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The Herald Sun recognising the quality of our youth:- EIGHT KIDS KEEPING DEES IN FINALS MIX - HERALD SUN ONLINE • Jacob Van Rooyen, 21, who kicked four goals last week then was exceptional in the ruck against Draper. • Trent Rivers, 23, who has peeled off six excellent games in the midfield and has had 29 possessions in successive weeks as well as 15 total clearances. • Judd McVee, 20, who has had another excellent year as a miserly defender averaging 17 touches while kicking at 80 per cent efficiency. • Kysaiah Pickett, 23, who has kicked 12 goals in the past five weeks and 39 total score involvements. • Wingman Caleb Windsor, 19, who has played all 17 games in a year that could be rewarded with the Rising Star and has kicked a goal in each of the past two games. • Koltyn Tholstrup, 19, who has played the last four games for five in total in his debut year and who has only two goals but seven direct score assists in that time. • Andy Moniz-Wakefield, 20, who has played three games as a pacy defender and is averaging six intercept possessions and 14 possessions. • Daniel Turner, 22, who has kicked 11.3 and seven goals in the past four weeks (three against Essendon) as another key forward prospect for the Demons.

Maybe I'm the only one that is happy with this move? Why? There's a genuine NGA prospect for the Dees next years draft by the name of Tarion Ah-Mu from the Dandenong Stringrays who is eligible for next year's draft. He's a 198cm imposing lad who plays as a genuine power forward and can pinch hit in the ruck. He plays with physicality and reminds me a little of Tom Hawkins from the bits of vision I've seen of him. He's played 6 Coates League game and has kicked 12 goals already. He's also dominating school footy all whilst still being an under-age prospect. If he keep his development up, he could easily become a top 20 draft prospect which would mean we would be able to match the bid.

Re bringing Gawn back.. i look back at 2022 as the one that got away. We finished 2nd but players were banged up and exhausted… incl Gawn During that season Gawn got injured and then Jackson got injured. The next game was against the Crows at Adelaide oval and we went into the game with Mitch Brown and Sam Weideman in the ruck. Despite being up against O’Brien both dees performed admirably and the Dees won the game. the next week Gawn was selected, coming back from injury quicker than expected. He didn’t play that well and we lost the game anyway v Geelong. there is no need for Gawn at age 32 to be the Hero and come back early. The key with him is preserving his longevity. I hope the selectors have learned that lesson.

Extremely harsh on the draft rating in my view. Not a pick before 29 and yet we drafted three premiership players with 4 picks, one with a lazy 6 goals in that game. That is an unworldly hit rate. 9.5/10.

trading oliver AND a first round pick OUT just for cap space when we have brayshaws and grundys is legitimately one of the dumbest things ive ever heard.

It’s true that Melbourne is faced with a monumental challenge but it’s not about turning around a negative 15½ goal outcome against Fremantle which is where it finished in Alice Springs early last month. It’s all about winning a game where both sides start with the score at 0.0.0 each, play under different conditions, on a different ground in a different city (albeit the home of the Dockers), with different players and with many of the same players of differing physical freshness and mental attitudes. There’s been an outcry and a lot of tears about the fact that the Demons have been forced to soldier on without two AFL top liners in Max Gawn and Christian Petracca but when you compare the makeup of the Melbourne team of round 12 with the team of round 18, there are some significant changes for the better even if you can never replace Max and Christian. These are the changes between the two games - Out Max Gawn, Lachie Hunter, Christian Petracca, Shane McAdam, Adam Tomlinson In Jake Lever, Jake Melksham, Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Koltyn Tholstrup, Jacob van Rooyen. That’s a mixed bag of players coming in which includes two experienced players in Lever and Melksham. One adds cohesion to the defence, the other adds steel to the attack which was not functioning properly on 2 June 2024 when Melbourne flopped badly to the purple people. The other three are JvR who is in massive form as a forward and relief ruckman, and two youngsters playing with great enthusiasm. They replace McAdam who was held scoreless, Hunter who was ineffective before he was subbed off at half time with a calf injury and Adam Tomlinson who worked hard but he doesn’t compare with Lever. There are a number of Melbourne players who have lifted several notches including wingers Ed Langdon and Caleb Windsor. Their current form is uplifting and their attacking mindset is setting a different tone to the team’s performance. The last time they met, it was said that the Dockers were completely switched on and primed to beat the Demons. They had an extra two days to prepare themselves for the game and this time they are coming off a shattering loss to Hawthorn. Certainly, Freo will have an advantage in the ruck if Max isn’t ruled fit to play but in every other respect, the goalposts have been removed 360 degrees over the past six or seven weeks. Even Optus Stadium is Melbourne’s home away from home.

