I do not understand this obsession with recruiting another tall forward. We have hogan, Dawes, as well as the rucks/forwards Gawn and spencer. We cannot fit in all of these. In addition we have Fitzpatrick, King, and Pederson. I would have thought tall forwards are the least of our problem

Spencer is not a forward.

King has played 1 good VFL game against average talent.

Fitzpatrick has been sent to the back line.

Pedersen and Dawes are the other true tall targets. If Dawes can get back to his best (we havent seen it yet) then we will be ok. Most people dont think he will.

He is 27 years old right now. If we draft another tall forward now, he will have a couple of years to develop into the role before Dawes starts to get on in years.

I do not understand this obsession with recruiting another tall forward. We have hogan, Dawes, as well as the rucks/forwards Gawn and spencer. We cannot fit in all of these. In addition we have Fitzpatrick, King, and Pederson. I would have thought tall forwards are the least of our problem

Hogan and Dawes are our starters with Pedersen the depth. None of those 3 can adequately ruck. Pedersen is the best but he's only about 195cm and if you look at the current top 4 in Freo, Haw, Syd and WC they all have back up rucks at 200cm (Clarke, Hale, Tippett, Sinclair).

Max King is the only player on our list who has the skills and build to play forward and ruck and he's still probably a year away from even getting a taste of AFL footy.

Fitzpatrick is currently a key defender. Gawn and Spencer are really ruckman only. Gawn has shown some aptitude as a forward but it's not his real position and in the absence of another ruck who play well forward it's unlikely he could play well for 70% of a game there. Splitting Gawn and Spencer is risk/reward and suboptimal as Roos alluded to post game.

So in summary we need a young key forward anyway to give 3 or so years building their body now to replace Pedersen and Dawes and if that player isn't 198cm+ and we don't have confidence in Max King we need another of his type of forward/ruck player. We don't have to chase them as a priority but with later picks needs trump best available and unless we changed our minds on either of Frost, Fitzpatrick or Oscar McDonald as forwards I think we'd be wise to draft another.

I guess one of the outcomes of Sunday is that us long suffering Demon supporters dare to dream. I think it is very interesting the media reaction to the win on Sunday which has been universally positive - seen almost as a "turning point" or "a line in the sand". Whatever, most commentators seem to see it as much more than simply another victory.,

I guess as much as anything it was the way we won, and the emergence of exciting new talent who showed their wares (Brayshaw, Stretch, Neal Bullen) and the not-so-new who are showing up as major talents at last (Watts, Gawn, and the return to form of Tyson). Add to this the addition of the wunderkind Hogan, and the yet to appear Pettracca (supposedly better than Brayshaw which I find difficult to believe), the recent resigning of Jack Trengove (who must have a positive medical outlook or he wouldn't have been resigned - we must all remember his first and second years, he was seen much as Brayshaw is now, an outstanding talent, and someone who would emerge into one of our top half dozen players), and the return of proven performers like Garland and Grimes, and emerging talents like Vandenberg and Salem. Add to this the vast improvement of players like McDonald, Viney, Vince, and even veterans like Dunn, and the consistency and brilliance of Captain Courageous Jones, we have a lot to be excited about.

In effect, by next year, we have four "new" top ten picks to come into the side from Sunday (Petracca, Hogan, Salem, Trengove). But I think in the long term, the most significant performance to emerge from Sunday, and the most promising from our ability to become a top 4 side, is Maxy Gawn's breakout game. It is something a lot of us thought Max had the capability to do, but the fact he did it in such a dominant way, not only in the ruck, but also around the ground and his dominant marking, makes him a player of a level of importance akin to Jeff White in Neil Daniher sides of the early 2000's. It was an awesome performance, and one which will make a number of sides cringe in fear. Max after all is the second biggest player in the AFL playing in the seniors, and on Sunday's performance one of the most dominant.

Paul Roos has set us up wonderfully for the next ten years. Let's all enjoy the ride.

Geelong didn't play a recognised ruckman. Good on you for being positive but we're on the way up off the canvas. Let's revisit this at the end of the year. Some of the hyperbole is kind of ridiculous.

I do not understand this obsession with recruiting another tall forward. We have hogan, Dawes, as well as the rucks/forwards Gawn and spencer. We cannot fit in all of these. In addition we have Fitzpatrick, King, and Pederson. I would have thought tall forwards are the least of our problem

We do need a ruck/forward, most clubs struggle to fill this spot. King maybe could grow into the position or maybe that's what Frost is pegged for.

None of Gawn, Spencer or Dawes are ruck/forwards.

The game could change though next year if the AFL do away with the sub and drop the rotations further. If this happens then the target would be for another pure tall forward.

List is going to look really nice after this seasons draft/trade period, dead wood out and some more Salem/ANB/Vandenberg/Vince/ Lumumba type pick ups in!

I think the main reason we can get genuinely excited about the list is because we have real development coaches in place now. We had some great talent in 2010-11 but lacked (among a lot of other things) a Paul Roos, Brendan MCartney.Simon Goodwin type development set up that we have now.

