Deespicable

Yep Neitschke (who was enjoying finally being out of rehab) and Jordan. Both have endurance engines. But what an unlikely double. Those of you wondering about what happened to Hunt and ANB, they train with the forwards and the backs and forwards do their reps straight up the middle of the ground away from the mids.

I have no problem at all with us taking Pickett at 10 if our guys rate him that highly and all our must-haves are gone. But I think from what we heard from Tubby Taylor, he's a fan of Hayden Young and if by some miracle Young is available at No.10, then we better bloody well take him as we already have six small forwards on our list (ANB, Spargo, Lockhart, Chandler, Bedford, Hunt) and that's without including Hannan, Petracca, Melky and Fritter who could all be placed in that category as well. By contrast if Salem goes down, let's think what back-ups do we have to assume his precise kicking role - you could argue Hibberd, Jetta and Jones, but all three of those are nearing the end of their careers. So let's hope Taylor shows some sanity if Young is available.

I was there for just over an hour and highlights for me were: VDB doing fairly intense rehab work - lots of kicking and marking on the lead, followed by hard 200m running - way too fit/quick for rehab colleagues Tom Petty and Bradtke. Trac and Joel Smith did quite a few of the 200m also before heading off early. I've said it before but Joel Smith now has an upper body that will draw the girls to him and he's my tip to play on Jack Darling in Rd 1, assuming he's passed fit by then. And barring more stressies, I reckon VDB could be back with all the boys early December. These two will be our best recruits this year if we get them on the park. T-Mac looked really good, kicked beautifully for goal and marked well and later was unstoppable in running drills passing Jayden after about 110m of 120m run throughs. Gawny and Viney both looked in mint condition and matched up on each other in a couple of midfield duels. Bit like Schwarzenegger and De Vito in Twins. Joint captains for sure. Lever looked good, but can someone please show him how to do leg weights. O-Mac being O-Mac - I won't go into it but most of you get what I mean. Dunkley had a red-hot go and don't be surprised if he's in the midfield mix for Rd 1 - he matched up with Angus most of the time and he's learning the trade well. He then led all the early 200m reps again. And there's a prize if you can guess who passed him to win the last rep ... the new Neiter. I reckon the double would have paid $150 as JJ came through for the silver.

Baker has a groin injury and hopes to resume straight after X-mas. Spargo injured his ankle ligament last Friday - unless he did them badly, should be back next week. I think Petty had a minor knee clean-up post-season. Not sure why Smith wasn't there, but he looked really strong last Friday. He has bulked up more and was working with backs - if fit will play on Jack Darling in Rd 1 IMO. Most impressive today was Ed Langdon - ran hard, kicked well and looked eager.

Obviously it is just a dream team at the moment and VDB, Smith and Bennell would have a lot of work to do. But if fit, they are all very worthy first-22 members. KK is almost in same boat. Happy with trial of Harmes as defender because we need a right-footer with pace coming out, but suspect he will be needed in midfield after a few weeks. FB: Lever - May - Salem HB: Harmes - Smith - Hibberd MID: Langdon - Vandenberg - Bennell HF: Petracca - Petty - Hunt FF: Melksham - T.Mac - Fritsch R: Gawn - Oliver - Viney INT: Brayshaw - Tomlinson - Jetta - ANB Depth: Jones - Sparrow - Lockhart - Pruess - Baker - Hannan - Dunkley - KK - Weideman - two high picks

I have always been very bullish about Joel and with Frosty gone, he's super important to add pace and aerial skills to our backline. The last place I want him lining up is the forward line, because as we all know, forwards have to turn tighter and pivot when tackled and I just don't want to hear that he's aggravated his OP attempting a shot around the corner. I actually think he's the closest thing we've got to Tom Stewart on our list. What he needs is to play as many games as he can, so that he can become more au fait with our systems and also so that gets a feel for how far he can go with umpires when tunnelling opponents - as all defenders try and do.

