mo64

If Morton reaches Palmer's peak level, I'll be rapt. You undersell Palmer big time. The way he reads the ball in heavy traffic and his decision making, have got nothing to do with his body size. It's a quality that only elite players have, and he'll make the players around him look good. And if you haven't seen Morton torch the ball by hand and foot under no pressure, you are blinded by your initial assessment of him.

Bump. I'll admit I was wrong. Palmer actually has superior foot and hand disposal compared to Morton, especially under pressure. And to all those Palmer knockers, he played at a level tonight that was way beyond anything that Morton has produced this year. The kid is an absolute gun.

Are you saying that Valenti is "a James McDonald type player"? B)

The Saints obviously believe that they are still in Premiership mode. If that's the case, Cousins is an ideal fit because he comes cheaply.

Valenti's decision making skills and disposal are better than most of his peers. And his supposed lack of pace is overstated. Davey is the only player on our list who uses his pace creatively. Not everyone on the list has to be a potential champion, and Valenti won't be, but he's definitely worth a spot on the senior list.

Based on the brief footage from the under '18s championship, it seems that Watts has all the attributes that Dermott believes that Josh Kennedy lacks. Good hands and can take a pack mark. Dermott also conveniently left out that Xavier Ellis wouldn't rank in the top 10 picks from that draft based on performance after 3 years. I'd have Josh Kennedy over Xavier Ellis any day.

So what's your views on a club "Bottoming out" or "playing the kids"? IMO, these phrases are a cop-out for coaches.

Well said Demons 32. I concur with your sentiments. Both players have been wonderful servants of the club, and don't deserve the cruel derision by some on this forum.

Correct. Everyone knows that clubs approach oppostion players during the season, but it's usually done via their manager, and not flaunted in public. Our approach was amateurish at best, and the AFL are investigating our conduct. If we are precluded from picking up Warnock as a result, most of you will be wiping your smug grins off your face.

You're missing the point. We're more concerned about the game plan and team structure that Bailey's implemented. To say that he's playing kids, blah, blah, blah... is a cop out for the coach. The fact of the matter is, that when we had the senior players in the team early in the year, we were equally as insipid as we were against Pt. Adelaide, a team that were also decimated with injuries, and playing kids. So stop making excuses.....

That's too intelligent for many on this forum, or for that matter, our coaching panel. Our answer to modern football is to have our players gut run to areas of the ground that won't hurt the opposition on the scoreboard. Then we slag off players like Yze who have the nerve to run to positions where we might actually kick a goal, and accuse them of front-running. In the words of Malcolm Blight from a few weeks ago during the Coll. v Ess. game, "Stop stuffing around with it, and just kick the ball long and tell your forwards to play in front". Essendon proceeded to kick 5 goals in 7 minutes by doing just that. The games made complicated by coaches who are trying to justify their jobs.

It's hard to make a good lead inside our forward 50 because usually there's 3 of our forwards against 6 of their backmen. The rest of our team are caught out of position because they're running parallel with the ball carrier.

Finally some voice of reason on this forum. Our attempts to score by moving the ball sideways is laughable. And the buck stops with Bailey, because it's obvious that the players are playing to instructions.

I'm with you on this one Deanox. My criteria for Most Improved is someone who has gone to another level. I don't think that you can say that Garland has gone to another level after only playing 2 games in the previous year. Based on my criteria, I would give CJ or Wheatley most improved.

You only do a trade if you believe that it will improve your list. Midfielders are a dime a dozen, so it made sense to trade an overpaid Woewodin for a 1st rd pick. And I agree that trading Yze or TJ back then, wouldn't have hurt us in the short or long term. But quality ruckmen aren't easy to find. Jolly would have been an adequate replacement if we kept him, but he's no worldbeater.

All this "we should have traded them when they had currency" is hindsight garbage. White was one of the premier ruckmen prior to the centre-circle rule, and we were playing regular finals football. Why would we trade him then? Unfortunately for Jeff, the centre-circle rule has diminished his most useful asset, his leap, and he is a shadow of the player that he was. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if some club did pick him up as a back-up ruckman, but that all depends on Jeff's ego. I get the impression that he doesn't like playing second fiddle.

So how do you play finals without winning, and what exactly was his doctrine on coaching?

Dalziell is too old to be nominated, but jeez he was impressive.

The whole match was played at the intensity of a VFL 2nds game, so the 80% effeciency was hardly outstanding. I'm hoping like hell that Morton becomes the elite player that we sadly need, but he does things that lack polish, and age can't excuse. I'm not surprised that he hasn't been nominated for the NAB Rising Star prior to this round. Palmer and Morton are on a par with their foot disposal, but the difference is that Palmer is pretty much Freo's no. 1 on-baller, and is targeted by the opposition far more than Morton.

No.

I do. I watched Morton closely today, and again felt underwhelmed by his performance. Sure, he reads the play and makes position well, but I'm coming to the conclusion that he's just a bad kick. Under no pressure, he butchers the ball by foot time and time again. And kicking the ball out-on-the-full to a leading player (Miller I think), when under no pressure, is inexcusable at any level. I never saw them play at junior level, but Morton does things that make me question as to why there was any debate as to whether Cotchin or he would get picked up by the Tiges. Cotchin displays the talent of a potentially elite player, whereas Morton will be a very good 200 gamer.

Explain to me what Bell's upside is? Noone is doubting his courage, but his lack of football smarts has made him a battler at best. We persisted with Godfrey for too long because he had all the traits that you've mentioned above. Talentless try-hards don't win you games.

Without the financial backing of News Ltd, the Storm would be a basket case. David Gallop mentioned on the NRL Footy Show a couple of weeks ago that the Storm were a financial concern. And I don't know where you get your facts from in regards to Brisbane. They are the most financially secure team in the NRL.

I think it's a bit too simplistic to look at age and games played, and make an assessment of a team's future. It's more about quality of your graduates, rather than quantity. It's players that reach the elite level that make a difference to a team's fortunes. I'm not sure if any of our dozen graduates will get to that level.

Mos Def, You are spot on with everything you've said. I've been saying this all year, but get shouted down by most on this forum. I can cop a 100 point belting with the side that we had in last night, but not when we don't have a structured set-up, and players are forced to handball sideways to a teammate under more pressure. I couldn't help but laugh on occasions, it was that bad.