Gator

No mate, you're just an hysterical alarmist that believes all that you're being fed. CO2 is .04% of the atmosphere and doesn't drive climate, the Sun does. The following is not hard to read (one page) and won't take long. Do yourself a favour and have a read, but try to open those eyes while you're doing so. http://edberry.com/blog/ed-berry/new-study-sun-not-co2-causes-climate-change/

They're a destination club, which allows these trades and keeps them from bottoming out. As you say, they do it very well. *Geelong and Hawthorn won flags on the back of draft picks (and being great clubs). Sydney won flags off the back of trading. Hawthorn have also won a flags off the back of trading and Geelong are following suit in an attempt to replicate their success. So it's fair to say both draft picks and trading are very important. When you get those early (top 5 or 10) picks you have to nail them. We've got 8 top 10 quality draftees in the last 4 years and if we win a flag it will be due to Hogan, Viney, Tyson, Salem, Petracca, Brayshaw, Oliver, Weideman. Draft picks 1 through 5 average 114 games of AFL footy over 32 drafts. Draft picks 18, 19, 21, 24, 25, 27 (the ones you've listed above) average 63. To trade these out for a known quantity makes sense. So I'd say 'some' draft picks are overrated, but early ones can set your club up for a decade.

To help...

I don't have the time or inclination to write a book about Watts, although I probably have cumulatively. But a couple of things that are pertinent to your response which are at odds with my view on Watts and 2016. Rightly, or wrongly, I'm under the assumption that he will spend a lot more time in the forward 50 than you're suggesting and that he will spend time equivalent to those other goal-kickers I referenced. I believe that we will win roughly 9-10 games next year and possibly more if we can get off to a "flyer" in the first 6 games. We've set our sights on finals, so the club will need a minimum of 270 goals, but around 300 would be the aim. Clearly we need more players kicking 15+ goals (Jones, Tyson, Vince and possibly Brayshaw). I believe Hogan will kick 60, Garlett 40, plus we need some mids/flankers stepping up with 20+. I believe Petracca can kick 30 goals next year. Howe kicked 28 one year, so I see no reason why Watts can't kick 35 (a minor concession for you). No need to add up all of these tallies and declare the grand total to be unrealistic, because clearly things won't pan out uniformly as I'm suggesting. These are aspirational, because I recognise we need to have more inside 50's and kick more goals. But it's the following where we clearly differ... Unlike you, I'd prefer Watts impacting the scoreboard, because if he's regularly impacting the scoreboard he's going to be in a more dangerous area of the ground, which by nature means he'll be upping his "goal assists". Watts isn't a high accumulator of the footy, so I'd rather he get his possessions closer to goal and I do believe he has the talent to be a difficult matchup and marking option. I know he's never been able to do it regularly, so I'm not confident he will, but for me, he's either hitting the scoreboard or he's not in the team. He just doesn't impact games when he's up the ground. It's pretty simple, give me goals and I'll shut up.

LOL. The Earth has been burning for half a billion years. Climate is always changing, Earl. Always has, always will. CO2 is one half of one tenth of one percent of the Earth's atmosphere and it doesn't drive climate change. The sun (along with 100 other variables) does.

Summed up perfectly. I suspect his "anxiety" is homesickness. Forgive me for not having a tear in my eye.

Perhaps you haven't been paying attention this preseason, as Watts has been earmarked for a more permanent forward role. Otherwise, I wouldn't be setting a benchmark for goals. That said, if he'd fulfilled reasonable expectations he'd already be a goal-kicker in that role. Glad to see though that you're happy for him to "continue improving his consistency". Perhaps when he's retired the penny will drop as to how modest and naive your expectations were. Just because Watts has been done to death doesn't mean it's still not a reasonable conversation to have. Especially at 25 and in his 8th year. I can only conclude that what you find an acceptable output is poor in my eyes.

http://edberry.com/blog/ed-berry/new-study-sun-not-co2-causes-climate-change/ Perhaps the good Doctor may like to read this paper when he has time and give a view. No disrespect, but I don't need Earl or Jara, who may talk about hot days in January, proffering an opinion. It starts: A new, peer-reviewed professional paper shows our sun, not our carbon dioxide, causes climate change. It also shows atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are an insignificant player, and possibly a non-player, in climate change.

