Mach5

Anyway, I knew there was more to this than just losing matches - the players on teams that finish outside the 8 and go through, have a distinct advantage over teams that finish in the top 4. So Picken should win, but has he been consistently better than JPK? No, in the game he's played, Kennedy has been better, but Picken will likely shade him.

Hamling always had an A grade attitude. Dare I say it, Lamb's AFL career looks... cooked.

I wouldn't expect Wells' lieutenant Peake there at Simonds for much longer either. Firmly on the outer. Was previously in charge at St Kilda, not that I think he did amazingly well or that we would have room for him.

The feeling is that Chris Scott will get an extension, but not all are supportive. As I keep saying, he'd be getting extended for his brilliant foresight in making sure Dangerfield was born in Geelong. Without him they'd have missed the finals again. I think he's capable of managing the finished article, but as a young coach coming in, he developed zero skills in building and developing a list, because it had all been done for him. I think he's on borrowed time, as you do.

When they let him go, there was no room to give him a senior game though. He probably would have left for opportunity anyway. Value buy for the dogs. Then again, even at the dogs he has struggled to get into the team but for injuries, although he looks like he belongs (and excels).

Many at the cats were against the delisting of Hamling, and the decision to this day brings about some angst in certain people. Always showed the work ethic and desire to succeed, religiously studying his edits. Late bloomer & showed gradual improvement. Great kid. You'd never guess he'd never worn shoes til he was 15.

Wait a year and we should be right...

I keep thinking of Tory Dickson when I think of Tim Smith, but I'm completely unaware if he has put in the work on the track and shown the commitment/attitude/work ethic, or if he just turns up on the weekend and gets by on talent.

Shithouse primary school teachers, it can't be anything else.

Yep, and a ridiculously high success rate with rookies, which says to me that their development & training is spot on.

I don't believe the doggies have simply managed to nail every single draft pick - it has to be their training and teaching methods. Things like this "handball club" have certainly helped their players to all become proficient at cleanliness and releasing the footy effectively when tackled. Obviously their skills focuses are bang on, and it's something we should be reviewing.

Sterling commentary from Campbell Brown a second ago: "well, Dunn is the spare man for Casey, and it looks like Russell is doing the same for Footscray down the other end..." Thanks mate, really insightful.

It's almost funny - when I saw that handball was going to Grimes for the entry into F50, I actually said aloud "oh crap"...

Not sure what Casey have to do to get a free

I really hate to say it, but Clarry does just charge through tackles like a... steaming locomotive.

Far far too predictable & easy for the dogs to defend. Long kick or switch, nothing short and no run then kick to get over the zone.

Why not? Didn't lose anything in that scuffle, but maybe regained some ascendency. Gotta spark the troops somehow.

We need Matt Jones' run, by my god, we cannot delist him quick enough. At this level there is no excuse for turnovers like that, but yet he consistently makes them.

We had to do it with Travis. Depends on how much they want to move these players on.

Gold. What the feck are teachers getting paid for these days?

Their list isn't all that bad though. This is the big issue with them getting pick 1 in the draft - usually this is reserved for a team that is so bad that they naturally performed the worst of all and need the most talented kid in the land to climb back up the ladder. Essendon have finished bottom by virtue of their punishment, which is not a true reflection of the state of their list. In any case, as I'm sure all MFC supporters are well aware, one early pick or even a handful of them won't save you. It's about the culture more than anything, and I'm not sure it's where it needs to be for Essendon just yet.

Agree, although I am sure this is overstated. When Hodge, Mitchell, Gibson & Burgoyne re-signed this season, Hodge publicly spoke about taking a haircut to let the club recruit big names to keep them in contention. Nice bit of spin from Hodge, but essentially he & his mates were simply offered much smaller contracts because they are cooked. Their options were probably accept this one-year deal for peanuts, or retire.

Yes, of course, unless Saty heard it directly from a player, it should be dismissed out of hand... Now, I know we've all heard enough about "destination clubs", but I'm surprised no one has mentioned that Brisbane has been a fantastic destination club for years now: Mitch Robinson, Dayne Beams, Tom Bell, Allen Christensen, Trent West, Jackson Paine, Stefan Martin, Josh Walker, Ryan Bastinac, Jordan Lisle, Brent Moloney, Brendan Fevola, Brent Staker, Amon Buchanan, Rory Hilton, Brad Hardie... Far too many to name.

It also stops a young player from getting games and developing into a player capable of winning matches. If Harvey was on our list this year, he could have prevented Jayden Hunt from getting games. Would we then be looking at the prospect a delisting a kid who hadn't been able to crack the senior side & show anything at AFL level?

I think Brisbane see Rockliff as an asset they could offload & get some decent picks to build a list with, but other clubs aren't interested in recruiting him for what he'd cost (both in trade and salary).