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Since my query about who was going did not elicit any positives, and since it was an intimate affair of about 60 Demon obsessives, including several family groups of parents and adult kids, I guess I was the accidental Demonland rep for the event. First let me say you missed out. On a sensational gourmet pie at least. I had the lamb shoulder and vegetables teamed with a shiraz or two and it was a seriously high class pie (night). Entree was antipasto of terrines, prosciutto, salami, pickles, house chutney. Damn fine and I had to limit myself out of politeness since I was at a table with nine strangers who may not appreciate my customary two fisted eating style. Dessert was some form of brownie with caramalised banana and icecream. It was better than it sounds but I know you couldn't give a rats about the food. It was upstairs at the Duke. Robbie was MC. Gawnie the special guest but Roosy the star. What did I learn? We won't draft Wright even if available. Roosy did not exactly say this but he gave a very strong indication when the words 'won't take Wright' came out as part of an unfinished sentence. He was going on to say something else but stopped himself, but it was his comments about talls and the TAC that were most informative. He told us about the special rules for the TAC about no double teaming on talls, no players dropping back to flood and the fact that talls at that level often are mismatched for opponents. Mids on the other hand are matched evenly and it was clear he reckons a good mid at TAC level has a much higher chance of being a good mid at AFL level than a tall has of making the same progression. In other words TAC is so unlike AFL that it's not a good guide for talls. He explicitly said - "you can't judge talls in the TAC Cup". Plus he talked about the need for many mids - high half forwards who play as mids, half backs ditto, wings...you get the picture. Key message for me was we will draft mids and trade for talls. In fact I wanted to ask would he have drafted Hogan but did not get the chance, but given the Hulk's exceptional body the answer was probably yes. In summary he does not value draft picks the way some of us do: 'at Sydney we traded many draft picks because it's a lottery, the draft". He described the loss of Mitch - "probably the best player on the list" - as season changing. No news there but good to hear it. He said Howie will eventually return to the forward line better for the experience of playing back this year. Ours is a very damaged football club - the players bear that damage more than anyone - and it can only be fixed in stages. He talked about free agency as a huge impediment to clubs like ours and that ultimately most players will lose out as he (heatedly) explained to the AFLPA two weeks ago all the money will go to the elite few and mid-ranking players will drop from 250K a year to 150k. We are not after any free agents. Players with big upside are Howe and Tyson, and Salem and Toumpas need two-three years development. Improvement will come from improving the list but he also said there is 10-15% improvement from higher fitness levels which will come out of this pre-season. Then there was a raffle - signed framed guernsy, autographed footy and $100 meal vouchers for the Duke so those who got the vouchers actually got their dough back.

Christian Salem has had the misfortune of being drafted into one of the worst teams of the last 2 decades He was seriously ill (losing almost 10 kgs) which severely impacted his preseason, his first AFL preseason mind you He has been the sub in many of his games When on the field he has usually played on a HHF or in a FP, in a team with very few inside 50 entries and a high turnover rate He is already in the top 5 or so best kicks in the team He is a competitor He can win his own ball He hates losing Of all the players on our list, Christian gives me the greatest confidence of getting the best out of himself and improving the position of this club. Our lack of success and diabolical drafting puts unfair expectations on young kids just starting to find their way. The kid has played 12 games, many of which as the sub. Lets focus our energy on some of the supposed leaders whose continual lack of output put more pressure on young players like Christian. I had to watch the GWS game on TV, I saw Mumford run through Salem and knock him to the ground and out of the screen. I was surprised to see that straight after, Christian sprinting back into screen to the next contest and lay a strong tackle. We have a player. A very good young player.

