grazman

His comments were in relation to a question he was asked about Jack. He was careful in his response. He said he was a massive Jack Watts fan and he thought it would be a mistake to trade him, but he wasn't criticising the club and said he didn't know what was going on there. He also made mention of outsiders commenting on the inner workings of a club when they weren't in full possession of the facts.

So a bidding war?

I don't think Roos anointed Goodwin as his successor because he thought he'd be his clone. Pretty sure he was after someone that had a clear vision and an idea how to achieve it. I didn't hear any criticism from Roos in that interview of either Goodwin or the club if they trade Jack. All his comments were prefaced with if it was him he wouldn't do it, but he's not in a position to know. He clearly loves Jack, but he also commented on outsiders second guessing clubs when they didn't have all the facts.

Didn't work for Trent Croad.

Because their disposal is even worse than ours!

Yeah, nah. There's a slim chance he might not get traded, but it will be more about what the club wants in return and about what potential suitors might offer. Goodwin is building a list on competitiveness and that is a non-negotiable. We all love Jack Watts for what he can do in terms of disposal and decision making, but he simply isn't a competitor in the mould of a Viney, Hogan, Oliver, Petracca etc. I don't blame him he was drafted without much football behind him at all and plays the game very much like a basketballer and not like a footballer. While I'll miss his elite kicking, I won't be screaming at him to keep his feet in a contest.

Which is what leaders do. Coaches rarely get the opportunity to pass the blame anyway. I'd be worried if there was a chorus of approval in deciding to trade him, but it sounds like Goodwin knows what he wants from his list. If everyone around the club thought Jack should be traded, then in all likelihood he probably has little trade currency anyway. Too many supporters baulk at trades based on what the player may do at his new club, but the decision to trade a player should be solely based on the metrics at hand and improving the list/culture and not on what 'might' happen. Colin Sylvia 'might' have fulfilled his potential at Fremantle after teasing Melbourne supporters for so long and on that basis should have been offered another contract - but then again maybe the club was happy for him to walk and get the compensation.

I think the idea that Stringer is a scapegoat is over-reaching a tad. I think there's enough smoke to suggest a very large fire when it comes to his off field behaviour and he'll be hoist on his own petard! There are others in the same boat, and maybe Bevo is of the opinion that 12 months on and deep into a premiership hangover,that one head on a spike might be enough of a warning to others to tow the company line. Then again the problems maybe so deep that it's more than just a warning to the playing group its about excising dangerous cultural practices that if left to linger will completely ruin their chance at another tilt. Players like Stringer, Libba, and Biggs all mentioned and it maybe that none at the kennel next season.

No change. He's already made his decision and its unlikely to change based on the weighting of winning or losing a premiership. He's made a professional decision, based on a number of factors one of which will be increased remuneration over what he's paid at Adelaide. You aren't a footballer forever and he will make hay whilst the sun is shining.

I don't think you really understand the theory.

May not have come from us though.

West Australian. Being courted by Freo apparently mates with Harley Bennell.

RFA. I think he suits a need and I like him more than most obviously. Not that surprising that putside players go missing when the're getting towellwd up on the inside. Better disposer of the ball than most of our onballers.

Hibberd, Hunt, Melksham, Jetta, and Garlett yes. I think Harmes and Frost have to show more development to be considered genuine core. I've been surprised by both Melksham and ANB this year. Neither I would have considered best 22 at the start of the year, but they are now. I think next year we will start to see age catch up with Lewis (slow and doesn't body the ball) Vince (brain fades) and Jones (disposal). My prefrerence would be to only have two in the side at any one time. Tyson and Salem are the two I'm torn on.

I see our list development being behind the Bulldogs by about 12-18 months. They went backwards this year, but maybe being the hunted rather than the hunter had something to do with that. I was hoping we'd make eighth and try to replicate what they did last year starting with Port, but to be honest it would have been difficult given how poorly we were playing. I can't remember who it was, but there was a theory that we'd hit the wall at the back end of the season the way we did last year due to the fatigue of our list and that's clearly the way its looked. There's also no doubt that we are still mentally not consistent enough, but I actually think that's been the product of the season as well. Certainly I think for the first half of the year we improved massively on previous years, in terms of intensity and pressure. The second half of the year was far more patchy and similar to the past couple of seasons. Injuries also helped rob us of a lot of momentum as well. I think Goodwin was certainly treating the year as a development year and clearly players like Weideman and O Mac have been gifted games to get senior experience into them. Unlike others I think both are tracking relatively well considering their age and positions. I see Petracca, Hogan and Oliver and I see elite talent. We also have a core of younger players to support them. It would have been nice for Jones to have another shot at finals this year, but overall in terms of the ultimate prize it doesn't hurt to reinforce the playing group the consequence for not being 'switched on' in those crucial matches. I think with a better run of injuries to our better players and a more favourable draw that if we continue the same rate of improvements that we have been, then next year will see a much more consistent year. That doesn't mean that we don't have deficiencies to address. Firstly in terms of outside run and secondly in defence. Hopefully DE% will improve with further experience and practice with the game plan. Goodwin is all about competitiveness so I would expect some trades for those that don't measure up. In terms of the fixture for next year I hope we get North and Hawthorn in the first couple of rounds.

