qwerty7

Is this rumour about collingwood playing hard ball for him true/have any substance to it? If it does and they are offering two first rounders, this might make the deal a lot harder for us to land him. Collingwood are the biggest bloody disease to plague the earth

There is nothing deft about what I said. I simply said that to disregard the impact of injury is ignorant and that we had some losses throughout the season that were unacceptable, but every team had them. What do you think Don Pyke thought when he lost to North, Hawks and perhaps even us? They too fielded entirely capable players - ones that had won them matches in previous games - but sometimes things just don't work. It happens in every team and it happens more frequently in teams that are a) young and b) have lacked consistent team structures throughout the entirety of the year due to INJURY. The point of my post is that this season we lacked CONSISTENCY in team structures, which consequently led to INCONSISTENCY in our wins in conjunction with other factors. I agree that injury wasn't the sole reason we didn't make finals - I never said that once in my post. Of course there are other reasons and the most simple answer is that we just weren't ready. Next year we should be and that is what I expect - if we don't, that's when we can come back here and start analysing what is wrong. For now, I think we sit right about where we are and where we should be. There has been linear progression and maybe it's not as fast as we all want it, but with patience, we will get there. Anyway, I was just sharing my reflection on the year, it wasn't directed at you at all.

Again, in regard to the injury point of discussion, it is a really ignorant thing to deem its impact a “furphy”. We really suffered the curse of injury this season and it didn’t impact us only in the fact that it hit some of our most important players in Gawn, Hogan, Jones, Viney, etc., but it also affected our consistency. It should be no surprise Richmond was one of the top teams and is in the grand final given their almost non-existent injury list throughout the entirety of the season. Having a consistent team and settled side is such a pivotal factor in having success and that is something we simply did not have all year. We were constantly having to make changes and adapt to new team structures due to injuries to key position players and a lot of them were long-term injuries. I mean, honestly, who would have thought we would be playing Tom McDonald forward and Pederson in the ruck for a large portion of the season? Simon Goodwin certainly wouldn’t have. In what has been a truly testing and challenging season for Goodwin in his first year as coach, I think he has done an unbelievable job. If this were Roosy, I don’t think anyone would be half as sceptical. Of course, there are flaws and our season was marred by unacceptable losses – but most teams have them and in a young and developing side, they happen more frequently. If you think otherwise, you had unrealistic expectations on what we should have achieved this year. I had twelve wins as the target mark for the season to be a pass and we achieved that. We only narrowly missed out on finals and it hurt A LOT, but that is how it is. I don’t have a loser attitude, I just have a realistic one – we were never ready to do serious damage in finals and while it would have been better to just make it an experience it, it wasn’t to be. If we go backwards next year, that is when question marks will be raised; but for now, I think we are okay. Goody is learning, but I think he has what it takes to lead the boys to a premiership.

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl/a/37206220/jack-watts-opens-up-on-2017-season-and-trade-talk/ for all the watts trade rumours - though this is nothing concrete - I think this is the best indication we've got so far about where he will be next year.

I'm so jealous. Why can't this be Melbourne

Dave Misson's wife is the principal of Melbourne Girls Grammar.....

agree re JKH, i don't see him being a big part of our future - has some strong games at VFL level but that's about it. Stretch, I'm still hopeful of. He was in awesome in 2016 but seems to fallen out of favour in 2017. I reckon give him another strong preseason and he could become a legitimate gun.

what happened to brayshaw? wasn't actually a bumb was it?

i hate my life

come on crowwwwwwssssssssssss

This would be the most heartbreaking way to finish the season if West Coast wins today - almost as heartbreaking as when we sent off Paul Roos with a 100+ loss

We've won

this is [censored]

fffffuuuuudggeeeeeeeee somebody help me

Definitely. need to switch it back on dees

and how crazy is it to think people were suggesting that he be traded to Adelaide for Lever? He is a gun and will only get better - the next Josh Kennedy in my opinion.

Lol that wasn't an attack and I wasn't trying to imply you did, but sorry if my thoughts so greatly stirred you up... I promise not to 'target' you again

I understand what you're saying, but it seems that Hogan really loves the club. We have supported him enormously through what has been presumably the toughest year of his life and I can't see us involving him in a trade unless he requested it, which I don't think he has. He seems like a quiet and reserved guy and it is probably for this reason the 'homesick' stigma is so frequently attached to him. But I think Hoges loves it at our club and has some great friends in people like Brayshaw, who also has had an incredibly tough year. I just don't see the club getting Lever via a trade involving Hogan - particularly given we just resigned him at the end of last year's season.

I feel as though if the meeting did not happen, Goodwin and co. would have come out blatantly saying it did not happen. However, though he did not acknowledge it happened, he gave a very systematic answer that did not deny it and Jones voiced words that were nearly exactly the same. Goodwin doesn't muck around with the media and if it didn't happen, he wouldn't have made his answer so ambiguous.

Undoubtedly, even if we were to finish this season with no more wins, we have improved. We know we have improved because the expectation of supporters and journalists has changed - we go into every match thinking we can win. This time last year, I would have been complacent with yesterday's loss, never really giving us a shot to win. This year, I expect to win every match and believe that we can. The one thing that still remains unimproved since last year is our inability to win those games we should. Now I know every team has a game like that, that game that they drop because upsets do happen. However, ours still occur too frequently and going into next season, I hope this is what we amend. Finals are still a possibility and if we win this weekend, I think we have a good shot. But if we don't make it, as disappointing as it'd be, I would still consider the season a success or at least an improvement on last year. I am also particularly proud given how disrupted our season has been with injuries and illnesses etc. yet we still find ourselves in a position to contend. Although we have been very up and down, I think we should still remember that we are a young side. It might seem like an excuse, but it's not - it's a fact. Be excited by the prospect that we still have players like Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw, Hunt, Hogan and so on, who are only going to improve and make our side better.

They just said on SEN that Jake Lever officially met with Melbourne FC last week and that he was apparently unhappy with the first offer Adelaide offered him.. doesn't guarantee he is leaving or anything but still very interesting

Melksham really steps up and kicks goals in these close ones - might not be a superstar but is a handy player to have. Can someone tell me how much time left? I'm in europe

Come on dees, we can't drop this game!

This is heartbreaking for supporters.

I can't see the game, but shouldn't expect too much from him in his first game back. It will take him a couple of weeks to find his groove, but when he does, he'll no doubt singlehandedly win us matches.