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Would you think that Tom Lonergan would be able to push Scarlett off the number 1 forward? Zac Dawson pushing Sam Fisher off? The idea is that we let our most damaging defender play where he can be most damaging. Frawley can stop any forward but a lot of those players, especially as the game changes to more long bombs forward, can be stopped by big, yet slightly less talented players. Sam Fisher is a good player who zones off well and takes a lot of marks as the extra man up, but he can only take those marks because Dawson is wrestling the key forward and keeping him on the ground. Why waste Frawley on a job that Sellar can do? Tom Lonergan averaged less that 10 disposals per game last year. Scarlett was an All Australian playing as a rebounding, helping defender. Why? Because he has speed, strength, game sense and poise. He uses this to open up the play. When he was forced to play on Buddy, Geelong lost the 2008 Grand Final, even though he shut Buddy out from the game. Geelong lost more than Hawthorn did by sacrificing Scarlett's run from defence. Put another way, you'd have to think that Chriss Judd would be one of best negating small defenders around. He is quick, really strong, a great size and wins a lot of contests. Imagine putting him in a back pocket on Alex Fasolo .... he'd smash him. But would you? Not in a million years, because his value to the team is much higher as a midfielder and there are other players on the team that should be able to takeFasolo. This is what Frawley does. Sellar taking the number one forward does not mean that Frawley is being shifted down the totem. It is actually recognition that he should be higher. It means that Frawley uses his speed, power and skills to break lines coming from defence and turn the ball over from the opposition kicks, rather than just wrestling and punching the ball away from the opposition. He's too good a player for that. Sellar is no world beater, but what we hope he can do is the same thing that other 'no world beaters' can do, like Zac Dawson or Tom Lonergan. It's a role that requires a few attributes (size, strength, athleticism) but also allows for players that aren't particularly offensively talented to be effective. Hopefully Sellar can take that role and improve our team by getting our more talented players into more valuable roles.

I was a bit of a sceptic about Lyon at first but I think done a wonderful job. It isn't easy moving people aside, sacking others and then making the right appointments. There's going to be some criticism and some resentment but things have gone remarkably smoothly in what has realistically been a period of great upheaval within the ranks of the football club. The big test of the work done will come at some time in the future but given where we've come from just 5½ months ago, I think both he and Don McLardy deserve great praise for their efforts in backing Jimmy to the hilt and giving us some hope for the immediate future.

The point I'm trying to make is they play completely different types of games and as their careers unfold will play different roles. Darling could easily end up playing the big KPF like Neitz and Terry Daniher (both about the same height) whereas Howe will play high forward and perhaps midfield and will not be the tall forward target that Darling may well be. Their attributes are very different and they will play different roles.

Bara$$i.

old and I are not saying that Sellar is guaranteed to make it, but as I said, we recruited him for a reason. He has all the attributes to play the role we want very well. We need someone to perform that role, and he's as good a chance as anyone. He hasn't yet done it, so we all wait and see. I think Dawson is an underrated spud! He's not much of a talent, but he is underrated in his role.

What do the following players have in common? Trent Croad, Zac Dawson, Chris Tarrant and Tom Lonergan. 1) They are the 'gorilla tamers' at the last 4 Grand Final clubs. 2) None of them started their career as a defender. (Croad - forward, Dawson - ruck, Tarrant - forward, Lonergan - forward) 3) All of them frustrated and were traded or delisted before finding their role. (Croad - traded, Dawson - delisted, Tarrant - traded, Lonergan - delisted) 4) All were athletically gifted, but there were worries about their footy smarts. Their role is to put body pressure on the opposition number one big forward and compete. The role is simple, so you don't need Scott Pendlebury's poise, skills or decision making to play it, but you do need some important attributes: speed, strength and size. All you need to do is be big, be competitive and be next to your opponent, because you just have to keep your opponent on the ground while your team mates are able to jump for the ball. Why does it take more time for them to come through and be recognised than other players? Because their main requirement are those that improve a lot with age. They need a mature body, so it can take them many years to achieve that. James Sellar fits perfectly into this category. He was recruited as a ruck/forward (and has played as one up until very recently). He is athletically very gifted, with speed, strength, power and is very big for a key position player. He is now at the age where he can start physcially dominating in AFL company. For the role we want him to play, he has all the hallmarks of those who have done it in the past. He has all the attributes. For the price we paid, he has the ability to help our team a lot. Will he do it? I don't know. But we recruited him for a reason.

