Lil_red_fire_engine

We chose to play Brown on one leg and Melksham as a second tall in two finals instead of Weid. In fact we were willing days before our last final to debut JVR if Gawn missed rather than play Weid as a forward/ruck. This should show you how much we rate Weid. This talk about needing him as a back up, we just did and did not use him. Let Weid have a. Another crack at it elsewhere and clear the space,

Because he was out of contract and no other club showed realistic interest in a player we did not see in our best 22 this year.

Well thank god that’s over. It was really a one horse race and they had limited realistic further chips for us to ask for. You cant make players come and you cant force other clubs to give up high picks. Lets just maximise what we received for the full picture this year and next and ensure we nail what we do with them.

Brayshaw already started to. Harmes was spending more and more time wing and half forward once Gus moved midfield.

Disappointed he is going as I love his offensive and defensive speed but I would not be 100% he would be nailing a starting 22 spot next year. To my understanding we offered him a multi year deal and he has chosen another offer where he must also be more confident of getting AFL games. It’s not like we have chosen to give his list spot to another (which appears to be the Hunt scenario). This is Bedford choosing another path. I wish him all the best.

Hunt played 20 games but in a year that Salem was crueled by injury. He is at peak development and whilst he has assets he has deficiencies. A fit Salem and then a further year of development in Rivers and Bowey makes him surplus and not where we should put contract $$$ or length. This is before you consider who might pass him in 2024 or 2025. Loved watching him have some amazing moments with the assets he had but this is one of those list moves you need to do to tweak the 22 and turn the list.

No. We had best 22 players below their best due to carrying injuries and still finished second. Most of our best 25 Gawn, Hibberd, Tmac, Brown and May aside should be in the window or before the window of their best footy. We will want to look at some of our VFL premiership side in Bedford, Chandler, JVR, Turner, Howes, Woewoden, Laurie, AMW, McVee next year with another preseason in them to shift some roles. I am not looking at the moves other clubs are making and thinking they would improve our 22 for cost of trade. Amon is the only one I thought would possibly fit need for cost and by all reports we had a look but one or the other decided not right fit. We are usually very focussed in what we are trying to do rather than the scattergun of other clubs. Clearly our focus is get Grundy and maximise the Jackson move, once done I am sure we will look to see whether a move of value exists.

Spargo led the league with the highest % of kicks to marks inside 50. This in a team where we go on about how poor we are at our inside 50 connection. The thing Charlie needs to improve is how he gets the ball more and continue to improve his defensive aspects.

Thanks for the memories and your service to the red and blue Jayden. This though is the right move for both player and for club.

$850k x 2 years by the sounds of it.

People jump off quickly. It looked great last year. It looked great for the first 10 rounds this year. It looked good for the second half of the year for first halves but was not sustainable for four quarters. Just need to improve the list and unpick the reason for the second half fades. The worst thing we could do is try and make major change.

Grundy is also excellent at containing the opposition if the clearance is not won. His tackle numbers are elite

We have 2 of the best 5 mids in the comp based on most expert assessments and they are coming in t their prime. Pendlebury would be the only one of those 5 considered in that bracket at any point in his career. You do understand that stoppage and territory is key to how we play our best footy yeah?

We need to continue to have some good mature cover at Casey but not on significant $$$. Unless we plan on moving Petty permanently forward (which I dont agree with) that is all he is. As mentioned another preseason into Turner and he will likely be preferred but I still feel we need a cheap mature taller defender on the list unless we plan on considering a shift of TMac or Weid back over the summer.

We lack outside accumulators that have clean hands and are high quality kicks. He fits the bill and is of good size and agility to play on multiple types.

Hits outs to advantage 2018-2021. You could argue that Grundy (who is the better tap ruckman of the two in my view) with Oliver, Trac, Viney underneath will be even more effective. You could also argue the combined of both will be significantly more impactful being they should be fresher when in there and at points against secondary rucks moreso than now. Hit outs to advantage are gold from a scores and territory viewpoint. 2018 1st Gawn (400) 2nd Grundy (333) 3rd Goldstein (242) 2019 1st Grundy (294), 2nd Gawn (285) 3rd Witts (260) 2020 1st Grundy (166), 2nd Gawn (149) 3rd Naitanui (145) 2021 1st Natanui (270), 2nd Gawn (255) 4th Grundy (214)

Doesn’t have the clean hands and disposal of Rioli. We need clean hands and skills off half back.

It’s not surprising but it’s not like they all got injured the week of our final game. Our insistence to continue to play so many players who were clearly below their best when we had a strong list of players playing high quality footy at Casey was ridiculous.

It sounds great but also sounds like that deal likely has more $$ sitting in that last year than we would likely afford. I can see other teams as mentioned above having much more ease to accommodate and more want for the pick. I just like him as a player and would fit a 22 need in my view.

I hope we are exploring what getting Bowes might take. Can play, good size for a versatile half back/wing, can kick and moves well. Good age for our list and being Suns are trying to salary dump make not cost much in trade.

I think we are more so looking to dominate clearance/stoppage and not be out marked under a long ball.

This season our cap was full to the brim. The draft series that was on Stan showed that when we signed Dunstan that it would be a 2 year base salary as Tim Lamb said we had nothing left for more.

Taking Jackson unlocked a 2021 premiership but in my view got in the way of our best centre and forward mix this year. Will be interested to see how he polls in the B&F, particularly second half of the year. I have no issue with Jackson wanting home as long as he allows us to get a deal that is reasonable for the investment we have made in him. If we play this right, which we have a habit of doing, two top 10 picks (which Jason Taylor will nail) and the space to milk Grundy on the cheap could really set us up for 2023 and beyond.

I would expect all those out of contract to be gone unless Hibbo decides to go around again. This assumes Jackson and Bedford choose to go. If Bedford goes we must retain Chandler in contract. Unless someone offers overs we must retain Tomlinson for defensive cover, if we choose to shift Petty forward or if May’s role changes if Hibbo retires. We need to develop some more kids and we can’t pay more for borderline 22 players like Hunt, Melksham.

The number 1 thing that needs to be fixed is our ability to run out second halves. 6 of 8 games we lost we led by 4+ goals in first halves. That says the game plan stacks up until we can no longer apply it offensively and defensively. We either need to have fitness or players that can sustain it or change the plan to one less taxing. We then need to improve our bottom 6-8 in the side either by their own development or more-so by personnel change. Too often it has been left to Gawn, Oliver, Trac, May to play out of their skin to get us the W. Last year it was constantly team effort with those 4 putting the cherry on top.