My avatar loves this thread 🥰👏😉

VID-20240716-WA0000.mp4 The evolution of Kozzie. I was rewatching the game, don't judge I live in a shipping container in Somalia. Anyway I noticed this kozzie tackle where he body checked the guy fiercely in the 2nd qtr but released him almost straight away. I thought this was a win for the player and the coaches. A year ago Kozzie would have driven him into the ground. Love that he has learnt to control the aggression.

The most amazing thing about McVee is the flick-of-a-switch manner in which he came on. He spent his first year in 2022 kicking around in the VFL and never got close to being picked. Has a massive ‘23 pre-season, gets picked in round 1, makes immediate impact and never looks back. It’s hard to imagine him not being there now.

He was the human highlight reel. The man could do anything. I can’t believe his last game for the Dees was 30 years ago. https://apple.news/AMFRfkpQHTYGnj6PH9HMvbg

So basically the rule is changed we get shafted... Essendon has a prospect amd the rules are changed again to allow early access.... Surely we need compensation for losing mac andrew

It fits our form line for the fourth year in a row. When I first started discussing load management in 2021 it's fair to say I copped a fair bit. What's crazy is ive copped it every year since - so much so that I barely raise it anymore because I can't be bothered getting pilloried. (It's ironic actually because many of the posters lampooning and shutting down such conversations complain any criticisms of the club they make are policed and shut down - cue the face palm and vomit emojis) Crazy because you would have to actively ignore the evidence to be so wilfully ignorant. I recall mutiple posters, even in the face of iffrefutable evidence, say they won't believe loading happens (which morphed for many into, maybe a factor but.....) until a coach or ex player comes out and says it happens. Ok, well it's starting now to be discussed by such people. Good to hear Cameron Ling come out and discuss it. Del Santo alluded to it on the ABC in the early part of the season, saying it's all about playing your best footy in August and using the tapering for the olympics as an ananlogy Hopefully next season the discussion about high performance programs and load management can move from being a 'dirty word', or a running Demonland joke, to a nuanced discussion that factors in load management into the analysis of our performances. And as I've noted it might also open up discussions like the different high performance philosophies (manage and rotate, no rotation, squads, play through niggles etc) and an analysis of our high performance program. One benefit would be less of the hair on fire, the sky is falling, play the kids, we are a joke, sack goody, it's all about 2025 etc etc that dominates Demonland for a couple of months in the middle of every season. I mean, sure I skew positive, but some of the takes on where we were at coming into the bye, and even after our WIN against the Roos, have already proved to be utterly ridiculous - even if we don’t go on to push for a flag. Silly, vibes based, emotive stuff - but barely commented on, let alone anyone getting called on it Yet I make any reference to the impact of load management on performances like our last game against freo, and i'm ridiculed, with the subtext being, please no mote talk about loading - effectively shutting the conversation down.

He hates Melbourne because we sacked him. Years ago he was media manager and kept reporting at his other job stuff from our club that wasn't for the public. Tactics etc. When asked why he leaked news allegedly he said he was a journalist (loose use of the word first) and a scoop was a scoop. The club happily released him. As for Clarry, he is invested at MFC. Goody is looking out for him, he plays chess regularly with Max and occasionally stays over and look at how he embraced Kozzie and his clan.

