Tough Kent

My concern with a Weideman/Brown forward line would be the lack of defensive pressure once the ball hit the ground. Both of these blokes apply very little heat on defenders when they have the pill.

WB - If it's not too much trouble I'd love you to PM me the article. I just rushed up to the shop to buy the HS only to get home and discover it's in tomorrow's edition.

Oliver not happy with the lack of success and direction at Melbourne, so he decides to fraternise with Carlton... Okay. This is their 45th rebuild since 1995. If I was chasing stability and a club that was guaranteed to be at the pointy end of things in the short term I'd be heading to Carlton too. (Insert sarcasm emoji here.) Anyone see the irony in this?

The thread has gone very cryptic all of a sudden.

If you are a bit unsure about Polec can I suggest you go back and watch the highlights from our Round 23 game against North in 2019. I was in Hobart for that one and I remember watching Polec that day and thinking "This bloke is exactly what we lack". In a 5 point win for North he had 29 possessions and kicked 2 goals 2 in a BOG display in which he was the difference. I just remember his ball use being really good on a windy day where others struggled to hit targets. Maybe my judgement is clouded by this display, but if he can bring some of that to the table, well I'm in.

Me too, if possible. Much appreciated.

Why does going after Smith preclude us from going after talented kids? I thought having a balanced list was key?

The club might not have much say in this one. If you're told that there is no opportunity in the mid-field or on a wing, you'll have to fight for your spot as a defensive forward and there will be no guarantee for a contract beyond next year, you'd probably get your manager putting the feelers out too.

I'd love to know what people's definition of soft is? If it means not getting sucked into the contest at every single opportunity like 90% of our mids (bees to the honeypot) then I'm all for soft.

I've got a feeling they're going to have to think outside the square here. Are there any crash and bash big meat heads in the state leagues who compete in the air and on the ground like their life depends on it?

We really do overrate our own in here. In the last 4 years, Merrett has won 2 BF, finished runner up and come third. He is an All-Australian and 3 times made the Under 22 team of the year. He is a very, very good player who would instantly make our team better. He is an outside player who has been forced to play an inside role due to Essendon's needs. He would be our wingman for the next 8 years. Apart from one good year, what has Brayshaw achieved? And people think a straight swap is fair? Crazy. Merrett was forced out of Essendon's leadership group last year by their players because he was considered too driven to succeed and he needed to work on building relationships with teammates. These are not problems Brayshaw has. We would demand Brayshaw and a late first/early second round pick.

I generally let him be with rumours and stuff. But that throw away, unaccountable comment from McLure was eating away at me. I'm just glad there is no substance to it.

I exchanged texts with one of the players this morning. I asked him about Clayton and he said it was crap and he asked me where I'd heard the rumour. (He hasn't tuned into any footy related media since Sunday.) When told it was Sam McLure who started the rumour, he said that Sam loves a headline and not to read anything into it.(He then inserted a Pinocchio emoji which I thought looked exactly like Sam.)

Brown - contract next year

I'm unsure of who is in and out. I do know that ANB has been named but needs to get through training with a sore hip.

There will be 9 changes tomorrow. Possibly more with a ginger player or two having to get through training today.

I remember talking to one of our current players about Petty. He said he couldn't believe how Petty was throwing Hogan around in marking drills when he first arrived at the club and that he was going to be a star.

We take on the side that has beaten us 18 of the last 19 times. Their last four wins against us have been by 5 points, 4 points, 14 points and 5 points. They are missing a few, but so are we. Never has the expression "We owe this mob!" been more apt. This is a game we simply must win. Win today and we can have 6 days off to prepare for a huge game against Collingwood that could see us get the W column ahead of the L column. Lose, and I'd say finals are beyond us.

Why did the Duke leave?? Was it a monetary thing? I was too young to remember.

He has been told that if he wins the footy at a stoppage to put on the jets and use the footy more by foot.

I remember attending the first one as a young fella, and working in a small group of 10 people talking about fan engagement and getting kids to follow the Dees. The group contained Ron Barassi and a board member at the time whose name I can't remember. We sat around with butchers paper and brainstormed a number of different ideas, some fabulous and some not so. I know as a teacher, I was able to give them some insight into what kids want from their sports teams/stars. Melbourne have a diverse and skilled supporter group. If the club came away with 2-3 ideas over the course of the day then surely it's got to be worth doing again?

In the past 7 days I've listened to podcasts where Scott Watters and Brendan Goddard have both spoken about the disaster that was Seaford. They both mentioned how moving away from the club's heartland was foolhardy and how the players hated driving that extra distance to work every day. We won't move to Casey on a full time basis.

If he can bring his JLT form playing as a half forward against Adelaide to the season, I still think he has a lot to offer.

I was lucky enough to have Paul as a lecturer in my Teaching degree at ACU. He and his missus taught us teachers. He was a ripper! His playing exploits were before my time.