Wiseblood

Amen to that, LH. Gary Pert is no Paul McNamee.

I think, on the face of it, that it's a terrific appointment. If the AFL and Peter Jackson are happy with it and endorse it, then I can't see a problem with it. The bloke knows the game, knows how to be a CEO and has a good track record of doing good things. Outside of rumours ad rumblings, which we have no idea how true they are, this seems like a great move for the club.

Yes, I should know better, but sometimes I can't help myself. It just seemed like such a random attack on a bloke who gave his all for the club. Maybe he can regale us with a 'BEST INJURY PRONE 22' to make it all better... ?

I think I'll use this as a reminder to never read your contributions again. You clearly know bugger all about football and your attack on a bloke who, before injuries and the burden of the captaincy at a young age, was destined to be an absolute star of the competition, is nothing less than a disgrace.

It's the one thing that sets him apart. His field kicking is up and down (sometimes he can hit a 60 metre pass, other times miss one 20 metres away) but his tackling pressure (especially against North this year) can be good and he can provide some real pace through half forward. The FD clearly rate him as he keeps getting chances, it's just every time he gets one he gets himself injured (shoulder last year against Adelaide, hammy this year against the Tigers). I agree that I think he still has a role to play for the club, and I think he can give us more than Bugg IF he can keep himself fit. If he broke down again before the end of the year then I'd give Buggy another year instead.

Also, he has played just 33 games over the last 3 and a half seasons, indicating that form and his run with injuries have hampered his ability to stay in the side and make an impact. As you say @Lucifer's Hero, a club in the bottom four might take a punt on him, but in the grand scheme of things I think we have more important players to retain and he may be squeezed out anyway. It's a shame as the bloke does have some talent, but he hasn't harnessed it enough or consistently enough to keep his spot in the side.

Sam Edmund in the HUN is reporting that Dean Kent may look for more opportunities elsewhere next season as he wants more midfield minutes, something he is not guaranteed to get with us. Here is a little bit of what he (Edmund) had to say about it: DEAN Kent could leave Melbourne in search of greater opportunity. Kent remains sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered in the Round 5 loss to Richmond, but is understood to want more midfield responsibility ... It's understood Kent would prefer to stay at Melbourne, but is unlikely to get a deal to his liking at the Demons and is assessing his options. Thoughts? I think he has something to offer, but he is far too injury prone and I don't think he will get the midfield minutes he desires with us.

There's nothing 'apparently' about it. His leadership at the club, from what I've heard, has been excellent since the day he arrived. He's never been quick so why we're all up in arms about him being slow is baffling. He hits way way way more targets than he misses (and plenty at our club are prone to horrible turnovers) and his discipline this season has been good. DS has just decided yesterday that he needs someone to sink the boots into. Lewis seems to be his man. He's done this before though where he huffs and puffs and stomps his feet (Tom McDonald) and has been made to look silly, so there's no reason why it won't happen again.

Don't argue it. Just be thankful that Tom McDonald hadn't had enough of us.

We have seen how we go with these two, and it hasn't been any better. Hunt has more upside and better games in the bank, but he's hardly banging the door down at Casey.

Perhaps said poster has learned from his lessons and has decided to just pot older blokes who are closer to the end, thus leaving him less room to look a little silly?

I was waiting to see who would drop their bundle the hardest. Well done, DeeSpencer. You've won by the length of the Flemington Straight.

He's soft, but he's also someone who I believe they have totally misused this season. He could be a weapon for them through the midfield, but either through poor fitness or an unwillingness to play him there, he's languishing in their dysfunctional forward line. I don't think I'd be interested in him, but he's just the sort of player who could leave and dominate elsewhere.

I also think players would be actively seeking us out as a club to join as well. Why go to Norf, Carltank, the Druggies or the dodgy pricks from Moorabbin when you could join a gun team on the rise? The choice is easy.

Does anyone know if the bloke is any good? I've heard of him but have no idea if he can play or not.

That's great. Some would agree, others would call him a troll. I fall in the latter. And him 'bleeding red & blue' might make him a better supporter than you, but it doesn't make him better than the rest.

No one is a better supporter than anyone else. We all contribute in our own ways, whether that be through attendance, membership, posting here or wearing your gear into work on a Monday win, lose or draw. While I don't agree with some posters on here, that doesn't mean I would consider them any less of a supporter than me or anyone else.

The comments in this thread, as well as the Goodwin thread, show how scarred some fans are. It annoys me, but at the same time I slightly understand where they are coming from. The last month shows how we need to be patient - a couple of bad losses and we had some supporters, who now look rather stupid, questioning everything as if the club was caving in. Now look at us. Just goes to show that we don't need to be negative about every decision made and be able to see the long term view, not just the short term.

Kind of reaffirms my stance on his article - Jay Clark is connecting dots that simply aren't there yet. All the chatter has been about us having the room and that we've looked long term for some time now to ensure we have the space to sign our players and add others. Seems like he's seen one Brayshaw at the Eagles, looked at the potential of Gaff leaving with Melbourne being interested and gone from there. Nothing in it.

Yep. The link they make with the Eagles is the fact one of his brothers plays there. It's thin at best.

For those that might not be able to read it - that article is a joke. Nowhere does it actually say that the Eagles are interested in Gus, more that it wonders if the Eagles will chase him as 'revenge' for us chasing Gaff. There is absolutely nothing to suggest he wants out, no quotes from managers or coaches or anything resembling something new. It's a headline purely for there for clicks.

Agree with all of that, LH. Others who we need to re-sign include: James Harmes, who has had a great year to date. Tim Smith, whose last 2 games show that he can be a really handy player for us going forward. They will make a call on it later in the year, but I reckon Bernie deserves one more year at the moment. Harley Balic is probably in line for another year as, from all reports, he's doing pretty well at Casey. Beyond those above and the players you mentioned (Gus, T Mac, Oscar, Jetta), I'll be interested to see who else we re-sign. Does Buggy get another year? Do we give Pedo another year as well, or do we have enough tall cover now?

I don't think we'll ever know the reasons behind it unless Goodwin, or McCartney himself, come forward with it. We could speculate all day - perhaps they moved him there as an extra voice on the bench to encourage, support and teach the players through the game, something he has always been really good at? Either way it's been a positive move and further proof that Goodwin is happy to make changes when required.

Not only is it good drafting, but they're not getting games because we have no one else. They're keeping out very experienced and capable players. It's fantastic to watch.

To add to this, and some mentioned it earlier, he has already played some rep footy during his junior years so he isn't coming from a long way back. He will know what he is doing pretty quickly. The beauty is that, at 17, time is also on his side and he can develop his craft at Casey without being thrown to the wolves too soon. With Gawny taking him under his wing he has a good chance of developing into a player for us. And we got him for nothing. Gold.