Wiseblood

He would be terrific, but I reckon clubs closer to the bottom of the ladder (Carlton, St. Kilda, Essendon) might throw him a lengthier and more expensive contract than we might be willing to offer.

Pretend you're deaf as he's the last person we need at the club. We have enough in and under players.

Clarry is certainly stiff, but you can't fit everyone in I guess. Good to see Hogan deservedly getting the nod at CHB. Does anyone realistically think he is a chance of an AA nod, or at least making the squad of 40?

Why are we so obsessed with speed? Just because someone has pace doesn't mean we need to instantly recruit them. Aaron Hall is a prime example - alright, the bloke has pace, but he is the softest, flakiest and one of the most inconsistent footballers in the AFL. He wouldn't make us a better side.

Go home Boomer, you're drunk.

It doesn't show it above, but Spargo had 7 tackles to go with those 14 touches and 2 goals. He does his job with minimal fuss, but losing out to Taylor seems strange. I could understand it if it was Giro or Guelfi, but not Taylor.

The bottom line is that he'll sign. Doesn't matter if it's late August, early August or tomorrow morning. I couldn't be more confident that it will get done. I'm going with a 3 year deal.

Every time I see a post in this thread I'm hoping it's a link to the article about him re-signing with the club. I don't reckon it will be too far away.

Yep. It will be Giro or even Matt Guelfi. The one thing that will keep Spargo from a Rising Star Nom is that he isn't flashy and he doesn't get a huge amount of the ball. He just works his backside off, hits the scoreboard and does it all with minimal fuss. Love what he brings to the side.

I'd prefer that we don't go with Tyson as I just don't think he fits our side going forward. He's been overtaken by others (Brayshaw, Oliver, Harmes etc) and he isn't clean enough or quick enough to play anywhere else but in those positions that are already filled. I'd rather see us play Petracca more through the middle and bring in someone like Kent to play forward with stints through the middle as I think it gives us something different.

Wasn't too long ago we were worried that Gus might not make it to 50 games. Now I can't wait to see him play 200 in the red and blue.

I like the positivity, LH! I think, with our percentage the way it is, that we can definitely finish inside the Top 4 as none of our remaining games scare me (the Eagles in Perth will be our toughest assignment IMO). This round of games proves that anything can happen in this league, and teams like the Dockers and Lions are more than capable of causing an upset or two. I also like the fact that we have a tough run home as we can really test our mettle against some quality opposition leading into September.

So out of that side go Lever, Hunt, Pedersen, Maynard and Wagner. At the moment we have added Brayshaw, Frost, Spargo, JKH and Tom McDonald, depending on how selection goes this week. Obviously Lever is a big loss, but Brayshaw, Tom Mac and Spargo have made us a better side, while Frost has been pretty good since coming in as well. I think we're a stronger side than the one we fielded in Round 1. On the flip side, they've added Dangerfield to their side and it's being place at GMHBA Stadium, so we'll need to be at our very best to walk away with the 4 points.

I think we have the midfield depth to cover him well enough, especially as we did so earlier in the season. Covering a potential AA key position player is harder to do.

Which is what a stand alone thread has allowed to happen. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not against the discussion, but a dedicated thread invites unwarranted vitriol and ridiculous comments. This one has been no different.

Absolutely no problem with the discussion. Just didn't think it warranted it's own thread.

I get it, Einstein. I get the topic is Jones and I even agreed with HT that we should be able to have a discussion like this about any player on our list, regardless of their standing. Posters here have potted everyone from Hogan to Lewis to Petracca to Tyson to O Mac and so on this season for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's worthwhile (Tyson and Petracca), other times it's a knee jerk reaction (Lewis and Hogan). Jones falls into the knee jerk reaction part. I just don't think it's worth it's own thread... yet. You disagree which is fantastic. Go and buy a trophy and stick it on your mantle to celebrate. That's the last I'll say on it with you.

Don't want the chap. Just an accumulator, goes missing when the going gets tough, and my next door neighbour claims he should never have won a best and fairest, even though I'm pretty sure he's never won one. Pass.

In his original post, HT is discussing Nathan Jones' game against the Dogs. That's why I said it probably should have gone in the Post Match Thread. If he has another 3 shockers in a row then have at it, but I think it's a little bit of knee jerk reaction to be honest.

I think your comment about Jones is relatively justified, HT. He had an off game, and probably hasn't been at his best over the last month. He hasn't been bad, nor do I think he is lacking in leadership, but I think we have pretty high expectations for Jonesy and how consistent he has been for so long, and when he is down it's pretty noticeable. However, I don't think him having one shocker is reason enough to pot him in his own thread, and I'd wager that's why some are rightfully not happy with it. Couldn't this have been part of the post match discussion? I think singling him out in his own thread after one poor game is a bit harsh. I think the discussion is fair, but the singling out isn't.

Bottom line - if we make finals, regardless of who we beat to get there, then we deserve to be there. Nothing else really matters. We got some great results this weekend and it's a big opportunity for us to build on that and cement our position in the top 8. That starts with the Cats on Saturday night.

We can roll the Cats at Kardinia Skilled GMHBA Stadium. What works in our favour is the smaller ground - I'm going by assumption, but I think it's closer in size to Adelaide Oval (someone will prove me wrong no doubt, which I deserve as I didn't check) and it will suit our game style. Gawny should give us first use out of the middle most of the time, and if we can have the same synergy like we did in the second half today then that will go a long way to helping us win. I still see us as a huge chance against the Crows (we play that oval well) and against the Swans and GWS over here. The Eagles in Perth is always a challenge, but we did it last year so there is no reason why we can't do it again. I think the players are full of confidence and I'd back us in for our last 6 games of the season. There is no reason why we can't win all of them.

If we had 'many' passengers in a 50 point win then I'd love to see it when there aren't any. 200 point win maybe?

You would think Tyson gets first crack, but the one knock on him is that he hasn't exactly set the world alight this season. They may feel like doing something a little different to see if they can cover it better.

It may have changed how he runs, but it hasn't changed the way he plays which is terrific. If they decide to put him on ice for the season then I'm confident he can return in 2019 and recapture his best form.