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I like too much about this club at the minute. I haven’t had a legitimate whinge in ages. Just a game day outburst or 2. Foreign territory and I’m scared.

Trade a bloke who has rediscovered his best form? Have you been kicked off Facebook and need the attention?

I hope Sparrow is released from sub duties and allowed to go back to Casey for some game time

All of our discussion and speculation about Weideman and Brown down the drain. When will the selectors listen to us? ?

Reluctantly put it forward as it is Sports Bet... But a fair likeness

IN MY VIEW Fritsch will be a late scratch and Weid will play.

Naturally I am particularly pleased

He is equal 7th in the coaches votes, one of only two AFL defenders that are on the leader board (the other is Moore) so a fair chance our coach has put him in that class. Ranked better than May and Lever... He is ranked top 20 in the league: ● Ranked 14th in Total Kicks ● Ranked 19th in Total Rebound 50s ● Ranked 16th in Total Metres Gained ● Ranked 15th in Total Intercepts ● Ranked 15th in Kicks Per Game ● Ranked 18th in Metres Gained Per Game People will say he is not fast. True, he isn't is a Bulldog's JJ running type (we have Hunt for that role). But Salem's footy smarts, ability to 'stop and prop' then find a target are excellent. Very cool player. I put him in the Whitfield, Rich type of defender - the smart play maker with great skills. I mentioned in an earlier post a reason he 'looks better' this year because team mates understand their roles better and the game plan better. But he has always been very good. Not sure what your definition of an A grader is if it doesn't include a player like Salem.

Maybe the selection committee has chosen a side they think is suited to beating the tigers.... Just a thought

To be honest, I don't think that is necessary.

That post didn't age well ? but my sentiment was good.

Weid needs to lift and kick 8 before he can seriously be considered.

Yep. Only 2. richmond very good defensively, especially running from their defensive 50. so not optimal to bring in people who have played less than 2 games in prep and also under the heat of that game. also the current forward structure has worked well (except accuracy). have a feeling brown or weed in next week and/or when injuries or poor form warrant it.

Salem's having an A-grade year and wouldn't look out of place on a HBF in the AA team. In fact, we've got 8 players that are staking claims to be considered. But it's early days and their challenge is to maintain or even improve as the year continues.

Woo Hoo! 5 Years - just as I hoped. Takes him until 31 and hopefully another one-club player!! Will have great pleasure updating the 'Contracts' thread.

Yes he is. I’ve watched almost every game this season and he’s the top of the crop in that position. I haven’t looked at stats but I’d say he compares favourably if not better than most.

Matty Whelan went alright too.

You must spend a fortune on hallucinogens.

They won't risk either may or fritter if they are not right to go. Why would they? We are 5 zip and as big as this game is we need them both fit and firing over the next half dozen games. And we can cover both players. Weed wont be sub. Too one dimensional.

Super human recovery from both guys. I hope Fritsch is right to go, because he’s a defensive liability if he isn’t leading and marking.

Doubt the club would announce anything, good or bad, this week to ensure nothing overshadows Jones 300th. AS it should be.

Imagine being a young kid and your favourite Dee picks you out in the crowd after a win and gives you a signed cap. A very happy 12 yr old amongst many in this household tonight. Sometimes the small joys for a supporter are the best. Good on ya Christian!!

They're clearly bringing May and Fritsch back to get some match fitness before taking on the Kangas down in Tassie Edit - imv

I like that we didn’t tamper with our fwd structure to fit weid or brown in, sooner or later either through injury or form they will get a chance

Some posters are seemingly unaware of the quality of @Yokozuna's inside information.

I didn’t get the email about Salo, but got one about how to purchase Finals Tickets..

Signed. 5 years.

The mid-season draft is just that, a draft. Not a trade period...

We're effectively saying we can beat the reigning premiers without Weids and Ben Brown. I like it.

Once again, Yokozuna on the money with his info. Petty named as emergency, so not injured as we thought. My nomination for sub this week would be Chandler.

Makes sense. Particularly when the tall options - Weed and Brown, have shown an aversion to tackling and applying pressure. We simply have to apply maximum inside 50 pressure to beat Richmond. One to trap it inside our 50 when possible (and create scoring chances in doing so), but perhaps more importantly disrupt their exits from our 50. If they are allowed to waltz it our 50 it will become so much harder to set up ahead of the ball and slow down their transition. And we will get flogged. Which by the by, is why any talk of ANB or Spargo being dropped is pure poppycock.

For some reason nobody ever talks about Salem? Not on here, not in the media, not anywhere. The guy is a very good player. 5 years is a long time at first glance but he also strikes me as somebody that will be just as good when he's 30 as he is now. All he relies on are good skills, a good footy brain and good upper body strength. Nothing too complicated nor anything that will diminish much with age. Fantastic news.

Great news! 5 year signing is a serious show of faith. Anyone doubting how good he is go and watch the last quarter of the Geelong game again. He is now the player I was hoping he would be

At the very least, let's keep the team together until after the finals are finished. The potential downside is far worse than the potential upside.

Great player for the club and from his On The Couch and Gawn & Gus appearances - he knows this is the end and he is fighting for games and I hope he has a moment on Sat Night. I predict he will be pushed out of the team inside of a month but I am so happy that he kept going and that we treated him the way that the greats should be treated.

