Goodvibes

These are not facts. The quotes are real but your view of those quotes are opinions. Don't confuse the two. The bottom line is you don't think not training hard enough in pursuit of a premiership is a bid deal. I do. Particularly when the player in question has been at the club for 9 years.

I think we should offer Charlie Cameron 600K and have him nominate us a his destination club. And then offer them the same deal for Lever and Cameron.

There's a lot of cyberspace being wasted dancing around this issue but I believe this to be the core issue. Mahoney was as clear as he could be this morning. Jack doesn't work hard enough, train hard enough and isn't providing the example our young list need from one of the more experienced players on this list. It is patently clear that "not training hard enough" is not seen by our footy dept as a joke. It's in fact why we're here in the first place. It's evident you've lost faith in our coaching team and therefore don't share their view. But how could you possibly question them with such certainty? They have seen Jack day in day out for years. The evidence is at their fingertips and they've made a call. You can disagree with their call based on your outside perspective but slamming Goodwin and co every post is getting pretty tiresome.

Or is this what ruthless looks like? Some people like to speak in bumper sticker slogans but when the time comes it appears they become squeamish.

Watts loves the club? Absolutely. He is clearly a decent individual? Most certainly. He is talented? Indeed. He is popular. For sure. He is MFC? A fine embodiment of the past 9 years perhaps. He craves ultimate success at this club? So so much evidence to the contrary. I'm going to miss him if he goes, but I completely understand the position of the footy department. My first instinct was "please no" mainly because I genuinely believe in the first four statements I've quoted above. I also realized after more rational thought that my main concern was what he might manage at another club. What a loser mentality that is. The word culture is so over-used in footy but this decision certainly won't cost us a premiership but it may just send the message to the rest of the list that helps us win one. We were so close this year. And I'm not talking about the .5% that cost us finals, I'm talking premierships. And premiership teams don't have passengers or those who have a good month of footy here or there. They have 22 players all pulling in the right direction who consistently meet the standards determined by the coaching staff - at the club, away from the club, during pre-season, before pre-season and in games. We've seen enough sadly. My respect for Goodwin, McCartney, Mahoney and Jackson continues to grow. We're in good hands.

He played really well again Old. I remember being keen a year or two ago. I'd be very happy to be wrong and see him find consistency in a red and blue jumper. As I said earlier, he's definitely the type of player we need. The Giants looked their best tonight when someone took a chance and broke the lines. Hunt really is the only player we have who has this ability.

Male? And technically, don't all registered, listed players work for the AFL?

I'm with DC. I'm very suspicious of players who turn up to pre-season regularly out of shape and then struggle through the year only to pull out their best footy when they're soon to be out of contract. He's the type we need but not the player we need.

Are you now arguing for a banning of all sport?

I hope one of the options he's considering is a life on the stage

Spencer named on a wing. That's just taking the [censored] now.

I think your average Demonland punter fails to acknowledge the emotional impact selection can have on the playing group. Morale is super important. If the players see inconsistency in selection or the coach playing favourites then they lose heart. Good football clubs are built on trust and honesty. When the coaching group lays down expectations and leaders create minimum standards you can't just throw that stuff out when we get to September and say "just name the best 22 regardless of form". They need to see follow through on all the talk coming from the coaches and leaders. Team-first is an expression we hear a heap. We also hear a heap about players who know and understand their role. 'Best 22' is an interesting concept. Best 22 in talent? Best and most balanced 22? Maybe we should focus on the most effective 22. And then perhaps go further and focus on the most effective 22 against the opposition for that week. I fear for Jack Watts. If our gut instincts are right and he gets selected tonight, I hope he delivers. It's been a long and arduous journey and I've held on to the belief that one day Jack will be smiling along with the rest of us but he can't dish up what we saw since his return this week. When up and about there's no doubt he's in my most effective 22 against any opposition but inconsistency continues to plague his game. And it's hard to trust someone whose performance fluctuates as much as his.

Maybe you've out done yourself? Maybe your relentless campaign has us all scared. Maybe Oscar can't play footy. Maybe we need to keep Frost.

You get the connection between form and performance right?

Season defining.

I want Sydney in Sydney. At full strength and rested we can beat them and the belief gained could drive us to a grand final.

Let's take McGovern as well.

Lever or Salem?

It's always interesting to read the views of posters regarding selection. Some people have a best 22 in mind and desperately want whoever is in that best 22 named regardless of form. Some have favourites that they see potential in and want them selected (sometimes prematurely). Others use selection as an opportunity to punish often in a short sighted manner. And others have a player or two that they simply don't like (O Mac, Watts, Frost, Bugg, Salem etc . . .) and campaign for their omission. I think Goodwin and the selection panel have succeeded in balancing the short term need to win games with the medium and long term development needs. Goodwin has also done a good job of not playing favourites. The only chink in the armour was the regular early selection of Melksham but again he seems to have got that one right. I'm really interested to see what happens now that we're within touching distance. Surely he wants Watts and Salem playing in his finals team. Surely he wants to ensure we get there. My guess is that Watts and Salem will both be selected against Collingwood and that Hogan will come straight in. It will be a gamble but one I think we need to take. I'm not sure, however, where Frost stands. He's either straight back this week or maybe out of favour for the rest of the year. Fingers crossed Viney gets up. We're so close to getting our best team on the park. If we do that and Hogan, Salem, Watts, Pertracca and Garlett all find some form then the sky is the limit.

Is this what it feels like to stand on our own two feet? Don't get me wrong, we still have a long way to go but we're heading in the right direction. 45 - 50 thousand members next year, 3 + Friday night games and a solid share of Saturday afternoon fixtures and we should be recording our fifth straight profit and be close to eradicating our debt. It's almost like this was all part of Jackson's plan.

I don't think enough is being made of Gawn's game. Prior to rolling his ankle he was on fire both in the ruck and around the ground. Against the form ruck of 2017, he won the taps and as a consequence we dominated the stoppages. He was integral to all we did to create a match winning lead. And during the much celebrated 15 minutes of goalless action in the last quarter he manfully played under duress and ensured Port couldn't get any clean clearances. And great to see him clunking marks in the first quarter. Really hope the reported ankle scans are clear. He is central to our hopes.

I've just started listening to the stream and just heard, "Brayshaw, having some sort of a game . . . "

Given the kid seems to display a healthy level of self-confidence, I wouldn't be surprised if the club is very deliberately trying to keep his ego in check and avoid pumping up his tyres unnecessarily. VP summed up his enticing mix of attributes beautifully. I love that he possesses a team-first attitude and that his team mates seem to love him. And I love his swagger. He and Clarry embody everything we've lacked over the past decade. I love him in the middle and can't wait to see him with 2 - 3 more pre-seasons under his belt.

Bring him back and name him captain. Sorry just wanted to kill two threads with one post.

I gave Jesse a call, told him I was coming down from Brisvegas for the game and he said playing on Friday night was the least he could do.