Deespicable

Over the next few weeks, a lot of us Demonland ‘experts’ will try and pass judgment on who should be traded and what we can get for certain players and let’s face it, it’s not an exact science. But in an effort to avoid some of the fanciful wishful thinking from all of us, here’s my view on player value. Please feel free to adjust to your own version and pass comment – don’t copy whole thing, just cut and paste the ones you want to dispute. And in the interests of being fair to our entire list, everyone has a trade value, although clearly quite a few are contracted for a season or more and are off limits in the real world. But Demonland is not a real world, is it! Max Gawn He turns 29 in December and given the longevity of ruckmen he should have five more years left in him depending on how his knees hold up. He’s our skipper and our brand and he’s in his prime, so it would take a Wayne Carey-style dust-up for him to want to leave, but what if Rhys Stanley has another poor finals series for Geelong, and Danger came knocking at his door with talk about one last Dance. Would two of their lower-end first rounders get the deal done. Not for mine. I’d want a top three pick and even then I’d be grumpy about it. Christian Petracca Fresh off an All-Australian year, his value would now be at a career high. North would offer him close to $1.5 mill a year, but what would we want for our former No.2 pick. Clearly we’d want their first pick (No.2) and maybe Ben Brown to sweeten the deal. Ain’t happening though. Jack Viney As a RFA this year, we have to hope that he’s keen to stay loyal as aside from Geelong, both SA clubs are sure to come knocking and the Crows should be able to offer him a virtual fortune if one of the Crouch boys leave. Jack’s only 26, so it’s his prime time and he would want us to show him the money as well in a deal that may need to be $750K a year for four years. But if Josh Mahoney can’t get it to work, and the Crows money holds sway, then a compensation pick after what would have been our first selection (ie: No.11) would be about right I reckon. Clayton Oliver Yes I know he’s off limits. But for the purpose of this exercise I’d want two first rounders minimum or an A-grader in return. Saad’s 26 so that sort of trade would have to come with the Dons first round pick as well. Steven May Maysie is finally settling in so any deal won’t happen. But what if Fremantle suddenly realised they need a quality defender and offered him top money and we were hamstrung for cash by the Viney deal. We gave up pick 6 for May, so two years on the Dockers pick 7 which will become about pick 10 this year with the academy freebies, would be about right for a guy who’s 28 and coming off one of his best years. Maybe a deal for Hayden Young could be tied in to it and just see us swap future second rounders. Ed Langdon Having finally got one wing sorted, we won’t be moving him on. But for the purpose of the exercise, I reckon his rating has gone up this year so he’s now probably worth a late-order first rounder or early second-round pick. Jake Lever A few Demonlanders still can’t cop him, but there’s a lot to like about the way he goes about it and at 24, and with his knees sorted (hopefully), his prime years are coming. He’s still got two more years to go on his contract and as with May, it would take an extraordinary offer from a club such as Freo or the Gold Coast for us to play ball. His value is similar to May’s – a mid to late order first-rounder I reckon. Angus Brayshaw Another member of our massive ‘96ers club, Angus has long been talked about as a likely trade to Freo because of his brother, yet if you hear him speak, you know he loves us. Clearly as one of our four centre-square prime-movers, we could get by without him, so a trade makes sense if you are viewing it as a meat-market, which it’s not. But if you insist on going down that path though, then a late-order first rounder is about right or virtually a direct swap for Saad. But hopefully that won’t happen and both parties honor the contract that lasts until the end of 2022. Sam Weideman He finally arrived this year and hopefully with Jacko becomes a successful union. But his background and the Pies deficiency up forward means talk of them wanting him continues. We’ve got a year on his existing deal to sort it out. But if the Pies were to press us now, then I suspect his value would be a future second rounder. Michael Hibberd Once you hit 30, you have to be a ruckman or a freak for anyone to trade true value for you. Hibbo’s a reliable, tough percentage player, so I expect us to sign him up for another year with a second-year option. But in terms of what another club would have to give up for him, I reckon being 31 in January means it’s a set of steak-knives – swap of late order picks. Christian Salem Christian’s kicking skills would ensure that all clubs would consider him, which they will next year when he becomes a restricted free agent. But for this year a trade would be required for the 25yo and I reckon he’s probably an early second rounder or a fairly decent player. Jeremy Finlayson almost gets there, but I’d want a little more and his value to us is way higher than the Gold Coast’s two-metre Peter. I wouldn’t give him up though, as he’s what we need down back. Jake Melksham He turned 29 recently, so the veteran label means he gets marked harder. But I’m pleased we have two more years on his contract which is about the time that will see him out I suspect. Can’t see any other clubs getting excited about him given his age and as a result his trade value, a swap of late order picks as with Hibberd, is unfair in some respects as it doesn’t take into account what he has achieved. Interested to see if he plays as a tagger for us next year. Bayley Fritsch Another of our ‘96ers club, albeit a late starter. His class and marking ability means there would be a few clubs interested in him and he’s still out-of-contact I believe, although I expect that to change soon – maybe as soon as the club B&F. But in terms of the exercise, he’s an early second rounder in my view. James Harmes He’s contracted until 2024 so Harmsey is going nowhere and having made his reputation as a tagger in the 2018 finals series, I doubt other clubs would want him, even though I reckon he’s first 22 everyday of the week. But if someone wanted to buy his contract out, then a third rounder would be probably about market value. Aaron vandenBerg A couple of years ago the Swans almost had him for a second rounder. But now at 28 we’d be doing well to claim a third rounder for him. His foot injury means he’s probably untradeable anyway. But we all love him and if he stays on the park in 2021, then two more years at the Dees are likely. Jay Lockhart I’d love to know the logic behind his omission after the Dogs game way more than seeing him traded. As a rookie, it could in theory be time’s up for him. But hopefully he gets offered a two-year deal on the main list in the days ahead and hopefully also Goody gets over his miskick in the last term against the Dogs or whatever he did or didn’t do at training to [censored] him off. If he was to be delisted, then I reckon a couple of clubs will want him on their list. Kysaiah Pickett One of Tubby Taylor’s trio of ticks from last year, he’s already extended his deal to 2023 so we know how much Goody likes him. He won’t be traded for anything or anybody, but if Gold Coast wanted to return to us Noah Anderson then I’d be happy to consider it. Tom McDonald Now the trickiest player on our list, given he has two more years of a pretty healthy contract to go. I’m sure the club, and maybe his manager, will be asking around to gauge interest elsewhere but the size of his contract (around $650K) means no one will match it even if they are a bit keen to see if he can get back to his 2018 form. It would be great if the Dons were willing to make him part of a Saad deal, but we’d still have to give up our early 2nd rounder for Saad and we’d have to probably cover half Tom’s salary. So basically I suspect we’re stuck with him and it’s now up to a fired up Tommy to come back and regain his dominance of the 200m rep circuit in January and make a case for himself to play Rd 1 for us. Don’t forget guys, he’s an excellent set-shot kick and has a strong set of marking hands, so if he regains some mobility, he’d be very handy at either end of the ground. Luke Jackson OK, he’s been earmarked for CHF in 2021 and first ruck in 2025. And from what we’ve seen his mobility for a big bloke at ground level is the stuff of legend, provided his hammys hold up. But let’s say West Coast made a bold play for him. What’s his value? It was No.3 pick last year and I reckon it’s about the same this year. Would Andrew Gaff (aged 28) and the Eagles first pick (about No.15) get it done. I’d take that, others wouldn’t though. Adam Tomlinson We signed him for four years so he’s going nowhere and pleasingly he showed some good signs as a pretty safe, tall defender down back, rather than the wingman Goody thought he had. He came to us as a RFA and at 27 and on a good deal, he’s hardly going to be looking for another trade. But as to his value, he’s probably a third rounder. Mitch Hannan Will be interesting to see what happens in next few days on the Mitch front. We all know he can play, but he’s yet to cement his spot and will be 27 by Round 1 next year. Being an in-betweener (too small to be a key forward) it’s tricky, but for some reason I always think John Hendrie when he gets it and I reckon if we delist him he will get another crack at it because he’s super-talented. Maybe he’ll get to the Dogs after all. In terms of trade value, he’s just an exchange of late picks I’m afraid. Nathan Jones I think Jonesy knows what’s coming and gave it away to Gawny on the Captain’s Run when he started talking about how much he enjoyed dabbling in the coaching side of the caper. He’s 33 in January after all. Great career, worthy and loyal club champion. Neville Jetta He’s got a year left on his contract, so this is going to a bit awkward for us and the Lord Nev fan club. How do you tell a super bloke and our only State-of-Origin representative that you want to reneg on a deal? You pay him out and give him a role looking after our indigenous players’ welfare – namely Kossy. Alex Neal-Bullen Part of our sizeable mosquito fleet and another member of our ‘96ers club. He’s also our hardest trainer and a very decent human being (off-field) and he’s contracted for another year. If Adelaide or Port wanted him, then I suspect everyone on DL would say you beauty. But I’m one who still rates him and think he’s well worth retaining. If we did offload him, then I’d be asking for a third rounder, others here would be willing to give the Crows our third rounder to take him. Trent Rivers It’s Troy Longmuir here. “We realise we missed our chance last year but how about we give you our second rounder for him – he’s a WA boy after all.” Sorry guys, but ‘No’. In fact I’m not even sure if trading Caleb Serong would get the deal done now. Trent’s value has sky-rocketed, he’d now be worth a middle-order first rounder I reckon. Jayden Hunt This will be an interesting one to watch in the coming weeks. He’s out of contract and for much of the past three years, out of favour with Goody. I reckon the club will try and sign him up for a couple more years but if I was him, I’d be checking out the market and I imagine his manager has been doing that most of the year. His hot run of form in the last few weeks means he’s worth a bit – probably an early third rounder from North would get it done. But with this draft so unclear, I’d be wanting a player trade rather than a late-order guess. He’s about the same value as Peter Wright if we want to go down that path, although I reckon Jayden could again be a star down back for us if Goody let him play there. Joel Smith As with Mr Nippy, there would be a lot of interest in Joel out there, which will surprise a few of the nongs on DL who don’t quite get what he brings to the table now that’s he’s fully grown. He’s out of contact and there’s no way he’ll be delisted, so we may have to make him a decent two-year deal to have any chance of keeping him. But for argument sake let’s say the Lions or the Giants want him, what do we get? He’s probably only a third rounder or our third for a late second-round mark up. Harley Bennell What happens on the Gold Coast, stays on the … I suspect very few people are privy to what actually happened but sadly if it’s worse than what’s reported or what he’s revealed, then there’s no way back and it’s AFL career over. Tom Sparrow I don’t believe he’s signed a new deal yet, but I’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen at the B&F or soon after. He was taken with pick 27 two years ago and I reckon he’s probably slipped to a very early third rounder (Adelaide’s pick No.37) should such a trade be requested, which it won’t. Braydon Preuss He’s still got another year to run on his deal and he’s very valuable insurance for our skipper so he’s a keeper. But what if we were to recruit Peter Wright, then surely we have more bigman insurance than AAMI. If that is the case, and Preussy wanted out, then I reckon he’s a third rounder exchange to a club more likely to need him as back-up – eg: Sydney. Charlie Spargo As with Toby Bedford and Kade Chandler, he’s a little guy out of contract and there’s no way we can keep stockpiling them now that we have Kossie. I reckon at least one of the three has to be moved on with another one sent on his way at the end of next year. Charlie actually looks like he’s growing muscles now and as I’ve always said, he has the smarts and the skills to make it. So I’d be keeping him for two more years and I’m sure the coach concurs with me. But on the trade market I would be very surprised if anyone offered more than an exchange of third-round picks or a fourth-rounder for him. It’s not a small world after all. Mitch Brown He’s at his third club and he’s just turned 30. He ain’t getting an offer anywhere else except from us. And assuming we can move on T-Mac, then I’d definitely offer him another year. Oscar McDonald I don’t like commenting about Oscar because it gets me worked up. But in trade terms, let’s be fair – zero chance. Maybe once we delist him a club would rookie him with a view to trialling him as a forward as we should have done three years ago. Toby Bedford Keeping or not keeping Toby will be a tough decision and I reckon his hard work on the training track will be rewarded with another year on the rookie list. There’s no doubt he’s improving, it’s just such a tough gig when you are under 180cm. As with Spargo, he’d have little or no trade value if we went down that path, an exchange of lower-order picks maybe. Harrison Petty In just 11 games he showed enough to suggest he could develop into a 200-gamer before OP ruled him out for the entire season. Would be an interesting one if Adelaide or another club came courting. What if Collingwood offered up Jaidyn Stephenson for him? Obviously unless our medicos deem otherwise, we will be extending his deal – he is still only 20 after all. It is too risky for us to trade him and someone to punt on him at this stage, but I reckon he’s a second rounder at worst. Marty Hore One of only a handful of our players to spend the season in the rehab group and I have a feeling that he might have missed the boat with us. If we still have a 44-man squad then he goes again but I suspect it will be cut to about 40, which means we have to delist about 8 players before the draft and he will be on the edge of that cull. Can’t see him getting another chance if that happens, even though he’s a very classy kick. Oskar Baker After a long rehab finally got back on the park for our last three games and justified his contract for next season. For the purpose of the exercise, if the Suns or Lions wanted to get him back to Qld, which they don’t, then he’d be an exchange of fourth round picks. Josh Wagner Got his chance late and did pretty well against Saints, but his lack of vibrant run hurt him and us against the Swans. Unfortunately he’s just a smidge too short to play a key position and even though he dominates at VFL level and the 15-a-side games this year I can’t see us retaining him for another year. At 26 it would be a big call for another club to snaffle him although someone may rookie him. Corey Wagner Another player hurt by the absence of the VFL and if you knew 100% that the 2021 rejigged version was going ahead, then I’d keep him on our list just to ensure we are competitive at that level. As with his brother, he’s a hard worker, but sadly just a tad shy of regular AFL level. Kade Chandler He definitely looked like he’d improved pre-season, but as I said earlier, there’s no point us stockpiling six midget small forwards when the spot’s been taken by Kossie. Keeping all of Neal-Bullen, Spargo and Bedford is a stretch so unfortunately it’s a no from me. He’s worth a look by Adelaide to see if they should rookie him though. James Jordon As I said in my mid-season report, he’s still only 19, so he’s too young to delist. And he clearly is working his butt off to make it so he deserves another year on his contract, maybe two if the powers at be feel that way. In terms of trade value, I think we’d be hard pressed to get anything more than a late third rounder or an exchange of late-order picks at this point. Kade Kolodjashnij I think all of us are comfortable with taking the punt on him and on paper, he could have been the left-side winger that we needed to compliment Ed Langdon. But after two years of hoping he overcomes concussion issues, I think it’s time to move on with him. He has another year on his contract to go, but hopefully missing out on finals and games bonuses means we have a bit left in this year’s salary cap to pay him out for his final year. Aaron Nietschke He looked good in November before his second knee reco and photos of him training at Maroochydore a few weeks ago indicate he’s back and eager to give it all another shot. And we should honour him with another year, although depending on the AFL list configurations, it may have to be as a rookie. Kyle Dunkley Like other D’lers I am a little unsure where he sits going into next year. Injury mucked him up pre-season but I believe he was working hard to get back in up on the Sunshine Coast, but unlike most others, he never got a shot at it. I’d like to see him get another year because his fundamentals are good and he’s still a kid. If we were to delist him I reckon he’d get another crack on somebody’s rookie list, most likely at the Dogs. Austin Bradtke Another player who is hard to get a gauge on without VFL games. But at 20, I think he deserves another year to develop and if there aren’t any good signs by then, so be it.

