Wiseblood

6 more years? Try 6 months! DEMONS!!

That's an interesting stat - we were last in the league for I50 conversions, yet we were still able to win. Shows how far we've come in terms of how often we can get the ball into our forward line. If we can lift that rate then we will not only belt the Bombers tomorrow arvo but certainly win more games than we did last year as well.

He has been out of the side for almost 6 weeks now. He did the entire pre-season so he has a good fitness base, and he got through a full practice match and an intra club as well. The club wouldn't play him if they weren't confident.

Good changes. Their forward line is tiny outside of Daniher, so it makes sense to bring in a mid and a running backman (who can play both tall and small) to counter it. The Bombers backline, on the other hand, looks to be VERY tall. Dea, Brown, Hartley, Gwilt... hopefully it gives our fleet of small forwards plenty of opportunities to cause some havoc as well.

Alright mate, I retract that statement if it hurts you so much. As I said above I'm merely going by the fact that you often take a rather negative view of the football club, and to see you do the same here came as little surprise.

It wasn't that at all. It was more of an opinion based on your posting history, in that you like to take a rather negative stance towards most things. If you already believe he is gone then I can do nothing more than feel sorry for you. If you've already taken that stance then it will be a taint over the next 2 years for you. I'd hate to have to support like that. By the way - not too upset if he goes? A once in a lifetime forward leaves and you'll barely shrug your shoulders? I'm glad most don't support the club with such low levels of passion as you do.

Nothing's impossible. Don't make me use the word 'thick' again so you can cry to the mods. I've got 100% confidence in him, and the club, to get it done at the end of the year. If you can't comprehend that, well, that's your problem.

I can be, and I am. Cheers.

Fair point, but I also have no doubt that the club would have put a very, very good contract on the table for him. For the record I 100% believe he will sign on the dotted line come season's end.

The problem with that argument is that there have been several players who have signed long term deals with their clubs, and players who would draw considerable interest on the open market as well. Are you suggesting each manager told them not to do it?

I saw Jesse out and about today. He bought a latte instead of a cappuccino. Just another clear sign he's gone.

I feel the same way, although I do understand those who won't be happy with that. I don't think we are far enough down the track yet that we can thrash teams, even those like Carlton, but another good display of football and a win with no injuries will do me very nicely.

It comes as no surprise that, when I saw you had replied in this thread, that this was the exact opinion you would take Munga. Keep on trolling, son.

Langdon is a nut. I wouldn't put any credence in the drivel that spews forth from his mouth.

The coverage on Foxtel will likely begin at around 2pm. There is a game on earlier at 1:45pm which will get the early coverage.

I'm pretty confident about this one. I'd love to see us burst out of the blocks and slam on 5-6 goals before the Bombers land one, but it's been so long since we've done that. We should put them to the sword though, and if our midfield gets on top then I have no worries that our forwards can kick a winning score.

You can put a line through Petracca - Roos made it pretty clear that he won't be considered for the senior side until he is up to match fitness. I think most of us knew he wasn't a chance to be selected this week, but this confirms it. Roos also said Brayshaw and Lumumba are in the frame for selection this week as well.

No sense of humour more like it. He's never had one. I'm more confident about this game than I was about last years. I think the boys are full of confidence and belief in the direction we are heading and we won't allow ourselves to drop this game. I couldn't say that about us last year, but this year feels... different. Coming from behind to win as we did is just the tonic we needed as well. Had we lost then I wouldn't have been so confident.

In the past, when he's given free kicks away they have often been stupid and avoidable. I'm sure there are plenty of posters here who can recall him regularly falling into a players back when he tackles, a mistake that he doesn't need to make. His stats might say one thing, but they don't say what type of free kicks they are that he does give away. The argument wasn't that he gives more away, just that when he does they are silly. Again, I'm glad he has started the season in a positive fashion, but that still doesn't wash away the last few years of below average football. I still have nightmares of the West Coast game last year where his disposal, particularly under any sort of pressure, was nothing short of atrocious.

I think that is likely to be happen too. I think the club sees a bright future for Harmes in that half forward role, but the quality of someone like Brayshaw is too hard to ignore. Whether they give him another week in the magoos is another thing.

I think he might too, although if he is to be dropped it will be for either Brayshaw or Lumumba. Trac and Trenners aren't ready yet. As much as many aren't fans of Lumumba, and I get that, the FD is and I can see him coming back into the side this week.

He was still recovering from a knee reco as well when we delisted him. I think the club allowed him to continue to train with us while he was in rehab, but it was clear the club didn't think he could make it back and become a solid contributor. It's terrific to see him doing so at the Eagles now.

When did this occur? Was he the one lifting standards when we couldn't win more than 4 games? As nutbean says above - I'm happy to give him credit for his start to the season, he's been terrific, but it doesn't wash away his last couple of years of total mediocrity. If he is still in the side and doing well by Round 10 or so then I'd be more than happy to agree with others that he's turned the corner.

True, although Sydney have more money in the cap than other clubs. And guys like Gunston have already come out and said they would take less to keep/get players in to the club. I have no doubt their older players have taken less money to play on as well, plus they ended up having a large sum of money lying around when Buddy left as well. We have lots of young players coming out of contract who I'm sure we want to keep around, and making sure we can do that should be our top priority. If we can fit in a high profile recruit as well then that would be fantastic.

I think we'll hear rumours about most of the 12 that have been banned this year. It sounds as though Cale Hooker is already gone and it wouldn't surprise to see a few others do the same. We will have a decision to make though. If, say, Dion Prestia is available and interested in coming to the club, can we then land another player like Hurley too, knowing there will be lots of interest from other clubs which would drive his price up? Can we fit them under the salary cap, knowing we have quite a few quality players to re-sign this year and next? Lots of water to go under the bridge but it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.