Bring-Back-Powell

Good. I'm expecting a 16.4.100 type return in round 1 V's the Eagles, as opposed to the 7.13.55 slop circa 2019. Amazing the amount of games we lost last year purely on accuracy.

Anyone know what's going on with Petty? Missed the last 2 games of the season with a mystery injury and it seems as though he's been in rehab or light duties since returning.

Played round 23 against North down there and looked ok with 32 touches. If he plays down back, we lose his X-factor in snagging a goal on the run from 50 or taking a big mark inside 50.

If indeed he's out for weeks, At least Oliver was one of the rare surgery players from last year that went on to have a good year. Hopefully as other's have mentioned, it's just a minor thing.

I recall Stafford being an excellent shot for goal during his Richmond days, and his stats back it up. During 2002 and 2003 he kicked 46.15 over two seasons as a forward/ruck hybrid. Over his career went at 69%.

Calf strain should have him available for full training just in time for the xmas break.

Is it too much to ask for an All Australian 40 squad?

You'd think we went 17-5 last year instead of 5-17...

Brown. Henderson’s a has-been. At least Brown had a 4 goal game and two 3 goal games this year.

Would be staggered if he wasn’t named co-captain. For some reason I can’t see Viney doing the gig himself, even after 3 or so years at the helm. Gawn deserves to Captain this club. Hopefully his form doesn’t drop off as a result.

His games against West Coast and North were outstanding and gives me hope he can cause havoc as the third forward behind T Mac and Weed/Mitch Brown next year . A very talented player is Fritsch.

Ironically he looked uncomfortable when swung back to defence this year in the second Richmond and Collingwood games. Then was dropped. Has the key attributes to be a good forward as he’s very fast on the lead and can take an over head mark, and generally a good shot goal for goal (see his winning goal from 52 against Carlton). However, as other have mentioned he can go missing as a forward.

I assume if we take Jackson at pick 3, Taylor (the professional recruiter as opposed to us keyboard amateurs) believes that he'll clearly end up being among the 5 best players taken in the 2019 draft after his career is done and dusted. Isn't the art of recruiting is to identify a player that has what it takes it to be a genuine AFL player down the track, not just pick a kid who dominates against other kids? That being said, it certainly appears to be a ballsy move if we pick Jackson, and Taylor would seriously need to nail at least one of pick 3 or 8.

People are talking like this bloke is a complete potato. He did manage 3 goal 20+ possession games in consecutive weeks/wins over Brisbane and North back in April. And he also managed a 4 goal 25 possession 9 mark game at Adelaide oval on a Friday night later in the year. He kicked 21 goals in 16 games which is serviceable. How many goals did T Mac manage in his miserable 16 games this year?

I think that ship's sailed with a potential transaction coming up in the next few months.

Makes compete sense to me. Our key forward depth chart is scarily non-existent. We can't even lean on Tim Smith anymore. We had to play O Mac at CHF in round 21, and he even went down (along with Petty) with injury leaving us with absolutely no-body to play key forward against Sydney in round 22. Our list management got found out right there.

If that's the case, we're not winning more than 5 games next year. We don't have any other established key forwards which is concerning.

Back for the Anzac eve game?

And yet the team who finished second last doesn't get access to any of them.

My side is specific for round 1, not necessarily our official best 22. 1) Petty might not necessarily be in our best 22 but he may be needed to counter West Coast’s tall forward line, seeing as though we’ve lost Frost. 2) Agreed, Harmes is more of a mid, but on paper Viney, Brayshaw and Oliver get first dibs as inside mids. Plus Harmes looked quite good in defence in rd 23. 3) Hunt, Hannan and Lockhart in my side highlight our dire need for a small forward. We may end up sacrificing best available by drafting a small fwd at pick 8. This also leads to me think Garlett’s departure was more of a retirement than a delisting, as I feel we still need his services. Furthermore, I think we miss the goal kicking nous of Watts, Kent and Garlett but they ain’t coming back. 4) I strongly believe VDB and J Smith would greatly improve this 22, by adding a bit of X-factor to our fwd line. Hope they’re available round 1. 5) I agree, it’s not a great 22. Some years it’s hard to do a 22 because if feels as though we’ve had good depth. Next year’s 22 feels the opposite - hard to do a 22 as there’s players with question marks - Petty, Lockhart, Hannan, Weed, Hunt, Tomlinson and even Salem (who I don’t rate as much as others. Great at the 25 mtr stab passes, but what else?

B) Jetta May Lever HB) Hibberd Petty Harmes C) Langdon Brayshaw Tomlinson HF) Petracca Weideman Melksham F) Fritsch T Mac Hunt Foll) Gawn Oliver Viney Int) N Jones, Hannan, Lockhart, Salem I would have Smith and VDB in the side but who knows with their injuries??

Exactly. ‘Something out of nothing goals’ He showed this in his debut vs St Kilda where he snapped a goal from nowhere. That’s why I’m willing to persist with him. But I also acknowledge there’s a fair chance he doesn’t make it past this year, and probably wouldn’t be in everyone’s best 22.

Hopefully he has a strong JLT and earns a round 1 gig. Was influential (3 goals) at Optus in our win there in 2018. Is a natural goal kicker and our forward line is screaming out for that type with the losses of Watts, Garlett and Kent over the last 3 years, all who knew where the goals were.

Did I not eat humble pie above and admit I was wrong?

No they weren’t in my opinion. Salem was very good until about round 15. Then whether it was injury or form, he struggled in the last 6 or so weeks. Petracca had the best year of his career, after a slow start. Was it fantastic? No. Was it a good year? Yes. Gawn and Oliver were the only players to have fantastic years.