Ron Burgundy

RR, we seem to agree on many things - but not Bennell. Would you please get off his back. The guy's got class and we need to keep developing him. His upside is massive IMO. And, for what it's worth, the Eagles were apparently red hot for him for the pick after we selected him, and I reckon they know how to identify a good WA junior (eg, Mr Darling). Back to the main purpose of this thread, I hope to see a fit and fighting Clint Bartram back in the starting line up in 2013.

Pick 3?!

A mate of mine is a GWS Captain's Club member - essentially an inner sanctum GWS coterie containing about 20-25 corporate partners. He has invited me to several functions, most recently one at which John Quinn (Head of Sports Science) and Alan McConnell (Head of Development) spoke - this was only a fortnight ago. In short, I was very impressed. John Quinn has a brilliant CV and he appears to be very well respected in this area. Spoke extremely well too. I was astonished at how scientific the game is at AFL level - it was clear we were simply miles off the pace prior to the new regime entering the fold (ie, Neeld, Misson and Craig). John Quinn gave a fantastic presentation - no one wanted it to finish. Following it, my one take out was that, as supporters on the outer, we literally have no idea what goes on with match day considerations/game plans etc - it's literally laughable the gulf between the analysis of the internet keyboard heroes here (including me) and the actual inner sanctum of a club. Anyway, I digress. The GWS appear to be a professional outfit. They have come a long way in a short time in a region that is not particularly well disposed to the code. They have recruited tough, young, talented players - arguably unlike us. It's somewhat ironic that they took our number one draft pick. Don't get me wrong - I hope we pump the bejeezus outta them this weekend. But I don't wish them heaps of ill will. They're just another struggling sports team trying to find relevance in a region which isn't really giving them a natural leg up. The other thing I've learnt from attending these events is that Sheedy is a bloody legend. I used to hate him. I now think he's a great speaker and motivator - in short, a legend of the game. At the time I thought the MFC was absolutely inspired in appointing Bailey. I now think we missed a great opportunity when we overlooked Sheedy - I think our list would be in much better shape now had we given him the gig 5 years ago. That said, I'm stoked we have Neeld now. This decision, I believe with absolutely certainty, was the correct one.

Left field perhaps - but in my view Mitch Clark is in All Australian form. He has just been so bloody good. However, his chances will no doubt be cruelled by selectors who favour selecting players from the top sides each year.

Gaff was pick 4 in 2010. He will be a great player. Losing a number one draft pick is horrendous - particularly so early into that player's career. However, there's a massive silver lining to this - and its name is Mitch Clark. He's arguably our most important player, and it seems we only had the dough needed to get the Clark deal done as a result of Scully giving us the bird. So, I'm cool with that. I'm happy we got Clark. Scully's happy to be at GWS. And I'm happy the boring little nerd is there too.

Perhaps we don't have to pay 'overs' to get Beams to the club - just add a full-time tattooist to the football department team. In fact, at Queen's Birthday next year, you could line him up on Swan, and ink him up even further in the sheds at half time. That'd be sure to do Swan's head in - he wouldn't know what's going on.

Sylvia is known to be a solid trainer. He also adds grunt on the field. And class. I don't believe the football department would take any issue with these statements. Sylvia's problem is that he goes missing in games. All too often. Mick Malthouse reckons it's due to his inability to concentrate for four quarters. That's a mental thing. And that's what we need to work on, as I reckon he actually wants to succeed - at this club. He is one of our few 'classy', impact running players. And we need more class - not less. Surely this is clear to all.

I rate Sylvia. He's in our best 22, and we will not get proper value for him in any trade. We need some older, hard bodied players around the place. And Sylvia's one of them. IMO the Gold Coast Suns 'recruit kids at all costs' doesn't win games - or develop the young players particularly well.

I hate trumpets. And bugles.

Two really good games in succession. He looks very comfortable in defence. Really pleased with him down there - in being able to play that role effectively, he's given us a lot more options up front (eg, Garland and Rivers).

Interesting poll. I would've thought going after Cloke is an absolute no brainer - particularly if Neeld and Leigh Brown think we should. Clearly plenty here think otherwise. Reality is - even if we are desperate to get him, I don't think he'll be in the red and the blue next year anyway. It seems to me that it's a contest between the Pies and the Blues - and, one would think, the Pies are in the box seat.

It's also important not to under-estimate the importance of Jack Viney being the first potentially sensational MFC father-son pick in a very, very long time. This stuff creates a great club culture.

Once we add Travis Cloke to our list, we should be sweet on quality talls for a while.

Agree with this RR. I've told everyone I know to bet their house on the Dees to beat the Pies today, but, between us, I'm not putting our house on it. Think the Pies will pull away in the fourth quarter. Just hope we can stick with them through the first three quarters (which will be hard), and that we've still got a contest in the fourth quarter. Despite the stated line up, I'm not sure Sellar will actually be on Cloke - but I do think his performance in the backline will be very important today.

I stand corrected - you're right. Having read some articles this morning, it seems there's absolutely no controversy about the Dempsey decision, so I stand corrected there too. After the 2000 Grand Final, I hated Essendon so much I was considering undertaking terrorist attacks on all things red and black. I don't think Hird even acknowledged the Dees in his post match acceptance speech - all he said was how great the Dons were. Having said that, the rage has definitely diminished. Perhaps it is only a sickening loss away from coming back.

I don't know why, but I don't hate the Bombers any more. I loathed them a decade ago, but now my hatred is directed squarely at Carlton - Mitch Robinson in particular, a lethal combination of ignorance and arrogance rolled into an ugly human phenotype. I thought the Bombers deserved to win last night. That said, I'm thoroughly ambivalent about the result though. I also wasn't absolutely convinced that Dempsey shouldn't have been able to have a set shot following the siren.

Cloke would be a simply massive addition to our list. In fact, any club's list. I say, go hard at getting him. To get him though, we need to offer him a better deal than any other club. Surely that's obvious. We are not going to secure his services by offering him less that what the Pies offer him. In effect, we have to pay 'overs'. It's not the same as keeping a player group together, Collingwood or Geelong style. Those players are already at those clubs, and they have an emotional commitment to each other and to the club. To dislodge an established player, it's financial not emotional. Cloke will not be coming to the Dees because he loves the Dees. Hopefully he will come, and hopefully he will come to love the club in time - but, at this point in time, it's a commercial decision for him ... and his father. Mitch Clark seemingly came to this club for commercial reasons. However, I don't think he'll ever play for another club now - at least, I hope not. Get the cheque book out. Get Cloke.

Just saw this - absolutely stoked! We're a real shot this Monday.

Phew. Any club with a good culture needs genuine buy in and commitment from its senior players. Sign him up now. And Mark Jamar.

Perhaps he thinks he'll be reunited with Mick?!

You win games if you score more goals than the opposition. We did that last Saturday night, and I expect it's a formula Mark Neeld will seek to continue well into the future.

I don't know the stats, but I reckon we would've suffered the most 10 goal losses of any Victorian club over the same period of time.

Harsh call. From memory, he was about pick 14 in the national draft - not some low grade rookie. For instance, check out his goal last weekend against the Dons - that was more than mere desire. Pretty damn skilful IMO. That said, I respect the sentiment - he does try his guts out for this club. I absolutely love the bloke.

Evans is a player who showed a bit prior to getting injured. I hope he actually makes a return this season.

Great article. From the sidelines, my sentiments exactly. I also like this quote - "Put simply, their recruiting has been poor." I know it needs no more air time on this site, but some of our recruiting decisions have not exactly been the percentage plays.