rpfc

I don't know a great deal about the draft. I know Rohan is not 196cm though. Mark Stevens is just an awful journalist. With him, Robinson, and Anderson, there is such a low bar for thought at the Hun.

Alright, now we're talking! And moving? Soon? I Want To Get Out Of The Junction.

Ugh.

Don't bother about it, HSOG. This is one of the worst threads I have ever seen on Land. Some of our worst work, really.

Looks great. I have no idea what I am looking at but it looks great.

BB59 and I are rarely on the same page we agree in this thread - why is there such a love of teams that couldn't go deep into September? I don't like going to the G in September knowing my team cannot win the whole effing thing. It is deflating. I repeat - the only time I thought we could win a flag was August 2004, and that hope was dashed inside of a month. Why would we want that? Daniher did a good job with what he had but now we have more than ever and that is thanks, in part, to Bailey and Co.

Blease, Strauss, and Bennell are going to have to train their arses off to make Rd 1.

You did. A little later than others. Cough...Post #5...cough. But until he puts some body on his bones he will predominantly play as a wingman, hopefully a damaging wingman.

I looked through and bumped the thread I was refering to - it's on the Footy board.

Bump. This is for CB, who wanted to know my opinion of the gameplan. All comments welcome. I have it on post #97 and a few have quoted it before it and after it. Have a read through the thread - are we more optimistic, or less? Should we be either?

You are getting tiresome.

Had a go at describing it in a thread a few months ago. Can't be stuffed at the minute, but if someone wants to find that thread it would save me from caring.

Flag in 2014 - Why do you want to relive history so desparately? The Daniher Era Was So Competitive In Finals. And Bring Back Robbo, are classic songs loved by those who don't want to move on, and would prefer to cling to a bygone era. And Hughes is our mature rookie if the last list lodgement is to be believed.

I wen to the NM game in 98 knowing we couldn't win, I went to the GF in 00 knowing we couldn't win, I went to the Semi against Adelaide in 02 knowing we couldn't win (changed at 3qtr time but the rest is painful history), I missed the awful loss to Ess in 04 after a pathetic fall from 1st after Rd 18, I went to the Elim against Geel in 05 knowing we couldn't win, and I watched the semi against Freo in 06 knowing we couldn't win. So 2004 was the year that I was expecting to do something and I was disappointed to learn it wouldn't happen in August of that year. Other than that we have never been close to the only thing I give a sh!t about - a flag. Daniher did well with the resources he had but he never had the ruthlessness that Bailey has shown. It's a ruthlessness I didn't see coming, but was pleasantly surprised by. I'm not going to bother with the rest, FI2014. Suffice it to say, Bailey's gameplan is not what you described.

I have said a few times - Sylvia, Bate, Green, Bruce, Grimes, and 'McDonald/Bennell' will run through the middle from the forward line or back line. I think that Davey, Moloney, Morton, Jones, Sylvia, Bate, Green, Bruce, Grimes, Scully, Trengove, and one of McDonald and Bennell are enough legs to run through the middle. That's 12 players rotating through all areas of the ground and the bench. Leaving 10 spots for two rucks, 4 set forwards (Watts, Wonna, Jurrah, and one of Miller/Petterd), and 4 set defenders (Frawley, Rivers, Warnock, and Garland). I think it's a decent compromise. I also didn't want to see blatant poor balancing of a team to fit in as many mids as possible ie. 1 ruckman, Blease on a HFF, Davey in a FP, etc Note: Davey in a FP is disengenous because he will spend more time in the midfield than in a pocket so it is not a balanced 22.

I'm a harsh critic...

You must be only a third of the way through the season... 2008 was a great year for Garland. And while our hearts have grown fonder since 08 - Garland was a revelation and would easily be in our best 22. I hope he gets a decent PS in and 2010 is another opportunity for the kid. By the way, not being as good a defender as Frawley is nothing to be embarrassed about. And welcome.

Exactly.

You're Franz Ferdinand. The one that started WWI, not the good one.

THE POLL ANALYSIS We have a pretty decent cross-section so I will try to pull a few things out, although one area is less than clear but it may be cleared up the 'Middle Ground' thread. 52% believe Bruce will play predominantly in the backline. 42% midfield. 53% believe McDonald will play predominantly in the midfield. 47% defence. 83% believe Frawley, Rivers, Garland, and Warnock can play together in the same backline. 44% would like to see Bennell and 30% would like to see Strauss in the backline, instead of one of McDonald (28%), Bruce (22%), and Grimes (20%). 19% felt that those three plus the 4 talls should be the backline in 2010. A slight majority see Bruce in defence and McDonald in the midfield, however the latter conclusion is clouded, if not rejected outright, by the polling results on the 'Middle Ground' thread. At this stage, posters are comfortable with a base defence of Frawley, Rivers, Garland, Warnock, Bruce, Grimes, and one of McDonald and Bennell. Hopefully that last slot will clear up in the midfield thread.

Thakyou for that, Primary Administrator.

The 'start of 2010' thing applies more to the other questions. Questions 3 and 4 are 'over the season' questions - who plays the most in 2010. With the other questions I wanted to know who people think will start as 2nd ruck (some might say we have a diferent ruck pair by the end of the season), whether Junior will start in the AFL (some will say injury or form will push him out by the end of the season), whether Scully and Trengove will start in the AFL (they, of course, will play in 2010, but I wanted to know whether posters thought they should start there), and where McDonald will start in 2010 (as a mid, as a defender, out of the team - it may change by the end of the season). I think that makes sense...

I agree that the Captain should play, I was eager to know how others felt. I also wanted to know whether they saw McDonald play in the midfield or defence. Note: Whoever made that 3 post into one post with 3 quotes - Thanks. I can't get the hang of quoting more than one post, unless it is just cutting and pasting and wrapping in quote tags. And if that is what I should do - that's a lot of work...

Sylvia is named as a forward in these series of polls. I see him as a HFF that will also run through the middle. I could have added a question on whether we see him as a mid or a fwd but this is an exercise to nail down the 'best 22' and Sylvia is definitely that. Just off a HFF... With Grimes seemingly accepted (although I realise it isn't definitive) as starting in the backline I didn't add him as a variable in the midfield. Although, as I said in the OP, he will run through the midfield. The rotations will be increased - again as I said in the OP - with Sylvia, Bate, and Green going through the middle from the forward line and Grimes, Bruce, and 'McDonald/Bennell' from the backline. This is a very deliberate exercise, and one of the things that make my eyes roll is when a poster makes his 'best 22' with far too many mids. Mids in the FP, mids on HBF... It's like the AA team... I want to see a little balance, and that is what this about: get your forwards sorted, set out who is in defence, and then pick your best midfielders from there.

McDonald is captain. Difficult to not pick him. And I rate Petterd above Dunn, but to each their own.