Wiseblood

If we're talking about bringing in Nicholson then we are in worse shape than I thought. He's not up to it in the slightest. Michie, Blease and Toumpas will get a run over the next few weeks before he does.

Pick 6 for Mitchell and Jones.

"Jesse Hogan trained, put that bit in Jesse Hogan injury update topic" - he said that in the second line, it's all in that thread.

Thanks WJ, just [censored] myself a thousand times over...

Only change is probably putting the sub vest on Riley and starting Salem. This 22 deserves a big crack at Norf after today.

Coniglio? Nah. Go after Tom Mitchell. Throw our first pick at the Swans for Mitchell and possibly Rohan (although he reminds me too much of Blease), snares us another gun mid while the Swans can draft a tall back and get some salary cap relief.

Why not? Has all the right credentials and is doing a great job under difficult circumstances at the Hawks. Would be a terrific fit IMO.

This will sound harsh but performances like this is exactly what the club needs. Roos and co. will see that these guys are not worth persevering with and cut them from the list come season's end, replacing them with a free agent or two and some players that will fit the culture of the club moving forward. We need further depth and good role players and clearly most of the guys playing at VFL level (we know who they are) are just not up to doing that for us. I echo the sentiments from a few posts back that you have to wonder 'what if' had Roos been around earlier, but the ship has long sailed. It's a positive for the club as they can cut the fat and replace it with the type of footballers our club needs.

Love the way he goes about it, and I think with another pre-season or two under his belt he can spend more time in the midfield as well. He can then put that beautiful left foot of his to even better use. Happy with the changes we've made this week, as both McKenzie and Riley have been very good for weeks and deserve their chance. JKH was due for a rest, we are too tall with Gawn and to me, Terlich isn't in our best 25 players when everyone is fit. This is not a knock on him, just that we now have a little more depth and with both Howe and Jetta in terrific form down back there just isn't a spot for him there.

We're all sick of just the 'good efforts', but how much can we realistically expect of this team right now? It's easy to forget where we have come from and, after such good improvement, be annoyed and disappointed at a loss like this. But we've come so far and even in defeat today we showed that. Can't argue that it's disappointing and frustrating but we are only 12 games into the 'new' era and it will still take us some time to learn not only how to match it with the best but how to win against them too.

Considering the Pies have kicked 120 plus for the last 3 QB games it was an excellent effort to keep them to just 61 points this year. It shows how far we've come as a side. Yes, it's boring and yes it's not easy to watch sometimes but it's easy to forget where we have come from. Unfortunately not every game will be a good one this year and, even though we weren't good at all today, we were still in the game until the last quarter. Roos has stated that he is giving the players the basic game plan and, once they know it, he can start to experiment a bit and add more of that attacking flair. Until then we have to accept that some weeks we will look terrific and others we won't.

But we are in it. I'd rather this than allowing the Pies to kick 120 points yet again while being smashed. We have room for improvement in the second half and we are only 9 points down. We are right in the contest.

Plus I think this is our best opportunity to beat them in sometime, and that's not just because of our form. No Maxwell and Reid down back, Sidebottom out hurts and they are basically relying on Cloke to dominate up forward to kick a score. Big chance today if we can grab it.

The feeling of dread has been replaced by the feeling of nerves. Not sure which one I rather right at this minute! If we are up and about then we are a show. We have the forwards to stretch them, a midfield that can match them and a backline that can contain them. If it all comes together then we'll go close.

True, although the job of the board is not just focused on that but also on the longevity of the club as a whole. The board has put a man in place to win those games and now, with things on field looking more stable than they have for a while, they can focus on building the club off the field to secure our future. We've heard some of it before but I don't think Bartlett deserves to be canned for it. He has a clear vision for the club and he is doing the hard yards to put them in place. I can't see anything wrong with that, and the difference this time around is that the club are getting it right on the field rather than getting it horribly wrong.

And it's still the same problems. No forward line. No back line. Crameri was a desperation signing and someone who thrived at Essendon with taller players around him to take the pressure off. Now he is being found out more often than not, and the famed Doggies midfield has once again no one to kick the ball to. Until they address these areas, either through free agency or the draft, they will continue to be a bottom four team.

He wasn't saying that at all. He was responding to olisik who said Blease didn't have a high disposal count, which he did. On that disposal count - it's clear the club doesn't hold that in high regard at the minute anyway after many of them got heaps of the pill a fortnight ago and got blasted for it by Brett Allison (and rightly so). Hopefully we get a better report from him this week on a variety of players.

Couldn't agree more with this. Gawn is the logical choice to miss out for Dawes and after that there is no need to make wholesale changes. We've had team stability throughout the year and it's worked.

True, but I can't see him being a permanent forward for us past this season if he signs on. He's a natural backman, and with McDonald and Garland down there along with Dunn we look very, very solid back there. Dawes, Hogan and Pedersen as a third tall with even Howe as a fourth tall is fantastic up forward too.

The one that intrigues me the most is Brendan Bolton from Hawthorn. Has been coaching for 10 years and is only 35 and moved through the ranks to become the midfield coach at Hawthorn after he coached the Box Hill Hawks. Box Hill's president paid tribute to him by saying his created such a positive environment that even the AFL players enjoyed playing there. Must have some serious skills to be the mdifield coach at the Hawks and if he can clearly create and develop great relationships with the players then he might be one to look at.... if he's interested that is.

Plus I can't stand the way he says Toump-AS. Gives me the shits!

The one thing in his favour was that, even though it took Rance 30 seconds to get his bearings, he played out the game with no troubles and didn't require anything like a concussion test. Hopefully he gets a reprimand with some carryover points as, really, there was little in it, but who knows what the MRP will do these days...

And after so many years of knowing we won't win this is such a foreign feeling... I don't know what to do with it...

Why?

No changes to either side. Subs: Lennon and JKH Some will be disappointed to see JKH as the sub but I like it as Salem and Riley will both start and it shows how much Roos wants to look after these younger players and not throw them to the wolves from the outset. Roos knows JKH has earned his spot but, by giving him the vest, it shows he is trying to prolong his time in the side without burning him out.