FlashInThePan

This makes no sense whatsoever. The CBD and inner suburbs have the fastest growing population in Melbourne. This is an area who's name we own and we should be able to grow that supporter base. Why would we throw that away to make a base in Bentley or Glen Iris? #WeAreMelbourne

From memory, one was due to his style of footy, the other was just an unlucky footy in the face in the 2s

Gussy is a gun and provided he gets a decent run at it, he will dominate in 2017. He is an excellent natural footballer and, besides that little brain fade where he tried center the ball via the MCG lights, he is s great user of the ball as well. Not only that but he regularly bobs up for a goal even when he is having an average day. He Trac and Oliver all bring something special but different to the mix. Can't wait to see the 3 of them playing regularly together under the guidance of Jones and Lewis.

Did you see him in 2015? He is hard in and under but he has balance to his game and is able to find space, run with the ball and kick goals. His 2016 was a washout until about 2/3 of the way through the season. Once you come off that big an interruption, particularly as a junior player, it takes a bit to get comfortable again. He is going to be a beauty, heart and soul 200+ game player.

I don't need a crystal ball to know that Lewis will be huge for us both as a play maker and a leader. Trac and Gussy to take it to the next level. Trac to be a powerhouse burst player, Gussy to take the game on and find space to drive us into attack. Hogan and Watts will both improve due to increased supply and Hogan from also from another pre-season. Hunt will be like Lewis Jetta, awesome when he is on and ale to turn on the after burners but prone to going missing. Max to get more attention but it won't matter, he'll up his pre-match latte intake and shrug them off. I suspect Salem will struggle to get a regular game, but I hope I am wrong. Dees to 5 on the ladder, could even be top 4 if we deal with the consistency problem.

I'm not sure about gun for hire but he came when we desperately needed someone to do what he did. He did a great job. He doesn't owe us anything and I for one wish him all the best... but collingwood??!

Really? He may need a new showreel then.

Nice Hands.

Man, you are a broken record. Bleating away the most poorly thought through tripe (sorry to mix my metaphors). Lewis brings a lot to the club in terms of leadership and attitude and there us nothing one dimensional about either our list or our approach. You should probably just head off and post on the Hawthorn forums where this kind of bull will be lapped up by the clarkson sycophants.

So hard to say. I have to agree with BBO, we will know by the end of next year. 2015 he showed so much promise, this year there were only brief flashes. In general he was a passenger. If he was managing an ankle then maybe that explains things. Needs a big year or as mentioned will become trade bait or depth.

WJ I have nothing to do with DazzleDavey except that we both have user names that riff on Aaron Davey's name. Feel free to check my email and other profile details.

Wow, this kind of negativity kinda depresses me

I'm not sure what is up with you and your hawthorn love affair but i think he is quite right. Hawks will wallow for at least 2-3 years. Probably not as cellar dwellars but definitely mid range. And you might just want to pull your head in a bit mate, your tone is totally unnecessary and your constant carping at people with different opinions to you gets really tiresome.

I just don't get how he went from required (and given a 3 year deal to much fanfare) to surplus so quickly. I can only imagine he is struggling with the new game plan?

Yep, great and an asset when he is on song. His form is extremely variable though, and when he is not firing he can be a total passenger. I am inclined to think that a full preseason might really make the difference for Kent and if he can play his best footy reliable he will be huge for us, not just for goals but for pressure acts as well.

Surely you jest!

The whole 'woe is me' drone gets so tiresome, and a lot of what is said around attracting talent is simply guess work and opinion. Which is fine accept that people seem to constantly post it as though it is fact. My opinion is that 4 factors play into attracting players of any calibre: Money (and contract duration) Opportunity to play and play a role they want Likelihood to experience success Workplace culture (are there people and coaches they admire and are people happy there) All of the above have to be measured against what that person is experiencing where they are. We had a hard time with culture and the likelihood of experiencing success for a while there but the culture has clearly been fixed and we seem set to prove out the likelihood of experiencing success. Of course, for the latter, seeing will be believing. Once that has happened we will eventually attract the free agents and players we need or want to ice the cake. Until then we are doing an extremely good job, finally, of developing it in-house. I personally think that bringing in Macca has been one of the best moves of the club. Roos has dealt with the culture and loving coming into work thing and Goodwin is working on strategy and winning in the modern game. Macca has done an awesome job of developing the kids that Josh, Todd and Jason have brought in. I don't think there is any upside in moaning about who is nominating (or not nominating) us, when we play finals next season the final piece will be there and hopefully free agency can finally start working for us and not against us.

I'll never forget the presser after a game where he kicked a massive torp up the middle from a kick in. The reporter asked Roosy 'how good was that'? And Roosy says something like 'yeah, great. Where was that in the play book'? I laughed so much i nearly wet myself.

He will smash it. I get sick of hearing about raw speed all the time. Some of the best players in the comp are not fast. Skills and decision making are the key. I see him on half forward flank with a great pair of hands and clean ball use. Just needs to get his confidence back and his foot rehabbed so the penetration in his kick improves.

Yeah, I don't see getting back into the first round as being as critical as some on this site seem to. We have our first rounder from this draft and we got him last year and put a year of development into him. Since he is a tall, that was a brilliant move as they typically need far more time to develop. I would rather not see us trading out potentially high end talent that we have put time into for a punt on something new, unless we don't think they will develop further. I don't think that is the case with Salem, I see all sorts of upside when he puts it all together. The thyroid issue is the only thing that bothers me and I'm sure our medical staff are all over that.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of this approach. Growing and developing a group together is the best way to have sustained success. A star needs to be cream on the cake.

I really feel like the kind of massive culls being suggested here are a thing of the past for us. We don't need to churn 10+ players every year. We've been through a few years of that and the results we are starting to see at both AFL and VFL show we are seeing some return on the hard work. There is massive upside to be had from this young list and moving to a period of greater stability. I see no reason to churn solid citizens like ANB and Pederson. Players like Dawes have salary cap implications for us that require addressing and some players like Dunn or grimes need to be given opportunities if they aren't getting them here and we can make a trade a win win. In general though we should be looking at development and judicious trading bring the focus.

The segue between hells bells and the grand old flag is SO jarring and unpleasant. I say let other teams have it and find something that actually works into playing the grand old flag as the players hit the banner. Alternatively as RM suggested, drop the grand old flag and save it to the end of the game. The current pre-game thing sucks.

In general that will happen when you are talking from the first person. I'm with General Malaise, that's how it would play out in most people's minds. Club loyalty will be A factor, but his family circumstance will be another, and so will what is best for his career. It doesn't make him an @rse if he ends up doing what is best for him and his family. It would be great if his needs align perfectly to the clubs but if they don't most people will put their own and their family's needs first. To me that seems good and right. Lets just hope they do align and that if they don't we can make it work well for the club. I, for one, won't be hating on Jesse if that is the way it goes.

There was a lot of interesting shenanigans in that draft. We traded pick 3 and downgraded 13 to 20 for Hogan and Dom Barry. Magically GWS didn't bid on Viney and we got him for 26 as I recall.