Dr.D

This thread proves that many dees fans can't stand Hogans lack of defensive pressure and intensity. I'd throw in goal kicking too. but that's a story for another day. As supporters we all want us to win, so there is no agenda for not liking Hogan. So its purely his output on the field that isn't good enough in many supporters' eyes. And that's fact.

lol nah jason taylor and josh mahoney know what they are doing. It's funny how everyone thought we got ripped off by only getting pick 31 for watts. Looking back, Port adelaide got ripped off and we got pick 31 (Fritsch)

oh. my bad! i feel like everyone is against my point of view but at the end of the day I didn't start this thread and there are clearly many people that are a bit over the hogan fanfare.

Are you even looking at those team. Gold coast twice, dogs, free, stkilda twice, carlton..? wow. I could kick a bag against some of those teams. Do it when it counts. Hogan turns to water when things get tough because he is mentally weak and thats why he has failed time and time again against the good teams. I have no personal reason to not like Hogan. I like a stack of melbourne players but one thing i can't stand is slackness and lack of work rate.

Just putting up an argument to fit your point. Melbourne had some great wins last year without Hogan also. It's not just this year. Hogan's 1 on 1 contested work isn't anywhere near where it used to be. He falls to the ground too easily, plays for frees far too much and wrestles with players he doesn't need to. Mentioning Viney alongside Hogan is embarrassing. Viney gives 100% each week. Hogan fluffs around acting tough and whining and staging. Sure he kicks enough goals, due to our high inside 50s, but I'm sorry sometimes goals alone aren't enough. You need defensive pressure in this day and age. Just look at buddy franklin and the way he chases out of D50. or Josh kennedy. Hogan is often still whingeing when the ball is in his area and that's a disgrace. I don't give too much credence to people's knowledge of footy on this board. I wanted to get rid of Watts 5 years ago and predicted that he wouldn't play well and that our pick 31 would be a better player. People like you probably wanted him to stay. I was the one wanting Frost and Harmes in the team from day dot. I was the first one to question Petracca's kicking when everyone else was still star struck by his draft position. I've got so many runs on the board. And yes, I would prefer to have guys like Hannan, Harmes, Fritsch etc. than anyone who doesn't give 100%. One thing I got wrong is that I thought we would miss finals. The only thing i'm happy to be wrong about!

Couldn't find it on the last 2 pages but all i know is that he has kicked 4 or 5 goals from 5 games against top 8 teams. So I don't care what analysis is provided. The reason richmond are the best team is because they have 22 guys cracking in. Hogan doesn't.

I think you're missing the point and all people that mention he kicks 50 goals etc. are only mentioning half of the picture. Hogan's defensive pressure, 2nd efforts etc. can be disgraceful at times and his poor attitude on field can be a culture killer. Also, his kicking for goal lets us down quite a bit against the good teams. Ultimately, people can't deny that Melbourne has played with real spirit the last 2 weeks without Hogan. Losing Lever was a loss, losing Hogan wasn't a loss and was actually a gain and I called it early. You can't place a value on attitude, intensity and effort and hogan needs to really lift.

i love his athleticism. just needs to get his kicking more consistent but his form is another reason that i wanted hogan out of the team. i want hungry, desperate players and thelast 2 weeks shows the culture of all 22 applying defensive pressure.

losing hogan is no loss. probably play with real spirit now without having the staging sook inside 50m

if we do keep him i think we need to see him as just the player he is. a good average player.

lol comparing hogan to neitz. neitz was all heart. and 5 times the player

you'd trade oliver before hogan? crazy!! oliver is a best and fairest winner, likely AA this year, and maybe top 5 in the brownlow medal. And unlike hogan he tries his guts out each week. you're one of the guys that probably wanted to keep watts. Hogan is a defensive liability And his kicking is awful. when hogan misses games melbourne often plays better. i'd be more than willing to trade hogan for the right price.

is he fast? no is he a good kick? no does he apply defensive pressure? no is he a good mark? he's ok but wrestles too much. i would be all up for trading him. for those that say he is a good field kick are deluded. his ball drop is hard to watch.

i wouldve traded him earlier. poor attitude and i dont care what his set shot stats are, he is a terrible kick.

disagree. He definitely didn't mean to punch him in the face. Those swinging right hands are usually targeted into the chest/top of the jumper region but gaff missed. Gaff certainly didn't look at him and punch him in the face. not sure what vision you were watching.

agree on may. would make me sleep so well at night.

i'd much prefer to stock up for next year and work to get dylan shiel who will be out of contract. He is a lot better than gaff. He has power and pace. Would be awesome for us.

yeah, probably. i mean most of his kicks are pretty easy spot up kicks with not much risk attached. he probably cant kick too much further than 50m. I'd just much prefer to grab a key defender and alleviate the oscar mcdonald effect than to get an outside midfielder. if anyrhing i'd go for aaron hall and would almost prefer him at his money

i would. i dont rate gaff as high as others. he is poor defensively and one paced. he is just an accumulator to me with above average foot skills.

I'd much prefer to keep him but whatever happens happens. We've played good footy without him and we have Tom Mcdonald who is a better player in my opinion. Averages more goals per game and a far straighter kick. No player is bigger than the club so I feel more comfortable now about Hogan threatening to move back to Perth than ever before.

got plenty of the ball but had barely any influence on the game

i've made my point on Gaff before but a slow outside player that is poor defensively isnt what we need. was barely in their best 22 last season if we want to be honest about his form. tell me how in games against collingwood and hawthorn where we were exposed for leg speed that Gaff is going to help us

He's a gun. his work ethic is really high. I can't imagine that he'd come cheaply though.

