Deespicable

Robbie had a blinder that day against North and it took a Gary Ayres crunch to unhinge him in prelim final of 1987. Don't get too worried about the Cray boys tactics, they have mellowed a bit and like to think of themselves as strategists now, rather than thugs. They also know the cameras pick up any malicious acts and subsequent media scrutiny is not worth the hassle. But I do sense that Chris Scott is getting edgy about his plan to send a third-gamer to Max Gawn and he may decide to switch things a bit. I think he was hoping that big Sav would have given him a cut out, but that fell through when he barely touched it at Casey. Now he has to decide whether to send Blicavs into battle to negate Gawn's influence around ground or give Stanley injections into hsi achilles that will probably end his final series if they won. If he does go with Blicavs into the ruck, it could muck up things in much the same way that Northey let the GF88 battle get to him and chose to muck up our line up by sending Danny Hughes into the ruck and Stretch onto Dunstall. That killed us off before the bounce. Anyway I did get to training and saw three things: 1) VDB accidentally hammered Dom in a tackle at one stage and was quite apologetic. Dom courageously played on, so in a sense he's already had a fitness test because a VDB hit is as hard as they come. he will be available, although they may have already got some other plans for this game. 2) JKH is absolutely flying. He is so up at moment and his work is way better than I've ever seen. It will be a big call to drop him. 3) I watched Bayley play the simulation drill on Jack Viney and was impressed with the Fritta - he's come a long way since his debut, looks stronger and sharper. He will be fine in the finals. As to my original assertion on changes thread a week ago that there will be three changes - the same as ones Ben Guthrie has listed - I am starting to doubt it. Obviously Viney and Hannan will come in, but maybe the need for Joel Smith's flexibility and security as the third tall will be overridden by the Cats going smaller and the difficulty in telling either Dom or JKH they are out. Finals is an emotional time. But having said that, I'd still do it and the reason is because both Hannan and Smith are critical to us being able to play a man-on-man game which we slipped into two weeks ago - whoops I shouldn't have told you that!

Am I missing something here? Nobody has mentioned the non-selection of JKH, who based on just about everybody's AFL selection comments including my own, is first in line to be omitted should we regain Viney, Hannan and Joel Smith. Yes I know he played well last week v GWS, but to suggest he is a likely first 22 next week is baffling? To keep him back as a hold over player is not a bad idea, but Hannan hardly needs a hitout either I would have thought. In JKH's case, he has had a couple of breaks already this season as 23rd player, so there is absolutely no need to rest him - unless you are one of the few that think he is a gimme next week - Goody may well be one of the few, but i doubt it. And what's worse, he is exactly the type of player the VFL side needs this week with a few of our fringe mids already out - Stretch, Baker and Kent etc. Has JKH got an injury? Did the club ask him to take it easy because he may play? Is he so big-headed that he knocked back a chance to play because he feels he's a gimme next week? I doubt the latter. Anyone got some inside info on why he is not playing?

I think he was shattered at first when he got wind of the deal to offload him by the Crows five seasons ago, but he quickly got over his disappointment at moving states (hanging out with a social livewire in Wattsy helped) and turned the move into a positive that has extended to his new real estate career. He also has been humble enough to still cop demotion to the backline and then demotion from the team and kept smiling through it all. Rapt that he got to play 100 games for us and also won a best-and-fairest. Let's hope we make it to the prelim so that he can go out with a flag for Casey. Good with media, good with fans and a good bloke.