In my opinion, that is pure ignorance. Just my opinion of course.

Agree with your ruck ideas but Sellar pushing Frawley off the No.1 back perch? I think that is giving him a celing that is going to be tough to meet... He should be aiming to do what Rivers and Garland seemingly can't - play on resting rucks and help against teams that have multiple big bodied threats (Cloke and Dawes). So I don't think he will be expected to push Frawley down the proverbial totem pole. Personally, I think he is going to struggle but he is low risk - high reward.

Agree good news on James Strauss. We need somone designated to kick in and he's my preference, my alternative is Tapscott. I like Sellar in the backline if he can stand-up because that will free Frawley off the key forward. My back 6 of Frawley, Sellar, Rivers, Garland, Bartram, Grimes doesn't have a logical kick-in unless it's Frawley or Garland. I would like either Strauss or Tapscott in there and Grimes to the midfield. Bennell could replace Bartram but I get the feeling Neeld may prefer Clint. Also good news on Jake Spencer - I know many here don't rate him but he can play the #1 ruck role if required. With Gawn injured he's very important depth if Jamar also gets injured which has happened. Stef could step up as #1 but that would mean rucking Clark. I'd prefer Jake in for the Russian if required. If Stef gets injured it's a different story - Clark would have to ruck. I see it Jamar/Spencer and Martin/Clark Combos: #1: Jamar-Martin If Jamar is injured: Spencer-Martin (prefer this to Martin-Clark) If Martin is injured: Jamar-Clark Jake is out of contract and has a great opportunity to establish his value.

No offence taken by anyone. I guess the LJ story is quite complicated so all I'm suggesting is that reading the book should make things clearer. However, Rupert Betheras certainly played a big part in Liam becoming an AFL player.

couldn't help but think "coulda used this guy the last couple of seasons"

Did he offer you a cameo in his upcoming movie?

Warwick just rang me and said he thinks its raining. Actually it is pouring up here. Not great for the holidaymakers though the locals might like it for their gardens. Warwick was very friendly and when i sat next to him for the photo I said "look here are two great ex footballers" and he immediately said "but only one won a Coleman." He is in pretty good nick for a guy his age but then compared to me most are.

34....could have got a run with GWS! Good luck to you OOOzze.

You're both taking what I've said out of context ... no surprise there of course. To Sylvinator in particular, understand what it is you are criticizing before you go labeling someone a fool, lest you yourself want to reveal yourself as one. I have not judged Cook other than to say I believe Darling will turn out to be the better player of the two. There is nothing in that statement to indicate that I think Cook will be " a dud". Nothing.

Here is a longer highlights reel of 'Mitsubishi' someone downloaded on Youtube. Solid meat and potatoes grunt midfielder ... Likes a goal, too.

Read the book!

Cheers for the reports/photos. Good to see mckenzie and gysberts putting on some size, would've liked to see cook a bit bigger ( was hoping descriptions of him being a bean pole were harsh). Love that our medium size KPF (petterd, green, jurrah, howe) get to play their proper positions on flanks and pockets instead of having to be focal points. I was surprised to see how big grimes has gotten, pleasently surprised. Did jamar complete a full session? if so how were his skills? Apparently Stefan Martin got some hair style advice from his latino cousin Ricky

It's hard to defend in your forward 50m arc when your forwards are on the wing. I'm a firm believer if we can get the ball inside our forward 50m arc 55+times per game we will win those games.

I think we should start referring to Jack Trengove as "Trengove's brother".