I think it's time this guy starts getting some recognition. Recruiting managers are vital to the prospect of winning a flag so lets have a look at it. Keeping in mind that it's easier to get the right pick with higher picks but as we all know you can still get them wrong (Cale Morton, Watts, Tapscott, Strauss, Blease, Maric etc.). Since Jason Taylor joined Melbourne he got off to a rocky start with a bar fight on an overseas footy trip but since has done the following (along with some help of Josh Mahoney at the trade table): Brought in: Salem, Hunt, Tyson, Harmes, Garlett, Frost, Petracca, Brayshaw, Lewis, Hibberd, Neal-Bullen, Oscar Mcdonald, Melksham, Oliver, Hannan, Fritsch, Spargo and Joel Smith. Potential Misses: Kennedy-harris, Stretch, Weideman, Mitch King, Hullett, Dion Johnstone, Oscar baker. Here is his breakdown: 2013 AFL Draft: Traded Pick 2 (Josh Kelly) for Pick 9 and Dom Tyson. Pick 9: Salem Players before him: Kolodjashnij, Aish, Luke mcdonald, Scharenberg. Players after Salem who we could've taken: Cripps, Zac Jones, Acres, Matt Crouch, Zac Merrett, Rory Lobb, Nankervis, Barrass, Ben Brown, Fantasia, Sicily. Pick 40: Jay Kennedy Harris Seems to be a bust so far. I actually like him the most times I've seen him but for whatever reason he hasn't made the grade yet. Pick 57: Jayden Hunt Players after Hunt: No successful picks after Hunt. Rookie Draft: James Harmes Players available after Harmes: Charlie Cameron and Jake Kelly were the only good rookie selections in that years rookie draft. A lot of busts. Draft grading: B Salem, Hunt, Harmes and Tyson are all best 22 players with Hunt just out of form and Tyson always having divided supporters. Overall, I think it was a mistake to trade pick 2 but his choices of Hunt and Harmes brought his grading back up. 2014 AFL draft: Brought in Jeff Garlett for pick 61 and 79. Brought in Sam Frost and pick 40 and 53 for the loss of Pick 23 Pick 2: Christian Petracca Proving to be a gun. Needs to work on his kicking but his overhead marking and spark around the contest is invaluable. Thankfully Stkilda took Mccartin at 1. Pick 3: Angus Brayshaw Took a while to get going with his concussions but is now proving his worth as an inside mid. Pick 40: Alex Neal-Bullen I love this guy. Is a competitor and works really hard. Pick 42: Billy Stretch. An outside player who can find the footy. Not a bad depth player. His kicking needs work but he could become a decent wingman if given the opportunity. Pick 53: Oscar Mcdonald: I thought the idea of another McDonald down back would give me a heart condition. His first season and a half was very rocky and his decision making and skills were very ordinary but his confidence is growing and even though he is capable of being a bit slow in mind and pushed off the ball too easily he is playing well this season and making the easy options. Rookie Draft: Pick 2: Vandenberg Pick 20: Mitch White Draft grading: A Got most of the picks right. Garlett has been a gun for us since being recruited and Oscar Mcdonald is progressing well. 2015 AFL draft Brought in Melksham for pick 25 Brought in pick 3, 10 and 43 for pick 6, 29 and following years first round pick 2015 AFL draft Pick 4: Clayton Oliver Taylor did place a bid on Sydney swan academy player Callum Mills but Sydney thankfully matched. Pick 9: Sam Weideman Pick 42: Mitch King Pick 46: Liam Hullett Rookie Draft: Pick 6: Wagner pick 24: Viv Mitchie Pick 41: Joel Smith Draft grading: A If it wasn't for Oliver I would've given this about a C but he got Oliver right and he's going to be a 300 gamer. He was a draft bolter with not as much exposure so it was a great choice. Especially considering the top 10 that year does not look strong: Schache, Aaron Francis, Ah Chee, Weideman and Weitering. And whilst Parish would have been tempting he hasn't set the world on fire. 2016 AFL draft: Brought in Jordan Lewis for next to nothing Brought in Michael Hibberd for next to nothing Pick 46: Mitch Hannan Pick 64: Dion Johnstone Rookie Draft: Pick 8: Lachlan Filipovic Pick 25: Tim Smith Draft Grading: A I'm giving this an A due to the trading and also for the selection of Mitch Hannan who i rate highly. Also, the first round pick we traded to boost up the draft the previous year were used on Will Brodie. 2017 AFL Draft: Brought in Jake Lever for the loss of 2 first round picks Got rid of Watts for pick 31 who was used on Fritsch Harley Balic for pick 66. Pick 29: Charlie Spargo Pick 31: Bailey Fritsch Pick 37: Harrison Petty Pick 48: Oscar Baker Draft grading: A Lever is going to be great for us for a long time despite the rocky start. Spargo is proving to be tough and smart with the ball and an accurate kick for goal. Fristch was brought in for Jack Watts which I think should have been given an A+ on that trade alone. I don't want to turn this into a Watts thread but Fritsch is already a far better player than Watts and shows that having a small frame is never an excuse for not attacking the ball or man. Fritsch has complimented our forward line in his first season at the club.

i haven't forgotten how bad gaff was last year. he was soft and uncompetitive and offered no spread. maybe he was injured i'm not sure