rpfc

Your first two priorities are the same - skills in the midfield. Your 3rd priority is now your second and it is to find a replacement for what Hibberd does. I don’t see the cause and effect that would come from that... Hibberd released more? Menzel and Breust were non-factors in the two finals we played against them. And that leads to the last priority - a tall defender. I would overspend in a trade for a skillful mid and I would overspend in a trade for a tall defender. Return on investment is measured in GFs and flags, not in what we get back commensurate to perceived player value.

@deanox what would say we should improve? Here is my perceived needs list in order: 1. Outside player with elite skills to driver into the forwards 2. Tall defender to allow Oscar to play on the ubiquitous 2nd ruck and Lever to play on the third tall 3. Natural small forward to play at the feet of Preuss/Gawn and Weideman None are glaring - we came fourth - but each have their own impacts should we successfully address them. We have a dominant midfield but we don’t kick the ball Inside 50 well, hence the number one priority. We then get sliced apart on the counter with a patchwork defence that contains a few NQR players amongst Lever, Hibberd, Jetta, and Salem. The third priority is somewhat ameliorated by the first but at the moment we have former midfielders playing a role that is unsuited to them (even though they are giving it a red hot show). So getting someone like May is second on my list for us to push for a flag. That is hard to argue against when discussing maximising the value we get from a trade. Does it matter if we get what we need?

I was enamoured with Hogan when he came because I saw a star when we had none. Now we have a little bit of a constellation emerging and I am comfortable with it. And I can see the opportunity to balance our list. We should play a second ruck to help Gawn. We have a midfield to win any game. We have no tall defender that can compete with the best forwards in the game. So I hope we can turn this unfortunate situation into something that makes us.

[Patronising tone] Our generational ruckman is not going to be bumped from being the number 1 ruck...

He ha been injured for the better part of two years... No, I don’t hold him accountable for the compensation Mahoney and co. can procure. The South Coast is generally more accessible from Sydney and I don’t think it is outrageous to relocate for the reasons he would relocate for. And that is all I will say, this is deflating; judging the motives of people based on so little and asking for the kind of loyalty you wouldn’t ask of a colleague or a friend.

He’s actually from the South Coast where his family is and where he lost his dad last year and moving to Sydney would make it much easier to visit the inherited business he is running. You don’t know him, you don’t know his situation and you need to show some empathy.

Meh, if we win a prelim and have a chance at a flag - would you ‘lose’ a trade? That’s rhetorical.

You have the same avatar as Chook in Perth and it misled me and my emotions just then...

You can capitalise words but it won’t make it reality. I hope for the best and have not been informed that that is the case. I have my eyes wide open after the last ten years, and if this admin and this president wants my trust - they have to earn it. The AFL got us Jackson and Roos and that intervention has come to an end and now we drive our own destiny from here - benefit of the doubt we should not give.

I have heard from multiple people (I have no idea of how many sources) that this was not the case and; 1. Bartlett didn't adequately inform the AFL, nor would they have recommended Pert 2. That the board were bit players in this and Bartlett drove this decision 3. That the existing people within the club vying for the spot were blind sided 4. That Eddie was not asked about Pert and that due diligence was not done on the club he spent his time in footy administration I am hardly a negative 'the sky is falling' poster and I don't want to be, I just hear this stuff from people around the club and it worries me that we are making similar mistakes that lead us into the wilderness and that as we find are way out, we will find ourselves slipping back in because of a board that has no practice in governance and have been inabsentia for half a decade now placed in charge of their own affairs by a league that has moved onto other problem children.

Frankly, his media presence is the least of the concerns. Goodwin needed to become more approachable and likeable and reveal more of his personality because his brilliance and ability to coach was evident - but he was robotic and stagnant in his media appearances. Bartlett doesn't have the luxury of evident brilliance and capability - he needs to demonstrate that. At the moment his accomplishments are 'existing' at the same time that Peter Jackson was at the club, making a eye-widening decision to go it alone on the decision around Jackson's replacement, and showing pettiness toward a journalist who did nothing more than point that out. Obviously this is just my opinion but Bartlett is nowhere right now. I don't know him, and I don't trust him.

