Wiseblood

That's the wrong direction.

Meh. One side made the finals, the other fell short at the death. Not ideal but certainly not the worst thing ever. We're still headed in the right direction.

And this has to be our recruiting model now. In the past we may have tried to pounce on anybody with even a small amount of talent. Now, we need to add further quality, not just more depth players. Someone like Lonie is no more than depth, therefore there is no need for him.

Agreed. Dogs would want plenty for him, but if you could pry him loose then you would be all over it.

I think they were stamped long before this game. They even tried him down back and that didn't work either.

Steve paid him 50 dollars to start this thread.

It's interesting that so many players are staying loyal this year when all we've heard about is that the players want the freedom to move with as little trouble as possible.

I'm in the same boat - while he is certainly a talented player, the Dogs would want something seriously good for him and I don't think he's consistent enough to warrant it. Too high risk for me.

Not when Steve is involved. He needs to remind us that he's the perfect supporter every chance he gets.

I don't think so. I'm inclined to believe that we see Frost not just as a key back but as a utility as well. He's handy to have as a depth player, and I can't imagine that he is on huge money either.

He is probably a secondary target for us. I could also see the Dogs pushing to get someone like Stef Martin as well. If we were to, hypothetically, recruit both Trengove and Lever, does it make us a little top heavy? Or do we let Spencer walk and Trengove becomes the back up ruckman?

If only it were that easy. I could see the Crows digging in their heels a little at the prospect of losing yet another key defensive player, especially after losing Bock and Davis. With other clubs interested they may see if they can get a better deal and try and drive up the price. I'm not sure just our first rounder will get it done.

Those same negotiaters that got Hibberd for Pick 29? We can't get everything right, but don't make out as if we get shafted all the time, as it simply isn't true.

We need a spud thread on the board so you can ask about it there. This bloke ain't up to it.

Agreed. I still can't believe I haven't heard Mitch Kings thoughts on our end to the season. Baffling.

I'd say it's something we need to work on, especially against lower sides, but across the year we still won our fair share. It's average, at best. Garbage? Nah. And no, I don't want to deny any mental problems with some of our starts. Nice to discuss this with you, though. Normally you take a cheap shot and run away with your tail between your legs, never to reply again. Well done for sticking around this time.

Your first comment on your earlier post was 'our first quarters have been garbage all year'. Those stats, from round 15, are pretty poor (even though we still won a few of them, albeit not many), but does not take into account the whole year. Nice job changing the goal posts and cherry picking the stats to suit your argument.

Is it possible he is not eligible to play finals, in that he didn't play enough games?

Motlop will go somewhere like Port Adelaide. He won't be on our radar.

Garbage is a strong word. We lost half of our first quarters. That's not great and needs to be addressed, but it's hardly garbage. It's the same with our second half of the year. No doubt we struggled, but we still won games of footy. Garbage would suggest we didn't win a thing. I agree that there are flaws in the gameplan that need to be addressed, and we need our younger players to continue to develop, but I still see Goodwin as a very good coach. As I said in my last post, he needs to take the next step for us to begin to play finals on a consistent basis.

I don't want the club to panic trade with the outside mid. I think it's clear we need a little extra quality in that area, but if there isn't a suitable player then I think we go to the draft. Outside mids can be the worst players in a side, and trading for an average one will get us nowhere. Isaac Smith is one I'd look at, but I doubt he would leave the Hawks.

The evidence, regardless of our finish to the year, is 12 wins and improvement in many areas across the board. That's evidence of a very good coach, but he'll need to show he is a great coach to get us to the next level.

It can be a bit choppy, but normally it's pretty good.

Source for this info? Haven't seen it anywhere else.

I'd say it was the Dogs, being the reigning premier and still in the hunt at the time.