Assuming they pass fitness tests, there are three key ins for the Cats clash. 1) Viney - the skipper has been preparing for his date with Joel Selwood for over a month now and barring a hiccup it will happen. 2) Hannan - we all saw what he brings against the Eagles. Could he be Mr September, rather than Trac. Sounds like he will have to be nursed all the way through though. 3) Joel Smith - provides pace down back and gives us the flexibility of having a third tall option. Geelong is a tall side and Stanley and Sav, along with Taylor may all play, although I suspect Taylor will play on Weid. Frosty get TomaHawk, OMac gets Sav or Taylor and Joel Smith ensures we are not caught short via rotations down back and can pick up Danger when he rests up forward, assuming Jetta goes to Menzel. If they send Henry forward, he's the perfect match-up for him as well. We also need Smith in because he gives us options if things go wrong or we have injuries. He also is a right-footer and in a side that already has three down back, he's a better fit than a fourth leftie in Bayley. Two of three outs have already been decided - Kent and Tyson. The third is between three players and all are hard calls but one will have to be made. JKH - The most likely switch, but he was very impressive against GWS and will stay in if one of our three back from injury doesn't come up in time. Charlie Spargo - Our little Ricky Jackson dynamo was at his creative best against GWS and would be very stiff to miss and given he's our best forward crumber, I'd be surprised if he cops the bullet. Bayley Fritsch - In terms of structure, Smith gives us a genuine third tall defender and that means Bayley goes back to wing/forward. Then it's a battle with JKH to decide who gets Dom's spot on the wing. It's a lineball, but having a right/left combo with Vanders is probably the key to him winning out over JKH. B: Jetta (Menz) Frost (Hawkins) Hibberd (Henry/Taylor) HB: Salem (Narkle/Jones) OMac (Esava) Lewis (Duncan) Centre: Vanders (Kelly) Harmes (Danger) Fritsch (Menegola) HF: Petracca (Koladazwhatever) Weid (Taylor) ANB (Tuohy) F: Melksham (Stewart) T.Mac (Henderson) Jones (Bews) Ru: Gawn (Stanley) Brayshaw (Ablett) Viney (J.Selwood) Int: Oliver (start off to bugger up Scott Selwood tag and fire him up) Spargo J.Smith Hannan

6 Harmes - His past six weeks have been amazing but that was Barassi-esque. Poor Kelly ... and Melksham, Danger next. 5 Gawn - Stepped up midway through first term when his opponent Lobb got an easy one and worked butt off to get us back in front. Lost Brownlow votes for kicking his own man I suspect. 4 Frost - Played last line of defence most of game (Oscar played CHB) and we got to see Sean Wight reincarnated. 3 Vandenberg - If anyone has him in changes for the final, then we know they are a twit like Chris from Camberwell. How brutal was he! 2 ANB - Two goals, two assists but most importantly often stopped the form player of the comp - Lachie Whitfield - from setting them up. 1 Petracca - Plenty of options for this vote with Angus, Olly, Jordy and Jonesy handy as well, but just thought his arrogant presence was huge all game. Brian Wilson reincarnated.

I've said elsewhere that both Mitch King and Lachie Filipovic have not done enough and in one sense the club has already moved on by making Austin Bradtke a category B rookie. But he is a development ruckman and the issue for footy list manager is to decide whether he needs a ready-made short-term back-up just in case Gawny gets injured. But let's face it, no-one is going to replace Maxy. But if we decide to go down the back-up path then: Our boys were spanked in the ruck by 210cm Northern Blues tapman Angus Milham, who has just turned 24. I'm sure there are plenty of others in SANFL and WAFL that I am not across that would be cheap pick ups that can win tap outs. And obviously if we were to trade Jesse then with pick 6 or 7 we would be able to snare another King - Max or Ben are 201cm and third time lucky we would have to get the right royal. And if we didn't trade Jesse, there is also the option of getting a tall forward/ruck back-up - ie: Matt Taberner or Levi Casboult - as a short-term cover for that unlucky day that we pray doesn't happen.

