Forest Demon

Yes and no. If he is ready and best 22, he plays. Much like Brayshaw did last year.

Looks very very good. And I have found out over the years that most of the time, first impressions are correct. Looks a real bull around the ball.

There are actually players who have "put contract talks on hold" in the last year of their contract and eventually re-signed. Cloke springs to mind, but I am certain there are another couple as well. The fact he has 2 seasons on his contract is a big factor, so we are 12 months away from having to really worry about this. And to others who are getting their knickers in a knot, everything I read from the media actually seems to hint that they think he will eventually re-sign with us.

But it does make it even more important that we see some genuine improvement this year. Need 9 or 10 wins minimum.

I am pretty confident he will stay. This is different to the usual "contract talks are off" as he still has 2 years on his contract, and it actually makes little sense to extend it now. If we read the same lines this time next year it will be time to start worrying.

Jack Viney is in the top 3 most important players on our list, and the quotes in that article illustrate part of the reason why. ‘‘Jack Viney has probably been the one I’ve admired the most,’’ Oliver said. ‘‘Just how hard he is at training, and how competitive he is in everything he does. ‘‘He just hates losing so that’s someone who’s been a bit of a role model for me.’’

An improved version of Mark Ricciuto? Nice to see someone with some realistic expectations on the young kid.

The fact he has a 4 year deal at least gives him the time to turn it around. Using the word "mistake" may have jumped the gun, but it is a horrible start to life at his new club, and I think there is now extra pressure on himself, and also Goodwin, that he hits the ground running in 2017.

I don't really know where I stand on it all in terms of the ban, but I don't see how you can argue picking up Melksham was not a mistake. If we got him for peanuts, maybe, but we gave up a decent pick for a player who will spend his first year sitting on the sidelines. Would you trade a second rounder for Melksham if he had just done his ACL and was going to be out for the next season? I certainly wouldn't. And it is not as if this wasn't foreseeable. Melksham needs to come out absolutely firing in 2017, and considering Simon Goodwin was behind picking him up, it also applies a little extra pressure to the start of his coaching career in 2017.

If we are able to promote a rookie, I would like to see Mitch White get the opportunity. Melksham was recruited to play half back, and while I am sure they could shuffle things a bit, Harmes and Michie are not like for like replacements. White had a very good debut in the last game of last year and pre-season form permitting, don't think he would look out of place on the senior list. Give him the opportunity, put the heat on him, and see if he stands up. I am pretty confident he would succeed.

Certainly makes for an interesting night. We have two picks inside the top 10, and looks like we could have any 2 of about 10 players. Unlike other years where it was clear who we were taking, or at least down to a selected 2 or 3.

If he was out of contract next year I would be concerned, but he still has 2 years FFS.

I'm not sure what people expect. You can't offer a player a 4 year deal and then all of a sudden when it comes to the trade table act like you are only mildly interested, and offer up your 3rd or 4th round pick. As soon as the 4 year deal was reported, it was obvious it was a going to be our 2nd rounder, maybe with a shuffle of later picks, which can be used for Kennedy and/or Bugg.

It's giving me a bloody headache.

I was chuffed when we got Tapscott.

90%? He would be our best player by a fair margin.

16...the doggies may have already made that mistake

Yes please on Hartlett. And there is no way we are going after Melksham for "depth". We have depth players already, problem is they are 10-20th best players on our list rather than 20-30th. Roos and co will want Melksham playing 22 games a year.

This emailing Paul Roos trend is ridiculous

Big offer is surely to push him through to the PSD. If anyone wants to match it, got for it, but they won't. Hopefully Melksham is disillusioned enough with Essendon that he doesn't care if they get nothing for him.

I would take him, but two very obvious things make me nervous about this move: 1. WADA - if he cops a 2 year ban that would be a disastrous pick up, surely the club are all over this, but who knows 2. Trade Value - if we are offering him a 4 year deal, Essendon are well within their right to ask for our second rounder if we rate him that highly, and knowing Essendon, they will probably want more to begin with

I love the look on Weller's face when he looks down at the ground afterwards. Looks like he is thinking to himself "Why the f@#k did I just try to do that?"

Geez that is a brutal tackle, and I absolutely love it. I have said a couple of times this year, but Jack's season has been excellent. I love the way he goes about it and I expect him to finish top 3 to 5 in the B&F

At the half way point, I had Cripps, Hogan, Brayshaw in that order, but relatively close. Since then Cripps has been a little quieter (except for last week), Hogan has gone from strength to strength, while Brayshaw has dropped out of the conversation.

The 2 in a row is a big one for me. So many times we have a win, and it seems to breed some sort of complacency. This is a winnable game, but St Kilda apply a huge amount of pressure, so hopefully we don't go to water. Playing at the G instead of Etihad is a big plus for us as well.