Wiseblood

Throw Daniher into that mix as well. I still miss the Reverend from time to time, outside of the ups and downs he was terrific for the playing group. He left at the right time but he was fantastic.

I think he has recently said how much he regretted going back to WA. I was shattered when he left. He still has the silky skills too, still a joy to watch!

Give up because I don't totally share your opinion? Please. Band one compo is great but is no guarantee of improving our list.

I made a general comment about where other posters stand on the issue. Did I say that was you? No. Our backline has been good, no doubt about it or argument from me, but you don't just let tall players with talent walk out the door easily. Some supporters are too flippant about what he can bring to the table.

Exactly. I didn't say he was playing at that level or that he had been for the last couple of years. I merely said he has the talent to play at that level. And to be fair, it's been hard to play at that level of football with what's been happening on the field over the past two seasons. If you're going to have a crack at how he's been playing we can at least acknowledge how hard it's been to play in our backline.

And there are also posters who will happily slam a player if they postpone contract talks and tell all and sundry that we don't need them on our list to make themselves feel better when they inevitably leave. I'm not saying I'm saying we keep him as I'm still on the fence, but it goes both ways on here. While he has his deficiencies we need to remember that, yes, he can play at an AA level and that decent tall backmen don't grow on trees. Just ask the Dogs, Saints and Blues for example.

Crumbing forward is probably it, although Aaron Hall could still be handy in that department. Another KPD would be handy but can they afford it? I'm sure they could get another half decent backman for a fraction of what they would need to pay Chip in the current market.

Unbelievably scary, and to the point now where they don't really need to poach other players anymore. They are well stocked in all areas of the ground, it's just a matter of time before they really click.

Not sure they really need him with Thompson and May playing so well down there. They would want to keep some cap room to sign up all their younger players over the next 2-4 years.

I really like this paragraph as it sums up how I feel about Chip as well. As a person within our leadership group I think he hasn't handled this situation well at all - he's happy to be a leader but won't fully commit to the club long term. There's something horribly wrong with that. He wanted to see the direction, which we've answered, and wanted to see Roos around long term (will probably be 3 years and then he will be around after that) but he keeps coming up with other excuses and such that will help him walk away with a supposed clear conscience. I like Chip and think he still brings something to the table, but not for 600k+ a year. Where that goes from here is anybodies guess.

Just too many 'average' players out there today. Our bottom six (guys like Kent, Bail, Salem etc) didn't give us enough and, to me, that hurts more than anything. We can match it with the other sides but it's those bottom 6 players and their inconsistent efforts that hold us back.

And even still we only got done by a kick. That doesn't condone the performance, just shows how much further we have come as a side. We desperately need to turn these games into wins, but a diabolical performance for us would have resulted in a 10 goal loss. Now we are in the game. It's something to hang out hat on at any rate.

And that's because of his contract situation, which is a little of his doing, but it makes him an easy target. He smashed the pants off Jones, but a blunder or two is all we see.

Why? We've got a raft of players on our list who haven't shown much and been given 6 years to do it. The kid is not even 20 yet.

Outside of a few players we would have hoped to have kicked on by now Roos has delivered on his promises for this season. The team has a clear game plan, the percentage is better and we are far more competitive. Plus the recruits have been excellent. As you say the next few games will tell us alot as Freo and Geelong normally smash us, so if we can keep up with them and snag a win or two before seasons end then it's a positive for us going forward.

I think his frustration would also include the Casey performances as well. He would be looking down there and scratching his head about who he truly brings into the side. There are players in our side he wants to drop and nobody below banging the door down to be selected.

This is the sad optimistic in me, but that kick (on his non-preferred foot) could literally have done anywhere. Our players didn't over commit and they kept him boundary side while cutting off an inside kick or handpass. The bloke got lucky. Yes, maybe we do more, but if that kick goes the other side of the post it's game on.

No doubt about that. On one hand the positivity surrounding Roos has been dampened as the season has progressed as the realisation of how much further we have to go dawns on us. However, on the flip side of that we have genuinely been in every game we've played this year (bar West Coast) and that's something that can't be overlooked. Roos and the FD need another pre-season to once again cut some fat, hopefully add more class, and have yet another summer of training done with a young group. It's the best we can hope for at the minute.

Frawley - Smashed spud Jones

That phrase right there sticks out the most to me. A stark reminder of how bad we were 12 months ago and that patience, ever the virtue, is still required in spades.

Wouldn't argue with any of those, although as you say Riley might get another year after coming off a rather serious injury. I have a soft spot for Tappy but I fear that, unless he comes into the side and really shows something, his time is up. Regardless of if Frawley leaves I can see Roos putting our first pick up for grabs again if it means landing another quality midfielder as the last thing we need is another developing tall down in the magoos. We might also snaffle a player or two in free agency and hope to improve further.

Merely making an observation P-man. This is what we get after a loss. I was shattered after the game, but unlike others I don't stream on to here the moment the game is over to smash every player that I can remember from the game doing something bad. Nobody is wrong about our drafting, for example, yet it's brought up ad bleeding nauseum each time we lose. Like our efforts for the better part of a decade it gets old, fast. It's getting to the point where you don't need to read these threads anymore as the same posters waffle on about the same stuff each week.

It is to others when we lost a game by a kick. I don't see the doom and gloom, as nobody predicted us to win in Adelaide, or give a Port a run for their money etc. and I still think we are a chance to cause a surprise or two. Plus the Saints and GWS won't win another game, so we should be right from here.

Things you'll find on Demonland after a loss: No matter how he plays Watts is potted. One possession out of his 15-20 will be a turnover or he doesn't win a one on one contest and we spend pages dumping on the bloke and focusing on that. Toumpas will be blamed, directly or indirectly, for the loss and for our horrid drafting, even when he isn't even in the side. Everyone will ask for 'Player A' to replace 'Player B', even though 'Player A' has been not been doing much in the reserves side and offers little in the seniors. But they will be 'the answer' to our pace or disposal problems. Our horrible drafting Still horrible drafting We could have had Wines etc etc If Frawley has even an average game everyone will tear him down, claim he is gone and that we can't wait to get MORE top end picks, even though 90% of the posters have whinged about how bad our drafting has been. Some of these aren't necessarily wrong, just terribly predictable. We lost because we still aren't that good of a side. Yes, the Roos factor has allowed us to double our win tally and be WAY more competitive than we would have hoped for this year. But games like today still highlight how far we have to go and that we still need to be awfully patient, even when we have a right to demanding some success from our team. Our time will come, even if it's still a few years from now.

You want skilled players and then ask for one of our LEAST skilled players to be brought back into the side? Are you confused? Shattered with the loss but, once again, a lapse in concentration killed us. Plus our clearance work when the game was on early was deplorable.