I suspect I'm not alone in thinking this year has the same feel about it as our 1987 experience. Back then we were desperately trying to break our finals drought for Robbie Flower. We had recruited well with three young guns in Todd Viney, Earl Spalding and Warren Dean giving us better depth than previous years. But we lost Chris Connolly to a knee injury early (shades of Lever), then lost the dash of star wingman Alan Johnson (up stepped Graeme Yeats to fill that void a bit) and then on that fateful day at Whitten Oval in Rd 22, saw our star youngster Garry Lyon break his leg. But we managed to win that day. A ball heading for the boundary in the third term bounced at right angles and Robbie pounced to provide a bit of magic and turn the tide our way. Jason Dunstall helped us a bit down at Kardinia Park as well and hey presto we were in the finals again. Those who were around then will recall how our side suddenly developed faith and confidence and we played like champions in the finals against North and Tommy Hafey's Sydney the following week. It's fair to say that if our game goes up a notch on reaching the finals this year, then book your ticket now for the trip west to play West Coast in the prelim, because it will happen. Then all we have to do is hope that the same ill-luck doesn't befall us as it did that day out at Waverley against the Hawks in 1987. Whilst our 1987 side had some absolute greats (Flower, Todd Viney and a couple of Brownlow medallists in Jimmy and Willo) and an outstanding back six, I reckon our current side is a tad better, although you'd hope so given the amount of time they work on their skills. Imagine if DL was around back then, it would have gone into overdrive with all the kicking errors! For those of you of my vintage, let us know if my comparison stacks up. 1987 PF team B: B.Lovett Hughes Wight HB: Stretch Spalding Grinter ? Yeats Chiron Newport HF: Flower Dean Bailey F: Jackson Wilson Stynes Ru: O’Dwyer T.Viney Greg Healy Res: Eishold, Campbell Back-ups: David Williams, Doug Koop Injured: Lyon, Johnson, Connolly, Moore Brett Lovett/Nev Jetta Have a look at a video of the Rd 22 Footscray game and you’d realise how good Brett Lovett was. So disciplined, so clever. Nev has similar niftiness, but doesn’t get quite as involved in offence. Danny Hughes/O.Mac Our nominated full-backs. Hughes in 1987 was up their with the best in the business back then. Both a tad slow, both thumping kicks capable of clearing the defensive 50. Hopefully Oscar’s confidence can continue to grow in the finals. Sean Wight/Sam Frost Hard not see the Wight resemblance in the way Frosty plays. Both gung-ho risk takers and excitement machines. Both capable of stunning turnovers as well, but even in today’s precise game, you sometimes have to take the good with the bad. Stephen Stretch/Christian Salem Salem has been our best defender this year. Stretch was our club champion in 1987. Stretch gave our defence amazing run launching us forward with his long- kicking, Salem is not as quick, but his footskills are cleaner and he hits harder. Rod Grinter/Michael Hibberd Rodney provided the fear that all defences needed and evened up the score a little against the Hawks in the PF, sending Chris Mew to LaLa land. He also had a good leap and thumping kick. Hibberd has provided a great mix of aggression and run to our current side. Both would be among first picked each week by coach. Dean Chiron/Jordy Lewis Both came to us from other clubs and both played their role with distinction. Jordy has given us elite distribution skills, Chiron (highly unskilled by comparison to Jordy) was the fearless tagger in the days when clubs needed at least two or three nullifiers, bordering on dirty. Earl Spalding/Tom Mc One of three gun recruits that came to us that year. The WA started out as a CHB that year and was moved to CHF in 1988 because he was an amazing mark – possibly the best we’ve had. He wasn’t always so reliable with his kicking and Northey got jack of him in the early 90s. Carlton realised his worth and he was a key part of their ’95 flag. T-Mac has already transformed into a gun forward and he is also a strong mark, judging ball flight better than just about anybody I’ve seen. Graeme Yeats/Angus Brayshaw Yater had a career-best season in 1987 having been moved from the back-pocket to the wing. He provided great run, was a handy mark for his size, and apart from that PF miss, was generally a pretty reliable kick. He was a significant midfield upgrade that year. Angus has done the same this year but is bigger and classier. Brett Bailey/ Jake Melksham Bails was a tough mid who drifted forward and kicked a heap of goals that year. He was the glue in our 1987 side and was the hero of our night grand final win, kicking the winner. Melky has come of age this year and is the glue up forward with his bullet passes. Simon Eishold/Alex Neal-Bullen Eishold held his spot throughout the 1987 finals despite some dissenters. He was a workhorse half forward whose kicking occasionally let him down, significantly the one from 10m out in the PF. ANB is a prolific workhorse and also has his dissenters, but has a little more evasiveness about him and despite what some DLers say, has some neat kicking skills. Stephen Newport/Dom Tyson Newy came off the bench to replace Garry Lyon in the Footscray game and had what some will say was his best game that day on the wing with Dean shifted to CHF. He was a thumping kick (just like Dom), but didn’t have his inside skills. Robbie Flower/Clayton Oliver Hard to believe that he had to wait 270 games to