titan_uranus

Far out, that really set Geelong back didn't it. You just can't talk about Geelong or Port Adelaide these days and not think back to the day Port notched their first win.

Not to point people out, but WJ, what made you choose Brad Miller? A joke, or do you actually think he'd not only be a good captain, but on our list next year in the first place?

Brown at CHF doesn't see him cross the centre. Bolton is not a CHB, he's a FB, and doesn't leave the 50 much in any game. Yes, at FB or FF you're not as involved in the play, but to say that excludes you from captaining is a pretty weak argument IMO. I thought Neitz was a fine captain.

Disgusting changes. Bail was one of the last people who should have been dropped. How Bail gets the axe before Bennell I don't know. Even if he's the designated emergency and so could come in for Moloney, it's still the wrong call. AFAIK Morton didn't exactly set the world on fire at Casey last week. This might be the first time this year I've actually been angry at the changes. Can't believe Newton got a recall, but I guess PJ has been crap. Warnock deserved his spot based on Casey form but we look top heavy now with him, Frawley, Rivers and Garland all down there. I suspect Garland might find himself further up the ground.

Yes, if being the operative word. He hasn't done that so far, and he doesn't have unlimited time to do it. He's unworthy of a spot on the senior list IMO so it's another year as a rookie or deslited for Newton.

How's Jonathan Brown as a captain? Craig Bolton? Having a leadership group allows for there to be leaders all over the ground at any given time, making this point redundant.

Green. Joint-captaincy can go jump off a cliff.

Aha! Hehe, so true.

Strauss in the reserves - injured? Or in poor form?

Melbourne Football Club...what, Scare-something?

1) I wouldn't say Bruce is 'likely' to go to the GC. 2) We got as much out of our young players in our wins as we did from our older players 3) Whether Junior left this year or next, we were still going to have to find someone else to step up and become more of a leader. Can't keep them forever.

Candidates are Bruce, Green, Moloney. That's it. Davey is not captaincy material. He exhibits little to no on-field leadership, doesn't do any media at all. His work with our indigenous players has been well documented and he unquestionably brings the best out of them, but he is not captaincy material. Sorry. Green, for mine, is the best package. He's in the prime of his career, he already exhibits on-field leadership (let's try not to have that debate again though...), he seems comfortable in the media when I see him (which isn't that often though), and he could feasibly take the job for the next 3-4 years, after which I guess Grimes would be the next choice. Moloney and Bruce have their pros (and cons), but Green for mine is the standout.

Newton's selection is as big a surprise as we've had all year. The only thing that could be bigger would be seeing Daniel Bell named for next week. Surely one, and only one, of PJ and Newton will play. The Casey argument makes sense, but I can't see Newton being on our list next year which makes playing him redundant. Bennell is very lucky to keep his spot IMO. I'm looking for a bench of McKenzie, Moloney, PJ and Bail. Bail and McKenzie should be no-brainer selections. Bate hasn't done enough at Casey, Morton is closer and will be the likely replacement for Moloney if he doesn't come up. But a spot on the senior list? Unworthy. I don't think he can be retained on the rookie list, but if he could then he probably will be. But despite the arguments above, he's just nowhere near good enough to keep a spot on the senior list.

Yep, that's definitely a positive, not a negative as some argue.

Kind of unsurprising but still disappointing. A wonderful servant of this club. Hopefully this spurs us on to a memorable win in Adelaide for his 250th.

Seems to me that Krakouer, Harbrow and Brown are all signed. Rischitelli and Brennan are maybes. Ablett is undecided and I reckon he'll stay. I've also heard that John Anthony is a possibility.

Off-field: A+ On-Field: B+ Hard to argue against an A+ for off-field matters. DB's shown clear improvement, the debt is gone, the Stynes-Schwab-Connolly-Bailey adminstration seems sound, we've had no real dramas off-field (a la Stokes and his drugs, Lovett and his escapades, Cousins and his pills, Connors and his drinking, Hurley and his fists, Ablett and his money), everyone seems to be happy. On-field, a B+ is appropriate IMO. We've either matched or exceeded expectations, we've matched it with a likely premier twice, plus two other top 4 sides, won in Darwin and Brisbane, put up a half-decent show in Perth, won 3 in a row twice, and played some damn good football too. We've also had some shockers, but those are what prevent the season from being an A. Should not have lost to West Coast or North Melbourne, should have closed out at least one of the Collingwood or Bulldogs games.

