Deeko2

I shouldn't mention the "T" word but I legitimately think they're tanking now. The year started losing to Gold Coast and I think they gave up then and there thinking why bother. Our 2013 was the most sickening season of footy I have ever seen a team play and we still managed a percentage of 50 odd which is where the Eagles are sitting now. There team is a thousand times better than what we had - even with injuries and covid close contacts. They're list is a mess right now with some serious talent finished and they desperately need some high end young talent coming through as its slim pickings. They'll win one more game for the season which will be at the pointy end against another team who doesn't give a stuff with there finals aspirations done.

I'm thinking its because we just back our best 22 to do the job week in, week out without worrying much about the opposition. Although there are always some significant one on one plans for certain players who lock down (Petty, May, Hunt etc), it looks like we just play a system brand and back our system in to choke teams to win. We're the hunted at the moment, all over the ground and teams are trying to stop us rather than vice versa. We have had an incredible run with injuries which won't last (sadly) and then test our depth. I'm still not certain that it's as good as everyone thinks and some players are riding on the coat tails of Trac, Oliver, Gawn who are just so dominant in winning the ball and putting others into space. It still worries me that if any of these three get injured or worse, more than one, we'd come crashing back down to Earth fairly quickly. We'd still win the flag of course, but maybe only by 4 goals instead of 8.

Well I think this further speaks to Bailey's ability as he was able to have this ordinary list on the cusp of finals. I just checked and we were 9th as at the end of Round 17, one win from the 8. This is the exact reason I always felt for him as he was doing very well with not a lot behind him and pumping games into kids who ended up not making it. I don't doubt my thoughts are probably crazy to what others think about him. I just saw a guy who made the decision to play kids at all cost with a view to the clubs future over his own and managed to get really good things out of some average players that we had. edit: I don't know who makes the final decision on the recruiting, coach or list managed or other. At the time however I was thrilled with Tapscott and saw a massive future in Gysberts who had a cracking first few games. Cook - yep, we shanked that one.

I didn't explain myself super well, I meant peanuts compared to what he gets in the future if he explodes which we all hope he does. I'd love to know what the good money is. I'm just not sure where we're getting all this cap space from. Trac, Gawn, Lever, May and Salem would be on decent cashola. Brown would not have come across for bugger all and I'd imagine Viney re-signed for something decent as well. Guessing Brayshaw and McDonalds contracts were front ended but still, I just don't see how we can load up on him now

Being born in the 80's, I didn't see any glory years under Smith. So here goes: Goodwin. Premierships always go to the top of the list and get the A+ Daniher. A lot of my teenage years were riding on the great man getting us up week after week with a team that I never really thought had enough talent to get us there. We always lacked quality mids and he somehow, in the even years, got us fired up Roos. He basically brought back hope and made the club relevant again. Northey. He was the first coach of the dees I remember getting the boot as a kid and it really stuck with me as I never thought things like that happened. Bailey. Something different and most will disagree but premierships are won with a new game plan/style and his ultra attacking style I thought was going to get us there. I still remember in his last year in 2011 that we were sitting 7 and 7 half way through the year and young players like Grimes, Trengove, Scully, Morton, McKenzie and Gysberts. Other than Scully, we never saw any of the others fire a shot after he finished sadly. We don't need to talk about what happened then but I always rated how he kept playing the kids putting the future of the club first whilst getting good things out of Sylvia and Moloney especially with great things then from Jamar and Green. I probably see him differently to a lot of others here but I always wanted him to really succeed after he left us and prove to the AFL world that he belonged in a coaching box somewhere.