Love all the thoughts and given that I've only really had a good look at Rowell and Serong, my order is based on what I think each club's list managers would be thinking. 1 GC - Rowell - This guy is such an amazing hardworker and a beautiful baulker, reminds me a little of a smaller Robert Harvey. May be too small to be a long-term superstar, but definitely a SC special in his first year and guaranteed 200-gamer. 2 GC - Anderson - I've noticed how Knightmare and others already see his upside and he's got his dad's athleticism. I reckon he may struggle a bit at AFL level early, but once his body adjusts he oozes class and he is a better kick than his dad. He trained with us mid-season and I'm sure it would throw a spanner now in our planning if the Suns didn't take him. The AFL puts so much money into the Suns, and they have already made it clear to them and us what they want. 3 Melb - Hayden Young (Dandenong) - I loved what dazzledavey said about him. "Young in my opinion is one of the best users of the footy in the draft. Absolute sublime with his ability to bullet low 40m passes on both sides of his body. Yes he is genuinely a duel sided player with both feet. Plays his best footy across half back as the quarter back who will sit out the back of the stoppage and wait for the handball receive to then set up a counter attack with his foot skills, but also his intercept marking is exceptionally well. Had stints as a midfielder after the championships and showed that he has the ability to push up into the midfield as a genuine wingman who could deliver with poise inside 50. Honestly you just want the ball in this kids hands at every opportunity because he uses it so well." We need a quick defender, especially with Frost departing and with Hibberd and Jetta getting on, so we need someone like Young with run and kicking ability to take the pressure off Salem. I can't see us taking Serong this early, even though he is a guaranteed 200-gamer, because I reckon we feel our midfield is good enough and we may yet add Martin to our group of onballers. 4 Adel - Dylan Stephens (SA) - I reckon they will weigh him up with Will Gould, who is another SA player and one who shone in the SANFL finals. But Stephens has pace and I reckon that's what Adelaide needs big time now. They will also consider Serong and Flanders, but surely the logic of recent seasons will tell them to go local. 5 GWS - Tom Green (NSW) - I haven't seen any of his games, but the reports say he's an inside bull and I reckon Sydney will want him enough to put a bid on him and he lives virtually on their doorstep. He actually fits Sydney's requirements more than GWS, especially with Kennedy almost finished and Parker getting on, but unless they are planning some cute swap he will surely join the Giants and back-up their gun midfielders. 6 Syd - Luke Jackson (WA) or Sam Flanders (Gippsland) - I've jumped Jackson up the order because I reckon Sydney will have been so [censored] off this year that they didn't have a back-up ruck plan once they started getting injuries and reports say Jackson could be a bit like a future Grundy and with Blakey and Daniher (after next year), they will have their bigs shored up for post-Franklin days. If they feel Jackson is too much of a stretch and could still be around their pick 25, then I reckon they will go Flanders and groom him for the Kennedy role in 2021.They will also consider Serong, but I reckon his lack of size and their good history with mids will see them want the bigger-body option. 7 Frem - Devon Robertson (Perth) - I've assumed here that GWS had to give up pick 6 as part of their Green acquisition and I can't really see how the Giants can get around losing six, unless the Swans come to some sort of whacky deal - very happy if a draft expert can explain how they can manipulate it for me. As a result Freo should have pick seven and having made last year their bigs draft, they will want more midfield help for Fyfe, although Brayshaw and Cerra should be even better next season. Freo will have to decide between Serong, Kemp (coming off a knee injury that will mean he barely plays next season, if at all) and their own boy Robertson, who was a star for WA's winning U18 team. As with Adelaide, they have been burnt by Victorians wanting to go home, so surely they will go their own lad. Surely! 8 Melb - Cody Weightman (Dandenong) or Caleb Serong/Sam Flanders (Gippsland) - This hopefully is a lot tougher for Tubby Taylor than simply just reading out Weightman's name. Clearly we were excited by the prospect of the pacey, quick forward with a leap and that's why sold the farm to go up the order. But Cody is pretty small (just 177cm - 5ft10in) and we have already spent the past three drafts trying to find small forwards who can play near the goalsquare (Spargo and Sparrow with our top remaining picks and Bedford, Chandler, Lockhart with speculative picks). It infuriates me that this obsession led us to having 15 sub 6-footers on our list and whilst we have moved on two of them, Cody would be another vertically challenged player in an era when smalls need to be incredibly fast plus manic tacklers - and not one of our choices has majorly explosive leg-speed. In one sense, I reckon we already solved our small forward problem this year when we sent Jayden Hunt there too harass and whilst his evasive skills and smooth kicking need working on, he certainly harassed. Hunt's not too dissimilar to Castagna and provided Young and Joel Smith (if fit) can cope with quick forwards up the other end, then Hunt is a good option alongside Petracca, Melky, Fritter and maybe ANB. So if someone has some Cody videos please put them on DL as I don't really understand why we would move heaven and earth to get him - maybe a few freakish snaps and leaps will make it clearer. The more sensible option to me is to go whichever one of Serong or Flanders that is left over. This will add depth to our midfield and both can spend their first season primarily being used up forward as they develop bodies. From the games I saw Serong was the second best junior behind Rowell. He is a tad small (180cm), but he's got a good leap, tackles hard and kicks beautifully to position. To me he looked a safe bet to be drafted by the Roos at 8, but for some reason they must have felt he'd go earlier, and jumped at the prospect of our 2020 pick. From all reports Flanders (182cm) is a huge talent as well that could develop into a frontliner. I am not sure about how quick either of these two are, but they both scored a few bags of goals as mids and if they have enough speed, then it's a tick from me.

