Freddy Fuschia

It’s rare for any team to play consistently at the same level throughout a season and we’ve seen most clubs experience their highs and lows this year. But, I’m not sure that there have been many stories similar to the Carlton experience of recent times. They started the season off winning 3½ out of the first 4. Then they lost 8 out of 9 (the win was against WCE by over 100 points) during which time they were dreadful in a few of their games. Then, out of the blue, they start a winning streak (currently 6 on end) where they are crushing their opponents by big margins. Is there any explanation for this phenomenon?

The lid is that I know some Collingwood supporters who were talking like some of the above posters about two weeks ago.

Is anyone surprised that since we were chucked off Gosch’s Paddock, we’ve not lost a game?

And that was the gist of it all - he was always a ‘project player’ and Pick 5 was always too high a price to pay for him. He should get better with further development and the Suns should only improve going forward with a new coach and three top 10 picks via their own NGA Academy which is subject to different rules that apply to most other clubs.

If the Eagles want JvR then they'll have to give us pick 1. Straight swap

Danger game.

Simon Goodwin:- "We were really encouraged by what Brodie did at VFL yesterday. The patterns he was running, his impact in the game, I think he had four shots at goal. Just the exposure at VFL level, you could see he's starting to get some grasp on that forward half of the ground. "We've started to hit the scoreboard a little bit better the last few weeks but we're not the finished product ... we're still very open minded about what it looks like." On Grundy, Goodwin added: "As I've said all along, we're not trying to turn him into a forward. We want him to have impact when he's forward, but also share those ruck duties.

Sounds of Silence has been covered by a band called "Disturbed" who the Dockers should hire to do a rendition of their club song.

Lachie Whitfield has accepted his one match suspension for striking Fremantle’s Jordan Clark - Whitfield accepts suspension. He will miss the game vs Melbourne in Round 16.

Lachie Whitfield’s dangerous tackle will be looked at I reckon.

I reckon you could say much the same about half the Carlton side at the moment.

I’m going to watch the replay on Friday night in opposition to the Brisbane v Sydney game.

I wonder how this year’s draft will evolve in view of the following anomalies - • Five of the top 20 prospects are tied to clubs – three GCS academy players plus two father/sons Jordan Croft (Western Bulldogs) and Will McCabe (Hawthorn). • Three players in the top 40 are Tasmanians and some recruiters might be reluctant to commit to them in light of the entry of the Tassie Devils in a few years’ time especially given that there are no rules about compensation (if any). Is this really such a good year for the Demons to hold what we think is a strong draft hand?

The bye - isn’t this the best time to do some loading?

The Queen?

Would not have happened if we were good boys and didn’t stir the pot over JVR.

Straight swap for Darcy Parish.

Is Joel Smith out there? Looking as though he might be needed.

Another time we played the Hawks …

How big was last night in breathing life back into the Freo death riding campaign?

One other good thing is that the verdict allows us to play JvR and resist the temptation of playing TMac immediately after a return from injury.

6. Tracc 5. Chin 4. Clarrie 3. Grundy 2. Kozzie 1. Fritta

Good luck to the kid today. It would be a nice touch if they gave him the number 48 to wear.

JJ always plays a steady game. He’s quite and unassuming but does his job for the team.

At the same age and playing against Geelong for the Australian Academy two years ago, Nick Daicos collected a team-high 26 touches as well as laying four tackles. That’s more than creditable.