I was in attendance as well - had a great night and thought the 3 course meal plus drinks as well as the Q&A with Gawn and Roosy was really good value and hopefully the club gets a kick out of it too. Roosy had a lot of interesting things to say and I must admit once hed finished up I was feeling a lot more confident and comfortable being a Melbourne Supporter/Member after a sour second half to 2014. Robbo and Roosy both said a number of times they were really happy with the start of the year and suggested it was really only the last 4 games or so where weve really dropped off and let ourselves down. Roos offered a really good stat that we were in front in the last quarter of 10 (?) games this year and only went on to win 4 - which shows that for a lot of the playing group Winning needs to be learned. Another interesting thing Roos talked about was the request of some supporters/commentators for the 15m kick to be extended to 20m or 25m to eradicate all the short chipping and backwards kicking. Roos suggested that making that rule change would set us back 5 years and flooding would come back in vogue as the short chipping is currently used to draw opposition players out from flooding back, which creates space and allows play to then flow. Robbo was a bit cagey at the end of the night when someone asked a question about Jack Watts - said he doesnt know why someone should have so much pressure on them just because of where they were taken in the draft. Believes if he was taken with Pick 3 instead hed be left to his own devices with a lot less public pressure. From what he was saying it sounded like there might be an article written or story on Jack in the next week or two that isnt particularly favourable. Gawn suggested after having travelled a fair bit during his last few off seasons hell be staying home to get started on Pre Season training early and really look after himself as he hasnt had a proper Pre Season yet - which I thought was a great sign and I think if he can get through Summer fairly injury free there is a lot of upside to Gawny. Had a great night and I'd definitely go again. Robbo (as the MC) was trying to finish up the questions at the end of the night but Roosy just kept taking them, he probably took 10 or so more and I got a great sense of how giving and enthusiastic he is as well as knowledgeable.

Congratulations on your nomination for "Worst Post of the Year". Stiff competition as you'll be up against about half of hogans_heroes posts, but best of luck - this one is a doozie and you're a chance.

Does it matter what the rule is? AFL will just make something up.

If young dee has had enough after 8 years I'd hate to see how old dee is feeling.

If so I may lose my mind. I have a fair man crush on Mitch. Every time I go to the G I kinda expect to lose. But when Mitch was playing I could at least see effort,courage and class. It's what I saw in the ox which made me and demon. It would be a shocking sight to see him in another jumper.

But...but...the OFF season is our best bit !!!! Never lose a game, all prospects are guns, the sun shines, most Demonlanders get on. Beats the H/A by a mile

Would have loved to have gone, previous Night with Roos was excellent also. You're just left with the feeling that this plainly ISNT how Roos and the FD want the list to be . ist year a bit of a honeymoon/evaluation . This EOS to see the real Roos and Co influence come to bear. Ive come to learn you need to develop an understanding of Roos speak. Sometimes its the half finished sentences, sometimes its a form of substitution where he inserts a vanilla generalisation in place of what I can only guess is his real thinking but considers the venue and audience not for such confidences. Theres a game of join the dots though, he's candid and evasive ...all in one breath !! lol

I was there with my wife and son and I must say it was a great night. Premium beers and wine non-stop. I asked Max who he believes are the best young players on the list. He only mentioned one, Christian Salem. It was clear from Roos that McCartin and Wright won't be drafted by us. I may have drank too much but I got the distinct impression that Jack Watts won't be a MFC player next year.

I think we can take such a complete statement at face value. Clearly saying he wants to be left alone for the moment but if it were to happen we would be first in line. I hope he continues to a full and happy recovery and we need to accept that may take some time.