Am I the only person here who thinks Strauss is just as insecure for 2011 as McNamara is? Both are young. Both have had injuries at some stage. Both have shown a bit in their 2/3 games at AFL level. Both have had some good VFL games but haven't really dominated. Are people's judgements clouded by their draft positions (Pick 19 vs Pick 60-something)? PS: I'm not having a go at Strauss, just trying to defend TMac somewhat.

Some of the suggestions in this thread are laughable. Ben McKinley? What a terrible idea. The guy is crap. Absolute crap. Comparing him to PJ does neither player any service. John Anthony? Over-rated to the highest order. Knows how to kick for goal, and that's it. Can't mark, can't run, doesn't get enough of the ball, doesn't apply defensive pressure, has the wrong temperament. Mitch Clark? Another over-rated player who managed one good year, but his AA selection was on the back of the rest of the competitions rucks being so-so. Plus he's a bit of a dirty scrag. Tom McMamara is on our list and is a much more likely prospect than either of those three. So is Jack Fitzpatrick. When I think of Veszpremi, I think of Maric. Supposedly talented, but hasn't shown it since being drafted. Don't they play a similar role as well?

I'm sure you're spot on about Maric's junior form, but that's all we've got in terms of positives for Maric atm. His AFL form has been as bad as any other player who's had a game for us over the last 2 years, and his VFL form hasn't been as good as it should be. Harsh, sad, whatever, but too many are viewing Maric in the light that was bathed upon him when he was drafted at pick 21. Having said all that, from reports he was OK for Casey last week, so I guess there's a chance we'll see him this week anyway.

Good thread. Bell is the absolute certainty. Miller's close enough to absolutely certain. So that's two, and I'd have McKenzie and our first round draft pick to take their spots. Next comes the ruck question. PJ is crap but is the incumbent, Martin has shown next to nothing as a ruckman but has shown promise as a defender, and Spencer has shown a little bit but still doesn't inspire confidence. It seems that Martin is contracted, so I reckon the battle is between PJ and Spencer. I really can't decide, but I think I'd prefer to see Spencer get the gig in front of PJ who still can't crack it. So I'd delist PJ and promote Spencer in his place. Next, I think McDonald will retire. Not a decision that I'd like, but I reckon he might notice players like Brad Johnson, Simon Goodwin, Brett Burton, Andrew McLeod, Andrew Embley, Brett Kirk etc. dropping off rapidly, and I wouldn't put it past him to put the team in front of his own career. He'll finish on 249-251 games, a fine achievement, after a fine year, and going out on a high might be a great way for him to end his career. If this happens, Green gets moved onto the Veteran's list and we get another pick. Finally, I cannot stomach delisting McNamara, I think he has so much upside. To be honest and fair, if it came down to it, I'd much prefer to delist Maric or Cheney and keep McNamara, but the former two are contracted so that puts TMac in the gun. For mine, Strauss hasn't shown a lot at Casey this year and is no certainty to make it either, and if there's one more delisting that has to take place it will be McNamara or Strauss. I'd rather not see either of them go. So it seems I've come up with this: Delist: Bell, Miller, PJ Retire: McDonald Upgrade to Veteran's list: Green Promote from rookie list: McKenzie, Spencer Take two selections from the ND I think that satisfactorily covers it.

He is not good enough. Plenty of others are ahead of him unfortunately.

Certainly the backline deserves a heap of credit for their efforts. Given the amount of time the ball spent down there you could have excused a bigger score from Hawthorn. At half time Graeme Bond on 3AW said Hawthorn had had 77-odd disposals in their forward half in the second quarter, whereas we'd had 13 in ours. He was poor. Very poor. The man just can't take a mark. Spilled a sitter on his chest (yes, it was wet, but the other 43 blokes managed to adapt), still doesn't use his body like he should, and of course kicked 40 metres across the defensive 50 to a Hawk.

I absolutely cannot believe Chapman got off. The MRP is totally flawed. Yet the AFL is more worried about the ball hitting the goal post than getting some consistency into the process by which suspensions are handed out. Ridiculous.

??? Can't have it both ways. Miller didn't get near it on Saturday against a VFL side that isn't made up of skinny teenagers. He would be taking a game away from someone like McNamara, Cheney, Maric or Strauss if he did get a go. So he doesn't play.