Bit harsh. That would be ignoring the pin point passing (3), contested marks (2) and goals (2). The Larke medal was voted on by experts watching the games not a 2 minute highlights package. I am not completely sold on Morton and I think there is fair cause to say his confidence needs to be rebuilt. 2012 with a new coach, game style and expectations on him offers just as much chance that he will have a breakout year and fulfill the potential that was seen back then or just as much chance of him being at Casey all year and disappearing into the wilderness. How every second thread ends up about Morton on here is beyond me but regardless the Morton bashing on here needs to stop and we should just wait and see what the season holds.

The thing I take some comfort in is that it's not only Dees supporters who have a bad taste about the whole episode. A lot of non-MFC supporters also feel we got completely dudded. What's more, many people seem to think that Scully isn't the sort of guy you would want your club to spend a lot of its cap on (ie, his character and his motivations are suspect). Better to invest time and money in players of Trengove's ilk, as they will bring so much more to the club, both on AND off the field. In short, players like Trengove can positively influence the culture of the entire club. Scully seemingly cannot. The other great thing about this episode is that it's completely changed many people's view of the club. Prior to Scully's departure, I think a lot of people thought we were getting an unfair 'leg up' from the AFL - essentially because we were seen to 'tank' to secure the priority pick. We obviously no longer have that priority pick, and at no stage did the club actually derive any benefit from that priority pick - in fact, the way in which the Scully saga played out actually made it something of a millstone for us. Add to this the disgraceful way in which we lost Scully to GWS. Now many people seem to think we were the innocent victim of an unfair system, rather than the undeserving recipient of the priority draft pick. But here's the silver lining - we didn't actually lose anything. We desperately needed Mitch Clark. But for Scully's departure, there's no way we would have secured him. We also dodged a bullet in not paying a mercenary like Scully so much of our cap, which would definitely have resulted in us not retaining some other talented young players in due course. And we got two first round compo picks for him (same as Geelong for Ablett). All good IMO. Makes me happy in fact. And here's the rub for young Tom - he is simply going to love the professionalism of Laurel and Hardy (aka Sheedy and Williams) at GWS. Meanwhile we now have Neeld, Craig, Misson, Rawlings, Brown etc at the helm, arguably one of the best coaching teams in the AFL. If there's anything to make you laugh out loud, it's that. Post-season 2011 is going to go down as one of the best ever in the history of this club. Mark my words. Rev up fellow Demons!

Nobody in the leadership group in 2011 earnt anything as far as the supporters were concerned. All positions vacant for me.

Some time during his last season at West Coast

Nathan Jones to captain the MFC ? Jones' stature seems to have grown legs this off-season. It wasn't long ago that many considered him border-line best 22. I acknowledge that he's coming off easily his best year, but I expect to see more improvement in his game. Jones' tackling exploits have left me cold for years. Some think he's hard at the coal face, but he's not nearly hard enough for me, although he's always had tremendous courage and will stand under that high ball knowing a crunch is imminent. Having courage and being hard in packs are two different things. Hawthorn's Brad Sewell is about the same height as Jones (181cms to 180 cms). Sewell has been pivotal to Hawthorn's midfield for years and I see no reason why he should have a better career than Nathan Jones. I'd argue that he's no more talented than Jones, who was a first round draft pick as opposed to Sewell who could only get rookie listed, but I'd also argue that Jones hasn't been as hard or physical as Sewell in the clinches. For the last 4 years Sewell has averaged 5 tackles per game with Jones averaging around half that. Sewell has also averaged more possessions over the same period of time and was instrumental in Hawthorn's famed unsociable football along with Hodge and Lewis. Yet some here think Jones is 'hard'. He can and should be a lot harder. I accept that right now no-one stands out. All I can do is back the people around the club who have a far better idea than me or anyone that posts here to make the best choice. Trengove is obviously going to be a fantastic option and it's a pity that he's probably too young, but if the club goes down that path I'll be pleased. I'll be pleased because I know they'll be doing so having carefully weighed up the pitfalls. The only reason not to give it to Trengove is if it will burden, or impede his own playing development and that is clearly very difficult to assess and one would have to be within the club to have a sound view.