deanox

The team he supported versus the team who wants to pay him double is a tough choice and he'll have to make that decision. The other part is a bluff game. Do they really want to redraft someone who said I'm leaving? Also, we can give up pick 20 compared to Geelongs ~15. Will Geelong want to trade a first rind pick? He is good but is he that good or that valuable to Geelong?

If we get a priority pick after our second round pick I'd be sending it to GWS for Adams. Adams for pick 20 is a good deal for us. GWS may want a lower pick but he isn't worth a top 10 pick and we won't be able to get 15 or there abouts without trading off something else. I'd also be willing to consider our second round and a player for Adams and their third round (about pick 40) if they want someone we are willing to give up.

Regarding development, some of the players like watts and Blease have now had 4 coaches in 4 years. That alone must be difficult for development, each coach wants a different game plan, players need pace or endurance, strength or speed. Playing forward or back etc. These changes disrupt development. Add to that the lack of senior mentoring, the lack of culture (regardless of whether ours was bad, it wasn't amazing like Sydney and Geelong), second rate coaches (again not bad but not premiership elite coaches) and lack of facilities and funding (which has now been overcome). Add in perception of tanking and the impact that has on players personally plus off-field drama. I think player development had suffered due to a combination of all these things. I don't think it's fair to blame any particular individual or reason for lack of development. I think we are now on the right track. Coaching is obviously an issue which we are currently addressing but get that right, combined with some footy dept and off-field stability and hopefully another experienced midfielder for mentoring purposes and we'll see marked improvement in development.

Great post. We got rattled. The dogs started winning the football and we couldn't get our hands on it. Watts' mark was so important because it got the footy back in our hands and allowed us to control the game again. My favourite part of the first 3 quarters was our chains of possession. It was great to hold onto the ball 3, 4 or more disposals in a row. This week if Sydney get on top of us we need to go back to basics and get ball in hand. Cheap easy touches on the back line is fine. I'm happy for then to kick it around, build up possession and try to work the ball forward. Even if it means switch back and forth looking for an option. You can't score if you don't have the ball. Also, having the ball in hand adds confidence to the players. This year we have tended to blaze forward which gives possession away.

He has also played on taller opponents and been more accountable in the past few weeks. I like Dunn as I think he brings a lot to the table and is versatile. Unfortunately his field kicking has let him down this year. He wouldn't be my first to delist because he is one of the few players who can plug holes all over the ground if needed.

Out of interest I wonder if the stint under Neeld with so much focus on defense, structures and the press will actually be hugely important going forward? We knew we had a list that could attack, and struggled with defence. We spend 18 months doing nothing but defence and then the new coach (Craig) says go and attack, but the defensive discipline should remain. We struggled on Saturday under an avalanche but we held on in the end and fitness was obviously an issue. I can't help but think the squad might be much better prepared and balanced as a result of the two extremes in choosing style and have plan. It may not be the ideal way to learn these things but the end result could be the same regardless. I still think we are a class midfielder lacking though.

They will have the cap space and the psd pick but a) do they want to over spend on a young mid when they are already overspending on others? b) will they have the cap space after buddy? c) do they really want to over spend and or redraft a kid who has said he doesn't want to be there? We should offer him 450k next year. Way more than he is worth but who cares, think of it as sign on bonus. Offer have to pay someone the cap money and most or current payers don't deserve extra. Offer GWS Spencer or Dunn. I would say offer a second round pick but that will probably be pick 20 and I'd like to keep that and make sure as much youth as possible comes through. Maybe depending on the offer we should consider it. If GWS want to trade they can, if not that's where the psd has value. The key is for him to say "Trade me to Melbourne". If he gets to come back to Melbourne for double he'd go to Geelong for it would be hard to spurn the money. Then we aren't trying to outbid other teams to GWS.

