Whispering_Jack

The annual Under 17 Future Stars game was played today at the G. The teams - Teams named for U17 'Futures' GF curtain-raiser

The fact that the deal between Carlton and Judd was as good as done by the middle of that season is also the explanation given for the Blues’ dramatic fall from grace and them losing the last 11 games in a row including the famous “Kreuzer Cup” game in Round 22. It really should have been called the “Kreuzer-Judd” Cup because it secured both players for them. Ironically, more than a decade later, Dennis Pagan who was coach of Carlton on Kreuzer Cup day will today be presenting the Jock McHale Medal to the premiership-winning coach and one of the players in the winning team could well be Josh Kennedy, the young key forward who the Blues gave away as part of the deal to get the Judd trade done. Worth thinking about if we do end up trading our own key forward in Jesse Hogan.

Is there something on today?

Apparently, a number of our players went in for various ops as soon as the season - mainly minor scrapes and such to get them ready for the pre season which, incidentally and due to the later than normal finish for the club, will be later this year than it’s been for a while.

They improved as individuals and as a team during the season and, like the Richmond of 2017, were certainly assisted by finishing in the bottom six last year. That 13th placed finish allowed them to gain momentum in the mid part of the season when they were able to record wins against the also rans while avoiding the series of consecutive tougher games that might have stopped their run to the top four. They only fell in with a late burst against Freo in the last home and away game in which case they might never have made it. Still, you make your luck and they were terrific last Friday night against the Tigers who probably played at their very worst for the season. I was hoping that we would strike Richmond in a final when they were having that day.

There was a lot of hype last year about who were the winners out of last year’s Trade & Free Agency Period with many of the experts hailing Port Adelaide as the big winners because they snared Steven Motlop, Tom Rockliff and Jack Watts while giving up pick 31, Jarman Impey and Jackson Trengove. Later on they also picked up a few more recycled players along the way and the pundits were quite bullish about them all the way into the 2018 season but they finally went bust ⅔s of the way through. None of their big 3 recruits performed as expected and Port’s season ended in disappointment. It raises the question as to what is really required of a club to come out of the Trade & Free Agency Period as a winner?

Also reflecting on the failure of the two development ruckmen the club has on its list, this would seem a brilliant and a necessary move to prolong Max Gawn’s time at the top in the game, especially in the light of some of the changes being mooted to the playing rules for next year.

Quite right Mr. Leg. I did tape the TAC Cup Grand Final with the intention of watching it during my week off work but it’s taken a while to get around to it because of the wonderful weather up here on the Gold Coast. I finished the task this morning. I suppose that what we’re looking at in Bedford is a player who might be a Daniel Rioli type who exerts a great deal of defensive pressure with his pace and tackling but isn’t going to necessarily rack up high possession numbers. In the preliminary final - the game in which he received a lot of accolades from the draft watchers - he managed only 13 touches In the grand final, he started off slowly but did lay some strong tackles without getting any other stats. He really didn’t get into the game until the second quarter and was credited with 10 disposals altogether for the game. He showed out from time to time with some good runs, a few effective tackles, some glimpses of excitement and potential but on this performance, I can’t see any opposition club putting in any early bids for him. He’s certainly not going to challenge for Melbourne’s midfield any time in the immediate future - his pace and skills are good but need development. I would like to think we could get him either as a late selection in the draft or, more likely as a rookie.

Rumour going around that Jesse passed a rigorous fitness test this morning and will play.

