stevethemanjordan

The only positive we'd get from bringing a guy like Barlow to our club would be experience to the side. However, the negatives comprehensively outweigh the positives in this instance and it's the kind of trade the Richmond footy club would do. The last thing our club needs at present is another bloke who runs as if he is in quicksand. He is slow, clearly past his best and to be honest, he is just not that good. Players of his capabilities will always stand out when playing in a deep and talented midfield. When I look at our side, I see three major weakness areas: 1: Pace and class in the middle 2: A Ruck/forward 3: An established key defender Experience will come as our core continue to play together and that's just a waiting game. Brayshaw, Petracca, Hogan, Weideman, Salem, Oliver, Viney, O-Mac, Tyson, Gawn and Kent. That's 11 players who should all be playing together weekly at the 60-100 game mark and when that happens, we'll start seeing a lot more consistency in individual performance and therefore team performance. At around that time, we'll also need to have a pretty settled back-line group and I'm imagining we'll have the McDonald brothers plus someone we bring in at the end of this year. Add Hibberd and Jetta as really hard and combative defenders and we'll have one spot then for a rotating HB/MID. I see Hunt/Stretch and Melksham as players who are in the frame to play wing as they're our hard running players with pace and I think Hawthorn have shown just how important two elite running wingers are to a side in today's game. An inside midfield group of Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw and Tyson. O'meara the rolls royce. Petracca our wild card who like Dusty can start as a dangerous forward but rotates through the middle and genuinely carves opposition players into totem poles. Solid foot soldiers and senior experience in Jones and Vince with ANB, Vanders and Harmes as back up. Vince potentially playing mostly HB at this stage. A Ruck/forward combination of Gawn and (insert name here). Hogan, Weideman and Watts as our versatile three talls. Hogan and Watts to play high. Garlett and Kent as our small forwards who can also play high up the ground. It's a dream. Get me a cold flannel.

You are the rarest cat going round.

A KP forward for a full back? Mate, we need a genuine gorilla who knows how to play the position. Not a makeshift one. We have hundreds of them. If the Doggies and Freo can find two genuine full-backs from the [censored] VFL who are now best 22 in their side, surely we can do better than Tomlinson. Mackenzie, Brown, Hurley. There will be others. Tomlinson isn't one.

Clearly if Tom McDonald chooses to leave, we'll get someone in to take his spot. But no, just like Frawley, I don't believe losing one player with serious limitations to their game at this point in time will decide whether or not we are able to win a final. He can be a quality defender and he can also be an awful defender. If he plays high quality football consistently for a couple of years then yes, I'll change my mind.

Yes, because Tom McDonald himself will be the determining factor as to whether or not we can win a final over the next 10 years. Brilliant.

I agree there are too many that seem to have down games at the same time and it's majorly problematic. But when you've got a like-for-like player who has been banging the door down all year at Casey, surely you reward him? Especially after his game against the Dogs on the weekend. He was relentless. I agree Harmes, VDB and Kennedy were all well down too. Garlett gets lucky because of the need we have for his best footy.

Tyson was appalling on the weekend and he is a classic example of somebody who simply must bridge the gap between best and worst performances for us to keep improving. Unlike players who can still involve themselves during games, Tyson just doesn't seem to if the chips don't go his way. If he doesn't have his first touch and contested work firing from the start of a game, he is almost useless when on the field because he is a slow, one-dimensional, contested ball winner. On Sunday he looked so incredibly slow and lazy when we were chasing and just couldn't keep up with St Kilda opponents, he consistently fumbled and handballed mostly to the wrong option. He was awful. If Roos is serious about rewarding form, I'd be swapping Tyson for ANB for the West Coast game. Both are pure inside mids. One is tearing it down at VFL level and the other is playing yoyo football and is coming off one of his worst games this year.

Agree that leg speed through the middle is a major weakness.

If he is still keen on coming...

Haha. You're ridiculous. This is my last post to you. The evidence is everywhere Stu. Do you really believe 'fresh legs' are the reason Hawthorn are able to win no matter where they play, no matter how many days break? Or Sydney or Geelong when they were winning game after game? Freo nearly beat Geelong and they played on FRIDAY NIGHT STU and made two changes. Honestly, there is zero evidence to support what you're saying for our match today and unless Paul Roos comes out and says, 'we lost because we played in tough conditions last week and the players were out of legs' then I'd just take a seat if I were you on this one.