Where is the evidence that Bartlett is an excellent president, @Lucifer's Hero? I have heard from multiple people that the Pert decision was a captains call and that he didn’t talk to anyone at Coll and without the AFL on board... That is damning whether or not Pert works out. I hope for the best but I have zero trust in him. I have more trust in Jackson and the AFL coz they have runs on the board. Bartlett has simply been around during our renaissance. This specific issue sounds petty and self defeating but I have larger concerns.

Hogan is a stud. If he wants to go then we can facilitate of course but I think he is a match winner. I am comfortable with what the FD makes of the situation which is a great feeling, but if he wants to stay within our wage structure then I would keep him. Sigh.

Yes, it makes more sense if Hogan leaves. It makes some sense if they want to save Gawn from overwork and save his body, it makes more sense if Preuss is destined to switch out of FF with Gawn. Weed and T Mac to work out of CHF and a high target.

My guess is we will play Coll, Haw, WCE, Syd and BL twice next year. Just random guess work that I may, or may not, bump in the future.

I have him in the backline.

I am making some assumptions about how we will play next year and how other teams will play against us. One example is a second ruck to stretch Gawn. On this point, I don't think OMac is good enough as anything other than second ruck defender. 'Good enough' is to better our situation; get us into a GF. Role and Player Good Enough For It, and The Depth Gorilla Tamer Tall (1) : [Trade for Player] Depth: Frost, Kielty Second Ruck Defender (1) : O McDonald Depth: Impact Tall (1) : Lever Depth: Petty, Medium Tall Defender (2) : Hibberd and J Smith Depth: Lewis, Baker, Wagner Small Defender (2) : Jetta and Stretch Depth: Hunt Midfield Inside Rotation (5) : Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes, and vandenBerg Depth: Jones, Maynard Midfield Outside Rotation (2) : Salem and [Trade for Player] Depth: Fritsch, ANB, JKH 1st Ruck (1) : Gawn Depth: [Trade for Player], Bradtke 2nd Ruck (1) : Wiedeman Depth: T Smith Tall Forward (2) : Hogan and T McDonald Depth: Medium Forward (2) : Melksham and Petracca Depth: Hannan Small Forwards (2) : Spargo and [Trade for Player] Depth: Garlett Assumed delisted/traded: Vince, Balic, Tyson (T), Bugg, King, Pedersen, Kent (T), McKenna Upgraded: Kielty Would love a small forward, an outside player through the middle with excellent skills and a tall defender that just beats his bloke. Also a back up ruck but Weideman is second ruck. We cannot carry 5 talls into a game.

We were great this season for where I thought we would be. However, we did struggle against the best teams until the end of the year (which is a good time to be in form of course). I do think our backline needs more than Lever, our midfield needs more skill and must stick to the timeline of our young talent, and our forward line is schizophrenic to how the team plays; we don’t have small players to make the most of the chaos we create when we get it forward. Either get skilled mids and hit targets forward of center or hit the spots and surround Hogan and McDonald with a couple of Ryan/Rioli types and not ANB/Hannan types. Still excited but work to do.

I haven’t thought about list decisions because, you know, yeah...glad that’s over ? But yeah, Lewis and Jones should be in our bottom 6 players next year if we are to maintain where we are at. We have to get actual wingers and Fritsch will help but we need a Wingard type that can run lines and deliver with accuracy. Hogan and Lever help a lot and Stretch will be first 18 I think next year. Can Hunt be redeemed? All of these players push Lewis and Jones down and possibly out.

You are right on Jones. If Jack is fit over summer - he should be sole captain. The reason is what you just described; you can’t have a captain in your bottom 6 players.

He was horrible. But so was the rest of the team. He shouldn’t be a walk up start next year, but neither should Jones - who had a worse September than Jordan... We got shown up between the ears today across the board. To lay it at the feet of the easy targets is a trap we should avoid.

What a humiliating half of footy. I realise this is a failure of the new Melbourne, but what a failure it is. It’s stunning.

Pies were hot in the contest and had a better midfield.

It’s been excellent and has been a great way for fans to live through the kid in Brissie, the old lady from the coast, and Jon and his mum - as they impact the players and the club.

Which is the case with all our past FDs. Thankfully, we now have one that knows better than the (above) average Dees fans on this forum...