His manager Colin Young was on the radio tonight to respond to the rumours that have been circling Mitch Clark is in Melbourne and has just sold his house The plan was to return to Perth (not for football) but his partner is studying to be a surgeon Categorically put to bed any contact with the WA based clubs Mitch is in good spirits and after spending 6-8 weeks doing nothing thought it was time for him to get fit again, so has been boxing training for a while Melbourne clubs have been in contact with Young asking about Mitch's health and if he will return to football At this stage Clark has no intention of playing AFL footy next year. Young believes if Clark did have thoughts about playing again he would make contact with Melbourne, but he(Young) thinks Melbourne have moved on with their future plans Clark remains in contact with the Demons players and played golf with them recently Young meets with Mitch every 3 weeks and next week is just another meeting Clark still has a manager because he is under contract to Young till October 31st 2014 That is a quick snapshot of what came out of the managers mouth, BUT I IN NO WAY TRUST MANAGERS

When I was rummaging through his garbage I found a signed photo of Allen Jackovich, a shredded one way Virgin airline ticket to Sydney and a copy of 'Catcher in the Rye'. Make of that what you will.

This thread in most part is seriously pathetic. All three give their all, are hard at it and will have cost us close to nothing. This is more than can be said for others that will be gone at seasons end. Worst case they are a lot better depth than we have now and will set the right precedent in effort. Best case they seriously improve with another pre-season under decent development. For those that quote on re-signing these will cost us a Miles or Laidler someone have a look at the % of players drafted after 70 that play an AFL game. Then consider we are probably already going to cull 6 or 7. Congrats to 3 blokes that work hard and hit hard, I hope they make the best of their opportunity.

It been a long year, actually the last 8 years have been long years! We had an optimistic looking start to the season but the last 9 weeks or so has confirmed that I need a break from footy. I have wasted enough time already scrolling though countless pages of draft material only to find out it was a waste of time. You can study the players all you like but at the end of the day the club will pick who they pick and no one will know whether it was the right decision (till maybe 5 years down the track). On a brighter note the sun is out and I sense spring/summer around the corner. Instead of following trend and heading to the mountains mid-season (doesn’t work) I have decided to ride the season out and then forget all things footy over the off-season. Time to soak up the sun and come back preseason fresh and rejuvenated. Yours sincerely, Young Dee

From the boys I have seen at WAFL level Conor Blakely - if available at our second round pick, good solid bodied mid who likes to go in and find the ball, disposal is good Shane Nelson - very light player but great endurance and knows how to find the footy, could be worth a rookie pick Stephen Payne - Mature age player at East Perth (early 20's) has had an excellent year and been their best player in a side loaded with Meth Coast players, probably the best mature age pick available in WA Dylan Winton - defender about 192cm really like his positioning and reading of the play but lacks size to be a KPD, has scope as a 3rd/4th tall similar to Rivers Tyler Keital - going to go in 2nd or 3rd round can play forward or back, knows how to take a mark and was the WA U/18 swing man, is very good down low for a big guy and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he could develop into a midfield type Tom Shanahan - good skills, good pace off the mark which allows him to create that gap in the race for the ball, very good inside and developed his tackling and goal kicking ability. Adapts to the tempo of the games at the next level fairly quickly, worth a late pick or a rookie at the very least. Clem Smith - just loves the hard staff, some discipline issues which sees him giving away a lot of silly free kicks, but good user of the ball and composed in traffic

Olisik, you're taking a very narrow view of what 'impact' in fact means in AFL.What I mean to say is, one can have an impact or influence the game/a passage of play without even touching the ball, which Salem has done during games this year and I'd argue is one of the reasons he has been getting games rather than getting high possession numbers.. Salem is about the only first year player since N Jones who actually seems to block with intent, tackle hard, chase hard and smother with intent whilst also being able to hurt the opposition with the ball. Do you remember the essendon game where he had two or three smothers in the last quarter, one of which resulted directly in a Jack Watts goal? Are you telling me that is not 'impacting' a game? For someone who has so much skill and silk, to have these 'off the ball' or 'defensive' attributes already visible is nothing but a blessing. The least of my concern is the number of possessions he has accumulated off the back of a limited pre-season, playing in a forwardline who rarely get decent delivery and in one of the hardest positions on the ground to accumulate possessions as so many have already pointed out. You've got to wake up a bit.

34 and hasn't played an AFL game this year. Was never quick. We need pace. Pass.

