Ollie fan

No, but the land would not have come cheap. And the players do make a lot of money but then pay agents, managers, tax....

Me too. Great player. And in that highlights reel, looking at the scoreboard in a number of the shots gives the lie to the comment that he only kicked junk-time goals.

... how it is that, I see in this morning's Age, Bailey Smith has a six hectare property near Bells Beach?

Could he be a KPD? - other than Petty, our players are aging.

I hate this discussion about what we could trade him for. He is a Melbourne player, a great player and only going to get better. He is fantastic to watch and a fan favourite. There is NOTHING that I would trade him for. The speculation is largely based on him liking certain Freo posts. I don't do social media, but I wonder what other posts he likes. Eg, does he "like" all posts by First Nations players, whatever their team? Because if he does, that takes a lot of the sting out of the discussion!

I think they make a good burger.

Loving this thread!!!

It is very disappointing that Spargo has obviously not progressed as hoped - not for lack of trying, I'm sure! He is very valuable for his pressure, tackling and terrific ball use, and particularly with Kozzy unavailable (grrrr!!) it would have been great to have him ready for week one.

A pretty reasonable summary IMO

If Windsor was played as a centreman, as suggested above, I believe he would be monstered in the first 5 minutes and would be at risk of serious injury problems. He is slightly built, which is an asset to his pace and agility, and could not withstand having 4 or 5 players landing all over him on packs constantly. Yes, the midfield is a key to performance but we have outstanding experienced players there, and at least one real emerging star in Rivers. The wing is also vital - as Langers has shown got some time now, never more than in 21.

I am confident he will end up with us. However, he is a young and skinny, and I really don't see him being a good AFL player until about 2028 - he will need to fill out, and learn the senior game. This is absolutely not a knock on him, but you can't be a ruckman or a key position player until you have some weight and strength.

Personally, I think he is nothing like Rivers. He is not a big strong body, and if he tries to muscle up too much it might affect the qualities he has. Completely agree.

From the very limited time we saw Judd McVee in the midfield, I thought he looked like a great HBF. At least while Kozzy is out, and with Chandler injured and Spargo not progressing as hoped, we will start the season very short of small forwards. I think we should play Sharp there at the start, and have Windsor on the wing where we know he is a star. And I don't see him as a midfielder, any more than Robbie was - his pace, skill and disposal make him an ideal wingman which is a very important position.

That is truly crazy

Love That optimism!! But I agree

Oh, I would love that! The unfortunately- nicknamed Pedo was a terrific player, I think, for his commitment and versatility and capacity to take an important mark at the right time.

Pretty much agree with all of that. I have been worried about the lack of a replacement for May in particular - big shoes to fill!! - but also TMac. I don't get to watch Casey but nothing that I read or hear suggests that Adams is good enough to step up, unfortunately. Obviously, if we can find adequate tall forwards, there is Petty available, but i would love to see another big, strong defender emerging.

Just watched it. Congratulations to Mike Sheahan! - At least for the first half, getting anything out of Noel was like pulling teeth! (And I don't know any of the history, but obviously he is not Norm Smith's biggest fan).

My memory tells me Jimmy played on through cracked ribs, as a ruckman! I don't expect the same from Trac but this is not a disaster.

Cranky, would you give up on the constant constant constant carping? Basically it is a very good analysis, suggesting that if things turn around with Clarry etc we could do very well - possibly top four. He also says - AND I COMPLETELY AGREE- that we should find and get rid of whoever is leaking about all our troubles. I tried to post about that already but it didnt get past the mods.

Depends what you mean by "between".

But for Trac would probably have had the Norm Smith...

I really agreed with CHF's summary except that Petty is saying he is going to be a swingman, and I think that is great: he goes wherever he is needed. I agree with this also. We have been very poor on run pasts. I suspect from the training reports that this is being changed; it needed to be.

Everyone says he is reminiscent of Robbie Flower. Robbie was never an "inside mid" (not that that term was used in those days).

I'll tell you why certain posters undermine her and try to cast doubt on her. It's quite simple. They are jealous. GW puts in the hard yards but also - and I have never actually met her - quite clearly has an open, generous nature, and so the players like her and talk to her. Some posters, we all know who they are, don't have those relationships and never will. They also aren't liked on this site. So they backstab, carp, make snide comments, and disparage whatever she says. They don't have her relationships so they don't believe, or pretend not to believe, that she could have them either. It is pure jealousy.