If we offered him a long term contract right now it would be for peanuts as we wouldn't have significant amounts of cap space. Also, you can't offer a kid long term deals based on potential. Yes he has shown some great moments and we're all excited by what he might bring but you save that kind of cap space and contract term for your proven A Graders. Gawn, Trac, Salem and what will definitely be Clarry next year. 2-3 years protects both parties as if he's good enough then and taking the league by storm, he'll demand an even bigger contract which we'd find a way to get sorted. I'd rather gamble on the fact that once he's a gun we need to pay overs to retain him rather than paying someone overs now based on potential. Like it or lump it, there is every chance he could be a man child and may have peaked early in his career like a Darling or Hogan. Or even someone like Rory Lobb who, without meaning to offend, is just a solid B grader.. I'd rather us lose a player who has the potential to be great over one that is already great and proven (Clarry next year).

Jeepers, we've gone early here. Mind as well start a Trac one up as well when he's out of contract. It will be 2029 before we know it!!

Well it will keep him keen that he's close and I do think he's bloody close. If it was any other team in the league, he would have had a taste in the one's by now. From the Casey games I have seen this year he's been very good showing a lot of speed and some nice skills. I'm excited to see how he goes but he's not getting a look in whilst ANB, Spargo and Kozzy are lurking. He'll be learning from these lads for now and remains next in line.

I have actually lost a lot of my emotional connection to player as I've aged and with the trade world and free agency increasing all the time. So sadly, I don't really mind now what happens as we will be compensated well and its up to us to work out who to get with faith in our development systems in place now. I will say however it is hugely unlikely that he ends up at the Eagles. They need more talent coming through and the cost of picks wouldn't assist them at all. They have nothing that would satisfy us in terms of players IMO. He'll stay for 2 years minimum at a decent wage. I'm thinking the Eagles will load up on high end picks, get them in there system over the next 3 seasons and then look for a Luke like player when they become free agents or trade for needs when they're back in the window. Like the Melbourne model over the last few seasons..... bloody perfection right there in how we went about it. A thing of beauty.

I'm not entirely sure to be honest but it would be fascinating to know. I've never been a club/player basher (even in our dark days) but I was in absolute shock that day that a professional organisation like an AFL team would let a bloke back on the ground when they're clearly injured..... in a practice match..... what a disaster! No wonder his old man went off his chops!

Good post DeeSpencer and he's doing well in getting time into his youth where there is some talent. I'm not sure however the talent is enough however to get them anywhere higher than the bottom half of the 8. Although there are some good kids there, I think we all know top 4 teams are there due to superstar midfields. Looking at the top 5 times last year, they all are star-studded in regards to there centreline. The hawks next gen mids are ok but I would compare them to our role players in Viney/Sparrow/Jordan/Harmes etc. They're really good players but they're not going to win you games like Oliver/Trac/Gawn will. I'm enjoying fact that he's going to keep them fighting for irrelevancy for his tenure. Unless they bring in a superstar free agent mid or two, they'll be floating between 10th to 6th for the next half dozen years.... perfect

I don't read on people's opinion of Joel like that dieter. I think the put down is on Joel's body that keeps breaking down through absolutely no fault of his own. It's sad but it just keeps happening. I'm a fan of Joel and have always said if he can some continuity in his game he could be a real weapon down back. He's a neat enough kick on the rebound, has great speed to play on the smalls, a wonderful leap to challenge the bigs and has no shortage of courage in the air. He just needs a good trot of luck and stay on the park to keep developing. edit: Add on to the above - we definitely did him no favours in that pre-season game. That was a disaster by the club's medical staff at the time.

Spot on Maldonboy. He's not just a wonderful kick from the backline but he's also a very solid defender now and hard as a cats scone. Just because someone can play another role, doesn't mean they should. Especially when they're doing a great job where they are. I've seen May play some great stints up forward but we're not going to swap him there unless something's really gone to crap. Good work on the OP for the positives and negatives but it just shouldn't (and wont) happen in this case. Watching the last couple weeks, I have felt we're a bit fumbly in defence anyway with the ball slipping through Lever's hands, May missing simple field kicks, Smith missing grabs etc. It seems opposition teams are winning it back more than usual. Salem in immediately makes us a more controlled team exiting defence. He's a must in for me and to play only on the back flank.

