mo64

You and others have been sucked in by our easy wins against bad teams like GC and Brisbane. Our losses to Saints and Dogs were more telling as to where we are at. Sure we have a list of promising young players, but we are a long way off being a good team. We can't rest on our laurels with this list, because you are kidding yourself if you think it will lead us to future success (winning finals regularly).

Great point Gonzo. If you have a strategy set in stone, it will get picked apart by good coaches. I've often feared the Roos' tenure as our coach has been all about what we do on the field, rather than how the opposition sets up it's structures. I don't sense any plan B, and the Saints and Dogs games were a classic case.

Good summation P-man of the current standing of each player. What concerns me over the season is that the FD haven't settled on a back 6, primarily because we don't have the cattle to play a zone defence. I like your selection of Vince and Trengove at half back. We need smart players who know where to position themselves on the field and are quality users. I've been impressed with Wagner and to lesser extent Hunt, but both need time at Casey to develop. The same applies to O. Mac. I fear that if we go with Sunday's defence line-up against the likes of Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong, WCE and Adelaide, we'll get smashed.

The most overused and overrated term in sport. Players are attracted by teams with winning cultures not potential. We haven't developed a winning culture and in the past 4 weeks, our losses to the Saints and Dogs says more about us as a club than the wins over GC and Brisbane.

Great call BB. At times, posters get obsessed by a players' draft position. Billy has received little fanfare, but hasn't made too many mistakes in the games he's played. I was disappointed when he was in and out of the side in the early rounds because I don't think he did much wrong. He's come back in and elevated his game to a whole new level. I actually thought he was a clear BOG on Sunday. The first of many I think.

IMO, that's garbage. The mentality of "winning isn't important" results in the following: 1. Senior players who have been brought up in a losing culture will lose their motivation and intensity as the year progresses. We went down this path under Bailey. How did that end? 2. We won't attract A Grade Free Agents like Hurley. 3. We won't attract A Grade out of contract players like Prestia. 4. It will make it more difficult to retain out of contract players like T. Mac, and to re-sign Hogan early. Other clubs around the same mark as us and higher can make marked improvements with some key acquisitions. We don't have a 1st round pick in this years draft, so a low finish is of no benefit. Look, I like our list going forward, but we need to be a destination club NOW. That means winning at all costs.

Height is irrelevant. The most important skill of a key defender is the use of their body to out position or out strength their opponent. O. Mac displayed none of that, in fact he got out muscled by midgets.

Unlike many in the side, Newton has good foot skills. Could be a real asset to the team as a wingman.

Once again, someone exaggerates with the old "calling for his head", when a poster makes a legitimate assessment of a young player. I would have thought that we're at a stage that winning is all that matters. In O. Mac's case, development can take place at Casey where it's warranted, not inthe senior side where he looks overawed.

What a ridiculous analysis. Measuring performances of an individual (O. Mac V Dunn) based on the collective goals conceded by the team, without noting the merits of the opposition or where the game was played. Secondly, the fact that Brisbane missed so many easy set shots flattered the performance of the backline. Collectively, our back 6 looked second rate against probably the worst team in the comp. The work of Vince and Jones bailed them out quite often. You're very easy to please.

That would be great if he actually got the ball. He's one of the first out for mine.

I agree with Picket, O. Mac looks out of his depth at the moment. He was awful today against terrible opposition. Fumbled when he had time and space. Was incapable of putting any physical pressure on the opposition. I was crying out for Dunn today. That's not to say that O.Mac won't make it at AFL level. For years people on here have been bemoaning the fact that we don't give our youngsters time to develop. Here is a classic case where a player should spend time at Casey until he starts dominating at VFL level. As Picket said, O. Mac is probably a year and a half away.

Yeah, why did the Cats bother with Dangerfield when they had Horlin-Smith struggling to get in? There are inside mids and there are quality mids. ANB is an inside mid, Prestia is a quality mid.

Denham read that on Demonland, and thought he had a scoop.

Article gives no indication of his intentions either way. Only states that he's sticking to his original plan of waiting till mid-season. If he then defers contract talks till year end, then he's leaving.

I'd replace Bugg for Newton. Newton's disposal is elite compared to Bugg.

Never assess a players' performance based on their tackle count. Libba had an AFL record with 19, and Viney wasn't far behind. Champion Data's definition of a tackle is a farce.

Regardless of continuous years of service, he was available to be drafted by every club after we delisted him. It's absurd that he qualifies for FA.

Chook lotto indeed. Jetta's incident is similar to Jackson Trengove / Joel Selwood a few weeks back. Selwood gives Trengove one to the chest behind play and Trengove retaliates with one to the face. Instigator Selwood cops a fine whilst Tengove cops 2 down to 1. Vince very lucky, but I'm happy because I just brought him into my dreamteam last week.

Damn you DD. Don't get our hopes up like that, and then demoralise us with the post above.

Totally agree on Bugg. Hardness is putting your head over the ball and taking clean possession, not acts of provocation which Bugg is gaining a reputation. His disposal skills are the worst of any in the team, including T. Mac. ANB or Newton deserve a spot ahead of him.

No, but when the mids or defenders look up and the forwards are 10 metres clear rather than manned up, I know what I'd prefer. At least create some indecision with the ball carrier.

Everybody thought the Dogs would be bottom 4 last year. Beveridge is a brilliant coach, and shouldn't be undersold.

Everyone thought Beveridge was taking over a basket case. He lost the core of his talented senior players from day 1 (Griffen, Higgins, Cooney) plus his best player (Libba). Beveridge dared to win, Roos didn't. That's the difference.

Hunter, Wallis and Dahlhaus and several others were treading water till Beveridge got there. Beveridge instilled confidence and belief in his players from day 1. Roos found it necessary to take 2 years of a defensive gameplan before he had confidence in the players. When they have injuries, players of lesser ability can walk into the team a seamlessly fullfil a role. I pointed out before the game the interview with Craig Jennings and his effusive praise of the Dogs coaches. Make no mistake, Beveridge is a far superior head coach to Roos in the modern game.