deespicable me

I went along today. Lovely day and a good session to see as they were starting a bit of game simulation and there was plenty going on. Just a couple of points to offer from limited viewing. One is that last year I thought we had the list in pretty good shape so I was surprised at how much we cut into the list. I thought we might just do the obligatory 3 or 4 changes but we did a lot more and it shows on the park. The newbies are all small to medium players apart of course from May and Preust and they are as keen as to make an impression. It looks to have regenerated the group a bit and with Oliver, Gus, Viney and Jones on the sidelines there was a freshness that I think is good for us. We looked young and hungry and I'm pretty sure the coaches are creating an atmosphere where positions are up for grabs and anything is possible. So I also saw the contested mark of KK and he also did another nice piece of play at half back from contested to delivery upfield that was impressive. I also saw Nietsche (No. 27 the philosopher) do a couple of nice things. Bedford is busy and was involved a lot as well. The intensity was good and I think the youngsters contributed a lot to that. The second thing I noticed was Vanders. He looked fantastic. He was in rehab with Gus and Stretch and clearly they are close to returning to the main group as they were doing contested stuff one on one and there were no holds barred. All three were going well, Billy is tracking very well but Vanders was excellent. They were one on one just holding and jostling until the attacker made a lead and one of the coaches Rooke kicked to the lead. Vanders marked most everything under good pressure and defensively was strong and aggressive and shut down his opponent. At one stage he spoiled Gus and took him to ground, it was strong play. He is clearly a leader and looks very focused, driven and I'd say as fit as he's ever been. I'm so glad he stayed with us and I reckon he could be a great player for us this year. Just on the rehab group or groups, in making your way back to the main group you work very hard, harder than if you are in the main group itself. So even though most of the players in re-hab could easily join in the pace of the main group it is never gifted and you have to tick every box before they will let you back.Finally one of those guys Jack Viney is looking fantastic as well. He was charging around the boundary and while he would hardly blow out a candle Baker was totally gassed. Jack is another right on track for a massive year.

I liked Burgo a lot even though he was a bit lightweight but that was a pretty good interview

Are the rucks part of the midfield? If they are Richmonds back up ruck is non-existent. With the new rule of the ruckman being able to grab the ball out of the ruck Grigg is not an option anymore. It's quite a rule change. Obviously Martin is class and Cotchin and Prestia very good but their lack of a back-up to the bullocking but limited Nankervis means they can't be ranked ahead of West Coast. A ruckman who takes direct possession of the ball from a bounce, throw-up or boundary throw-in will no longer be regarded as having had prior opportunity. Every time Grigg is in the ruck the opposition will just take possession and hand ball to their midfrield. Maybe Lynch will have to ruck more often. Ha, a multi million dollar back-up ruck.

The "Preuss insurance policy" is a good one to have as I think there are more than one area he can help us get better. The obvious is as a back up to Max and a training partner to help improve Max, but with Hoges going as well there is a lot of pressure on TMac and a still young Weideman to deliver in the forward line. I think playing Preuss as a ruck/forward could help our forward structure a lot. He will make Weideman a better player with his physical presence, we become more flexible and unpredictable with our forward structures and more consistent in the ruck and harder to match up on. Imagine Preuss versus Grigg! I don't think we'll necessarily play three talls in our forward line every week, but there is certainly a lot of sense in recruiting him, and you'd have to think he has been promised games. With the addition of Pruess and May we may be the equal of West Coast who would probably have been considered the best tall team in 2018. Add that to our rising midfield and I can understand our "champion data" rating as a very strong "on paper" team heading into 2019. I hope the plans pay off.

Got to add Billy Stretch to that list, I think if he is over his navicular problem he will probably get first crack and I also think/hope Baker may push for a spot this year. I liked Corey whenever I got to see Casey, he is probably behind a few but agree he will offer genuine competition for a spot.

Somehow I don't think the first round can come quick enough for Wattsy

Yeah sure, all this is accepted by most, they see the Hogan out May in scenario loud and clear. What people aren't so sure about is the trading out of a potential champion of the game, a Brereton or a Carey for a bloke who has shown his full potential and sure we can build a defence around him but he won't finish his career as a champ of the game. Also sure you have to give up something significant to get something that you need but look at Richmond getting in Lynch. We give up two first round picks for Lever, I think we just want very fair at worst compensation for Hogan, if not overs. Or don't do the bl@@dy trade!

