Go the Biff

It's been a good round for a comp based on tipping away wins. You could have just about used the dartboard this week & got away with it.

Chiefs, Chargers & Pats will do. Short priced trifecta I'd imagine

Good post. Two years is a good idea. Let's him know that we're fair dinkum and not just having a speculative ping at the stumps. And Nev would be a great mentor.

This won't end well.

Morton's first 2 years were good. Really good. After that we're to blame for his demise as much as he is. Probably more Masten is a ball butcher. Always has been

Tough week. Lot of short priced home teams. Good luck punters Rams, Bears & Panthers. Can't say I'm all that comfortable with any of them

Pats, Chiefs.......... yeah I'll make my debut with the Browns as well. Be cheering Cleveland with JV7

Yeah, I'll get on that combo as well

Yes

Bloody good article. Respect to Robinson, He has completely reinvented himself with the Bears and is a damn good footballer and a key part of their resurgence. Whether he could have done that in the Melbourne footy fishbowl will never be known but if memory serves Fork 'em, picking up both he & Jeffy at the same time might not have been the brightest bit of business

There's a decent list I'd have cut before him. We now don't have a single AFL quality small forward on our list. All the best Jeffy, you were a terrific addition to MFC. Hope life after footy is good to you. Thanks.

We've got one small forward of AFL quality on the list. Garlett. Go back to the pre-season (before 1st shoulder injury) and he was first picked for that role. Early in the season also, first picked for that role until shoulder injury 2. No one has since proved they are superior to Garlett in that role. Most of the options named in previous posts struggle to get a kick at both AFL and VFL level, let alone be a goal scoring threat. Lockhart is the best of the bunch but I'd be grooming him as Nev's successor. I get the whole forward pressure thing - Garlett may not tackle like Viney but he does, with his speed, apply pressure to opposition defenders. But if that's your main criteria then Jordie "Tackles" McKenzie would still be on the list The best form of pressure has always and will always be scoreboard pressure. Garlett's our only small forward who can regularly kick goals. We'd be mad to turf him out without a ready made replacement

Fence, if you weren't being melodramatic I suspect most would think your account had been hacked SHEEEIT

Just from memory Richmond picked up the likes of Geoff Raines, Dale Weightman, Jimmy Jess & Merv Keane from the Mildura / Swan Hill zone. There were probably plenty more

I don't think there's been a rule change that's enhanced the game since they revived Out on the Full. Maybe the Centre Square but SFA after that

Quoting myself but what the hell. For those interested in a comparison later than the '80's / 90's a comparison to Hawkins is instructive. Hawkins, who came into AFL with a much more developed body, didn't become a dominant forward until his sixth season in the comp. In his first five years the only times he really looked like a quality player was when he played on Nathan Carroll. I wouldn't be giving up on the Weed just yet.

That's been my suspicion as well. He moves & bends for the ball as though he's wearing a back brace, designed & manufactured some time in the 1960's. There's been the odd week where he's seemed a bit freer but he regresses the following week. To my unprofessional eye it looks like a back issue he can't shake off. Agree with your last line too. We've put a lot of eggs in the Tom McDonald basket

No doubt he'll be back at Casey as soon as a better, fit & hopefully in form option is available. For his development though, I'd be playing him forward for the rest of the season with the simple instruction of trying to mark everything he can. Hate to use this bloke but James Sicily is an example of a player who's been developed really well by playing him at both ends. I think Petty has the basis of a very good skill set

Your old man is dead set kidding himself. We'd have struggled to field a competitive side in the gf. Flower, Wilson & Dean are just a few of those who'd have struggled to come up. That PF against the Hawks was brutal

Has he ever finished a game on the park ? The poor bugger just keeps finding different ways to get hurt !

He'd be getting on a bit but we might be able to snaffle him in the mid season draft

Liam Wale-Buxton. Recruited from Vermont in the EFL. Goes alright

Because he can't get a kick mate. There is a chasm between VFL and AFL. If he can't get near it at the lower level, do you blame some for being less than enthusiastic about his prospects ?

This is true but overlooked for the most part. A comparison to Hawkins is instructive. Hawkins, who came into AFL with a much more developed body, didn't become a dominant forward until his sixth season in the comp. In his first five years the only times he really looked like a quality player was when he played on Nathan Carroll.

This article was referred to in the Injury List thread & while mods may consider merging this thread, I think it's worthy of its own discussion. The stats are diabolical year on year and in reading the pre season training reports I didn't get the vibe that things were quite that dire. The comparison with the Crows fall from grace in 2018 is interesting. Would love to see their pre season player availability stats for a deeper analysis