Stu, I don't mean to sound condescending but that is such shallow and simplistic explanation of what happened. It's the kind of thing somebody who doesn't really know what else to say, will say. You say that we couldn't keep up with them after quarter time. Here's why we lost: Yet again, the inconsistency in decision making and skill execution from so so many of our players today after 1/4 time was it. It is nothing more than our ability to make the same errors consistently that cost us the game. That is it Stu. Nothing to do with not having fresh legs. We are simply a team who have players who at the top of their game are really valuable, but too many times we see them having down games and games in which their skill execution and decision making is way below what it needs to be.

Garland. Wow.

Would be an upgrade on Spencer for sure.

Not sure why people bang on about fresh legs when we've come off a longer than usual break. Eight days. We're a full day ahead of St Kilda in regards to recovery and their game was a physical, pinball game of footy from the start right up until the final siren.. If anyone is in need of fresh legs, it'll be them. Melbourne supporters love excuses. We will win. We will be more physical and a lot tighter in our forward half which will mean they won't be able to slingshot as often as last time. St Kilda as a club are like a blow fly. They just hang around, are of little significance and they're annoying. We should put them to the sword early on.

The only reason he signed a one year extension is incase we land nobody else over next off-season. It was an insurance extension. Nothing else. Max needs help and Spencer is not the man.

So Frost to Bruce T-Mac to Roo White to Membrey All three to play really tight, accountable footy. (I'm assuming Oscar won't get up). And if that's the case, I reckon Gussy will come in for him.

Give me some damn full stops Sat-man. Sheesh.

There's no way we'd shop him around. He's played 46 games. If he was a 100 + gamer and playing with the same inconsistency then I'd share your sentiment. So much time to develop.

I love that so many take speculation as the 'truth'. At this time of year there are countless 'reported' offers and interests from player x to club y. Who knows whether Hawthorn are genuinely interested in Tom Mitchell or that Richmond are the 'front-runners' to land Prestia. Nobody. It's funny that posters take it as truth. 'Looks like Richmond will land Prestia'. etc. The only one that has the most meat to it is the Hibberd one because of what both clubs have stated themselves as well as insiders like Tim Watson expressing that the club believe he is a 50/50 chance of staying. But still, who the fark knows what'll happen. As a supporter of the club however, I'll say this: There is absolutely a need and requirement for a player of Hibberd's quality playing in our backline and posters are kidding themselves lumping him in with the current group of players who play through the backline atm. Chalk and cheese. Hibberd would be a very handy pickup and I hope that he decides to come to us. The other hunch that I have is that our club, (and other clubs) will be eagerly awaiting to see how O'meara finishes off the year and what sort of form he produces if he gets back in the side. If he can have a clear run at it from here on in (and providing the club believes his knee injury is something he can legitimately get over), I hope we'd have a crack at bringing him to the club. Of course this is providing his knee is not made of putty and the club genuinely believe it won't hinder him going forward. O'meara is the kind of star midfielder we need. He possesses the kind of game that nobody on list does. Hibberd, O'Meara and a KPB like Brown or Mackenzie.

Mayne is a pretty one-dimensional player who can pretty much only play forward. And we have a surplus of players who play his position. Can't see us chasing him.

As others have said, clearly we need to be able to apply a great deal more pressure in our forward half. We need to be able to hold them up when they win the ball in our forward 50. It'll make all the difference as to how our defenders setup. Do that and shut Steven and Roo out of the game and we win. We'll easily win enough midfield ball and their defence is truly awful. We should be breathing fire for this game. They've owned us for far far too long.

Am always one to jump on underperforming players, but the backline played really really well on the weekend. Oscar McDonald played with an intensity I haven't seen and I hope that now becomes the bench-mark for him. Frost played like an actual footballer, minimized mistakes and intercepted well. T-Mac back to his best. Back it up.

As far as defensive matchups go, I'd really like to see the following: Frost to Bruce T-Mac to Riewoldt Dunn to Membrey White is the perfect player to go third man up when required because he kills contests in the air. He plays exactly how a third man up should. Gibson does it for Hawthorn so well and it'll go a long way to helping us get over the line. (I'm assuming Oscar won't get up).

Exactly the type of player we need playing weekly. He impacts every contest he is at and refuses to be beaten. Spoils really aggressively and plays with a lot of intensity. Plays taller like Wagner and possesses great skills also. I can't see how Garland is going to crack back in unless injury strikes or he completely changes the way he plays.

We know he can play that well. I just wish he did it consistently. Great game from him, now back that [censored] up Tom.