play his first final. He was the player that kept fans believing throughout the dreadful 70s and 80s. And he stepped up big time in his first two finals before being sniped by Gary Ayres in the prelim. Olly hasn’t had to wait long for a final, but there is already a case being made that we are looking at similar genius. Warren Dean/Mitch Hannan Dean’s arrival as a wingman in 1987 with Todd and Earl helped turn us around. He was very clever with the give and a thumping kick and had to play CHF in the 1987 finals once Lyon went down. He injured his knee in 1988 and never really recovered. I sense with Mitch that after nearly two years of adjusting to AFL, this might be his time to shine like Dean did that September. He has the tools – the leap, the pace, the accurate long kick – he just needs to put it together more often. Brian Wilson/CP5 Both have the hips that don’t lie and are showmen of the highest order. Willo won a Brownlow Medal in the middle and then became a mercurial baulking forward. Trac is just as mecurial. Ricky Jackson/Charlie Spargo We all loved tricky little Ricky and his pace caused mayhem back then. Charlie has the same cult following and whilst he’s not as quick, he has way more skill. Tony Campbell/ Bayley Fritsch Tony was used pretty much everywhere at the Dees, full-forward, wing and then as a key defender and on his day he was a pretty handy player. I never really got over the fact he didn’t handball to Robbie in the goalsquare in time on against the Hawks. Bayley gives us the same flexibility and is a much more skilful player – almost Floweresque. Jim Stynes/Sam Weideman OK, in 1987 Jimmy was still a baby and was brought in mid-season from VFA side Prahran. But he gave us a glimpse of his ability that season and his mobility meant he could pretty much play anywhere and he kicked 15 goals that year. Weid won’t be a Jimmy Stynes, but I was struggling to find a similar player from that year to marry him up with. To me, Weid has a bit of the TomaHawk about him, but let’s wait and see whether his game can go up a cog this final series. Steve O’Dwyer/Max Gawn Gawny would no doubt prefer the Stynes comparison, but Strawb was huge in 1987 (when not suspended) and gave us someone who could win the taps and dish it out to his opponent as well. Obviously Gawny has way more class about him and marks more like Jimmy. Todd Viney/ James Harmes Two young bulls. Todd, like Jack, was a well-developed teenager in 1987 who loved charging through packs and Harmes of the past few weeks has shown similar attributes. Harmesy is a better kick, but he has a long way to go to match Todd’s huge career. But I wouldn’t put it beyond him. Greg Healy/Nathan Jones Both are/were clever ball users and Sugar was already showing the leadership in 1987 that would see him replace Robbie as skip. Nathan’s career is nearing the end, although I’m expecting a final instalment as a defender to start next season. David Williams/Aaron Vandenberg Injury cost David his best years at the Dees, although he did kick nine one day. He wasn’t quite big enough to play FF, so often had to play as a half forward and I have a feeling he was dropped for the prelim, although maybe he was injured. Vanders has had similar luck with injury so far, but I’ll give you a tip – if we make the prelim, he won’t be dropped under any circumstances. Doug Koop/Dean Kent A talented player who Northey got plenty out of including a strong effort against the Dogs. Dropped for the prelim, he would have been the most likely inclusion for the injured Robbie or Willo had Jimmy not run over the mark and we had made the GF. We all got a reminder out west of what Kenty can do and hopefully he can keep bringing it for the next four games. Absent five Garry Lyon/Jesse Hogan Our Gaz was still a teen but already a gun when he broke his leg in the Footscray game. There are a lot of what ifs in footy and I just reckon that if Alan Johnson and Lyon were playing, we might well have stolen the ’88 GF. Jesse is a different story, but like Gaz, integral to our forward line. Whether Weid can continue to replace him with such vigour remains to be seen. But at least he isn’t showing signs of grizzling about the umpiring. Alan Johnson/Jack Viney For a while it looked like Johnno was never going to be able to get his hamstrings right. Ditto Viney with his foot issues. But the best of Jonno came not as the wingman who won his first Bluey in 1983, but the running defender who altered the way footy was played from the back in 1988 and 1989. Perhaps a healthy Jack can do a similar reformation. Chris Connolly /Jake Lever Connells had become a mainstay down back as a small defender and did his knee in Rd 5 that year and never really got back to the same level. Lever showed in half a season that he’s a terrific mark and spoiler and let’s pray he gets back to that level next season. Peter Moore/Joel Smith Having turned 30, Moore had a few back issues and missed much of the season which ultimately helped because Strawb and Jimmy got goes. Smith’s season has gone the reverse. He finally got his chance when Lever went down and showed us all what he can do with his leap, speed and tackling ability. Will be interesting to see whom he replaces in coming weeks. Peter Giles/Bernie Vince As with Moore, Gilesy’s career as a gutsy defender who could occasionally be sent forward and turn games was coming to an end, although he played a key role in the night GF win in 87. Injury has seen Bernie miss his final shot at glory, but he has been a similarly revered asset in the rise of the club in his 100 games.

