Leaderboard

Is your sauce pages 170 through 186 of this thread!

I can walk to my local pub in about ten minutes, but coming home it can take up to half an hour. The difference is staggering.

Love the Ox! Oh what he could have been.....

Here is 35 minutes of David Schwarz Highlights.

Demon Spirit: Schwarz remains one-eyed

Word on the street is his mum wants him to play for Melbourne.

Cannot understand why you'd suggest retiring Hibberd and Melksham, two top-22 players in a potential Grand Final team, whom to date have not shown the wear and tear you'd retire them for. Put both on 1 year rolling contracts and suggest the young kids knock them out of the team if they can. Both could be top-22 for several years yet.

I have de-loaded on beers this week to make sure I'm cherry ripe for Friday night. I think I'll be able to increase my beer intake by about 10-20% as a result.

There's no situation where Collingwood should gain a first round pick for a cap dump

It is always a tricky time of year for any club to determine whether to stick with players on the fringe or bring in fresh blood, or in our case (and many other clubs case) freeing up some room in the salary cap for potential trades by delisting mid-tier players. Given that we are in the window, and have just signed up our key midfielders to long-term deals, finding salary room for possible acquisitions becomes problematic. It could be argued that the only way you can keep your core 25-30 players happy with somewhat comparable wages and stay under the cap is to pay close to the bare minimum on the additional 10-15 players on your list - thereby creating a bit of a divide. In the past two years we have minimised our delistings, because let's face it we have a very good list and our performance of fringe players at Casey is clearly the stuff of envy. Hopefully Casey finally gets the rewards of almost seven years of being highly competitive and wins the flag but I am sure the club is also hoping that some of our fringe players play so well in the VFL finals that other clubs come offering late-order picks for their services, along with taking their salary off our books. At present there are 10 unsigned players on our list for next year and below is my assessment on what we should do with them, but before I get there, it is also appropriate to factor in the impending departure of Luke Jackson to Freo which colours much of my thinking and doubtless yours. To me there’s two scenarios likely to be at play with Jacko’s move, which I think we all get is going to happen. Firstly we have to get something productive back for him from Freo that lessens the loss. The Dockers doubtless will offer their first rounder (currently pick 14) and will try and throw in next year’s one as well (which based on this year’s form will also be in the 12-18 ballpark). But to me that’s not quite enough. If we took that offer, we would then have to offload pick 14 to Collingwood for Grundy and most likely try and include a sweetener - Tomlinson, Bedford and Weid have been mentioned as options -although after this year the Pies may just want another pick. But under this scenario we end up the losers because Jacko is 21 and our list needs that age group more than a 28yo who will be contracted for another five seasons and who uses up at least 750K of salary cap space and that assumes the Pies offer to pay $250K of it for at least a couple of years. In fact given that the Pies are desperate to get Taranto and keep deGoey, they will be even more inclined to say yes to our dealings if we reduce or even completely drop their financial contribution. To me, there is a second option for us though and I just hope we are trying it. What we have to do is get Freo to combine their first rounder (or their future first rounder) with one of their young talented defenders for Jackson. I have always been a huge fan of Dandenong’s Hayden Young and was shocked when we didn’t get him that draft - preferring the Pickett/Rivers option, which certainly has been mega rewarding as well. But a Jacko for Young and a high pick would seem to be fairly equitable and keeps both clubs exchanging the same age demo and also returns both picks home. In our case Young, who is contracted, would be ideal as a replacement for Hibbo. Young’s form this year was superb, so the Dockers won’t give him up without a fight, but the Dockers have a plethora of good defenders - Ryan, Cox, Pearce, Chapman is a star, Walker a huge talent and Clark to name a few, so they may ultimately be persuaded into letting him go if that is the key to getting the deal done. Obviously after three years of great weather and shark-infested beaches, Young's desire to return may rule him out, but that’s where we may have to upgrade his five-year deal, which will add even more pressure on our salary cap. But he definitely would be worth it and his kicking is sublime. But alas we could all go on for hours about potential trades and really only our Richo and Taylor have an inkling on what can and can’t be achieved. But gees it would be nice to get both Grundy and Young for next year. My final point on all this is that we need to hold off on re-signing some players at this stage, because we need to keep enough room in the salary cap available for Grundy and potentially a Hayden Young. Hunt, Smith, Hibberd and Melksham are all in the $250K-$400K a year bracket and in my view only Hunt is mega essential for next year and beyond. By not signing the other trio, at least until we get confirmation on Grundy and a young Freo defender, then we keep around $750K up our sleeve in case. As to what I started out to do, here’s my prognosis on our out-of-contract set. Jayden Hunt - age 27 - MUST SIGN Heaps of Demonlanders have been critical of Hunt over the past few years but for two years now he's really made sure that he's looking at short and long kicking options and he has hit as many targets as any of our defenders. In the past two games he's been a major offensive factor with his run and the variety he provides in what has become quite a stagnant and stable defence. Hunt is the only one who regularly tries to break lines so his value can't and shouldn't be understated. Yes his one-on-one aerial skills sometimes are found lacking but his pace allows him to close down on opponents. His game on Shai Bolton was huge and it wasn't his fault that the club opted to play him on the last line of defence against Sydney (in Rd 12) and he was beaten on crucial plays by Papley and Heaney. Hunt did five weeks VFL penance for that game, I just hope the defensive coach who assigned him for the last line goalsquare role also had to do time of sorts. Since he's been back and further up the field off half-back he's been a point of difference that all sides need. Joel