Dee-tonator

I would like to see TMac included, in order to release Lever for the intercept game at which he is adept. But I fear King may be a bit jaundiced about picking veterans, Max excepted. The defence certainly needs some tweaking, because we conceded far too many scoring opportunities today and always looked vulnerable in the corridor.

Positives: Four ladder points. Clear game plan based on dynamic and attacking football. Van Rooyen's new-found confidence. Max as mighty as ever. Newcomers Miochek, Jiang and Steele all added value. A statement game by Culley. Windsor starting to fulfill his potential. Concerns: Defence in disarray at times. Looked very vulnerable to counter-attacks straight through the corridor. Overall: Much to be pleased about.

Gawn - destroyed young pretender Van Rooyen - top calibre sharp-shooting Steele - showed his mettle Culley - who needs Petracca? Windsor - who needs Oliver? Kozzie Pickett - bursts of excellence Latrelle Pickett - same as Kozzie Salem - calm and composed Mihocek - adds attacking options Jiath - added pace welcome Chandler - usual gutsy effort Fritsch - not many contributions Turner - battled away gamely Rivers - energetic and lively Lindsay - suspect in defence Sharp - injected late dynamism Tholstrup - not AFL standard Lever - far from best Langdon - just another game Howes - kept his cool Petty - our best defender Langford - input was limited Sparrow - did he play?

6 Max the mighty 5 Van Rooyen 4 Culley 3 Steele 2 Windsor 1 Kozzie And honourable mentions for most of the others.

Defensive set-up and errors already a big worry against average opposition. May's leadership already being missed.

Plus factor: our most reliable goalkicker for the past few seasons. Minus factor: work rate below par at times. Verdict: definitely worth another contract.

After all the club did to help him with his off-field issues, Oliver is still making snarky comments about Melbourne. It's time to say thanks for his early contributions but now it's not only goodbye but good riddance.

Sad to see an outstanding player's career fizzle out in this manner. I'm far from convinced that this was entirely a voluntary decision on May's part.

Why all this attention on yesterday's man who chose to leave the club? I'd rather be concentrating on the future, with exciting young talent such as Caleb Windsor and others.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And with Max as captain, that's at least one thing that definitely ain't broke.

The simple fact is that Clarry's time with us was like a pendulum. It started out super positive, eventually swung to super negative and sadly stayed there. On the field he put in some great performances and was a key member of the flag-winning team, but off the field his conduct became increasingly damaging to himself and the club. My final verdict: a flawed champion.

To all those fretting about our possible picks, I have a simple message. Just trust Jason Taylor. He and his recruiting team may not get it 100 per cent right every time but they come a lot closer than anyone else I can think of.

I am always amused by the long list of names proposed ahead of the draft each year and the certainty with which people state their opinions. The only phantom draft I take any notice of is Cal Twomey's. He doesn't get everything right but he is generally close to the mark.

To give a crack at finals to a team that finishes in the bottom half of the ladder is simply ludicrous.

I didn't think there could be a worse idea than this. And then I thought of Brayden Maynard............