Great...now St Kilda are in the mix...

Around from my area in little town of Katimatite. I remember playing against him in the seniors and he was about 15 years old and still a top player for them. Was playing as a midfielder at the time but grew and became a key defender for the bushies and now Port Adelaide. Has been on huge amount of weight and has a decent frame on him. Will run off his opponent all day as he has scored over 15 plus in the beep test. I hope we are targeting him because he would be a great replacement for Frawley.

Buy Young Dee, how will you sleep not knowing how many people want Watts traded or not?

Yep but if you want the test done before the game we will just get on the gear at half time.

I might be wrong, but wasn't a large part of the money that Hunt was on 'Ambassadorial' funding that came directly from the AFL and not from the club? I don't think that Hunt or Folau were being paid a huge amount by the clubs themselves.

He's just another one of our players who people think would star in a good team. He will be Jack Watts wherever he goes. I have no fear of him making us pay.

How do you know they rate him Ron? It appears on the field that they ignore him in the main

...I just want this season to end and the next pre-season to start so I can once again convince myself that we'll be better next year?

Just to change the focus from the HUN rubbish. Late night reading of the WADA Code uncovered this beauty. 10.6 Aggravating Circumstances Which May Increase the Period of Ineligibility If the Anti-Doping Organization establishes in an individual case involving an anti-doping rule violation other than violations under Articles 2.7 (Trafficking or Attempted Trafficking) and 2.8 (Administration or Attempted Administration) that aggravating circumstances are present which justify the imposition of a period of Ineligibility greater than the standard sanction, then the period of Ineligibility otherwise applicable shall be increased up to a maximum of four (4) years unless the Athlete or other Person can prove to the comfortable satisfaction of the hearing panel that he or she did not knowingly commit the anti-doping rule violation. [Comment to Article 10.6: Examples of aggravating circumstances which may justify the imposition of a period of Ineligibility greater than the standard sanction are: the Athlete or other Person committed the anti-doping rule violation as part of a doping plan or scheme, either individually or involving a conspiracy or common enterprise to commit anti-doping rule violations; the Athlete or other Person Used or Possessed multiple Prohibited Substances or Prohibited Methods or Used or Possessed a Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method on multiple occasions; a normal individual would be likely to enjoy the performance-enhancing effects of the anti-doping rule violation(s) beyond the otherwise applicable period of Ineligibility; the Athlete or Person engaged in deceptive or obstructing conduct to avoid the detection or adjudication of an anti-doping rule violation. I reckon Paul Little and Wonder Boy have Aggravating Circumstances written all over them. I know it is not going to happen but one can dream can't one. Imagine the HUN headline if they increased the penalty.

Ah, renewed false hope... Btw, is it an amazing coincidence that I misspelled false and autocorrect offered me "Cale"? True story.

Paul Roos has said as much. Unfortunately the draft and trade period are the best times to be a Melbourne supporter.

I assume there will be a full drug test prior to the game. Too soon?

When I was reading the "draft picks 1-20" thread it said Daniel Merrett was taken by Brisbane at pick 30 in 2002 - I thought "surely not" I had no recollection of Merrett playing that early - I actually thought it must have been a different Daniel Merrett - yet sure enopugh that's when he was drafted and he didn't debut until 2005! That is what we lack, that is our poor development in a nutshell - we draft kids and lump 50 years of expectation on them from day dot and if they don't dominate by their 5th game we're ready to turn on them. Talk about Tigers eating their own have a look at us! These kids shouldn't even really be playing seniors but due to our [censored] poor list they are forced into the side to install a little bit of class instead of putting out a team of Nicho's, Bail's, Terlich's and Matty Joneses. Salem has been fine and has shown a bit of class in at least 3 games off the top of my head and desire for the contest and willing to back it up with multiple efforts in at least 2 or 3 others. That's all he needs to show at this stage. Next year he should have a similar to this allowing him to develop in the VFL for half the year and playing seniors the other half with half of those games as sub. Then in year 3 )at the ripe old age of 20-21) hopefully he can come in and contribute and become a consistent best 22 player.

