a taste of what is required of him at the top level. He's worked hard to recover from injuries, so if he's fit and plays with Casey this week, a round 22 game should be on the cards.

I'm all for that as you've described it. But it's not entirely on the cards having not played on the weekend.

I'm also for a much warmer day come Round 22. Twilight game won't help.

Junior's 250th this week ! Well done Junior.

[old dee 23,560]

On reflection Guys now must be the time the time that management are deciding who goes and who stays at the end of the season.

We have to de-list 4 - 5 players from the main list.

This will not be easy seeing as a couple of the ones I would drop have contracts for next season.

We may see a couple of old stagers bob up for a last game vs North in the last round.

On top of that not many of the "kids" playing at Casey are in the right space at present because they are either not fit enough for AFL level after injury effected seasons( Blease, Tapscott, Mcnamara ) or too raw ( Fitzpatrick )after those guys who would you give a run? Not many left unfortunately, the rest all injured for the rest of the season.

Glad I do not have to decide it looks very hard.

[Keyser Söze 0]

No... we have to delist THREE. Minimum.

There is no reason we need to delist 4-5.

[Keyser Söze 0]

Miller, Bell, McDonald. Done.

If Junior wants to play on, it becomes one of McNamara or Cheney (Cheney).

Simple.

[old dee 23,560]

No... we have to delist THREE. Minimum.

There is no reason we need to delist 4-5.

Other than the fact that we have at least 3 players that will only survive because they have contracts for next year.

And that was no guarantee for Meesen and Newton last year.

Why keep guys who are marginal? even in a poor draft gems pop up!

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

In response to the OP, I think it might make sense to pick a fit side, planning for the future for AAMI stadium...

But I think there's a lot to be said for dropping everything to win the Roos game. It will likely be a dead rubber, but consider what the fans who attend will think? If you see them running out the last quarter of 2010, and grinding the Roos into the dirt... Or juuust getting up for an honourable victory... Or even going down honourably like we did yesterday, I think it would be a great way to finish on a positive note... Just to make the pre-season all that more interesting for the young kids coming in, the kids who only just arrived. I think even guys like Bruce, Green, Moloney and Jones who will be the leaders going into 2011 will find an extra spring in their step come the first day of training.

It may be just one of those things about being a fan, and having only our perspective, but wouldn't it be a shame to peter out and give up these last two games at the selection table?

[Inner Demon 1]

Aside from resting Aaron Davey next week, I'd hope fopr a Hawthorn thrashing against the Dockers and go for it against the Power.

Yeah, probably a solid idea to "rest" the bloke with a broken leg.

I think we're going to wind up giving a few young blokes (it's an interesting way to put it given we've got 3 players over 27) a game over the last 2 weeks just due to some injuries creeping in.

Aaron's gone. Grimes is gone. Jurrah might miss with the dislocated finger. There's no telling which players have been carrying injuries so we could see some surgeries.

By the same token, more important than putting games into kids is putting wins into kids. Our 22 is loaded with young players, we need to field the best team possible in order to win games of football.

[Webber 10,442]

In response to the OP, I think it might make sense to pick a fit side, planning for the future for AAMI stadium...

But I think there's a lot to be said for dropping everything to win the Roos game. It will likely be a dead rubber, but consider what the fans who attend will think? If you see them running out the last quarter of 2010, and grinding the Roos into the dirt... Or juuust getting up for an honourable victory... Or even going down honourably like we did yesterday, I think it would be a great way to finish on a positive note... Just to make the pre-season all that more interesting for the young kids coming in, the kids who only just arrived. I think even guys like Bruce, Green, Moloney and Jones who will be the leaders going into 2011 will find an extra spring in their step come the first day of training.

It may be just one of those things about being a fan, and having only our perspective, but wouldn't it be a shame to peter out and give up these last two games at the selection table?

Well said.

[norwood_demon 196]

I believe that we are losing long-term focus. Every selection is about the 2013 premiership side. Not worrying about infinitesimal chances of making a meaningless 2010 final that we'll lose.

