FlashInThePan

Always knew he had this in him. I'm really looking forward to next year and seeing him bring this form into a full year.

I've got mixed feelings about Kent. He is another who can be awesome when he is on, but goes missing when he is not. It is easy to forget that he has been dropped as many times as he has been injured. He has been in the system too long to believe that this pattern is going to stop due to a more mature body or more experience. As much as I love what he brings when he is in form, ultimately I think trading him to the saints is the right move. The long term deal gives him and his family some certainty and we can use the spot to develop another player.

Frosty is another who is really underrated at DL. I thought his form toward the end of the season was outstanding. His attack on the ball was super aggressive and he consistently turned defense into attack. High risk play will inevitably lead to some turnovers but the rewards are worth it. As already mentioned that torp up the middle of the ground was awesome! He just about landed it in the centre circle. I get a bit sick of people flogging defenders constantly. It is the hardest part of the ground to play in as every mistake had consequences. The way people put the boot into frosty, omac and previously tmac is entirely missing both the context of their mistakes and the difficulties all defenders experience when there are lapses in running and pressure up the ground. Anyway, great second half of the year. I hope to see him in the team consistently next year (form willing).

The jury is out for me on Hannan. He is great when he is on, and he can rotate into the midfield but he is just so inconsistent. Maybe another preseason and experience will smooth out the lumps. I'd love to see him put it all together at the same time consistently.

No, nothing, no

Based on the stats quoted in an earlier post this is not a massive turnover, it is about middle of the road. A big part of this is a cull of several players who never played and were just taking up space, from a list management perspective. AVB and Tyson are different and will be traded for picks or another player. What interests me is what the FD are thinking. I am certain none of this is a surprise, it is quite intentional. There is a very concrete plan for 'balancing our list' as Mahoney put it in his interview. Obviously KK and Preuss are part of it, I'm not hearing anything else except the May rumours, which I can only assume rely on a Hogan trade. Surely there is something in the works for a running midfielder of the likes of Gaff and Dalhaus who are clearly sent getting.

I really like Nibbler.i feel like he cops a bit of criticism on DL because people don't get how important his 2 way running is to our structures. He can be a little frustrating with his finishing in front of goal sometimes but I think experience will iron that out.

I agree. This kid is a great get. Wing or high half forward are his best positions. He can intercept but I don't think the back is his best spot.

Okay, okay... GENERALLY they don't recruit ball butchers

I must be in the minority then. He is steady and solid, a great leader and heart and soul of this group. He brings 100% each game and has probably the least variance between best and worst games of anyone on our team. This is the kind of rubbish thinking that got Junior pushed out of the club. We could see the results of that shallow thinking play out for years.

Hawthorn don't recruit players who kick like Tyson does

I put Brayshaw's number 10 on my jumper after his first year and I always thought he was just a clean run away from some special footy. He is a clean mover with excellent footy sense. I was surprised and pleased when Hunt produced what he did the season before last. Even during that season he still looked very one dimensional. I'm not going to write him off just yet though. I too thought Harmes didn't have enough in his bag of tricks and I am happy to be proven wrong on that one. Maybe with some Macca magic Hunt can produce a season like Harmes did this year.

This This thread has multiple parts. It started with speculation based on something Boomer Harvey of all people said on SEN. Now we are discussing what sounds like the inevitable loss of a young key forward with mountains of potential. Seems like many are trying to equate one discussion with the other.

By my count we have: Delisted 4 - Bugg, McKenna, King and Pedo as well as 1 rookie - Filopovic 2 have retired - Vince and Balic Kent has asked for a trade to StKilda. Hogan may be requesting a trade to Freo That amounts to up to 8 spots plus a rookie spot, 7 are a certainty. That seems like a lot of space being freed up for a club with no first round pick and probably only 3 selections worth anything at all. I know from past form that Jason, Todd and the crew always have a plan, I wonder what it is. Any inside knowledge on Demonland?

Um, I think there is more to this than we would like to think. https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/09/25/report-hogan-declares-he-is-open-to-fremantle-trade/

I don't have an any faith that needs restoring. That was a great September journey. This team is going places and with a few more games into everyone and possibly filling a few gaps we will play finals each year for some time to come. Of course that was not a great way to go out but I think we just ran out of gas. You only need a 10% lapse in effort and that's what you look like in a final when the other team brings their A game. For me i have enjoyed the whole ride. I have backed this team through some hard times and i am looking forward to backing them through some good times over the next 5 - 10 years. We are setup for sustained success. Bring on 2019!

OMac is solid, which is what you want in a full back. It all goes to show that a champion teams always beats a team of champions. Players all playing their role well and supporting each other make each other look good. OMac has always been a reliable backman but has been exposed by a lack of lock down pressure in the midfield on the turnover. No one can look good when the ball is slingshotting regularly into your defensive 50 with little pressure on the kicker. We are getting that full ground pressure now and everyone is starting to look better.

Hehe, doen’t need to be miniature, could be life sized!

I hate all these comparisons across games, particularly the negative ones. The team plays their own brand adjusted against the game that is in front of them on the day. Against the Cats we were wasteful but we totally dominated with our pressure game. Against the Hawks we were far more efficient in the forward 50 but we were much less efficient around the contest, we weren’t flogged, but we weren’t as dominant as we were against the cats or GWS the week before. We just have to play the game that is in front of us against West Coast. There is no point in saying things like “If we play like that agains xxx then we will lose”. It will be a different game next week, we will stick to our brand adjusted by the game that is in front of us. I think it will be enough to get us over the line.

Yeah, I didn't get there until about 7.15 last week and went through gate 4 in less than 5 minutes. ... I know how long because I had been nagging my wife to get there early as it would take us at least half an hour to get through the gate. She timed it while we were waiting and then reminded me how pointless my nagging had been roughly every half hour for the rest of the night.

Nowhere near as nervous today as I was last Friday at this time, not sure if that is a good thing or not. Can't wait for the roar as the game gets underway. I really think we've got this. We never looked like relenting last week, I can't see us taking a step back tonight. We have more talent on the ground and a game plan that stacks up well in finals. Of course we could lose, any team in the eight could lose on any given day, but I don't think we will. Bring it on!

I haven’t seen the replay yet but I thought Spargo was quiet and missed a couple he should have got. He wasn’t terrible though and he is always trying. Vanders dropped some he should have taken and fumbled a bit but brought serious physical pressure and intensity. I would have loved to have had the Garlett of last year out there but he has not demonstrated consistent form all year, not sure that he would be better than Spargo. I’d like to see Fritsch up in the forward line, so I would consider dropping Spargo for Joel Smith and swinging Fritsch forward. I’m glad I’m not on the selection committee.

My pregame checklist (finals edition): Wearing Lucky Undies... check Read every article on the game and every demonland post... check Avoid breaking mirrors or walking under ladders... check Make my cat sleep outside as she has some black fur and I don't want to risk her crossing my path... check Give my kids a prematch address at breakfast about how THIS is our year... check Sit at my work computer pretending to work but in fact thinking about tactics for taking Dangerfield out of the game... check That's it, I'm done. Now it is down to Goody and the boys #RAISEHELL

I know he did his best and probably never intended to stuff up our club as much as he did. Nevertheless, I don't want him given anymore oxygen by the media. He could at least have the good grace to shut up and let us finally enjoy a purple patch. This really gets up my nose. Mike should be ashamed of himself.

I selected the bay I wanted on the map (M5) and then an Adult Member ticket and an additional adult ticket. Seemed to work fine.