sylvinator

Having more than 22 good players is crucial. You need probably at least 25-28 really good players to win a premiership. We've been so bad for so long we've just got to start to get used to the idea. Imo, we do not trade anyone, and definitely don't just trade away our good depth. Injuried do and will happen, and we'll regret losing a guy like Warnock or Bate. Despite my 'no trade' preference, the only trade i would be satisfied with if we did lose Warnock, would be if we traded him for a guy who is clearly in our best 22 AND is in a position we are really lacking, like a tall forward or ruckman (Sam Jacobs/Mumford type).

People have to start getting used to the fact that for the next few years, we are going to have more than 22 good players. I know... it's scary... but it's the new reality we'll be playing in. Guys like Bate and Warnock are crucial, because they are genuine quality players who can come in tomorrow and play solid games. To win a premiership you probably need 28 really good player. That means that some guys will be playing ressies, when in the past they'd be playing in the seniors. My point is, it's a positive thing. Playeres will have to take their games to a new level to ensure they get a game each week, and if injuries arise, as they always do, we won't lose anything. Keep Warnock, Keep Bate

I don't see that as a contradiction. The starting 22 shouldn't be very different because only Bruce and Mcdonald are close to retiring, and most of the rest of our team i believe can take us forward to a premiership tilt. Morton I think is still a part of that future premiership tilt. However the second line was my disappointment that Bate and Warnock have come on as i expected this season, and now, instead of being core players in our next premiership tilt, may only be depth. A big season by either next year could, of coarse, change taht

I'm loving the stability for 1 reason. It means that our young defence, young midfield and young forward line are playing games together consistently, which means more cohesion, better understanding and more unity amongst those players. There is no reason why our starting 22 now should be very different to our starting 22 In 2 years time, and by that stage they'll have played 60 odd games together as a group. One slightly concerning thing is the fact that Morton, Warnock and Bate aren't in the team, when they all should be starting 22 players considering their talents and experience. I only hope that these 3 boys take this as a challenge to become better players and don't get disillusioned by the thought of having missed the train.

I agree. however us demonlanders have written off too many youngsters too early for me not to have learnt my lesson. If i recall... in their second seasons at the club... Bail= certain delisting Garland= hopeless certain delisting Dunn= has no position, lacks skills and smarts and is 192cm so certain failture Bartram= will never recover from a season long injury Frawley= gets rag dolled too much. His kicking is pathetic Sylvia= doesn't have the right mind-set to ever be a great player Should i go on... Its important to remember this is Strauss' second season only. Another pre-season could do him the world of good. He might end up a dud, but still too early

i agree with your sentiments. but i'm really excited to see him next year. Tapscott, Blease, Gysberts and even Strauss are 4 top 20 picks who next year will have a chance to come in and make an impact. Always good to have young players pushing for spots, and these guys are all very talented. One positive is that Blease and Tapscott will be bargain dreamteam pick ups next year

That's just plainly not true. I heard that interview, and the 7 players were: Gablett, Habrow, Campbell Brown, Armitage, Brennan, Grigg and Nathan Krakour

I don't buy that for a second. I think he can get bigger, and he needs to get bigger. Cale atm looks like he has mild anorexia. He makes Cam Bruce look huge. I refuse to believe that he's made getting physically bigger a priority. I think he's put it on the backburner and assumed it will just come naturally. What he needs to do, is eat [censored] loads, pump some iron, and realise that if he doesn't get to a competitive body weight, he'll never reach his potential. Atm, while other players are able to shrug off light tackles, Cale gets ragdolled by the slightly of tackles. It makes him a liability in defence and up forward. And concerns that he'll lose pace, or agility, or endurance are not well-founded. Frawley has put on 20kg in the last 2-3 years and hasn't lost any pace. Dane Swan is one of the fittest and fastest guys in the league and he's ripped. As is Ben Cousins, who has the best endurance in the afl. I think part of the reason he's been dropped is that he needs to work on his defensive skills, and he'll never be competitive in that department until he is big and strong enough to tackle, take contested marks, and shrug off tackles. I think Morton has the skills and ability to be a superstar of the afl. I have faith in him. But he has to own the gym over the next couple of years or he won't reach those heights. It's as simple as that.

(... and obviously ungrade McKenzie). Opening up spots on the rookie list could see us able to draft a further 4-5 speculative rookies next year. Might unearth another Barlow?

Has anyone noticed we have the most injury prone rookies ever. Newton, Meesan, Hughes, Healy and Spenser have all missed practically the entire season with injury. If i were in charge, i'd delist the entire rookie list, except Spenser who'd i'd try to keep on the rookie list (might have to re-rookie him?)

Plays an important role in our team, especially considering modern footy. Capable of kicking 25-30 goals a season + subdue the best rebounding defenders. good on him for finding his niche and turning his career around not a minute too soon. Still prone to the odd brain explosion, but is a starting 18 player now and therefore deserves 2 years

Jamar, Green and Frawley are absolutely in the top 50 players in the league imo. All probably between 20-50 though. I think Davey would be borderline. Could possibly sneak in from 40-50. I think Sylvia, on his day, is certainly in the top 50. However, he only plays like that 50% of the time. If he played like that 100% of the time, well... he'd be like Hayes, who plays like Sylvia does, but does it each and every week. Until then, Sylvia sits outside the top 50. Regardless, it is great to have a 'weapon' like Sylvia who is a match-winner and can turn it on big time. We really need to keep developing the youngsters and try to get 2-3 players in the top 20 in the league. Only then will we be a true premiership contender. The premiers always have at least 3 guys in the top few in the league. Scully, Trengove, Morton and Watts are our best bets

I agree, but I think the club really wants to get McDonald to 250 games. Would be a great way to send off a great clubman. Doubt our captain will play on next year, I think he should go out while he's still a fine player and not end up retiring half way through next year. This year we really needed his leadership and example off the field. Next year I would question his spot in the best 22 players.