Last week, I shared with you my memories of growing up and going to school with Jonathon Ceglar from Hawthorn. This week, seeing as we're playing Richmond, I thought I'd reveal a number of strange messages I've been getting from Jason Castagna over the past couple of seasons. I don’t know how this happened, but for some reason my phone number is in Jason's phone as “Diary”. I was only able to work this out after I started getting all these texts from him that started “Dear diary”. This is probably the best thread to share some of them in so here goes… Dear diary, I had this idea today to finally see what happens inside a dishwasher when it’s on. Dimma said he didn’t have any scuba gear I could borrow though and reckons no one else at the club would either. Dear diary, Shane Edwards called me a midget at training yesterday so today I went to Luna Park to check if I was tall enough to go on all the rides and it turns out I am so he’s wrong. I didn’t actually go on any of the rides because I'd had too much Coke Zero. Dear diary, got a massive fright earlier today. I went to grab my phone but accidentally grabbed my iPad and for a moment I thought I had shrunk. Dear diary, was late to training today because I poured a can of Red Bull onto my garden and then got about halfway through drinking 20 litres of water out of the watering can before I realised what I’d done. Dear diary, today I went to Ikea with Dion Prestia to get some stuff for his new place. At the checkout the lady said "Are you gonna pay for the plunger too?" "What plunger?" I said. Turns out one had fallen off a shelf and stuck to my head about 20 minutes earlier and Dion said he didn’t know how to bring it up so didn’t say anything. Dear diary, me and some of the boys went paintballing. I wasn’t very good, I kept getting shot in the face mask in like the first minute of each round. During the lunch break the guy working there showed me how to hold the gun around the right way and I played much better after that. Dear diary, some of the AFLW players were doing handstands and so I gave it a shot, but it turns out you need to put your arms on the ground yourself first - it doesn’t just happen automatically. Seeing the dentist tomorrow. Dear diary, I went to the ice rink today with Tom Lynch and Nick Vlastuin and whizzed around a few laps but didn’t like it much because my feet got really cold and wet. Nick reckons I’d enjoy it more if I wore skates out there but I’m not so sure. Dear diary, took the cheese greater I bought at Ikea the other week back because it didn’t make the cheese greater at all, it just cut it up into really small bits. Dear diary, I watched Toy Story 3 tonight. About halfway through one of my teddy bears fell off the shelf onto my face. The Fire Brigade guys that helped me down reckon my ceiling will need to be replaced. Dear diary, I went for a run today but it was pretty boring, so I decided to chuck a stick as far as I could, then run after it and do it again. Set a PB for 5k. No wonder dogs really love doing that. Dear diary, I don’t think Jack Reiwoldt likes me. We were over in Adelaide playing Port Adelaide and I got a postcard from Jack that said “Miss you and wish you were here” and the picture on the back was of him taking a dump on my bed at home. Dear diary, at the airport the airplane lady asked if I wanted a seat with extra leg room and I said no thanks. I don’t know why she asked me that because I only have two legs.

That old chestnut.

Watch for the filthy ex-Sun to go after Mays eye. Would not surprise me in the slightest. Fritta back is good as we were a bit toothless until the Hawks folded. The Tigers don't fold.

Simon Goodwin why have you made a selection so controversial but so brave. This is the correct decision. This club is going somewhere.

How good is that back 6 with May back in, how good is it I say.. and thats with Hibbo on the pine too.

Fritsch and May WILL PLAY Petty and M Brown WILL MISS That is all.

The winningest player with more than 50 games? Jake. Melksham. Some of you just grated your teeth so loudly. Just stop it, it’s an awful sound.

Glowing endorsement from the club: A versatile player with a great understanding of the game, Salem is known for his elite foot skills and his ability to rebound the ball from half-back. (Emphasis i smine) Over the past few years Salem has emerged as one the best rebounding defenders in the game and one of Melbourne’s most reliable performers. “We are absolutely rapt to have Christian commit his long-term future to the club,” List Manager, Tim Lamb told Melbourne Media. “Given he would have been eligible for Free Agency at the end of this year it is significant that he has forgone that opportunity to extend his time here so early in the season. “Christian has developed into a crucial player and we believe he still has significant growth in his game. “He is a much loved and highly respected member of our playing group and we are excited to see what he can produce for the red and blue in the years to come.” If anyone still has any doubts about his silky skills and foot IQ re-read the first paragraph. And if Lamb is correct that he still has significant growth in his game then we will have another elite footballer in our midst!!

The next 5 years should be something. Trac/Viney/Oliver/Salem/Langdon/Lever all in their prime. It's our best chance to win a flag in a looooooong time

5 years is a great result, tipping the last couple will be back ended which allows Trac to sign for a couple of years id imagine.

Tiges supporters at my work are relaxed and feeling confident we won't handle the pressure Saturday night. All I can do is shrug and say "We'll see"....

Yeah, sorry about that. How can you be sure we have him covered? Weideman kicked a bag in the reserves, but that doesn't mean he will do so in the seniors. Tommy is playing great footy right now. He is a keeper.

If Fritsch comes in, Melksham goes out. I'm not convinced both can play in the same team. Particularly, not a team that bases its game on forward half pressure. And Fritsch gets it more and has improved his defensive game.