Not much to do on this horrid Melbourne winter day. So put this together for discussion. State of Play Top 4 looks all but set with only Brisbane looking a little vulnerable: Of the remaining 24 games for the Top 4 only one is for 8-pt Of the remaining 24 games for the Top 4 only 4 are vs 5th to 8th teams Carlton and Geelong play 3 of the bottom 4 teams Carlton do not play a Top 8 team Geelong play one Top 8 team Their fixtures and % make them difficult to oust. Better news for Demons is that of the teams outside Top 4 we have a relatively easy draw, well ‘on paper’ Conclusions: Everything needs to go our way to make Top 4 We will make the 8. Hopefully 5th or 6th to get that first Home final. Spots 4-8 will be a bun fight between those currently 4 to 13 14 wins should be enough for Top 8 Given the fixture, finalists should be known after rnd 20 I don't give GCS, Coll or Hawks much chance of making the 8. I don't like Ports/WBD chances of making the 8, given their fixture.

That was the worst Ive seen the dees play in about 7 or 8 years and the players will know that too. After the last few weeks Im going with Binmans loading explanation for that plus the 2 extra days break they had exacerbating that possibility. This is a proud club, playing back on the ground they won a flag on, wanting to atone for a really embarassing performance last time. Whatever the result dees will be bringing the heat. In short .... Dees in a tight tussle. Petty to kick the winning goal after the siren :-)

Winner: Melbourne Why: Because

To further explain why its good that clubs will hopefully be rewarded including Melbourne, is that they're getting kids in at around 10-12 years of age into their NGA program and that's where the education and development starts. They're putting in a mountain of work and resources in making sure they're setting these young kids up to be the best possible footballers they can be whether they make it into the system or not. It's amazing now what they're exposed too in the elite environment and I think this is a credit to footy clubs in putting in the time and development into these junior kids. From then on, I'm a big believer that these same clubs should absolutely have the right to have first access to these kids if deemed talented enough to be in the mix. The Mac Andrew situation left a completely sour taste in my mouth because I know they started with him around 12 or 13 years of age and exposed him to all our resources and junior development porgram only to then change the rules last minute which [censored] us over. It was a completely reactive decision from the AFL and I know Jason Taylor was absolutely filthy at this.

Just a broken leg walk it off Gawny

Howes will come good, just likely to take a bit longer than McVee. He's taller and lanky, once he builds his body he won't get pushed off the contest as easily as he is now. And his awareness and disposal will get better after a big preseason

When we make the finals- as I’m certain we will - we will have come into September with momentum and belief. As such, I can see us doing some serious damage, and a grand final appearance a likely scenario.

This is true, and worth us all bearing in mind (some rate Essendon but I don’t). But it’s not so much the opposition but the fundamentals in our game since the bye that excite me. The fourth quarters vs North and Brisbane aside, for 14 of the last 16 quarters we’ve played, we’ve looked markedly better than we did pre-bye in most facets of the game. We’re more contested, pressure feels up, we’re transitioning the ball better, and there’s a bit of an intangible vibrancy coming from the kids (Kolt, AMW, JVR, Windsor, McVee, Woewodin).

An interesting stat or a boomer with too much time on his hands? But….. we have played Freo and lost in three games at almost the exact time of the season since 2022. Round 11 in both ‘22 & ‘23 and round 12 this year. I remember going to the MCG games and noting how cooked we seemed. Round 12 at the Alice was like watching a team with concrete in their boots. Binman’s loading theory looking sound.

Dees have this: Freo OO form this year has been a bit meh. Freo have been belted In recent years on wet grounds even if not raining; several times at OO. We have practiced wet weather play in a real game; they haven't (that I've noticed). Not sure Freo know how to play a ground level, territory game which is the key in wet conditions. Dees win by 3 to 5 goals in a low scoring game. 😁💪

It's the loss to Carlton that annoys me the most, firstly giving them a 6 goal start and then the late umpiring when we had them on toast..... I haven't given up on causing some carnage in this years finals yet. If we can hit the finals fit there's no one in the 8 I don't think we can beat.....for now just beat Freo. There's a real John Northey vibe about us atm, I think we like being the hunters.