I just hope we take advantage of this unexpected opportunity in the pre-season draft and are flexible enough to adjust our original plans to accommodate Martin. There's no doubt he's an incredibly classy and quick midfielder and that's what we have all been crying out for because of our lack of outside run. It may be that he ends up playing on a wing and forces Goody to shift his thinking on Tomlinson a bit, but you don't give up quality when it stares you in the face. The money should not be an issue given we already had enough room to make a major bid for Jamie Elliott. The only issue is convincing him to want us more than Carlton and ultimately that's up to our coaching staff and key players to make him feel Gosch's Paddock is a great venue and that our environment is up to speed with most clubs. We also need our former Suns - May and KK - to take him out for coffee and make him feel at home. We also should play what's left of our NT card - the Alice Springs trip is a highlight for our indigenous players who are beset upon and idolised by the locals. I just hope we don't blow it. This is Josh Mahoney's time to shine!

Love how Josh Mahoney is so matter of fact about things, unlike half the other footy managers. I am very happy with attempts to improve our line-up with Langdon (wingman and great runner), Tomlinson (depth and tall swingman - not keen on him playing wing though) , Elliott (playing out of goalsquare, although he's not across the line yet) plus by the sounds of it either a quality kicking half-back in Hayden Young or a hard-working, good kicking small in Caleb Serong with pick three. But ultimately our list management team (not sure how much input Todd Viney has on it this year) has set up Goody for either a nice bounce back or an alarming fall should the moves not win the fans over. Part of that reason is that the two most vilified regular players at the club (ANB and Oscar) are both still at the club and a fan favourite in Sam Frost has been effectively shown the door. Ignore the fact that OMac had another year on his contract, if the club wanted him to move on, they would have found a way - clubs are very shrewd with this kind of thing. So all this builds the appetite for an intriguing year and one that will be very much about our coach - success or failure.

Disappointed we are not considering another sub 6-footer to add to the 15 already on our list! But to answer your question, Tomlinson would be an extremely astute pick up as an unrestricted free agent.

Sadly I booked my trip down there some time back and have to sit through what I am confident will be as one-sided game as possible, partly because our coach will again select nine guys under 6 feet (182cm) and express surprise that his midfield can't spot up anyone. But in case he heeds some semblance of sense that was clearly lacking last week, he must realise that North are a very physical side that lacks polish. They will gobble up our minnows and spit them out. So please find room for whatever bigs we have left and that means the following. In: Preuss - Gawn will be out anyway, but it gives him a shot at Goldy. Keilty - Yes I know he's out of form in the VFL, but we need a big body and it can be his send-off game. And play him down back, so he can help on Ben 10. Petty - If he's fit, he's in. Josh Wagner - God knows how he didn't get in last week when five midgets made it before him. And given he's been playing as a mid in VFL, then it's time we tried him there for us. Hunt - Unbelievable non-selection last week in favour of who again - Chandler, ANB and Spargo? Yeah right. Out: Gawn (injured) Chandler, Spargo, JKH - yes all three are 173cm and yes they are way too small and it's just blatant cruelty to play them in Hobart. Dunkley - Has a bit of talent but no need for him to be butchered yet. A big pre-season awaits. Note: Billy and ANB stay in because even if they may have their cards stamped, they run and make space. Please, please change it up in middle and start Oliver and Harmes on wing. Let others have a final shot negating Cunnington, Ziebell and Higgins, including the Wags brothers and use Trac in burst on the ball more. B: Salem Keilty Hibberd HB: Jones Lever Hore C Oliver J.Wagner Harmes HF: ANB Petty Fritsch F: Viney Frost Melksham Ru: Preuss Brayshaw (tag Higgins) Lewis (have Jordy tag Cunnington) INT: Stretch, C.Wagner, Hunt, Petracca

