Matsuo Basho

How much brain power does it take to give your best non-footy mate a sly $50 to go put the bet on for you on the down low? Who would ever possibly find that out short of that bloke doing the unthinkable and lagging to the authorities? It must be going on all the time.

Unfortunately DJ if you have a look at the 2019 FA list and compare it to the 2020 batch the much more enticing group is next year’s. We need the injection of mature talent now. That said, a club with a 2020 FA might be willing to deal a year early if they think they can get better terms for their contracted player now.

Well that's the rub with Petracca isn't it? A lot of people I'm sure would agree with you and the writer of that article. I personally think his trade value is as good as it's ever going to be now and you run a greater risk of it decreasing in coming seasons. I see some problematic flaws in his game and remain unconvinced he has the mindset to overcome them. I feel he's overrated by many in the media who are still sucked in by his draft number and infrequent acts of brilliance. I believe we could get a pick somewhere in the vicinity of 10 - 15 for him now from a club in or just outside the eight willing to take the risk in order to fill in a missing piece of their premiership puzzle. I believe the most likely clubs to do this would be either Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Essendon, GWS and Richmond. We should then take that first round draft pick and use it to either draft or recruit a player who can improve our list. A key forward, a classy, quick and skillful runner or even a small forward who can make our 22 more balanced and better overall. We should pull the trigger on a Petracca trade now before he goes any further down the path of becoming the next Colin Sylvia. Because that's what I see unfolding. Brayshaw is a keeper for mine. To come back from those concussions and play in the manner has since show a toughness and a mettle you cannot measure purely in statistics from a single season. He's a jet when up and going. Get some classy runners around Oliver, Viney and Gus and they will shine.

Those questions are clearly too detailed for supporters far removed the analytical process an AFL recruiter who watches these kids day in, day out over multiple years. But how does that translate into an inability to analyse 'hits and misses' over a 5-7 years period relative to the most successful clubs in the competition? You're basically precluding everyone bar seasoned AFL recruiters from having the right and ability to look into this data, which is preposterous. Do you think that would be good enough for an outside review firm coming in to audit and pick over things? "Sorry guys you'll have to steer clear of the recruiting stuff because you just wouldn't understand the intricacies of it". "Move along nothing to se here". It's actually very easy to make an assessment (albeit with a little more depth than I've provided in this thread). You've just got to be willing to turn over the rocks and accept the truth of what you see underneath them. It doesn't help the situation to be unwilling to at least even do that.

Like the serious thinking cap stuff of the OP but I believe a better case can be made to trade Petracca. In fact I started a thread about just that a couple of months ago but it was shut down by critics and eventually locked and buried by a mod. Hopefully more scope is given to discuss trade possibilities now that the picture of our list concerns has become clearer.

I've always rated your posts Macca. Good stuff.

Tip of a very deep iceberg. An organisation which rams gambling down peoples’ throats will reap what it sows.

Why have paid recruiters at all then in that case? Just take 10 phantom drafts from Knightmare and his mates at BigFooty, come up with an Excel spreadsheet and voila - job done! Well done Macca you just saved the club hundreds of thousands of $$$.

Not at all. More like you interpolated yourself into naivety.

While on the subject of racism I'd be interested to know what others' thoughts are on this article on the AFL website. https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-06-17/call-it-kiya-stackbetts-hug-explained-why-whitefellas-miss-the-point "Whitefellas miss the point"? Which "whitefellas" are Des Headland referring to? Garry Lyon and a some dills he's seen on Twitter? In the wake of this minor occurrence I heard nothing but praise from commentators and ex players or at the very least most people just regarded it as a non-issue. Then Headland goes on to talk about the indigenous brotherhood and the warm and caring nature of First Nation's people and how people should "learn lessons" from it, while also throwing in some twisted logic about how this is what Adam Goodes was really trying to do with his war dance and spear throw - teach the Carlton cheer squad a valuable lesson. Yeah, sure he was Des. I love what indigenous people bring to the game and what indigenous cultures bring to the Australian psyche in general, but this kind of article and thought process is not helpful in the quest to bring people of different backgrounds together. Calling people "whitefellas" or "white folk" and then assigning that amorphous group of people a character judgement based on, well on their skin colour … how is that not racist? Would it be acceptable for a Caucasian person or a Muslim person or an Asian person to cast a blanket aspersion about "blackfellas"? Of course not. Racism is racism, whether you're Des Headland, Jeff Kennett or some [censored] jockey online taunting people anonymously on Twitter. "How are we going to stop the scourge of racism? For heaven's sake stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man, and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man.' - Morgan Freeman