I had the pleasure of hearing Max talk at a Sportsman's Night (remember those?) on one occasion circa 1980 and he was a very funny and engaging speaker. He described his unusual bowling action as "right arm over left earhole". Max also related the (almost certainly apocryphal) tale of the Aussies on tour in England where they were enjoying an evening in a rustic pub when they heard Rod Marsh yelling out for help from the outside dunny. He claimed that, whenever he tried to get off the loo, somebody kept grabbing and squeezing his private parts. Turns out that he was sitting on a mop bucket. The punchline brought the house down, as they say.

We were all so disappointed on Saturday night we ended up missing the game due to illness me included and ended up watching in three separate homes to limit cross infection. We all watched the game and we’re texting each other all night so many memorable moments. Kozzie really turned it on for his 100th, his reflexes are sublime, quicker than the eye can detect, watching that ball to zmilkshake, Jake to Windsor, goal and then turning two bombers inside out and beautiful pass out the back, wow. Memorable game Kozzie.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times you give Stringer a bath, he'll still stink. I also want to quietly slip in that not every gun half-back needs to be turned into a midfielder. I'd be perfectly happy for McVee to take up the Corey Enright status as 'the most underrated 6-time All-Australian in the competition', even as Rivers becomes the new midfield Burgoyne. I guess we'll know in about 250 more games.

I don’t know if a side has ever missed finals with 13 wins. If we become the first, IMO it won’t be the Brisbane loss that grates most. For me, it’ll be losing to Fremantle by 90 instead of “just”, say, 60. Just an enormous outlier margin-wise for the last 5 years. Losing by a kick to Brisbane in the form we were at that time in wasn’t anywhere near as galling.

Whatever people thought at the start of the season I doubt anyone here thought we’d be playing this well without Gawn, Petracca and Brayshaw and having Oliver in limp home mode. Not to mention having TMac playing the way he is as a key defender. Throw in some off season [censored] storms and it’s been a pretty amazing effort and shows some serious resilience has been built into this team. Now just give us some luck with injuries and it’s game on. Time to unleash hell!

No.. It's giving clubs the right to actually be rewarded for the hard work and resources that they're putting into these development programs such as the NGA development system. I've seen it first hand with what Richmond have done up here in the regional areas near Victoria. We literally lost Mac Andrew because of this. Now we've got the chance to actually be rewarded if things fall into place. The changes after the Jamarra situation was a reactive decision which ruined clubs development system that they had in place. Look at the bigger picture.