I know it is pointless to look back at the past and this has probably been done to death already but as a supporter overseas when I talk to someone about AFL and the team I follow (maybe I should lie) I am often asked why my team is so rubbish. The quick answer I give is that we haven't drafted the right players in recent years. As I currently have some time on my hands I have had a look into this in more detail and it is shocking reading. As obvious as it is, clearly the biggest reason the club is where it is now is our drafting, in particular our inability to get value from our top 20 draft pics. I know that development of players is also an issue (who knows how much) but very few players that we have selected in the top 20 have gone on to forge successful careers at other clubs once we parted ways with them so I'd suggest they were not up to it in the first place. I think you can trace the issues as far back as 2001/2002, if you look at the players to come out of these drafts a number are club captains/legends of the game. We have no leadership from this era other than what we have brought in from outside the club. I know that if we made better selections in the earlier years then we would not have finished so low on the ladder and got the early draft picks in subsequent years but ignoring this for the sake of the exercise our records for picks 1 to 20 is horrific and makes for some terrible reading: I have excluded 2012/2013 as they are too soon to call definitively. And I also snuck in pick 21 from 2007 (near enough) 2001 - FAIL....Could be a 200 plus game leader of the club in the final year or two of career Pick 9: Luke Molan – Zero Games Pick 17: Traded to Geelong along with Pick 41 for Clint Bizzell (Geelong Selected James Kelly with 17) Notable players available at these selections who are still playing: Nick Dal Santo #13, James Kelly #17, Steve Johnson #24, Sam Mitchell #36, Leigh Montagna #37, Dane Swan #58, Brian Lake #71, Andrew Carazzo #5 Rookie Draft (RD), Matthew Boyd #23 (RD), Aaron Sandilands #33 (RD) 2002 – FAIL.....Again could be a 200 plus game leader at club in the final year or two of career Pick 14: Daniel Bell – 66 Games Pick 15: Nicholas Smith – 4 Games Notable players available at these selections who are still playing: Will Minson #20, Tom Lonergan #23, Daniel Merrett #30, Kade Simpson #45, Ryan Crowley #55, Nick Malceski #64, Brad Sewell #7 (RD), Michael Firrito #10 (RD) 2003 – FAIL.....OK this was a rubbish draft to have a priority selection but with two picks in the top 5 should have at least one very solid player out of this draft still on our list and a leader at the club Pick 3: Colin Sylvia – 157 Games Pick 5: Brock McLean – 94 Games Notable players available at these selections who are still playing: Beau Waters #11, Brent Stanton #13, Troy Chaplin #15, David Mundy #19, Jed Adcock #33, Daniel Jackson #53, Sam Fisher #55, Michael Rischitelli #61, Michael Johnson #8 Pre-Season Draft (PSD) 2004 - LOW PASS.....Both have played 100 games for the club and Dunn has been one of our better players this year, neither though have been consistent performers over their career Pick 13: Matthew Bate – 102 Games Pick 15: Lynden Dunn – 138 Games Notable players available at these selections who are still playing: Angus Monfries #14, Nathan Van Berlo #24, Matt Rosa #29, Mark Lecras #37, Ivan Maric #40, Eddie Betts #3 (PSD), Dale Morris #19 (RD) 2005 – WIN.........Finally a winner, can’t fault Nathan Jones at Pick 12 Pick 12: Nathan Jones - 178 Games 2006 – WIN.....Probably have to say this is a win too, although I am in the camp hoping Frawley is not at the club next