I think a big key forward through the draft and maybe another small quick small forward and I think we should be set.

Actually anoher defender would be handy.

Midfieeeeeeeld.

You can have a fantastic 22 and [censored] all depth - as soon as a few injuries come along (and they will) your team isn't looking so good anymore.

All those people listed there are taking up spots that otherwise could be filled by players like Brayshaw

I'm not sure we are getting Brayshaw level players out of many picks in the draft after pick 3 any time soon and having a few more experienced guys on the list helps for a few reasons I think. Mainly:

1). Older guys get less injuries, giving you more depth to choose from

2). They train harder, better and for longer letting you raise the training standard overall

3). Consistency and leadership at Casey. You don't want guys who have given up on their AFL dreams but 1 or 2 guys who spend more time that not at VFL I think helps develop the kids you've got down there as well as giving the VFL team a base to work from

Existing contracts, a shallow draft and less players to trade out will probably keep our list changes down from the levels reached the last 2 years which is ok. We might not reach the perfect list of 44 without any guys we perceive as lucky to have a contract next year but that's ok. I get the feeling those who do narrowly avoid the chop this year will put in a huge preseason to save their careers and compete for a game knowing the list pressure is starting to build.

We do need a ruck/forward, most clubs struggle to fill this spot. King maybe could grow into the position or maybe that's what Frost is pegged for.

None of Gawn, Spencer or Dawes are ruck/forwards.

The game could change though next year if the AFL do away with the sub and drop the rotations further. If this happens then the target would be for another pure tall forward.

Rotations might drop but they might introduce the 4th bench spot back, which could get interesting to see if teams rotate 2 rucks through the bench and keep 2 or even 3 key forwards on the field. I still think positional versatility will stay important and the option of a forward/ruck who gets to get in to the game in the middle then swap forward will still be handy. It will save on bench rotations as well.

The fact is that most good teams have an absolute gun forward and another very capable forward. Cloke and White. Franklin and Tippett. Roughhead and Gunston. Pavlich and Taberner, Kennedy and Darling, Cameron and McCarty, Taylor Walker and Jenkins etc etc

That's why Geelong went after Clark. Hawkins and Clark fit and firing makes it tough for any backline.

We have a 20 year old gun forward and Chris Dawes. We need another forward. Pederson isn't the answer, Watts will never be a key forward. When we were decent, we had Neitz, Schwarz and Robbo, all dangerous.

Having said all of that, when was the last time we kicked 18 goals at any game, let alone at the cattery. What we need is a strong forward and continuing to expect/demand that wingers and midfielders kick goals.

Think Gold Coast are the expansion side that may be vulnerable to poaching over the next year or two. Prestia and Lynch have stood out as young leaders at the club amongst the chaos that's come to light this season. I wonder if Lynch (contracted to 2016) could be persuaded to leave the Suns?

Would be a terrific partner for Hogan.

Also think we need another outside option with pace. Parish appeals in this draft class. Skilled, nice kick and can win his own ball.

Think Gold Coast are the expansion side that may be vulnerable to poaching over the next year or two. Prestia and Lynch have stood out as young leaders at the club amongst the chaos that's come to light this season. I wonder if Lynch (contracted to 2016) could be persuaded to leave the Suns?

Would be a terrific partner for Hogan.

Also think we need another outside option with pace. Parish appeals in this draft class. Skilled, nice kick and can win his own ball.

Might be hard to get a father-son out of that equation though.

The fact is that most good teams have an absolute gun forward and another very capable forward. Cloke and White. Franklin and Tippett. Roughhead and Gunston. Pavlich and Taberner, Kennedy and Darling, Cameron and McCarty, Taylor Walker and Jenkins etc etc

That's why Geelong went after Clark. Hawkins and Clark fit and firing makes it tough for any backline.

We have a 20 year old gun forward and Chris Dawes. We need another forward. Pederson isn't the answer, Watts will never be a key forward. When we were decent, we had Neitz, Schwarz and Robbo, all dangerous.

Having said all of that, when was the last time we kicked 18 goals at any game, let alone at the cattery. What we need is a strong forward and continuing to expect/demand that wingers and midfielders kick goals.

Melbournes forward line - 2000

HF: 18 Brad Green 5 David Schwarz 7 Stephen Powell

F: 24 Russell Robertson 9 David Neitz ©33 Jeff Farmer

Edited June 23, 201510 yr by UTAH

Rotations might drop but they might introduce the 4th bench spot back, which could get interesting to see if teams rotate 2 rucks through the bench and keep 2 or even 3 key forwards on the field. I still think positional versatility will stay important and the option of a forward/ruck who gets to get in to the game in the middle then swap forward will still be handy. It will save on bench rotations as well.

Yep that's what I expect and that's where the 2nd ruck would more than likely be.

Think Gold Coast are the expansion side that may be vulnerable to poaching over the next year or two. Prestia and Lynch have stood out as young leaders at the club amongst the chaos that's come to light this season. I wonder if Lynch (contracted to 2016) could be persuaded to leave the Suns?

