TeamPlayedFine39

He along with Stanton would have retired at the end of last year if they had played. There is zero doubt that Watson was an exceptional player, but he has played on a year too long.

Doubt was creeping in... That's why we got him.

Being the second best footballer in the Jones family certainly doesn't make you a dud.

I feel he is quite highly rated by Sydney who took him early in the draft and signed him up for an extension very early on. He's a significantly better player now than then, so if they're letting him go, the salary cap situation must be pretty dire. He's finding the ball a lot more this year and his disposal, while at times sloppy, is also improving. Nathan was a bit of a butcher by foot early in his career if memory serves correctly. Would take him at the Dees.

This perhaps could have been a very good thing - couldn't then sweep it under the rug...

Sort of feeling that six weeks was probably best case scenario... as bad as it is, I'm kind of relieved.

I have never seen a player, let alone a Melbourne player, with hands and vision like he has; it truly is extraordinary to see the things that he can do. With that said, he is still undersized for his position and when he starts to utilise his strength and breakaway speed a little bit more, he will be in the top 10 players in the comp.

The injuries this season have made me sad. The suspension have made me furious. Hogan played like a guy who hadn't touched the ball in three weeks and when he tried to handle it in the wet, you could see the time out had effected him. While we talk about injuries effecting matches, the absence of Lewis, in tight finishes such as round four and last night, has been very telling. We traded him in for those exact circumstances. He will be a big inclusion and he owes us big-time. And yes, Hibberd was well worth the wait! GUN.

IN: Lewis O.McDonald, Bugg OUT: JKH, Spencer, Smith B: JETTA T.McDONALD HIBBERD HB: HUNT O.McDONALD VINCE C: SALEM JONES LEWIS HF: ANB WATTS BUGG F: GARTLETT HOGAN PETRACCA FOL: FROST OLIVER TYSON Int. VINEY MELKSHAM STRETCH HARMES

I think being dropped off the ball and having your own team mate kick the ball into your head should fall into the 'bad luck' category.

You might have noticed over years that very average footballers have a knack of carving us up...

Saints have a massive gulf between their top six and their bottom six- too many passengers to beat a quality team over four quarters.

This could be interesting... Thanks for the reports everyone!

Yup! Opening round of the centenary year 1996- Ablett snr helped himself to a lazy 9.6. I suppose I should be glad I saw a great player in full flight... wasn't much fun at the time though.

I don't see either Adelaide team having a place on their list for him. While he's still playing decent football, his decline has been sharp and he is not the player he was two years ago. So, as others have suggested, perhaps retirement is being considered for the end of the year. Will be 33 at the end of the season and,Sam Mitchell aside, bringing a player of that age onto a list is very rare.

This offence is stupid, but far from insidious. In regards to Melksham as a player, I'm prepared to cut him some slack following a year out of the game. Certainly needs to lift, but he's not the only one at the moment. He has the attributes to be a good player; he's just looking a little lost out there at the moment. I think a lot of people had already made up the mind about Melksham when we traded him in. He clearly has a lot of work to do to endear himself to the supporters.

Exactly. A lot of trash being dished to a 19 year old, injured, key position forward.

There is waaaaaaay too much premature back patting going on here. I too am very happy that the Saints went for McCartin over Petracca, however it's too early in their respective careers to call it a win and it's definitely too early to call MacCartin a dud pick. We're sounding a little bit like: Fremantle supporters over Rhys Palmer. Carlton supporters over Matthew Kreuzer. Brisbane supporters over Daniel Rich. Port supporters over John Butcher. Melbourne supporters over Gysberts, Morton, Grimes, etc. and, dare I say, West Coast supporters over NicNat... Petracca will be a star, but it's too early to scream it from the rooftops. Give them all (Brayshaw included) time and an injury free run at it. I'd take Paddy McCartin at the Dees in a heartbeat!

Or that there was no longer a place for Jetta in the back six...

I think that's the club line that we'll be hearing all year. It's the 'No one is a walk up start... everyone must perform... no guarentees... etc, etc, etc.' Someone will say it about Lewis next week too.

I think he has a strong inside game and 28 disposals to 3/4 time indicates that he's finding plenty of the ball. He is extremely strong aerobically which will see him find more and more space as the game wears on with the reduced rotations. His tackling and one percenters have always been a strength, he makes good decisions, runs to the right places and has excellent disposal. All these attributes would have been handy in the fourth quarter against the cats and the third against Freo.

On that quarter, Pederson looks to be in some form and is almost inrecognisable with his streamlined physique. Hibberd very rusty, Brayshaw and Trengove good, but not great.

We were destroyed in that match and the ground was essentially flooded. If we judged everyone by the standard of that game we would have delisted 16 players last year.

All eyes on the VFL tomorrow. Looking for strong performances from: Kennedy (Hannan on the HFF is yet to convince) Hibberd (Worsfold has said his returning players have 'Hit the wall.' Melksham looks similar. Trengove (emergency yesterday in a team with some questionable skills under pressure) Pederson (Weideman has struggled recently and the corkie yesterday in the opening minutes restricted him) Smith (Bit stiff to be dropped after one game - needs to clunk a few) Brayshaw (There's a spot there for him if he can turn his form around) Our success this year is dependent on the pressure coming from the seconds. Though our depth is already being tested, we need an in-form Casey to keep the pressure on the seniors and for the development of the fringe players.

It's round 4. Richmond aren't top four and Sydney and hawthorn aren't bottom three. It's simply too early to tell.