ArtificialWisdom

We won't get 4 and 5 straight up. But.. what if we offered our 2019 1st round as well? I assume the club will be aiming top 4-6 so worst case that's pick 13/14 OUT: Hogan, 1st 2019; IN: picks 4 and 5 Then... We use picks 4 and 33 to secure May kolajaisni and some kind of steak knife pick in the 40s All up: Out: Hogan, 2019 1st Rd, pick 33 In: May, Kolla, pick 5 and the steak knives

One of our biggest strengths is our depth and it would appear we are losing as much as possible in the one year... Tyson fills a role when a first choice mid is unavailable. We need plays like this

Jesse Is a great young forward, but this thread is getting into some Essendon like Demands. Some of these trade demands would make it the biggest trade price of all time... I'm not sure he is that good, no matter how much we want him to be. If we somehow can get May and a first round pick (even if it was early teens) that would be a pretty big win. Keeping in mind we paid a "huge price" for Lever and that was picks 10 and 15. Some people are talking 2 picks in the top 5 or 6?? Freo would have to be completely incompetent to pay that. Just wait a year till he's out of contract and see how that navicular pulls up... knowing Melbourne's history with foot injuries he might not play all year then they can get him for a bargain. "out of contract and injury riddled"

Recommend monitoring Twitter of AFL, Ticketek and all clubs (including Hawks, Swans, GWS and Tigers who knows who will be quickest to update). Ticketek has shut down purchases for the time being. As soon as they say when, try to be ready with barcodes typed in word or notepad on a seperate lines so you just have to copy, paste all at once. Cross everything and pray. Good luck to all.

Basically me since the final siren yesterday:

Not a bad record given we've only played one game there.

Using the squiggle ladder predictor (https://predictor.squiggle.com.au/) If we win beat the eagles 200 to 14 and lose to the giants by 76-75 we end up on 139.8% Geelong would need to beat the suns 223 to 6 that way they end up on 139.9% problem comes with Port Adelaide, they would have to beat Essendon by so much that it doesn't allow me to enter the figures.. the max i can put in is 239 to 1 and that only brings Port's to 125.0%, quite a ways off passing us even on our current percentage, which is a nice thing to know at this point I thought all hope was lost. But! then I remembered North could make it if they beat Adelaide... So i did North to beat Adelaide 239 to 1 and then beat St Kilda 239 to 1! ...and that got them to 138.6% so narrowly missing us and coincidentally slotting themselves into 2nd on that all time list.

Dust off that finals tickets purchasing instruction booklet the club so thoughtfully sent me 12 months in advance

Interesting that in that report he went from last week saying Hunt will play VFL after the bye to yesterday saying he will train and be "available" this week. Might be better than reasonable chance that should harmes miss, he gets rushed back to play Hibbard role and Bernie moved up the ground to tag? Might also be reading too much into it

Go to the AFL ladder, order by percentage and you get a pretty similar looking list... But it's all looking good for the future given our list demographic but unfortunately the wins (or lack thereof) is all that really matters. I think we all know we are a very capable side, but capable is all. Until we prove otherwise we only have potential and some pretty numbers

Nailed it

Or St Kilda, or Collingwood, or Geelong in round 1. We've had a few

If hypothetically we were playing 'away' to Geelong in a final I'd be happy if it were down there, or for a compromise at the fortress Etihad. We have played better footy at those venues there than at the G. But doing the ladder predictor a few different ways it would require some .. Interesting... results for where Geelong plays a home final to apply to us anyway

In 6 weeks we will look back at the Geelong as the turning point. Remains to be seen of that's a good our bad turning point. We could fall as low as 11th/12th very quickly if things don't go our way in the next few weeks. Yet with the possible exception of WC in Perth, we a capable of winning any or all of the games in the run home

Might be controversial but i wouldn't be completely opposed to no change... For all the shattering disappointment, for the most part they played pretty well. Aside from a 5 minute patch where they couldn't touch the footy in the middle. I think we have a pretty decent balance obviously if Vines was available he would take Tyson's spot as would Hibbard take either Vince or Smith's. But other than that there is no desperate need. Maybe JKH for any of Kent, Hannan or Bugg but all have been inconsistent at best at AFL level. But with opportunities quickly evaporating to find enough wins i do wonder if they bite the bullet and Vanders gets a run a week or 2 earlier than they would have planned (not that i think he will help all that much). A loss this week and it will be just about season over baring something absolutely spectacular against the 2 Sydney teams or WC in Perth.

