Gawndy the Great

What would you all say if Oliver leaving meant we were able to acquire the services of Zac Merrett? It is no secret that: 1. Right now, we lack silk and speed on the outside; 2. We are tight on salary cap and hence would have to trade out for this move to be possible 3. Zac is not happy at Bomberland and could be convinced to leave if the price and destination were right. Dont get me wrong - i rate Oliver highly but have always said that inside mids are a dime a dozen. I just dont think we have any other player (aside from Trac) who would get us what we need to secure Zac.

Will take 3-0 any day and am pumped for a shot for 4-0 as I was thinking 2-3 after 5 was a pass mark for Goody to keep his job. Nevertheless Cats will be a better reflection of where we are at as opposed to the first 3 rounds.

Careful there - it’s a sensitive topic here. I think he is good but not worth more than 800K / year. A superstar nails both those goals.

If he commands big dollars he has to nail those set shots.

It’s a blight on the game. I also think the father son has to be further dialled back in if not eradicated entirely - yes it’s not a popular view and I get that there is a bit of romanticism about the tradition. But we will have another pick 1 go to a non wooden spooner this year and in the interest of ensuring an equal competition - is counter intuitive.

Jones and BBB would have nailed it.

God to see BBB and Weed on the track.

If the group wants sustained success, that means all of them will have to sacrifice some of their pay. If they see an extra 200K-300K (or possibly more) being more important to them, then i wouldn't want that player anyway as they will not be 100% committed to the team ethos that Richmond has made the blueprint of their success over the past 5 years. GWS is a prime example of a team of individuals. I think Carlton is heading that way as well.

It was all Yze and Richo’s influence - jk jk

Only watched 2nd half and we put together some really positive chains of ball movement. Skills let us down a fair bit though (dropped about 5 sitter marks, kicking was poor as well), topped with some bad finishing and it took a bit of shine off a really good win. Should have been 40+. Kozzy looking really special in the middle. Go Dees.

Isaac would have been a great addition to the team.

I'd have to agree on this. He has had a stellar 100 first games and has possessions through the roof every game. But its what he does with the footy and the decisions that he makes that prevent him from being a genuine A plus footballer. Would be gutted if he left, but he is replaceable - maybe not on certain traits and strengths but as a 'role' in 'the system'.

Saints looked solid. Will need a big lift in performance if we are going to match them.

I think Mr Burns told him to shave off his sideburns.

100% with you Doc. In a competition full of talent, the difference between winning and losing often boils down to the 1%ers. How often do we chase hard and tackle hard, or even sheppard for the sake of the ball user. It is this blind intensity we saw snippets of throughout the 2018 campaign but something we could never truly ingrain into the club's culture.

And maybe Jack held most of them to account when he was captain and most of them didnt want to hear it and so didnt re-elect him as captain? Maybe?

Im trying to be optimistic, but i just cannot see us cracking the 8 with Goodwin as Headcoach. I think our forward line will not be able to keep the ball in and will struggle to contest without the two talls. Our defensive transition game will be exposed as it was last year - it may marginally improve, but we just lack in this area. Dont forget the 2-3 games we just throw away when we fail to show up. Question is at what point do you let him go?

Hope he can stay fit and healthy.

I am cautiously optimistic on TMac. He did some good things on Friday. Once BBB and Weed return, it will be interesting whether we play him i50 or as a link player in a wing/High HF type role. Would be hard to match his endurance, physicality and contested marking.

Simple fix. Get WFC and Freo out of Perth. Relocate all 2021 home games to other venues in Australia and the state can suffer the financial and performance ramifications. It is clear now that we know how to respond to outbreaks with short sharp lockdowns. 28 days without community transmission is just ludicrous - we managed to play a whole tennis tournament throughout this debacle. I sense that this is a little bit of sour puss from WA state govt after we awarded the finals series to Qld.

Hunt was a proven multiple goal kicker last year. He has to get a solid run in the forward pocket. Trac is explosive out of the middle and should only rest in fwd line - similar to Dusty. Fritta had plenty of chances and in my opinion is a solid 3rd tall - has the traits of a Gunston like player. He gets in damaging areas just needs to finish off to become an elite forward in the comp. TMac has a point to prove. I'd give him a chance. Havent seen anything about Petty that would have me put him in the starting 22. You cannot go by what we saw a few years ago. So i personally would not take a chance yet..needs to perform in VFL first. Mitch had a few good games last year when given a chance. Form and Practice match performance will dictate his selection. Putting aside Kozzie's family tragedy, he still has a lot to live up to. He wasnt by any means a standout player last year. He needs to improve. So with our current stocks i think we would go: Hunt, TMac / Brown, Spargo/Kozzie Fritta, Majak / Jackson, Milkshake/VBerg The dual listed spots will be determined through practice match performance and general form. I think only Hunt and Fritta are walk-in starting forwards.

I think this will in a way validate your theory. If there is genuine belief in our ability to win a premiership and the entire playing group has committed, then players will have bought in and contract discussions will be concluded pretty quickly. If on the other hand there is decent among the players (which were rumored after season end) then contract discussions will linger and the outcome will be dictated by how much we can pay Trac, Gawn and Clarry without digging ourselves a hole ala Collingwood FC 2020. I find Clarry quite reserved and hard to read. He does seem to have strong relationships with Salem, Trac and Gawn, which will definitely feature in the process he will go through when resigning.

I have a mate who is good friends with his family. Apparently he has sourced unobtanium footy boot studs from Pandora ...(think floating mountains in Avatar)

I think the approach will be different this year. For Lockdowns 1 and 2, we really didn't know how to respond to an outbreak and what controls need to be activated where and when. I really cant see a wave 3 happening as the govt will act swiftly as they have recently with a 5 day lockdown. So we may have the odd temporary short-lived lockdown but i think the concept of hubs will probably not be necessary. It does beg the question of what happens when there is a temp shutdown and the states shut borders with an effected state - particularly when you have a team travelling from / to the effected state. there maybe last minute fixture changes or postponed rounds. I think the afl should plan for 4-5 mid week fixtures for teams effected, but how you make the fair i couldnt say.

Was always going to be a few months for BBB. Sad to hear about Kozzie's mum. Our forward line is going to be under a bit of pressure to make do given in the best of times we were not very efficient. If last year was our benchmark, then BBB does not factor and the only real loss is Weed, which we were able to cover Mitch.