D Rev

Jackson is really not very easy to replace.

It's great to get a thread on here about hope. It's a very powerful thing and has led to great outcomes in the past. This season was super close, the competition is very even now. I don't think we will see back-to-back Premiers again for a long time. This season was tough for the Dees, we lost Gus before it started with no compensation, had a tough draw and a bucket load of injuries. Despite all this, we only finished outside the 8 by a couple of games (and we had more than a couple decided by less than a goal!). For mine, the evenness of the league means that being able to develop players & depth are more important than ever. We all saw what the injury to key players can mean. We blooded lots of youth this season and will bring in another raft of good young players in this draft. We will also get an easier draw, so hopefully less travel and longer breaks (you could lock me in for 1:30 each Sunday at the 'G and I'd be quite happy!). I fully expect us to improve on last season and make the finals. Brisbane has just shown that finishing top 4 isn't necessary to win it all if you are fit enough and know how to play at the MCG. Go Dees!

OK, this is a stupid question - is salary related to the pick they get in exchange? Honest question. If so, isn't it odd that a club that is paying too much for a player gets rewarded for it?

I'm dumb struck that we get pick 28 for ANB. Perryman and Battle (free agents) went for picks in the teens, he's worth at least that. Maybe both picks. Unbelievable and disrespectful. Go Dees

Every club would love to have him. Lots of "in theory" and hypotheticals going on here. Would it be good for us? Maybe. Would it be good for him? Maybe. What is certain is that I can't see Melbourne letting him go while the window is open. We have pick 5 this year and blooded a bunch of kids last season. Let's not get dragged into Sam McLures BoM-level of predictions. Go Dees.

Do you need a waaaambulance?

OK, hear me out here. A bit left field. If Trac is sick of the club and concerned about his brand, trade him to Richmond for Yze, Punt Road Oval and all their draft picks. I'm not actually that concerned about the draft picks. Punt Road is well located (at least *literally* miles better than Casey) and will serve the team well for generations. Richmond can go and train at Kevin Bartlett oval or some [censored]. Don't care.

Absolutely not. Why should the club reward the efforts he has contributed this season? Sends a terrible message. The club is bigger than the player. Let him play his 300th for Tassie.

My question is on the pod itself. Each week you say "thanks to our very loyal listeners" or something similar. What I'd like to know is, what are the listener numbers like? Do you have stats on average listeners / downloads, as well as variances for losses v wins? Are there any podcasts that were really popular v others? And the real elephant in the room; how big was the drop off in listenership (sp?) when Andy was away??! Thanks again team - love the pod

I think it is wiser to trust the results than it is to trust the media. The media are motivated by creating outrage to get eyeballs on them.

Firstly, it's great that you have obviously taken so much time to consider your thoughts for sharing. Everyone here cares about the Dees, which is why we are here. I absolutely agree that a review needs to be done of the club every year, and Pert has indicated this is what will be done. If the board deems it necessary, the review will be external (which I believe it is?). If the AFL believes we are too much of a basket case, which they did in 13/14, they will remove the board and bring in some pros (ala. Peter Jackson). We are clearly not in the basket case territory. We won the flag after 57 years in 2021 in a year when we only had 1 real injury (Tommo, who was superfluous) and were clearly the fittest team in the comp. Since then we have finished top 4 twice, but come into the finals absolutely battered. I would take a top 4 finish every day of the week. List management is an issue, but it is for every club. I think you have missed the point on Grundy, there is no way we could have kept him and it hasn't cost us anything. Would we have let Jordan go if we knew Brayshaw was going to be forced into retirement? Probably not. The point is that these things are more complex than you are representing. My main issues with list management relate to the lack of recruitment of a back up ruck, though am not sure what was available. We have the same salary cap issues as they other clubs and need to balance immediate and future needs. Not easy. Similarly, this season has been ridiculously close and unpredictable. That we almost beat the team that are now 2nd last weekend, sending us to 13th, shows that. Have we under-performed THIS season? I think we have actually done well given the injuries / availability's we have had, particularly to our top 6 players. Is this finish what we want? No. Is it understandable? Yes. The review will highlight areas of improvement and I am 100% confident that our Premiership winning coach and leaders will be able to identify the issues and respond.

I'd really hope that Sparrow would be happy to take any role assigned to him that will help the team, as I would any player. This match is a good chance for a lot of players to prove they have the desire to play on next season. Just checked our injury list and saw it includes May, Oliver, Petracca, Windsor and Spargo. You just can't replace those sorts of players, but it's a great opportunity for the likes of Hore, Howes, Kolt & Disco (at least) to learn and smash in. You'd hope some of the older players that have drifted towards the end of the season, or throughout it to really come home with a wet sail too. Go Dees!

Really appreciate all your work WCW!

Watched him train and was amazed by the size of him, particularly given his age. He will not get any smaller over the coming years, but will get faster and more confident. Give the poor lad time and give him a chance.