Smith - age 26 - should sign, but wait for a bit Ok, it's been another injury-decimated season for Joel, but I just hope the club hasn't forgotten the value down back he provided in our first seven games before injury hit and he was back running his usual red-vest laps at training. When fit, he now has a body that allows him to play on bigs and smalls and with his athleticism he also gives our backline pace and pressure which at times since his injury we have shown we don't have. He's been trialled as a forward at VFL level now because T-Mac got injured, but it's probably time to just send him down back again. I'd also argue that even with his penchant for accumulating injuries, that he's the ideal sub in the AFL this series because of his versatility. If Hibberd retires, then Joel is probably our only viable lock-down last line defender option (outside of May of course), so he’s worth holding on to, unless of course another club offered a second rounder for him. Michael Hibberd - age 32- let him retire after the final series Great bloke and just so adept at putting a timely bump on opponents, but I reckon it's time. I still love recalling his first few games for us and the run off half-back he provided - his dash and goal against Richmond on debut for us in 2017 was just huge and he deservedly got an AA gig that year, despite missing the first four or five games. But he's now unable to provide that dash off half-back and significantly now his best role is as a lockdown defender - how good was he on Charlie Cameron the other week. I reckon the club will probably sign him up again, because let's face he's still in our best 22, but like Melky, freeing up the salary cap space is a smarter move if we are to trying to lure a young Freo defender and keep our window open longer. Further to this, how many have noted that Geelong kept both Higgins and Dahlhaus on for another year after 2021 - do you reckon the club looks back and goes yeh, we should have made the hard call on them back then. Finishing up is not easy for player and club alike. Hibberd has been a great servant and his efforts on JJ in our GF win should not be forgotten. God, he was good in that first quarter when we were under seige. Jake Melksham - age 31- let him retire after the final series How good has it been to have Melky back in the side for a late-season cameo playing T-Mac's role, despite being four inches shorter than him. As with Hibberd, he uses his body just so well and that's why I hope the club finds a way to make both he and Hibbo assistants - sounds like we may need a few new ones with Yze and Chocco in demand anyway. Melky's best year was 2018 when he showed our squad that if you kick long and quickly, you create chaos for opponents. He's too slow to play half-forward or midfield now, but he's been so good as a tall forward the past few weeks. Does that mean we sign him up again? My view is no as we really need to play Van Rooyen next season, alongside Fritter and big Ben. The salary cap room his departure creates should allow us to nail a quality Freo defender in our trade for Jackson. But if we are less assertive at the trade table, Melky may agree to play on at a reduced rate. Oskar Baker - age 24 - delist, or if interest, trade He'll probably win our VFL best-and-fairest this year and has always been an everyready goer at VFL level with precious few chances at AFL level - 15 games in four seasons. This year he's played quite a bit in defence and there's no doubt in any other era, outside of our current successful one, he'd get games in the seniors, but alas it's probably time for the 24yo to move on. Gold Coast or Brisbane might rookie him, otherwise he'll be a great recruit for Southport. Toby Bedford - age 22 - trade He's been our medical sub on several occasions and technically he's listed as having played 16 games this season, although he's probably only started in about four. He's shown a bit of toe in several games and kicked nine goals as well and a couple of rippers on the run. There's been talk of clubs such as the Giants, Bombers and Pies being interested in him and given our plethora of small forwards, he deserves another shot at making the big time. Hopefully we can do a deal for an exchange of late-order picks. Fraser Rosman - age 20 - delist and re-rookie Tubby Taylor took a bit of a punt on the Wesley boy with great athleticsm and a lovely left foot after missing out on another athlete - Max Holmes - who went way earlier than expected. The club was hoping Rosman would be our left-side wingman but he's been unable to really impact at VFL level and was even sent to defence to find more footy. So far it hasn't happened, although he did show a few promising signs for Casey against Sydney. Maybe the club might decide to delsit him and then re-rookie him. Rookies Kade Chandler - age 22 - trade As with Toby, he's in the queue behind Kossie, Spargs and ANB and it's hard to realistically see that altering in 2023. Kade has quite a bit of poise with a lovely left foot so it would be interesting to see how he would go at a club that can give him a genuine shot. Given Adelaide will have Rankine along with Rachele, it might be wise for him to see if Port would be willing to swap a late pick for him. Mitch Brown - age 32 - delist What a talent. He’s just so smooth and reliable with his movements and has been a delightful back up for us, but unfortunately at 32 and after two seasons in the role, it’s time to move on and I suspect he’s probably got plenty of life after footy plans in place from being on the edge for about seven seasons. If he’d been a tad quicker he’d have been a star at AFL level because he’s such a reliable kick and presents so well, albeit without a great leap. Deakin Smith - age 20 - delist or re-rookie He’s a very clean Nev Jetta-style defender who as yet hasn’t been able to justify his rise to the seniors. He probably needs to take the game on more to warrant the next step and I’d reckon the club will be watching closely how he copes with VFL finals pressure as they would be with Fraser Rosman before making a decision for next year. Majak Daw - age 31- retired mid-season A very handy VFL-level ruckman/forward and as with Mitch Brown, the chances just didn't eventuate at top level. Finally it’s important to note that VFL stars Luke Dunstan, Sam Weideman and Adam Tomlinson all have another year to run on their contracts and can again serve as valuable back-ups. That’s in addition to Van Rooyen who must be given plenty of AFL chances next season and Laurie who we need to see what he possesses at the next level, while Turner is another who is ready to challenge and would allow us to send Petty or May forward on occasions. And we should get a better idea on Howes and Woewodin’s capabilities next year.

