With all that is happening, the title of this thread that I am starting sums up an important question, in my view. From the number of players that have been pushed out, it seems that Club is committed to rebuilding. Is this a good idea?

It won't surprise anyone who has read my posts but I really don't think so. Rebuilds rarely work. They can work, if the club has a host of top draft picks, and an excellent coach, but without both of those, they usually don't. Look at Carlton. Look at West Coast. Look at North Melbourne – a highly credentialled coach but seemingly going nowhere. Richmond might succeed, because they seem to have both of the required factors but they still have a long way to go.

I believe that at the end of the season just gone, we were very close to being a good team and we had had a number of good matches to show it. But getting rid of May, Petracca, Oliver, Spargo, and getting in a very meh player like Mihocek seems to suggest we are trying to rebuild. As a supporter for over 60 years, I would love it to succeed, but I am not feeling optimistic. To me, this is a classic baby with the bathwater set of actions.

Which way do other people think we should be going?

Actually, on paper the team itself still has enough quality and players like Rivers who can really breakout to cause enough of a threat to potentially make the 8 with luck and proper in season management of players. We may not contend in the sense of the top 4, but can fall into 7th to 8th.

Defense: Turner, Lever, McDonald, Bowey, AWM (if ready to go), Petty, Howes..

Mid: Viney (seriously underrated ball winner still although disposal is rubbish at times), Rivers, Langford, Langdon, Lindsay, Windsor, Pickett, Culley

Fwd: JVR, Chandler, Fritsch, Michoek- seriously smart player who is a good contested player, but at worst, he’s foil for JVR and bringing ball to ground for the likes of Chandler and Pickett to crumb. Sparrow is the other who can really get back to his best under a new setup as his defensive ability like tackling is still pretty good.

I expect us to miss again, but I also cannot help but feel we can also get a new coach bounce and stay alive for finals late into the season.

Edited 19 hours ago19 hr by VNightCityLegend

We may very well have a host of excellent picks this year and next

And perhaps an excellent coach? Time will tell

Moving on Petracca, Oliver and potentially May isn’t just about ‘rebuilding’, it signals a massive shift in culture and a commitment to actually pivot the club. This should’ve occurred two years ago.

I don’t really agree with your comment either about being very close to being a good side in the later stages of the year. We had moments, but the list as it was fundamentally lacked any semblance of being able to compete with the direction the game has gone in, in a meaningful and ongoing manner.

Regarding rebuilds, there are a multitude of factors which form a nexus and a causal connection to either why they do work, or why they don’t at each particular club. I think it’s very context specific. It’s far too early to make a call either way with us, but I’m extremely enthused by what is occurring so far and King and Guerra.

The proof will be in the eating, but this is an extremely exciting and positive time, IMO.

Doing the "how many of our best 23 would get a game in a top 8 side" I would have difficulty coming up with say 12 players.

In the back six Bowey Turner and Rivers

Midfield.. Gawn, Petracca, Oliver, Langford Windsor and Lindsay

Forward: Kozzie Fritsch

You could make a case for a few more such as Viney, Melksham and Salem but each only has 1-3 years left. Lever is an unknown.

TBH I have no idea as to the correct answer posed by the question in the thread title. I like what Richmond has done but I'm not sure it's the answer to our dilemna

We're regenerating, we've got a mix of 12-15 pretty good young players we could build around and some really good experience at the older end with not much in the middle. we need to keep adding to and developing the young core and they'll improve and in 1-2 years they'll be driving the club and we'll be a much better version of us than we are right now.

we're not like Richmond or North Melbourne, we're more like what Collingwood were when McRae arrived.

57 minutes ago, Ollie fan said:

With all that is happening, the title of this thread that I am starting sums up an important question, in my view. From the number of players that have been pushed out, it seems that Club is committed to rebuilding. Is this a good idea?

It won't surprise anyone who has read my posts but I really don't think so. Rebuilds rarely work. They can work, if the club has a host of top draft picks, and an excellent coach, but without both of those, they usually don't. Look at Carlton. Look at West Coast. Look at North Melbourne – a highly credentialled coach but seemingly going nowhere. Richmond might succeed, because they seem to have both of the required factors but they still have a long way to go.

I believe that at the end of the season just gone, we were very close to being a good team and we had had a number of good matches to show it. But getting rid of May, Petracca, Oliver, Spargo, and getting in a very meh player like Mihocek seems to suggest we are trying to rebuild. As a supporter for over 60 years, I would love it to succeed, but I am not feeling optimistic. To me, this is a classic baby with the bathwater set of actions.

Which way do other people think we should be going?

At the moment King constructions have demolished the old building and are about to submit plans for another death star!

29 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Doing the "how many of our best 23 would get a game in a top 8 side" I would have difficulty coming up with say 12 players.

In the back six Bowey Turner and Rivers

Midfield.. Gawn, Petracca, Oliver, Langford Windsor and Lindsay

Forward: Kozzie Fritsch

You could make a case for a few more such as Viney, Melksham and Salem but each only has 1-3 years left. Lever is an unknown.

TBH I have no idea as to the correct answer posed by the question in the thread title. I like what Richmond has done but I'm not sure it's the answer to our dilemna

This is one of those argument that actually means nothing.

If we had more players who’d get a game in a top 8 side…we’d be a top 8 side.

Run the analysis again on Carlton, St Kilda and Port. Can you find more than 12?

Clearly we won’t be challenging for finals unless/until we bat through to 15-18 players who are good enough. Which means, in your analysis, Viney and Salem playing strong football, perhaps Petty going back and rediscovering form, and then otherwise the development of Tholstrup, Culley, AMW, etc.

