Demon Dude

because teams are smart and waiting to see how low the Pies will go when they get desperate to move him on later next week.

that's because they're not as good as Treloar. I agree that his current contract is overvalued, but i dare say he could be got for cheaper than that.

Harmes and AVB cant hit targets either.

i'd happily trade out some of our average surplus mids like Harmes and AVB and free up the money to bring in Treloar. Treloar has burst speed which they lack and he'd add another dimension to make our midfield instantly more dangerous.

if Harmes was being chased by the Roos then they should of just let him go. he was very disappointing this year after signing up on a decent contract.

big NO.

i watched Hind go head to head with Oskar Baker in the VFL a couple of years ago. it was a good old fashioned winger shoot out with both racking up the possessions and in the best players for their teams, but i didn't see much to suggest that he's any better than what Baker is really. maybe he's improved a bit in an AFL system, but i can't see him drastically improving our team.

i'd take Smith in a player/coaching role. i would prefer that rather than us offering the same deal to Jones.

OMacs worth about a token pick around the sixties if someone wants him. he could be a target for a rebuilding team as a full back for a year or two while they develop a kid to ultimately replace him.

yeah i thought the umpires let the Lions mids get away with holding the man way too much early on. it was frustrating to watch but its not the first time this has happened to us. normally the umps like to pull teams up on it and pay a free early on in a game to keep them from going overboard with it, but that didn't happen yesterday. i noticed we got a few paid later on in the game, probably only after we'd raised the point with them at half time though.

i think Jones might be firming for a start if the wet weather hits like its supposed to. a wet track might be the only time Jones is really suited these days.

thought our forward and midfield pressure was a big improvement this week. that combined with Weid providing a contest inside 50 allowed the defenders time to push up and lock it in our forward half at times. something that hasn't really happened too much this year.

now that Goody has brought in two taller options in OMac and Weideman at either end of the ground, whats the chances its wet and slippery Saturday night and suits a smaller team like the one we've been playing up to now? the way this years been going for us i'd say it's almost a certainty.

favourites AVB and Melksham survive yet again, no surprise. that fwd line looks a bit slow to me. i would of liked another quick forward in the mix at Melkshams expense. instead it looks like we expect first year player Pickett to do the pressuring all on his own again. burnout the likely outcome for him.

good to see Lyon hit on two points that have always frustrated me about the way we play under Goodwin. 1), how we push a forward up to the contest and leave the oppo with a spare in defense to pick off the quick kick forward. from there we usually see the ball rebound from our forward half quickly through the middle of the ground putting our defenders under immense pressure. all teams set up for this against us and usually make us pay, yet we still do it every week. and 2), how our players don't get back off the mark quick enough and open up the ground. that is a pretty basic thing to teach in footy, i can't understand why it is never been fixed. instead i find myself yelling at the tv most weeks about this when watching us play.

this is exactly how I feel about him at the moment. i thought we looked better around the ball when they took Oliver out of the centre clearances and put Harmes in there later in the game. Harmes at least tries to create something and takes on pressure to release his team mates. the opposite of what Oliver is doing right now.

out- AVB, Melksham, Lockhart in- Bennell, Brown, Spargo AVB looked underdone. Bennell might be a bit underdone too, but at least his movement through traffic and classy ball use can make a difference forward of centre. plus i'm not sure we need both contested winger types in AVB and Tomlinson in the same side anyway. Melksham has given us little in the first 3 games this year. i'd give Brown another shot to see if he can do better. nothing to lose there imo. Harmes can go back to the HBF, so I think one of the young defenders in Rivers or Lockhart can go out again for now. i'd then bring in Spargo. we need more smart ball users in the front half, that's painfully obvious. he and Bennell can both help there. B- Hibberd May Smith HB- Harmes Lever Salem C- Langdon Petracca Tomlinson HF- Bennell TMac Hannan F- Pickett Brown Fritsch R- Gawn Oliver Viney I- Brayshaw Hunt Rivers Spargo

i'm not sure what you can take out of that game. I think it was only 14 a side and there didn't look to be too much pressure about and plenty of open space instead. Bennell looks a class above most our players as a finisher around goals though.

I think it shows up your thinking. you say he's an ageing player but a more positive thinking person would say that he's now coming into his prime years. you said he was of limited currency before ('would only bring a second rounder'), but you'd still wish to trade an ex captain of our club, our current VC and a guy who was our best player 2 games ago for what, a second round pick?! to me your thinking sounds overly negative, disloyal and confused.

I too want to see Melksham start out of the goal square. he's very good 1 on 1 and if he's not gonna chase then they may as well leave him in a dangerous position.

I thought you might have gone for the full "I'll start gryan miers out" line, but thankfully you showed some restraint instead. WD ET.

they probably had a plan in place to give Bennell a two game run then a break. just happens one of those games was a makeshift one instead of the real thing, but he would of got the same result out of it. not a big deal imo as Burgess clearly knows what he's doing.

he's not a genuine small forward, or a small defender for that matter. he needs to strengthen up but also get fit enough for a half fwd/mid role where he can push up around the contest and use his ball skills and smart decision making to best affect. although he's small he has shown previously he can play at the level and he's still young enough to have the necessary improvements in his game. at times I felt for him last year as he was pretty much the only one selected in the side to apply pressure in our forward half, which is an impossible job to do on your own. he had a shocker in R1, we will have a better idea of where he is at by the end of the year. but at this stage i'd rather we offload the Wagner, Baker and Chandler types before him. the problem for Spargo is we already have a few of those HF/mid types on the list. but Jones looks well past it and will retire this year, and Bennell is still yet to show his body can back up from week to week let alone year to year. same goes for Vanders with his injury concerns. Dunkley hasn't really had much of a crack yet but can play a similar role to Spargo, and maybe Jordon can as well, so it could all come down to which of those young guys is showing the most by the end of the year that will stay on the list.

yeah Tom was ordinary last year but there wasn't many who weren't. I think people are being a bit harsh on him calling for his head this early with a new look forward line. he kicked 2 goals from limited chances in R1. and he started well enough last week and got some good touches through half forward, before our ball movement slowed down then he got worked over by Weitering in the end. I certainly wouldn't expect him to dominate this week either with the team they've selected, but I think his main job might be to drag a key defender up the ground to give the other mid sized forwards like Hannan and Fritsch a better chance as the deeper marking forwards and also to leave space for the likes of Hunt and Kozzie to work back into.

out- Jones, Jackson, ANB in- Lockhart, Pickett, Weideman B- Jetta May Smith HB- Harmes Lever Rivers C- Langdon Petracca Tomlinson HF- Melksham TMac Fritsch F- Hunt Weideman Pickett R- Gawn Oliver Viney I- Brayshaw Salem Lockhart Bennell sadly Jones is cooked. he's lost his speed, lost his sidestep, and lost the ability to stand up under pressure. at one stage he went into the guts for a centre bounce and just fell straight on his backside. he shouldn't have played on this year. i'd bring in Lockhart as a defender, and depending on match ups, free up either Salem or Harmes to go up the ground for a bit of mid/HFF instead. Jackson has had a taste but i'd prefer Weideman down there at this stage. but they'll probably stick with Jackson. late inclusion ANB out again for Pickett. Melksham back to the G this week against his old team. no excuses, perform or he's out next week.