BW511

Richmond were rattled, Geelong kept them alive by letting Dusty get a sniff

And in typical fashion the tough guys, like Archer, only get tougher as the years roll by. It takes all types to create a winning list, we are the ultimate example of that with our insistence on medium height, inside types.

The last 2 years our leading goal kickers have barely slotted 20 for the year. If Brown plays at 50% capacity he still kicks 30. How people don't get that, I will never know. Regarding the injury, if he was in dispute with North about how he was being treated, there is no way he would be rushing back from surgery. I think it's likely just two parties coming to the end of a relationship midway through the year and both acting accordingly

People are prepared to accept Jones going round again, but won't cop someone that actually improves our side. The wing has become a very important position in modern footy and I'd rather a crippled Smith, who has excelled in this position, than every other gap filler we have tried

If he comes Langdon will leave. Big no

Roaming HFF

Agree wholeheartedly. GWS made a lot of good decisions building their list, but in the time it took for their superstar youngsters to develop the game changed and they were left scratching their heads. In terms of solving it, I think their could be a case made for many of the solutions that have been thrown up in the past few years. Personally, I would like the the ball to be thrown up at stoppages immediately, no more nominating and letting teams set up their defence. I'd also like to trial the free kick being awarded for last hands on ball before it goes over the boundary, that would stop teams playing safe along the boundary (And possibly force us to stop kicking down the line all the time!) The ridiculous scragging and blocking 50m off the ball should be penalised also, although that won't change the game, it's just weak and I want it gone

I was watching Access All Areas this morning and left it running once finished, next minute 2005 Grand Final highlights start playing and I was glued to it. There used to be so much time and space for players and they were all heavier set blokes built for contested footy. The immense fitness and speed of the players covering the ground has allowed coaches to use zones and close down space very quickly. I think our inconsistency of effort would have been very draining and detrimental to our game plan, however I don't believe we have the footy IQ on the park to execute it. You need to coach to your strengths and we seem to play around our strength now.

Cats, Danger, Stewart

This is the truth, Richmond would have so many ordinary triple premiership players

Sounds like I am in the minority here, but I’d love Ablett to finish with a flag. He has been an unbelievable player for so long now, still having an impact in big finals after 350+ games. Grew up around the time him and his group started in the cats VFL side, have always followed them from afar since. Plus, I absolutely do not like Richmond. They are a real smug bunch and their two big forwards would be in my top 5 most disliked players in the comp. Go the Catters

Understand this view, but he’s kicked about 40 goals over the past 2 seasons - it’s great that he’s done it, but I’m happy to squeeze him out in the hope that Trac/Jacko can kick his goals and Brown and Weid can pile them on as well. It’s not so much about Fritsch himself, more about how he doesn’t fit in the lineup I would prefer - which was outlined in my post

Surprising that so many people want to persist with Melksham & Fritsch. They are both very vanilla and whilst they can have good days, they don’t provide genuine excitement or pressure - if we really want to get better, they should be pushed out by better options. If Brown comes in, I would set up like this: HFF - Jacko/Trac Weid Spargo FF - Kozzie Brown (Someone new & zippy) Trac/Jacko rotating can easily cover the goals Fritsch & Hannan would provide (25ish), both tackle with intent too. Brown brings 30-40 more goals comfortably Weid continues improvement for 30+

Nev has been an absolute warrior for us, can’t have done much more. He is running on empty though, what on earth do Collingwood want him for?

I would be miffed as well if blokes like Melksham kept getting games all year because there was no better option. The frustrations would be in line with the supporters - we played finals 2 years ago then fell off a cliff. The club came out and publicly said it was finals or a fail this year and we failed again. There doesn't seem to be anyone with answers within the club, so why not chat to other clubs and see if they have a clear directive and future goals in place

May has some proper C*&$ about him, it's so good to see. He will be the one that drives the club forward over the next 2-3 years. He isn't afraid to challenge people and demand 100% commitment

The way I look at it, if we bring in the 200cm/6'7" Brown, he instantly requires the biggest defender. The slightly smaller Weid at 195cm/6'5" then gets number 2 defender. This has two positives, we know Brown can already kick goals on the best defenders, his 'body of work' is very good. Weid can then get a better shot at things with a slightly smaller/lesser defender. I don't care if we have to change our game plan up to accommodate this, because whatever it is it doesn't work anyway. Worth noting, T-Mac is smaller again at 194cm/6'4"

I have absolutely no evidence to support this notion, but it always seems to me like Melbourne have favoured these sorts. Lot of guys that are just a bit too comfortable in life and don't have to fight tooth and nail for an opportunity. The current top sides have a real, permanent tough edge about them, something we can occasionally turn on but only when we choose.

Will be interesting if no forward comes on board, can’t see how we can kick winning scores without another 1.5-2 goals a game from someone else

I have a similar view, in that Fritsch and Melksham are almost limiting factors in our forward half, rather than improving/complimenting it. I would love to see Weid and B.Brown as the two pillars, Jacko roaming as he pleases and then 3 quick smalls. Assume Brown picks up the 20 odd goals Fritsch would kick, Jacko provides a better aerial contest and then we have room for 3 smalls. I think we are a better side with Fritta and Melky out, provided we can find some proper smalls

Would have thought they are similar to us and need proper small zippy blokes, rather than mid-sized plodders

Langdon & hopefully another genuine winger helping us actually win games at the MCG. Also, games at the MCG

Commentators would love to mention them discussing their basketball backgrounds together ?

He lost a child, that's pretty serious. Would be enough to put pressure on all relationships, particularly the football one

From a football perspective, I think we would be very happy if Tom went across to Collingwood and shifted down back again.