dazzledavey36

Because we didn't. If I remember correctly it Tim Lamb who was briefly interviewed on trade radio at the time and there was the discussion around key forwards and the question was asked if we had put our hat in the ring for Chol and he pretty much confirmed we hadn't By then it was a 3 way fight between Adelaide, North and Hawthorn.

We wanted to send Harmes off as a sub for cramping but the AFL officials on the interchange bench wouldn't approve it.

I agree. Jordon owned that wing spot in 2022 until his footy injury. We then tried to turn him into a half forward/midfielder which then meant he was in and out of the side.

It's finished already. I'm not saying we've already put the cue in the rack it's more just saying that this is the reality of it all. The doggies and Hawks are in mighty form and deserve to be ahead of us fighting out for 8th. I think the Hawks just miss out and watching the doggies today, I can easily see them shaking up the finals series just with the way they're going. Us missing finals isn't a bad thing though. Means some forced changes need to happen with the footy department in terms of coaching restructure. We'll see a few early retirements such as Brown and Hunter and then maybe there'll be hard decisions made on guys like Salem who may be put up for trade. The positive is with us already blooding some kids this year, we've seen that there is talent on the list. If we can really nail this trade and draft off season then I can see us bouncing back into finals contention next year.

If there is one thing that this thread proves it's the fact that people shouldn't be made to feel guilty about not attending. Mental health, terminal illness, cost of living, financial stress.. There's more to life then attending a game of footy. I saw the crowd number last night and I honestly couldn't have given it two thoughts even though I have previously been critical of crowd attendance. The only thing I wanted for the whole night was the win, everything else didn't matter to me. Kudos to the people who braved the cold last night. I live nearly 4 hours away and play local footy on a Saturdays so that automatically rules me out. I can't wait for retirement from footy because it means I can certainly commit more to getting down for a night or two to watch a few games. Last lived in Melbourne back in 2018 and went to a fair few games. That year was by far one of the more enjoyable years of attending live footy. I remember attending the last game against the giants at the MCG and you could feel the excitement and buzz around the area because we'd pretty much just consolidated our spot in the finals for the first time in 12 years and the pubs after the game was buzzing with Melbourne supporters! The finals experience that year was absolutely next level. Even the 2022 and 2023 finals series just didn't have that type of atmosphere that we had back in 2018.

Jordon being left on the bench in the grand final had zero factor into his decision for leaving. The sub rule at the time meant you couldn't sub anyone in whenever you wanted. It was an injury sub rule which meant that the sub would only be forced to activate if there was an injury to a player which we didn't have on grand final day. Plus, he played 2 solid years of AFL footy at the dees after the grand final. He left purely because he was offered a better contract and plus he wanted a change of scenery as Longmire sold to him that there would be a spot for him as a starting mid rotating on a wing as well. That decision was based off the 2023 year alone and not previous years.

We had the perfect opportunity to go after Mabior Chol last year when GC put him up for trade. He's kicked 29 goals this year playing as a genuine forward/ruckman which is exactly what we're screaming out for. Instead we go and put our chips in for Tom Fullarton instead.

I disagree. In what way would he elevate us? We've lost Angus Brayshaw which has been a far bigger loss then people underestimate, lost our midfield depth in Harmes and Jordon who usually provide cover for him around stoppages. Petracca has played more forward this year which then means the grunt work is left to Oliver and Viney now. A 9/10 Oliver would still cop a hard tag this year where we've seen more taggers then ever before. So of course he's not going to have his usual influence. He's not this miracle formula that determines between 10th and 2nd spot. There are far more underlying factors that that make up for this. We're also 2.5 win from being bottom 5 side. North, Port Power and Geelong were 3 games that were pretty much determined by a kick or more.

We're not deplorable, but there is absolutely no way Oliver is the difference between us being 10th spot to then 2nd if he was fully fit, that's actually pretty laughable. People making him out like he's Chris Judd or Gary Ablett that he's got that much of a superstar factor, he doesn't. A lot of things have went wrong this year. Even if Oliver was fully fit he'd still get the hard tag each week and unlike previous years he hasn't had the likes of Brayshaw, Harmes to protect him like they use. There are far more bigger issues then Oliver's form is the reason why we are sitting 10th and not top 4. I've posted my opinions previously. Have a dig around and you'll find it.

Hawks play such an exciting brand that is great to watch. Sam Mitchell has them primed for the next couple of years.

Lol Gruzewksi is 192cm Jefferson is 194cm tall. There is literally barely any difference between them in height. Gruzewksi is more a bigger and physical player which has translated onto VFL and AFL level. You also say Gruzewski had question marks? Jefferson had just as bugger question marks as Gruzewski due to his slight frame and lack of intensity. Those question marks still stand.

4 games to go with nothing to lose. If he can go into the back end of the year playing good footy then that'll give him the confidence to attack pre season and hopefully consolidate his spot in the best 22 next year.

Bailey Laurie has to stay in the side for the rest of the year. He played midfield and I thought he was actually decent. His clean hands in the wet stood out and there's something there to work with from a midfield perspective. 19 disposals, 3 tackles 10 contested possessions, only the 2 turnovers for the game and 24 pressure acts.

Thanks Pickett. I'd get him in next week. We have nothing to lose now and giving him a taste of senior footy will hold him in good stead going into pre season of what the expectations are.

I'm not. A good list management over the off season can really change all of that. We've seen it happen recently to Collingwood and Richmond did it back in the end of 2016. We have solid core group of young players in JVR, McVee, Tholstrup, Windsor, AMW, Turner, K Brown, Jefferson and Woewodin as a good starting point. Get another pre season into these guys and watch as they step up again next year. If we can add an elite top 10 midfield talent through the draft and then maybe a solid free agent or two then I think we'll be fine. I expect us to play finals next year if we can really nail our list management decisions we'll over thr off season.

Please don't refer to Binman when it comes to talking midfield. The guy is clueless lol. Had a crack at anyone around mid year when some on here started to question our depth and midfield struggles in this department. Was happy to dish it out and then as the weeks have gone by our midfield depth has been greatly exposed.

Embarrassing

So you think 40k fans would have meant we didn't go 8-0 in centre bounce clearences in the last quarter?? Or maybe 40k fans would have meant Tom McDonald doesn't get outmarked twice by Hogan in thr last quarter which results in goals? Right.

Hope you're well mate, always here for a chat whenever mate, you know where my inbox is.

Centre bounce clearence in the last quarter. 8-0

Didn't watch the VFL bur I'd be happy to play Jefferson for the rest of the year. Finals is gone, let's continue to get games into Tholstrup, Laurie, AMW and Jefferson.

Back on the coaching with this one. Hogan is the premier full forward in the game and we have the premier fullback playing on Jake Riccardi until they made the move late in the last quarter. Horrid coaching

Back on the coaching with this one. Hogan is the premier full forward in the game and we have the premier fullback playing on Jake Riccardi until they made the move late in the last quarter. Horrid coaching

Such a cop out excuse. Footy is a 4 quarter game.

Mids got absolutely smashed all night. You'd think by the last quarter we would have at least try to really go defensive on their mids to stop their stoppage dominance, but no we didn't. Oliver giving Green space in that last centre contests sums it all up.