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Interesting... The better we get the more you will get out of an 'ok' game from Watts.

Huge 3 year old bump...

I would love to see Vanders keep his spot in the 21 - he will have a lot of family (up from Tathra) and friends at the game...

Yes, it is handy to have multiple talls, assuming the balance is correct... Another thing is that Hogan got a few 'hit and hope' kicks on his head that I would much prefer Dawes be under. I just can't see Dawes or Vince being left out - if they are fit to play, they would play if I was coaching. Such a young team, and best 22 players available to help a 20 year old CHF and a very shallow midfield? It just seems a no-brainer to include them.

Salem has the hallmarks of being the coaches pet project in the backline so they will have to get pretty spooked to walk away from that so soon. Kent is an interesting one, they nursed him through the NAB challenge to get him to Rd 1 so they rate him - but he was shaken up and wouldn't have been in the top 15 players - which isn't to say he played badly.

Cats will make the 8 as they play so many games down at Mordor. I think it will be a false economy at the end of the year...

Thankfully, results are helping you guys out for once. Good luck.

Supermercado is an excellent writer. And it is amazing how much of the team has changed in 18 months...

My bet is Toumpas and Brayshaw. My reasoning would be on the fact that Roos has historically favoured blooding kids slowly. Toumpas needs to run around and get some footy for a few weeks - whatever role he would play in the AFL wouldn't allow him to do that. Getting it 6 times in a quarter of a game isn't a bad effort either... just throwing that out there. Anyone can eff up a handball, not everyone can find it deep in the forward line in the first place...

What a great effing problem to have? God I miss this - having 25 blokes worthy of a game...

Some were saying he was done and shouldn't be bothered with anymore - I think that is what rjay is referring to.

'Extreme disadvantage'? I don't 'agree' with that at all. I guess you know what I think that's called... Welcome back, Big Footy not doing it for you? Thought I read you would never be back.

Yes, I can feel it too. We always need someone to spew the vitriol at...

We understand the angst, we have it. I have seen him avoid contests, arrive late, 'run' after opponents, 'tackle' (or hug) his opponents, etc. But I have also seen him play dozens of games with the workrate and intensity, and smart leading that he showed on Saturday. The difference is that the team had 11 more Inside 50s than they averaged last year and thus more opportunity for the previously starved forwards - non more starved than the 195cm flanker Watts. It also looked to be getting in there quicker from where I sit, 700km away. To call Watts game some sort of breakthrough belies the past - and makes a mockery of his game on Saturday; it was good, but it wasn't great and he has played better in the past. The only thing he needs to break through is to the place where he can give that performance with such regularity that it is what we see as a baseline, consistent performance. I knew he could do what he did - I have seen it - now I want to see it every week. It's the only thing that will dispel the failure myth.

The world isn't black and white - said that a few times on here. The Stalker can do a search if he wishes... (a few dozen times) Stats are also grey. I read into them and when I do I try to back them up with arguments as to why I am reading into them the way I am. To argue that 'I only pick the stats that suit my argument' is akin to saying 'you always make arguments and try to back them up with evidence'... I also start threads on KPIs and Stats - like the one I did today, because there is no argument for them to 'back up' - at the moment they are just raw numbers that one can't read much into at all. I don't know how you would reconcile that 'inconsistency,' BB. But you won't bother... Speaking of stats - how many of your posts of late have been purely to 'help' me? There are so many others desperate for goading and pointless needling... Why don't you join the conversation, instead of waiting for me to say something you can jump on?

If he meant that he is a footballing savant! Not sure he knew much about it but I would take the credit for the goal assist if I was him...

I do this every year and every year the numbers get too depressing to continue... But this year will be different I tell myself! For those keen to track average differential data (compared to our direct opponent) over the last few years here is a table from daisycutter from another thread: This table as of Rd 1 2015: Clearances: -9 I50s: 5 UPs: 32 CPs: 14 Margin: 26 Qs Won: 3 We did better in the centre clearances than those around the ground - but that is to be expected with a midfield such as ours; their new, not very deep, and rely on two players at the moment - it's easier to compete 3v3 in the centre. As for other measures - Points For and Points Against will be valuable somewhat but as we open the game up to score more, other teams will do the same. Obviously it is a bit early for trends to emerge but I hope we continue to go over 50 Inside 50s a game - if you want to kick a winning score, you are going to have to get the footy in there that often.

Nev Jet is the first bloke to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to matters of courage and hardness.

I can't stand it either. He is just the prototypical scapegoat for any fan to attack for any reason, with little regard for what he just did or is about to do. In fact, it takes away from the legitimate concerns over Watts' progress when Melbourne fans just sit there apoplectic, gnashing their teeth at Watts whether he was at fault in the particular contest or not.

It says we took Meesen with Pick 8 when Adelaide did?

The golden ticket might come out later in this long season... I am pleased with what Howe and Garland were able to do. But agree that we have seen it before. Brayshaw and his tackling instincts were predatory. And Kent being in and out of the NAB teams tell me they rate him so highly that they nursed him through to Rd 1. But Jeff Garlett getting 20 touches and what should have been 5 goals was the most positively surprising thing. He ran through the middle and gave, for lack of a better word, spark whenever forward.

It says it does but I watched the last 15 mins of the Lions game when they started playing football (TV was lost to the missus...) on my phone...

If you buy a Digital Membership for ~$70 from the Dees online shop it's a good excuse to help the club and get the AFL Live Pass...

Is my stalker really asking me whether I think 'ALL STATS ARE LIES'? Go and find that quote BB... Stats do lie, and while I was playfully paraphrasing the old idiom of lies; 'lies, damn lies, and statistics,' I believe I was referring to the GC game last year in which the scoreboard (I legislatively important stat) lied about the possibility of a win. That doesn't mean I don't use them and study them - I have started threads regarding the stats I regard important - you would remember them surely? I will start another soon to help you remember... As for this argument that Watts is a failure. On what measure? We can't judge trades for years after the event - surely the 'body' of Watts' work will decide whether he is a failure of a number one draft pick? Hawkins was not a failure early in his career - he was building a career. Same with the early years of Goddard. I know hubris, I think even my stalker will agree, and there is a stack of it around when it comes to the judgement of Watts' career.

Wouldn't that be fun? Hannabal/BenHur/TweedPig/Lone Wolf/whatever else and Dr Who/hangon007/T&W agreeing with each other? But BH said he would not return the last time he left - too busy agreeing with 13 year old Richmond supporters about how bad Watts is...