I've mentioned before how Frosty was done in by Jordy and the precise ball movement set, but the loss to the pacey Pies I think made Goody realise that you need a mix of players to be successful. The topic was about the other three. Hannan's first half was as good as any medium forward we have had - including Robbo and Brad Green and further back to Yze and Gerard Healy (circa 1982). Obviously it will be hard to repeat, but provided he attacks the pill like that, he will be an asset during the finals - possibly a bit like Warren Dean of 1987 finals series. Vanders is the most dangerous player at the club - with Viney out, he's the one player you don't want to draw in team tackling drills. He a different personality to others on our team, but he's got some amazing abilities and he's been a part of all our big wins in the past four years (except last year when he was out). That includes BOG v Richmond in our first ever Anzac Eve night game and on Hodgey v Hawthorn in 2016. And people don't realise this but with Jayden injured, he's the fastest straight-line sprinter in the team over distance from 40m to 75m - Frosty can get to him by 80m. Kent is a bit of an enigma and has lacked confidence and smarts at times, but his second half yesterday was huge. Unfortunately after what has happened to him under Goody, I had written him off playing such a key role, but there he was - back to the talented left-footer with the thumping kick that he showed us all in 2016.

Yes it's a great topic and one that I hope the Dees are discussing with both Jesse and his management. Clearly if Jesse wants to stay, then we should make every effort to keep him, but if there's a doubt and he has real interest in heading home, then it's worth considering and taking a rational path and plan. Jesse is a huge talent (arguably our most natural talent since Allen Jakovich), yet he is also our biggest off-field problem and whilst footy clubs cover up indiscretions of stars, they can prove costly to team harmony because having one rule for one player and a different set of rules for others can create divisions - just look at Gary Ablett's impact at Geelong this year. The other factor to consider is that Freo, as Kingy mentions, has a pick that would go some way to meet our requirements - pick 6 or 7. personally I reckon we would want their 2019 second round pick as well of we went down that path. With their pick 6 or 7 we would most likely have the potential to draft whichever King brother remains available or if we wanted to make a play for Jack Billings, it would give us the ammunition to get that deal done - I'd want the Saints second rounder for 2019 in return for Billings and our acquired pick 6 or 7 though. Ultimately the club has to weigh it up and insiders would have the biggest idea of Jesse's wish to stay in Melbourne. If I was on the Dees admin I'd be having a serious off-the-record chat with Harmsey about it.

The Tyson one where he was carried over the line could also have been called a high tackle - ultimately a correct no-call. He got a bit lucky early with a free kick 15m out from goal when he ducked into a tackle - did you mean that one?