I think a lot of the posters here are missing this point - we do not exist in a vacuum but in the context of the entire league. Yes, we have been bitterly unlucky this season with injuries and stupidity (sometimes both): Smith, Angus, Clarrie, Trac, Max, May, Lever, Spargo, Salem, Bowey etc all injured or out for one reason or another. Some players have gone backwards due to injury, age or being exposed due to the overall (team) fall off in performance. BUT...look at Richmond and their injury list, these things happen and cannot be controlled. ALSO....look at Hawthorn, a young side with no fear that is learning to play together and running on top of the ground. With the right management and some luck, we have as good a chance as anyone to improve our list and performances next season. We've blooded a LOT of kids this year, more than most, which will provide benefit next season. No real surprises we looked flat on Friday. We are in a much better position than the pre Goodwin days, I do have hope for 2025.

Absolutely. If you don't support them when they are down, you don't deserve them when they are up.

I got in a fair stoush with the then-CEO years ago too. The bloke is a the pied piper of disaster, it follows him everywhere. Him getting hired by us, the 3rd club to do so, shows how small minded the execs in the AFL can be. You can link this to the Craig Kelly post (if its still up). I'm glad he's gone & that we've (largely) moved on.

I've got this date marked in my calendar so I get a reminder every year, it's good for perspective. If you told me we would win a flag in 2021 back then, or the 5 years after, I wouldn't have believed you. We've come a long way as a club, which is great, but it's also good to look at how the competition has changed. The Geelong and Hawthorn teams from that era were ridiculously good, so much better than the rest. Look at the competition now - incredibly even. I'm not sure if we'll see those dominant eras again. The competition is so much more professional now, although the AFL does seem to be resisting with its fixturing, management of match umpiring etc.

Excellent point. Lets not forget the pall that the tanking era left our club under in regards to culture and performance. We have to play every game to win. This season has been very tough for us from the start. We lost Smith, then Clarrie went off the rails, then we lost Brayshaw. All 3 would have been in the starting 18 this year. Why we lost two of them is probably up for discussion. Where in the world is Charlie Spargo? We've had a really tough draw; lots of travel and 5 day breaks. Petty had an interrupted pre season while Lever, Salem and Bowey have been injured and down on form (not so much Lever). To Goody's credit, he bit the bullet after "The Malice in The Alice" and played the kids. Lots of positives coming from AMW, Disco, Kolt & Windsor (who was already in). McVee, JVR (especially) & Chandler also looking good. Pup and Jeffo are two for the future, as are Sestan and Verrell. Rivers has been awesome to watch in the middle and Nibbler has really stepped up this year too. We've had the normal older and mid-tier players (Sparrow, Tommo, B Brown, Hunter, Billings etc) fall away or not be good enough. Milkshakes output has dropped, but thats to be expected. Fritta has been very disappointing despite kicking over 35 goals. It seems like Woey or Laurie aren't up to AFL level either, which is a shame but Im happy to be proven wrong. Jeez, I really went sideways here. In all, Id like to see: IN (any of): Sparrow (if he's learned his lesson), Disco (starting), Howes, Hore OUT: Woey (to Sub), Laurie, Billings, Bowey For those wanting Kolt in, he may still be out with concussion protocols. Jeffo, Pup, Sestan and Verrell all aren't ready.

Not sure about Langdon in the best, certainly tried but his disposal was pretty ordinary. Also don't think May or Lever had their best games. McVee was the best of the backline for mine.

Some excellent points made in this thread. It actually grinds my gears a bit when people make the judgement call about "proper fans" being the ones to get to games. Not everyone has that luxury, we should remember that. I 100% agree that 16k on a Saturday night is a poor scene. The AFL needs to take some of the blame - Melb v GWS is never going to draw a crowd drawing over 40k outside the finals in July. That being said, I dare say there were more people watching this game at home so the good people at Ch7 may have been happier (isn't that what this is all about?). Then again, maybe the Olympics took a few eyeballs away. I've said this before, but I would love for us to pack up our stuff from Casey and do a deal with Port Melbourne. This game would have had a real 'retro round' feel at North Port Oval. Regardless, I really don't want us to be a club that really gets on board the "only real fans turn up" mojo.

Both of them?

Don't know if Id start with Billings on - keep him as sub

Kolt wasn't great against the Dockers, but he wasn't Robinson Crusoe in that department. Brown looks way too small to be playing big minutes (which Kolt has been doing) in the AFL. He needs another pre season (at least). It sounds like Salem will be out, likely for Gawn. This is an absolute must-win game for us, we need to pick a side that will maximise our chances of winning. GWS have had a pretty easy run the last ~6 weeks and haven't been too convincing. We are a dead-set chance against them at home with (a supporter created) wind at our sails!

For everyone that is saying we need to drop x or y, you need to consider who we have to come in. We don't have a lot at Casey that are better options that who is playing. Billings had one of his best games for us after a long spell in the 2s and not playing a full game. Howes for and injured Salem is probably the only viable change, aside from Max coming in for just about anyone.