Five potential ins - Hibberd, Harmes, Lockhart, Sparrow and Jackson with three of them facing fitness test. Four potential outs with only one a gimme - Jetta (injured). Hibberd will be first cab in if fit and if not it is a question of Lockhart v Harmes. The other three potential outs that I don't think will happen are: Smith - tough call given he plays so tight, but ultimately with Thommo playing the third tall and Hibberd back, we can afford a second small defender and Lockhart gives us the extra offense. If Hibberd doesn't get up I'd expect Smith to stay. Removal of a small up forward - I've said it before but having three mega-smalls is unsustainable in finals or against good sides. We got away with it against the Giants but whilst I get Goody wants pressure like Richmond, the Tigers only play two tiny's and significantly dropped their third one (Higgins) when it counted against Cats. If by chance we make finals and head to Perth, then Jackson as our mobile tall third forward is a must. Baker - even tougher call than Smith given his contribution goalwise against Giants, but Vanders was preferred on wing when it counted and if Harmes is fit, he has to play and given that coach has figured out that playing Petracca from goalsquare at times is not such a bad thing, then Harmes can even come back to a midfield role and tag Merrett.

Having watched the game at length now, I'm happy to go with: 6 Rivers - yes he's a kid but he really tried to take us forward all night. If only he converted his two shots. 5 Gawn - Yes he was involved in two of their goals but still a massive presence which we all tend to underrate. 4 Viney - our hardest worker, but like his midfield colleagues missed targets so his intensity, not his influence, gets him these votes. 3 Fritsch - our cleanest marker on the night and hit more targets than others. 2 May - how many did Taberner kick? Our three talls down back kept their three forwards goalless. May did more offense work than Lever and Tommo, hence his votes. 1 Petracca - brilliant third term but unlike his hot spell mid-season, struggled to be clean with his disposal in the conditions.

