ProperDee

Gotta love the bloke. Bleeds red and blue, leaves nothing in the shed and most importantly, leads by example, the most important trait for a leader. My first player selected every week.

Salem is a gifted footballer and close to our best kick. I too think he is not a defender but seemingly better options exist in his (IMO) most suitable position, HFF. Watching him closely, I feel that he lacks in physical strength and am surprised that he hasn't hit the weight room a bit harder. His body shape hasn't changed since he arrived at the club. Perhaps this is as a result of his thyroid issues but if he is able to strengthen up I am sure he will become an A grader.

Our last skinny, high marking, great kicking game reader wasn't too bad. Put a pair of specs on him and he could be anything.

Ummmm... 1. A huge crater where North Korea used to be. 2. A united, global response to terrorism. 3. Dees to make the top 4 in 2018. 4. The AFL decide to bring the game to the country and Collingwood become the Mildura Magpies. 4. Tom Scully collides heavily with Jeremy Howe and both retire as a result.

I CGAF who wins or who loses during the finals. I hope each team gets smashed into oblivion injury wise. My only joy would be seeing the likes of Riewoldt, Martin, Toby Greene, Lewis Jetta, Rance, Franklin and especially that sea hunt Scully stretchered from the ground in agony.

6 cm and 10 kg probably isn't too much to wish for at his age. Nature + G & D could get him over the line and hopefully it's our line. Good luck Benny boy.

Jake or Frank?

One of Tyson's flaws is his inability to kick well on his non-dominant foot. He would be a much better player if he could. He is certainly not alone however. It is a blight on the junior coaches of today that they don't enforce that most fundamental of skills.

From a Swans member....."lacks intestinal fortitude and not disciplined enough". Fit right in with us then!

He should be molested down back after those clangers today...

It has all pretty much been said during the thread but there are a couple of things I struggle with: 1. These guys are full time, professional AFL footballers. Their job is to play footy. How the f*** can they consistently not hit easy targets? 2. I can accept not being as skilful as the opposition. I can even accept losing. What I cannot and refuse to accept is not busting-your-guts-till-you-vomit effort every game, every season. We pretty much haven't played as a team all year. We have relied on a few individuals to stand up and win the games. We have had too many passengers most weeks. I won't name them but there are a few getting games who probably would not at a dozen other teams in the comp.

6. Pederson 5. Hogan 4. Jones 3. Melksham 2. Oliver 1. Hibberd

Thanks for that. Simply trying to open peoples minds to possibilities. No offence intended. However if you knew me, my background, my qualifications and my employment history, you would know that I am very serious and not without credibility.

It's too simplistic too ask who the umpires are conspiring with. Look at the overall world sports gambling picture and the identified result fixing in cricket, soccer, horse racing. Then look at the unregulated and massive Asian betting syndicates and our geographical proximity. To say that AFL (and the NRL) hasn't been targeted in some way, shape or form would be very naive. I have never seen an AFL season such as this with so many close results, strange MRP decisions and blatantly bad umpiring. So is the common denominator just coincidence, mismanagement, bad luck/good luck or am I'm just another conspiracy theorist nut job? Perhaps I am. However I know three things for sure: 1. Money speaks all languages. 2. Everyone has their price. 3. The truth is often stranger than fiction.

Jeezus H! My fingernails are gone, I'm wearing a blood pressure cuff, I don't' know where a bottle of scotch has gone and the cat takes off like a shot out of a gun whenever it sees me!

"Chimp" clearly not acceptable. "F log" is much more appropriate.

We will need him to take Scully and Kelly out when we play the Giants in the GF.

Agree. Only those 4 could be considered. Clarry should be a lock for the 22 given he is 6th or 7th in the AFL Coaches votes and the Brownlow predictor. Hibbo a must for a HBF.

So the Brownlow favourite can straight arm anyone as hard as he likes but Maxy gets pinged 5 times in a game for 4 bent arm fend offs and 1 moderately straight one? Incidentally, those that choose to rubbish the theories posted here obviously live very closeted lives and have no ability to think laterally. Corruption is alive and well in all facets of society. To think that the AFL competition is exempt is head-in-the-sand stuff.

Just being clear that I made no accusations, merely hypotheses.

You've nailed it WS. AFL is no longer a sport but a business. The goal of any business, its first consideration above all else, is to make money. The AFL makes bucket loads which has attracted the attention of OC syndicates who obviously want a slice of the cash cake and will do pretty much anything to get hold of it. The end result is lots of close games, questionable umpiring and inconsistency in MRP decisions. Consider those issues with the huge AFL gambling push and maybe things begin to make sense. Have a look at the Brownlow favourite. Which side of the tracks does his support base come from? I'd love to see betting sheets showing exactly where and when the big bets came from for him.

I absolutely agree with you SFebey. I have never been one to be critical of umpiring in all of my 50+ years of watching and playing footy. My philosophy has always been to cop it on the chin and play on. BUT...I feel that there is a blatant bias against us with umpiring. I tend to watch up to 6 games each weekend and there is no doubt that we are copping the sharp end of the stick compared to other teams. Big Max really copped it today. Generally, I am fairly subdued but my wife had to come into the TV room and tell me to "keep it down" when Billy Longer got a free kick after Max (apparently) pushed him out of the contest at a centre square bounce despite Longer's hand being in Maxy's face! It is probably a ridiculous thing to even contemplate, but it seemed the umpires were playing St Kilda back into the game this afternoon. Maybe I'm too one-eyed but surely I am not alone with these thoughts?

Agree. Not particularly a fan of ANB's but thought he ran his guts out today.

Great, gutsy win but these fade outs are causing my blood pressure no favours. I would love to see us play 4 quarters of football without dropping off. We would be just about unbeatable. Weideman can go back to Casey. Laid a couple of good tackles but at other times looked slow. Petracca is brilliant but I just wonder if he needs to leave his ego at home and just play footy.

6. Jones 5. Pedersen 4. Oliver 3. Harmes 2. Lewis 1. Brayshaw