We only have a many draft picks as other clubs. But we should have lots of salary cap space. I'd be offering Adams serious overs in the money stake - more than anyone else can get near - and ask him to go in the psd. Offer something token to GWS if they want to trade for him - a player who we don't mind losing or a second or third round pick. But he is one of the better young mids available, let's throw some coin on a 2 or 3 year contract. We have cap space and I'd rather spend money on players than draft picks.

Interesting. 51 premiership coaches and only another 20 who got to a Grandfinal but lost. The top 15 coaches on the premiership won list have coached in 124 grand finals (out of a possible 226?) And won 63 flags between then...

in 114 years there have been 107 premier ship coaches but somehow 9 have flags flags at two clubs? With multiple flags I think we'd be looking at less than 50 premiership coaches in history. I wonder how many have gone on to coach at a another club? It would be interesting to know if that 9 reflects 50% of all premiership coaches who have a second crack or 10%.

Jetta and goodes both out for the swans

How many coaches have actually won a premiership in afl/vfl history?

Also big men take longer than mids to develop. A club with a gun midfield needs to buy kpp's as they take too long to develop. We have the kpp there or almost there and it will only take a year or two for Viney, Toumpas et al to step up. If we can add an experienced mid now we will fat tan that further.

Rjay I tend to think the same thing, he can't be terrible as he has such a long involvement in the game as a coach at different clubs. What I will add to that though is many of those years have been at Melbourne, no one had looked to poach him from us and we haven't been particularly successful during his tenure. I suspect he knows his stuff, I'd solid and well respected but isn't at the top rung as an assistant.

My take is that medium term . Line up with: FF: Dawes CHF: Hogan Forward/Ruck Clark Ruck/Forward: Gawn HFF/wing/utility: Watts/Howe That is one more tall than we've played the last two weeks but I think with the injuries they have preferred to play good players than just fill the structure. Fitzpatrick will be able to step up to cover any injury to those above. Spencer is depth, Jamar is at the end of his career.

Dunn has played as a KPD the last two weeks under Craig hasn't he? They have looked keen to have him one out in the last line of defence. He did that well yesterday but he was to small for Kosi last week when he played on him, and I think had we played Seller the game may have been different. He and Seller are currently competing for that spot.

Is it not worth keeping some of that experience on the board so we can learn from those mistakes rather than lose the experience and do the same thing again?

I understand your point so happy to agree to disagree.

I'm not on the board, correct, and the second half of your sentence has no relevance to the conversation. I have no problem with a director purchasing tickets to an international event such as that Lions v Wallabies match. It's quiet possible he was the With clients etc. We play 22 games per year, I'd be surprised if all directors were at every game. Not only for us, for all clubs.If he made a fuss about his arrival that's a different story and a different conversation. My comment was that attending the event isn't a problem, even for a director.

To be honest if I could have afforded the rugby is have gone too. It is an international event, one of the highlights in world sport and very rate in occurrence (lions).

I want him to make it but apart from that goal he may as well not have played last night. He runs 30% pace when he has the ball. He needs to use this pace to defend and he needs to use this pace to create offensive opportunities for us; he didn't even run hard to make position to win easy soft outside ball last night. I've read on demonland today that watts is the icing on the cake and then that Sylvia is the icing on the cake. My take is Blease is the icing on the cake; in a good team he will find himself on the end of some good opportunities where his assets - his pace - will allow him to impost the game, but he doesn't work hard enough to be an integral part of the team for me.

Frank are you suggesting we play better when Howcroft isn't there? Is he to blame for the fade out?

North would have lost. These things become a habit. We held on against a massive tide. It may have been luck but it is important they feel they can do it.

Gawn was stuffed and Frawley had to Rev him up just to get him into the centre Square for the bounce.

6 Watts 5 Jones 4 Rodan 3 Terlich 2 Dawes 1 Frawley Honourable mentions: Fitzpatrick was great, made a contest, chased and marked, but not quite as much impact as those above. Toumpas showed enough tonight to make me think he will feature in these votes regularly in the future. I thigh Gawn battled well against a much stronger more experienced opponent and gave us more than Jamar has this year. Trengove had a good first half but accumulated rather than impacted.