I reckon our list is pretty good and aside from having 2-3 too many players under 6 foot, it is a well balanced outfit and unlike five years ago, we now have some genuine stars (at least on paper). To me the real issue is finding a coach that can provide a gameplan that our guys have confidence in. The fact Fremantle were able to switch and spot up players with short kicks so often last night just made it clearer than ever to me that whilst Goodwin may be popular with lots of the players, he hasn't been able to get a game-winning structure. I also don't understand why our guys so rarely are seen shepherding and screening out for teammates like other sides do and I question whether our zone defence ever actually works as well as other sides given that we rarely get as many intercept marks as other sides. So No.1 list requirement now is a new coach. When it comes to our list I actually reckon with our three inclusions this year, we are close to having a genuinely strong balanced side and there are very few deficiencies. It's not like last year when we suddenly felt we needed outside run and got in Langdon. Obviously it would help with a touch of class up forward, finding another hard-chasing, hard-working midfielder with tats and another long-kicking defender but really the main thing is finding a coach that instils the confidence to be both daring and clever - Oliver being the case in point.

When you are coming off a loss or two, all recruiters look shocking. Certainly the decision to draft another ruckman (Jackson) when you have the best in the game seemed strange at the time, but given we now know that Jackson has the mobility to play as a key forward, then it doesn't seem strange and looks like a wise choice - particularly as we traded out of the tall draft of 2018 when the Kings were on offer. I also was critical (sight unseen) of the need for another really small forward (Pickett) for a list that already had five small forwards (Spargo, ANB, Bedford, Hunt, Chandler), but once I saw that Kossie had explosive pace that only Hunt could match, then I was happy to accept the overkill in the quest for this role. And Rivers more than compensates for overlooking talented local Hayden Young, whose debut year for Fremantle has not really gone to plan for them. On what he's done so far, Rivers is our find of the year. So Taylor gets a huge thumbs up at the draft table last year, even if his 2018 year was pretty average. Clearly we won't have high picks this year so I just hope for two things. 1) Under no circumstances should we be drafting another small forward - we have more than enough and in Pickett we hopefully have one that develops into a star. 2) We draft at least one mobile tall - I accept that this will be highly speculative but we need a new project tall. Petty fits that description as well, should he get back on the park. The other draft picks should be best available and ideally mix grunt, speed and kicking skills.

I made it pretty clear that I did not like the backline structure that we had against Sydney and while I am frustrated that we changed the successful back six (seven with rotation) that served us so well against Collingwood and North and one which served us pretty well against the Bulldogs (they beat us in the midfield) , I have to say I am pretty happy with the make-up of our side tonight. Whilst I would still prefer the intensity and kicking skills of Lockhart, the backline includes a better mix of talls and runners than last week and should match up well - May on Taberner, Lever on Hoges and Tomlinson on Lobb with Joel Smith the lockdown role on Walters or Fyfe - depending on whether they send the latter forward. The Lever on Hoges battle will probably be game-determining in my view as it should be a low-scoring affair given their style of switching heavily from down back. I am also excited at the prospect that we will see a bit of VDB in the guts with the tiring Trac likely to spend quite a bit of the game at full-forward. Melky will probably get a bit of a go in the middle as well and hopefully the pair can negate Mundy enough leaving Olly and Viney to go to work on Brayshaw, Fyfe or Acres. The move to bring in Preuss is smart given they have Lobb as their second ruckman and Brown for all his run and workrate simply cannot match that sort of presence. Preuss also provides the security should Max need a break and the pair when resting may even force Freo to restructure, although I imagine they will play Ryan on Weid and rely on Cox to take Preuss or Gawn. Freo enjoy keepings off and have loads of runners, so having four small forwards, which is one too many for any long-term sustainable framework, may actually work well and force them to turn it over on occasions. Looking forward to seeing Kossie off a break and Hunt, who I rate much higher than most of you and certainly our coach, with his career at Melbourne on the line. I'm assuming Baker will play on the other wing and if he negate Aish's influence then he will have done a great job. I hope that if we cop an injury down back or things don't work out with Smith (he will be playing on their most dangerous player remember) that our coach breaks the rules and sends Hunt back before it's all over. Yes I know he has been training with the forwards, but he did spend quite a few years learning his defensive craft and I suspect that he will be playing half-back in some side next season - not sure which one yet. And one last thing. Thank christ we made seven changes and brought in a lot of fresh legs. While it may have been partly forced on them, our selectors seemed to have learnt from the Port four-day break debacle.

I have had a bit more of a rethink on this team. I think T-Mac deserves to play this game and coming off a two-match break he will be fresh. He'll still be slow, but not as slow as normal. Further to this he deserves to play in what is our last stand for the year. He deserves to go down with the ship, so to speak, or rise up for our next challenge if we manage to turn it around. From the sounds of it Angus and ANB may be a tad too sore to play, so T-Mac and hopefully Harley should get the gigs - clearly Goody got jack of Harley's lack of pressure, but I think he may just have to appreciate the clever offence that Harley brings and as I've said previously, the indigenous guys tend to find an extra yard in hotter conditions. Finally on Smith. Unlike Uranus and the other haters here I am still frustrated that he has played just 14 games, whereas O-Mac has been gifted 81 and preferred to Lynden Dunn (now too old) and Frosty. As someone who has seen lots of training sessions (in the old days mind you when Gosch's Paddock was the go), I can tell you Smith looks the part, but not as a running defender. He is a close checking, hard-tag type of player who this year has muscled up and as a result can play on bigs and smalls alike. The problem for him is that Goody doesn't want to invoke a hard tag on anyone, because he's caught up in zone defences and clean ball movement (that's his aim, even though it didn't look that way against Sydney). The obvious match-up for Smith this week is Fyfe and if that means he's in the centre square, so be it. But my guess is that Goody will play Smith as a fourth tall down back and want him to provide run and that's just not his strength and he becomes a waste of space and we can queue Uranus for another round of Smith-bashing. Of our 10 or so delistings at season's end, there will be two who get a chance at another club - one is Smith and the other is Jayden Hunt. And why is that - because they bring something a little different to the table. And as with Eggplant, you just have to know the best recipe to bring out their best.

Out: Tall defence and any players who pull up sore. In: Run and carry to counteract four-day break and new challenges to excite team. Trac to start in goal square, Brayshaw on his brother, Smith should hard tag on Fyfe. That means Out: Rivers (rested because he's a kid and he doesn't have the background workload to back up well, even though he would normally play), O.Mac, Jones, Spargo, Wagner, Fritsch (something's not right with him). In Pickett, VDB, Hibberd, Hunt, Baker and Lockhart. If ANB and Brayshaw are sore then they should rest as well with Hannan or Bennell their replacements. B: Lockhart May Salem HB: Smith Lever Hibberd C Langdon Brayshaw VDB HF: ANB Brown Melky F: Pickett Petracca Weid Ru: Gawn Oliver Viney Int: Baker, Harmes, Tomlinson, Hunt

6 - Gawn - Marked strongly. Won the taps, realised he had to even do the clearance work eventually. Rushed his late shot on goal. 5 Langdon - This guy has the most amazing tank. Felt sorry for him with his two last term kicking errors because as with Gawny, he was a standout and normally would have got Brownlow votes. 4 ANB - Our other non-stop worker and he set up quite a few of our goals as well, despite copping a nasty knock to the midriff. 3 Oliver - A bit of hot potato early but eventually got going and realised he was our only real chance of providing midfield run. 2 May - Went forward for five minutes and did more damage than our other key forwards did all game. 1 Joel Smith - Sydney's most dangerous forward kicked how many and who was on him for most of the game. Yes he didn't provide any run, but he provided plenty of pressure. Was it his fault that the coach went for three bigs and Wags around him and just one running player Rivers and one precision small - Salem. Blame the coach, not the player. Note: Tomlinson was the other player in contention for the one and again looked good when he went back to defence in the second half, but Smith had the tougher assignment.