year and we can use the compensation to good effect Pick 12: James Frawley Notable players available at this selection: Jack Riewoldt #13, Mitchell Brown #16, Eric MacKenzie #29, Kurt Tippett #32, Todd Goldstein #37, Robbie Gray #55, Justin Westhoff #71, Sam Jacobs #1 (RD), 2007 – FAIL.......Grimes gets a pass although as a footballer he has his limitations, the other two are clear busts, especially Morton considering the quality of players available at pick 4 Pick 4: Cale Morton - 73 Games Pick 14: Jack Grimes – 86 Games Pick 21: Addam Maric – 21 Games Notable players available at this selection: David Myers #6, Lachlan Henderson #8, Ben McEvoy #9, Patrick Dangerfield #10, Cyril Rioli #12, Brad Ebert #13, Harry Taylor #17, Alex Rance #18, Callan Ward #19, Scott Selwood #22, Scott Thompson (NM) #37, Chris Mayne #40, Jack Steven #42, Cale Hooker #54, Nathan Grima #14 (RD), Brodie Martin #52 (RD), Shane Mumford #57 (RD) 2008 – HUGE FAIL.....Very doubtful any of these 3 will be at the club next year. From these picks we should have at least 2 near 100 game players to build a side around. The list of available players at these picks makes for hard reading. Pick 1: Jack Watts – 94 Games Pick 17: Sam Blease – 33 Games Pick 19: James Strauss – 24 Games Notable players available at these selections: Nick Naitanui #2, Stephen Hill #3, Hamish Hartlett #4, Michael Hurley #5, Chris Yarran #6, Daniel Rich #7, Jack Ziebell #9, Phil Davis #10, Steele Sidebottom #11, Luke Shuey #18, Hayden Ballantyne #21, Jackson Trengove #22, David Zaharakis #23, Jack Redden #25, Dayne Beams #29, Daniel Hannebery #30, Liam Shiels #34, Stephen Motlop #39, Rory Sloane #44, Tom Rockliff #5 (PSD), Luke Breust #47 (RD) 2009 – HUGE FAIL......Another terrible effort, ultimately Tom $cully pissing off could do us a favour in the long run with Hogan now on the list but we have had no use of that pick for the last 2 years now and will have to wait another year or two of development. Trengrove is a solid but limited footballer and Gysberts who was a surprise selection amounted to nothing at the club or at North Melbourne Pick 1: Tom Scully – 31 Games Pick 2: Jack Trengrove – 81 Games Pick 11: Jordan Gysberts – 19 Games Notable players available at these selections: Dustin Martin #3, Ben Cunnington #5, Daniel Talia #13, Lewis Jetta #14, Nat Fyfe #20, Ryan Bastinac #21, Jake Carlisle #24, Mitch Duncan #28, Jack Gunston #29, Sam Reid #38, Allen Christensen #40, 2010 – FAIL.....Cook was another surprise selection and didn't play a single game nor was he picked up by another club subsequently. You have to go very deep in this draft to find another player that did not play a single game Pick 12: Lucas Cook – Zero Games Notable players available at these selections: Brodie Smith #14, Shaun Atley #17, Issac Smith #19, Cameron Guthrie #23, Jack Darling #26, Scott Lycett #29, Josh Green #32, Luke Parker #40, Paul Puopolo #66, Josh Jenkins #12 (RD), Luke Dahllhaus #22 (RD) 2011 – FAIL.......Can’t blame the club for this one but at the end of the day it is another one that has not gone our way and cost us a useful player that we could have drafted if we used the pick (although with our strike rate, probably not) Pick 12: Traded to Brisbane for Mitch Clark – 15 Games Notable players available at these selections: Taylor Adams #13, Devon Smith #14, Brandon Ellis #15, Jackson Merrett #31, Bradley Hill #33, Sam Rowe #44, Jordon Murdoch #48, This is a terrible record. Ten years of bad drafting which makes we wonder, is there a way back? how many years will it take to rebuild this list that has a very limited core group of players to build around?