Helps thst they have most of the Qld stste of origin team...just saying it helps to have talent.

Garland provides depth while Joel Smith, who is a good size and can jump, develops.

I reckon they are, I also think the others might be West Coast, Essendon, St Kilda, Hawthorn and Freo.

They draw crowds and we don't,

The way you play is often dictated by the way the opposition play. There was an audible click after 6 minutes when GWS found the right gear. They lifted their intensity, started running in waves and generally played the conditions much better than we did.

It would be indeed, but if I'm the Crows recruiting manager I'd ask us to go back and have another go. I think another first round pick is more valuable than ANB, and trading the likes of a Frost/Tyson/Watts would potentially get you that.

It was cold yesterday let me tells ya! Losing didn't help warm me up either.

Having not seen the incident, I'll accept that Melksham will be suspended, otherwise he would have stayed. We have too many that torch the ball and too many inside mids and not enough outside run. Hannan and Stretch both need to come in to address that and potentially Brayshaw as well. I can't see a place in the 22 for Pedo with the way he played yesterday. Watts and Tyson must be on thin ice. Harmes, ANB and Maynard on the fringe.

From my vantage point on the fifty metre arc. 6. Gawn 5. Jetta 4. T Mac 3. Lewis 2. Oliver 1. O Mac.

The warning signs were there in the warm up. The boys looked flat, they didn't seem to be enthused by the conditions. I know there was mention last year that they hit the wall towards the back end of the season after a huge preseason and there was talk this would likely happen again this year until they get more miles in the younger legs. I mentioned this to a Tiger supporting mate who was there (who is bullish about us- but still neutral) who was looking at me for an explanation of sorts. I was positioned in front of the defensive transition drill and noticed a couple of concerning issues. Firstly was the lack of intensity it appeared that they were going through the motions on a cold Thursday afternoon rather than preparing to actually play. The second concern was there was that while the drill was ostensibly about getting players radar calibrated for the windy conditions there were a couple of basic issues that weren't addressed. Firstly players failed to adjust the drill when Player A got too close to Player B they still kicked rather than hand balled. Twice in the game (ANB and Vince) chose to kick less than 10 meters when they could have more effectively hand balled. The issue here is the indecision that it creates in the receiving players mind. Anyway the second issue was two players who couldn't adjust their kicking to the conditions and speared low passes past the receiving player. Hibberd and Hunt. One of the commentators on the radio mentioned that Hunt's kicking action makes it almost impossible for any of his team mates to mark the footy and I think Hibberd has the same issue. Over distance the issue isn't as pronounced, but over shorter distances they tend to bullet the ball and it's something that needs to be addressed. I know the game plan emphasises fast movement, but there were so many turnovers created yesterday by trying to spear players rather than putting the ball out in front of them to run onto it. I agree, we really struggle to position ourselves properly for the wind, most notably standing too shallow against the wind and letting it sail over our heads, this was most evident in the first quarter. At least in the third he had Tom Mac go back who I thought was fantastic all day and should have had at least four extra free kicks for the day for being dragged down in the contest or hit in the head. I thought with GWS best three forwards out they would struggle to find an avenue towards goal, but it was us who struggled. So poor was our ball movement that it gave the GWS defenders time to get back and when we did move it in quickly we failed to account for the wind and made their job easy. The other reason they were able to get so many free options going forward was that a lot of their forwards began to 'cheat' by running forward rather than stay near an opponent when we had the ball knowing we would turn it over. You can do that I guess when you have a scoreboard pressure. We failed to move the ball properly and this was exacerbated by a general lack of presence from our forward line. I love having the ball in Jack Watt's hands the trouble is how to get it there. He's simply awful one on one as a KPF. He's been tried on the wing and that hasn't worked. For a side crying out for good ball users how do we get him into the game? I'm not slashing my wrists just yet, but clearly we missed having some outside run that could counter Scully and Kelly. I think Hannan and Stretch must come straight back in as well as Brayshaw if he's ready. Tyson's ability to get his hands on the ball and get through traffic are amazing, but he just torches the ball so often. If James Harmes can learn to work within his limitations he'd also be a much better footballer. A number of times yesterday he tried to do too much when giving the first option would have helped him have a much better game.