nrc73

I was at the ground today. The umpiring (in Melb favour) was horrible first half, but it was clear that there had been a lot of homework done and the structures have come a long way. Backline impressive and long time since I've said that.

Would love to see 3km time trail results for all players, every club for this pre-season

I agree this is the most disgusting aspect of this - and likely the AFL are to blame for being so weak and allowing the investigation to go on for so long. You would have thought they'd learnt something from the EFC saga.

This I really agree with. Surely it's far more important to start handing out tougher penalties on managers and administrators providing dubious advice? It would only force clubs to take a much harder look at their governance. Gubby Allen most of all I hope gets 4 years. The AFL allowed shady characters like Ricky Nixon and that ilk to exist for far too long and it's time to get rid of these sorts of people from the industry.

Top 4 getting a double chance is a huge advantage. Has anyone considered that it actually enhances the finals as the guys from the top 4 that lose the first week have more of a chance of making the Grand Final. How boring and predictable has it been watching (almost) every year the winners of the 2 Qualifying Finals end up in the Grand Final. There have been some exceptions but much less so as the game have become much more demanding. Week 2 & 3 of the finals have been so predictable that you can switch off every year and not miss much. How is that "keeping the momentum" of the finals going?. I'm shocked at how closed minded so many are before giving it a chance. Funnily enough attitudes have changed after the first round and idiots in the media who've been overwhelmingly negative about it have gone on to attack Gill (who was a bit ambivalent himself) so they don't have to defend their own embarrassing stance. If the coaches were so in agreement against the bye round, it only shows up that they don't always have the best interests of the game at heart, putting their own interests first. Could imagine Bevo doesn't have a problem with the bye now. I sure as hell don't have an issue with the Bulldogs playing an away game and knocking the Eagles out of the finals.

I really hope Jetta is part of the leadership group next year. He is so consistant and reliable.

Outstanding decision making and execution. Building beautifully. So overlooked by opposition teams.

Scarcely come across a Dees supporter that doesn't believe this should be Dawes last year. More important that a forward leads strong and MARKS (let alone smash the pack). You can keep the forwards that drop marks and rack up tackle counts following up from their fumbles.

Reserve again, along with Trengove

I'd argue Wagner is a far more confident play maker than Grimes, but eventually he'll need a spell as a young player and agree with the rest of your comments. As much as it makes me uncomfortable thinking about it .. what if Grimes was being used some type of psychological motivation to the rest of the group? i.e. 'not even being a captain makes you untouchable'.

So many flogs on TV and in the media, it's impossible to choose.

Agree. Remember that the last 2 years our form has significantly declined after the bye round and no doubt everyone's aware of this. It's still a very young side that will tire as the season goes on and Grimes will eventually be used, if not only as a back fill but also to improve his trade ability.

Those making this statement clearly haven't worked for a large business, where respect and the strongest relationships stem from widely acknowledged capability..

This is a forum, not FB where you just thumbs up/down.

Yes a good game against Adelaide, but was lucky to stay in the team for much the rest of the year. Clearly Wagner & co are much better options. There would be 1 very good reason to play Grimes before the end of the year - to bolster his tradeability at year's end.

This is one of the few posts I agree with. Grimes really should have come in front of Trengove in terms of getting a chance, but there's already too many competing for centre positions. At year's end, don't be surprised if 3-4 of those guys are gone (including Michie).

The club does not have a "duty" to get him to 100 games. In many ways I wish it wasn't so, but footy is a business these days. 10 years ago club presidents no longer referred supporters as "supporters", but as "customers". Game has only become more of a business since then.

Agree wholeheartedly on both points Stuie. As I indicated earlier, the sooner Eddie and the MMM idiots are gone the better.

Spoken like a person who has never seen the inside of a Mediation Centre, Family Court, or been through the Separation process. And spoken like a person who has no idea about the grossly disproportionate suicide rates that men "enjoy" over women during such process. That is your ignorance. Go sit in a Family Court for a few days and educate yourself.

Sick of Eddie. He doesn't represent the majority of male AFL supporters that respect women and the sooner he disappears the better. As for Caro, a puppet/mouthpiece for AFL propaganda who hides behind "I have a duty to my readers" but has been as incendiary as they come, the sooner she retires the better. Give Caro some credit, at least she doesnt play the victim. AFL was so much better before these so called media personalities filled the newspapers, analysing & disputing each other's rubbish.

I think the selection group might have made a big mistake again. A tough slog in the rain against one of the best teams on a 6 day break(!) .. selection group have to get over this "but everyone played well last week" mentality. There should have been 2-4 fresh bodies coming in. I know it's a hard choice, but through injury or not, it's exactly what Sydney have done. I think the consistency we're achieving is coming from continual rotations.

I think that's the great thing about the new culture. Lot more cut throat, less sentimentality and players know what 'performing' is.

Agree. I wished they'd brought Spencer into the side to help Gawn a few games ago. Gawn needs more assistance with 3rd man up and he's obviously tiring. Most of the upcoming opposition teams play 2 rucks as well. It' pretty clear that other than Pedo, the other assistant Ruck options aren't really working. And yep Gawn does well in the forward line.

Agree the buck stops at Roos. Intrigues me what the discussion was at selection committee. In the past Roos has taken personal ownership for a mistake. This time he indicated it was the mistake of the collective coaching group.

Great assessment Adam. Very detailed, left almost nothing out.