mo64

The only issue with Lobb is if Max gets injured, Lobb can't or won't want to assume the no. 1 ruck. He's a better forward/ruck than Flynn, but Flynn can step up as a no.1 ruck.

I mentioned in the other thread that a mate is a Life Member at West Perth, so I watch their games when I have the chance. I don't think he's AFL standard. I messaged my mate about the interest in him on Demonland, and he replied that Keitel is talented, but very selfish. And that's coming from someone who works with the players.

Pies decision to get rid of Grundy was justified. Grundy is probably wondering how Frampton has a premiership medallion, whilst he got the lemon and sars from the club he loved.

Aside from getting a mature aged ruckman, that's the way I see it. If we continue to bring in mature aged players from other clubs, we'll continue to lose younger talent like Bedford and JJ, because they can't see a pathway into the seniors. We need some elite junior talent to be pushing the under performing players in the seniors. Our draft hand this year is our opportunity of obtaining elite youngsters.

Just an observation. The footskills of the Irish women across the league is astounding. Maybe Choco is overrated. The ball movement of our girls is far more enjoyable to watch than our men's team, despite Geelong really pressuring well all game. As others have said, Aimee Mackin will become a superstar. The only team that worries me is the Crows. They have an excellent midfield and a potent forward line. Even though we were dominant last night, our backline was jittery at times, especially Goldrick. Maddie Gay needs to return there for some stability.

Maybe old dee is colour blind and getting his Whites and Browns mixed up.

A ruckman.

I agree. It's not like we've got fantastic midfield depth. He was constantly sub this year, which would make it difficult to get consistency of performance. And yet most on here expected JJ to come into a final and perform at a high level. Like Bedford, I can see JJ performing well at a new club.

I'm hearing a rumour from a reliable source (Nudge), that Harmes, T. Mac, BBB and our future 4th will get the deal done. As a sweetener, we'll also offer them Dunstan.

That would be an incredible win for us, but I don't see it happening.

Maybe Brodie should just consider which club is the best fit for him to prolong his career, rather than who presented the best. He was similarly impressed with our presentation, and look how that turned out for him. JJ to the Swans is a good fit and makes sense.

A mate of mine is a Life Member at West Perth and works on gameday, so I've watched a fair bit of them. Keitel is NOT AFL standard.

Jeez I hope Sydney don't have a change of heart like Port did after meeting Grundy.

When you consider that Hickey has announced his retirement, Grundy is marginally a better option.

He had 5 years remaining on his Pies contract, which he was never going to renegotiate.

We have no interest in Ben McKay because he doesn't address an urgent need, and we have more pressing issues.

What we offer is irrelevant, because it seems he is leaving for opportunity, not money. Even if we have a fat contract in front of him, as an UFA, the other club doesn't have to match or exceed our offer.

The club may say that they wanted to retain JJ, but did everything possible to drive him away. Getting Hunter would have been a slap in the face, because he established himself as a wingman in 2022. And Hunter really hasn't proven to be an upgrade. Then constantly used as a sub or at Casey in 2023. The club's list management needs to be questioned. Like Bedford, JJ is leaving before he has reached his prime. And I don't see a lot of emerging midfield talent at Casey to cover for injuries in 2024. Unlike some in our current team, JJ will walk into most teams. Unfortunately he was not one of Goody's pets. Sad to see him go.

I haven't been a Tomlinson fan post his ACL, but you could see that his presence allows for Lever and May to fly for contested marks. But more importantly, our list profile would start to look dire if we lost Hibberd, Melksham, Grundy, Dunstan, Tomlinson, BBB, T Mac all in one hit. I totally understand why the club deem Tomlinson as a required player.

Some of the worst takes on Demonland, and that's saying something. Criticise Kozzie for ill discipline in giving away a free when we have possession, and getting suspended. But we had only 2 impactful forwards going into the Blues game, they being Kozzie and Fritta. Kozzie probably tried too hard to make an impact. But comparing him to a player who offered us nothing for a season and a half, and rightfully found himself at Casey, is laughable. Kozzie is one of the premier small forwards in the comp, and Spargo wouldn't get picked up by any other club if he was on the open market. If anything, the thread should be Spargo v Bedford - The learnings. Don't give players with low ceilings a 4 year contract extension, and you may be able to retain impact players like Bedford.

Where do you start? Even if we won last night, it would have been painting over the cracks. Aside from our top end talent and foot soldiers, we have no obvious depth. At the start of the year we traded for Grundy, who can't take a contested mark, so it was pretty obvious our gameplan to bomb into the forward line would continue. Took us half a season to work it out, but then lose Petty and Melksham. IMO, our season was done once those 2 went down. Tim Lamb and Jason Taylor need to be held accountable. Why are we bringing in mature aged players like Dunstan and Schache when we have no intention of playing them, even when a like for like gets injured. And we need to do a better job of extending contracts for fringe players like T Mac and Spargo. They become list cloggers. Aside from McAdam, go to the draft and get the best kids. And pray that JVR and Petty stay fit all next year.

Why change something that we've been doing most of the year? It makes me sick watching us kick long to a contest. Nothing has changed in 2 years. Why the hell didn't we activate the sub and replace the invisible man T Mac? I don't want to listen to another Goody presser till round 1 next year. He's full of hot air. "We want to win a flag in front of our home fans". 0-4 at the G in finals past 2 years. Thanks Goody. I'm not gutted because the Lions would have smashed us if we got through. And I don't want to ever read another post saying how wonderful Choco is.

You play polo on match days? Little wonder we get stereotyped. 😄

Howe plays for Collingwood now.

Aside from JJ for Gus, the changes are a real head scratcher. We select Tomlinson with McKay out, and the Blues going small. And we drop a more mobile Hibbo from a backline that conceded only 60 points last week. And essentially Spargo comes in for JVR. Why have we given Schache another year? So unless Goody has devised a new gameplan in the past week, I have no confidence in us scoring over 60 points in what will be ideal conditions.