Go and have a bath you dirty little thing you 😅 But sadly I agree. Anything over 30 touches and double figure clearances is a top game. Obviously they fluffed around with the pill a fair bit which might be due to lack of forward structure/marking power but he's clearly a good player and hard worker. He'll get more damaging as his career progresses and he gets some support in that midfield. Our mids are so incredibly lucky to look up and see talls in Brown/Jackson/Weed/TMac coming at them or a Gawn sitting deep with a Fritter working the angles.

It's wonderful watching us live seeing the structure how we setup behind the ball. You're either winning the ball back and kicking down one wing where Lever/Gawn line up. Or going through the centre where you most likely have Petty and May with one of Jackson/Weed/TMac there as support. Then watching our kick in structure. The first kick long to back flank is to two of Gawn/Jacksona and Weid/Brown/Tmac. Then the next kick down the line is to two of Weid/Jackson/Brown for example No one will beat us in the air. I still believe the only way teams will beat us this year is the play us in the wet which might reduce our strength there.

Thanks Kev, this is great. When the similar project was completed here in Mildura, we were coming into summer with some standard local 40+ degree days forecasted. The sprinklers were on daily keeping it going. I'm pretty sure there was a strict 12 week period where people weren't allowed on it and even after this, it still required a fair bit of top dressing to even it out. 6 months on and our facility is absolutely immaculate. I'm sure that's what they're going to achieve here, make it the best of the best. I said earlier in the thread, I'd be shocked if we were to get on it this year and would rather we didn't. It's just not worth the risk on ankles and knees.

Is it weird I'm actually excited to see how our 'depth' rise to the occasion? Obviously we want our best 22 in every game but I'm happy to persist with Weed and Dunstan for a bit longer and keen to see some fresh faces like Laurie, Bedford, Rosman or Chandler get a guernsey. All this consistent winning football with a similar healthy 22 each week is just foreign to me and it's taking time to get used to it....

Thanks DD, appreciate the link. I noticed this as well Mickey, amazing if true. When we completed ours in Mildura to rolls of turf were gigantic and need a forklift to move them. Not quite like the little 2m x 50cm rolls I personally grab to patch my backyard, these bad boys were massive with a few lads required to roll each one out. Even with these huge rolls laid as close together as possible there was still movement until all the grass roots established. Plus, they had to drop dress with a loam as a few gaps and low points appeared a month or so after using the reel mower. I have only been to Casey Fields once and although it was a pain in backside getting there, I'd rather us finish the year training there on the immaculate oval rather than run the gauntlet at Goschs.

I'd be shocked if its kikuyu. That's very common around the bush leagues and rural locations like where I am in Mildura as its tough and grows back quickly but it goes very dormant in the cooler weather. I don't think any AFL/VFL teams would use kikuyu and for the cost of this project, they'd be wanting the best of the best - and rightfully so. Our town has just spent around $40m on a new sports precinct with a very flash basketball stadium and a few footy ovals. I thought the oval would just be moving some loam around and rolling out some turf but was shocked by the amount of design work, prep, soil decisions, drainage etc were involved. Was amazing (and bloody costly) seeing it all come together. It's great seeing the photos (big thank you) but looking at them I'd be be shocked if we were training on it this year. The turf up here once laid took months to settle and ours was laid coming into summer in the one of the best growing areas in the country with how stupidly hot it gets up here. I don't know if we plan on training on it this season or not but I'd hope we don't risk players training on turf rolled out that hasn't taken yet.

