wisedog

I wouldn't dismiss the Saints just yet. Look at how Scott has been able to revitalize the ageing Geelong list and inspire them to reach another Grand Final. I think losing Lyon could be the best thing to happen to them. They stlil have a list with the likes of Riewoldt, Goddard (for now), Dal Santo, Montagna, Hayes and Milne. I think 'bottoming out' at this stage would be the height of weakness... they won't be as well placed to take a premiership for a long, long time.

Sounds like there might be a bit of interest in trade week for once... Really impressed by Neeld. It sounds as though he's been preparing for this role since his playing days under Malcom Blight. I love that he has a vision for playing and coaching groups and that he's demanded the club support that vision.

Cameron has had plenty of misses, but he also picked picked some gems... Let's not forget his 1999 draft, which was probably his finest year (Green, Wheatley, Whelan, Bruce). With limited opportunities, he also drafted our entire backline, which is the only area of the side I have any real confidence in. Jared Rivers - pick 26, 2002 Matthew Warnock - Rookie Draft, 2005 Clint Bartram - pick 60, 2005 James Frawley - pick 12, 2006 Colin Garland - pick 46, 2006 Jack Grimes - pick 14, 2007 Jamar, Davey, Petterd and Martin were also great late selections from Cameron. However, he got it wrong in the drafts of 2001 (Molan, Armstong, Miller) and 2002 (Bell, Smith, Rivers, Moorcroft, Hunter, Ferguson). 2003 was a lean draft all round, but at least we got Sylvia. The jury's still out on the 2004 draft with Bate, Dunn and Newton all playing plenty of games, but still only fringe players. In terms of established players - Sylvia, Rivers, Jamar and Davey is a pitiful return for those 4 years of drafting, and it's reflected in our lack of on-field leadership today.

I've been a 'no' for a long time, but I've been thinking about the prospect of having Brendan Fevola in the forward line... and I have to admit, it's pretty exciting. He's been at rock bottom, and I do believe in his determination to "win back respect". If it were up to me, I'd seriously consider throwing him a 1 year contract, with a misbehaviour clause similar to Brisbane... except we won't be paying him $750,000 a year. He's been at Casey for a whole season and our footy dept would know better than anyone how far he's come - I'll put my trust in them.

I'm quite optimistic about next season. One of the biggest positives from 2011 has been the emergence of Stephan Martin. If nothing else, 2011 has given us a pretty formidable ruck duo, with Gawn developing nicely in the reserves. Our foward line seems to be where our defence was at in 2008 to 2009: Garland and Frawley had their break-out seasons, but it didn't begin to gel until 2010. With Watts, Petterd, Jurrah and Howe all showing what they're capable of - there's just so much raw talent there, and I think it will come together in 2012.

I suppose a 28-13 free kick count doesn't lie, but I didn't feel all that hard done by watching the game. Maybe I'd already given the season away. The Howe decision was terrible, but Butcher was denied a mark in the goal square as well. I also thought Rivers was lucky not to give away 50 metres late in the game, when he dumped Schulz after taking a mark - we immediately goaled. Apart from the Howe mark, the only glaringly bad decision was the holding the ball non-call on Motlop, after he took on 2 players and lost the ball in a tackle. That was probably one of the worst decisions I've seen this year. But I'll let Port have this one... They've got a very bleak 4-5 years ahead of them.

To be honest, the umpiring didn't strike me as being too one-sided today. We've had it worse. Having said that, can someone explain why Motlop wasn't pinged for holding when he took about 12 steps, tried to balk two players and then lost the ball in the tackle?

Until the Geelong game, it seemed like a formality to me. I was looking at which one of Geelong, Carlton or West Coast we were most likely to beat to sneak into the top 8!

Loved Trengove's game, but Martin was my biggest positive. Field kicking has improved dramatically and had the composure to go back and kick a late goal. All in all, it's been a very disappointing season. Peaked with our win against Essendon but it's just petered out miserably since. To think that not long ago, I even gave us a sneaky chance of making the finals.