Made a poor choice and went tonight, rather than watch the Ashes. Goody decided to try to test his latest approach out tonight - it was basically retooling the 2017 Richmond small forwards model that served them so well. He made two major changes to their style, which has been mega successful at night. Because we don't have Jack Riewoldt, he decided to go even further and scrap anybody over 6 foot (183cm) from the forward half. This meant that on those occasions when players were under pressure and have to kick quickly to a pack, there was absolutely no-one available to fly (except Fritter, who in desperation flew about two minutes before the ball arrived). Rampe, Lloyd and Melican had a field day. Goody's idea was that we would be so methodical and precise from down back that we would link up and spot the best short option and then outrun them with our pace and the speed of our lead-up players. That worked well when Jordy got the ball, because he can kick quickly and find targets, but most of the time we were too slow to prise out an option. Part of that comes from the fact that our quickest (and arguably best forward all year) in Jayden Hunt had been dropped. So on the few occasions that Angus and Olly and Harmes got clear they had nobody to single out. Only once dod a passage of short link up play reap rewards - watch a replay of the build-up to ANB's goal in the last. The other surprise was that we decided for reasons that are best known to Goody to try out Spargo in a Caleb Daniel type role down back. The difference of course is that Caleb can kick 50m on the run, whereas poor little Spargs kicks like his leg is a seven wood. Then because Spargo was playing back, we ditched our recent initiative of playing Jones as the sweeper/assist man in front of the defence. Instead we set him forward where we got a reminder of why we offered him just $160K for next season. He wasn't alone. Did anyone feel any of our bottom 10 had good moments? Sorry but it was one of those nights where it's hard to walk away and find anything good to say. Sorry but if you had a Chandler highlight, you must have been watching Friends. Hibberd was really good though (much more like 2017) and Jordy hit target after target and Lever got through another game and spoiled well. Melky also looked like he was back in the groove up forward. But from there you will struggle. I still believe Goody deserves a chance at coaching under pressure next year, but I think we had better start planning our caretaker role because we are slipping further and further behind. Does anyone know who the likely No.1 pick for the 2020 draft is?

Clearly back to the Neeld days, but at these times you have to look harder for gems. 6 Hibberd - Beat his man regularly and provided run and kicked well much of the night. 5 Lewis - Drifted out of it after half time but was the only player who disposed of the ball cleanly virtually the entire night. 4 Melksham - Our best (only) forward target all night,. Mixed it up playing from the goal square with Fritter (who flew for everything but took nothing) and Frosty (who made a solid cameo there in last quarter). 3 Harmes - Couple of major howlers, but breaks line and takes mark (which is why Olly misses out here). 2 Gawn - Monstered Aliir all night but wasn't able to impact the scoreboard when he drifted forward. 1 Brayshaw - Tackled really strong early and looked composed, but when he went long couldn't find a forward ... because we don't have any you might say.

Obviously we can all try and be wise before (and after) the event, but given Sydney's lengthy list of injured talls, the fact that we have chosen to match them and go so small could be pure Goody wisdom. It is a night game and sure to be greasy conditions after all. Or maybe the AFL promotion department asked if we could help them market the game as the battle of the minnows to the tune of 'It's a small world after all'. On a serious note I think this may be our smallest side ever - Viney, Jones, JKH, Stretch, C.Wags, Salem, ANB, Spargo and now Chandler - that's a club record nine sub-6 footers.