2017 Draft: 6/10 Trades: 8/10 If we thought the trade for Michael Hibberd was big in 2016, then have a think back to how the trade for Jake Lever eventuated in 2017. We offered young Jake a massive price hike, he was an emerging defender after all, and he liked the idea of joining forces with his 2014 Vic Metro mates – Trac and Brayshaw. It was our biggest trade heist since we lured Kelvin Templeton and Peter Moore. And we had him secured before the finals. Adelaide kept pressing him for an answer and it backfired for them as it meant everyone at the Crows knew his answer and were really [censored] with the then 21-year-old and many say the whole issue impacted their grand final psyche that year. The angry Crows then played hard ball and wanted the world back and we, unlike most clubs, quickly agreed to getting the deal sorted by giving up two first rounders as requested - pick 10 of 2017 and our first-rounder for 2018 as well, although our improved year in 2018 meant that became pick 15. The result of all that was we needed some inspirational lower-order choices from Taylor and drafting three premiership players is a pretty impressive booty from that year by him. Goody’s decision to jettison Jack Watts meant that we did get back into the draft in the second round which ended up being crucial as it helped us snare Fritter. 29 Charlie Spargo – The more skilful son of a handy North player, it was a bit of a surprise when the Kangas overlooked him at pick 23. But then given his size (172cm), it was likely a bit of a Caleb Daniel scenario for most of the clubs and little Charlie is not a big kick like Caleb or Jake Bowey. But after 98 games for us, including a polished 2021 season, he’s been pretty useful and his ability to lower his eyes and find a target has been missed this year. My own view though is that we have too many small forwards on our list, so I’m not one who views him as a must keep. But back then he did provide a point of difference. The fact that the next pick – Carlton’s Tom de Koning went at 30 – has become such a standout will temper many people’s views on our choice. 31 Bayley Fritsch – His form in the VFL was hot and cold for Casey, but having won the best young talent award, several clubs aside from us were across him with Sydney (pick 33) a big danger. He took a couple of years refining his skills, but his class up forward was on show throughout 2021 (59 goals), not to mention that memorable grand final. This was the pick we got from Port for Jack Watts and he has topped our past four leading goalkicking charts, that’s four more than Jacky boy. 37 Harrison Petty – This pick was all Taylor apparently with his knowledge of the draft pool meaning he couldn’t believe Harrison was still around and that even though we’d outlayed heaps for Lever, he had to get the Norwood youngster. Some of you may recall his abysmal first game against St Kilda, when his first left footer dribbled off his toes like Chris Lamb a couple of decades earlier, but once he got over the AFL nerves he showed he could be handy and was trialled up forward back in 2020 before groin injuries curtailed that idea. In 2021, he emerged as a quality VFL defender, but had to wait for an injury to get a gig and with Tomlinson going down about round 6, he was summoned and had a very important year spoiling the third talls, usually ruckman and allowing Lever and May to do their thing. Our forward issues have necessitated another experiment and the wave of comments here this season has generally been unkind, he’s kicked four goals in 14 weeks as our star forward so you can sort of understand why. Worse still is that we could have had two first rounders from Adelaide for him last year and now we will probably just get their second rounder at the end of the season. On his day though, he still marks with aplomb and I reckon he could do a very good Lever intercept role at another club if their list requires it. Or who knows, he may yet stay. 48 Oscar Baker – A major speculative pick from Aspley (Qld), Oscar had a great ever-ready battery but probably lacked the class with his kicking and whilst he’s quick, he’s not explosive quick, meaning he was useful, but just outside our best 22 for much of his five years before we traded him on to the Bulldogs. He’s one of eight ex-Dees that have played this season at other clubs – Howe, Hogan, Harmes, Jordan, Bedford, Wagner and Grundy are the others – which explains why our VFL side is bottom tier this season. Instead of Baker, Taylor could have snared Bendigo’s Kane Farrell (pick 51) who is starting to look the part at Port, while Gryan Miers (57) and Dylan Moore (67) would have been better than any of our swag of small forwards taken in the past few years, Kossie excluded. And North got Tristan Xerri at pick 72, so passing on TDK (30) wasn’t our only solution to our current back-up woes. There weren’t too many gems unearthed in the rookie draft that year although Richmond again found another goer in Liam Baker, the Suns did likewise with Nick Holman, Sydney snared a developing tall forward Joel Amartey playing for Sandringham via their academy and the Giants got a quality defender in Dylan Buckley. The Pies also thought they had found a mature defender with Brody Mihocek, but got lucky turning him into the tough, dependable premiership forward that he’s become. We decided to maintain the faith with Filipovic, Keilty and Smith.

I was at the footy with my dad when he kicked 11.8 against North. He was a freak. Credit to the @demonland crew for securing the interview with the great man a few years back too. It was a brilliant listen.

Since we played Brisbane I've decided to just enjoy each game in isolation without worrying about their greater implications and have to say it's made going to the football more enjoyable.

yeah arguably one of the best drafting years that taylor has had 3 premiership players with 3 picks within 10 of each other, and all deemed as speculative at the time outstanding imo lever is one of the best recruits we've ever had as well - a leader who performs an outstanding and crucial role i would assume it's between him and trac as our next skipper

Think we need to hold onto Petty. Not worried about the key forward stocks , worried about our key position defenders. Another year will roll around for Mcdonald (32) and May (33!) and they’re already getting on. We’ll lose Tomlinson. Disco could go back but he’s fairly light and more of an interceptor. Jed Adams a mile off it. Can understand us going after Battle, but he’ll go to Hawks. Think a lot of Dees fans have short memories, Petty was on track to be a brilliant KPD for us in 21/22, give him a full pre season down there and I’ve got no doubt he’ll be back to his best