Nothing wrong with what he did, the rule is the problem. he definitely didn't stage, he through his hands in the air at the blatantly obvious free as anyone else would. The umpire clearly called "Max and paddy" (not that Gus could have heard) Danger could have kept his hands behind is back and the free would have been payed because Gus was in between him and the contest. It has nothing to do with the player its just the ([censored]) rule. Hell, Jesse stages every week, Jetta and Spargo both drop the knees in tackles all the time. and while the booing seemed a little unnecessary, that Max bump did look pretty soft. Besides we have much bigger problems to worry about than whether 1 particular opposition player stages...

Jetta Omac Smith Hibb Frost Vince Harmes Oliver Fritch Hannan Hogan ANB Melk TMac Kent/Garlett Gawn Jones Viney Spargo, Trac, Salem, Brayshaw Weid - 3 tall forwards isn't holding up. Let Tom and Hoges be a genuine 1-2 punch. We had Tom, Hogan, Weid, Fritch, Hannan and Melksham all shoved in to the same forward line, they are all aerialists needed someone at their feet, Spargo in Petty - Not ready, needs another 12 months+ at VFL to develop before we judge him. Frost is the only other senior option we have... We keep trying to fill Lever with inexperienced players like Smith and Petty and now people suggest keilty but maybe it is worth considering Oscar? I know long term they want him as the one on one defender with Lever floating but maybe Frost can do that this year and free up oscar to play the Lever role. Lewis - we need one of the senior heads in the side, he either survives or Vince returns, simple as that. Even if we wanted to drop both, with Hunt injured then we have no other option. Maybe Wagner but I don't expect that to go down to well Tyson - Good inside mid, not good enough to take the spot of viney, jones brayshaw or oliver (or salem for that matter) so he doesnt play. Fritch was great on the wing but has struggled since tyson took his role. Tyson isnt skilled enough to do it. Fritch goes back to the wing and Kent/Garlett in. Kent only had the 1 run after injury but Garlett hasnt exactly earned it... Lose, lose pick for Goody but we need to do something different Smith, Trac, ANB & Hannan lucky, no better options available. Although Bugg could push for one of the pressure forward spots... For what it's worth... I don't really expect this to happen but it's what I'd do, change the structures they have failed 3 weeks in a row, and they don't hold up on the G.

I hope so, because if it's a tight game against the cats, no doubt an experienced team like them will start pushing the buttons of the Vince's, Viney's and such who wont back down and then the remainder will want to fly the flag. Heads will need to be in the game from start to finish to give us any chance.

Is he capable of going head to head with Selwood? Just tell him to stand next to Joel and then win the ball. See how he goes. Those games were great for Viney's development. He thrives on responsibility so why not give it to him?

Im not so sure. We were massivly outnumbered around that stoppage and with watts in the ruck and it took that bit of brilliance and desire from Oliver to set up that goal. I would suspect that goodwin might look at that in the review and say great effort from Watts, Oliver and Jones but where was everyone else? We are meant to be controling clearances with numbers at the ball arnt we? Maybe they are happy to have more on the outside in a forward 50 stoppage scenario but if Hickey had won the hitout as he probably should have, they would have had an uncontested rebound 50. Im not trying to be negative because it was a great sequence but at the same time I would like them to just ask the question of each other, we cant hope to have that work against the best sides.

haha it's not as bad as that "3rd man up" with Vickery and Hartung. Such a stupid way to implement the rule.

Watch the lead up to ANB's goal in the last and tell me how Max lost that ruck contest to Ross. Happens to the best of them

We are also havent beaten them during a solar eclipse

Last year we were 9th after beating the giants and never got higher. The year before we were in the 8 after beating the Suns but fell straight out.

I still have my eyes on the Giants, even if they are a few steps ahead of us. They took all the best young players when we needed them most. I'd love to reach our peak and start to push their AFL gifted talent vs our hard earned talent. But right now it will have to be the saints, they are the comparison so the rivalry is kinda being forced upon us.