Dr.D

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

My post was directly related to the 4th point in the original post. I'm just tired of hearing all of this manufactured dribble..eventually the noise from goodwin's mouth is fugazi until we start winning these games.

goodwin himself is a robot in the pressers. how many times does he have to say 'its a disappointing loss and it doesn't resemble the way we play our footy..etc'. eventually it does resemble the way we play footy and if we lose this week to port i don't think we deserve to play finals. smashed by hawks, rich and collingwood have made me feel that we may not be ready yet.

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

I'm sorry but Gaff is not quick. if you ask any WCE supporters they wanted him dropped last season. He was pathetic. It's often the case that the club he is playing at know him the best. Having a stellar season but I saw too much of him last season to change my mind.

I'm not sure why people think that Gaff is a good fit for us. He is an outside accumulator yes but he is very one-paced and known to be poor defensively. Exactly what we don't need. The guys we need are guys that are quick and defensive minded. Guys like castagna etc.

Why do you feel sad for players getting dropped? They still get paid hundreds of thousands to play and train. I don't feel too sorry for them. If it wasn't for melbourne having several coaches in jacks time then he would've been out the door 5 years ago but each coach wanted a chance to get something out of him. So whether he was pick 20 I don't think it would change anything. Are people here less critical of oscar mcdonald or harmes etc. because they were low picks? Nope. I don't care how many games he has played, he was gifted most of them and it was during a time when we were struggling. Each time he put on the red and blue jumper and didn't go hard at the contest, i took it personally. I'm a passionate dees supporter and when you see players play bruise free footy for years, that's a choice. And now we can enjoy the fruits of Bailey Fritsch and we can all learn a big lesson about being complacent. And of course it's the recruiters fault. It was quite a strong draft in the end with the likes of Sidebottom, Ziebell, Hurley, T.Lynch, Shuey, Sloane, Hanneberry, Zaharakis, Beams, Naitanui, Hill, Walters, etc.

That's true. but the fact is we did lose to collingwood and we lost poorly. And we haven't beaten Port. And its a very tight season so of course if we win an upset win then it would really change things around but I can't see us getting within 50 of port adelaide the way we played against collingwood.

I wasn't negative during the trade period. i was OVER THE MOON! i was pretty happy with pick 31 to be honest. It was only you guys like you that made it into a negative period saying Watts was going to make us pay and kick 50 goals etc. laughable. I think everyone needs to be reminded every now and then to call a spade and spade and not just like players because they are high picks and speak well in front of the media.

i think all of the watts lovers on this board need to fess up. There were hundreds of you. He has been soft as butter since he first came to the club and that's been his downfall. Not only did I say that Watts would be dropped at some point during his season with Port, I said that our recruiters would find a better player at pick 31 (Bailey Fritsch). Geez, how correct can one individual be and how deluded are the watts fans here. He is a fringe player at the very very best

i dont understand people wanting to drop hannan. he kicked 2 goals when the game was on the line. playing the hardest position on the ground. a sma forward in a team with 7 inside 50's in the first quarter. I wouldn't mind seeing ONE of frost, hunt or garlett in just to add leg speed. petracca can stay another week but i understand the calls for him to be dropped. People wanting pedo out for weideman is bemusing. yes, pedo was quiet but at least took a couple of contested marks. weideman would have halved pedo's output in this game. the issue is guys like jones, ANB and viney getting smashed out of the middle for 2 hours. there was no fire in the belly from anyone today. And lastly, goodwin needs to learn to equalise numbers in our forward line. you can't have Howe sitting loose in defence affecting all of our forward advances

i'm so tired of being 6 months ahead of you mob. I was shot down on this board for saying that petracca needed to improve on his speed and his foot skills to become a good afl footballer. so frickin tired

we're not a top 4 team. our spread from the contest was horrific. as it was in all of our losses

nothing to do with our offence. its all our defence. we're bloody slow and their transition is obvious. you can almsot pause the tv snd point out which 5 collingwood players will be involved in the scoring chain

Gawn missing out isn't an outrage. Grundy has been a gun and whilst he isn't as good in the tap outs he is superior around the ground and his foot skills are far superior. Gawns shots at goal have cost us dearly this season so I think that puts him down a few pegs.

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

What bothers me is he is a bit slow in mind when he has the ball and often gets caught holding the ball. People mentioning that he has no right foot I think are missing the point. Most left footers have no right to speak of. just look at buddy franklin.

Great news! i used to hate this guy in the past as a backman with his poor foot skills and decision making, now I love him as a forward for his straight kicking. I love the turn around! It makes me wonder why he wasn't trialled as a forward earlier in his career. He was a forward as a junior, and whether we needed key position defender is irrelevant when he is a lot better as a forward. Last week at the dogs game, I noticed Oscar Mcdonald having shots for goal and he was slotting them beautifully with great technique. I wonder whether he could go forward in the same manner. On the other side, I wonder if Weideman could play back. He has the speed and aerial prowess but he wouldn't need to mark it. Simply bring it to ground. Food for thought.

i think we gotta go frost. we need some speed out of the backline and whilst hibberd and jetta aren't slow, they don't break the lines. So frost for me. And frost can do some pretty good things, lets not forget. He's big and quick and offers rebound.

so there goes smith as our replacement for a few weeks oh it was pedo. darn you original poster.

for f@#k sake. this is a massive blow. we cant move tom mcdonald back again. he is much better forward. tmac makes poor decisions back. roll the dice and play t.smith or frost down back. either way, i think finals will be hard to make and we lost the Adelaide deal after this.

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

pedo can be great on his day

as far as i'm concerned all supporters who said losing Watts was going to hurt us should be banned from footy forums. fritsch's attack on the ball and man is head and shoulders better than watts and further highlights that you dont need a big frame to have courage