Obviously we can all try and be wise before (and after) the event, but given Sydney's lengthy list of injured talls, the fact that we have chosen to match them and go so small could be pure Goody wisdom. It is a night game and sure to be greasy conditions after all. Or maybe the AFL promotion department asked if we could help them market the game as the battle of the minnows to the tune of 'It's a small world after all'. On a serious note I think this may be our smallest side ever - Viney, Jones, JKH, Stretch, C.Wags, Salem, ANB, Spargo and now Chandler - that's a club record nine sub-6 footers.

I am starting to warm to the idea of us picking up Brad Hill, although given his value i can't see it getting done unless we are willing to trade Angus. I know a lot of us would feel a bit aggrieved if that happened.

I like Richo, but he's not the right man for us - his style is similar to Goody's in that he likes his side to get the ball forward, but he's not coming in to work guys over on the training track at his age. Goody is 42, he's not a kid on training wheels that needs a new mentor to replace Macca. He needs quality 'next generation' coaches to spark things up at training and reduce the generational impasse between players and coaches. We have just appointed Darren Burgess as fitness coach, which should be a good get, but he is over 50 and won't be doing most of the drills with the players - he's now too old for that. But he has years of experience and should know how to get blokes fit and have smarts in injury and load management. We also have several ageing assistant coaches and by ageing I mean the following. Once coaches get into their 40s, they rarely have the physical capabilities to hammer, chase, pressure their younger colleagues. They have smarts, but eventually it's best to move them on into other roles or back into the coaching system at lower tiers - ammos and metro sides etc. Ruck coach Greg Stafford turns 45 in a few weeks. Stoppage coach Ben Mathews is a ripper but he's 42 next year. Forwards coach Jade Rawlings is about to turn 42 and he still is happy to have blokes body him at training, but he's not a young pup. Midfield development Justin Plapp is also 42. Backline coach Troy Chaplin is just 33. Development coach Max Rooke is 37. Player development coach Matthew Egan is 36. So to me the most important gets now are two or three young assistants who can be hands-on at training - Jordy should be No.1 choice and there are others who have just retired and can impart knowledge and instantly have respect of their young players. To me a really good tackling coach is high on the list - the Billy Slater role has worked at Saints this year, is there another Storm ex-player who we can snare to impart technical wisdom?

Obviously we'd love a quality key forward but I suspect we will have to just hope we get lucky with one late in piece - especially given we have already used our past two early picks on talls - Lever and May. Petty's rise in past month has taken a bit of pressure off in this area as well. So it's outside run and a small forward that need addressing to me. Pick 3: Assuming the Suns get a priority pick and steal Noah Anderson from us, then the next best player for pick 3 is listed as Caleb Serong. He was sensational in the game I saw when he played Vic Metro and would waltz into our line up on a forward flank. He's a tad smaller than six feet, which worries me (see mid-year review) but he's got that bit of mongrel that tells me he'll end up at North if we don't take him. Pick: 21: Ed Langdon - He should solve our outside run problems and at 24 and 183cm, he'll come straight in on a wing. The only issue is whether Freo wants more than our second rounder and I can see this being a lengthy battle. We may have to give them our third rounder as well - I am reluctant for us to give them our 2020 second rounder as well, unless we get their second rounder back and that won't happen, unless they are very cocky about their chances for next season. Other picks 2x tall forwards - Obviously these will be highly speculative, but we have to take a risk on a couple 1x pacey forward - This becomes two if we end up with Anderson after all and don't take Serong. 1 x tough midfielder who has been unlucky at previous drafts. 1x tough, pacey medium defender - we have to start preparing for life without Jetta and Hibberd. 1x indigenous talent - with Garlett and maybe JKH gone and Jetta close to retiring, we have to start grooming a player who has a few tricks. Bedford has them but is just too small. All up I have 8 inclusions, which is why some big calls on fringe players will have to be made.

