TeamPlayedFine39

There’s a lot of 04/05 Aaron Davey about him. May have a higher ceiling, but that tenacious efforts and agility is very early-Davey.

Jack Watts... didn't he debut against Collingwood..?

In all fairness, the OP is about potential and it makes for an interesting and confusing analysis. On paper, the line-up is very strong and there is undoubtedly talent across each line. The question probably is why/how/when that talent will translate into performances better than some of the stronger Mebourne teams of the past few decades.

I think it's a matter of talent vs team or, dare I say, team of champions vs champion team. There's an awful lot of talent in the current line-up, but we are not playing as well collectively as the 2000 team. There was a stack of talent in the '94 team, but there was not an even spread across the park - namely the defense and midfield were significantly weaker talent-wise that the forward line. Let's not forget, for all it's talent and enthusiasm, that team only made the finals after beating Sydney in the final round. Lose that and the '94 team finishes outside the 8 and is not talked about again. From the weekend, you could find a role for: Gawn Oliver Petracca May Viney Langdon Salem Harmes Hibberd Mostly midfield and defenders and, on current form, you'd probably consider Lever and Oscar too. Our starting tall backs in the 2000 grand final were: Ingerson, Nicholson and Collins; good honest footballers who could play a role, but certainly not incredible players. Again, a starting midfield of White, Rigoni, Leoncelli and Woewodin were playing very well collectively in 2000, but I would have my money on Gawn, Oliver, Petracca and Viney to be getting the ball out of the middle ahead of them.

Would be very curious to know which coach gave which one vote to Sicily and Weideman. Also somewhat surprised to see May in there. Really enjoy the coach's votes - they give a great insight. PETRACCA 5, 5 GAWN 4, 4 OLIVER 3, 2 VINEY 3 MAY 2 SICILY 1 WEIDEMAN 1

I've never really noticed his ball-drop until recently. It's not so much 'high' as it is forced down onto his boot from up high. It's as though he's standing in the middle of a pack and slamming it onto his boot as he doesn't have the time/space to build momentum. The problem being, he uses this ball-drop even when he's running into space.

Clarkson is an exceptional Coach but he simply doesn't have the cattle to execute a winning game-plan. I think the last few years we've seen Hawthorn artificially propped-up by some aging stars, NQR imports and some coaching ingenuity. But the talent coming in has not matched the talent going out (including Fagan). We're now going to see a power struggle (ego-clash) between Kennett and Clarkson, similar to what we saw 2009-10. I think the media is going to lap it up and there will be genuine pressure for the Hawks to have a fresh start with Mitchell and for Clarkson to take over a ready made list. We're already seeing shades of this through Jordan Lewis and Kennett last week.

Expected release date is 14th of September. Have to sell all the space, then get them made.

I think it'll be TMac for Jackson. Probably best if Harris Andrews isn't playing on Weid or Jackson.

Viney's aggression. Gawn's marking. Pickett's speed. Petracca's strength. Defensive pressure and workrate.

Like the Geelong vs Carlton game. Port should be up by 20.

That was silly/selfish of Dixon. Rushed his set shot because he was concerned about the ump sending him off for the blood rule.

1. He's injured. This has been covered already and you are choosing to ignore it. 2. I believe that in 2013, being offered a young, former pick 3 and pick 9 is a good deal. The trade was and still is equitable. We take Cripps with that pick, then we've completely have nailed it. In 2013 we had Nathan Jones in the middle with an 18yo Jack Viney... then that was it.

It was a good trade and the right thing to do at the time. We needed someone who could step in right away and it was always about weighing up the odds of two potentially good players vs one potentially good player. If the Salem pick went to recruiting Cripps at pick 12, then it would have been a master-stroke. It’s swing and roundabouts. Not to mention that fact that Roos has said several times that that pick was never going to Kelly, but to Billings. Its very easy to snipe in retrospect, but even 7 years later you’ve err’d; if we had kept Pick 2 we should have used it on Bontempelli. Drafting’s much easier a decade after the fact.

Was happy for Dom to stay and thought he still had something to offer the club. The way his career has planned out though doesn’t detract from an excellent 2014. 22 games 16 goals 24 disposals (ave) 5.5 marks (ave) 11 Brownlow votes from a 20/21 year old in a 4 win season. This thread probably says more about the person who bumped it than it does Tyson and the MFC.

'All bets are off' - David Schawrz Incredible insight.

I rate Daniher and think he's a very talented player, despite that god-awful jumper he wears. His goal kicking record against us however is diabolical: Joe Daniher Vs Melbourne 5 games / 9 goals / 15 behinds That gets worse when you consider that he kicked 5.0 against us in 2015. When you take that match out he's kicked 4 goals 15 behinds from the remaining 4 matches.

In addition to a stalled development and significant health risks/issues, I'm not convinced he's a good enough player to succeed at the top level. He was never a big goal kicker or accumulator at Jr level and he doesn't seem to have the speed, agility or tank to make a big impact at senior level. If he does come back, I would say it'd be StKilda that gives him the opportunity.

Is he a bit too 'nice' to be a big-bodied AFL player..?

Yep- 500k is very little for a mature free agent. He’s out of form; when in form, he’s best 22. Hill was not a free agent; he’d have cost a fortune in cash and picks.

This is utterly ridiculous that posters are complaining about a draft that hasn't happened yet, a player that hasn't been selected yet, in a season that's only one quarter over. As some have said, but some chose to completely disregard, we won't know if it is a good trade or a bad trade until all the players have been selected and played some games. Even if it is pick one, there is no guarantee that Nth picks up a better player than Pickett. Surely Melbourne supporters understand better than most that pick numbers mean absolutely nothing. It's amateurish, outrage generating, click-bait and the usuals are falling for it hook, line and sinker.

Yes, he’s in my team.

It’s only a bad trade if the players we took turn out to be worse than the players Nth take. If Pickett is the next Cyril Rioli and Nth takes the Toumpas, then we win. Cant judge any trade before the players take the field.

‘Thin ice’ was perhaps too dramatic, but while he’s a talent, he’s still very raw. Will be a good player, but no rush at this stage.

OUT: Rivers: has showed some good signs and I'm confident he'll be a player. With some errors creeping in, needs to take a break and develop and freshen-up away from the spotlight. Smith: He has his fans on here, but I'm not one of them. Bringing in Oscar as a stopper should free up Lever. vandenBerg: Huge fan of his, but he's not making a big enough impact. Can hurt the opposition with his tackling, but doesn't hurt them with his possessions. Hunt: Not a natural ball-finder and therefore needs a lot to go right for him to have a big impact. Plays a similar style and role to Hannan but, as Hannan kicked 3, Hunt goes out. IN: Jetta, O.Mcdonald, Bennell, Weideman FB: JETTA MAY. LEVER. HB: SALEM. O.MCDONALD. HIBBERD. C LANGDON. OLIVER. TOMLINSON. HF: BENNELL. T.MCDONALD. BENNELL. FF: PICKETT. WEIDEMAN. FRITSCH. Fol: GAWN. BRAYSHAW. PETRACCA. Int: HARMES, HANNAN, VINEY, LOCKHART THIN ICE: Pickett, Lockhart, Melksham.