Dappa Dan

Towards the end of the finals, we should probably send a league-wide PM suggesting that everyone return for next season. Obviously not everyone will, the stress will be all too much for HT ... But it would be good to get as many from this league back again as possible. That way any rules we establish will be well explained, the drama won't have to be revisited etc etc... And plus, it heightens the rivalry, going year-in-year-out.

Been awesome. This comp is going to be hard to sneak into next season. I feel like there'll be a lot of people wanting in. Which is fine, again, assuming that all 16 members (including new ones) understand the new rules and why they were implemented. Any rules stuck in will likely be VERY easy to exploit what with the anonymous nature of this site. I think also my point always was that what Scarlett's done here is EXTREMELY lucky. If any one of us recruited our side then left it alone for half the season, 99 times out of a hundred you'll end up uncompetitive. In other words, if you let it stay this way next year, I doubt you'd find anyone losing games to someone who had been busy/overseas for half the season. Having said that, your point is well taken... winning 8-1 against a team with 5 outs, vs winning 5-4 against a team of mostly rejects created an advantage with percentage... Lift your game princess. It's called priorities. Kidding. I should mention no-one's attacking you Scarlet. No need to apologise. This comp needs rules for people who go AWOL for a few weeks at a time. Life DOES intervene.

HA! Your post is all well and good, but you're forgetting something. It's all fine and dandy to say that these 10 guys are going to bulk up. And you're right, they will, and in general they'll improve. But you have to realise that there's still a lot happening at the top end of our pool of players that will be hard to replace... or more specifically that these kids will have to replace themselves. Granted there will be many that will moan about Green's footy this year, or Sylvia's broken down body... But there is still a lot of important work being done by our top-agers. Guys like Moloney (27) Davey (28) Jamar (27) MacDonald (26) Green (30) Sylvia (25) Rivers (26)... They all play important roles in the side when up and running. With the exception of maybe Jamar who can play many more years, and Sylvia who has time (and the body of a 53 year old) these guys will need replacements in those coming years. Add to that the fact that guy like Jones, Jurrah, Garland, Frawley, Martin (25!!!) and Petterd have all probably plateaued in terms of physical development... and you'll find that it's not as simple as saying: Take performance on weekend, add 30 games, set to simmer for 2 years, and Bob's your uncle. Some of these gun kids, who I agree look good, may not make it... not even necessarily through any fault of their own. But then some of them will need to step into some gaping holes left. I'm thinking particularly of Moloney and Sylvia, and to a lesser extent Green and Rivers. Your point is well made, that the sheer weight of numbers in terms of players maturing at that time is what will define our success as a club. But I thought it was worth looking at the facts that these young leaders like Trengove, Scully if he stays, Watts and McKenzie... some of them will add to what we have, and some will step into roles that are already occupied and playing quite well.

Looking at our draw, the big 4 scary games right now look almost impossible to consider us a chance of winning. West Coast at Etihad absolutely impossible, Carlton at the G don't even think about it... The Hawks undermanned will still [censored] us by a mile... somehow an over-trained Cats outfit is possibly the closest thing we'll have to a chance... So when you think about that it will go - demoralising loss to Dogs by 10 goals. - bye, where all the media will grumble for 2 weeks. - Port in Darwin... ???? Could be a loss, don't forget post-bye blues. - Hawks at MCG... they'll be pretty keen to shore up a top 4 spot. Won't let the foot off the gas. And we're coming off TIO. Demoralising 10 goal loss here. - Cats at Skilled. I take it back. They don't lose there. - Carlton at the G. Again. No chance. - West Coast at Etihad. At the G it might have been a slim chance. At Etihad, which they actually play ok, not a snowball's. So the upshot of this is: Lose the Port game, (which we'd be a strong chance of doing coming off the bye, in a strange stadium in the heat) and we've had 7 weeks in a row with no win, finals are finished for us even if we did pick up the GC, Richmond and Port games to round out the year, and Bailey is sacked. Win the Port game, and we'll be 7-7-1... and will likely have to win one of those nasty big four games to have a chance. Ouch.