Only two players in contention for inclusion this week and both must play if fit. 1 ) Marty Hore - what a disgrace that he was left to play VFL last week. 2) May - Obviously depends on him passing his fitness test. Out: Lever (if injured, but I suspect that he will just be heavily strapped and will be good to go) O.Mac - if the coach wants to omit Preuss instead, then O.Mac has to play forward and back-up ruck if that is the case. C.Wagner - only left out if Lever is fit. Shock move: I liked how Goody sent Hunt back last week to combat the pacey Tiger smalls and I think this week it's time we tried to get Salem more involved with offense and play him in the mids with job of tagging Sidebottom. B: Hunt May Hore HF: Jones Lever Hibberd C Baker Brayshaw Salem HF: Melky Petty Fritsch F: Petracca Lewis Harmes Ru: Gawn Oliver Viney Int: Frost (def), JKH (mid), Dunkley (fwd), Preuss or O.Mac (ruck/fwd)

Finally got a chance to watch the reply and I know my votes are too late but I wanted to pass comment. 6 Gawn - So clean with his marking on a night that was drizzly. 5 Fritsch - Our most reliable forward and continues a great two months - both down back and now up forward. I suspect he's now fifth in B&F. 4 Hunt - Was involved in about five goal-saving plays plus brilliant in the play that netted Dunkley's first goal after Jones' errant handball. More than justified Goody's decision to send him back to counter the Tiger small quicks. 3 Hibberd - Caught with the ball late but for the most part our most evasive defender on the night under pressure. 2 Oliver - As stated by others, he panicked with quick-gives a few times, but worked his butt off all night even with a dislocated finger. 1 Lewis - I gave it to the old fella because he negated the Tigers All-Australian defender Grimes and kicked two on him. Best play of the night: Jones' left-foot 45m inboard pass to Fritter.

Always a tricky time of the year for players and coaches alike and some changes have to be made because of current club status. Out Lewis - The most important signing of year in my opinion - as a key assistant. Clearly a coach in waiting and will be in huge demand as assistant at several clubs. Whether Goody can keep him as assistant probably depends on money offered and how highly Jordy regards Goody. If Jordy goes to another club for broader experience, then we must bring in a well-respected recent player as an assistant. Our current team of back-ups is getting a little long in the tooth. Garlett - Served us well during a tricky revival time under Roos when we weren't a popular destination and we needed pace even more so than now. A very good pick up from Carlton for virtually nothing. Maynard - Made the switch from b'ball a little too late and perhaps doesn't have quite enough pace. He's a very clever accumulator, but he's now 28. He had the honour of starting 2018 on Ablett, so he will take with him plenty of good pub stories. Hope he decides to play for Casey next season because he's very reliable. Keilty (rookie) - Declan has given it his best shot for three years now and I was rapt when he got a couple of games this season. He now goes into the trivia books as an AFL player with a 100 per cent winning record - which this year is saying something. Nervous wait Billy Stretch - I have always rated Billy higher than the coach and was won over on him three years ago when he emerged from a tackling drill at training with some good scalps including Jack Viney. He reads the play well and makes good position and I reckon he should have got more than one week on trial as a backman, because ultimately he's a tad small for current-day midfielders and a tiny bit too slow for the wing spot, but he's disciplined enough for defence and he kicks to position well. He's regarded as having a high work-ethic at training, so I hope we retain him for another year, but I suspect we will move him on. Adelaide, with a new era on way, would be crazy not to take him with a late rounder or rookie him if he's delisted. JKH - It's hard not to look at the Tigers game as his last chance to show why he should be retained. Personally I thought he really kicked on late last season and was shocked that after being rushed back in with Hannan for the Darwin game, because of a shortage of fit numbers, he was dropped after just one go at it. Yes he turns the ball over, but he runs and runs and runs like Sauce, so it's a big call. He's 24 so it may be that the match committee has given up waiting. His freakish goal in our upset win over in Adelaide five years ago remains one of my all-time Dee highlights. Tim Smith - As with Declan, a really worthy pick-up as a rookie, but at 28 and with a coach who keeps wanting to play him as his back-up ruckman, then you have to wonder how he survives. He's too courageous for his own good so injuries keep happening and you wonder what would have happened if he had got that free kick against West Coast that he deserved. He may get another year but I suspect we need to take a few risks with late-order draft picks again. Joel Smith - I've been on record for a long time saying he's a star in the making and he's still only 23, so you don't delist someone who can make a big difference. My concern now is that he looked so good as a forward pre-season that Goody will want him to play there. To me his groin issue (OP) means he has to go back and play defence, as there's not so much twisting required down back as there is up forward, where the problems arose. We also have to convince him, or more importantly his dad, to re-sign. That may be harder than many think. Kade Chandler - Some of you may be surprised to see his name listed here given he's only had the one year and he's still only 19. And if you've seen him, he's a nice little left-footer who reminds me of Jack Lonie from the Saints. But at 173cm, he is part of a bigger problem that has been brought on by Tubby Taylor's recruiting. He is one of 15 players under six feet on our list - that's way too many (see my mid-season review for more detail). Ordinarily the club would give him another year, but we do need a sub-182cm cull and he may fall victim to it. Josh and Corey Wagner - I have included them both as a package because to me it's either both in or both out. My view is that the brothers are tremendous hard-workers who make a huge difference at VFL level. If Josh had line-breaking skills then he'd be an AFL regular, while Corey is a tad slow for the wing, but Goody doesn't want to give him a shot in the middle, except at VFL level, where he is a star. I hope we retain both of them for another year. And if we don't then I'd try and keep them both as Casey co-captains for next year. ANB - As with Billy, an ideal clubman and the fittest player at the club so it's a huge call to move him on. All of us have bemoaned his occasional butchering of opportunities and this year it's been an extra tough gig as a small forward in our side. But what if we move him on and the AFL reduces interchange back to 30. How stupid would we look? Kade Kolodjashnij and Aaron vandenBurg - obviously the club won't be pushing either of these two guys out, but if medical reports on them between now and October don't bode well, then early retirement is possible. Guy Walker - An impressive looking pony-tailed hard worker before Christmas, but his season-long injury on top of being 24 already makes it hard to retain him. He's a Category B, so if we don't have a fresh name to replace him in that category, then I'm happy for him to have another go. But he's no Dayne Zorko in waiting. Oscar Mc - None of you will be surprised to see his name listed here. But he's contracted so it won't happen unless he is fed up with everyone's constant criticism. The thing that I find even more perplexing than his selection is that he is still yet to be tried as a forward - the position he often played his junior football. Given what a find T-Mac was as a forward in 2018, it's incomprehensible to understand why he hasn't lined up there on occasions or even in the back-up ruck role, given he shares his brother's tank and has extra height than him.

