Atholwebb

Too many players undone. Preuss and May our supposedly top signings not playing. Management of Joel Smith against Lions was terrible. Was only a practice match but when we played Pies both Preuss and Gawn we looked a much better team especially up forward. Max needs help. Petracca needs to get a kick. Hannan, Kent and Garlett not around as small forwards hurt and AVB is a big loss. We lack pace and outside run. The new rules don’t help us.

Article in 'The West Australian' this morning. https://thewest.com.au/sport/fremantle-dockers/afl-trades-2018-fremantle-dockers-not-ruling-out-jesse-hogan-trade-ng-b88990275z

I think Jesse will likely leave but the Club now that we are in the premiership window has to be asking him to recommit till at least till the end of 2021 and will be making an attractive offer to him. We don’t want Jesse leaving at the end of next year if he just sees out the current contract. It’s too disruptive to the team and the structure. Time for Jesse to commit or move on. We cannot have this saga at the end of every year. Either Jesse is in or he is out.

Hogan to Freo and then trade to GWS for Dylan Shiel

Weideman will not be dropped. Just listen to Goodwin praise him. He is needed for second ruck which he is doing very well and he is an important part of our future. Apart from his high marking and tackling, Tmac’s foot/toe will not be risked in the ruck. Tmac is now a multi faceted footballer up and down the ground that is crucial in that role and our structure is so much better as a result of it.

And he manned up one on one against Rance on Anzac eve after half time and beat him. A very valuable player after a bit of a slow start to the season.

A great acquisition. Well done Goodwin and I suspect, McCartney. Kicks vital, important goals which smacks of a big occasion player. Can play a variety of roles including as a run with player, midfielder and defender. It's great that we have a number in the team now who have flexibility in the roles that they can play. I am a big fan of Jake M. and the way he has embraced the MFC.

This saga just cannot go on for a long period. All the press and media hype on it has to affect Jesse and his performance on the field. It also has to affect his team mates. His manager has a duty to Jesse to have this resolved asap. I think Jesse may sign on with us for 4-5 years with a team that is on the up, which gives him plenty of time left in his career to move back to the west at the age of 25-26. Given all the hype, we may get a surprise that a decision happens sooner rather than later as both Jesse and the Club cannot have all this constant conjecture continuing. It is destabilising for everyone. Wiser heads hopefully prevail.

He is gone. This has Scully written all over it. Listening to Vince tonight on 'AFL Tonight' from what he said or rather did not say, I sensed Hogan is leaving.

I have already accepted that Hogan is likely to go. Weidemann and Hulett are very promising young forwards and no doubt the Club are preparing for Hogan's departure. We will get some good draft picks from Freo. How many premierships have the Hawks won since Buddy left? The structure of the forward line is what matters and in Watts, Kent, Garlett, Petracca and Weidemann to come, I am confident the loss of Hogan will not be too great and there will be more money to share around our top quality players.

I hope it is not going to be another Scully situation and Hogan next year says he will make a decision at the end of 2017. That signifies he is going. I have every faith in Glen Bartlett, Peter Jackson and Simon Goodwin convincing him to stay and Paul Roos will have a big input too. Why would you leave when we are on the up and Freo are on the downhill slope except, and I understand that, if Freo offers $1.5 mill a year for 10 years and his family is in Perth. I think Hogan would want to have success with his mates and if he were to sign on for 5 years only, that would still be a great result. Scully leaving was at a time when were no hopers and that is far from the case now. A serious chance at a premiership beckons in 3 to 4 years if we develop the way we should. Anyway the focus is on 2016 and while i am posting here in response to what Brown said tonight, perhaps we just forget talking about it till it becomes more relevant next year.

And I am not the Athol Webb that played Full Forward on that fateful September day in 1958. The real Athol Webb was my favourite footballer and as a kid I wore his number 15. He, however, wore number 5 in the GF in '58.

If we draft Sam Weideman and he is a star then I can forget what his grandfather Murray did to us on GF day in 1958. A long, bitter memory. We would have had 6 in a row and definitely been the greatest team ever. Oh, for those days back again! Grand Final 1958 - Demonwiki