BDA

True. I forgot about Freos draft haul this year.

He has recruited well considering the profile he’s been asked to recruit for (contested ball winner). I agree that the balance is wrong overall which is a strategy failing. I have confidence in Taylor delivering talent if we give him the right specs. Jackson, Pickett and Rivers are as good a trio as any club selected in the draft (bar gold coast but Rowell and Anderson were always going 1 and 2).

Our recruitment has been very good recently imo and drafting Pickett is no exception. He has an x-factor that is rare. It's down to development now. If he's coached properly and can learn good habits then we have a serious player.

Poor habits and poor concentration. Every club has off days kicking but the contenders turn up switched on from the first bounce, lay tackles, compete hard. You can tell with this team early in the game what you’re going to get. The missed tackles and lazy efforts from last night set the tone. No one on the field calls it out. No one (including Max) seems to be able to rouse the team, shift momentum. Subconsciously we accept this standard. We need leaders in the coaches box and on the field that maintain standards and demand others meet them or else. The best example I can think from another sport is Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane. Keane captained Man United in the EPL for years. All his ex-team mates say he was relentless. He demanded excellence, every minute, every training session, every game. If you fell short he let you know. New recruits got the treatment early if they didn’t track back or mis-placed a pass. He mirrored the personality of his manager Alex Ferguson who was an uncompromising, hard as flint, Scottish SOB. Alastair Clarkson has these qualities. Ross Lyons too but he seems to wear the players out with a rigid game plan. There may be others but they are not obvious to me. Player wise, Melbourne obviously don’t have the right characters at the moment. Perhaps Viney with the right coach. Max leads by example but he’s not a mongrel. Steven May possibly, but he’s too prone to lapses and his professionalism is questionable. Some of the younger players may have the right stuff but they need leaders and mentors at the club to show the way. Until we have the right coach and enough players with the right character we won’t improve. With the right leadership execution, effort, kicking will all follow.

Curtains. We had our chances.

We're not switched on. This is looking ominous.

Important game for Harmes career wise. Half back role doesn’t suit him and Goodwin doesn’t like deploying a tagger. If he plays the defensive forward tomorrow I hope he makes a go of it. Otherwise I don’t see where he fits on our list Lockhart must be injured. He was the obvious choice for Papley. That said if we stop the ball at source Papley won’t be a factor. The Joel Smith experiment has failed so have no idea why Goodwin is persisting. If he plays down back that’s at least 2 goals you can chalk down for Sydney.

The Queensland govt probably made it a condition when initially agreeing to the hub so I think the pretence of a decision is for optics and ratings purposes. Optus and Adelaide oval are fantastic venues and deserve to host at some stage so I think post covid the ALF should consider rotating. Personally, I would love to head inter-state for the final and make a weekend of it.

Jonesy has been a warrior, a fantastic servant to the club and has 3 Bluey Truscott trophies to show for it. Playing bit parts, in a diminished capacity will only tarnish his legacy. Best to quit while you’re ahead imo.