I actually reckon we have all but three teams covered. Richmond at night - thankfully if we play them it's more than likely a day game on the last Saturday in Sept. Collingwood - their pace still worries me and they will get Treloar back so midfield will be tough. Unless they beat WC, then we won't play them though. West Coast in Perth - sadly barring upsets we will be playing them over there again in preliminary final and by then Kennedy and Darling will be back. I still like our chances, but reckon the umps will step up late in the final term and give Rioli a couple of cheapies in front of goal.

This thread is virtually not required this week. There will be no axings - we just won our first final and have just over two weeks before the real stuff. There will be no restings - we have a week off coming anyway. Hibberd has already been risked - he came back on yesterday - and unless he pulls up sore after the flight then he will be playing. Vanders may miss a week - for his elbow on Rioli - but more than likely cops a fine. If he is to miss, then JKH or Wags will replace him. O-Mac is fine - he fell on him, he didn't sling. Joel Smith would have come in had we lost, but we will now have the luxury of not rushing him back until week one of the finals. Ditto Jack Viney.

6 Gawn - What a presence. You knew he was on from first bounce. 5 Harmes - Unbelievable game and I am going to credit Saty for picking him out at training to me midway through his first year at club and saying he had potential. Saty does say that about almost every Dee he sees, but I have loved the way he plays since his first game and now he's getting the accolades. 4 Melky - Hands up if you feel confident when he gets it. I certainly do and those Essendon fans who used to tell me he was a turnover king are now eating their words. 3 Brayshaw - In everything and I would loved to know how much ground he covered. The main reason why we are now a top-4 team and why we will meet WC in the preliminary final in four weeks time. 2 Salem - How controlled down back was he again. Love him. 1 Hannan/Kent - Both grabbed their chance and played games that will see them named in our first finals side since 2006. Confident with kicks and tackled like madmen.

Popped in at training for just over an hour and nice to see Joel Smith back training - albeit just with Crossy. Saw his scar and the medicos appear to have done a great job. He is setting himself for a return next week v GWS and imagine he will be sporting more padding than his dad used to don. Hope he doesn't rush back - he's way too important if we make finals. Jetta also was initially in rehab group but after about 45mins joined the main group, so he'll be right to play. Baker the only other rehab player and he was just doing laps - he reckons the VFL prelim is his target. Melky and Hibberd both looked fit and eager. Unless they hurt themselves in final bit of training they will be playing. Pedo training with backs, Weid training with forwards. As to side, I will be surprised if there is not four changes. Obviously, Hunt and Hogan are out and Spargo needs to reboot in VFL, while the experiment with Pedo as intercepter did not work and Hibbo will be back to play that role this week and with the Eagles down to two tall forwards - Vardy and Darling - it's hard to justify having three tall backs. That means it's a question of whether Pedo replaces Hoges as our second tall forward, or whether Weid gets the job. I'm loving all the rhetoric on other threads, but as I've said before, Weid now has the agility to play AFL, he just needs the confidence and the rule changes next year will help him. Ultimately he has to play because why spend the whole week training Pedo as a backman if you want him to play as a forward. So Melky in for Spargo, Weid in for Hoges, Hibberd in for Pedo and Fritsch sent to defensive rotations for Hunt, leaving one more spot to be filled by either Kent, Hannan or Bugg. I haven't got a clue which one, but Buggy looked more fired up at training than I've seen him for a while.

Lewis is a smart player who brings plenty to the table with his clever disposal and he's been a huge factor in our rise up the charts (percentage wise at least). But as we have all noticed all year he has been found out for pace and is now up there with the slowest players in the league when it comes to sprinting for the ball - Hodge and Selwood are up there too. He clearly is needed for this season - it's too late to be making massive changes to our back seven and once we make finals he will be even more important. But clearly there are some serious talks to be had once the season is completed. But please give it a rest on the anti-Lewis stuff until post-season. He deserves his last hurrah this season.

Can I restate what I said several weeks ago when I watched Weid at training. The kid is no longer a kid - he looks the part. Weed now has some agility, he no longer has a David Neitz turning circle. He also has lateral vision. When I went down to training I thought, jeez, is Maynard back from injury, but no it was Weid - he now moves like a midfielder. Sure he's not mega-quick like Frosty or Clayton, but he's hardly slow now. When he got his chance v St Kilda, he was part of a top-heavy forward line and blew it. For some reason he just didn't have the confidence to go back and nail his shots that day - but I suspect that day will come soon and hopefully he can turn it on in one of the next two games for us. And then if the rules are changed to limit zones, he will be an even better player.