Please I'm going to get unusually nasty if I hear much more of this anti-Smith stuff. As I said in my game thread, this loss was two weeks in the making when after playing with the best balanced back six (seven with rotations) against Collingwood, Goody panicked and felt he had to make changes to our defensive structure after our loss to the Dogs, who were up for us with their season on the line. We definitely lost it in the middle that game, yet it was our defence that was totally restructured. Out went Lockhart and Harmes who provided the right-side run and today we lost our left-side run in Hibberd. We got away with it against St Kilda because they played four talls up forward and Steven May had a cracker. But I thought, and /;m sure most of you thought, that given we were headed north to an even hotter environment (game started at 4.40pm), that we would reinstate Lockhart and that harmes would return down back. But alas no, we decided to keep our three bigs and include Smith, who has been playing as a tall in practice and did a tight job on Papley, but was never going to provide run - that's not his go. Whose fault is all that - it's Goody's and if he comes out with we went away from our brand as his reason for the loss, then he's the biggest problem because it is he, who should apologise for this disastrous game. He went away from our brand playing a tall cumbersome backline and you only had to look at the run that Langdon, Oliver and Neal-Bullen provided to know that Cairns needed runners, not talls. I hope he explains it to the media and takes ownership of it but he's like Dan Andrews, he'll deflect.

Guys don't get caught up by the Bedford v Smith or any other Smith-based issue. The extraordinary thing is that two and a half weeks ago (three games) we seemed to have finally got the right balance down back. Our win against the Pies came with three mobile tallls (May, Lever and Tomlinson), two smalls (one precise left, one quick right - Salem, Lockhart) and two running medium defenders (Hibberd and Harmes - one left, one right). Finally it appeared our best mix but then we lost to the Dogs on a windy day when their season was on the line and all of a sudden Goody decided to change the entire make-up back there. Out went our right-side run (Lockhart and Harmes) and in came our least mobile tall O.Mac and a young goer Rivers with aerial skills. Wags mixed his time between the wing (Billings) and half-back. Tomlinson had Battle for much of the night and like Wags had to mix half-back and wing, depending on where Battle lined up. The extra height was designed to combat the Saints who had potentially four talls up there. Now you can argue that our new back six (seven with rotation) saw us get the points against the Saints (just), but most of us know that May played the best game we'd seen from one our defenders for a long time and got us across the line. You can also use that old stupid "we won, why should we change anything" line but the fact is that we changed what many of us felt was the best-balanced backline that we'd had for a while (one that was pretty much unchanged after our Port loss) prior to the Saints game on the back of the Dogs knocking us off largely on the strength of Bont and Wallis having days outs. And so now we play the Swans, who are decimated by injury with two of the best five out (Heeney and Rampe), plus all bar one of their ruckmen missing and even though they are going with just two tall forwards, we are continuing to go with four talls down back and maybe adding another who can play tall in Smith (agree that one of Smith or Harmes will most likely play back on Papley, not sure which yet). Either way, Goody has altered what appeared our best format two weeks ago and gone big and slow down back in favour of the extra precision that in theory Oscar brings. Maybe he is trying to replicate the Cats who are having great success with a big defence. Or maybe he is trying to replicate the Hawks, who aren't have any success with their big defence. The Swans season is over and we should win easily. But if Sydney's forwards start exploiting us with pace and ground-ball gets, then I know who I'll be blaming.

There are always options.

Nice to see Fat Tony and others have figured out that four-day breaks need fresh legs and that our loss to Port and our win over the Pies may have been more to do with the short break than lack of commitment. Having said that there's no guarantees that our coach will have figured that out as well. To me, the game after the Swans against Fremantle is going to be the trickiest because we have four days and they have five. That scenario is reversed for the Giants. The first player Goody will want back in the side this week is Harmsey but personally I'd give him this game off and plan to use him heavily against Freo. I'd also rest Kossie for Sydney and then insert his pace for Freo. That's two key runners set aside for Freo specifically. And unless Hibberd has done his ankle ligaments, he'll be cherry ripe by Freo. I have four non-negotiable outs: Hibberd (injured), Kossie (rested), Hannan (form), O.Mac (structure - Swans don't have talls and the fact that I can't afford having to put more money in my swear jar - does anybody remember Herbert Lom from Pink Panther - that is me with Oscar). Personally I'd also leave out Spargo, but Goody loves him. I'd also consider if Vanders needs a rest as well - he should miss one of our next two to ensure he doesn't have a stress recurrence. Jones should play this one, but not Freo (break too short for him). In: Fritsch, Lockhart (like everyone else I have no idea why he was dropped), J.Smith (replaces O-Mac), Hunt (replaces Kossie and we need pace for Swans), ANB (replaces Spargo if that happens as it should, but probably won't).

Nice post Deespicable Me and yes you can see the emotion that comes into his play - as it does most guys as they get towards the end of their careers. He's been a gun of our club and always puts his body on the line as he did so well against the Pies two games ago. As with many of our players, the prospect of three games in nine days (Syd/Frem/GWS) means he should miss one of them, but that shouldn't be mistaken for thinking that he isn't firmly in the equation to play a final should we make it. A final would be a fitting farewell for a club great.

The season is on the line - it's not the time for experiments, so no Jordan or Bedford please. We also can't continue to go with our two tiny small forwards - Pickett and Spargo - rotate them by all means over the next few weeks but as we saw against Dogs, it doesn't work having both of them crumbing and as eager as they are, they don't provide power or aerial presence. We got away with it against Pies because they were spent on four-day break. One crumbing small is enough. Pickett in Alice, Spargo against Swans. A decision is required on T.Mac and whether his lack of pace (and confidence now) will be exposed again. Brown is the option and he leads up well so I'm happy if we go down that track. Happy for us to consider retaining Preuss instead of Brown, given Gawny is coming back and given the Saints are playing two rucks. Alice Springs is the right game to play Bennell. It is amazing how the indigenous players lift there. Size of Saints (Ryder, Marshall, Battle, King, Membrey, Howard, Wilkie) means that we have to have a back-up for our bigs just in case one gets injured - hence Joel Smith's flexibility wins him the spot ahead of Rivers. Final choice is between Hannan and Hunt. I'd prefer Hunt's added pace. Out: Sparrow (inj), T.Mac, Spargo, Hannan, Preuss In: Bennell, Brown, J.Smith, Hunt, Gawn

And if list sizes do come back to 35, there will be a lot of good fringe players wanting to get another chance at other clubs.

Can't see us being big players in any trading/draft swaps this year - we've already had our top pick a year in advance and Kossie is a ripper. But if there's one player whose name will keep coming up in a trade now it is Stephenson and whilst we all know he can play, he's now got a reputation for being a little bit timid. Personally I'd like to see him on a wing, rather than as a forward and we do still have one wing spot available that's not nailed into the furniture. As Rising Star winner, it's hardly likely Pies would entertain our second round pick for him, so we would have to trade a player. The Pies have spanked us in trades in recent times - Dawes, Lumumba, Howe, Kennedy, Dunny - guess which ones exceeded expectations at their new clubs? But I reckon there's one player who has a bit of risk factor like Stephenson and who meets their most pressing need of key position and that's Harrison Petty. I'm worried to suggest him, because I reckon he's still a huge talent and if he didn't have OP he'd most likely be in our side at the moment. He also can play forward or back, which is why they'd consider him.

Agree that Brown is the man to replace Preuss this week with Tomlinson and T.Mac to share ruck duties. The only question for me then is whether we need the flexibility and pace that Joel Smith provides, especially against the Dogs who are quick. Goody will also want Hannan back in side, but I'm not sure how that happens as everyone was so good against the Pies.

