mo64

You are kidding yourself if you believe that the addition of Grundy, Hunter, Schache, Billings, Fullarton, McAdam and Hore hasn't been a massive failure. Not one established themselves in the team. No other club has had a poorer track record than us on this front in recent years. And nobody is complaining about lower draft picks being a failure, because we haven't had any recently.

You keep saying that. Jason Taylor isn't watching AFL games every weekend. It's Jason Taylor's job to convene with all the recruiting scouts around the country. And I'm talking about recruits who are not in the AFL system. Jason Taylor wouldn't be talking to player managers, enquiring about the availability of current players in the AFL system. And he wouldn't be discussing contract terms with the player managers. That's Tim Lamb's job. Jason Taylor may offer his opinion as to the value of a draft pick, but it's Tim Lamb and the Football Department who are making decisions on recruiting players from other clubs. And that's where we are failing.

What if Verrall isn't AFL ready in 2026? Tom Campbell will be 34 then. Whoever we bring in from the State Leagues will be low salary and a low pick.

We are obviously trying to take over the mantle from Geelong as the Geriatrics Club. Our motto has become "If you younger than 27, you need not apply". As DeeSpencer said, it doesn't make sense. Verrall is still an unknown quantity, so surely we should be targeting someone in the 25yo age bracket who can compete at AFL level, but also has upside.

I watched a fair bit of the WAFL GF, and can understand why Erasmus was playing. He knows how to find the ball, but his decision making and disposal is sub par. A big "No" for me. If we're looking at players in that age bracket, then it's Peatling, followed by Hobbs.

JJ wasn't terrible in 2023. He was starved of opportunities because we recruited Hunter, who was no better. It was a no brainer that JJ would leave on the back of that. And you haven't addressed why we got Grundy in the first place. It's Taylor's job to scour the country for talent. It's the List Manager's job to talk to Player Agents about the availability of existing AFL players. As the List Manager, Lamb is the one who'd know what financial terms a player wants in order to get him to the club. The acquisition of the failed recruits from other clubs is on Lamb in conjunction with Richardson and Goodwin.

100%. I proposed at the time that Hayden McLean would have been a better fit than Grundy. Had only played 31 games in 4 years at that stage, so could have been gettable.

Brynn Teakle would have been an ideal pick as a delisted free agent. North picked him up in the mid-season draft and did well as a 2nd ruck.

The drive down to the Cattery was probably more taxing than a flight to Perth.

If our issues are so simple, why are we having an external review of the Football Department? Everything is rosey in your eyes. At the very least, can you accept that we needed to bring in a mature aged ruckman who could physically compete at AFL level, in the event that Gawn got injured. Instead, we re-sign Schache to another year.

And if he's not injured, he's out suspended.

Jason Taylor wouldn't have any say in contract negotiations or courting of players from other clubs. That's not his role.

Really?

Probably the reason why the Saints have pulled out of the Houston race. Callaghan is a far more impactful player than Houston, plus has age on his side.

I'd love to know which games they were. In 2022, Spargo had 3 games where he got more than 15 possessions, and in 2023 he failed to get more than 15 possessions in any game. As a comparison, a first year player in Windsor got more than 15 possessions in 9 out 19 games. And you want to replace Windsor on the wing with Spargo? Spargo is the most overrated player by Demonlanders.

After just watching Gettable, Cal Twomey said that 6 clubs are after Peatling, and made no suggestion that Peatling had committed to staying at GWS. Cal Twomey is probably the most credible journo when it comes to player movements.

Bedford was still a developing player who wasn't given the opportunity to solidify a place in the team. From what he showed at Casey, he always had far more upside than Spargo. Unfortunately Goodwin liked to stick fat with the 2021 Premiership players regardless of form, instead of grooming the next crop. We are paying the price for that now.

The moat around the property will be perfect for closed training sessions.

I'm sure I've seen this episode of "Utopia". "The wheels are in motion they said". I feel more confident of Babu Bhatt getting his visa application approved than the State Govt. providing funding.

Yes for me. With Goodwin's gameplan of bombing long into forward line, we need small forwards who can hit the scoreboard. Massive upgrade on Spargo and Billings.

Windsor has that sewn up. Hunter will spend most of the year at Casey.

The headline is written by someone who doesn't bet. The crux of the article states that the AFL receives truckloads of money from betting agencies, and names people associated with the game, who have sponsorship deals. So what?

Ich bin ein Demonlander.

Not if you're a provisional member who supports one of bigger clubs. I have quite a few friends in this position who are questioning whether to renew.

To say we have the best young talent is laughable. And to say the failed recruits cost us zilch is incorrect. We spent all of 2023 trying to see if the Gawn/Grundy experiment would work. It didn't. Acquiring Hunter diminished JJ's playing time and ultimately led to his departute. Every list spot is valuable. Acquiring failed recruits like Grundy, Hunter, Schache and Billings has left us with little to no depth, or emerging talent at Casey.