Tussle of the big cats Media narrative: Tigers are a top 4 team wearing the cloak of a bottom-half-of-the-8 team. Lions hAVe nO heARt. My prediction: close game, Lions will come out on top because they are a better team, playing on their home deck and probably have a more calculated fitness base for this stage of the year. Zorko to tell Lynch he smells funny but it's ok as long as he is being himself. Brissy by 9 pts. Canberra cup Media narrative: Syd-nay an amazing unit, playing two years in front of itself, well drilled and led by a tactically brilliant coach. The Dees are a quiet juggernaut, seemingly ramping up towards the sort of finals form that made the entire competition wet itself in fear 12 months ago. However Sydney can win because they beat us by two goals 3 months ago. My prediction: Sydney to show up and a very hard fought game for the first 4 minutes. Dees to put on 5-8 goals in each of the first two quarters and keep Sydney to 56 pts over the match. MFC by 48 points. The backyard battle twix bird and beast Media narrative: GFC are the greatest institution to ever exist, Chris Scott is some sort of demi-God wielding a troop of the greatest warriors to ever walk the earth. How can we be so blessed to witness such greatness? Pies the young, up and coming list full of verve and audacity, both of which they have acquired through heavy gumption training sessions. My prediction: Geelong are bloody good and I reckon they will smash Cwood, but also largely cos the pies are like us in 2018. They will run out of legs. That being said, they are a way more experienced team than the narrative around them and there is a chance they can take their run one game further. Honestly, if this game wasn't being played at the G, my favoured result would be the entire stadium collapsing in a giant sink hole at half time. It kind of makes me sick to think about these two teams at the same time. Puddy-tats by 37 pts, AFL to order a pyramid be built next to Science Works, dedicated to Chris Scott and a raft of tissue injuries for Geelong. The 'why can we not send them further west?' Trophy (aka the Docklands derby) Media narrative: 🦗 My prediction: At some stage on Sunday evening we will remember that this game happened, check the scores and find that Freo have dismantled the dogs. This is because Freo are a very good footy team and will make their way to a prelim, if not a GF. Also, on the other hand, the Dogs suck. Purple monsters by 25 pts