I'm a tad late this year, but for those of you with a spare hour or so (and let's face it, us Victorians have time to burn), then here's this year's list. Feel free to comment but please just copy and paste the bit you don't agree with - none of us need the whole transcript again. Deespicable’s 2020 Mid-Year Player Rankings It’s amazing what a few wins does for your confidence. The chances of one of our players nailing a shot from just over 50m aren’t high normally, but as Angus Brayshaw went back early in the first term against the Pies you almost knew what would happen. Mr Hole-in-one absolutely flushed it. Clearly the Pies had four-day backup issues and were nowhere near their best, just as we were in la la land when we took on Port on a four-day turnaround. But suddenly finals are on everyone’s lips and unless our inconsistency re-emerges against the Bulldogs this Saturday or the Saints the following week, then it’s hard to see us missing. Just talking about finals is a godsend, given the first half of the season was all about Goody. Boy he copped a battering on this medium and every fan I met in the street wanted him gone – gameplan useless, no idea at selection, unable to explain to Clayton and his fellow midfielders how to connect with the forwards – you name it Goody was persona non grata. Which is not to say he’s in the clear, two losses will turn the screws back on him. But there’s a difference this year - we have unearthed the Beatles. In 2001, Brisbane boasted Michael Voss, Simon Black, Jason Akermanis and Nigel Akermanis … arguably the greatest midfield of the 21st century and dubbed the Fab Four. It may sound like a stretch, but I reckon our own version stands up in comparison and we have Gawny to guide them. They relied on Clark Keating. So without further ado, it’s Trac (Paul McCartney), Jack (John Lennon), Clayton (George Harrison) and Angus (Ringo Starr) on the drums. For a while this season, Olly was singing Hot Potato by the Wiggles and Angus was on the nose like his onions as Goody kept sending him to the wing. But in the past few weeks the pair have taken their game up a notch and are producing incredible numbers even without Gawny and hitting targets, short and long, again. The arrival of Trac as a midfield guru and the return of a fit and fired-up Viney began pre-season and the new mix is amazing. But the Dogs biggest strength is also that they boast an excellent quartet (Bont, Macrae, Libba and Bailey Smith) so I hope our lads don’t get ahead of themselves. There is one other factor that has turned our season around – The Weid. Like many I was worried he wasn’t the player we hoped he’d be. I mean he’s a nice strapping lad and had game sense but he’s never really provided a reliable target. But after our loss to the Tigers it finally dawned on Goody that his passion for small mobile targets wasn’t working and he had to try plan B (or was that E). Anyway Jacko became the mobile tall forward up the ground and Weid (not Fritta or Melky) played out of the goal square. And T-Mac was out of there – at least in the short-term. The Weid is yet to have a really big haul, but he’s been like Tom Hawkins for our mids. He’s now a big-bodied 23-year-old and gets his role. He flies for everything and clears a path for our mosquito fleet. And on plenty of occasions he’s so clean in the air that he’s not even providing any crumbs, even against an All-Australian bound Darcy Moore. So in the space of three weeks, it now looks like we are all on the same page with our game plan and it’s way more exciting than most sides. Our rise will still depend largely on our Beatles continuing to avoid the red mist and coping with the taggers that will come – starting with Libba this week. But which Beatle does he tag? Goody’s now smiling again – he’s gone from being a Nowhere Man to getting by with a little help from his friends. 2020: One to 44 – Rating our list (last year’s rank in brackets). 1 Max Gawn (1) It hasn’t been an easy year for Max and I’m not talking COVID. Firstly he’s been made captain which sounds like an honour, but it also means he has to deal with all the off-field sh.t 24/7 and his appointment represents a significant switch in the power balance at the club – the likeable larrikin being preferred to the tough as nails, no-nonsense, son of a gun. He loves the media so he can cope with most of the extra commitments and his Captain’s Run podcast is a must watch/listen … but even that takes its toll. You can tell who he’s in with straight away and he has to work on getting Jack Viney and his dad in as his guest pretty soon. Then he’s had to overcome a knee issue pre-season when he was rushed in to do battle with NicNat in Rd 1 with no tall support – Jacko and Weid weren’t picked for that one. He was blitzed early but to his credit he took some big marks after halftime in a loss that grated for 10 weeks. More recently he copped a knock to his shoulder but agreed to take on the Crows to help Goody out. And that’s despite the fact that Goody clearly doesn’t rate ruckmen highly – you can tell that by the coaches votes each week. Well here’s my rating. Max is our No.1 and the best marking/tapping ruckman in the game. And as we’ve seen by a couple of amazingly clean ground-ball pick-ups this season, he can do it all. I hope his body holds up and that he can join NicNat in the All-Australian side. He won’t win our B&F but as manager of the Beatles, he’s crucial. 2 Christian Petracca (8) I said last year that his workrate had become exceptional and his use of his body was De Goey-esque. And early in the off-season Goody decided to allow him on the ball. And thank christ he did. Sure it’s meant Harmes is struggling to find his way in his new role down back, but Trac is finally the main man, actually he’s the lead singer of our Beatles. Robbo’s comparison with Dusty was a bit early, but he certainly has the power, breakaway game to do untold damage against anybody and he also hits the scoreboard. 3 Jack Viney (9) What a comeback from our raging bull. He cops the insult of having the captaincy taken away from him (so did his mate Ollie Wines mind you) and trains his [censored] off and emerges Rd 1 with a phenomenal game, putting the club ahead of any dissatisfaction. And he’s done the same thing every week – hard, team-oriented footy. As the only left-footer in our star quartet, he’s crucial for the right mix and he’s also the most defensive of the foursome so come finals he may have to switch to more of a tagging role. But it’s off-field where he needs to improve. I hated the look of him away from Gawny and the boys in the stands against North and while he may not suffer fools lightly, it’s time for him to take an off-field hit for the team and be part of the social side of the game. I get that he’s a proud family man, but I’m sure even the Solo man had a drink with the boys on occasions. He’s a RFA this year and I’m sure Adelaide will come courting him, but hopefully he realises that the Dees are edging closes to the holy grail by the day. 4 Clayton Oliver (4) Like many I was sick and tired of him going sideways and to start the season off he took his game of “hot potato” to a new level. The coach has always loved him but even Goody must have seen when he handballed backwards to Joel Smith against Richmond that his ‘panic ball’ style was flawed and it was impacting the whole team. I advocated for him to miss a week and sit in the box with the coach, but it seems Goody lectured him privately. There’s never been any doubting Olly’s courage, just his willingness to take the game on himself, risk admonishment for a poor kick or being caught with the pill. Even the greats make mistakes at times. He was way more proactive against Brisbane but his disposal game against the Power was a howler – he wasn’t alone mind you. But the line-breaking speed against Adelaide and North evoked Chris Judd memories and his give-go play with Angus to set up Weid for our first goal against the Pies was top shelf and hopefully made him aware that he is a damn good kick. He’ll have tougher games to come this season and it won’t always come off, but at least now he’s looking like a complete champion. 5 Steven May (NR) Maysie had his COVID year in 2019, so this year’s problems have been a doddle for him. He got himself mega-fit and surprise, surprise, his hammy issues appear a thing of the past and he’s playing like an A-grader – he’s taken all the big jobs whether it’s been Charlie Dixon, Kennedy, Hipwood or Tom-a-Hawk and fared pretty well on all occasions. And he’s had to cop “was he worth pick No.6 and Ben King” from the media when our forward line malfunctions – which is mega divisive and not his issue. He’s still only 28 and gives our backline a toughness that we needed. I’m still not so sure he’s our best kick-in man, but at least his super boot means he can go long or short, which ensures defences can’t overpress. 6 Ed Langdon (NR) Hello, I’m out here on the wing. I’ve got a headband on and I’m wearing a long-sleeved jumper but you can use me. Ed’s been ignored more times than a surfer with a coldsore this season and yet he just keeps bobbing up in position waiting for the panic outlay to clean up our mess. He’s quick and elusive and he’s just what we needed – he saved Vanders hide against North with a timely spoil and he’s like an everyready battery – always chasing, always available for the outlet if our mids ever spot him. Thankfully they are starting to. Against the Pies he was way more than a security outlet and he snagged his first goals for us. His kicking does lacks a little punch but you can’t have everything. He’s the main reason why Oskar Baker and Kyle Dunkley can’t get a game this season. 7 Jake Lever (NR) I don’t like his moustache and I think he’s a bit of a nerdy Hugh Jackman sort of guy that marries and has children early. But I love the way he plays. He’s like a mathematician strategically summing up the best angles to intercept down back and he is amazingly courageous in the air. He’s not mega-quick, but he’s mega-fit and that more than makes up for things. As with Maysie, it’s not his fault that the Dees gave up so much for him. I said on D’Ler early this season that he is now a fully-grown lad, so unlike his final year at the Crows, he has to take the opposition’s second big. But his smarts mean that he should still be able to intercept anyway. He just reads it so well. And he sure did against North and the Pies. 8 Angus Brayshaw (5) I’m still a little worried about Angus. I know he’s quality and he showed against North once again why he’s suited to the middle of the park (in old terms, he’s a genuine centreman) and with his confidence up against the Pies he nailed his set shot with his one-wood from 50m to start the show. But surely if he’s as good as we all think, then he can cope with being on a wing or playing half-back or half-forward. And given he’s the Ringo Starr of our Fab Four, he’s got to find a way to beat the drums at any venue or in any spot. I did like the way he had to get mega-fit pre-season once he was restricted by a shoulder injury and I reckon he is one player who just has to sit out the odd training session and do 50 sprints and ideally with Joel Smith by his side to make him work harder. 9 Sam Weideman (23) One of the highlights of our past six weeks. Like many of you I thought he was almost gone as Petty developed as a forward late last season and then we drafted Luke Jackson. He got through most of pre-season, but clearly was well back in the queue with Goody preferring three-quarter talls like Fritter and Melky and Hannan playing out of the goalsquare. But when he finally got his chance against Gold Coast, he stepped up and has presented like Tom Hawkins. He showed when Ben Stratton poleaxed him that he’s not a kid anymore – jumping straight up and sending the ball inside 50 for a key goal. He’s already kicked 14 goals and he now seems to know where to be – whether that’s over the back or on a lead. Olly might have straightened up his game, but Weid has straightened our entire side up – probably even the coach. It’s his time now, let’s hope his manager doesn’t get greedy again and worries more about getting him money via bonuses, which will come his way in droves now anyway. 