If Hogan doesn't go this year I would think he won't go there (to freo) for quite a while. He has ummed and ahhhhed about moving home and really when you look at it I think he thought he might get on a good contract and be on easy street for the rest of his career. I reckon this is a good thing, He might just dust himself off and having come so close to the crap of off-season moves re-focus and get stuck in. If this deal doesn't go through (and I hope it doesn't) we may see clear air with Jesse, not the "will he won't he" scenario some posters are afraid of. Hold out, hold out.

Long time reader first time poster on this subject and most every twist and opinion has been canvassed. My only point I would like to add to the discussion is we should never lose sight of the fact as to how good Hogan may yet become. I think this trade is short sighted. Looking to build a side to win the flag in 2019. And that is fair enough. But if WC get Kelly from Geelong they will be the team to beat. And if we don't win the 2019 flag we could rue our decision to trade out Hogan. Remember he hasn't yet committed to the whole idea of playing professional football. If he does when he turns 26 he will be a superstar. We are being short-sighted. I really hope he stays.

Pick 1 next year is a great bargaining tool, think Kelly from GWS, so this years pick 5 and next years pick 1 would be a great trade for us if that was the scenario that played out.

It's unbelievable. It's just so obvious the umpire influence on the game and not a thing. Worst umpiring I think I've seen in a long time.

What about Roughead in the last qtr. Grabs the ball, stops running and gets carried to the ground for a free. Watch Reiwoldt if he gets under the ball he just stops running and any contact he goes to ground. F#ck me thats just selective f#ck'n journalism. If Clarrie got half the frees of these so called superstars he'd be even better. The number of times he had to go for the ball on Friday night with only one hand coz Shiels had hold of the other one and there was no free. They can all get f#cked, especially f#cking Richo, his Tiger mates are the worst. They've always got their hands in the air appealing for the free.

They don't give them away. They're very hard to win. And gee.w.s. has had the rolls royce of lists and may never get there.

That handpass from Shiels back to Sicily was a step backwards! A glorious step backwards

I think he's a definite keep. His second half of the year has seen him come along really well. He will take over from Nev in two years. Anyway I would think we will only want to pick up two or three kids and maybe one or two rookies this trade period. Our list is in great shape.

My thinking is a tariff system where a top four club is slugged an extra fee into their salary cap. A premium over the wage they are offering Lynch of something like 10 or 15%. If they are giving Lynch 800 a year for 4 years then then 80 to 120 gets taken off their wage cap. This makes it harder for the top clubs to get a free agent. You could also offer a tariff the other way for the bottom clubs so if a Carlton pays 1.2 mill a year for a Lynch as a free agent they might get a 10 or 15% discount meaning only 1.08 mill is put under their salary cap. It might help even it all out a bit. It's clearly wrong at the moment.

Is that you Barry?

Jack Watts

I liked Spargo's kick to Tom Mac in the third.

Confucius say........ There are many potholes on the path to glory

Good teams overcome bad umpiring. West Coast sit second on the ladder, so should be a good team. They won the frees count yet they still complain? Imagine if they actually get a free kick count against them!!! I thought it was good finals like umpiring where they err on the side of not paying the free. Clearly West Coast will be better with their two forwards back but I think Nik Nat and Gaff are massive losses and the West Coast fans will have plenty to cry about in the next few weeks.

Is a corked hammy serious? Obviously not as bad as a hamstring tear but if there's bleeding into the muscle or something??? Will he miss this week?

The two 'feel good' stories of 2018 right there. Couldn't have happened to two more deserving teams. Hopefully they keep drifting south next year as well

We've definitely improved on last year even if/when we miss finals because this year we have 3 games to fail in wheras last year it was only the last game against Collingwood.

The Doctor is in. Salem was great in the last and a big reason we got back in the game. I'd also add that Tyson's second qtr when he was on the wing was atrocious and more of a factor in the loss than Lewis. His missed shot on goal went straight down the other end to begin the 7 goal onslaught by the swans then missed tackles on Hannebery and a turnover were instrumental in two more. In the second half he was much better but I think he played inside more, his natural game. The Swans and Longmire were always going to put time into restricting Lewis and exposing our weakness's. He is a gun premiership coach who constantly gets the Swans up for against the odds wins. We are an immature side still and haven't developed gun leaders yet. Cotchin is the best Captain in the league by a mile and in my opinion Richmonds most important player. But there were two seasons where they were criticised for on-field leadership. Stop tearing up after every loss and look at the bigger picture. Lewis has been a fantastic addition to our side and as we develop other leaders he will hand over to them.