Because I'm bored..... Rd 6 Melb 12 vs Rd 6 Melb 22 FB: Bartram / Hunt Frawley/ May Rivers/Smith HB Garland/Brayshaw McDonald/Petty Grimes/Bowey C Bail/Jordan McKenzie/Petracca Morton/Ed Langdon HF Howe/Spargo Bate/Weid Dunn/ANB FF Davey/Kozz Clarke/Brown Sylvia/Fritsch R Jamar/Gawn Jones/Oliver Moloney/Dunstan I Magner/Harmes Trengove/Sparrow Sellar/Jackson Tapscott/Rivers I find it interesting that there are so many one on one battles here that I believe the 2012 would at least break even with in talent comparisons. I might be on my own here but they really should have been more competitive then they were. Not 100% sure but did they even beat 1 non expansion team for the year? The 2012 coaching and development teams we had at the time were just devastating to the club. One [censored] sandwich after the next with so many good honest role players having there careers ruined.

My old man and bro are mad Saints fans so I have watched them a lot over the years due to a soft spot. Dunstan isn’t necessarily a bad kick, he just makes a couple silly decisions where he bites off more than he can chew. Continually he’d take dangerous options going inwards from a wing or half back that someone with his skill set shouldn’t be taking. I have no idea if that’s the reason the coaches gave him the backside but I felt like it would be close. “If” he plays within his limitations as a good solid foot solider and not try be Petracca like then he’ll actually be a nice pick up. The problem is the “if”

I've always felt that he hasn't been at his best due to a lot of injuries. Being named a leader at such a young age is never a good thing and he continued coming back to early, not at a 100% and it's impacting his game. We are lucky we didn't "Trengove" him and ruin him. This year he clearly tried to remove the quick bomb it long approach at all times and slowed down lowering his eyes. Unfortunately it made him look silly a couple times when he kept getting pinged however it was clear what he was trying to do. His form recently is back to his B & F year and I think a lot here have short memories forgetting how good he was at the earlier stage of his career. What makes Jack look a bit more average is the fact that Clayton and Trac are just on a different level and are genuine stars where Jack is just a bloody good player. Nothing more, nothing less. His two massive hits on Macrae early set the tone (and god they were magic). His selfless blocking for the other mids, in and under work and gut running spread were fantastic to watch. Also, his pressure defensively is elite as he makes sure his tackles stick..... hard. Congratulations Jack. Couldn't be happier

I'm a big fan of this kid but I have never been confident of this happening. I've always thought he would be holding off making his announcement until the new coach of Carlton has been named. Going to a new club without a coach named just reeks of either a fat contract that's too good to be true or a player desperate to get out of his existing club foe certain reasons. So its not something that Fremantle would want or he would want to be seen doing. I'm sure they're both in agreeance here. Now that Voss has been named, I'm just waiting for his confirmation to the press along the usual lines of "I've spoke with Vossy and I'm super excited with his plans for the Carlton Football Club and his vision for the future. It's something I want to be a part of"

The best thing that could have happened to Schache was give him a run behind the ball to get him some easy pill and a bit of confidence up. I often wonder why we have never given Sam some development as a defender. Schache went ok in defence and someone like Liam Jones has found his niche back there so I see no reason why Sam couldn't become a roll player here. It's clearly a tough gig getting the ball bombed on your head and continually getting out numbered as a forward. Weitering tried up forward and looked ordinary, Moore has had his moments good and bad, Harris-Andrews gets lost up there. So maybe going back and being one of those extra numbers would assist him. Plus if he's not confident in the jukes he can just go the almighty fist. I struggle to believe there are a lot of key defenders in the comp with more talent than Sam. I'd like to see the club developing this side of his game as well.

I think Hibberd is a far better defender than both Hunt and Rivers (for now). I can't imagine him making way for Jayden with the couple dangerous Doggies small and mid sized forwards. Plus, historically Hibbo has taken the talented mid who rests forward like a Danger, Dusty etc. I'm thinking he will do the same with the Bont if he has a break up forward. The only reason I'd bring Jayden in would be at the expense of Rivers as I think they play a similar role. I love Rivers and expect him to retain his spot which just makes Jayden another hard luck story. I agree however of him being the sub. Very unlucky for JJ by Hunt provides far more flexibility as a player and although May has been training fine from all accounts, my MFCSS is still lurking at the thought of his hamstring popping.