deanox

Yup, if you can't play without being aggressive or abusive or complaining then it's a you issue, not a rule issue.

Nah. It's easy not to whinge or complain or criticize umpires on field. Rugby players manage it just fine. Open your mouth or physically show disent, and it's a free or 50. Easy.

Ok I've been thinking about the changes this week and what that means for our composition and structure. We are 3 talls out (Gawn, Tomlinson, McDonald) for 2 talls in (JVR, May). Positionally, we effectively have 3 tall forward, 3 tall back and 1 ruck. Sydney have also named: 3 tall forwards (Franklin, McDonald, Amartey), 3 tall defenders (Blakey, McCartin, McCartin) and 1 ruck (Ladhams). Sydney have played a fast moving game, using lots of run. I can't help but feel we have deliberately tried to match that and make sure we aren't too tall, and slow around the ground.

It's pretty amazing isn't it? Selwyn said we had an "aggressive approach to rehabilitation" and I guess that's what we're seeing?

I feel like the public statement of dropping to make him an emergency is worse than telling us about an injury, don't you?

They've named him as an emergency, so definitely dropped not rested or soft dropped.

The named bench includes no talls (except TMac) so if May is a late out he is being replaced by Hibberd probably. Or are we allowed to bring someone into the 26 if there is a withdrawal? If so, what's the point of naming emergencies? I can't keep up.

It's an interesting challenge for a team challenging and with a good squad like we have. We want to make sure there are enough younger kids coming through to balance the profile. So really, one to two recruits who push into the 22 each year is the return we want. So in some ways loading up on a top pick is a good strategy for a team like us, provided the recruit will fill a current list gap or pending retirement.

This is a ridiculous post. They will have played three sides most picked to be bottom 4, and we will have played two top 4 and one (expected) top 8 sides. We had the hardest first three weeks out of all teams. Freo had the easiest. With Adelaide and GCS to come in round 4 and 5, unless they are 2-3 they are in serious trouble. Remember, their return games are against: Brisbane, Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney, West Coast, Western Bulldogs. Their fixture isn't getting easier.

At 0-2 and having lost to St Kilda and North, they are looking precarious. With that start it is a rare season that makes finals. But even if they do improve, it would be unprecedented to make top 4 from here, which is a massive win for us.

I think Jackson has the potential to be a star, but likely will carve out a solid career as a regular player who never quite achieves his lofty potential. Having moved to Freo there is also a chance the added pressure will be too much ala Tom Boyd. There is a risk they move him on of he doesn't perform quickly and they need to clear cap space.

Darcy turns 25 in June. While I would have happily taken him as part of a swap for Jackson, with Gawn and Grundy on our list, he would be crazy to come to Melbourne and be 3rd string ruck between the ages of 25-28. If he moves it'll be to be first ruck somewhere, or understudy (second fiddle) to a single (end of career) ruck.

0-2 makes them statistically unlikely to play finals. The fact they had what was considered an easy draw to start makes it a disaster, and difficult to recover from. Punters have them not making finals (based on current odds available). It's a massive win for us if they don't make the finals. Even just finishing 9th and we'll get picks 10 and 28 to go with last year's pick 13. Points equivalent of pick 2 (2517 points) for the trade. Drop to 11th and it's points equivalent to pick 1 (3000 points) they've given us!

IMO our bog in both games, so glad to see. Coaches votes for this week will be interesting.

Last year I had a couple of amazing overseas Dees watching experiences: - I watched Melb v Carlton while on the ferry from Kennacraig to Islay. There were definitely some fellow travellers who were confused by this very excited Aussie in a red and blue beanie. - I watched the QF in a bar in Berlin with a fellow demonlander and a bunch of other random Aussiules who showed up. The live stream in the bar was terrible, so I played it on WatchAFL on my phone and mirrored the screen to one of the TV's in the bar. A surprisingly effective solution. And yesterday I watched Dees v Brisbane on WatchAFL in my hotel room in LA, as a replay just after the game finished, not knowing any of the events or scores. Watching back all the delays and confusion, wanting to skip forward but not wanting to miss news on what happened or Max's knee, was a bizarre experience.

People will say "poor disposal, despite getting a lot of it". But Oliver went at 62% DE. Last week everyone gushed over Petracca's game and he went at 50%.

Basically the coaches votes @titan_uranus, well done.

I agree with this but the unsaid part is that without Oliver's game we lose. He isn't just an accumulator, he is dangerous and impactful with those stats. Which is why I think he is underrated: he might not change the game in a moment, but he changes it over 120 minutes.

Surely no one has Schache as an expected star. 1. He adds 200cm mature body depth to cover in case of injuries, and helps drive training standards because he is keen to impress the coaches. 2. With some strong form, he'll play 7-12 games and be a part of a deep, strong squad. 3. And there is a very very small chance that somehow it finally clicks and all his potential is realised. We expect 1. If we get him to 2 we will consider it a massive win.