When does the 2018 NAB AFL free agency and Trade Period start and finish? Friday, 5 October: Restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period starts. Monday, 8 October 10am: NAB AFL Trade Period starts. Friday, 12 October 5pm: Close of restricted free agency offer and unrestricted free agency period. Monday, 15 October 2pm: AFL restricted free agency matching offer three-day period ends. Wednesday, 17 October 8.30pm: NAB AFL Trade Period closes (for exchange of players). Friday, 16 November 2pm: NAB AFL Trade Period closes (for exchange of selections only). When is the 2018 NAB AFL Draft Combine? Tuesday, 2 October – Friday 5 October: AFL Draft Combine. Friday, 5 October: Victoria / NEAFL / Tasmania State Draft Combine. Saturday, 13 October: South Australian Draft Combine. Sunday, 14 October: West Australian Draft Combine. When are the 2018 NAB AFL Draft and Rookie Drafts? Thursday, 22 November 7pm – 9.30pm: NAB AFL Draft (Round One). Friday, 23 November 10am – 1.30pm: NAB AFL Draft (Round Two onwards to conclusion). Friday, 23 November 5pm: NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft and NAB AFL Rookie Draft. How else can players switch clubs? Delisted players become free agents and can join new clubs during any of the three NAB AFL delisted player free agency windows. Once clubs have delisted a player, they will receive no compensation should that player be signed by a new club. The key dates for delisted free agents are as follows: Wednesday, 31 October 2pm: List Lodgement (1) Thursday, 1 November: AFL delisted player free agency period (1) starts Thursday, 8 November: AFL delisted player free agency period (1) closes Saturday, 10 November: AFL delisted player free agency period (2) starts Friday, 16 November 5pm: AFL delisted player free agency period (2) closes Friday, 23 November 1.30pm – 2.30pm: AFL delisted player free agency period (3) Tuesday, 27 November 2pm: Final AFL club list lodgement

There you go. That’s the effect that cosmic gas can have on the way of things. I believe that the last time this happened, it wiped out the dinosaurs. In the light of that, bumping off one AFL footballer was small fish to fry in that kettle.

SO YOU THINK THIS NEVER HAPPENED by Whispering Jack Those of you who have spent the last four or five days moping around wondering what might have been obviously have no imagination. Let me take you back to what you really did miss on Saturday. Things were looking desperate for Melbourne when Eagle Josh Kennedy kicked his third goal for the game and second for the term, just two and a half minutes after the start of the second quarter. The score stood at West Coast 6.8.44 to Melbourne, a mere 0.3.3. However, it was just a minute or so later that a strange phenomenon occurred. The path of a recently discovered and unusual asteroid “Oumuamua” crossed South Western Australia in very close proximity to the earth, momentarily plunging Optus Stadium into darkness As the dense object veered across the outer reaches of the atmosphere, it released a plume of gaseous matter over the City of Perth that settled slowly over the ground where nearly 60,000 stunned fans had been watching a somewhat one-sided spectacle. Suddenly, all television and radio transmission of the game was cut off completely. There was no mobile or WIFI reception to and from the ground and the entire State of WA was cut off from the rest of the world for several days. In their panic, Gillon McLauchlan and the AFL sent vision to the rest of Australia of a simulated game based on what they thought was taking place at the ground but they really had no clue as to what was really happening. The world’s leading scientists have been unable to come up with an explanation as to the phenomenon or its cause but there is no doubt that the events that took place on the football field below the path of the mysterious asteroid were certainly exceptional and unprecedented. Two minutes later, Luke Shuey limped off the field to join Jeremy McGovern on the interchange bench and the fortunes of the two adversaries turned around 180 degrees. At the eight minute mark of the quarter, Luke Ryan flew high over a pack in front of the Eagles’ goal and momentarily had the ball in his grasp but it fell into the waiting hands of Neville Jetta who took off, bounced the ball four times and sent it flying into a vacant Demon forward line. He took chase followed by Willie Rioli and, just as Jetta grabbed the ball, the first year Eagle clutched at his hamstring and his day was over. Jetta’s goal, his team’s first for the day, saw the margin reduced to 35 points. Time passed and some moments later, a Clayton Oliver shot at goal that looked to be going through the wrong side of the goalpost, suddenly veered and appeared to just make it through for a major. The review was inconclusive and, as the goal umpire had paid it to Melbourne, the goal stood. Charlie Spargo was awarded a rare first half Demon free and the resultant 50 metre penalty put him close enough for a third unanswered goal to the visitors. Christian Petracca’s after-the-siren goal left Melbourne just 14 points down at the main break as Kennedy limped off the ground with a recurrence of the shin injury that had dogged him for much of the last half of the season. The rest is history. The Demons lifted in the third quarter through Max Gawn’s ruck dominance to level the scores with a point on the siren that welcomed the final break and then Angus Brayshaw went berserk with four final quarter goals - some said it was in revenge for the uncalled for “Gaff attack” on his brother from two months earlier. The Eagles were powerless in the 27 degree heat without the ability to rotate any players and when Clayton Oliver, who had been carrying the team on his shoulders for most of the season, scored his second just before the bell, the margin stood at 27 points (as predicted by yours truly on Demonland just days before the game). Melbourne was in its first grand final since 2000! Oumuamua is hurtling through space and already a million miles away but all that has to be forgotten now. Nathan Buckley and his men will be surprised when they see the team that runs out against them in Saturday’s grand final and your task is to select that team. THE GAME Melbourne v Collingwood at the MCG Saturday 30 September, 2018 at 2.300pm HEAD TO HEAD Overall Melbourne 83 wins, Collingwood 148 wins, 5 drawn At the MCG Melbourne 63 wins, Collingwood 81 wins, 3 drawn Last Five Meetings Melbou rne 3 wins, Collingwood 2 wins The Coaches Goodwin 1 win, B uckley 2 wins MEDIA TV - Channel 7, Fox Sports Footy Channel, live at 2.00pm Radio - Triple M 3AW SEN ABC ABC Grandstand LAST TIME THEY MET Collingwood 20.13.133 defeated Melbourne 14.7.91 at the MCG in Round 12, 2018 Shortly before the start of the game, a meteor shower sprayed cosmic dust over the South Eastern corner of the country, causing a partial mental paralysis to take hold of the coaches and selectors. The result of the game is best forgotten. THE TEAMS COLLINGWOOD B: HB: ? HF: F: Foll: I/C: Emg: MELBOURNE B: HB: ? HF: F: Foll: I/C: Emg:

Sam McClure of SEN puts forward his idea of a blockbuster trade that could see Melbourne secure Gold Coast’s Steven May. May has a year left on his contract so McClure opines that there may be a problem. “The sticking point here is that the Gold Coast Suns aren’t going to trade Steven May, unless they get something overs for him.” McClure reckons that Lachie Neale could be the key to the matter. “Lachie Neale goes to Brisbane for Brisbane’s first pick – currently pick five – that is on-traded to Melbourne from Fremantle for Jesse Hogan, and that then allows Melbourne to with that pick for Jesse Hogan to get Steven May. “I’m of strong belief that the Gold Coast Suns would accept pick five for Steven May.” In other words, from Melbourne’s point of view, they get May in return for Hogan suggesting that he is worth exactly the same as May - a first round pick (notwithstanding that Hogan is a high ranking key position forward who is also in contract and three years younger than the Gold Coast defender). To accept such a trade would be madness.

Bingo - it looks like you’ve already beaten Chilliboy’s record.

Two articles on the TAC Cup Grand Final from AFL Draft Central ~ Stingrays set out to make own history: Black Scouting notes: 2018 TAC Cup Grand Final

Review of Toby Bedford’s performance in the TAC Cup Grand Final from AFL Draft Central ~ Scouting notes: 2018 TAC Cup Grand Final #15 Toby Bedford “He set the tone early with a great tackle inside 50 and just seemed to find space around the ground winning the ball. At times he danced around opponents and tried to set up plays, and while he was not as effective as his past two finals, still had a few eye-catching moments. He kicked an important goal in the second term to keep Dandenong’s momentum high, he just did not have the four quarter consistency on the day, picking up nine of his 10 touches in the middle two quarters.”

The two talls just didn’t get lift off at VFL level and Pat McKenna was unlucky with injury but it’s difficult to persist with players who don’t show signs of advancing after four years in the system. I’m looking forward to see what our recruiters can achieve given the limited draft position we are currently in.

I don’t think either club can complain about the outcome. Based on lady year’s draft, they are getting access to players who would be available in the 20s or 30s. If they select or trade those picks well, it should be adequate in terms of assistance.

We were very fortunate that Max was fit to play in every game this year because we had no back up rucks of quality to replace him had it proved necessary. One could have mounted a case for the use of undersized back ups but I don’t think that would necessarily work at the pointy end of the season in a big game. With Preuss as back up to Max and Austin Bradtke as the understudy, our ruck stocks are looking a lot better going forward into 2019.

