RedFox

When you consider he's about to be 30 and has already started regressing in 2025 I don't see how you could have that view. Very rarely are two top 10 picks relinquished for a player, let alone one with 2, maybe 3 great seasons left. And yeah, his on field antics were toxic this season.

Of course the club won't go on public record and say they will pay for obvious reasons, but they will. Otherwise they are coughing up a first round pick to go with Oliver like GC did with Jack Bowes. On top of the fact that we are in the midst of one of the worst cycles of leaking information this club has been through. The proof that the media has the inside lane is irrefutable.

I love Clayton Oliver as much as anyone, but the obvious and appealing part to the deal is getting over half of his absurd salary off our books. What we get back in return almost pales into insignificance - we won't be contending in the near future with or without him. We have been hamstrung in the free agency, other contract negotiations, and trade period talks for far too long by these monster contracts offered (rightly) to trac and clarry. With diminishing returns and out of contention we need to clear house and get back on track.

Casey coach Whitford has been promoted to the development role vacated by Choco

All in all, he could rightly be seen as a divisive figure in the locker room when the Dogs currently need anything but. On top of the fact that May is no longer a top defender in the competition and hasn't been for some time now. Champion of the club and easily our best pure defender of this generation, but far from perfect over the journey - we all should be across the string of incidents by now. As a side note, Lindsay was a shell of himself after that aggressive and totally uncalled for real time feedback he received from May on KB - how to kill the confidence of a kid.

Those historical experiences tied in with the present and JUH is precisely why you can imagine they would be hesitant to bring someone like May in now.

Some clubs might tolerate May's cultural pitfalls - the Dogs don't strike me as one. Particularly given their recent experience with JUH. His form hasn't been strong enough to justify upsetting the apple cart is my read on it.

Dees socials using Spargo as the poster boy for paid partnerships on their IG stories. Hmm

Ask chatgpt if it's generally a good idea to deploy a player who goes at 48% by foot as a half back flanker

Preface this with only commenting on what I see on match day and not during the week. Trac has been doing this kind of thing for ages. Can't remember the last time I saw him be super encouraging and calm as a leader. Looks really unhappy at the club atm

Has Melbourne slighted Caroline Wilson at any point in the past? She's penned another article pot shotting the club and saying Buckley should overlook the job in favour of leading Tasmania.

I tend to agree but these performances on the biggest stage sadly became somewhat of a trend under his watch, it's a bit of an elephant in the room.

Does the mental fragility displayed by his playing group in not one, but four, grand finals concern you?

Caddy has all of the same tools and power movements as a young Curnow. And most importantly, he's a natural forward and good finisher. Edit: Still love Windsor and don't regret the pick. Just get him back onto a wing.

Time to have an honest discussion about May. I want to preface that I still love everything he brings from a leadership perspective, and will go down as one of the best backmen to lace them up for us. However, his drop off has been stark this season. He's now getting beaten most weeks, looks completely irrelevant when the ball hits the deck, and in being frustrated with getting beaten is giving away stupid frees that are hurting us. He clearly won't be dropped but IMO we need to start thinking of the May contingency plan as the cracks in his game are getting bigger and bigger in 2025.

You have to wonder if Laurie will ever get another opportunity in the midfield rotation. JVR stiff.

The time has come for Fritsch. Been carrying him for far too long. Now that the goals and score involvements have dried up his lack of impact with or without the ball is being completely exposed. Other than that I am not as negative on our prospects this season as others seem to be. Arguably our three best ball users in Kozzie, Windsor and McVee being out is really obviously exacerbating our connection problems. When Kozzie and Judd in particular are back I feel as though our ball movement will improve quite a lot. Credit to Bowey, he had that one howler that cost us a goal but aside from that his kicking is quite reliable. The last thing I want to comment on is the lack of one percenters. We really don't work for one another and smother, shepherd, block for our forwards like this group was doing regularly when at their best. The 2021 physicality was on both sides of the footy. Angus was the best at it and celebrating those little things that are actually extremely important but often forgotten about. We are always under pressure when disposing of the footy cause nobody is even trying to block and buy their mate some more time. Need to get this mindset back ASAP.

He must have missed the McVee news if he's saying the defence is all healthy and stable. Big loss

Unsure how this will work with the announcement of Petty returning to D50. Seems too tall with all four of Lever, May, Petty + Tmac.

Normally I would agree but they look like a genuine contender next year - on paper at least. Guns everywhere

While Trac could probably have handled the PR a bit better by not being silent for ages, heaps of positive change has happened since. So maybe we should be looking at it through that lens. I'll still get around the bull, what a player!

Who do you propose takes Rivers spot when he becomes a permanent mid? Time to start trusting the people who do this for a living

Have heard his name pronounced as both laylor and lawlor, which one is it?

As a few others have mentioned this pick makes sense due to McVee and Rivers moving up the ground. Can anyone comment on his lockdown ability? Looks clean and quick which JT will love.

No