It's not a debate. There are no facts in question to debate. But your evaluation of Stu has merit.

Intelligent response.

You're a dope, Earl. All 50 states in America were in snow recently, yet you pick out fires in a country that has always had fires. There's a reason that anyone with half a brain from both sides of the debate don't sight seasonally predicted extreme weather conditions. Earth to Earl - the planet will always warm and cool, always has and always will.

Keep lowering the bar, Stu, it's what you do best. Unlike you, I have higher expectations of a talented 196cm forward, who by all reports will be predominantly playing forward in 2016 (should he make best 22). Stu, it's his 8th year and he plays it as a 25 year old. What's your bench mark for him as a forward ? Mine is kicking goals. The odd nice goal assist won't cut it. Stu, the following players kicked over 50 goals last year: Stringer, Wingard, Gunston, Breust and Dickson (note I didn't include monsters) Stu, LeCras kicked 45. Even the home-drone McCarthy kicked 35 (in his second year). Stu, Gunston has kicked 39 goals or more 4 times in his 6 year career. Yes, we've been crap, which hasn't made life easy, but in his 8th year with a team on the rise and Hogan taking the opposition's best do you think it's finally time Watts can actually kick some goals ? Or were you happy with his 10 in 2015 ? Forwards need to kick goals, our team needs to kick goals, Watts needs to kick goals. Even the much maligned Justin Westhoff has kicked 20+ 8 times (2 x 30+). Watts kicked 21 in his third year, but you think I'm setting him up to fail in his 8th year by suggesting he should double that tally ? You and your "likers" have no clue and deserve to follow a crap team.

Your post is utterly irrelevant. Nor has it got anything to do with GW.

Merriment aside, he needs to kick 40 goals in 2016. It's his 8th year and last in contract, it's literally now or never. The talent is there, but will the mind deliver ?

I'd never spent much time researching the fors and against of satellite v surface temperature data, because it hasn't interested me much. The planet is always heating or cooling and after coming out of the little ice age some warming is to be expected. And I'm in the camp that some warming is better than no warming. I'm also dubious that a trace element that is one half of one tenth of 1% of the Earth's total atmosphere could be such a driver of temperature. And man accounts for about 3-4% of CO2 produced. CO2 has been far more abundant in periods when it's been colder than today. Trillions of dollars spent now on GW doesn't make much sense to me when future generations are going to have technology that makes us look like cavemen. And the UN makes it clear that the climate change agenda really isn't about climate anyway. Back to your excellent post. It seems you're right about this argument. Goddard posted this recent blog: https://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/the-satellite-deniers/ In it he points out a problem: The 1995 IPCC report, authored by none other than NOAA’s own Tom Karl, showed that satellite temperatures matched NOAA balloon data, and that neither showed any warming since 1979. That said, he doesn't counter or reference the types of claims you've made above. The bottom line for me, Doctor, is that models have nearly always been wrong for 40 years and always over predict temperature rises. And it's not hard to realise why they're wrong when the climate is influenced by 100's of factors. And for me, the driver of climate is the Sun not CO2.

The sooner Weideman and perhaps Hulett become mainstays the better. I'm also looking forward to Oliver, Stretch, Harmes and perhaps White locking down positions.

Inside Football's Best Demon's 22 - Brett Anderson (Dees supporter) Jetta I Dunn I Garland Salem I McDonald I Lumumba Brayshaw I Vince I Tyson vandenBerg I Dawes I Kent Garlett I Hogan I Petracca R: Gawn I Jones I Viney I: Frost I Kennedy I Watts I Bugg

True. Deleted.

You may be right and I'm not up to date with all the papers, but where is it stated that GWS were aware of him being "genuinely unwell" ? And what's wrong with him ?

Having a kick and giggle in your 20's isn't the same as growing up with the game and understanding its nuances, but kudos for having a go, chap.

I wouldn't expect an Englishman who's never played the game to understand.

So Salem played off half-back instead of wing ?

Frost is a far better backman, but unfortunately it looks like he's in line to play forward for balance/need and take the second ruck role.

How do you predict a problem when at the end of his first year he signs a 3 year extension ? When he was seeking a trade to Freo it was one year into a 3 year contract. He'd fulfilled 33.3% of said contract.