D Rev

Absolutely this. I've been excited by the mid-season rebuild for some time. I reckon it was after the Freo debacle and then Trac going down that Goody pulled the pin on Billings, Hunter & McAdam and really brought in the kids. I loved that passage of play where Disco took a great contested mark at HF then looked up to see JVR in the pocket and Fritta in the goal square. What a problem to have! We showed plenty against the Lions and now got it done against a team that bullied us in the West. Although my tips this weekend stank (how even is this comp?), I predict we are good chance to make the 8*. Even if we don't give it a royal shake, it will set us up beautifully for next season. Lots to be excited about. * past performance is no indicator of future performance

Would prefer to see Howes in for Woey, he's just a better player and gives the team real flexibility down back. Would love Taj to prove me wrong. Otherwise, strong line-up, no excuses!

Speaking of predictions, Sportsbet has at $3.20 to make the 8.

Apologies if this has been covered off, but doing a bit of a stocktake (happy new financial year Dees fans!) and we *should* have salary cap space in lieu of: BBB Brayshaw Smith Hunter / Billings / McAdam? Laurie The first two should be a nice chunk of change. Surely we can go after some talent?

Absolutely agree. I have no idea why Blues fans hate him so much, maybe they don't like his Mums ads for Chemist Warehouse or whatever it is. Change of scene may do him good. And possibly some moisturiser.

The club made the right move with JVR, keeping him down despite the supporters rabidly demanding his selection. JVR himself said he wasn't ready after the fact. Reckon we should trust them re: Jeffo. I'd be amazed if Milkshake plays in the ones this week, you'd reckon he must get a run in the twos. If fit, Bowie and Salem should come in - they are easily in our best 22 and are two of the best kicks in the team. I dont reckon Tommo should keep his spot as he's so limited. Howes would be the ideal replacement for him. If Petty is out, and I know this is as likely as myself getting selected, but Id like to see TMac up forward.

(Forward line) Captain Coach!

Absolutely this. Momentum is such an important factor in all sports these days, particularly AFL with the evenness of the competition. It should be remembered that we also have a young team and so *should* have less baggage in regards to outcomes - just have a dip! Lots for them to get excited about, their destiny is in their hands. Goodwin must feel a bit like Arnie in Kindergarden Cop - time to get the ferret out!

I'd argue the point about Goodwin not being versatile - we have changed the way we play this year, tried players in new positions and brought in lots of youth. I'd support the position that Goodwin isn't a great match day coach, but he certainly has been more dynamic this season.

Absolutely Jed Adams Bont 2.0

Very hard to say based on what I saw today aside from him being able to outrun a very energetic 9 year old

Just got home from Gosch's, thanks to all the Dees Army volunteers - my 2 monsters had a great time. Youngest kept trying to keep up with Petty while he was running laps. Was good to watch the training session, some of the end to end drills really exposed how poor some of our field kicking is. Kolt had some howlers but knew it and looks the type to work on it. I didn't realise how good Jeffersons wing spand is. Unbelievable. He could tie his laces standing up. Had a brief chat with him and he reckons he isn't too far off. Not sure if that's just his thoughts or the clubs, but positive to hear the enthusiasm. Had a chat with Jed Adams too, suggested he move into the midfield and he liked that. We agreed he'd win the Brownlow if it happened ;)

Love the reference. I think I have "How to play VFL Football" by Ron Barassi in the bookshelf somewhere. Very likely sponsored by a cigarette company. Will forward it on to Goodwin & charge him a lot less for it than whatever they are paying Choco. Really need to start questioning what Williams is bringing.

I'm really unsure of Goodwin as a game day coach. I think his planning and strategy are sound (and proven) for getting a club to AFL finals. The mysterious use of Grundy and Schache last year are prime examples of his management of subs. Hopefully it will an area for him for "learnings and connections"

Because Fullarton can't play at AFL level

Hodge and a lot of the ex Hawthorn players seem to really hate us. Apparently they really lost respect for us as a club in the bad old days when they were riding high. Punching down is firmly for heroes apparently... ...I think there are a lot of upsides from this game - and for next season. As I've said previously, this season is much more like 2017 now with the injuries and kids coming in. With a few retirements and some more salary cap space, we will be able to target some missing talent (kicking skills!) and I dare say we will be a destination club with our capabilities next season.

I wish the kid all the best. If we can get a promising young tall who can play multiple positions that wants to be at the club - I don't see much downside to that.

Absolutely. I think we've really flown under the radar with the mini rebuild and different strategies we have been putting in place this season. I really hope it pays dividends next season with a bunch of young kids being aware of AFL standard & what they need to do to excel, allowing them to push themselves and their teammates to improve.

absolutely agree on Jordan

Clarrie is one of the best players I've seen at Melbourne in my 45 years and wish him nothing but the best going forward. I really hope he can get back to his best AND become a leader of the team. If not, I really hope we can renegotiate that contract.

One of the best non-match report, match reports! Thank you!

I'm not 100% against JVR playing in the ruck, not too much, but it is necessary in the modern game to have talls that can pinch hit there. Luckily for us, he's pretty good at it. Unluckily for us, there doesn't seem to be anyone else that can do it. The question around Petty's form is a good one. He had a limited pre season but the drop off here has been stark. As for letting Jordan go, he didn't have a great 2023 and we don't have any insights as to what Sydney offered him - aside from guaranteed match time - so its hard to criticise the club for that.

We got these guys with the space in the list and salary cap that we had. They were always going to be top ups, which is fair enough for a team that has finished top 4 for three years in a row. They haven't worked out due to extra pressure created by a raft of reasons including; general injuries, Angus retiring & Clarrie self destructing. Id be happier to criticise the lack of improvement from the rest of the playing group, particularly around kicking and forward structure, than to criticise the recruiters. There's also a good reason to question why the Perry "experiment" has continued.

I think it was just for this season

They got Danniher from Essendon and Hipwood out of the academy.