Bennell's not done as a player, but he will be within a year if he doesn't add a string or two to his bow. He's got that pace but never uses it, rather like Morton has height but never uses it. Will get dropped again soon, but won't be delisted.

That's always been a big achilles heel of UF... Along with the trading issues we came across earlier this year, and the end of year trading that can happen. We could try to put a few things in place next year, like proposing that anyone who hasn't logged in gets their picks redistributed (way too complicated)... maybe they're removed from the ladder and it becomes a bye (still not fair)... Perhaps enlist a trusted manager of the league who can set their side when they're away. None of these are solutions... I think JCB that this is just something you're going to have to wear. You're right that it IS unfair, and it exposes a problem in Ufooty... The thing is that if your side is good enough, it should be able to beat someone who hasn't looked at his team all year. The cream till rises to the top, and not being able to take advantage of trades and signings all year through is a HUGE disadvantage to Scarlet. It's an incredible stroke of luck that he even has a side that's still competitive.

Sure. Give them a red hot start in the AFL... they win a flag in 5 years. Maybe go on to win five in a row... and kill it like the storm have. Then once that excitement has died down, they fall in a heap and end up merging with Sydney.

That game he racked up 35 hitouts and about 20 touches (along with his 1-2 goals every game he chips in with), I was SO jealous... My second ruckman/sneaky hitout winner at the start of the year was supposed to be McKernan. Dane Beams. :D :D :D

Yep. Nup. Never again... Neeeeever again.

This garbage they've been rattling on about in the media annoys me. If you're not 27+, have arms with the girth of my legs, 105+kegs, and you don't spend 75% of the game within 30 metres of goal... then you're not a "focal point..." Seriously, the way the game is played today height counts for less than ever. Watts has been a focal point for MOST of the year. As has Jurrah, Petterd when he's played, Sylvia and Trengove when they drop forward... And while Green hasn't been in form, he was in the top ten last year for goals playing EXACTLY like an old-school full forward. We are exactly in the middle of the league for "points for" this year, so SOMETHING must be going right up forward some of the time, especially since we're not relying on any one player to kick 8 a week for us. Don't get me wrong, a gorilla in the square is a lovely thing to have if your system needs it... after all who couldn't do with a Jack Riewoldt... But that doesn't mean that just because they don't play the game like a Dunstall ripoff that they're not focal points... and GOOD ones at that. Jurrah and Watts would walk into any side on current form. In fact they'd walk into Geelong's forward line. Can you imagine? Jurrah would collapse for exhaustion at all the ball he was getting if he played there.

You would assume by that stage that the cue will be wrapped up, zipped, put on the rack, and the rack put in a box in the attic, gathering dust... If we couldn't win that (assuming we're still in line for finals) then we don't DESERVE to be there.

Depends. Ever been sick on Jaeger bombs? Sounds like you haven't... :D

Stef is one of the recruits of the year.

Pro: If you assume that Blease is a silky outside mover, then the WORST time to put him in is when we haven't got hard inside players to feed him the ball. Consider that our rise in form, and the commonplace explosive goals we're seeing have EVERYTHING to do with the fact that McKenzie and Scully are back in the side, along with Jamar, with Moloney who's worth 2 clearance players... and the hard ball gets are more-or-less taken care of. In this respect the timing couldn't be better for a game or two from this type of player. Con: Going back the other way. Not sure if he'd have the engine to shut down a sneaky forward if one got loose. When on, WB are a punishing rebound team. McDonald is a player you tell to stand and nullify one of those 190cm medium forwards, or third forwards. I'm not sure that that style of defence is something Sam is known for. He's little, too... which means he might get smacked around a bit. Not only that, but on this kind of ground, there's not a huge amount of space for him to run into. All up: It's a fifty-fifty call. With matchups being what they are, and the style of footy the dogs play, Blease could be a MASSIVE weapon. If he drifts forward, even a 4-goal weapon potentially. Or he could get smashed going the other way. In a development year, you play him to get games into the kid. In a serious flag-contender year you maybe opt for an experienced player to get the 4 points on the board. I think all in all this is a gutsy decision from Bailey. He's STILL choosing development at a time when he could assure himself of a contract next year if he snaffles a win and gets his team THAT MUCH CLOSER to September action... And he's chosen the future, over the now. Colour me impressed. Potentially risky call that shows Bailey's STILL not wavering from developing his team first, instead of winning H&A games in what is not going to be a premiership year.