Love the way that Wiseblood and others have defended Jesse and as to it being a bulls..t thread as was suggested by one, the fact that we are all reading it and so many of us are replying shows that it is now the most interesting discussion for fans. It's a bit like Jack Watts of 2013-17 - after so many underacheiving games, it all starts turning on the big name, big pay players - as it rightly should. Please don't make the mistake that I am suggesting Jesse is not capable of being physical - he clearly is unlike Wattsy - but Jesse has been granted the most pivotal spot in the side and finds himself being surpassed by a meat and potatoes hard worker in T-Mac, who has shown that if you fight for every contest, things can happen. For me, in Jesse's case it has nothing to do with his ability - we all know he has a leap, we all know he can run, we all know he can baulk and pivot as well as any big guy in the league. What we don't know (and even the club may not know) is what he gets up to at night - is he partying too hard, is he drinking too much, is he professional - because nowadays only the players that work their butt off both on and off the field are successful in the long-term. I've heard rumours of poor antics and I've heard reports from daughters at nightclubs, so I know he enjoys that scene perhaps more than he should - he's 23 now, he's not a kid. Will he mature like Dusty? Is he capable of maturing like Dusty and walking the fine line between loveable rogue and meathead? Jesse is the most natural footballer we've had since Allen Jakovich - yet interestingly Jakovich made a beeline for Clayton Oliver this weekend and rates him his favourite player of today. Jesse has one of the best natural running tanks I've seen - those of you who watch training reps will know how easy he does it. Yet he also does it as a part-time (maybe fulltime I don't know) smoker. As others have stated Jesse has flaws in his kicking - why haven't these been corrected yet. Why is he one of the few bigname forwards that rarely has a shot from 45-60m out. Why does he hold it like a left-footer. Why does he still stutter and we saw with his shot from 35m yesterday that he was stuttering even more than normal under the pressure of it all. If you peel back the layers of Jesse, I suspect you will find he's struggling with life in the fastlane of AFL football and is a bit of a Nick Kyrgios - happy to act cool and disinterested when beaten rather than show that he's working his butt off to fix things. Now he has an excuse, a foot injury, and his omission may actually help us, not hinder us. Part of that is because Weid has been getting better and better at VFL level and looks almost like a midfielder at training, such is his confidence dishing it off. Whilst I am not totally confident that he will be able to turn it on just yet, I am confident he will be able to match or possibly even surpass what Jesse has done for us in the big games this season. And if he does show signs, then maybe the title of this thread is bang on the money after all - trade Hogan!

Thanks older Demon but we actually do have A-listers now - Gawn, Oliver, Viney and Brayshaw and Salem heading that way. We also already have replacements for those three players. Lewis - Salem has already taken on the role and made him expendable. Vince - Take your pick out of several defenders who play tight and uncomprising footy like Bernie used to until he started losing a bit of pace - Smith is my favourite of the new breed though. Jones - he's already been moved out of our midfield core. I'd like to see him play the Jarrad McVeigh role next year. Agree with you though that it is a big call to move out Hoges, but sometimes as we saw with Wattsy last year, it needs to be done and in Hoges' case it's not just because of what he displays on the field.

Thanks Febel - I thought as much. It's probably too late in season and nowadays they train in the three specific groups, but I would have loved to have seen Hoges and OMac swap possies a few times this season mid games. And with Joel Smith out, Jesse is probably our only player (when in form) that is quick enough and good enough in the air to provide an intercept game-saving mark. I saw him way back when he played U18s for WA and I thought what a talent back there.

So you didn't spot Melky this season - he leads league in goal assists - a pretty handy stat I reckon.