None of the lads on First Crack have predicted us to make the 8. That includes Joey Montagna who's been our number 1 fan and defender the last 2 years and King who was the first analyst to jump on the MFC bandwagon (and the first to jump off) in 2017/2018. I think this group will enjoy the tag of under dog going into the final weeks. We already saw it in the first 5 weeks of the season when everyone wrote off us due to our culture, but we responded with a 4-1 start and a magnificent Adelaide Oval double. I can't explain what went wrong between the Carlton game through to Kings B'day. If we are to make the finals, and play an elimination final (particularly interstate), I think there will be less pressure on the boys this time around. There won't be that fear of going out in straight sets and that might help in their conversion around goals which was the main reason we didn't win a final. If the Freo game doesn't work out, then the GWS game is essentially last chance saloon due to our percentage.

Goodwin said at the start of the season that in 2023 we started like a train and limped home. The 'learnings' from that, were that the team would be primed to finish the season strongly rather than start. The way we are playing at the moment it looks like it's going to plan - eg. Windsor looked cooked a few weeks ago and now is playing brilliant footy. The players, with few exceptions, look fit and fresh. Only one team has won a premiership at that ground too!

He was in Sheehan's under 16 team best 22. Also had great draft write-ups where to me he sounded like Salem. I get why i/state clubs missed him but for some insane reason Freo and WCE walked right on by, to our enormous benefit.

Although things seem to have turned a corner lately, this year has highlighted to me how little depth we seem to have through the center of the ground. Which, in my opinion is the most important part of a modern day AFL list. I feel we need to bolster our midfield ASAP and believe this year there are several high potential targets out there for us to look at. I don’t want anymore 26+ year old rejects from other clubs, as I feel that sets us back to in our age demographic and I think we need to re-energize the list with some youth. I feel we should be targeting high potential youngsters that are for whatever reason struggling to break into their current sides or cannot get game time in their preferred position. I understand we need other positions filling as well, but if we can snag 2-3 off this list and keep our first rounder this year, I think we would have done very well. Tier 1 Ben Hobbs Down the pecking order at Essendon but has the potential to be an outstanding player. He can’t get a decent run at it in the Dons midfield which is his best position. I love the way he attacks the ball, has a touch of class and can hit the scoreboard if pushed forward. The Dons midfield still has Parish out injured with Tsatas and Setterfeild as further options so he may look elsewhere. We should be in his ear and try to lure him over with opportunities to play in the guts on a more regular basis. Angus Sheldrick. Clearance machine and unlikely to get a run at his best role anytime soon as the Sydney’s midfield is an embarrassment of riches. Been injured most of the year but would be a walk up start in a lot of midfields when healthy IMO. I get young Jack Viney vibes off him, and his ceiling is yet to be shown at AFL level. Another we could potentially grab on the cheap and he is excess to the swans needs. Bailey Humphrey Most of us here are aware of Bailey as I believe we went hard to try and trade up to snag him in his draft year. He wants to play midfield but is stuck playing forward full time which is a waste of his talent IMO. With the absolute hoard of mids at GC he may not get a look in for many years. If we can get into his ear about coming home and offer the chance to get midfield time, he may just be gettable. He is only in his second year but I can see Petracca like qualities in this kid. Would be an absolute coup if we could land him, but we got to be in it to win it. Tier 2 Josh Ward Looked like an absolute future star in his first 2 years but has been down this year and pushed out of the side due to Worpel, Day, Newcombe and bizarrely Connor Nash taking almost all midfield rotations. They have tried him on the wing, but it just doesn’t suit him. He would add some class to our mid-mix and has an elite kick inside 50. The only knock I have he that he doesn’t relish contact like he needs to, but he is still young and has an extremely high ceiling. Down on confidence at the moment, but the kid can play! It would be a buy low type of trade that could pay off big time. Neil Erasmus Absolutely dominates the midfield at WAFL level, but with the young gun midfield at Freo it seems inevitable he will be on the move at season’s end. The former pick 10 is a Big bodied mid and only 20 years old. Not the best user of the ball, but hey, either is Viney, Clatty, Sparrow etc. He has never really been given a chance to prove himself in the guts at Freo, but the potential is there. Potential bargain if we can get him on the cheap. Luke Pedlar I don’t understand the way the crows have handled this bloke. Yes, his body has often let him down so far in his career, but Nicks almost exclusively plays him forward in a team that really struggles to move the ball cleanly, or he is stuck in the 2s. On the few occasions Luke has got some center bounces attendances, he has shown some serious talent and some very nice and rare attributes. He is not a huge build but goes very very hard at the ball and man. If he can get his body right, I see him as an explosive, tough and skilled Mid/Fwd with huge potential upside. Tier 3 Alex Davies. Not the same level of player as the formerly mentioned but would cost basically nothing and would certainly add to our midfield mix. 191cm midfielder and still only 22. Gold Coast have solid midfield depth at the moment and he is right on the cusp of getting regular game time. Works hard and cracks in. Would be a could get IMO. He is rough and raw but there is a lot to like in his game. A late 3rd or 4th rounder could get it done. Henry Hustwaite This kid has class, skill and that elite “Pendlebury” awareness in his game. Has played a few games this year at AFL level and while he didn’t star, he showed signs and potential. Hawk midfield is deep at the moment, and he is back in the pecking order. I don’t think the Hawks would want to lose him and it would at least be worth putting out the feelers. Jaxon Binns More of an outside type, Binns racks it up in the VFL and has shown he is above the level. The Midfield at the blues is stacked both inside and out so his chances to play seniors have been extremely limited. Probably not any chance of becoming a center bounces player so would be lower on my priority list but the kid can play and would be an upgrade on Laurie or billings. A late pick should get it done and he would most likely offer more than a 3rd round kid in the draft will. Elijah Tsatas Another ball magnet and high-end draft pick rotting away in the 2’s for Essendon. His kicking is suspect at times but he works hard and can find the pill with ease. If he can put on some size and tidy up his disposal, he would be a very handy AFL level mid. Huge upside if he keeps improving and wouldn’t cost the world IMO

