TeamPlayedFine39

Exactly. Short contract and low wage. If he stuffs up- we pay him out and show him the door. However, hopefully he’s gained some perspective on life and his career and his family has given him the motivation to succeed at the top level. Im getting excited.

Not to mention it’s our first round one road trip since 1998...

Hopefully hasn’t looked at the fixture announcement today...

Obviously not ideal, but there are a couple of things in our favour... 1. Better preparation time. Top teams of 2018 all struggled in the opening couple of rounds this year against teams that had longer preseasons. 2. We actually have a decent record against WC over there compared to most: 2016: WCE by 6. (Dominated but we’re inaccurate- should have won) 2017: MEL by 3. (Close all night- great goal to win) 2018: MEL by 17. (Depleted Eagles but we dominated play all day) 2018: WCE by 66. (Can’t recall the details) 2019: WCE by 19. (Led all night until last quarter fade-out) 3. I’m predicting the Eagles to slide in 2020.

Yep- but as you’ve alluded to, there are big risks involved with that. Would hate to see him carve up the track with is Dec-Jan only to see Hawthorn descend from on high to offer a contract that trumps ours. If he joins a team for preseason, you can bet every club will be watching him very closely. Have to back in our medical team. If they think the can get him up and playing... I’m all for taking the risk.

It’s been reported since September that 4 clubs had shown interest, with Sydney being the only one revealed on the media. That number went to 6 clubs inquiring during the trade period. Geelong only came out as interested last week. Who knows! Quite possible we were one of the original 4 with Sydney. We’re generally pretty tight with keeping these things quiet.

https://m.afl.com.au/news/2019-07-30/bennell-finds-new-calf-guru-successful-surgery-identifies-nerve-issue

Love it!

I’d be looking to Lockhart, Chandler, Jordon and, of course, possibly Young coming in in the next month.

Has played two exceptional games in his 8 year career. No from me.

Of course there is an element of risk in taking Kemp - but that is why he may be available at pick 8 instead of going well inside the top 5. FWIW, I would take a player following a knee reco over a player who had torn cartilage in his hips. Completely different injuries and players.

I am convinced beyond any doubt that he was carrying an injury last year; he was a mere shadow of his former self. He looked slow, lacked agility and wasn't displaying the running power and confidence that we have seen every other year of his career. He was protecting his toe at stages during the preseason, but there was little to no mention during the season itself. If he's fit, we'll see the player we saw in the second half of '17 and all of '18.

Thought he was tracking well in the first half of ‘18 alongside Lever. When Jake went down, the pressure and focus on Oscar went up and he has gone downhill since then. Ive always had a soft spot for him as a player as he has been, for the most part, unfairly maligned. The excuses are running short now and (pardon the cliche) 2020 is a make or break year for him. He’d now be listed by most people as ‘key position’ depth, and there’s only so long you can keep a depth player on your list if they repeatedly don’t seize their opportunities. He’ll start the year at Casey... the rest is over to him.

Expecting these gags to be highly original and creative...

Still young, but ultimately it was a disappointing year after a day fantastic final five games of 2018. Will be interesting to see what Burgess and the club have in mind for him over the preseason. Does he bulk up to be that pack-breaking power forward, or do they build the tank for the repeat efforts/leads. There’s a player there... fingers crossed he come out to play.

Took you two weeks to put that analysis together..?

I think Stretch's kicking (ball drop included) was quite good. His issues were in decision making and not being able to find enough of the ball to hurt the opposition. He lacked talent, not technique.

Good on both of them. Never heard a bad word uttered about either of them and they certainly got the most out of the talent that they have.

Butcher was a lock for pick 2, twelve months out from the draft. Top 3 going into the U18 season were Scully, Butcher and Lucas... Things can change very quickly with these kids.

Young followed by Kemp please.

Does such a player exist full-stop..? 50 goals from a third tall seems like a lot. What are the 1 and 2 kicking??? (6 teams in the league had 1 player kick over 50 this year. No teams had more than 1)

And that's his choice - but just like any draftee, he goes to whichever club selects him. If he wants to behave like a free agent, he needs to earn that right through another contract with GCS. If he wants to enter the draft he can: a) Go to the club that selects him. b) Play a couple of years in the local leagues, then try again. I'm not just saying this as a Melbourne supporter - it is akin to draft tampering to attempt to scare away other clubs. The integrity of the draft depends upon honest engagement with the process.

Because you draft a player who will hopefully play for the next 15 years, not someone who will step in and peak from year one (palmer, Rich, Lewis Taylor). Losing most/all of your first year is not the end of the world. Cripps managed just 3 games due to injury, Max King was drafted with pick 4 following a knee reco and Hogan and Petracca played no games due to back and knee injuries. Draft for the long term. There's also nothing to suggest that he won't be back to his best when recovered. If it were a broken leg, I'd have big reservations, but there are plenty of examples to draw on where players have returned from knee injuries to have exceptional careers. If he's there at pick 8, I say we grab him with both hands.

Having a player of Martin’s talent fall into our lap is nothing short of a miracle. We have to take advantage of this. The memory is still fresh of Collingwood bullying Luke Ball through to pick 30 in the ‘09 draft. People have been calling for the club to grow a pair and take a stand... this is our opportunity.