Am I the only one here who is 100% certain Miller won't play this week. Our forward line is functioning well. We get less inside 50s than probably any other team in the afl. Our forward line has to kick winning scores, despite losing the inside 50 count every week, this week by 11! It's a fantastic effort. Plus our forward line atm has great balance. - Green and Jurrah play the deeper marking/ leading options - Dunn plays defensive forward (this week limiting Delideo's influence), but has good goal sense to bag a few - Watts plays a roaming role, shifting from forward to wing. His afl development relies on him keep playing in the seniors - Bennel and Wona play an absolutely essential role in creating forward pressure and kicking the odd opportunist goal - Jamar and Sylvia float down there on occassion to create a dangerous marking option Miller plays as a deeper marking/leading option. The ONLY players he is competing against for a position in the team is Green and Jurrah. Both players are playing very well and are core starting 18 players. .: Miller does NOT play. The only forward playing at reserve level who should be considered this week is Matty Bate, because he plays a role as a hard running CHF. If Bate could take 10 marks from hard leads around 80m form goal, that could really add to our team. PS- Henderson kicked 10 a few weeks ago in reserves and he's a spud and he didn't get put straight into the seniors

I thought i'd just remind some people of the players not in the team atm. AFL quality experienced players who could easily come straight back in - Moloney - Grimes - Warnock - Bate - Pettard (injured atm) Youngsters who could improve us as a team moving forward- future starting 18 players. Probably won't play this year because they aren't ready - Blease - Tapscott - Gawn - Gysberts (injured atm) - Strauss (query his quality? won't write him off just yet) Older players who have now become only depth/ at risk of being delisted - Miller - Bell - Martin (yes, only 23, but for our list that's old) Young players who, in my opinion, will only become depth/ at risk of being delisted - McNamara - Cheney - Maric - Jetta - Fitzpatrick (??? unsure very speculative pick so could make it) All rookies except perhaps Spenser to be delisted (McKenzie upgraded)- Hughes, Healy, Newton, Meesan Some pretty good depth. I particularly like the 10 players in the first 2 categories. That's 32 players on the list who are/will be AFL quality. Draft in another 3-4 at this year's draft + Jack Viney the year after, and we are looking scary good

Morton is a key player going forward. Yes, he's been dropped. It's great that underperforming players are getting dropped these days, unlike the last 2 years. He'll be back. He's still going to have to find a position that suits him best. He will find it once he's got a fully developed body. Dunn, Bartram and Pettard have shown that it sometimes takes years before players find the position that suits them and the team best. Cale's a beauty. Has all the right attributes- elite running ability, good overhead marking, 194cm, ability to find space, great kicking, good thinker. There is absolutely no reason to believe he won't make it

I think, as mentioned before, Moloney, Jones, McKenzie and McDonald are 1 too many inside slowish midfielders. When McDonald retires, it will be Moloney, Jones, McKenzie and Gysberts as the 'inside' options. Probably only 3 of these guys will play at any one time

We've achieved almost all the big off-field things over the last 3 years - debt free - have elite training facilities - have found a 'summer' home at Casey and an 'in season' home - Record membership and good crowd attendances - Strong major sponsorship deals Are there any more 'off-field' problems that people feel still need to be addressed? I actually can't really think of any.

I have really mixed feelings about our selections of late. Imo, Bate, Warnock, Morton and Jones are all in our best 18 players. But then you look at the team sheet, and its hard to find someone to drop. I think there are inferior players to Morton and Jones playing on Sunday, but it is extremely relevant that these players have found their niche and are playing an important team role. - Wona and Bennel provide forward pressure - Bartram defensive back pocket - Dunn defensive half forward (play on Newman or Deledio?)

Unfortunately, Martin's at seriuos risk of being delisted at year's end. In defence, he's probably 6th in line, at the very minimum. As a 2nd ruckman, he's not much of a ruckman. Newton was more effective than him in the second ruck role. We tried to turn him into a big bodied forward, and while he can kick the occasional great goal, he's just not a natural forward. Potentially could be kept on purely as depth, but won't play much next year

Even though we got a big pay day with match day revenue in one hit, next season we'll still be earning an extra $100,000 per home match than we have in the past That's an extra $1m p.a. No doubt the better stadium deals could help save clubs like us. Also, I assume we're saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest payments we no longer need to make. Plus, I also assume we'll be making a bit of a packet from the newly purchased pokie machines. But, yes, we definitely need to be looking at ways to find an extra $1-2m p.a. consistently. Ideally we would not have to accept any money from the afl. It is worth noting however, that the afl money is essentially an 'equilization fund', which is basically compensating us for the fact our draw is financially inferior to almost all other Victorian teams. If the AFL stop giving us money, that means they have to start giving us a more equitable draw commercially. Besides which, as we improve on the field, we will 'earn' more Friday night matches, commercially better draws, get better crowds, more members etc... the flow on will mean much more money in the bank

Bate and Warnock have very stiff to not even get a look in. I'm seriously surprised that both aren't entrenched in our starting 18.

I think Casey as a boutique stadium would be a good idea. Would still be a home advantage, and would be great financially no doubt. Regardless, even if Casey did get a stadium, its at least 15 years away no point worrying about it too much

I think the players would just get a boost in pride more than anything.

Very very minor criticism not really worth mentioning, considering that this emblem sums up everything that we stand for in 150 years of history. This is not our logo, which needs to be simple for advertising and corporate purposes. This is 'the emblem of the team we love' that tells a story of 150 years