Wiseblood

I see a time, far into the distance, where you don't need to mention this each week. What a time that will be. We get it big fella.

Just looked at the Saints backline - who do they play on Hogan? Dempster? Roberton? If we get it down there enough the big fella should have a day out. He should monster those guys.

Who is playing tomorrow that you think will run out of gas? Essendon? North? Dogs?

I'm not saying that mate. If we look at the Bombers game, as an example, practically the whole team was off. That wasn't down to selection. That was down to the mindset of the players. You can't 'select' for that.

That's of the 22 players that were playing. One or two different players isn't going to change much, nor will it have any real impact on the result. The loss to Essendon could have been avoided by not playing Brayshaw? How do we know the replacement player would have played any better or worse? It's all hearsay.

Geelong playing some lazy footy tonight, plus there are plenty of spuds running around for them. Cockatoo, Ruggles, Murdoch, McCarthy etc. Take away a few of the experienced players and they are exposed for the very average players they are.

It's been a week since Darwin. The only thing that might, MIGHT, have an effect is that we have a few younger players. Otherwise they are professional athletes and the club would have planned well in advance for this game, not to mention monitoring the players closely heading in to selection. If they believe that one change is necessary then that's what is necessary. I still think O Mac might not get up for the game, and Wagner is obviously the ready made replacement for him.

Another domino falls! Only a few to go now, get it done Josh! Great to have Kent signed for a few more years, still lots of improvement left in him I reckon!

Spencer won't be one, he signed a new deal to the end of 2017 this year.

Interesting that they've name Gus. Would have thought he needed another run at Casey, and I felt that Roos intimated as such, but they might be keen to bring him in fresh to rest someone. I feel like there is the potential for 3 changes - Oscar could miss, while they might swap Stretch and Kennedy for Gus and Bugg who will be a little fresher. I'm happy either way though.

Of course you doubt it. If the trade went through and he was running out for us in Round 1 you would still find some way to doubt it. We will get one of these guys, but I doubt we get both unless we pull off some sort of miracle. Another good mid in Prestia wouldn't hurt, but do the club believe in the younger players to take that next step? I'm more confident on Hibberd than Prestia. There is also the albatross that is Tom McDonald - if he decides to leave it would free up some cap room to potentially sign a free agent or swing a deal or two. Big off season ahead.

Settle down James. You'll get over it.

The best.

Yes, he is. That's the short answer. He's a great user of the footy, calm under pressure and has a good motor. He will be a very handy addition to our backline.

Sorry it's not the article, but I recall reading somewhere on here that copying and pasting articles was against the rules, although I may be wrong on that. The article did deal in some 'could's' and 'likely's' though, such as saying this 'could' trigger a standoff between the clubs. Who knows what is going on behind closed doors? I have a feeling they would be annoyed at us for talking about him a few weeks back so it may go that way, and as we know the Bombers are a pain to deal with. Plenty of water to go under the bridge yet.

I wouldn't be so sure, bray.

Dazzle: The article says that we are feeling more confident of landing him. They reckon the Bombers want a first rounder, but the one we have in play for the following season is off limits. Our second rounder won't get it done. Likely to be a stand off, and while he can do it, it's highly unlikely that he goes to the grievance tribunal to get to us as a delisted free agent. Sources at the Bombers believe Hibberd is, at best, a 50/50 chance to stay at Essendon and is increasingly likely to want to come to Melbourne to reunite with Goodwin. It's nothing new really, just that it seems more likely than not that he will request a trade to us at the end of the season.

So it's okay for the club to totally disrespect them and take away a year of their footballing careers, but it's not okay for them to be able to walk away from the club to play elsewhere? What tosh.

Imagine the feeling of knowing you owe people and businesses that kind of money. Sheesh. I get edgy when I owe someone $5 bucks and it's taken me a day to pay them back.

To be fair Stuie, dazzle merely posted the article. He neither backed it up, nor did he get stuck in to Clark. It's no different to reporting on trade rumours and, going by the article, it seems this in fact did occur. While it's been sorted out it does show that Clark is still a rather ordinary bloke who is doing himself no favours in trying to earn another contract.

Agree with him? Picket is just using the "they allowed him to play well" card to justify his childish views. Tom played a ripper of a game, including some effective marks, spoils and rebounds from half back. Can't ask for much more from a key backman.

I'll clarify - what I meant is that, when I say I can see what Brisbane is trying to do, it's that they know they need to throw serious cash around to get players in to the club. And as you say, they are directing that cash at the wrong players. Jenkins, to me, makes little sense as well, especially at his age. If he was 25 then yes, I could understand it. But not at his age. He may only be good for another year or two, and how does he go when the delivery and gameplan are inferior? They need to keep investing in kids and looking for the right deals. Jenkins isn't one of them.

I can understand what Brisbane is trying to do, although if I were them I'd put that cash elsewhere. Schache and Hipwood have shown enough to suggest they could be very good key position forwards for the next 10-12 years, but they lack some serious class in other areas of the ground, especially down back. I'm surprised they aren't throwing big cash at Tom McDonald who would be a mega upgrade on any player they have in their backline. But to each their own. They'll need to pay top dollar to convince players to jump ship. I mean, why would Jenkins leave a premiership contender to play out his days at a cellar dwellar? The only reason is money. There was a reason Mitch Clark came to us and it wasn't our 'winning ways' that convinced him.

Jon Ralph has brought this up in an article tonight, asking the question of whether Jenkins is worth 800k or is he nothing more than a flat track bully. He commented that he rarely, if ever, leads up to the ball and his first instinct is to hang out the back looking for the easy goal. I don't believe he is worth the 800k at all and it certainly gives more credence to your point Jumbo. I'd link the article but it's behind the paywall.