Essendon management can't go with the 'players were duped' argument because the question then is 'who did the duping'.

I live in hope no matter how remote

Hed be a great get for them too Their midfield is amazing, there will be minimal pressure on Chip down back, and he would be back to his AA best And we would get pick 3 Good for everyone

pretty much watt we do i suspect

Thanks Pitmaster. Very much appreciate the report. Interesting to hear that Roos thinks there is still a fair bit of upside in Howe

watt? rate him as a person,,, or as an AFL footballer. If I had to guess I'd say the former RB as a player he's a liability with his attitude to hard work.

And judging by their preparedness to kick it to him Id say they dont rate him too highly. There's actions, and there's words.... One is speaking louder !!!

It looks like September is going to be an interesting time for the AFL and not only for what's going to be happening on the field. My prediction is that if Middleton J's Federal Court decision goes against the Bombers, there will be a backroom deal of some sort done and, on the basis of what was offered to Cronulla players, it will involve a significant number of wet lettuces being handed out. Bombers would have missed finals under ASADA deal So the players were "duped" or, as Caro puts it ... "ASADA is understood to have told the Essendon players' legal team that it had compiled evidence they had taken the banned Thyamosin Beta 4 but that it accepted they had done so unknowingly." September may well be the month in the game's history in which a club will be taking part thanks to legal manoevring rather than sporting prowess alone and what shame that would bring upon this sport? Poor old Wade Lees, the former Casey Scorpions who served an almost 2 year suspension for ordering a banned weight loss supplement which he never received was also "duped" and so were hundreds of athletes worldwide who have received bans of up to two years for unknowingly taking banned substances given them by their coaches and/or crooked sports scientists. But what is to be done with those who had a hand in the "duping" of the players, the ones who provided the waiver letters, the doctors, sports scientists, the coaches involved and the club itself? And what of the hundreds of thousands of supporters who thought we had a clean sport run by people with integrity? That day in February 2013 will certainly go down in my mind as the blackest day in Australian sport and especially, for its two major football codes.

Wow. That has to be the most convaluted reply for the entire history of 'land....

Moved on with future plans??! Unless we are out to get a Tom Boyd or Jeremy Cameron Mitch Clark should well be within out sights. This year has proved what a big hole he has left. I hope the club is very much in contact with him weekly!

For a player who was 3rd best n fairest last year.. I've never heard of someone been so hated. At least he has a crack unlike half our flimsy top end darftees over the last 8 years !

If his retired then why does he even have management?

but watts has got a better haircut than hurley in fact anyone has

It's funny that some people around here don't get it. Roos plays a team based game plan that dictates the whole team working together, or it all falls apart. The common theme that Bail, Riley and Terlich posess is their work rate and tendency to do these team things and play by the team rules. The Blease's and Strauss' have the skill, but don't play this style. They either don't have the capacity to follow instructions, or don't have the will to defend. Until we find players that have both work rate and skill, players like Bail and Terlich will still get a game.

Anyone suggesting we didn't keep these 3 needs to tell me how we will replace more than 7 and even up to 9 players (see below) already. So adding these guys would make it 10-12. Clark, Byrnes, Frawley, Strauss, Tapscott, Blease, Nicholson, ?Evans, ?Clisby Already just replacing those 7 means: Picks 2, 3, 20, 38, 56, 74 and PSD 2. Would we find better players than Bail, Riley and Terlich with picks 80+??? Riley is certainly young enough and promising enough that after a preseason he's worth a shot for 1 or even 2 year deals. I hope the other 2 guys have been kept one 1 year deals as depth flankers for either end.

That article in the Guardian sums it up well. I enjoyed this line: "To paraphrase Steve Baker from The Footy Almanac, it was the work of a club that not only has its head up its own arse but thinks that the view is spectacular."

It is actually sickening when you see it there in front of you. Our drafting was not bad, it was absolutely pathetic. We don't have one champion on the list and only a couple of very good players. The rest battlers at best or below AFL standard. Terrible.