Rodney (Balls) Grinter

I can also attest to what a great tonic it is watching games from 2021. Have re-watched the GF and PF in recent ( @Demonstone) weeks and it is food for soul. The 'veil of negativity' that has started to descend back here on Demonland since late 2022 is becoming quite unenjoyable. Here is my take on things: 1. You only need to look at what has happened to the other teams that were in our GF and PF to some extent to see how realitively good our form has been since 2021. The Bulldogs have fallen away badly and Geelong certainly wasn't able to backup as being a true compeditor in 2023. 2. I actually think our forward line and ball movement was starting to get back to 2021 type level in the back quarter of our 2023 H&A season. The game against the Tigers when they were making a late charge, but we still had all of Petty, JvR and Melksham up and about our willingness to share and seek good options around goal was back. Very few teams would have even remained compeditive as we did with the consistent churn through our forward line this year. Max and Goody are in my view exceptional leaders. Their ability to be both positively focused, while still being harf self critics, compeditive and always looking for improvement is exactly what is needed. Sucess isn't final, failure isn't fatal, it's the corurage to continue that counts is the sort of mantra I think the epitomize well. As an asides, I was reading a few days ago how Trent Cotchin and his wife hoasted Dusty Martin for a period following the chopstick assault saga in 2015. Perhaps this bodes well for Clarry's stay with the Gawn family.

He was pretty good at connecting with targets inside 50 as well. As you suggest, I think he had alot of the attributes that could have made him a valuable contributor to our premiership in 2021 if only he wasn't so scarred and had learnt the right habits from the start.

Have read the article and think it's about time that the media take note and exercise some 'duty of care' of their own when reporting on issues of a personal nature to players. Some of the stuff on Clarry and Joel Smith has been ridiculous. The same story rehashed multiple times over with a different headline just to get a few extra clicks. It's money for jam for the media outlets, but has a meaningful impact on the people at the centre of it, that they are selfishly profiting at the expense of.

Take note West Coast - this ups the risk factor for you ten fold. Time to reconsider that trade of picks with the MFC.

Yeah, we need some of what Brisbane are cooking up. Neale has two Brownlows! ...and a whole bunch of finals fails and a lost GF. Give me the bang bang bang Trac, Tommy, Clarry any day thanks.

Once a whipping boy, always a whipping boy I think. Personally, I think alot was asked and expected of Oscar from very early on in his career at the MFC. The hopes and expectations were somewhat that he'd develop into the sort of quality KPP that his big brother Tommy was before injuries hampered the latter's capacity and Oscar was somewhat judged in that light. Further Oscar always played in a struggling to mid level side at Melbourne and Carlton probably weren't much better when he went there. If he played 3rd string tall defender to May, Lever and the backline we have now, Oscar might be solid enough backup, go somewhat unoticed and his abbilty not questioned to the extent it was when he played. Good sides make average players look ok. As you suggest just being of AFL list standard is something most of us here haven't acheived. Good on Oscar and I think when his footy days are over, he'll have a lot to be proud of. Very glad he got this further oppertunity.

Would love to see the equivalent tally for the AFL coaches association votes. Far better metric and Max, Clarry and Trac would be right up there on that one I recon, along with a few others like May, Lever and Viney that do the important stuff the coaches recognise, but the umpires are clueless on.

As I've noted before, I think they should play on the same venue on the same day/time consecutively after one another. I'd much rather watch our women play than the borish and garish pre-game entertainment we are currently left with. Perhaps they could even alternate the women's or men's playing before or after each other?

Which ain't gona happen, since they are playing the 16th placed WC Eagles.

That profile has MFC under Goodwin written all over it. I don't think it matters that we already have many players cast from the same mold, as there's a fair age difference between he and them. I'm getting quite wary that we need some quality young guys comming through to be in position to step up and take the place of our current stars in another 3 - 5 years and it can take that long for a fresh 18yo to reach their peak.

I'd also say it was one of Jack Watt's greatest moments too. What a wasted talent. In an alternate universe Jack would have been a MFC premership player in 2021. Asides from his elite goal kicking accuracy, he was also great at hitting target inside 50 - gee we could have done with that in the back end of 2023. Fun fact Jack Watt's middle name is Redvers.

Yeah, I guess there was no way Collingwood are trading Michael Christian though I guess. Eddy said he is totally off the table.

James Frawley played 100 games and won a flag with Hawthorn.

We've probably also told him that if he bides his time, there will be a big or bigger money offer deal comming from us too.

Agree. Max Gawn spent his juniors as a fwd/ruck from what I recall and turned out a pretty decient ruck. Granted Tom doesn't quite have as big a frame at this point and they are big boots to fill, but I'm more interested in Tom's potential to be a short term backup ruck and medium term full time ruck than a forward. With Gawn's age compared to that of big O and Joey, I think he's got more chance of that happening than at Brisbane, which I'm guessing is why he asked to be traded.

So does Joel Smith

If that's their only pitch to build it up, it seems pretty unfair on all parties really. Gee wiz. We've got a good rivalry with Sydney, but I don't see it as a huge one. Don't know why the AFL are obsessed with needing to pitch these epic rematches in Rd 1. Everyone is craving for any AFL action at all. I'd actually rather play someone other than the Bulldogs in Rd 1 for a change, but asides from that, I don't really care who or where, so long as it isn't Geelong at Cat park - surely we can have a season we don't travel there away?

Jack Billings? https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/department-of-trade/afl-trade-news-rumours-whispers-2023-jack-billings-collingwood-st-kilda-contract-western-bulldogs-little-interest-in-player/news-story/cceb745d9702de954b4dfa0e8496cad2

Getting rather sick of Adelaide, Port (mainly via Corns) and Freo white anting at our stars from their states. What is the list of all the best Victorian players from those clubs that can be prominently bandied about in the main stream media to destabilise those clubs? Uncontracted or contracted, doesn't matter - can someone please make this happen?

Considering North got pick 3 for Ben McKay. The other reference point which Adelaide should be familiar with is Jake Lever. Also had an injury history, but worth two first round picks. I'd contest that Petty is different, but every bit as good as Lever. Lever was also uncontracted, Petty is not. Tell them they're dreaming.

The young folk call it a 'mullet' Goffy. Kind of like a skinny Luke Jackson look alike.

Yeah and has 69 battery power - don't know if that's saying something. Sorry I'm such a juvenile.

Or does Port actually want a ruck more? Or for that kind of unders, maybe we'd just prefer to have a quality VFL ruck and insurance for Max.

I think the game high 8 marks, with many of those contested that also really stamped him on the game.

Pretty much. I'd put it at that 2015 Vs Geelong at Kadinia Park win, where he dominated that he really started to stamp himself on the comp, which probably didn't really consistently get going until the following years 2016 / 2017 so that puts him precisely 23 - 25 Agree that it's probably a good age range to recruit a ready made ruck that still has some years ahead of them. Probably also allows our 19/20yo developing rucks some time to develop their bodies and as players without being thrown in out of their depth.