Honestly they need to go div 1 and 2. There is such a gulf in skill between the top group and the bottom group, and only having a short season means it is uneven. - Have two divisions. - Play two 9 week seasons each year (every team plays every team once plus a bye). - Top 5 in Div 1 play a finals series for the Div 1 premiership. - Bottom 4 in Div 1 play relegation finals. - Top 6 Div 2 play a finals series for Div 2 premiership. - Div 2 Minor Premier (on ladder) and the Div 2 Premier (or losing Grand Finalist) gain promotion. - 2 up, 2 down, between each season. - With 2 seasons a year there is lots of chance to regenerate and change division composition. - Div 1 teams are excluded from the first round of the draft (maybe including Div 1 teams who get relegated). So Div 2 teams effectively get two picks before Div 1 teams, equalising further. This means: - many more competitive games, less blow outs or missmatches - heaps of great finals and relegation battles, twice per year. - time first finals/relegation playoffs for AFLM bye weeks (3 rounds reduced games) and second for September or October if possible - There is now a year round program with enough games that we can justify full time employment for all players (18 week home and away matches plus 2 x three week finals series'. - faster player development due to balanced competition levels and increased participation means faster league talent pool development towards a single full season in the future.

That sort of money can be life changing for people, but I'd hope that if we had any players in that position we were finding a way to look after them. The Tier 1 slots are pretty massive because they are just a bigger gap to T2. If they can find a T3/T4 player at a club who should be higher, that is $25-35k more. That could be the difference between working full time as well as playing footy or dedicating your professional life to football. For a quality cusp player with potential, it could help them become a star. I hope we are using the marketing budgets etc. to look after those players on low Tiers rather than propping up the big names. I recall that when Harris moved to Melbourne she got football Tier payments only (not marketing), and with Daisy gone, surely we have freed some up. I'd be particularly disappointed to lose either Zanker or West though.

Thanks @Dees_In_October. That Sarah Black article has similar thoughts: with T1 slots locked up to contracted players the most likely recruits are T3 to T2. Assuming my guessed Tiers are somewhat correct, I don't think we are in big trouble. I can't see many of Mithen, Harris, Paxman, Pearce, West or Goldrick being on the look to move. Lampard, Bannan, Gay, Heath, Gillard, McNamara, could get a bump, but would require a club to throw a T2 at them, which is a big call. Unless we have someone really in the wrong Tier (ie Hanks or Hire at T4!).

As an exercise, I tried to assign players to Tiers based on where I thought they would be at during last season. It's not easy to fit some great players into those Tiers and I'm sure I've got much of it wrong. But also, while we have plenty of players who are likely underpaid at the Dee's, it seems like most players would probably only jump one Tier at most. For example, would a rival club poach Gillard, McNamara, Mackin or Heath with a Tier 2 contract (top 8 players)? All promising players, but top 8 on your list is a big call. Would a rival club make West or Bannan a Tier 1 offer? I also think the new CBA will mean increased pay again, so even staying at their current club will see a pay rise. I'm not saying players won't leave, but that I think it is less likely that it seems, given the restraints on pay Tier. If they wanted player movement, instead of allowing pre-signings, the AFLW should have increased the T1 and T2 spots for those clubs. T.Hanks T2/T1 K.Hore T2/T1 L.Birch T2/T1 O.Purcell T2/T1 E.Zanker T2/T1 L.Mithen T2/T3 K.Paxman T2/T3 T.Harris T2/T3 L.Pearce T2/T3 E.West T3/T2 S.Goldrick T3/T2 S.Lampard T3/T4 A.Bannan T3/T4 M.Gay T3/T4 G.Colvin T4/T3 S.Heath T4/T3 T.Gillard T4 E.McNamara T4 B.Mackin T4 M.Chaplin T4 C.Sherriff T4 M.Fitzsimon T4 C.Wilson T4 J.Ivey T4 M.Caris T4

Hanks would surely be Tier 2, Bannon Tier 3, and Gillard probably T4 due to youth but should be pushing to T3 at the Dee's after the year she's had. So yes, they are at risk, but they are probably only going to be offered a one tier increase. Would you move to a bottom club from the reigning premiers for $8k?

The four teams who can sign players: do they have quality Tier 1 players already and if so, are the players they are likely to recruit from us going to usurp those players? There are only two Tier 1 and six Tier 2 players at each club. For money to talk, they need to be recruiting one of our lower Tier players to one of their top Tiers. If our Tiers are not in line with the true market value of players, then there is a genuine potential to lure. But overspending on a bottom player isn't going to help, and I think we'd be happy to keep our top 8 together and lose a mid range of that's what happens. I note the relocation bonus is worth up to $10k, which could be a bigger incentive, especially if they wanted to return home or were happy to move interstate.