Skuit

I agree with you and Weideman is a case in point. It's still not possible to call but Sam clearly has the ability so I don't think it will ever be and outright bad call if he's a bust. It seems more a matter of desire and application - and you can't always tell how a 17 y/o will turn out personality-wise when there's still maturing to come. Taylor expressed some regret in the draft podcast last year about overlooking certain questions he had wished he had asked in the past - and I got the sense he was referring to either Weideman and Petracca - and that demonstrates how both inexact and exhaustive it is: one particular question possibly determining a draft rating. Anyway - I do believe Taylor has probably performed above average. There are so many factors involved though that I think it's just impossible to make a comparison e.g. where a recruiter's picks land in any given draft pool, directions from coaches and needs-based drafting, and of course post-draft development and a club's fortunes.

I don't think Taylor has been especially good or bad - and most of what's being said here is overstated. Rivers for example fell to our pick and we took him. Petracca and Brayshaw together were lucky but then obvious. Picks around the 30s are what you might expect to get as a total return on your picks in that range. We've had a focus on Casey players and building systems. 2018 was a bit odd for player-type but that's not all down to Taylor. Clarry though was our big one - and Jason will always get a pass-mark from me on that alone - but the next biggest recruitment gamble was made last year, and while the signs are good we just won't know how that's going to pan out for a couple years from now. Missing players like Cripps, Bont, and De Goey is one thing - many recruiters did - but it's the early first-round 'reaches' he will be judged on: Oliver, Jackson and Pickett.

Just a guess but probably because Taylor is an experienced national recruiter and I watch three minute highlights packages once a year.

You lost me in the first sentence pinkkshark. Not sure why I would then bother reading the rest of your response. Why would I do that?

I don't have any real doubt that both are Melbourne players (although I would have thought that about Viney and Brayshaw once too). While Trac has been widely acknowledged for stepping up this season - I still don't think he is getting enough credit. Still team first - and when both he and Oliver step up to their level against Collingwood (it's been a gruelling season and not a huge surprise they've both tapered off a bit) they will be the new leaders of our club. It could be as soon as next season.

What about the examples where Goodwin has shown himself to be a tactical innovator? He may have failed in a number of attempts but he's not a dead fish like he's made out to be on here. The heat on the team over the past two seasons has delimited his breathing space, but Simon is a bright mind and a dedicated student of the game and sport in general. I get that the fans have run out of patience, yet the confirmation bias on here is strong. Team does poorly, it was Goodwin's fault; team does well, it was somehow in spite of Goodwin.

Another small note on this. Was touching in the middle of everything to see Goodwin go to Jetta to acknowledge his efforts when Nev was looking a bit distraught. That's who I want coaching my football team.

Not only is May playing exceptionally well - he has such a strong presence down back that he's likely paying other dividends that won't come up on any stats sheet - e.g. pushing key forwards further away from the goals and messing with opposition structures.

Just watching the highlights and the ump didn't call advantage. But it actually happened a second time in the match. Smith got a HTB call on Cameron on the half-back flank and Brown took the kick. Called 'play on'. I wonder how often this happens without me ever noticing it.

Just as an update to my previous post - I had a look at separating reaction notifications from quote notifications and it doesn't seem possible.

In a way this is a similar discussion to the Nathan Jones 300-games one. Sentimentality and club-culture vs. hard-headed list management. I don't like where this one is going though (and that recent quote was just ugly). Most of Jack's life has felt predestined, but losing the captaincy wasn't in the script (and also not something I supported). Even with his evident limitations (and I think they were being overstated a little bit last night), I want Jack Viney in my football team every day of the week. And I want him to be happy. The club needs to sort this out pronto. Never has it been harder to imagine one of our players in another team's colours. The fact that Geelong reportedly want him as a Selwood replacement should be enough to give us pause and reflect on his worth to our club.

I'm really invested in this trivial conversation now. Does forum reputation bestow any benefits? Don't we all just assess reputation ourselves and collectively? What is reputation? I would be happy for my snarky laugh responses to hand over a reputation point to a notorious poster if it meant my chuckles awarded others. Wouldn't it even out over time anyway?

He not only looks like he belongs but it's apparent to me that he thinks he belongs. A huge level of confidence for a kid and invaluable in his development. Never seems to drop his head.

Citing facebook as a realm for balanced discussion. Still chuckling. Thanks doc - I just wish you had insight into your own posts - they would probably cheer you up a bit.

Totally ridiculous - but pretty low down on the list of things to care about right now. We recently had Picnic Day in the NT which I thought was charming. It beats getting a day off so some people can go and watch a bunch horses run around in circles or celebrate the death of some possibly imaginary bloke over 2000 years ago (even typing that sounds ridiculous).

I don't understand why teams haven't come up with a better strategy for kicking straight down the guts. I get the angles create a risk, but if you were well-drilled to set up both defensively and offensively for the kick then I think it could be a huge advantage. Even with even numbers it never seems to come off in favour of the attacking team.

Did you actually read the article or even better listen to the presser? Goodwin was sending a clear message to the players to not get ahead of themselves - something we all get disappointed with on here time after time. “I spoke last week about growing up as a footy club and it was to execute our roles and play like we did in pressure situations. “It was a step forward as a footy club – there’s no question about that. “I thought some of the maturity of some of our young guys especially was outstanding, but we’ve got to create a new pathway forward and play this way week in, week out. “All we’ve done is given ourselves an opportunity to play the same way again next week.” What exactly do you take exception to from those quotes? Watch the presser. It was a gutsy and emotional win and we celebrated accordingly. But then Goody was smart enough to immediately put the brakes on and adopt a terse, unfinished business attitude. I'm certain that will be the messaging in-house this week as well. Goodwin also doesn't write the headlines.

Why does ANB always have his mouth open?

Is that the last time we'll see Jetta in the red & blue? I wouldn't be surprised if he was to retire, and realistically he doesn't have much left in him. Spent his whole career getting battered without much protection from the umps (has to have one of the hardest heads in the league). A sad way to bow out if so - but fitting that it was through Nev doing Nev things. The club absolutely has to do everything it can to ensure he sticks around post-playing, even with the reduced soft caps.

Football is such an odd sport with a number of subjective rule interpretations requiring umpires to determine player motives (e.g. deliberate out-of-bounds, a 'genuine' attempt to get rid of the ball) but I support this, and think it should also be applied more closely to time-wasting. It's reasonably clear when players are interfering, even if accidental. So many 50m penalties are awarded where both the viewers and players have no idea what just happened. However, holding the ball is already largely an instinct call, which I don't support at all. If it looks bad, the rules go out the window. On another note, I enjoyed watching the tight contest last night, but I think it's also a case-study in how much of an impact umpiring can have on the game - both the calls and non-calls. Momentum is a huge factor in sport. We got hammered in the second and then got the rub in the third - the umpiring in line with the momentum.

I had thought Trac had just assessed we would be awarded the advantage. Maybe it was more illegal than smart and that's why it stood out so much. Unfortunately I can't check the replay as I've run out of non-football-following friends with credit cards and so my golden run of free Kayo trials has come to an end.

Aside from the Bali 2017 debacle we've got the jumpering right in recent years. Massive shout-out to Simon Goodwin on his graphic design skills.

Rarely vent doctor. I keep all my feelings bottled up inside so I don't annoy other people the internet.

Two bottles of Shiraz in. Keep doing what you do dazzle.

There will be egg on the face in this thread. And unlike regular face-egg the traces will last forever on the internet. Wasn't on Pickett at draft time but fully invested now. I got it wrong. Talylor and co. got it right. Will be a star of the AFL.