Exactly, we'd basically be setting ourselves up for the same dilemma Collingwood face. However, it may be that Viney himself has an issue with coaching his son and wouldn't be interested in extending his tenure, regardless of success. If that is the case, he'd be the perfect candidate for the scenario.

Appreciate the sentiment, but wasn't he urging us to merge or relocate a few years ago?

It's only another $60 or so for a basic MFC/MCC membership. That's what I get... pretty reasonable I think.

Well I think that kind of player development has always been around, and tolerated. The main reason Melbourne and Carlton's reputations have been tarnished so much is because our 'tanking' appeared to influence actual game day tactics.

rofl

Firstly, I'd say it would be pretty farcical if we were to make the finals... and yet it's still not beyond us. There are five clubs still vying for 8th place and it seems like none of them want it. I've been using the Bailey ladder predictor each week, and each time I've come up with a different club taking that 8th place. I had Essendon this week and I think that's how it will stay. If we lose next week... Essendon only need to win one more game (and they will at home against Port Adelaide) to scrape into the finals on 10.5 wins and a superior percentage. However, IF we beat West Coast next week and Essendon lose to Bulldogs, then we have every chance of making it. Unfortunately, on current form. I'm not confident about any one of our last three games.

I agree priority picks have to go... and if I had to choose between missing out on Scully and being smeared as 'tankers' for the next 10 years, with hindsight, I may well have chosen the former. I don't think anything more needs to be done, simply remove priority picks. There will always be games where sides will be theoretically better off losing, but no side will ever again engineer the best part of a season to ensure they finish under 5 wins. The question is, how do you support the clubs like Port Adelaide? What hope do they have?

Rumblings about Connolly I find less surprising. He was everywhere in his first season back at the club, but we've heard very little from him recently.

I'm really surprised about Schwab, especially after Stynes had gone to such great lengths to get him back. He's shown a real passion for the club and been so good about communicating with the fans, even posting on Demonland from time to time. I wonder if this relates to the loan he was reported to have taken from the club a few months ago.

Fantastic game... the next week against Carlton wasn't too bad either. We beat them in both encounters in 2005 and after getting thumped by them in the elimination final, we come out and win the next game... That's always annoyed me.

That was a great 3 weeks, wasn't it? In order for us to make the finals, we had to beat Geelong at Skilled, the Bulldogs and the Bombers. I still don't know how we managed to win that Bulldogs game - from memory we were about 3 or 4 goals down with about 5 minutes left. Davey's smother on Cooney in the forward pocket was brilliant. Unfortunately, our elimination final against Geelong was one of the most demoralizing losses I’ve seen. It was the same game Jeff White had his face rearranged by Steven King's boot... only for Bomber Thompson to later claim that King was lucky he didn't break his foot on White's face!

Yeh, he didn't seem our biggest fan tonight. Didn't like his claim that Petterd dropped his feet to win a free kick when he clearly slipped over.

Good news indeed. When did we last win a game at AAMI? Surely it wasn't as far back as Leoncelli's match winning goal 10 years ago?! EDIT: It was...

We should easily beat Port, Tiges and the Suns. But of those four games, Port at AAMI has me the most nervous. As much of a basket case as they are, we have a terrible record up there, and they might just lift to farewell a few players (Cornes?). We need to make a big statement on Saturday to get the psychological edge! But none of it will matter if we can't beat one of Geelong, Hawthorn, Carlton or West Coast. For the record I think we'll finish about 9th. St Kilda will come in at the expense of Essendon, and either Fremantle or the Bulldogs will take the final spot. (Wouldn't have thought so 2 weeks ago....)

Without bias I can say that's the best I've seen this year. How about the lift he gets in that last angle! Highest mark since Burton's MOTY in 2009.

The Trengove decision was probably there, but Higgins launched himself so early at the contest it could have easily been paid against him. The Bulldogs were the better team on the night, but there's nothing more frustrating that grinding out a couple of hard fought goals and having them immediately cancelled out by a cheap free kick. The Rivers decision killed the game.