Skuit

And I don't get the notion that only the WA clubs might be interested in Kent? Has he expressed a desire to return to Clackline? Has he even returned from Darwin after we deprived him of a special pillow? If Kent was any good, I assume several clubs would be interested - but why just the speculative WA ones because he's from that state?

Abysmal in the sense we didn't talk him up? Club recruiters aren't stupid - they know what Jack is worth, and we've said through the lines that we wouldn't let him go for unders. He goes and we turn around Sydney's hypothetical second-round pick into a solid citizen like Hibberd while resolving some cultural issues. He stays, and has had the ultimate rocket, and we have a decent player on our list and maybe a heart-warming fairy-tale in the making. Win-win.

600 × 300 - twitter.com Seems a good deal to me.

Jack is an indisputably lovely kick for goals, and so I was referring more to his field-kicking. And in absolute fairness to Jack, and on further reflection, I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt re. your raising of the early years - which, admittedly, are where my thoughts originated rather than being so much of a recent thing. He was lauded early on for his kicking, which I felt was overrated for being mostly dinky insiders through the midfield (ironically what much of the team are being encouraged to do now), but really there probably wasn't much else on offer at the time. Fair play to Jack.

I can't express enough love for the current MFC admin. Mahoney straight and up front with the media. We didn't low-ball the Crows with our initial offer, but were very fair in line with our recent trading history. No histrionics, while providing reasonable recent trading precedents and showing up the Crows for being hypocrites re. Gibbs. PR battle won without breaking a sweat, with great short and long-term benefits. I don't see it, but I really hope we don't break from here.

Now that he's on the way out, I can finally say what I've been thinking for the past five years: Jack's kicking is overrated. Given, Jack can have his creative moments to open up the play (and we missed he and Salem in Darwin), but I wish there was a stat which measured DE% against distance, as the majority of his clean-kicking over the course has been slow and dinky. Actually, he and Hogan are not that dissimilar - both best suited to the same role, pretty tidy, but prone to holding up the play. Yet, I'd take Jesse over Jack. And this has been one of my issues this year: our forward-line dynamic. A team full of mediums alongside talls who play medium. All of Hogan, Watts and Pedo play better when roaming up the ground. But Watts can't contest, Hogan can't kick from beyond 40 or take a pack-mark, and Pedo can't get involved unless he is the prime mover. We need more penetrating and accurate kickers coming into forward-line, and more key forwards who can stay at home. Hoping Oliver, Petracca, Hunt, Hibberd and Brayshaw will become the former, but the latter? Something has to give.

Damn those pesky modern kids. Not only are they experts on the google-machine, but already know how to say all those confusing ethnic refugee names infiltrating the AFL.

With Jetta as the veni, vidi, vici plaque dated to 2018 and scrawled in mosquito blood.

Trying to recall previous seasons. Was it Dawes, Michie and maybe Newton who were let go later last year? After trade week? And do we need the compulsory spots open and available before the draft?

But would we not still hang onto him until a bit further down the line? Though I suppose that works both ways - why free up a spot until you definitely need it? Unless maybe we have a definite in?

This is some kind of thread. Congrats Demonland; like Homer Simpson, you've simulacrised into some sort of late-season self-cliche. Doh!

Not sure where to put this or if it has been discussed elsewhere; but I assume BenKen's late(r) delisting means we're now confident of something transpiring list-wise and perhaps in a similar regard. Talk on Menzel seems to have gone quiet though?

This line. Except I don't think over-committing in the forward-line is as much of an issue if everyone is on board and the next line is in position. Jack Riewoldt is a pretty decent case-in-point. He's a tall, but he's goal-hungry and doesn't give up the hassle, aiding their smaller fleet in return. Our forward talls don't expect their efforts to make a difference - and at times I think it even demotivates Garlett.

I think you mean Mackerel.

I'm still hanging on to the flimsiest of threads from what I saw live in a single preseason game in 2016 (pushing defenders around in a dominant CHF role) before his feet gave in, where I was of the belief that he would not just have a break-out year but had the potential to move close to the elite category. Such a stretch, and probably wildly naive, but he hasn't been right since. If he can get the body working, and put in a solid summer, I still have hope that we could have a surprise-packet and absolute steal on our hands. The footy dept. have seen fit to back him in for another shot, so hopefully they see that something in him as well. Good luck Vanders.

I'm going to need some pronunciation advice with Blicavs, Balic and Kolodjashnij rumoured to be on our radar. And is it Lev-er or Levar?

Peeps keep banging on about the Tiges' pressure. While it is true that they smothered the Crows and have made certain decent teams look clueless over the course - while not playing especially impressive football themselves - I've seen much greater pressure dished out by us and some others this year. Someone here who I keep forgetting (apologies once again - @Nasherreminded me previously) brought up the notion of 'controlled' pressure earlier in the season, and I think that may be the key. We may be more frantic in applying pressure when we're running at optimal, but we need to be more composed at it so as not to spend all our cookies and leak goals through over-committing positionally. Minor tweak.

If his performances at his current club were up to scratch we wouldn't be having this discussion. If he plays better elsewhere, some of us might be correct in suggesting he never put in enough with us and it was time for him to go. See Jeremy Howe.

What if she was a 17 year old business-woman? Get the patronising licentious 'school-girl' business out of the equation and she was 17 and he 22. Indeed, they may have attended the same school at some stage and could be long-term friends. Regardless, the law dictates that their relationship was entirely legal, and the morality of it features some pretty slippery and subjective boundaries. As for his marital status, we have no idea of the ins and outs of someone else's relationship. Above all, wtf has any of it got to do with kicking goals?

How will we determine if it's the right or wrong call?

Much amused by the rising anti-Goodwin sentiment regarding a potential Watts trade. Some of the same folk who backed Neeld's tough-guy act on arrival. Imagine if Watts had asked Simon to be demoted to the VFL like he did with Roos? I don't think that would play with Simon.

What was the question again? I'm having trouble concentrating.

Oh my. Stringer cheated on his partner. We can't have any such vulgar immorality associated with our esteemed Melbourne Football Club. Indeed, we need to weed out any suspected philanderers from our current roster, as this wanton hanky-panky is clearly the reason for our poor first-quarter performances.

The 2017 premiership will forever carry an asterisks. Let's win one when the comp is strong and there's at least a couple truly dominant teams running around.

Longest kicking comp and a cold sprint. Why do the words 'pinged' and 'hammy' keep popping in my head?