I am hoping both the coach and players realise what a win against Richmond would mean to the way we all look forward to next season. Clearly the Tigers have had our measure the past 3 seasons and they are now flag favourites. A loss to us will be a huge blow to them and will mean we can at least take something from our season horribilis. At least 70,000 (mainly Tiger fans) will go on Saturday night, so hopefully Goody and his selectors treat this with vision and excitement. The Tigers, as we know, play a fanatic pressure-type game and love greasy night conditions because it exposes anybody who is not seriously savage at the ball. They will miss Cotchin, but will most likely bring back Caddy. They are currently going with two ruckmen to compensate for Nankervis being out - Soldo and Choi - and both can be exposed. IMO, there are few key elements that need addressing or it's game over before the ball is bounced. 1) Riewoldt and Lynch - You cannot seriously play Oscar on either of them at any stage. They both like to lead up and Oscar likes to trail back, so only a numbskull would pick him for this game. In a perfect world May and Frosty play on them, but if May is not fit, then Lever has to get Lynch. Marty Hore will come back into our back six, so we have an intercept help player if Lever has to take Lynch. 2) Bachar Houli - Basher smashed us last time even though we tried to tag him. We have to make sure he is matched up with either Hunt, Melky or Harmes. Harmes must start forward to try and get this to work and hopefully he can expose him on the counter. Later Harmesy may be needed on the ball. 3) Nick Vlastuin - Another underrated star down back for them and the perfect match up for Jordy to try and negate his intercepting and clean-up influence. 4) Soldo and Chol - This is the one area that we can try and exploit the Tigers and if Goody plans to use Tim Smith as our back-up tapman again then he is a bigger nong than some of you have been saying. Bruce's first two goals last week came directly from when Smith was on the ball on him. I'm sure we can all realise Goody's frustration at Preuss' not nailing the McGovern tackle in Alice Springs and he did drop about five marks that day, including the embarassing sitter in the last term. But Preuss has to play. He may drop marks but he has a presence and against Richmond that is critical. And the ball at least gets to the ground when Preuss is in the vicinity. I would start Preuss in the ruck as a surprise tactic and plan to use Gawn as the No.1 man after half time when we generally are running out of steam. Further to this, playing Gawn forward at start, means Astbury will probably go to him and Petty can try and play more of a negating role on Grimes, which is what we want because Grimes, Vlastuin and Houli are their Kryptonite. They have to be curtailed for us to have any chance. Gawn is more likely to surprise them up forward early when it is less greasy because the later it gets, the more they will push him under, just as they did against Cox last week. But getting some tough bump and grind in the centre-bounces early from Preuss will give Gawny a chance to exploit them on the ball in the second half. 5 Dusty Martin - Yes he's back in form. Angus showed on Yeo in Alice Springs that he lifts when challenged and Dusty should be his all night. We have to find a way to get more out of Angus and give him more leadership and this is our chance. 6 Kane Lambert and Sydney Stack - both provide plenty of run with Ellis. We have to make sure we get disciplined players on them, hence this is the week to move Hibberd and Nev forward to a wing with a plan to have them nullify their influence. In a perfect world Nev takes Stack whenever he can, while Hibberd gets Lambert. Having Jetta and Hibberd on a wing makes us more accountable and gives us more presence. The Tigers will kill us if we show the slightest sign of whimpiness or one-way running, so we need defensive-minded wingmen. So for me, it's the following changes: Out: Oscar Mc, Corey Wags, ANB, Tim Smith, J.Wags (only if May fit) In: Hore, Dunkley, Melksham, Preuss and May (if fit) Starting line-up B: Salem (Castagna) May or Lever (Lynch) Hore (Caddy if back) HB: Jones (L.Baker) Frost (Riewoldt) Lever or Wags (Edwards) C Jetta (Stack) Brayshaw (Martin) Hibberd (Lambert) HF: Petracca/Melky (Ellis) Lewis (Vlastuin) Hunt/Fritsch (Short) F: Harmes (Houli) Gawn (Astbury) Petty (Grimes) Ru: Preuss (Soldo) Oliver (Graham) Viney (Prestia) Int: Melky (fwd), O.Baker (mid), Dunkley (mid/fwd), Hunt/Fritsch (fwd) Tiger Int: Broad (def), Rioli (fwd), Chol (ruc/fwd), Bolton (fwd) As stupid as it sounds, I reckon we are not without a chance if we go with the right mix. We will know if we are fair dinkum on Friday when the team is picked though.