? That is actually pretty funny. Who is training these security men? Gomer Pile?

Just announced on SEN. Anyway let's just see if our own Dunkley is any good!

Whether inadvertent or not they were disparaging comments by Kennett the obvious subtext being that these “new arrivals” aren’t fitting in to society, who’s general ignorance about Australian customs is disruptive and offensive. Nuffies short of Y chromosomes, you know the sort that actually do boo an Adam Goodes for the colour of his skin, listen to these types of comments and it’s like kicking a hornets’ nest. Racist people will be buoyed and emboldened by any kind of talk from leaders which plays into any kind of stereotype which divides “us” and “them”. See Donald Trump and his grand aspersion casting at ‘rape thirsty’ Mexican ‘illegals’. Thats why it was wrong by Kennett. He publicly fed the trolls. It doesn’t help the situation. It only inflames.

Aside from Hore who appears a known quantity as his mature age, the others have not been in the system long enough to make an assessment on yet. Hence the word 'promising'. Let's see if they can make the jump to 'quality senior player'. Here's hoping. You left Keilty off the list I wrote.

Where have I said anywhere that my opinion is superior to anyone else's? I enjoy reading others' views and indeed welcome reasoned, intelligent rebuttals of my posts. Who's right? Who's wrong? How about having the politeness to allow other posters to decide for themselves. Now there's a thought.

That's great. Anyone who provides information about players running around at training or who volunteers for the club is to be commended. This bears little correlation to their understanding of football, the football industry or what it takes to achieve success in elite sport.

Goodwin sounds like a man who has read the "Media 101 for AFL Coaches Manual" 25 times but who hasn't yet learned to cast it aside and let his realness and natural insightfulness shine. Does he have realness and natural insightfulness? That's the question, hence his low ranking on my index. We have not seen it yet. Too much rehearsed cliché and robotronic industry speak. He's going to have to drop a lot of that mask and find his own true voice if he's any chance to be a successful AFL coach.

Hogan kicked 47 goals in 20 matches for the MFC last season. Weideman AND McDonald have kicked a COMBINED 16 goals in 20 matches for the MFC this season. 31 goals less from your TWO key forwards. This is despite Melbourne having had the SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER of forward entries of all clubs so far in 2019. Not dodgy stats at all ManDee. Just reality.

I've never suggested we hire any specific person (except for Well from Geelong in an earlier post). I've said our recruiting needs to come under review. Hore looks a decent mature age late pick. Lockhart too early to say.

That’s really a terrible thing to say by a seasoned politician. Clearly racist. Kennett’s correct about Marvel Stadium not acting on their own, though As if Gillon didn’t push them under the bus yesterday with that Marvel exec going on radio to apologise for the situation. Gillon is such a wuss. Wishy washy. Aloof. Removed from the grass roots. Got to go.

That’s like saying a B grade is at least better than a C or D grade.

I’ve heard Roos say this but I think it’s a red herring he uses to deflect criticism about that decision. The whole footy industry was gaga over Kelly at the time.

That stooge from Marvel Stadium was clearly tapped on the shoulder by Dill last night after he heard about the backlash. “Might be my responsibility but you’re taking the heat for this one champ.” Queen takes knight.

And you accuse me of taking extreme angles to make an opaque (your word) point. Only LittleGoffy in here has taken the time and care to produce a valid counter argument. You can do better than this Nasher.