I understand the calls for Bowey over Salem. But imo Salem’s contest work is elite, and well ahead of Bowey, and that is what will see him in over Bowey. But gosh we need to find a spot for Bowey some time soon… he’s far too good to rot away in the twos.

You’ve put a lot of thought into that Dee. But as there is so much finals action to play out this season for both mens sides, I’d rather not think about delisting at this stage for 3 reasons: - heroic actions over the finals could change players standings - it’s a sad process to think about, and - we’ve got 3 finals, for both afl and vfl, to be excited about and to be concentrating on. So I’ll re-visit you after we collect 2 cups.

@Deespicable I think you make some really good points and i do agree with most. But just to clarify, both Joel Smith and Deakyn Smith have signed new deals for next year so you can scrap them off the list. The other thing, I will be extremely disappointed in our list management team if the first rounder we receive from Jackson goes immediately to Collingwood for Grundy. Simply, we don't win out of the deal at all.

Hannan's goal was fantastic for sure. My abiding memory is Melksham from the Hawks game turning on the 50 metre arc and drilling a goal straight and true. We were under the cosh as well so badly needed at the time. Epic goal

Just don’t feel comfortable with a Grundy deal and if it also involves a high pick, even less comfortable. Comparisons of two previous trades , Kelly and Cameron ,set some sort of precedent for any Jacko, trade should it happen. To then take on a Collingwood problem and pay them super handsomely for it, just doesn’t sit right with me. End of rant.

Very tough outcome for JJ and he played a ripping game for Casey as well. He is very stiff and robs us of some of our flexibility, thank goodness Hunt and Melk have both stood up at the pointy end of the season.

I think Chandler has potential at AFL level. Fast, decent overhead, a long kick. He is just not strong enough and has not been given a real chance yet. KEEP.

Except winning finals - may that continue forever

Also don't think it would be wise to trade both Chandler and Bedford. The minute we do that we'll have multiple injuries to Spargo, Kozzie and ANB. I have a feeling Bedford will leave and Chandler will want one last shot at the Dees - he hasn't got the chance to have a string of games like Bedford has.

If it wasn’t for that technicality of having to actually mark the ball Kozzi would have all 3 nominations

Can't get the exact breakdown but we had 241k over the three finals games. Perth held around 50k IIRC so that makes 95k approx for the 2 Melbourne games PS Found them v Geelong 92k v Hawthorn 90k v WCE 60k

How about Freo give us 2 first rounders (one top 5) and Meeks or someone similar, Collingwood pay 300k of Grundys wage and we give them the last pick in the draft.

If Bedford makes zero sense as a sub why has he, as you point out, been a sub in 12 games? I like Smith as a sub because of his athleticism and versatility. Not keen on Dunstan or Tomo as subs as neither are versatile or athletic enough

My hero growing up, he really was. No.5 on the back, still got that jumper somewhere.

JVR anyone?!

Massive. Only bont out would hurt their chances more given how important to their game plan libba is. There is bit of irony this year with the bye. A key reason it was brought in was to ensure all finals teams are as fresh as possible week on, and that players with niggles or injuries have another week to get up. But this year two big stars in Fyfe and Libba got injured at training and will miss maybe all the finals

Liberatore out is huge for the Bulldogs. Not sure they have another 'extractor' and they rely on him immensely to feed off to McCrae. Bontempelli and Smtih.

Chook-In-Perth is different poster.

SEN early this morning said 3 of the finals are sell-outs and the other one (ours) is on the verge of being a sell-out. All reports make it sound like the crowd will be 80k+.

