Deers

Stefan turns 26 in November. He's older than Dunn, Bate, Jones and Bartram.

McLardy is a gung-ho man, a raging fire. You could tell by his impromptu appearance on OTC, which I didn't think was measured at all. It's probably why you don't hear much from him. But behind the scenes he is probably the most dedicated man to his job.

It looked brief and hollow, but I thought McLardy's statement was quite strongly opinionated. Put it this way: if someone was alleging that you had been involved in a murder, and you had committed the crime and there was empirical evidence to prove it, would you be willing to publicly declare your support for a trial?

Why wouldn't the media accuse us of tanking this year? One of our compensatory picks is determined by our ladder position. It's not too dissimilar to the priority pick. Experimenting with player positioning; numerous, unexpected "outs" in Thursday's team sheet; long-term injuries announced on Monday. And the big one: how does a team, almost identical to the one last year, go from winning 8.5 games (10 or 11 if circumstances were a little different) to 4 at best? All I want is consistency on this. If 2009 is being treated as suspicious then this year's performances must be brought into question as well. No? Then [censored] THE [censored] OFF.

We're watching virtually the same side that was fielded last year. I think Port Adelaide and Richmond got lucky, winning in the aftermath of the 186 crisis. If the Sydney draw went our way that puts us on 11 wins and missing the eight on percentage. With that in mind I can see us turning the corner very quickly. But it depends on the players "getting" the game plan and another pre-season building their fitness levels. As soon as their natural abilities are restored, and we're ridded of the perennial duds, and topped up with a second tier of high draftees, then there's no reason to stay so low next year.

I'm floating in purgatory, but the pain has numbed my senses. In other words, bring on the neddies!

I could name a few and probably miss the mark. Is it what happened in Greece?

If the public's reaction is anything to go by; nobody cares. This is merely chump bait for the tabloid press. Twitterers are berating Brock for being a hypocrite.

I go to school and still whack off to Spankwire videos, so clearly I'm not qualified. But I well and truly hope Schwab gets executed when the time comes.

Who would've made the call to "tank"? I'm curious about it, more than anything else.

He entered the interview room without a computer, is that right? Regardless, why the hell does Sheedy care about it today?

I like him a lot. He is smart, has ability highlighted by a booming kick, built strong, courageous and confident with an air of arrogance about him. It is disappointing but we have been branding Trengove, Grimes, Gysberts and Blease all the same somewhat, not to mention Fitzpatrick & Cook. Plus we have debuted only one senior-listed draftee in a year of "re-building the re-build" or whatever you want to call it. If Tapscott was the lone underperformer - or one of a select few - then I would be concerned. But he's not, and I don't think you can hold any of Luke, Jordan, Sam or the Jacks solely accountable for their alleged "poor form" given Neeld's teachings have clearly upset the apple-cart (for the greater good).

Not really. They will all hop back on board when we turn the corner, sorry, if we turn the corner. And we're trying to do that, albeit from a very low base. If it tanks again, we're dead anyway. Why not take the risk, put the fear among the conservatives, and aim for a flag?

I think this alleged attempt at Cloke can be illustrated as follows: Okay, ten pounds.

I recall Neeld being asked to name his 22 soon after he was appointed. If he couldn't find a suitable player to fill a space, he deliberately left it blank. At the time, he left more than a few holes on the field. Imagine what it would look like today. The backline has some stability, however there's no-one you could pin down forward of that, aside from Jones and Clark.

What If by Bombay Bicycle Club. Which goes a bit like: If only, one of us had the guts tonight And what if one of us had the guts tonight

Morton won't be playing at all this weekend. He's been spotted heading to Splendour In The Grass: That might explain his consistent underperforming ...

Yet the AFL website has gone to such a length as to superimpose a GWS guernsey on him. Sheedy can't speak to the media without a straight face. I certainly can't listen to him with one either. Let Gubby or SOS look at you straight down the barrel and declare their hand. Then, and only then, should anyone take it seriously.

You almost gave me a heart attack, son. All I could think of was PokeMikey when I read that. I'll be halfway to Bendigo when the game's on. Radio on, ears cupped, shouting: "La la la la la la la I am not listening!"

That's all we can do - hope. But the kid had 26 disposals and 8 marks on debut - in slippery conditions at Kardinia Park. He is a prolific inside ball-winner with a strong core and the confidence to take grabs. 30 touches and 8 marks vs. Essendon in 2011. Actually, in 15 games last year he recorded 20+ seven times. His disposal average count dropped compared to 2010 but he more than tripled his tackles. Don't rip on this bloke.

I'm going to take this chance to reflect on my favourite Green moment, given the occasion. Melbourne vs. Hawthorn - 2003. We almost blew it in the final quarter. The Hawks slammed on six goals straight and levelled the scores with 3 minutes left. Junior fell awkwardly on his head on the wing; Robbo thought he was dead. The incident chewed up time and stopped all momentum against us. Green ended up with a long-distance set shot and began his run-up hugging the fence on the wing. He slotted it, as cool as you'd like. It might be indulgent, but I believe Green had, in his prime, the straightest kick in the game.

I just saw the footage. If Buckley is the precedent, then Howe's casual knee lift was pretty tame. Buckley acted in retaliation; his conduct clearly had malice in it. Howe was just being a slimy jerk. The whole system has too many grey areas to make sense of, so I won't bother arguing what he gets. But in my view, it was not the equal of Buckley's.

That player could be Myke Cook. I remember him from a freezing twilight game vs. Adelaide. His puff of sandy blonde hair meant he was easy to recognise, but he had the energy and zip around the contests and clearly had ability. For whatever reason he couldn't get a look in after 2009 / 10 and I think he was unlucky to get axed last year. Since then he has been utterly dominant through the midfield in the VFL. He's one of Neil Craig's kids, so I assume Myke has heard from us this year.

Neeld is teaching them to play the way the rest of the competition has played since the beginning of Geelong's dynasty. I suppose he didn't do it on purpose but with radical change, we're learning everything we need to know about the playing group. Better still, we're able to make - I believe - the correct list changes at season's end. Teaching a defensive game plan has hindered the player's natural abilities. Those with significant talent are still showing some; those with a little talent are displaying none. Out of those players struggling under the new regime you have to ask: who is willing to change? Those that are committed to the cause can be taught to improve on their skill sets, or play roles within the team effectively. If you are 0 for 2 at this point, it's lights out. From what I have seen this year; Bennell, Bate, Dunn and Petterd are done. Then we get to the middle-tier talents that aren't team players. This is trade territory. I put Moloney front and centre with Martin not far behind. A ruthless man might add Sylvia and Morton and I wouldn't blame them. But Sylvia is A-grade when he feels like it and Morton has increased his 1% count this season. If the price is right, though ... I would have put Bartram and Macdonald on the block earlier this year, but I give them the benefit of the doubt. Neeld put Bartram in the leadership group and is playing Macdonald a fair bit now. He's come from a club that are renowned for developing reliable foot soldiers. I've said before that I would want Joel with me in the trenches before anyone else. I think they both mean a lot to the regime. To be honest, I don't expect a drastic turn-over of the list; instead, if a player simply isn't worth a dime, I expect no hesitations from Neeld.

Same, Nash. They looked physically and emotionally tired out there. It's been a long, taxing season - overwhelmed by change. They need a spell.