Skuit

He was playing hero-football last year but was much more effective. I still think he's getting first hands on the ball way less this season so curious as to that. It may be that there's no instruction for Viney to sit back - but we have heard Oliver was being coached in a see-ball-get-ball manner and so maybe Viney has taken it on himself to sit back or is reluctant to get in Oliver's space? I assume you mean Oliver isn't getting in Viney's way? Danger and Selwood are seasoned mids so I'm not sure the comparison is valid (although Jack and Oliver have played nearly the same number of games together.) And the playing a hard tag - do you mean that's where you think Jack's role has changed? I thought he had already transitioned last year - but Stevens and Danger (for a period) were kept quiet. Or is Jack copping a hard tag? I don't know - it's hard to pick up on television. The favouring the left I hadn't noticed so much this year - perhaps because he's getting it less and getting caught much more frequently. I am interested in the mid-field as a collective and that's why I'm asking the question - because I also have no idea as to their specific roles. I don't disagree. But maybe he's already doing that and we're being harsh judges on his current output?

Nathan Jones has been freed up but could Oliver's rise be having an impact on Viney? I have no idea how the individual mid-roles work at the clearances but is it possible Viney is being asked to play a different role with Clarry given first dibs as the nominated primary extractor? Does anyone have clear observations here of a notable difference in set-up this year? I note till half-time vs. Geelong we'd only used the Jones/Viney/Oliver trio plus Tyson at the centre bounces (was this because Gawn went down or standard? Can anyone recall the set-ups after the break?). Posters have talked of Jack's hesitancy this season to date - but if there was one stat I wish was available it would be actual 'possessions' as to disposals - the number of times a player had clear hold of the ball. Jack would have ranked very highly in the past - always with the pill at the bottom of the pack - but he's not actually touching the ball anywhere as near as much so far this season. Curious to hear the thoughts of others.

I think when making comparisons purely from an on-paper perspective, Jake Lever has a far more imposing name than Oscar MacDonald.

My lid is dangling by a thread.

Petracca is a rare, rare talent. Once he gets on a roll he will be as unstoppable as any of our game's recent greats, with, dare I say it, a presence akin to Buddy or Betts. That snap on the weekend was sublime - the 40m bunt to Watts from range, or lining up for an orthodox set-shot, not so much. Coach the basics, but he needs to be given license to trust his instincts and back himself in.

And by Tmac's own appraisal, Oscar was a bit of a late bloomer at junior level as well, noted for a dramatic improvement in his final year.

I meant in the sense that we could get him for anywhere even near that amount.

Yes, you are dreaming. One of those crazy fevered dreams.

Clarry sounds like me when I see ANB pop up with the ball.

'Fell out of a bin' would just about leapfrog Howe's frisbee finger on the bizarro injury leader-board. Ditto a 19y/o Oliver suffering an acute sudden heart attack.

And so clever Clarry ran boundary-line to take the tackle. Shouldn't have been holding the ball.

The interesting aspect will be the likely range of our first-round pick - possibly around the 10-14 bracket. Unfamiliar territory and a genuine test of Taylor's abilities.

Barry Prenders could have moulded a better list with the number of free hits that SOS had. Look closely at the actual strike rate.

Considering Richmond or St Kilda as potential worthwhile rivals is an indictment on our football club.

And we shouldn't forget the stopping ability of Viney against the league's top mids in 2015.

That's just media propaganda.

Ditto the Saints and McCartin.

I blame global warming.

We could start a new Neeld thread. That would be fun.

I only recall us being linked to Gysberts for the majority of 2010-12, which I was progressively unhappy about at the time as a Demons supporter, and of which eventuality I'm now super-happy about as not a North Melbourne supporter.

I only recall us being linked to Aish at pick 2 for the majority of the year, which I rather happy about at the time as a Redlegs supporter, and of which eventuality I'm now super-happy about as a Demons supporter.

So who would you pick between Kelly, Kelly, and Kelly? And do you think Kelly would be a decent trade for Kelly and Kelly?

Bont, no doubt. Clarry will eclipse Cripps and the class of Kelly is a cherry. Bontempelli is the rare game-breaker.

This sliding doors business is getting a tad out of hand. In only slightly different circumstances, we could just as well have sent pick 23 to GWS. And then it would have been Tyson, Salem & Hunt for Kelly and the price of a Sylvia rather than Lobb (although possibly then Hartung, McStay or M. Crouch). Or some such. We traded picks 2, 20 and 72 for Tyson and picks 9 and 53. Whom each team picked up thereafter is partly a matter of luck - especially with the later speculative picks - and therefore should be judged according to different criteria. We might have well wanted Sharenberg or Aish, or even Bonts, but who knows? We have Salem. The crux of the deal was giving up a shot on Kelly and a second-rounder for Tyson and a top-ten pick. Was that a win at the time? In my opinion, yes.

High-profile young Dons' player? Was it Joe or Zach? Subject to definition but I'm not sure how many others meet this profile description.