10 Michael Hibberd (10) A tricky start to the season for him copping the blame for sending the ball long to the Eagles talls in Rd 1 (playing four guys under 180cm up forward might have been the factor, not his kicking) and then losing his brother. Not sure why he was left out of side for a couple of weeks but loved having him back against the Cats and Tigers where I had him in our best three in both losses. Still tough and uses his body well to edge out opponents. He’s out of contract, but I reckon he’s still got two years left in him … maybe more. 11 Christian Salem (3) It’s been a bit of a so-so year for our resident soccer expert so far this season. The panic ball from Olly in our early losses hurt him big time and it’s only been in the last couple of weeks that you can see his precision coming to the fore. Gawny seemed to make a point of giving it off to him against the Crows and you sense that his confidence to evade tricky situations like Pendles is growing again. As our only real quarter-back he’s a crucial part of our back six and he probably ended Aaron Hall’s already tenuous career at North with that run-down tackle. 12 Jake Melksham (6) It was a slow start to the year for Melky and there were times when we all wondered if he could ever get anywhere close to his form of 2018 when he was the assist king. His game against Richmond was the low point with one effort on the wing that day heartbreaking. You will all recall it. Melky, a man with the most dangerous kick in our side, marked and didn’t like his forward options (it was pre-Weid) and he waited for a runner to provide a decoy for him to peel inboard and it was read so well by his Tiger opponent (Baker I think) that Jake tried a Don’t Argue fend off to the head and was pinged for going high. He could also have gone for holding the ball. I reckon even Goody would have been wondering about resting him after he barely touched it against the Hawks, but in the pressure cauldron of the Lions game, he lifted and a nice chip kick from Jackson seemed to clear his head. Jake, use the force. He did, nailing a lovely 50m goal and since then he’s got back to what he does best – setting up forwards, particularly the Weid who has replaced T-Mac as his best over-the-back longball mate. Filled in as skipper against the Roos, so you can tell he’s respected. 13 Bayley Fritsch (13) Trac may have caught eyes pre-season, but Fritter was like a man on a mission in the match-sim games in December through February. Playing out of the goalsquare he seemed to love making fools of Maysie, Lever and Oscar and he rarely missed. But come the real stuff Fritter has been a bit of a disappointment. He’s our leading goalkicker with 17 but he’s also had that many behinds and his misses have been chronic. He may play like Brad Green, but I know who I’d rather have going for goal. I still think he’s not quite physical enough and I’m in the camp that can see him playing off half-back – he’s Hibberd’s replacement in waiting if you like. 14 James Harmes (2) I loved Harmsey well before his clash with Joel Selwood in the 2018 finals. And he was fourth in our B&F last year, so the club knows all too well the things he brings to the table. I thought he was on his way to being a star ‘tagging’ midfielder, but when Trac got given the licence to roam pre-season, something or someone had to give up their slot in the middle and team-oriented Harmesy became a defender. Given we needed a right-footer to balance our lefties back there, it seemed fine in theory. But Jay Lockhart’s emergence pre-season meant the right-side requirement was not as critical anymore and then Goody confused the issue even more by sending him back into the middle for a few weeks. What’s been more perplexing is his failure to break tackles this season and to not read the new ‘ball’ interpretation, which has meant he leads our frees against with 15 which is surprising given he’s one of our quickest and with 101 games already, he’s now one of our most experienced. On current form he could get dropped, but even if he does, he’ll be back super quick. He’s our No.1 for one percenters and he’s a keeper. 15 Aaron vandenBerg (NR) It is five years (six seasons) since he made his debut for us and I will never forget his fourth game when he almost single-handedly led us to our win against Richmond with his brute strength and love of hard tackling. Sadly he’s spent more time in the medical room than on the field since and if he gets to 50 games this season it will be a minor miracle. Some point to his errors, and let’s face it against the Roos there were quite a few, but others will remember his desperate last-quarter against Gold Coast where he helped turn the game – not with his disposals, more with his disposing of bodies. He is a modern-day Dean Chiron, the guy you need in a side to add a fear factor. Which is not to say Vanders is dirty, it’s more that his commitment is unquestionable. Just ask Mihocek or Jed Anderson. 16 Jay Lockhart (16) One of our four standouts pre-season, he just made an artform of evading tackles and hitting targets prompting me to declare he was reminiscent of club great Alan Johnson. I reckon the Cats game, where he was caught twice rocked his confidence for a week or two, but he was so good defensively against the Lions, that I think Goody realised the time had come to give him the nod ahead of Nev, which says something. He was rested against the Roos, but he’s such an attacking livewire as well that he must be persevered with. 17 Kysaiah Pickett (NR) OK don’t panic when you read this, because like you I love him and realise the POD that he brings to our side which was mega-needed. But on paper Kossie has been an abject failure this season. Six goals and an average of eight disposals a game and I still can’t forget how he failed to handball to Ed Langdon in the goalsquare against the Lions which you could argue cost us the game (Bennell’s miss and Weid’s three set-shot errors were also crucial). He also gave away three free-kicks that night. Any other player would be back in the twos ... for good. But what Kossie has brought is pace, aggression and much-needed unpredictability to our forward line. Gerard Healy and Bruce McAvaney have a new pin-up boy to wax lyrical about. He’s still a kid and still a long way off being a star. But there will come a game, maybe even this season, where he’ll put it all together and I just wish we all could be there to watch it. 18 Tom McDonald (18) One of only three survivors of the Dean Bailey era, but now on unfirm ground. In this modern era, the value any player who is a tad slow is questioned. Originally Tom’s super endurance over came such concerns but injuries (turf toe/knee soreness) has meant that he no longer leads our 200m reps. He is still pretty fearless and has great judgment in the air, but not being blessed with a big leap makes it hard for him to be used as a back-up in the ruck and the arrival of Jackson means we had that area covered until recently. Tom’s still a deadeye [censored] in front of goals – he rarely misses any set-shots. The problem is that he rarely marks inside 50, so we don’t often see those skills in action. Can he still line up with Weid and Jacko in a three-pronged attack? Maybe in good conditions, but not if it’s wet or greasy. 19 Luke Jackson (NR) Goody’s other new toy. It was bit surprising that he initially sat in the cupboard. At his first day at training he somehow (I suspect he volunteered) ended up running a 400m time trial first up against ANB and Jake Lever. He loped around and whilst he finished behind ANB, he was a good 30m ahead of Lever, so you knew the kid was an athlete. Like many I was a little skeptical about using such a high pick on a ruckman, especially given we should have at least five more years of Gawny, but Jacko showed early that he was capable of playing as a forward and having missed out on the King brothers, this fact may well save Steven May from decking a reporter down the track. He’s not as quick as the Kings, nor is he a true goalsquare marking type (yet). But I reckon he’d beat the Kings over 400m and his endurance means he’s a natural to play CHF for several years before taking over Gawny’s role. Sadly a hamstring tendon most likely will mean we have to wait until next year to see him progress. 20 Adam Tomlinson (NR) The Dees have long been keen on Tommo and to be honest it’s a bit of a funny one. Like T.Mac, he has great endurance for a big guy and if you’ve seen his podcast video interviews then you would know he’s a ripping bloke with ripping muscles. But finding a spot for the 194cm tall is proving a tad hard at the moment. The club originally felt wing was the place for him (GWS often did too) and it meant he could be used as a tall outlet from kick-ins. But his ground skills weren’t majorly evident in his first four games and VDB’s return along with Jones and Bennell’s ability to play wing means he may struggle to get another go there. So after an absence of four weeks, he’s played the last three games as the third tall defender and I suspect that’s where he’s going to have to make it, otherwise it’s going to be a long four years at the club. 21 Mitch Hannan (NR) Bombing drop punts through the big sticks from 50m at training and watching his matchwinner against Geelong has been about as good as it gets for Mitch for much of the past two years. He finally returned from his knee issues in Rd 4 and was useful against Richmond. But that’s it – he generally looks dangerous but fails to hurt opponents. I reckon his best games are usually after a break and that was the case when he played North after a week off. But he’s a bit like Warren Dean and you wonder if he’ll really ever tear apart a game before his next injury. Nice if it happened over the next few weeks though. 22 Nathan Jones (14) OK, Jonesy is eight games away from joining Neiter as our only greats to play 300. So barring an amazing run through the finals, that won’t happen this year. Should he play on? That is the question that started last year and has basically been around from the day he was moved out of the middle by Goody – and given our current midfield mix I think we all get why that has happened. I mean Joel Selwood was on a wing the other night. So at 32 does Jonesy get another contract if he’s stuck on 298 or 299 games. Sadly I’m in the camp that says it’s time up. He’s still courageous and his skills are still first rate so that’s not the issue. It’s just that he’s now just a tad slow for the outside roles (Callum Brown won’t agree) and his lack of height means he can’t offer an aerial outlet. But hopefully now he can finish with a key role in another finals series. 23 Neville Jetta (NR) The Lord Nev fan club won’t like this, nor will his new little mate Kossie. But like Jonesy, time’s up. Nev’s been such a great story for us since Roosy spotted his skills and asked him to stay on as a rookie, rather than heading back to WA. He’d been typecast as a forward up until then and Roosy could see his one-on-one skills were exemplary and tried him out as a defender. Since then he’s played on the trickiest forwards from Eddie through to the day down at Kardinia Park when he beat Danger in a couple of goalsquare contests. He’s now played 153 games and he’s just a man of honor and integrity – that’s why he’s so well loved and respected by everybody. Even played State-of-Origin this year. 24 Alex Neal-Bullen (15) It’s a hard one for every coach I imagine. What do you do with guy who works the hardest and is regularly the best at training? You play him and that’s what Goody had pretty much done with ANB (warts and all) until this season. Those of you who watched his game against Carlton will know he was in the best, yet he was on borrowed time with Goody’s new toy Kossie back the next week. Since then he’s been on the outer until Kossie hurt his ankle. On return against the Crows, ANB was mega unlucky that his sling tackle actually led to Will Hamill missing the rest of the game. I mean there must have been 30 of them done this year and almost all have got off – Shaun Burgoyne about three times I think. Yet ANB cops four weeks and amazingly the club chooses not to appeal – can you imagine the Cats or Tigers or Pies saying yep, we’ll take a four-week penalty for Ablett, Rioli or Brown. It says a bit about how our admin still works. And it probably tells you that ANB will need to look elsewhere if he wants to continue his AFL career. It’s a shame because I still have way more confidence in him than others in our sizeable mosquito fleet. 