15 minutes ago, Ted Lasso said:

We're regenerating, we've got a mix of 12-15 pretty good young players we could build around and some really good experience at the older end with not much in the middle. we need to keep adding to and developing the young core and they'll improve and in 1-2 years they'll be driving the club and we'll be a much better version of us than we are right now.

we're not like Richmond or North Melbourne, we're more like what Collingwood were when McRae arrived.

except we don't have a generational talent like nick daicos coming into the club

just to add another R would into consideration, retooling comes to mind

the structures (gawn as a leader, the board not having much change over in the grand scheme of things) are the same so it's not a rebuild, but renovation generally means yr getting improvements done, and at this stage i don't see the likes of may, trac, spargo, and oliver going out and mihocek coming in as us getting a renovation

so retooling it is; new coach, new ceo, soon a new president, and significant list turnover

I don't think moving on clarry and may spells doom and gloom

Trac wanting out is disappointing but we'll get some decent picks for him at worst

we have a good crop of young players coming through so the rebuild/regeneration started a couple of years ago

Plenty for King to work with but we have to nail picks. and ideally get another experienced player in this trade period

1 hour ago, adonski said:

We may very well have a host of excellent picks this year and next

And perhaps an excellent coach? Time will tell

That’s if we don’t trade away our pick next year, as Cal Twomey says “no club hates having a future first round pick more than the MFC.”

Edited 18 hours ago18 hr by rpfc

People will say this years draft is weak, but we still should make the most of it. Tasmania is going to stuff the draft for several years very soon. The team with the most talented 19-21 years old at this stage is the best poised for success in the next 5 years.

5 minutes ago, rpfc said:

That’s if we don’t trade away our pick next year, as Cal Twomey says “no club hates having a future first round pick more than the MFC.”

Yeah, very different set of circumstances this year with the 3 stooges departing though

33 minutes ago, MurDoc516 said:

People will say this years draft is weak, but we still should make the most of it. Tasmania is going to stuff the draft for several years very soon. The team with the most talented 19-21 years old at this stage is the best poised for success in the next 5 years.

1 hour ago, Ted Lasso said:

We're regenerating, we've got a mix of 12-15 pretty good young players we could build around and some really good experience at the older end ...

The thing is, the "really good experience at the older end" is being pushed out.

The only player who is leaving who had an ok year was Trac. So we aren't really losing much and the young guys get a year older and a less toxic environment with a fresh coach.

I think we could potentially do alright next year.

12 minutes ago, Ollie fan said:

The thing is, the "really good experience at the older end" is being pushed out.

Not really "really good experience". Petracca, Oliver and May" are all high maintenance. And bog us down in their emotional s**t. Still got a Lever (not rushed back from injury), a Gawn, a TMAC, a Salem, a Viney and a Melksham.

3 hours ago, Ollie fan said:

But getting rid of May, Petracca, Oliver, Spargo,

We are not getting rid of Trac and Spargo, they want to leave.

As for Maysie well he is getting to the end and on current form will not get another contract. So if you can get a longer offer somewhere else.....

Anyway how about Restructure

With Clarry, Trac and May all seemingly leaving without much star power coming back our way, it’d have to be a rebuild over renovate, as what we have currently in the 22-28 bracket ain’t much chop.

Gotta have a good foundation, which we are at a 10/15 year low currently

I guess the question is; how many of our players underperformed in 2025, and how much of that was a factor of issues related to Oliver, Petracca and May?

Was Petty forward persisted with because of some issue with May?

Was the plateauing of Sparrow and Rivers even partly due to midfield 'politics'?

How about our movement inside 50? How much of that is Petracca insisting on being the main man, nevermind Oliver being our number 3 ranked for inside 50s but not even top ten for goal assists - oh look, I found the stat Stephen King brought up in 12 minutes!

How much of Simon Goodwin's stagnation as a coach was a product of distractions caused by managing these three and the layers of club politics that swirled around them?

I'm playing devil's advocate here a bit, but there is an upside to them going, even if we get 'unders' in trades, and setting aside the 20% or so of our salary cap it frees up.

2 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

I guess the question is; how many of our players underperformed in 2025, and how much of that was a factor of issues related to Oliver, Petracca and May?

Was Petty forward persisted with because of some issue with May?

Was the plateauing of Sparrow and Rivers even partly due to midfield 'politics'?

How about our movement inside 50? How much of that is Petracca insisting on being the main man, nevermind Oliver being our number 3 ranked for inside 50s but not even top ten for goal assists - oh look, I found the stat Stephen King brought up in 12 minutes!

How much of Simon Goodwin's stagnation as a coach was a product of distractions caused by managing these three and the layers of club politics that swirled around them?

I'm playing devil's advocate here a bit, but there is an upside to them going, even if we get 'unders' in trades, and setting aside the 20% or so of our salary cap it frees up.

I think Rivers got a lot of opportunity and did well, but his kicking is not much better than Trac's or Oliver's. I really like Tom Sparrow and think he does most tons really well, but he just doesn't seem to get much of the ball.

I world be very certain that Petty was not played forward because of any issue with May, but because he is a good contested mark, which we lacked as JVR just didn't come in this year.

And frankly, what is the great advantage in freeing up our salary cap when there are no really top players available to pay it to?

7 hours ago, Fritta and Turner said:

We are not getting rid of Trac and Spargo, they want to leave.

As for Maysie well he is getting to the end and on current form will not get another contract. So if you can get a longer offer somewhere else.....

Anyway how about Restructure

Oliver does not want to leave. King doesn't want him.

17 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

except we don't have a generational talent like nick daicos coming into the club

....

because he's already there