Deelectable

Coming off the bye one would think we'd be fresher. Clutching at straws?

Fox Footy Panel should be renamed the'North Melbourne Supporters Club'. FFS.

Check out Caiden Cleary for the Swans tonight. Debutant as sub. I reckon Sydney are a reasonable yardstick as a club making good decisions. Correct call by our club.

Just curious how we are $1.19 and the Roos are $4.45? (in from $7!). Whilst I understand form lines are not an exact science perhaps we could ponder the following. North beat West Coast away and led the Pies by 54 points only to lose in controversial circumstances. We were towelled by both the Eagles and Collingwood and now without arguably our best player. A case could easily be mounted that we are the most out of form team in the league. Not saying a win is impossible but at $1.19 no thanks. That is a market based on reputation.

London to a brick Tomlinson gets dropped for the Lions when Lever is back.Won't matter if he has 30+ possessions and his opponent has none. Meantime,Petty won't get near it and he'll retain his place. I'll say it again. Try Tomlinson up forward. Petty to Casey. Nothing to lose.

"He has been very good in his 1st season of VFL'. That is a massive stretch. He has shown minor glimpses at best.

'Solid' would be a generous description. AMW has ben far more than that and could play a similar role if required.

Yep. I wish all the best and hope he has a cracker. Call me old fashioned though. I have always felt you should be displaying consistently good form to be selected in the seniors. Brown has shown glimpses at best. AMW very, very stiff. Has played an unfamiliar role with aplomb and has body more AFL ready than Brown.

Just can't recall a string of Casey performances that would warrant Kynan Brown being selected.

No doubt many will disagree with this premise. No worries. For me this season is virtually gone. By that I mean no premiership. A few have understandably stated that it would be good to fight back, grab a top 8 spot and win a final. When the Demons run out of course I'll be wanting us to win but with stars missing and not the easiest of draws top 4 looks an enormous ask. For me, there is no second prize. On balance I'd prefer to miss the finals, secure a pick in the top 10, complete the season early, surgeries taken care of and reset for 2025. Winning a final means at least an extra 3 weeks training and playing and a later start to the pre season. Now, to the actual point of this post! With our champs in the latter or late stages of their careers unless we are aggressive in the trade and free agency period we will be out of the running when the likes of Max, May and Viney are likely gone in a couple of seasons. If we 'sit on our hands' and hope development comes from within I think this window is over. Difficult, I know, to attract players but with the likely cap space from numerous retirements and delistings we have to extremely active. Midfield needs bolstering. LDU springs to mind. Thought Yeo might have been a short term prospect but not now. Forward tall target is obvious. Is Max King gettable and made of the right stuff? Surely he could help out in the ruck.Assuming we retain all our guns and other required players blue skies might well be ahead. However, if these aren't complemented by established recruits it looks far more grey. We will know where we stand around 7pm on October 16 when the free agency and trade periods are over. Happy to be shot down.

This will be an unpopular view but I think Max was somewhat culpable in Grundy wanting out. He fully embraced his recruitment and on multiple occasions said they would make it work. So, most of us had an idea neither were natural forwards. In that case perhaps it would have been a great idea to extend Max's career by giving him regular games off. Grundy was good when Gawn was injured. Problem with this was that Max always wanted to be the main man week in week out and, in my view, wasn't pleased at the prospect of watching on. I think he was part of the problem. He is rising 33 and can't have long left. Following the Geelong model was the way to go resting ageing stars. As for Grundy at the Swans that would be an issue if we were vying against them for a flag this year which looks highly unlikely now.

You're the one doing the misrepresentation. Did I say Lobb was the saviour? Did I say 'must get Lobb'? You've yet to come up with a viable alternative. 'Fullo' is soft at VFL level. Shudder to think what he'd be like a step above. So you want me to search for your insightful posts on this topic? Excuse me whilst I continue with my crochet. You're final paragraph is non sensical.

Have u watched him at Casey? 10 times softer than Lobb. The latter has been good in recent weeks. Has way more pedigree than Fullarton although that's not saying much. Using JVR in the ruck is detrimental to his forward craft. If you really think the way forward is using those two as back up good luck to you. BTW, Fullarton has done nothing to earn the nickname 'Fullo'.

Not a replacement for Max. Back up and some sort of target up forward which is currently non existent. Likely a 3rd round pick for Lobb. Chances if getting a decent, ready to go mid for that are remote. I'm happy to hear who else can support Max. Fullarton is a bust. Verrell a fair way off.

