BW511

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.

And as many keep mentioning, if the MFC doesn't improve drastically next year, then it may be too tempting for him to ignore. Interesting that the whispers about Carlton and Oliver did and do have real substance- confirmed by Carlton themselves and were not just a made up BigFooty rumour like many screamed they were.

I'd much rather have Isaac Smith hobbling around than persist with ANB, AVB, Melksham, McDonald x2, Wagner x2, Joel Smith etc. He's from a better environment and a better player, he is from a culture where winning is the expectation not just turning up

This is the thing that most people don't realise in footy clubs and big business, they are always planning for the future, not reacting on a whim. Smart planning by Carlton and looks like they have had a good crack at all 4 and landed 2, great result for them

I have a mate that works for an AFL club in corporate functions, he mentioned a few of the players from his club that don't view footy as their entire life were really battling in the Hub. Some blokes go to training, meetings etc and then have nothing to do with footy outside those commitments, they need to unwind. They don't enjoy being around the boys 24/7.

I am a little concerned with Kossie's size for the long term, but he seems to be happy enough to throw it around. His timing is definitely not quite there yet, just felt like he needed a 3-4 goal game to get some confidence and start rolling.

He actually deserved all the commentators drooling over him for that one, he’s such a powerful bloke. In terms of standing up and taking his teammates with him, he would be near the top of the tree.

At least a fully outstretched Brown is a big target, makes it a bit easier to get it somewhere in his wingspan. As has been mentioned countless times, if he comes and takes a good defender, it frees up the Weid a little. If Weid is on fire and takes the number one defender, Brown gets let off the hook. How many teams have two elite defenders that could contain them both individually?

Fritsch gets plenty of looks at goal and he doesn’t crash packs

A lot of this is very relevant to our club. We have not had a strong and successful culture for a long, long time. I think May has been the first player to actually hold people accountable on field and demand better. The Trac, Oliver, May, Langdon, Lever combo could shape this club for the next 50 years - up to them whether they want to

This is the bit that seems off about the whole thing, Oliver could walk into any team so it would make sense to go to Saints, Dogs or Pies if he wants a Vic side. They all could use his help and will be a lot more likely to guarantee finals I doubt the B&F result is the thing that has him miffed, but I think there’s probably been enough evidence in his body language early on that he was unhappy