Wiseblood

And there lies the dilemma. As someone mentioned above, I still see us as a chance of trading pick 10 for two picks in the teens (with our pick 28 thrown in as well) so we can select the players we want without 'reaching' too much.

There is a fine line on both sides of the coin. There are those who are generally more 'pessimistic', but they at least put some thought in to what they say. I can respect that. For example, I feel like @praha falls into this category. I don't mean that in a bad way, but he generally puts plenty of thought into what he has to say and it's not just negativity for the sake of it. There are other examples of this, some of which can also be positive when the time arises. Then you have the negatives for negatives sake who will bash the club regardless of what happens. They aren't worth your time and, if I'm being honest, I've got a large selection on ignore. Why engage with them? Better to save your energy for those who put some effort in. There are also others who I think see more of the good than bad. One example if @titan_uranus - always puts plenty of thought into his posts and they are a great read. Again, there are many others like this, and I think we have a good mix of both. Then, of course, are the positive for positives sake. I've got a few of those on ignore as well. I do believe we have a pretty good mix overall, and blocking those who put little effort into their bashing or their praise make the site much more enjoyable. It's far easier to get to the good stuff without having to wade through all the muck.

I agree, but if we want Pickett (and I have no idea if we do), then it's too early at 10 and probably too late at 28.

Doubt it, but if we do something like 10 and 28 for 14 and 17 then he might be a chance.

Pretty decent deal there. Went back two spots and landed a second rounder and a future fourth which can be used for other small deals as well. Means we have three picks inside the top 30, plus a later pick for something else if need be. You get the feeling that we're confident our targets at those parts of the draft will be available so we're happy to do the deal.

Bingo. I also spoke with someone very close to McCartney during the year and got the same answer. Again, I know it's not the whole story, but it's an extremely large part of it.

That's fine. I know I'm not perfect, but I often like to think I do the same. Just don't put words in my mouth. While I've been quite vocal about the fact I think injuries were the major issue, I've also discussed at length over the season the other reasons why we had a bad season. It wasn't all down to that, but it was a major factor, and if Mahoney and the club are highlighting it then I think we're well within our rights to discuss it, which is all I was doing. I don't need to move on from it, as I already have. However, if it's raised like it has been, then it's up for discussion. As I've said, I can't wait to see what we can achieve in 2020 with a fair crack at it, which is something we absolutely didn't have last year.

I agree. Like I said, I can't wait for 2020. Having said that, if the topic of 2019 is being discussed, then it's only fair to highlight what our coaching staff thought were the major factors to a poor 2019. Apparently that means I haven't moved on, though. Oh well.

It was one person really. He knows who he is. I was trying to be more subtle but yeah, whatever. And who says I, or others, haven't moved on? Don't put words in my mouth, like you're want to do. All I've said is that what they presented supports what many viewed as the major issue for 2019. That's all. Why you need a massive diatribe to try and make that more than it is, is beyond me. I can't wait for 2020. 2019 is well and truly in the rear view mirror. Doesn't mean I can't say that I believe our pre-season, and the injuries and surgeries we had, wasn't a major reason for the shocker we had.

Firstly, thanks to all those who provided further information and slides from the night. Much appreciated as I'm never a chance of getting t to those things. Secondly, as Fifty-5 mentioned above, I really don't think it can be understated how much the pre-season affected us (even though some were saying we didn't have anyone with an interrupted pre-season, but whatever...). I think Burgess making the comment that it's close to impossible to catch up on any fitness/conditioning etc. when the season is underway highlights how far behind the eight ball we were before a ball was even bounced. We were under prepared, not fit enough and didn't have the cohesion to put into practice any changes to the gameplan. Of course, there were probably a few mistakes made along the way that we will learn from, but I have every confidence that we can bounce back and play finals in 2020 if we keep the majority of our list fit and on the park for the season.

So it seems like this is going to happen, and I have no idea how to feel about it. Taking a big bloke like Jackson at 3 is a massive gamble, and we don't exactly have a great track record when we gamble in the draft. That's not to say the kid won't be a star, but something isn't sitting right with this one. I might need a bit on convincing if we go ahead with it.

How could you possibly know that? I get that people are a little critical of him as a leader, but that's a definitive statement that you can't possibly know for sure. The bloke has consistently been voted into the role by the players, so he must be doing a few things right, otherwise it wouldn't happen.

I actually think he will be an even better player because of it. I really think he will thrive in the role of co-captain.

That's not good to hear. I think I'll miss the 'I hate <insert player name>' comments before they go on to kick 5 goals and be best on ground. It makes the game day threads interesting!

It works both ways too, jnr. If people can't be derogatory because they haven't played AFL, how are they able to praise them? Going by the earlier logic, if you haven't played AFL then your opinion, good or bad, on all things football is irrelevant. That would then make all training reports completely irrelevant as no one here, to my knowledge, has played football at AFL level.

They could have at least tried to make it a good one.

I've got one... I think...

Going by Goat's attitude, he will want us to chase prime Wayne Carey and then blame the club when we can't do it.

Yep. At the very least, Josh Dunkley deserves to be second on that list. Absolute gun.

You need to get out more, Andy.

If he lasts to pick 8, then yeah, I'd be okay with it. Not keen on using pick 3 on him though.

It will continue to get worse thanks to social media. These people now have a platform to share their 'views' to millions of people and, thus, the above happens far more than it should. It's disgraceful behaviour, but what can we do about it? Everything put in place doesn't necessarily seem to be working all that well. We continue to bring more and more attention to it, yet it seems to be happening more than ever.

I haven't been here for a week. Has Saty been copping it and, thus, this thread is born, or was Kev paid to do it? Bring on Round 1.

Has a few tricks up his sleeve, and can jag a goal, but he isn't close to being Top 10 material and he'll be gone by the time our last pick rolls around. Won't be a factor for us.