25 Trent Rivers (NR) Goody’s third new toy and this present came courtesy of Tubby Taylor’s lengthy stint in WA last season. I watched him get knocked off the ball by Olly at in his first-ever club drill and wondered how he’d react. He paused, dusted himself off for a bit (looked like he’d taken in his lesson) and jumped straight back into things. He’s quick (and I’m not talking about the speed he picks up women), he can fly more a mark, he’s not scared of taking a bounce and he’s a good kick. His body is still immature (Cam Guthrie showed that outmarking him against the Cats), but I suspect that with weights, dedication and good coaching, he’ll be playing as our third or fourth tall defender for many years to come … and there’s a bit of Corey Enright in the way he goes about it. 26 Jayden Hunt (7) I still love watching Jayden play, but sadly I think it will be at another club next season. There was no more exciting time than when he used to springboard us off half-back in Roosy’s last season and Goody seemed to like him too initially before deciding that he wasn’t reliable enough with his kicking. For two years now we’ve tried him as a forward and he snagged quite a few in 2019 and his running goal off a Tomlinson give against Carlton will remain one of our plays of this year. But like many of our players, the worst thing you can do is be selected as a forward against Richmond – it’s almost a direct ticket out of the side unless you have built up a stack of credits. Goody doesn’t even seem to want to try him again as a defender, which is a shame. 27 Joel Smith (NR) I’ve always been a Joel Smith fan, rating him way higher than most Demonlanders. To me he’s got pace, endurance, aerial skills and he’s not a bad kick. He just needs to play games to grow into the AFL. But his late start to footy and injuries have meant he’s only played 14 games and he’s now 24. O-Mac’s the same age and has been gifted 79 games already. It did look like our SOS (son of Shaun) was going to be given a chance as our third defensive tall this season, but sometimes you can be unlucky who you play and his cards fell against the Cats and Tigers and whilst he wasn’t terrible, he looked a tad unsure, especially when Olly gave him a hospital handball at his ankles to deal with. What worries me now is that Trent Rivers is coming along so quickly that the athletic third/fourth tall role may be taken in years ahead. 28 Harley Bennell (NR) Finally our club had the balls to use a late pick on a risky option with potentially high reward. And as he walked along the boundary line bouncing and handballing the footy almost the entire pre-season, occasionally breaking his routine to jag a goal from the boundary, you sensed that it was more risk than sense, which I was OK with. But somehow during the COVID break, his confidence in his calves returned and he was able to sprint and join in training drills. As is Goody’s way, he rushed Harley in way too soon for the Blues game, and he’s been back a couple of times since. He looks classy but you can tell he’s not working hard enough in the defensive area – and I don’t really recall that being a big trait when he was at the Suns either. But if he is to make it back permanently now, then he’s going to have to stick his tackles and play with a little more of the new era passion. One positive for him is that we have three “hard-ground, high-humidity” weeks where he must play at least twice coming up – Alice Springs and Cairnsx2. With finals in October and hard grounds likely, it could well be his time to shine. Sean Charles of 1994 reincarnated maybe, albeit without the need for a helicopter. 29 Tom Sparrow (31) He’s starting to warm on me and in his defence you’d have to say it’s not easy breaking your way into a midfield that is regarded highly, even if the results don’t always match. He’s not a wow player with explosive pace or a thumping kick, but he certainly works hard and hopefully a bit more flare will come as he grows in confidence. 30 Braydon Preuss (19) Big Preussy must have flipped a lid on draft night. Having been heavily courted to come to our club and learn from Gawny and play back-up tapman and tall forward, we select … another ruckman. Worse was to follow. He tore his meniscus in his knee pre-season, which normally would have meant he barely played all season. But COVID gave him more time to get back up to speed and then he finally got a break - Jacko and Gawny both out injured. Copping Grundy first up could have been nasty for him, but the Pies and Brodie were in four-day break mode, so the big fella stood tall all game. Tim English (injury permitting) will also be tricky this week, but in Preussy we trust, at least until Gawny’s fully fit. Glad he’s on our list and has another year to run on his contract. 31 Charlie Spargo (26) The Charlie Spargo fan club would have been cheering loudly on Saturday night. What a first half, his best return goals wise, and his most significant contribution since he snagged a couple on debut against Essendon in 2018. It was also vindication for Goody that you could play two smalls (and in Kossie and Spargos case I mean small) in a forward line. But I’m a little old school and I just can’t see it working come finals if we get that far. And it will be interesting to see which of them gets Caleb Daniel this week. Pleasingly for Charlie, his output v the Pies means he is now certain to get another year at least on his contract. And it gives him another year to muscle up more – he still looks like a young Bambi running along to me. As I said last year, he’s classy enough to make it. It’s just his kicking depth that makes me query his longevity at this level. 32 Mitch Brown (NR) A lot of Bomber fans were surprised he was delisted and with Weid initially out of favour, we decided to lure Brown as a pre-season supplemental selection just in case. He was noted as a dead-eye [censored] and he showed enough in our pre-season games for Goody to race him in as one of just two talls against the Eagles. That’s two talls, four non-aerial tiny’s and Fritta with Melky as back-up. Little wonder he was pressured in every marking contest and while he did present, it was lambs to the slaughter that day. I actually think he could be a worthy third tall because he leads-up well, but I don’t really see Goody giving him a chance in that role this season now. And given he turns 30 next week, it’s not hard to see the next step. 33 Oscar McDonald (24) It took 76 games but I finally had Oscar in our best six after his game against Gold Coast. The lengthy break being overlooked had done wonders for his intent and he was just so clean that night. He was serviceable against the Hawks and even ran hard to receive an Angus handpass. But the next week Daniel McStay had him at “hello” and timid, unsure Oscar of old was back. It took Mitch Georgiades’ mark and goal and Garry Lyon’s damning highlighting of his non-commitment to the player to make some of us aware of it. But I’ve been watching Oscar’s “sag off out the back” move for so long now and at so many training sessions that I have virtually banned myself talking about him on Demonland. Oscar, or the Porterhouse, as Gawny and Angus call him, will make a sensational forward at OM’s or Old Xavs next year (yes that’s the position and comp where he should have been playing for three years now) and if he wants to kick an even easier ton, then Edenhope FC awaits. 34 Toby Bedford (33) How to ruin a player the Goody way. Toby had been a marked improver on the training track this pre-season and when he came on and played a lively second half against the Hawks in the Marsh series you knew a debut wasn’t far away. But no, six touches that game was enough for him to debut straight away along with six other newbies against the Eagles. We all know the outcome now and hopefully down the track he’ll get another crack at it. But at least Toby contributed a memorable highlight in the last term with his persistence earning Kossie a goal. No ratings Harrison Petty (28) A bit of the forgotten man. I was lucky enough to attend the only match-sim game Harrison played back in December before his season effectively ended courtesy of OP. He lined up as the mobile forward (CHF for us old schoolers) and he just led up at the ball so well and clunked everything that I rode home that morning thinking he was a lock in that role all season. It would be interesting to see now where he would have fitted in and the Weid/Jacko combo means he may be better off returning next year to his original role as a defensive tall. Marty Hore (11) We all loved his first dozen games last year as he read the play with the aplomb of a veteran. But once Jake Lever returned, his role as our intercepting defensive tall was taken and injuries started taking their toll as well with collarbone (last year) and then quad surgery rendering him a rehab regular this season. He’s a clever footballer with lovely kicking skills, but that may not be enough in this cutthroat era. Oskar Baker (17) As with Marty Hore, Oskar was a great story in a dismal 2019. The amiable redhead has an amazing workrate and showed a bit in his nine games out on a wing. But this season he spent virtually the entire pre-season in rehab (hamstring and groin issues) and the club spent time and big money on luring two wingmen, one of whom is a quicker, more experienced everyready-battery version of him. Josh Wagner (27) Another year of treading water for Wags and the arrival of Rivers and a healthy list has pushed him further back in the selection queue. I still fondly recall his first game down in Tassie in 2016 when he had a real dip and also his chase-down tackle on Gary Ablett a few weeks later. Corey Wagner (30) Another player hurt by the absence of the reserves. Corey is widely regarded as one of the best mids in the VFL and doubtless he would have had three or four 30-plus disposal games by now to push his AFL selection claims. If lists are cut it’s hard to see him surviving a cull, but there’s no doubt he’s a goer. Kade Chandler (32) The club was quite excited by what this little leftie was doing pre-season and he reminds me a lot of St Kilda’s Jack Lonie. But he got a bit of a stressy at training and was in the rehab group for a lot of February. Bedford’s form back then saw the club toy with him as a defender, but I’m sorry in my book, you have to be a long kick to warrant that role, especially when you are just 174cm. He’s definitely improved but he’s another player who’s really missed having the VFL to press his claims. James Jordon (34) I said last year that he just looks like a nice guy to me and I struggled to see the traits that made him a must have mid by Taylor at pick 33 in 2018. But he certainly worked hard in his second pre-season and at least you know that in scratch matches he has plenty of good role models schooling him. He’s quick with the hands, but he’s not line-breaking quick like Olly getting out of scrimmages and he’s not a thumping kick like Angus, so it’s a stretch to see him making it. But Sam Menegola was a slow-burn at Geelong, so maybe another year of slogging it out will see him on the big stage. Still only 19, he’s too young to delist. Kade Kolodjashnij (NR) It was worth a shot taking him as part of the Hogan/May deal because he clearly has talent and his CV as a junior and at the Suns was exceptional. But unfortunately luck has not been on his side and no-one seems to have been able to solve his concussion issues. So sadly both parties need to move on. Aaron Nietschke (NR) I saw this guy at training a few times and he looked lively doing all the drills in November and I was starting to get excited about his chances of making it. But a second knee reco so soon is David Schwarz-like and shows the darker side of the sport. Will have to wait and see what list sizes the AFL goes with, but at best he should be kept on as a rookie, especially given he now unfortunately wears the “risky” tag. Kyle Dunkley (NR) It was always going to be a harder year for Kyle getting a game than during last year’s injury crisis. But he certainly looked the part on the wing in match-sim games after an off-season in San Diego and the odd trip to Noosa to train with his brother. A heel injury (stressy I think) meant he was out of action in March and since COVID, it’s been hard for all our fringe players to make a case for selection. He’s only 20, so hopefully we can keep him for another year when VFL games are played and we can gauge his progress. Austin Bradtke (NR) Another player who really needed games to develop and has been hurt by the VFL absence. He definitely is improving and did a lot more work against Gawny pre-season and looks stronger. But I’m still a little worried about his mobility and Jackson’s arrival made us all aware of what a kid needs to be able to do to make it on the big stage. Worth another year to see his progress, but only as a rookie. 2019 rankings 2018 rankings 2017 rankings: 2016 rankings