Would be a terrific partner for Hogan.

Also think we need another outside option with pace. Parish appeals in this draft class. Skilled, nice kick and can win his own ball.

I think we definitely need some outside run 'Chaser'.

Would love Lynch though, with Hogan it would be a more than formidable forward line.

Hey123452000 you haven't got any more spare Kekovichs or Neale Lewis's up there have you

There's a bit of grunt there as I remember...

We still seriously lack ball carrying class both midfield and half back and we are a tall forward short (Dixon should be our number 1 target in my opinion). I would also look for a mature back up ruck as support for Gawn and Spencer. We have the inside mids and key backs well covered but still need to improve our players in the 16-26th picked range.

I'm not too fussed about adding extra 'star power' in our midfield, another outside runner would be nice who can create when others are fatigued, but our midfield's been our strong suit in the last few weeks and we still have Petracca, Salem and Vandenberg in the wings.

Our ruck/forward situation is what we should work on. However if Kent can kick a bunch of goals from half forward or even JKH I'm happy for us to carry a non-goalkicker with Hogan like Pedersen or Dawes as long as they work hard and take marks. Although given they're both in their late 20s a young forward would probably be a good idea

I don't think we will be all that active in terms of trading this year

More midfield depth by adding another two high quality mids (FA or trade) plus Petracca. Trenners coming back would be an unexpected bonus.

Mids, mids and mids please.

List is going to look really nice after this seasons draft/trade period, dead wood out and some more Salem/ANB/Vandenberg/Vince/ Lumumba type pick ups in!

I think the main reason we can get genuinely excited about the list is because we have real development coaches in place now. We had some great talent in 2010-11 but lacked (among a lot of other things) a Paul Roos, Brendan MCartney.Simon Goodwin type development set up that we have now.

I totally agree. Some of the replies on here simply do not recognise there is such a thing as a salary cap. Of course our list can be improved, but what I am saying is that our current talent is not nearly as bad as we previously have thought, and indeed the "ins" next year will make it so much better.

I think we have been very guilty in the past of not developing the talent we had rather than looking for magic bullets

The fact is that most good teams have an absolute gun forward and another very capable forward. Cloke and White. Franklin and Tippett. Roughhead and Gunston. Pavlich and Taberner, Kennedy and Darling, Cameron and McCarty, Taylor Walker and Jenkins etc etc

That's why Geelong went after Clark. Hawkins and Clark fit and firing makes it tough for any backline.

We have a 20 year old gun forward and Chris Dawes. We need another forward. Pederson isn't the answer, Watts will never be a key forward. When we were decent, we had Neitz, Schwarz and Robbo, all dangerous.

Having said all of that, when was the last time we kicked 18 goals at any game, let alone at the cattery. What we need is a strong forward and continuing to expect/demand that wingers and midfielders kick goals.

Try Hogan, Dawes and Howe - better than most teams, and we have potentially high marking forwards/rucks in Gawn/Spencer.

Personally, I think our deficiencies are elsewhere.

I'm not too fussed about adding extra 'star power' in our midfield, another outside runner would be nice who can create when others are fatigued, but our midfield's been our strong suit in the last few weeks and we still have Petracca, Salem and Vandenberg in the wings.

Our ruck/forward situation is what we should work on. However if Kent can kick a bunch of goals from half forward or even JKH I'm happy for us to carry a non-goalkicker with Hogan like Pedersen or Dawes as long as they work hard and take marks. Although given they're both in their late 20s a young forward would probably be a good idea

Well Dawes is 25 and Pederson is 26. Personally, I think Pederson is no better than a back up, but I think Dawes is quality when injury free, and a smart, intelligent leader, something we lack.

Edited June 23, 201510 yr by Dees2014

Well Dawes is 24 and Pederson is 26. Personally, I think Pederson. Is no better than a back up, but I think Dawes is quality.

Ah they're 27 and 28 actually...

I will admit to thinking ANB was not ready, not even nearly, but it appears to be an astute decision to play him.

He didn't look up to speed last week, but backed up with a great game, made the most of his opportunities.

Fantastic for the club - and fans - to have ANB and Stretch out there. Our list potential is massive.

Well Dawes is 25 and Pederson is 26. Personally, I think Pederson is no better than a back up, but I think Dawes is quality when injury free, and a smart, intelligent leader, something we lack.

You and I won't agree on this...he's at best a role player.

List is going to look really nice after this seasons draft/trade period, dead wood out and some more Salem/ANB/Vandenberg/Vince/ Lumumba type pick ups in!

I think the main reason we can get genuinely excited about the list is because we have real development coaches in place now. We had some great talent in 2010-11 but lacked (among a lot of other things) a Paul Roos, Brendan MCartney.Simon Goodwin type development set up that we have now.

. The last sentence is key and why we should be encouraged. We have stability and a group of coaches that are going to make a difference. My sense is that there are no big egos and the coaches are working well together under the watchful eye of PR