Well said Clint. Please DL nerds provide stats on this. My suspicion is that he has been abysmal in every one of our recent losses and very good in every one of our wins - downhill skier (smoker). The two exceptions that I can recall are that he was pretty handy against Richmond at night - even snagging one from 50m out. He also beat two players to get the key matchwinning handball against Adelaide three weeks ago - after a pretty quiet night mind you. He made a great start to year, but has fallen away and his lack of second efforts are becoming the norm. I've said a few times that he probably needs a stint down back just to give him perspective and remind him how important it is to keep contesting. But now it seems he has a bit of a niggle anyway so there may be more to his loss of form. One of my biggest disappointment yesterday was in third term on members wing and he and his opponent (think it was Aliir) were coming to fly for a mark and Lloyd was in front and backing in courageously and Hoges didn't even hammer Lloyd with a knee up fly - which would have been a fair tactic and the expected tactic.

Clearly will be the two ins with Hibberd and Melky and I would have thought Hannan, Wags, Weid, Kent and Bugg are all in the mix for a recall as well although I can't see them all returning in one hit. The three likely outs by my reckoning are: Hunt - Injured his ankle ligaments again I think, but let's wait and see what club says on this. Pedo - Replaced Smith as we tried going big, but he just wasn't able to play that intercepter role and you have to wonder what selectors were thinking in picking him as a third defender against a small side like the Swans. With Hibberd out, Wags was the logical like-for-like choice. Further to this Oscar got the easy second-tall gig on McCartin and that meant his confidence and standing rose as Pedo's fell. Spargo - I love his workrate but I reckon his two shots that ended up short make it hard to justify him at such a young age. Then the club has to decide whether they can afford to again play Hoges and Garlett who have been unable to have an impact in big games, although both have been mega-impressive in our easy wins. Ousting them means a major restructure of forward line late in season. If Hoges is too sore, then I actually think Weids can do a fairly good job of replacing him.

For the love of god - open your eyes and watch the game!

6 Salem - Cleanest of our ball users all day and is now our most trusted defender. Hope his run in middle late was out of desperation and not something we will try at start next week. 5 Harmes - Love how everyone now realises how important he is. However his job was to stop Josh Kennedy for much of the day. If I was giving Brownlow votes it was 3 Heeney, 2 Salem 1 Kennedy, Harmes or Lloyd. 4 Tyson - fantastic second quarter and constant provider of drive from his wing. Opponent Hannebery did get it a bit too much though. 3 T.Mac - He missed a couple early as nerves took hold of side but came back later to nail a couple, including the one from outside 50m which was a gem. 2 Brayshaw - what a first term, although ultimately unable to hugely impact scoreboard. 1 Petracca - Handy as marking outlet up the line, but looked more dangerous than he actually was. Olly and Jones - had their moments but their kicking was down compared to normal. All other players drifted in and out of it, including our favourite big fella.

Interesting take by you. I actually have at least eight changes to our list for next season and there are plenty of reasons to suggest it should happen. 1) Draft observers keep saying it is one of the best for several seasons. They say that pretty regularly I know, but it certainly isn't one where people are saying it lacks depth at top like last year. 2) If we are to get Gaff, then we will have salary cap issues if we don't bring in some young kids who usually start on the base wages. Removing a few of our highly-paid veterans becomes smart economics. 3) We have three (arguably four players) in the mix to retire - Vince, Pedo, Jordy and Jeffy. 4) We have three players who have been given two years to make it and they are still a long way off from making a debut - Dion, Lochie and Mitch King. There will be no money saved there, but sadly it must be done. In Lochie and Mitch's cases, we already have a project ruckman for next year with Austin Bradtke. 5) We have three other players who are out of contract and may be moved on - Bugg, McKenna and Kent. And we have already lost one - Balic. On top of that for the past 3 years, Tubby Taylor has barely had a chance to draft more than two speculative rookies, so he will be champing at the bit to get a go at doing what he's paid for. Personally I'd be moving Keilty and Tim Smith on to the main list on one-year deals as back-ups and taking the full quota of rookies with Corey Wagner and Jay Lockhart among them. As to rule changes, if they happen then the big winners will be Weid and Frosty and both are already contracted and I'd certainly be keeping them.