6 Viney - He has really lifted since the bye and was back to his best. 5 Petracca - He's been getting more and more physical by the week. More and more like De Goey now. 4 Harmes - Once again didn't stop working, just needs a tad more finesse at times to become a superstar. 3 Jones - I'm loving his move down back and he is now a sure thing to play on. God knows why it took Goody so long to use him in this role. 2 Gawn - Class and a half above Trengove and English, but failed to impact up forward. 1 Petty - Already has more goals than Weed has in any game this season.

The Doggies are a fast, young side and with the game at Marvel I'd be disappointed if we didn't add some extra speed and that means either JKH or Baker should come in and JKH has been superb in VFL for two weeks so deserves his shot. Assuming both Lewis and Viney avoid suspension, then it should be just the three changes, although Weid should be sent back to VFL if Smith is fit again, as he needs to rebuild his confidence. Out: T.Mac, Hore, Petty, Weid? In: Gawn, Lever, JKH, T.Smith?

The loss of Lever is a serious setback, but his absence does not mean we have to pick a third tall, although Petty will be considered. Lockhart will be a definite in and I'd hope ANB and JKH are brought back in to try and counter Freo's run a pace. And as stated in my mid-year rankings, I'd be punishing Olly for playing safe and playing him at full-forward. As with others, Wags, Jeffy and Spargo are first out . I'd have Salem on Walters, Hibberd on Fyfe to free up Harmes and Jones on Matera. T.Mac should be rested until he is back to full speed fitness level and his omission leaves room for T.Smith and Preuss. B: Salem May Hore HB: Jones Frost Fritsch C Baker Brayshaw JKH HF: Petracca T.Smith Hannan F: Lockhart Olly Weid Ru: Gawn Hibberd (Fyfe) Viney Int: Harmes, ANB, Preuss, Hunt