SaberFang

Well I hope he was paying attention on Thursday, because if there's a blueprint for the direction of this club then it's what the Bulldogs are doing.

Interesting. I assume this means he's meeting with a lot of players still in the country; which, arguably, would be players still in finals?

So GWS have won more finals than Richmond in the past 15 years. Better?

Geez, that's interesting if true and gives me a different impression of that final match. Guess 'Ol Roosy was in a rush to get that media career re-started. He's popping up everywhere now. And yes, a couple of backhanders in there from Track which surprises me (considering his personality). I've heard rumours for years but figured it was just rubbish.

The entire West Coast midfield is a bunch of downhill skiiers. Shown up two years in a row in important finals, and we nearly beat them a few months back on their home turf.

Under a magnifying glass.

Sacking a coach who had them on an upwards trajectory didn't help either. They've had no luck with injuries but Eade is clearly the wrong man for the job.

Sydney's medical report will do no favours to GWS after yesterday. Of course, it's one rule for some teams, another rule for others. Mumford will get off.

What unfair fixturing. Nothing surprises me though, given the teams involved.

If we'd had GWS' concessions under Neeld, we probably would've had Toumpas, Stringer, Macrae AND Wines on our list. GWS have had their fair share of stinkers along the way in the draft; but the AFL gave them so many picks as a safety net for poor drafting. Basically any idiot could've assembled that list with their draft concessions; any other club's list manager would be fired with first round selections like Boyd at 1, O'Rourke at 2, Plowman at 3, Pickett at 4 (0 games), Buntine at 5, Ahern at 7 (0 games), Haynes at 7, Sumner at 10, Jaksch at 12, Corr at 14, etc. Especially when you consider every other club only gets one shot at the first round every year. The reason GWS can sustain this every year is because other clubs are willing to give up their first rounders for a handful of decent (but not great) GWS players stuck in the NEAFL. And they're happy to do it because their list size concessions reduce every year until 2019.

You mean like how we had a chance of getting Mills under the new system? When we bid pick 3 but Sydney were able to match it with picks 34, 36, 37 & 43? Is that really any more fair than pick 18 for Heeney? The Academy bidding system won't stop these teams from getting their Academy players, nor is it meant to; it's designed to give the illusion of giving up "fair value" for a player.

It's not the identification of young kids that's the problem with Academies; it's the ridiculous ability to acquire said kids with crap picks when you're already at the top of the ladder. It's a farce; the most transparent mechanism since COLA of the AFL's desperate attempts to keep certain teams successful (as if all their manufactured assistance to Essendon wasn't obvious enough). Frankly, anyone who thinks the Academies are overrated is clueless. It's an equalisation-bypassing farce with a single purpose: to keep the Sydney/expansion clubs successful at the top of the ladder, while allowing them exclusive access to potentially the best talent in the draft in exchange for peanuts. This is despite Sydney finishing 1st, 4th and 1st over the last 3 years, but getting a free hit at the highest-polling first year players in consecutive NAB Rising Star awards.

So it'll be Sydney, Adelaide or Geelong vs GWS, Hawthorn or Bulldogs. Would love an Adelaide vs Bulldogs GF at this point, something fresh. It'll probably just end up Sydney and Hawthorn again.

Lindsay Thomas is a stain on the game. Nice to see BT calling him out now for his embarrassing tactics. Go Crows!

Yeah, you lost me there. It doesn't work this way. You're telling me that Fyfe and his manager have agreed on a trade to the Demons on the proviso that the personal life of another player may or may not go a certain way, that they may or may not request a trade to Perth? Player movement doesn't work this way and a player of Fyfe's caliber isn't going to make career-defining decisions based on the actions of another player. Not to mention Fyfe is a free agent at the same time Jesse's contract ends; the club would be braindead to trade for him right now if he wanted to come to us, especially when the full extent of his injury is a mystery to other clubs. I wonder, is this from your same source that promised us Josh Kennedy, Patrick Dangerfield and Dion Prestia over the last 3 years?

Geez, if that player's story is accurate, it's really disheartening news. I think I need another beer.

You know, Collingwood don't have a first round pick this year either but they certainly aren't having issues getting players through the door and making a play for them.

Maybe it's just jealousy, but it annoys me seeing how quickly Beveridge has transformed that team. They are very impressive and play like a team. Bontempelli has all the hallmarks of a superstar. And I haven't rated West Coast all year, so it's delicious seeing them failing at the first hurdle. The Dogs will play Hawthorn or Geelong next week; I know I'll be rooting hard for them then.

VINEY 1ST JONES 2ND Congratulations young Jack, so effing proud of you kid.

I think Maxy would find it very hard to ruck standing on top of Pat Malone.

Uh-oh. "Doesn't want it to make headlines," heh.