3 hours ago, Whispering_Jack said:

It would be good to see Sestan getting a game at AFL level in light of his recent good form at Casey level but the question is where to fit him in?

Me thinks unlikely to occur save for two possiilities; neither of which I'd like.

1) Dees form goes to mud and we lanquish whereupon season stuffed.... time to roll out the kids...

2) injury to current 1st list player

I think it'll be next year after another "building" preseason. But it's been known that I can be wrong 🤔🤣

42 minutes ago, Bay Riffin said:

im a fan of his kicking. maybe we push him forward at Casey and see how he goes now his confidence is up. more likely to get a game at least. also handy as a sub.

Does anyone know why we aren't playing him as a forward? When we drafted him all the reports were of him kicking 20 goals in a game. 60 goals in 12 games. Melbourne know more than most that good goal kickers are hard to find

30 minutes ago, Wrecker45 said:

Does anyone know why we aren't playing him as a forward? When we drafted him all the reports were of him kicking 20 goals in a game. 60 goals in 12 games. Melbourne know more than most that good goal kickers are hard to find

I think it's simply that he didn't perform that well in that role his initial season at the club and they shifted him back.

But also, in lower standard (and particularly junior footy) the best players all tend to play midfield, moving forward to kick goals. Once they get to AFL level, they often find a position more suited to their attributes.

I wouldn't be making moves now just to fit him in. And I wouldn't be moving Bowey. He's having his best season, let him continue to have a huge influence on games from the back half.

Those half forwards like Spargo and Chandler are needed to cover huge ground. Sestan does not have the tank for this role. I suspect this is the bigger reason he was shifted at Casey. His skill set suits the back half.

2 hours ago, Roost it far said:

Give Salem a rest and play him??

Don’t think that will happen Roost

A good choice if Salem goes down with injury. But next year he competes with AMW who seems to be ahead of him in the pecking order

1 hour ago, Wrecker45 said:

Does anyone know why we aren't playing him as a forward? When we drafted him all the reports were of him kicking 20 goals in a game. 60 goals in 12 games. Melbourne know more than most that good goal kickers are hard to find

I watched him on Saturday at Preston and I was impressed with his disposal by foot however it looks like he would be competing with Bowser, Salo or Windsor for a position at the moment and I reckon he is well behind those three

31 minutes ago, stinga said:

A good choice if Salem goes down with injury. But next year he competes with AMW who seems to be ahead of him in the pecking order

Good point . Had forgotten about Andy.

Agree he seems the more likely successor atm ( when able ).

Could we not play him back instead of Windsor and release Windsor to play on the wing again?

Really feel Caleb is a wasted talent in the backline at the moment.

Perhaps another who could be released further up the ground is Lindsay. Although I've really liked his work in his current position, I do wonder what damage he could do further up the ground.

Edited May 27May 27 by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Just now, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Could we not play him back instead of Windsor?

Really feel Caleb is a wasted talent in the backline at the moment.

Next year when Langford plays mid/fwd, we could move Windsor to the wing and open a spot up in defence

It's such a waste Caleb playing down back, we saw how well he can play in the mids and on the wing. Would love to see him play more minutes in the mids.

8 hours ago, Roost it far said:

Give Salem a rest and play him??

The player I think we are more likely to rest at some stage is Melksham. Shuffle a few positions around and maybe Sestan gets a game or othwise maybe Jai Culley seems to be next in line as a forward given his nomination on the extended bench last week's game.

Sestan is a better player than at least one who gets gifted games! I'd play him in a heartbeat And he is better than Laurie as well!

11 hours ago, Colm said:

I wonder if we brought Sestan in if we could move Bowey into the role Spargo has been playing.

No. I think we need a smaller forward who can kick goals.

8 hours ago, stinga said:

A good choice if Salem goes down with injury. But next year he competes with AMW who seems to be ahead of him in the pecking order

🤔 emoji needs reinstatement.

Start him on the bench and then he becomes part of the rotations, whether back or forward.

I’d rather not have a debutant start as the sub for a watered down start to a career.

On 27/05/2025 at 21:15, monoccular said:

No. I think we need a smaller forward who can kick goals.

Like Spargo Doesn't

I thought Ollie was in great form around mid year & sure to debut.

He was playing great footy in defence & seemed the go to man to distribute the ball forward.

Sadly he did a hammy at the wrong time which kept him out for 6 weeks or so then received a facial injury at training which means his season is pretty much cooked.

Think he deserves at least a 1 year extension.

5 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

I thought Ollie was in great form around mid year & sure to debut.

He was playing great footy in defence & seemed the go to man to distribute the ball forward.

Sadly he did a hammy at the wrong time which kept him out for 6 weeks or so then received a facial injury at training which means his season is pretty much cooked.

Think he deserves at least a 1 year extension.

Poor bloke! What happened to his face?!

Is this his third year on the rookie list?

Can we give him a fourth? Is that allowed? I could've sworn three years was the maximum amount of time a player could be on a rookie list. Unless we plan to upgrade him to the main list at seasons end.

I think he's shown some great traits at VFL level and definitely would've been in line for a debut mid-season had he not been injured.

Edited July 24Jul 24 by Demon Jack

1 hour ago, Demon Jack said:

Is this his third year on the rookie list?

Can we give him a fourth? Is that allowed? I could've sworn three years was the maximum amount of time a player could be on a rookie list. Unless we plan to upgrade him to the main list at seasons end.

I think he's shown some great traits at VFL level and definitely would've been in line for a debut mid-season had he not been injured.

Pretty sure they did in fact make changes last year meaning players can spend up to 4 years on a rookie list.

15 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Pretty sure they did in fact make changes last year meaning players can spend up to 4 years on a rookie list.

I think they can spend 5 years on the rookie list.

This is so typical of our list management over the past four years. Sestan has been on the list three years, and hasn't really ever come close to a senior game. Even without his recent injuries, I doubt he is dislodging McVee, Bowey, Rivers or Salem from the team. I think he is below Howes as well.

So now we're contemplating a fourth year on the list with zero idea whether he can play or not. That's perhaps fine for one or two players, but I'd argue that we also have Culley, Laurie, Jefferson, Moniz-Wakefield, Henderson, Johnson, Adams and Verrall in the same position. That's a huge chunk of the list that is 21 or older and we're still working out if they are good enough, or carrying them because of poor contract decisions.

I suspect we do give Sestan another year, but we do need to start cleaning up the bottom of the list because these players are not doing much other than taking a wage. They are certainly not putting pressure on under performing senior players to lift their games.