This is a rumour file - you have to make it up.

Like most, I would prefer that he stays but if we can’t convince him to do so, then his value should be assessed at least at the equivalent of the two first round picks it cost us to get Jake Lever. Terry Wallace has placed Chad Wingard at that level and Hogan is IMO worth more than that. We are facing an interesting month or so ahead.

Yes - they actually favoured Casey in the second half by 17 to 12 but the Hawks still finished well in front on the day. Still, while the umpiring affected Casey’s lead at half time, it was by no means the main or only reason for the defeat. KC’s report later today will cover the player stats.

And just to rub salt into the wounds, North Adelaide (the 19 players on the ground team) best the SANFL Redlegs Norwood in their Grand Final today.

The umpiring against Casey has been ordinary in every game I’ve seen them play this year but you have to live with it unfortunately. There’s nobody to complain about it to at this stage. Another interesting stat is the tackles. Casey have had 39 which is more than what Melbourne got all game in Perth.

INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER (after week three of the finals) ROUND ONE 1. Carlton 2. Gold Coast 3. St Kilda 4. Brisbane 5. Fremantle 6. Western Bulldogs 7. Adelaide 8. Essendon 9. Port Adelaide 10. North Melbourne 11. Geelong 12. Sydney 13. Greater Western Sydney 14. Hawthorn 15. Adelaide (received from Melbourne) 16. Richmond 17. Collingwood 18. Gold Coast (received off West Coast) ROUND TWO 19. Adelaide (received from Carlton) 20. West Coast (received from Gold Coast) 21. Port Adelaide (received from St Kilda) 22. Brisbane 23. Greater Western Sydney (received from Fremantle) 24. Carlton (received from Western Bulldogs) 25. Carlton (received from Adelaide) 26. Gold Coast (received from Essendon) 27. Port Adelaide 28. North Melbourne 29. Gold Coast (received from Geelong) 30. Sydney 31. Essendon (received from Greater Western Sydney) 32. Hawthorn 33. Melbourne 34. Richmond 35. Sydney (received from Collingwood) 36. West Coast ROUND THREE 37. Adelaide (received from Carlton) 38. Gold Coast 39. North Melbourne (received off St Kilda via on-trades) 40. Brisbane 41. Gold Coast (received from Fremantle) 42. Western Bulldogs 43. Melbourne (received from Adelaide) 44. Greater Western Sydney (received from Essendon) 45. Port Adelaide 46. Port Adelaide (received from North Melbourne) 47. Geelong 48. Collingwood (received from Sydney) 49. Greater Western Sydney 50. Hawthorn 51. Melbourne 52. Geelong (received from Richmond) 53. Collingwood 54. North Melbourne (received from West Coast via on-trades) ROUND FOUR 55. Geelong (received from Carlton) 56. Geelong (received from Gold Coast) 57. St Kilda 58. Brisbane 59. Western Bulldogs (received from Fremantle) 60. Western Bulldogs 61. St Kilda (received from Adelaide via on-trades) 62. Essendon 63. St Kilda (received from Port Adelaide) 64. North Melbourne 65. Carlton (received from Geelong) 66. Sydney 67. Greater Western Sydney 68. West Coast (received from Hawthorn via on-trades) 69. Adelaide (received from Melbourne) 70. Richmond 71. Collingwood 72. West Coast ROUND FIVE 73. Carlton 74. Gold Coast 75. St Kilda 76. Brisbane 77. Fremantle 78. Western Bulldogs 79. Adelaide 80. Essendon 81. Port Adelaide 82. North Melbourne 83. Geelong 84. Sydney 85. Greater Western Sydney 86. Hawthorn 87. Melbourne 88. Richmond 89. Collingwood 90. West Coast ROUND SIX 91. Carlton 92. Gold Coast 93. St Kilda 94. Brisbane 95. Fremantle 96. Western Bulldogs 97. Adelaide 98. Essendon 99. Port Adelaide 100. North Melbourne 101. Geelong 102. Sydney 103. Greater Western Sydney 104. Hawthorn 105. Melbourne 106. Richmond 107. Collingwood 108. West Coast