KingDingAling

I thought Lewis was pretty average. I have thought he has been pretty average most the year. He may get a lot of the ball - but he doesn't seem to do a lot with it. However, I suspect he does drive high standards among the playing group, and I think he is well respected. I have no problem if Lewis continues to play below his best if we keep winning. But I don't believe we can run both Lewis and Tyson in our midfield. It is like Essendon running both Heppell and Watson.

Hannan was a smart pick. I watched him last year and thought he was up to AFL level. Taylor seems to be one of the better scouts out there. Hopefully he can get us a quality junior. Just keep our stocks replenished. It would be good if we could land a Fyfe/Cripps type player with a first or second round pick. It would just be a massive bonus on top of an already promising list.

He doesn't fit. Even if he did he is staying in Adelaide. Said that other week on air that he is just waiting for CBA to be announced. I have seen a lot of players say one thing to the media and do the opposite, but if Lever is one of them then perhaps he should go into acting. He was straightforward about his intentions of remaining a Crow. We have a back line that is growing. We don't need Lever IMO. He would be a luxury.

Its unlikely Lever won't be signed by seasons end. An after the game interview the other week suggested that Lever was just holding off till the CBA was signed off. Part of me is annoyed we don't have either Lever or Kelly. They are both exceptional talents, and it is probably only due to bad luck that we don't have at least one of them. Then the rational part of my brain (or what is left of it) tells me that if we did have either of those players - then there is no guarantee we would have Oliver, Petracca or Hunt. That is the beauty of the draft. Win some/lose some. I think we could still move heaven and earth to tempt one of these players though. But I only believe they would be tempted because as I player I would be tempted. We are a club on the up. Both Kelly and Lever should consider us - especially if they desire to come back to Vic.

Yeah well said. I think that stat itself only paints some of the picture. Then we have a look further and see where the player is positioned, but I agree that the eyes don't lie. I - like many - watch most MFC games, and after a while it becomes evident who is/isn't a great kick. I think Neville Jetta's reading of 88% is a number that matches up well with that I actually see. We do have a lot of players that don't use the ball well though. Jetta certainly stands out as one that does use the ball well. What I would like to see is a DE under pressure statistic - especially across the midfield. That is an area where we could be more be efficient.

Purely from a performance perspective I think Lewis has been underwhelming. Beyond that we don't really know the significance of his contribution to our game plan, and the effect he is having on our youth. I am definitely in the camp that believes Lewis is not all he is cranked up to be as a player, but I can also see our team is on the improve, and Lewis is most likely playing a big part in that - whether its at training, off field, on field (running patterns, etc).

He is going to be a good player. He is just young, and with youth comes inconsistency. But I think he is doing a good job down back. There will be games where he doesn't look up to it, and games where he looks more than capable. Today we seen both varieties in the one game. Hopefully next year and beyond we start to see the sort of consistency that comes with more experience.

What is the Tippett rumour on facebook?

Yeah, probably need this years first rounder to get him. About the right price, and if I were Sydney's list manager I would stronger consider it. They are going to hard up squeezing Reid in that cap, and if they do they are going to need to free up some $$$. Sydney are in a tricky position now. They have a lot of older types accustomed to top dollar, and they have quality young talent entering their first big contract. I rate Jones, but if they don't lose Jones - it will be someone else equally as good.

We have Hogan and Gawn out. GC have Ablett out - who will most likely be out next year for GC. It is just an ordinary game. May isn't playing on anyone of substance. He'd have his hands full with Hogan.

Trengove is more than serviceable as a ruck man. He held it down for Port last year. Would be a good back up for Gawn. Gives us an option for Gawn to rest down back - swapping wtih Trengove, or up forward - swapping with Watts.

Second rounder at tops. May isn't very good.