Tom Morris 'journalism'... 🙄 Hey Adelaide, if Oliver was available would you look at him? "Yep, definitely" Hey Geelong, if Oliver was available would you look at him? "We have a lot of players on our radar" Hey Collingwood, if Oliver was available would you look at him? He's a quality player. We be silly not to" Hey Hawthorn, if Oliver was available would you look at him? "Definitely, he'd be a great fit" Hey Melbourne, are you looking at trading Oliver? "Absolutely not" Tom Morris... "I'm hearing there is noise around Oliver and clubs thinking he is gettable" Kane Cornes... "So Melbourne say they want to trade him?" Tom Morris... "No I didn't say that, but there is definitely interest" Morris is a [censored] grub. Every time anything re Oliver comes up, he's always the one pushing it. Most of the off-season [censored] can be tied back to Morris and his manufactured scoops. Why does he hate us so much? Is he still upset about Hogan calling him a leech and the fakest figure in the media?

Pretty sure at the opening bounce we both start at 0. Last time doesn't mean [censored].

They are not a 15 goal better side than us. We were beyond putrid that day, we are a totally different side now. It wouldn’t surprise me if we knocked them off in Perth Dub.

In 2023 we won 7 of the last 8 games, with the one loss against the blues by a margin of one goal line decision. Goodwin said last year there was a focus on playing well at the right end of the season (compared to how 2022 went) and he’s said a lot similar this year. Given how well we’ve played since the bye, I’m bullish about our chances over the next 6 weeks. I think we will at a minimum get to host a final.

Sweet Jesus, I had a bad night sleep but checked twice this post is real

Thanks WCW we are on the mend haven’t felt so crook for a long time. Still have been able to watch the game and highlights several times Kozzie and the boys all went up a few notches it was a great win.😁👍

He was good yes, but not in the same league as those three imo. He had one great season ...and also a lot of good ones. He was very handy for us though and I remember the Jamar / Maloney combo in the dark years.

In 22 we were cooked after the efforts that 21 took, and in 23 we had the injury run from hell leading into the end of the season. Just losing Melksham was enough for the wheels to come off up forward.

Also we have: two 6 day breaks, two 8 days breaks and one 7 day break so fairly even on that front