SaberFang

That happens when your whole team is full of divers and the umpires are too incompetent to call it for what it is.

Sydney have looked very good but they've had some howlers along the way. Losing to Richmond after the siren was embarrassing, as was that other game they lost in the dying seconds (forget who they were playing). Brisbane nearly toppled them as well, so they're inconsistent. Not a great day to be inconsistent though, if they give up top spot on the ladder due to Norf they'll never live it down.

Ultimately, if we don't beat Carlton, we don't deserve to play finals anyway. Whatever the outcome from this weekend (or next), the right team will make the 8. If North can defeat Sydney or GWS, they probably deserve to cement their spot (despite hating the wankers with a burning passion hotter than the sun). If Melbourne can't defeat Carlton after their second half to the year, we clearly aren't mature enough to make an impact in finals footy.

Of all the weeks for Dick [censored] Santo to crank it up. Lift in Q2 Sydney, top spot is up for grabs here!

Collingwood have handled the Cloke situation soooo badly. They have no leverage at the trade table after treating him publicly with such disdain. Very reminscent of the Garlett/Malthouse situation at Carlton, though obviously with a far better player.

Dawes, Grimes and Dunn to Brisbane for pick #2. Key forward, key defender, midfield depth. Win win.

I really don't know why people keep suggesting Grimes has currency in a trade. He's a free agent, soon to be a delisted free agent. No sane club would ever trade for a free agent. Therefore, we should try to trade him to Brisbane with our third rounder.

Well it's hard to go south from the wooden spoon.

Yep, reported by Caro just then on 3AW. Has requested a trade, presumably to us.

It would be great if Sydney could do us a favour and bridge our remaining percentage gap in the one game today. That way we just need to focus on getting over the line and not the pressure of belting Carlton. The best thing is that Adelaide, Geelong and Sydney will all want to smash their poor opposition this weekend with top spot up for grabs. Great inventive for them to destroy Norf.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/jesses-story-brave-big-hearted-and-many-more-things-to-do-20160819-gqwmi0.html Touching article by Emma Quayle on Jesse's progress. Great to hear that Jesse was able to see his Dees topple the reigning premiers a few weeks back. Let's hope we can turn it on for him in the last two rounds and give ourselves a shot at finals.

Hmm, Hawthorn don't turn up to their second game in three weeks! They really should start turning up to games instead of consistently not turning up. Silly Hawks.

I feel rather conflicted that I would rather see GWS take the premiership it it means Hawthorn finally [censored] losing one.

King and Healy heaping praise on Melbourne tonight, essentially crediting our team for setting the blueprint on how to defeat Hawthorn. Provided identical examples of clearances the Eagles have taken directly from our win. Once again we were ahead of the game and our footy department has worked out an opposition team that others haven't. A bit like Roos working out how to destroy Hardwick's systems from the very first match.

Guess the Hawks haven't shown up again, which we've been reminded all week is the only reason we were able to beat them a few weeks ago. Seems like it's becoming a recurring problem for the Dawks.

I don't get the changes either but I guess it keeps the team fresh. Clearly the coaches don't think Kennedy or Salem are in form, as they seem the obvious replacements for those omitted.

Cotchin is so overrated it isn't funny. He could scratch his ass and commentators would fawn over it.

I think this could end worse for Richmond than the Judd deal for Carlton. They'll end up missing a gun at pick 6 in the draft (Kennedy) who will go on to dominate within a year or two and make every Richmond fan cringe for the next decade.

It's actually possible that Richmond could remain in the 7th-12th bracket for another ten years purely off topping up alone. They will most certainly never get close to a Grand Final, let alone a premiership, with the current core they have. And they clearly have no intention of bottoming out and rebuilding from the ground up, despite how obvious their garbage list is for every non-Richmond supporter. It's going to be a glorious period of Anzac Eve matches in years to come; one that could rival Colonwood's QB record over us.

I was a big fan of this recruitment 2 years ago, but it's not looking great at all. I can't believe it was a 4 year deal.

And hopefully, the more we improve, the easier to land free agents that don't cost us anything.

Frankly I think our inside midfielder stocks are perfectly fine without Prestia. Let's look for more aggressive outside run this trade period, and probably for half the cost (draft pick wise and salary cap wise). I think the club had the decision between Oliver and Prestia last year, had he chosen to come to us. He honoured his contract, we took Oliver, the rest is history. Why bother pursuing him at that price one year later? Let him be a burden on another club's salary cap.

Don't forget Yarran! Boy, has he been a success!

Well if three consecutive straight-sets finals losses wasn't hint enough, it seems the abyss of 13th place hasn't hit home yet either.

Well let's be frank here, why the hell else would you go to Richmond except if they were insane enough to offer you $1M more over a contract? Especially if you had concerns about your ability to play football for much longer; I'd be setting up my superannuation fund as well.