Lil_red_fire_engine

Nothing to do with the tag. All to do with his inability to hit a target by foot.

I saw enough of ANB on the weekend to validate his decision making and execution by foot are not up to it. In contract but trade if opportunity to improve position is there.

Fifty 5 I am somewhat surprised about your constant banging on about Hartlett. He is extremely inconsistent and even at his best the cost versus output just doesn't stack up for me. Aside from that I am not entirely sure what role he plays he is a mid yes and reasonably rounded but not a great inside or a great outside. Nice penetrating kick but not necessarily effective. Taking players like Hartlett for overs smacks of the Richmond and North approaches of recent years that seem to make you look better but not set you up to go all the way. Mitchell on the other hand I get but the cost versus adding another inside mid (granted a bloody good one) just doesn't make sense.

Joel Smith.

Clinical win by the Scorps. Looking forward to witnessing Oliver's final ever VFL game next week. Dunn did his potential trade value no harm. Joel Smith with a full preseason next year could be very interesting.

Salem was killing it before going off. Joel Smith will be a serious player. Dunn and Oliver probably our best. ANB whilst he wins the ball well is unfortunately a very limited footballer. Important to get a couple of early goals to put it beyond doubt.

I have watched a lot of Essendon as the wife supports them. Melksham is fast and hard and most of the time is a good kick but will make two clangers a game that burn into your memory that will make you forget the good things he did. I suspect he will be a better player for us under Goodwin's tutelage and away from the distractions of the passed 4 years. At a minimum he will be an upgrade on the roles and performance of M Jones (19 games) and Harmes (10 games) and Wagner (14 games) played this season. I suspect though he will give us a lot more.

Sure fire way if he chooses to go home for family reasons for us to milk the best deal. I prefer this scenario to the Freo only one. Still with a preference that he stays but also with a confidence if he goes we will maximise the deal and select the right players if drafts picks.

He had 7 clearances and 9 tackles in a hot game agains the most mature and hardened midfield in the league. This is the team that ragdolled us in the wet on the same ground earlier in the year. He was doing last night the things we were too "tired" to do well in the last two rounds. As a free hit under UFA it gives one year to protect and develop Brayshaw and Oliver whilst we build up their midfield time. It also is good mitigation to injury from Jones, Tyson or Viney (who all had pretty clear runs). Worst case if form doesn't warrant he will not play all 22.

In my opinion for the cost vs worth we don't want either. Miles is a minor upgrade that would steal game time next year from Brayshaw, Oliver and others through the midfield. Hartlett is a highly talented player who rarely has consistent impact on games. Would strongly consider him as a free agent but would not even be close to considering him for the trade required to outside of free agency.

Mills was a deserved winner. I am not surprised none of ours were in top 5. In saying that I would prefer to not have one winner but have 4 nominations with potentially the best of those eligible in Hunt not even getting one.

What role did he play in the Hawthorn win this year or Geelong last year? Hope he stays but if not milk it for all its worth and move on to success without him.

Unsure what game you were watching. Had 50+ hit outs I believe including double digits to advantage. Kicked at least two goals when drifted forward and was with Polkinghorne and Heppel key to their last term fightback.

Neither had James Frawley before he left according to Roos......

Being how well our kids held up at the stoppages and in the tackle on the weekend I can see why this is not a bad idea. Particularly to look to impart his training and preparation habits which have always been held in high regard.

Do you think we have great leaders? What makes a great leader for you?

It's natural behaviour that as their abilities decline they are likely to become more focussed on their own form than the team. Particularly when leadership does not come naturally to either of them. May not be next year but they both appear to have reached their best.

We have clearly improved as the stats don't lie. Its the intangibles of what defines improvement that will be up for debate and most of this will be based on expectations held prior and during the year or the factors that people believe influenced the statistical improvement. I hoped for 10 wins at the start of the year (which we did), to take a finals team scalp (which we did ), win away (which we did) and win the games we were clearly expected to (which we didn't). I am amazed that we did this whilst blooding so many young players at once and accept the variance that comes with playing so many of them. The peek into the future shown particularly by Oliver, Hunt, O-Mac and Petracca really made the year worthwhile. We showed we have an elite weapon at our disposal in Gawn and the ability to play such an exciting brand of footy to watch were also important stamps for me this year. However the improvement came off the back of a close to injury free year where Salem aside we were able to keep most on the park that we wanted at most times. Whilst Casey has been great all year in most cases it was proven those that dominated down there were a rung or two below what we need to elevate at senior level. The biggest disappointment to me was even after 3 years of the culture buster that is Roos, our leadership is still in the lowest ranks of the AFL and I still see a gap between those mature enough to do it now ie: Jones, Vince and those that have the natural attributes to be the true leaders we need. I suspect we have seen the best of both Jones and Vince as footballers and the older they get the more focus they will put on individual performance and not on the team. It will be interesting to see how that manifests over the preseason.

People are quick to start threads like this when form drops. Those that know and have courage will call out a players limitations when they are playing well like Viney mid season. Firstly he is not a tagger, he is a natural hunter of the ball and man. This has been shown the last two weeks where he gets confused as soon as he is told to play a minding role. Secondly, the maturity of his body does not yet allow for his combative style for a full year. Another pre-season and this will improve further again. He is one sided but I think he is more prone to making a poor decision rather than not executing well. Of course his form fluctuates with Gawns performance any first dibs mid would. He is so far from our issues the thread is a tad comical.

The boys looked physically cooked last week and both mentally and physically done this week. Today just showed how little mature leadership we still have. Off season list management will be interesting to see. Good improvement this year considering the amount of games we got into kids and can only hope losing like that burns and sets them into preseason with a determination to accelerate the next phase of improvement.

It is pretty obvious that Gawn and Viney are cooked and Vince and Jones are playing lame. I wish nothing more than Salem having a full run at it next year, he has a great balance of class and hardness. Bugg, Vanders, Matt Jones nothing but ok depth. If Hogan doesn't request to go home I will be more so wondering whether he can actually be close to the player we thought he could be. Refuses to lead or chase and does nothing but point and shake his head. This will get ugly but unlike most I wont let a game that means nothing at end of season to sour what has been another year developing in the right direction.

One team playing for something. One team playing with no purpose and plenty of self preservation. Say what you like but mindset will always be different when you are actually playing for something worthwhile. Showing how important this game is by starting with no Jones or Vince in the centre square summed it up at the first bounce.

Has revived my passion for football rather than the routine of going cos thats just what you do. He could have easily put wins this year ahead of development and setting us up for sustained success. I think this says the most about him. Thanks Roosy but more-so PJ in persevering and getting the right man for the job.

6. Jetta 5. T-Mac 4. Hunt 3. O-Mac DAYLIGHT 2 Hogan (you cant ignore how he won the ball regardless of how bad he was with it) 1. Tyson

Just focus on our attack on ball, man and spread and the win and % will look after itself. It would be very easy for a young side to take in the plaudits of this week and already have an eye on Geelong (as some on here have) or focus on winning big rather than the process of winning. Another good test for our senior leaders to lead the way.