Looking at glass extremely half full if the Pies lose this are we back in the running? Other than the Swans is any team consistent? Freo win by 90 then lose by 70. The way we are playing we can't beat anyone atm. Of course Petracca really hurts. Just think top 4 is up for grabs if anyone can sustain a run. I'm living on hope that we're not as bad as we've been displaying. Of course, lose to North next week and it's just about curtains.

Disagree but fair enough. Please let me know of another experienced/ tall forward/ rucking option that might be available at a reasonable rate. At the moment we have nothing.

Disagree but fair enough. Please let me know of another experienced/ tall forward/ rucking option that might be available at a reasonable rate. At the moment we have nothing.

Lobb much better today. Poor last week bit did well against the Pies. Given the likely lack of other options, the fact that the Dogs will pay will pay a chunk of his salary and it will be a ' steak knives' pick I'm all for it. Relief ruck and a tall forward target. Certainly an upgrade on anyone we have at the moment.

Despite being a premiership player with 200+ games Maynard will only be remembered for one thing. Even of one believes his action was legitimate, which I personally find laughable, it will define him for years to come. We all know that Greg Chappell Was a superb batsman however the average punter remembers the underarm incident. This will be Maynard's legacy which barely compensates for ruining a stars career.

Don't mind this. In reality zero chance to win this year's flag. Is it worth finishing in the 8? Not for me. The loss of Petracca and Brayshaw is immense. Get a pick in the top 10 (think the Suns take a couple of spots). With likely retirements/departures of Brown, Brayshaw, Smith, Melksham, Hunter, Tomlinson and, possibly TMac, surely there is salary cap room aplenty? With Max, May and Viney in the twilight of their careers now is the time. Throw plenty at RFA's Battle, LDU and perhaps Yeo. The latter two could transform a struggling midfield. Hate to say it but is Lobb worth a 'bag of chips' as a relieving ruckman/ forward? No worse than anyone we have now. Is Max King gettable? Anyway, the idea of a long break and a full pre season is some minor consolation but important. Fortunately we still have a good spread of youth on the list but I still think we have to strike whilst our 'champs are still around.

P.S. Clarry missed eleven games with a hammy last year having been in very good form. Not sure of the exact figures bit I feel that we won a decent majority of games in his absence. Petracca's loss is immense but others have to step up. Not diminishing the seriousness of his injury at all but I wouldn't be listening to Tom Morris for a second. If we are there when the whips are cracking I'm confident Trac will be back!* I have no medical expertise whatsoever.

If Petracca is out for the season it's going to be nigh on impossible. If not, we are a glimmer. After round 15 last year Carlton were 15th on the table with 5 and a half wins. Giants were rung above them with 6 wins . Both teams went on to be narrow losers in their respective preliminary finals. GWS extremely unfortunate. Not withstanding the fact there is an extra round this year, IF we beat North in our next game in round 15 we will be on 8 wins and possibly a one or two rungs higher on the ladder. Therefore, better placed than the aforementioned teams last year. Barring one two players the only way is up for some of these blokes who have been awful. Perhaps I'll lean on the old cliche ' form is temporary, class is permanent'. Viney and Oliver, to name but two, are not this bad. I'm actually expecting Clarry to step up and show his true colurs in Christian's absence.We had 20+ contested possessions against the Pies. Turnovers and conversion killed us. I must admit lack of depth is a concern. Having said that, the next block of 4 games should be a focus. If we can't beat North forget everything that I've said. I think we will. Lions at the Gabba is tough. Surely though we should be driven after our tepid performance against them at the G. We certainly owe West Coast and I think Essendon's ladder position flatters them. Win 3 out of the 4 and, hopefully Trac recovering,and things will look very different.

Fair question but I think, amongst others, we need to send a message to Sparrow. Go and get 30+ possessions 3 weeks running at Casey. He seems to be the player that is excused for poor form for seemingly a myriad of reasons. I'm not picking on him but he appears to 'walk on water'. Tholstrup, Rivers, Salem, McVee and Pickett can all run through there. Woewodin could be worth a crack. If Tom Sparrow changed his name to Adam Tomlinson he would have been gone long ago.

I hope this is in jest. Sparrow has barely fired a shot in the last two and a half seasons. Problem is Goodwin has publicly lauded him. Tom should be the first to go.

Goodwin has admitted that both himself and family have been affected by the off field dramas. Totally understandable. However, given our extraordinary demise, I just wonder if it might have all become too much for him and he may not last the season? Lose to North and it will be on a knife-edge.