36 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

The last two weeks against Sydney and North might be time to put the cue in the rack and focus on next year. I know our history with tanking but there's still a strong argument for having our cake and eating it too

Finishing this season at Blundstone arena is somewhat fitting.

The southern most AFL ground in the world.. what was it that Paul Keating called Australia ?

Edited June 23, 20196 yr by Diamond_Jim

Always room for discussion, but I would think that the Melbourne and Carlton football clubs have conclusively put this question to rest.

Draft pick so we can get an inside mid

Win games

17 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Finishing this season at Blundstone arena is somewhat fitting.

The southern most AFL ground in the world.. what was it that Paul Keating called Australia ?

banana republic?

Jerry Seinfeld had an unflattering description of Australia, but of course he was just passing through.

1 hour ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Yes. Sadly it is the mistake that was made 10 years ago. We must never think that way again. 

Whorethorn have plateaued right now, but in 2-3 years they will return to September. They do not accept losing. 

It wasn’t a mistake when you were a hopeless footy club, you got first pick and they threw in a priority.

we just didn’t capitalise on it.

Where we are now winning is much more important. 

8 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

banana republic?

yes but he also made a famous quote about it's location

1 hour ago, jumbo returns said:

Can we still make the 8?

Heart says yes, head says no. 

Win next week, generate some confidence and momentum and anything can happen. This could be the year where 11 wins will get you in.

3 hours ago, one_demon said:

Finishing the season strongly or getting higher draft picks?

Draft picks and lots of them. If we bottom out and "manage" players re surgeries and learning new positions then we should be poised to build a list over the next 3-4 years

3 hours ago, one_demon said:

Finishing the season strongly or getting higher draft picks?

 

3 hours ago, one_demon said:

Finishing the season strongly or getting higher draft picks?

One focus and one only. Win games and build the club. If you want high draft picks, barrack for Carlton or Suns. No sensible contributor to this thread will reply ' High draft picks' No one.

56 minutes ago, Matsuo Basho said:

When are people going to get it through their heads that the abolition of the priority pick effectively ended tanking as a strategy? 

 

 

It's not tanking.  A legitimate strategy when you can't make finals is to send players off for surgery early so they're cherry ripe for next year.  At the same time you give less experienced players more game time.

9 minutes ago, chookrat said:

Draft picks and lots of them. If we bottom out and "manage" players re surgeries and learning new positions then we should be poised to build a list over the next 3-4 years

Surely you jest...

Both. It's possible to finish last on 11 wins, I saw some one on reddit r/afl with too much time on their hands create a ladder with the remaining fixtures that had every team on about 11-12 wins.  ?

Edited June 23, 20196 yr by John Demonic

19 minutes ago, one_demon said:

It's not tanking.  A legitimate strategy when you can't make finals is to send players off for surgery early so they're cherry ripe for next year.  At the same time you give less experienced players more game time.

If a motivation and intent behind a strategy is to decrease the likelihood of winning in order to secure a higher draft pick, then yes it is tanking. 

This strategy wreaks havoc on a club even when the carrot of a priority pick is present, so why would it even be entertained as a thought when that incentive no longer exists? 

Winning is a habit, as is losing. Flirt with this reality at your peril.

The only thing we should be doing that we mightn't be doing if we were pushing for finals is to err on the side of caution with injuries.

Otherwise, there is no good argument for tanking, no good argument for trying to get a "better" draft pick.

We should be aiming to finish 13-9 or as close to it as we can get.

By all accounts the top 5 picks are midfielders with two very good ones.  We have enough of those so can get the player we want @ pick 5-8.

Win.Win.Win. That is what supporters, sponsors and the club want. 

High draft picks are like fools gold!

So in the context of this discussion what would you do with Sparrow, Jetta and Melksham re the remainder of the season.

Personally I would probably rest the lot of them in prep for 2020.

These are the latest injury reports for each player:

Neville Jetta | Knee – 4 weeks

“Neville’s going really well. He’s started agility work at training, and he’s done some fast running, so we’ll look to fast-track him a little bit.”

Jake Melksham | Foot – 4-6 weeks

“It’s pretty slow progress for Jake. He’s now out of the boot but his foot is still very stiff, so he’s probably got to wait another week before he starts running. He’s going to be a little bit longer rather than shorter.”

Tom Sparrow | Knee – 6-8 weeks

“He’s pulled up really well from surgery and he’ll start running next week, so our aim is definitely to get him back playing before the end of the year.”

Am I the only one underwhelmed by this years draft crop after pick 2? Almost nothing in the top 20 in outside midfielders or key forwards. The 2 type of players we need. 

56 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

The only thing we should be doing that we mightn't be doing if we were pushing for finals is to err on the side of caution with injuries.

Otherwise, there is no good argument for tanking, no good argument for trying to get a "better" draft pick.

We should be aiming to finish 13-9 or as close to it as we can get.

No strong Key Forwards or Outside Mids in top 20 by the look of it. Between pick 5-8 best pick for us would be Will Gould. 190cm key Defender in the mould of Steven May.

I think we need to tinker with the list to see what is going to work going forward. That means both winning and losing games as a result of tinkering.

I'm not interested in the lowest draft pick, but I'm interested in getting games into players like Baker and Lockhart to see if they can be permanent fixtures next season. 

I want to play finals, but I would like to play finals next season as a result of tinkering and getting games into players now.

I don't want to see a losing culture insinuate itself into the club ever again. Look at how different we all feel when the boys have a win on the weekend. How do you think they feel? At the game yesterday you could sense in the last quarter the determination of the players to get the job done and not let another game slip away. When both teams were going goal for goal I had the dreaded feeling whatever team was in front when the siren sounded was not going to be Melbourne. But the boys dug in and played like winners and how exciting it was to be there and experience this. As I've said elsewhere on here we could see the players walking taller, especially TMac, after kicking those goals in the last quarter. This gaining of confidence in themselves and each other is the best thing for their psyche. 

For me it is win and do not settle for anything less. Let's build momentum and confidence (without being complacent) for next year. The draft picks will be whatever they will be. 

2 hours ago, Wrecker45 said:

It wasn’t a mistake when you were a hopeless footy club, you got first pick and they threw in a priority.

we just didn’t capitalise on it.

Where we are now winning is much more important. 

We had no idea who to pick in hindsight

We had become a hopeless Football Club because Smithy’s Culture of Absolute Excellence had slowly been eroded away. 

Winning should have always been important and how it became a lower priority is a stain on this club. 

This year has been bad, but i do not question the effort by the players. We might still come home hard, if we can get back players from injury, without losing others. 

2 hours ago, Megatron said:

Surely you jest...

What could possibly go wrong? 

On unrelated matter, Cam Schwab popped up on my LinkedIn feed the other day. 

Worst [censored] thread ever.  Jesus, Mary and [censored] Joseph!

We've been [censored] for years and this clown thinks draft picks are gonna save us.  FMD