the pearl

6. Frawley 5. Bruce 4. MacDonald 3. Green 2. Scully 1. Jamar

Hardest to decide this season. Started with a short list of 18. 6. Sylvia 5. Frawley 4. Jamar 3. Bruce 2. Rivers 1. Garland Backline players set everything up.

There will be no scores and no possessions for the whole game against Swans. The game will just consist of tackles - legal and illegal - over and over again. Each team will amass over 700 tackles for the game.

Bate - Casey, Casey, Casey Watts - melts under spotlight

Based on Foxtel viewing. 6. Frawley 5. Rivers 4. Scully 3. PJ 2. MacDonald - even though I don't rate him 1. Sylvia - when it mattered

6. Green 5. Jamar 4. Sylvia 3. Trengove 2. Garland 1. Bruce

One of the all time classic comments from Choco about stepping down. Said he was suffering from illness and fatigue - his supporters were sick and tired of him!! Ha

Try these: Davey - can hit targets Watts - craps himself sometimes Moloney - couldn't get free Jetta - what's he thinking?

In Davey's case don't be misled by stats. Look at the quality of his possessions and the one percenters. If you need to rely on statistics, then you're not watching the game.

Who's simplifying the clanger? We find the most complex ways of constructing clangers.

The absolute clanger is an important stat in today's football - especially against a team of predators like St Kilda. By halving our clangers and handballs to players, compelling them to commit a turnover, (because there is nothing else they can do) we will win these games. There might be quite a few of these players who will never plays finals football with us. There could be a few, whom, when surrounded by quality, might cut it as top AFL players. There are a few who will develop into AFL A graders and I don't know who they're going to be yet - but doesn't Trengove look good! Every haphazard handball that puts one of our stationary players under pressure is a howler at the moment. What must the players think when they watch the clips and video through the week? Do they compare their efforts with St Kilda's uncontested marks and clean ball handling? Does this drive them towards improving their skills? Do any of them ever consider that they're not good enough at this stage? Or is this their problem? Do they not believe in their ability strongly enough? Were they resigned to the idea that they were going to lose too early in the last quarter? There are up there with persistence and physical effort for the most part of most games.

6. Jordie McKenzie 5. Aaron Davey 4. Jack Trengove 3. Lynden Dunn 2. Brad Green 1. ... ah ... ah ..Frawley maybe!

6. Davey - stunning performance. Near enough the best player in the AFL. 5. Jamar - commitment personified. 4. Moloney - never keep him down. Great kicking penetration. 3. Warnock 2. Scully 1. Jones - love his desire and tenacity.

6. Gysberts 5. Green 4. James McDonald 3. Davey 2. Sylvia 1. Jones ( yeah .. I know .. I was wrong )

Grossly oversimplified portrait of Robbo. Robbo put in second efforts as intensely as any player of his time. The problem was that the efforts weren't good enough. He was too easily defended by strong defenders like Scarlett, Glass etc. He had physical limitations and skill limitations but did his best.Every so often, he lifted his team with a mark using the "great leap" you remember him for.

Yeah! He just gets little bit frightened.

What about "the brotherhood of satan" OR "the magenta petals"!!

Absolute rubbish

On his break, YM has morphed into TIG. Bruce was servicable and at times, clever and reliable.

Not this week

When a team has possession of the ball, the defensive team no longer has a zone when the attacking team starts next to a player each. In basketball,the defensive team loses the power of their zone when the attackers stand next to them. It becomes man to man.

Then why is he being compared to our KP backmen throughout this thread? You do realize that he can play forward or anywhere for that matter.

There is a spot for Rivers in the team without a doubt. Even if he came off the bench, his great anticipation and cool skills should not be forgotten. You have to put up with some posters bagging your opinions. Their records show that this is probably why they get involved in open forums. If you go too hard in your criticism of their 'constructive posts' them, you get a wrist slap from the mods. I like the way you've communicated your ideas.

For the last two (more??) games we've had more handballs than kicks. For the past couple of seasons, this has presented us with problems - going around in circles, handpassing to stationary team mates, loose handballs - all leading to turnovers and sometimes, a stack of goals kicked against us. It looked like we handballed too much and that the game plan could have been flawed and that the coach might not have been up to it. Bailey never wavered in his media interviews or his approach. Against Richmond and also against Brisbane, the movement of the ball by hand has been superb - opening up runners, breaking through lines, running the opposition of their feet. Chains of handballs have resulted in running goals. Defending opposition players have been bamboozled, tricked and confused. It has taken our breath away with the precision of the handballs and the vision. The efforts of the receiving players to make great position and support their team mates has been fantastic. I think I can see what the coach is trying to do. It won't happen all the time but when it happens most of the time, we're going to be hard to beat!

A nightmare? I won't be losing any sleep over this sort of scenario.