That is why we need Kelly. We have so many ineffective mids on the other end of Oliver's sharp handballs - that it is often a waste Oliver getting it out. We need to be more effective as a team. This is our single major issue at the moment. Oliver could get the ball out 25 times a game, but if he is putting it in the hands of someone who just hacks it out, then it is pointless Oliver getting it in the first place. We need a player like Josh Kelly who will not waste the football. Better yet, he would be a good chance of hitting Hogan lace out dead in front. There are plenty of players we could think about culling, or offloading in order to get Josh Kelly. He is what we need at the moment, and there are half of list of players we probably do not need. At present we are looking at a bottom 6 finish. Our draw gets harder here on in. We'll most likely need to make some major changes at seasons end IMO.

We can back our youth and still put in a reasonable offer for Kelly. There are a lot of passengers on this list. Get Kelly, then do some pruning. We overrated our list.

I hope so. We are sorely lacking a Kelly. I would give up a dozen Melksham's for a Josh Kelly. I hope we go all out on Kelly, he is exactly what we need. We need more effective players. At present we have a lot of solid battlers. We need some class.

We got Oliver being touted as a potential brownlow medalist, Petracca being compared favorably to Ablett and Gray at the same age. Meanwhile Jayden Hunt is absolutely carving up sides with his run and carry. Good times.

Good bet. Oliver isn't slowing down. I think he is that good that he could win it. Not sure we'll win as many games as Adelaide in the run home though. So given that Sloane is probably in front of Oliver atm, I think Oliver would do well with a top 3 finish. But anything can happen. Sloane may get injured, tagged heavily, or we may win more games than anticipated.

Providing he plays the year out strongly and his soft tissue injuries are behind him then I think he should be our target. His inconsistency can probably be put down to injuries. Hasn't had a real solid run at it. So far this year he has been Sydney's best forward. Reid is a serious talent. He would be a great get IMO.

Reid is an absolute gun. He should be target no 1 for us. Reid is the real deal. He is every bit as good as the best forward in the league IMO.

Zac Jones would be a good get. He takes the game on. Has a hardness about him. We are a hardened outfit. Jones would add to our side. Upgrade on Melksham.

Agree with all of this.

I will wait to see how Lewis executes over the next 6 months. I am not sold he is as great a kick as we've been led to believe. So far he has been sloppy by foot. There is a big difference between executing on a training track, and doing so in a game. The fact that Lewis does hit most targets on a training track - yet can't in a game - suggests that it is above the shoulders. He was also quite wasteful at Hawthorn as well. Found a lot of the footy, but could have been more effective. I hope Lewis has been working hard in his time off to improve his execution. He needs to.

Petracca already looks ready to explode. So impressed with his the past month. He has shown consistency, and has stepped up when we needed. I think if we were to put Petracca in the midfield that he would add a lot. I believe he is absolutely ready. I think he could be elite right away. I look at the game from the weekend and it is evident that either Petracca or Salem need to be added to our midfield - perhaps even both at once (but maybe down the track). Petracca is very physical. I hope we start him in the midfield from here on in. Now Hogan is back in, I would be starting Petracca as a mid. Many of our other mids - Tyson, Viney, and even Lewis - have been wasteful and sloppy by foot. Petracca as a player is effective, Melbourne as a team at the moment is ineffective. We need to put our effective players in midfield position IMO. That way we can give our forwards better opportunities.

Even as a forward Petracca is ahead of McCartin. Petracca is exactly the type of player we need in the midfield at the moment. He is effective with ball in hand - something many of our mids aren't. Petracca actually does something with the football when he has it. I hope he starts in the midfield along with Oliver and Salem or Jones.

Oliver is more effective than Viney at present. If Oliver is impacting Viney, then Viney needs to adjust. In comparison to most elite mids - Oliver would compare favorably in contested ball. He is a clean player. Viney may need to add strings to his bow. If Oliver is taking some inside ball, then Viney is going to have to get on the end of some of that, and work hard defensively - put on blocks, tackles, etc.