Hopefully Goody now realises that fresh legs will be required on a four-day break - the Cats and others certainly did and our effort against Port showed why only a couple of changes won't do. As a result I have more changes than most of you and basically designed to provide run. Out: ANB (susp), Sparrow, Bennell (rested), Jones (rested), Lockhart (rested) with tricky decisions on heaps of others. In: Pickett, Hunt, J.Smith, Rivers, Jetta

Unbelievable game by Oliver - it was everything we had been hoping for since his debut and shows that both he and Goody have finally understood what so many have said on DL and other places. That was the most elite game we have seen by anybody at this club for a long, long time. 6 Oliver 5 Viney 4 May 3 Salem 2 Trac 1 Weid

Dees pay high price for victory over Crows Herald Sun, August 5 MELBOURNE got the 'W' last night with a 26-point win against the Crows at Adelaide Oval, but the win came at a cost. The Demons are likely to be without captain Max Gawn for the next month, while star midfielder Christian Petracca came off late with soreness after a 24-disposal, three-goal best-on-ground display. Gawn pulled up tight in the hamstring early in the first term and will now miss games against North Melbourne and Collingwood and key match-ups against fellow ruck stars Todd Goldstein and Brodie Grundy. "It's a big blow for us," coach Simon Goodwin said. "We didn't see that coming. He was fine playing cards with Angus (Brayshaw) on the flight over here." Asked why he had risked the AFL's No.1 ranked ruckman against the Crows, who have now lost their first 10 games, Goodwin said the shorter time frame between games was not an issue. "Gawny said he was fine after training yesterday and we have a policy where we play our best team each week, regardless of how close the games are. It is what it is," he said. Petracca had again played 90 per cent game time, resting up forward rather than the bench, as Goodwin looked for him to ice the game. "He's a bit ginger and he'll miss the Roos game as well, but he should be right for the Pies," Goodwin said. or: Dees depth too good for Crows Herald Sun, August 5 MELBOURNE got the 'W' last night with a 26-point win against the Crows at Adelaide Oval and must now find room for Max Gawn and two of its midfield stars for its clash with the Roos on Sunday . The Dees decided to leave their skipper behind in Maroochydore, rather than risk him for the game against the winless Crows. Young ruckman Luke Jackson shared the ruck duties with Adam Tomlinson and while the pair were beaten for hitouts by Reilly O'Brien, they combined for 8 clearances to offset the absence of Gawn. The Demons also opted to rest Clayton Oliver and Angus Brayshaw against the Crows, but coach Simon Goodwin said the pair, who watched the game from the coaches box, will both return for the Roos clash. Christian Petracca will firm in Brownlow betting after a 24-disposal, three goal game, while Aaron vandenBerg (12 tackles) and Nathan Jones (21 disposals) enjoyed time in the middle and helped set the win up. The Demons also rotated forwards Bayley Fritsch and Jake Melksham through the middle. Petracca's efforts were all the more impressive given he was rested for the entire last quarter, "After our bad loss on a four-day turnaround against Port we realised we had to rest players in these unusual times and hopefully having our core midfield fresh for the game against North will help us in the long run," coach Simon Goodwin said. "Gawny, Olly and Angus all wanted to play, but we just felt that we had to look at the big picture."

Goody: We didn't see that coming!

You didn't read my comment!

As much as we are all writing off the season, there is a chance that with a six-day break we could win against Adelaide, so hopefully we are measured with our omissions, although I have six out. Out: Oliver (suspended and must sit in box with coach and be told to put his phone down and actually watch the flow of a game), Brayshaw (needs a week in the guts in the Allies before coming back for the Roos clash), Oscar (that's 80 games now and it's enough - Brent Grgic only got 77 and Cale Morton got 74), Pickett & Jackson (they should never have played against Brissy and Port in the first place and now they'll miss the game where they had a chance to really impact against Adelaide), Hannan (he's great when fresh - needs a week off.) In: Vanders, Joel Smith, Tomlinson, Bennell, ANB and Rivers (coach will go Spargo, but it should be Rivers because he is the future). Keys: With Oliver out, VDB gets to play in the guts to show the Crows kids why you don't mess around with the footy. B: Lockhart May Salem HB: Rivers Lever Hibberd ??C Tomlinson VDB Langdon HF: Jones T.Mac Harmes (lockdown role on Brodie Smith) F: ANB Weid Melksham Ru: Gawn Trac Viney Int: Fritta (start middle rotation, moves forward after half time), J.Smith (def), Bennell (start fwd, moves into mid), Sparrow (mid) But note: Oliver, Brayshaw, Jackson and Pickett should all come back in with fresh legs for the Roos game.