Players like Tapscott must be given a taste to understand what's required over summer. Luke was playing well at Casey from all reports until about 2 weeks ago. Then no mention. He's not on an injury list. The "Luke Tapscott" thread has become side-tracked and contains no further information. Where is Luke? He must play the next 2 games if he's fit.

Cheney was among the best for Casey on the weekend. Fitzpatrick kicked 2. If they're part of our future, they must be "in". Sorry, Miller has no chance of being in the our 2013 premiership side so he's out even if he kicks 20 goals for Casey.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Cheney was among the best for Casey on the weekend. Fitzpatrick kicked 2. If they're part of our future, they must be "in". Sorry, Miller has no chance of being in the our 2013 premiership side so he's out even if he kicks 20 goals for Casey.

I am not sure Cheney or Miller are any closer either. Our defence was good on the weekend why would you weaken it?

[pitmaster 3,475]

Miller, Bell, McDonald. Done.

If Junior wants to play on, it becomes one of McNamara or Cheney (Cheney).

Simple.

No, no way should Junior be delisted.

Consider what Hawks' mature bodies did to us in the wet, add that the only really mature bodied midfielder to come back is Moloney, and it's clear we need Junior to keep going.

Just as well he wants to. And that he has had one of his best seasons ever.

Junior retire? Perish the thought. We're simply not equipped to grow without him.

[Deevout 492]

In response to the OP, I think it might make sense to pick a fit side, planning for the future for AAMI stadium...

But I think there's a lot to be said for dropping everything to win the Roos game. It will likely be a dead rubber, but consider what the fans who attend will think? If you see them running out the last quarter of 2010, and grinding the Roos into the dirt... Or juuust getting up for an honourable victory... Or even going down honourably like we did yesterday, I think it would be a great way to finish on a positive note... Just to make the pre-season all that more interesting for the young kids coming in, the kids who only just arrived. I think even guys like Bruce, Green, Moloney and Jones who will be the leaders going into 2011 will find an extra spring in their step come the first day of training.

It may be just one of those things about being a fan, and having only our perspective, but wouldn't it be a shame to peter out and give up these last two games at the selection table?

I agree, the club should keep the momentum going as much as it can in all aspects on the field and off. At this time in last two seasons my mate and I were saying only two more weeks of pain to go. This year we are both sorry the season is about to end. At the start of the season my expectations for this year was to get genuine hope for the future.

The club has ticked all those boxes on and off the field.

GO DEE'S!

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

No, no way should Junior be delisted.

Consider what Hawks' mature bodies did to us in the wet, add that the only really mature bodied midfielder to come back is Moloney, and it's clear we need Junior to keep going.

Just as well he wants to. And that he has had one of his best seasons ever.

Junior retire? Perish the thought. We're simply not equipped to grow without him.

The mature bodies of Hawthorn are around 26 to 29 years old and not 34 going on 35. Junior was out there on Saturday. I am not sure he added much on Saturday. Love the guy to bits but I would hate to see him struggle for a spot in the side. I think he will know and make the right decision with the Club.

Cousins was having a good season too....

[Red Sox 2]

No, no way should Junior be delisted.

Consider what Hawks' mature bodies did to us in the wet, add that the only really mature bodied midfielder to come back is Moloney, and it's clear we need Junior to keep going.

Just as well he wants to. And that he has had one of his best seasons ever.

Junior retire? Perish the thought. We're simply not equipped to grow without him.

Do you really think Junior would be delisted? It will be a mutually agreed chat between him and the club, as it should be. The admiration you have and the majority of Dees fans would have will be only heightened, as IMO he is a selfless club man that will make the right call and that the club must and will grow without him.

Gysberts has shown, although lightly framed right now, he can be a good extractor. I could go on with options but players such as Jordie McKenzie will grow further without Junior.

He deserves to go out on his merits, he will be given that right. He will retire.