BaliDemon

Salem and Hunter is a half back flank and wing zone of the ground that concerns me. Salem’s drop off in form since 2021 has been steep and Hunter, although a seasoned and ‘neat’ footballer, lacks leg speed in an area of the ground that we need it. Salem ‘ain’t quick over the ground either. Selection pressure must come on both of these blokes in 2021. Hunter in particular I’d like to see replaced as a first 18 regular with someone with more dash and dare. It’s an area where I think we can blood some fresh talent in 2024. Kade Chandler is the other one. His back half the season was poor and finals a huge letdown. Hard call on the kid but we can and must do a lot better there.

It’s a very good article. Have always rated ‘Roco’ as one of if not the best football journalists of the past 25+ years. Brilliant analytical mind. Bit of a [censored] when it comes to politics but I can overlook that!

Love the idea. Actually Barrass was involved in no less than 17 Grand Finals as player and coach. He is quite simply the most towering figure in Australian football history. Highly unlikely anyone will ever surpass that figure. He used to write ‘17 4 10’ under his signature post retirement from footy, which of course meant 17 Grand Finals 4 (for) 10 Premierships. Add up ‘17 4 10’ and what do you get? #31

Another left field suggestion - John Noble from the Pies. Played most of the season but can’t crack it for a spot in their finals 22. Pretty handy player I reckon. Wouldn’t be a perfect like for like replacement for Hibberd but maybe we could do with a bit more dash coming out of the back half. 2023 was Noble’s best season to date - averaging 21 disposals and 5.5 marks. 26yo, with 92 games under his belt. Capable of playing up on the wing as well.

Probably already suggested in this thread but thoughts on a temporary commemorative site banner in honour of the great RDB? Maybe to stay up over the off-season as a tribute?

Absolutely down with this if we can snare two picks inside that top 7 or 8 players. McKercher looks the one for me in terms of bringing a new dimension to our midfield. Classy, clean skills, Zach Merrett type. Perfect. I suspect Duursma will be taken by the Hawks before we get a look in. O'Sullivan as a May understudy and eventual replacement makes absolute sense. Love the look of the kid from the video clips I've seen. As flashy and exciting as he might be, I would steer clear of Nick Watson. You just have to be soooo good at that height to excel at AFL level. Maybe at pick 12 - 18 but I wouldn't be burning a chance to nab a prime on-baller or gorilla minding full-back with top ten picks. They're just too hard to find otherwise.

Yeah not sure Hinkley provides a strong supporting case for any argument. The bloke has been at Port for what 11 years (?) for zero grand final appearances? Probably lost more finals than he's won? I'd say there's more than injury excuses going on there. I’m by no means a Goodwin hater. Extremely grateful for the 2021 flag but I’m firmly on the side of the fence of this list being a Golden Generation for the MFC. Like Carlton in the mid 90’s and Essendon of the early 2000’s, if it only produces the one flag I’ll be slightly disappointed. I think a fair few other supporters will be, too. Goody isn’t Clarkson or Hardwick or Matthews. He isn’t beyond questioning. I still find myself doubting his team selection a little too often, his in-game slowness to react a bit too frequently to be absolutely certain he’s got the Midas touch that those aforementioned coaches had/have. Only the very best coaches win 2+ premierships. That all said, I hope he does go on to achieve greatness for the Dees. He’s earned the right to give it a red hot crack for the next three seasons. Unless things go absolutely pear shaped I’ll be supporting him but I still reserve the right to question. No need to be sheep-like and clap everything he does.

Maynard pushes his open hands into Gus to brace himself instead of tucking his shoulder into him, Gus plays out the game and we probably win through to a home prelim. Who knows what could’ve happened from there.

For me, we kind of went out in straight sets the previous Thursday in that loss to the Pies. Pretty much all the marbles were on the line in that game and we came up just short. Geez we had some bad luck going in with those injuries to Melk and Petty, then Brayshaw getting KO'd in first quarter. Losing Gus was a lot more critical to that loss than we care to admit. Carlton will get pumped at the Gabba this weekend and in all likelihood so would've we. Our forward line was never going to be good enough to win three tough finals after losing week one. We were pushing excrement up hill from the moment the final siren blew in that Qualifying Final. I'm actually proud of the boys for the way they battled across the two games. Yes, we torched a truckload of entries and our forward craft was comical at times, but we all knew this was going to be our Achilles Heel heading into the season. ‘Gawndy’ was worth a punt but TMac and BBB? C'mon, let's get real. They were both cooked 12+ months ago. Not at all sure Chandler is up to it either. He was dreadful in both finals and generally poor after about round 8. We need upgrades on all of those guys. Plenty of scope for optimism, though. We finally get to use the Luke Jackson picks to help address the issues in attack, as well as add some high-quality kids at the pointy end of the draft. That's a luxurious position to be in for a side that finished in the top four. To my reckoning we're still well in the hunt for another flag over the next two or three seasons but it is contingent on absolutely nailing this upcoming draft/trade period. A combination of experienced role players and youngsters who can have an immediate impact is definitely the way to go, rather than pile all eggs in the Harley Reid basket. That's not where we're at as a club. Leave that to North and the Eagles to squabble over. The only question popping up time and again in my mind though is ... is Simon Goodwin good enough to become a dual or even triple premiership coach? He kind of rode the coattails of Roosy’s groundwork to win the 2021 cup but now it's on him to come through with a second one entirely in his own right. Going to be a lot tougher and he's going to have to be a lot smarter and cleverer with the methods and strategies he deploys in-game (and at selection) in order to achieve it. Like everyone, I hope he's the man but there's been enough questionable decision making in the box over 2022/23 to suggest there are a few doubts there. It's up to Goody now to prove the knockers wrong. "Double straight sets exits" is some sticky mud to wipe off.

How about Levi Casboult for a season or two while we're in the window? Still very durable with 21 senior games for the Suns in 2022 (35 goals) and 20 games in 2023 (24 goals). Likely to be starved of opportunity up there with Jed Walter coming on board. Better option than either of Brown or TMac imo and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. Handy ruck insurance for an injury to Gawn, too.