I don’t understand the love for the Lions. 1 win from 5 finals over the last 3 years. At a guess their biggest win for the season would have been against the Swans in rd 7. For all the talk about the no.1 scoring side and they can score quickly we need that to be broken down into games against other top 8 sides and those outside the 8, this would give a better indication of where they’re at. Brisbane is a good side but far from a great one and another disastrous finals campaign should see Fagan under the pump next year. I’m interested to see on Thursday night if their leaders in Neale, Zorko and Cameron continue to play for soft frees and hit the ground at the slightest bit on contact from a opposition player looking to tackle them, this was a sign of poor coaching/leadership and that they were clearly rattled before the game had even started. A lot of talk about Geelong’s form in the first week of finals yet Brisbane’s would be nearly as bad.

Peter Bell he is not always unreasonable ... just drives a hard bargain. As we should do with Freo re Jackson As for negotiating with Bell, in the end, we came out way in front with the Langdon deal ... effectively he came for a 2nd round pick. Last 2 years in the conversation for AA honours And the Hogan deal turned up trumps which delivered us May & Sparrow via picks 6 & 22

ANB's reaction is awesome

They're probably there to nick the plasma tv's.

I'd certainly offer two 2nd round picks for De Koning straight up. If we can get De Koning ahead of Grundy, it would be a massive win as it also looks after our future.

My flag hasn't yet come down We are still the reigning premiers!

They won't have anyone to chase Freo out of the centre clearances. 😁

26yo was a mature age pickup from the vfl as part of the suns assistance package 4 years ago. 190cm but solidly built at 90kgs good third tall who flies for the footy i would say gunston model but he's probably more of a mcstay build/pressence in terms that i'm not sure how quick he is but in a 1v1 wrestle or standing under a pack he probably goes better. has 29 goals from 33 games at afl level and kicked 25.15 from 10 vfl games before the weekends haul. doesn't appear to be much of a tackler though yeh he's always good for 3-4 scoring shots a game, but low possesion player atm but can see him getting up the ground in future, he's elite overhead and strong on the lead. he's gonna be a star. has genuine x-factor will be a top top player don't think you could play all three of them without a second genuine tall/resting ruck set up. whilst henry and fritta are good overhead if you put bodywork into them they lose their explosiveness and the reason they are so dangerous as forwards is because they get matchups that favour them in terms of size/height

I hope the Lions lose just because of Zorko. Also their confidence thanks in no small part to us is shot.

Would love to hear @Chook in Perth take on this situation

Here's a serious Clarry! Fresh off the presses (but file size means the quality is a bit naff)

Cats v Demons , I reckon for the big dance. been that way since July the others not quite as strong go Dees

Haven’t seen it posted anywhere bout Jason Taylor recruited Grundy, and he has been clear on the fact that he follows picks, I think he would have some very good insights into what Grundy offers that we might not be privy too. On the flip side, I am deeply suspicious of Grundy’s injury, we should get Richmond to proof him..

I have also heard that Luke Jackson is in debt to a Pokémon trading card dealer and the only way he can get out of his debt is to go to WA. We must have the same mail.

I have a question for you Neil: Should we get Grundy for 5 yrs on $700 per year and he plays a significant role in 1 or 2 more flags, would it be worth it? Many doggies supporters I know rave about the recruitment of Tom Boyd from GWS because of his performance in the 2016 GF. He was on $1mill pa I'm less concerned about the Grundy contract (though I trust our FD to not f it up) and more worried about his injuries and our ability to fix them We are in the window for about the next 3 years. I want at least 2 more flags in this time.

The club should be commended with the way it has handled the possible exit of LJ. We've acted like pro's all the way through and there has not been an element of distraction And Jackson the same. In recent weeks he has taken on more responsibility on the field and if he is on the move, it doesn't show So much so that he is going to be hard to replace if he does go. I'm hoping for a stalemate with regards to a trade. Which may lead to him re-signing with us I don't see a problem with us overvaluing LJ. The possible deal looks like it's more so with Freo but if it is West Coast as an alternate, they've got pick 2 in the ND (plus some extra's)

He is always first on hand for every celebration and always lights it up. Post-football he'll be a gorillagram.

I put the first flag up after round 23. I put the second flag up after our QF and our GF rematch. I have 4 more posts ready

Nah, the jail is there for a reason.