stevethemanjordan

Good thing he is not a half back flanker. He is the prototype AFL defender who standing at 195cm can play tall and small given his array of attributes. He is an AA defender at 22 years of age. Well done to all those who keep saying we'll be paying overs. You have no idea. The amount reported only confirms how desperate the club is to land a genuine top line key defender. In fact it says an enormous amount about our current three. Frost and O Mac are uknown. Tom is still turning the ball over at crucial moments from 15 metres. Lever is everything we need and then some.

Sample size is far too small to rate Goodwin's performance this season because it was still wildly inconsistent as far as a season goes. Sure it was an "improvement" on our past. But Goodwin's coaching performance should be judged on this year. We failed to make finals when the club said we would so I definitely don't consider that a 'pass' mark like others. Winning in Adelaide and West Coast was fantastic. Losing to Freo and North twice was inexcusable. It was a mixed bag. I'll be interested to see what moves are made over the off-season in regards to personnel, game style and match day strategy. We have young players and expect to improve like every other team will over the pre-season. I hate that our supporters talk as though we'll improve so much more than other clubs. We missed an enormous opportunity this year. This time next year will give a much better indication.

Not sure who does these 'write-ups' but Jake is taller than 179cm. He's around 185cm. Thought his second half of the season was a step-up and he got back to some of the footy I knew he was capable of playing when we nabbed him. Player's like Jake just need to continue to play at a consistently good level. If we have 5-6 of them next year, it'll go a long way to ensuring we play finals.

He's a first year small forward playing in the AFL. Thanks Sherlock.

True, which is why it should be a cracking game. Adelaide are definitely a better ball moving side but if Richmond are as crazed and manic as they have been then it'll even it up for sure. Flip of the coin game imo.

Agree luck played a big part. As it does for any team who makes it to the last day of September. But that certainly doesn't take away the many other contributing factors that have allowed for this run of form. Supporters obviously a big one. Hardwick's reprogramming over the off-season in both himself and his coaching techniques/philosophy and their general list strategy and gameplan. Their players, (especially in their forward half) actually stick to what is required and have been playing that way at a consistently high level all year. Their manic pressure simply hasn't dropped off and I can't see it happening against Adelaide next week given the wave they're riding on in both support from their literally insane fans and the momentum they've built.

Oh I can comprehend. I just can't believe the extent at which you defend Watts. To the point where you completely misunderstand the commentary from our captain in regards to Watts and what is required from him as a player of nine years. Jones was asked the inevitable question when on SEN regarding Jack's hiccups this year. He answered it honestly and respectfully. How you can interpret that as "bagging" Watts is genuinely ridiculous. Your views regarding Watts are so out of whack given he is now a nine year senior player. There comes a point in time at which an individual takes responsibility for their own actions. And Jones wouldn't have been asked the question regarding Watts' hiccups this year if Jack had taken responsibility and accountability for his preparation as an elite athlete who has been in the system for 9 years. Do you at all understand that?

Hang on. Are you suggesting that our Captain does bag out our players in the media? Specifically, your love child Jack Watts?

Some Melbourne supporters are seriously ill.

I didn't actually watch the match lol. Going by what @rjay said.

Probably part of the reason why you don't fully understand how good the bloke is.

Lol some posters questioning Lever's worth. lolololololol

I imagine it'd be hard to be in the best handful of players as a key pos defender in a side that wins by over 60 points..

Agree ^ Unfortunately, supporters on here seem to prefer to only remember Motlop for some of the underwhelming things he's managed over his career rather than the outstanding. Thankfully, the list manager and coach will take a more balanced view.

The trade talk surrounding Weed is some of the funniest I've heard and if posters buy it they have genuinely NFI about anything regarding football lists and list management. Let's understand a bit about Sam first and the context surrounding him as a player and what the word 'development' looks like: Having come off pretty much no pre-season leading into his last year of TAC cup (his draft year), he managed only five games at TAC cup level as well as the game he played against the Northern Blues where he showed enormous potential. The injury was due to an ankle stress fracture that he eventually had operated on and he also had an iron deficiency at the same time. Sam was touted as a top three pick at one stage based on his talent levels for his type of player and what he had shown as an underaged player the year previous. So he had next to no pre-season leading into his last year with the Rangers, only managed five games at TAC cup level that year before having an operation, and then he had to carefully manage and rehab an extremely delicate injury that can easily be re-aggravated. Have a think about how much conditioning and fitness he lost during that time and compare it to his contemporaries at that level? Yet we still had the balls to take him inside the top 10 on the back of all that! So into the club he came on a very modified first pre-season with the full knowledge and understanding that he was going to take time. Much more time than your average first year underdeveloped forward given his injury history. And look what he achieved in his first year at Casey on the back of all of that conditioning he missed. Granted, this year was clearly more difficult for him but I still saw games in which he played and looked like an AFL level player playing in a lower league. In what will be his second full pre-season both in the gym and on the track, I know that we're going to see him a lot more at AFL level next year and I also know that he's going to show why he was picked inside the top 10. As soon as his body allows, his AFL level talent will shine on the big stage. The Weed is not going anywhere.

Atley?! A good kick?! A god-awful suggestion.

You're honestly amazing.

#alternativefacts

I'm not sure there's been a second year player who has produced the same results? Clearly he had an unheard of year. I don't mind being called crazy for taking three first round picks ahead of Oliver at this stage. But I'd do it! Yes Carlton can get him as a FA, but with Kennedy and Smith for pick 10 and only moving down one draft position for Brisbane's Rockliff compo is a pretty nice deal for them. Means they'll have a first rounder for this year, Rockliff, Smith and Kennedy. With the rest of their talent including their young bookends, they'll be pretty scary in a few years.

I told you I didn't them Vogon.

Key word. As said, at this early stage I would do the deal. Let us stop derailing however, back to Jake Lever. Here's Ralph's idea. Carlton look like big winners in this hypothetical though. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/could-a-adelaide-carlton-and-melbourne-threeway-mega-trade-be-a-winwinwin/news-story/af3300af42e2e7557aedd4267f3a91d9

@Vogon Poetry #facts

Three first round picks.

I would take the three first round picks ahead of Clayton at this point in time full stop. For a multitude of reasons. Hope that's clear enough.

I didn't need facts to see that Pedo was carrying condition and I called it before pre-season had even started last year as did others. He ended up losing 10 kgs so you I'm assuming you saw him post weight loss. And I'm not calling these blokes fat. Because clearly they're not. I don't mean to sound condescending, but if you've played any reasonably high level sport and have undertaken any sort of skin fold testing it's actually quite easy to tell who is carrying and who isn't. At AFL level, it stands out. Kent is in the same boat as Pedo. Clearly, he is unsure of what an AFL athlete's lifestyle looks like. Just by looking at him, there's no doubt he could get his skinfolds down through both his diet and working harder on the track.