McDonald's out, put Tappy in. His kick will be invaluable against the better sides as it was against the good sides early this year. Plenty of trusty kicks in the forward line already.

What was GOOD about it was that it highlighted something to some of us. We're playing pretty darn well at times, but we're still not on fire. There have been games we've played this year and last where those ones go through. Our best is stunning...

Yup. I even reckon I'd take him over Cloke right now.

There's always a few who miss the point of the post. No-one's suggesting going out looking for a trade. But if you're a serious list manager you consider market value of players throughout their entire careers. We were "crazy" to trade Johnstone too, and look where that got us. In fact you could argue we were in more desperate need of Trapper then than we are of 1/3 of our effective ruckmen. Besides, who says we need to be the ones proposing the trade? Port will probably at some point approach us for one or all three of our big boys. What if one of them does a Mumford and actually accepts the trade? What if someone offered us Boak and their first or second round pick for Jamar? Not so easy to say no. Though I probably still would.

Just watched Footy Classified on IQ where the Dean Brogan retirement story popped up... And it got me thinking. Before jumping on my back, and everyone beating their chests, I'm wondering what everyone thinks Port would be willing to part with for one of our ruckmen... Their first pick, if the ladder remains unchanged, will be pick 6. Followed, I think, by a pick in the late twenties or early thirties depending on priority picks. They'll be desperate for a ruckman that at least has shown they can handle a full-time job in the position. They have 3 backups in Matthew Lobbe, Jarrad Redden and Daniel Bass (who, who and who?)... So given our ruck list is suddenly the flavour of the month, with Jamar and Martin holding their own, and Gawn looking like he has a future, albeit a long-distance one... who on our list would get what? For the record, I doubt Port would be willing to part with many picks, simply because THAT'S how you rebuild a team, and lord knows they need a rebuild. I also don't by any means advocate moving on any of our players... But since EVERY player has their price, I think it'd be an interesting exercise... for no other reason than for us to do the football equivalent of cackling whilst sitting on an open chest full of gold... Do we think someone like Martin could find a home there for their second pick? Or a player? What about Spencer, who has been injured but was previously rated as our backup ruckman? And the big one of course, Jamar, who is going into the prime of his ruck career, and given how he plays (not reliant on pace) looks like he'll have another 5+ years in the game... He has been linked with South Australian teams before... Could he net a pick 6? Maybe with a sweetener?

Don't know if there's anything that's been written, if it's a close friendship off the ground, or just on... But I've noticed it. I think with the departure of Wonna, we might all be hoping for this kind of camaraderie. But they're certainly friends on-field. They celebrate heartily together, have little in jokes.

First time visitor?

I wasn't watching the TV, had my head buried in my phone, but when Sheahan asked if they should be optimistic, it was a VERY clever question. It opened the door for Lynch in the sense that it posed a question that by answering in the affirmative, he's not actually making any definitive statement... but I'm pretty sure as soon as the words escaped his lips, he probably thought.. bugger.. walked into that one. Now the media is going to misrepresent me and take that out of context. It didn't change anything, or my opinion of whether or not Tom will stay. But it was at least a little morsel of something new. I reckon everyone's in their rights to have a little chat about it. No-one's saying it really means anything anyway.

Probably, just wouldn't have committed it to memory. I remember seeing Jones jump over a guy on the way to kicking a trademark goal from fifty. No disrespect to the act, it was fun to watch. Just from the buildup and the amount of time it took for me to find it, more than anything... He's a little ranga superman. Rangaman.

I giggled.