Dappa Dan

I'd love to hear a McCartin-type comparison in terms of body shape. I've always leaned towards body types dictating the trajectory of a player's career. For example, Goddard at the Saints I reckon is similarly built to Jack Watts. Even is a great kick like Jack. Jack's a bit taller and quicker. Goddard a better mark, but still... Who around the AFL resembles a lunking great chubby lad like McCartin? I can't think of anyone. Mummy maybe? Not at that age though.

2002 was my favourite. Was out of footy for a while, fell in love again watching Neitz win the Coleman. Dating ourselves here Sku.

Ta Sku

I'd love to see a breakdown of our back to back victory records. First three in a row last year. Then again this year against Dogs. 4 in a row first time in 11 years. What's the 5,6,7 etc... Anyone know a stats page you can customise for that?

Footy folklore. We'll be recalling this game for the rest of his career. And his sons' careers.

Looked at him very closely in fantasy the year he was rubbed out. Had him very high indeed, almost a keeper. So when we targeted him I was doing cartwheels. I didn't think he'd be this good though. He's exceeded even my lofty expectations. The only downside... I wish he was 23.

The timing of the good games as well. In most, if not all, games this year, when the game's up for grabs, Clarry would have 15 minutes of unbelievable footy. This week his big second half came when the game was done. I reckon that's the reason for the Salem and Hibberd love. And rightly so, too, I guess.

Oh can we please make it a thing on D'land as well? In the match-day thread some Cats supporter said he hasn't seen inside hands like Olly's in his life... this meme is actually starting to not look so silly.

The second one. A top 5 players this week was near impossible. Only really Hibberd a definite.

12 marks, 8 R50s, 9 spoils... Wow. Shame his bro will steal all of those next week. lol

Yeeeeeah I know... But still... Let me believe it. lol I want to put together a paragraph about how players are playing longer into their careers now, that he started late, is super professional now blah blah blah. But you're right. What can I say. I love the guy. He's gonna be missed when he hangs them up, I can tell you that.

http://demonwiki.org/Most+Contested+Possessions+in+a+season Just found this on demonwiki. This is some pretty great reading. Or terrible reading if you consider how bad we've been since 1999. So our top ten record holders for contested possessions in a season... and 7 of the records are held by current starting midfielders. Viney (2nd), Jones (3rd, 4th, 6th and =9th X2) and Tyson (8th). Why do I bring this link here? After 11 rounds Clarry is on 161... The current record holder (Moloney) is on 271. In other words, if Oliver averages 10 contested possessions in the last half of the season he'll break the record by an absolute mile.

Yeah I was with you. Not disagreeing.

Good post. This is the stuff of demonland. A bit of "maybe this is what he's thinking." For the record too, I reckon Watts would have gone through whole months like that.

Love him. I don't reckon he's leaving though. Then again, I said that about Lever and now it seems the noise around him is getting bigger and bigger.

195 I think? heh. Carlisle sucks. I don't know that that's true. Caleb Daniel is a jet... He doesn't even come up to my sternum. Midfielders have gotten way taller than when I was a kid. Pendles is the classic one. But I reckon Cripps will be a real statistical outlier. I reckon it goes with the talent of the players, doesn't it? Stringer is better now and will probably end his career better than all these 2 metre guys like Lobb, Wright etc... Daniher probably has him beaten, and I daresay Moore will go down as an absolute champion... Other than that though I'd take Stringer over almost all the 200cm guys. But like I say, 200cm forward doesn't necessarily mean we HAVE to have a 200cm defender to stop them. Defenders have to be able to rebound as well. If all they do is shut out a bean pole, then that's a bit limiting. I reckon curtailing these guys is the right option... I like that our KP guys are good below their knees. Or at least good enough not to trip over their own feet. You can spoil a tall player without being massive yourself. Hunt's a good example of that. You get given a long rope when you're 10cm shorter than the guy you're up against.

And likewise, just because I'm hopeful he'll turn out ok, it doesn't mean I'm "assuming" anything. I didn't offer any opinions or facts about Weed other than to say he did well at VFL level. Not do I think his value as an early pick makes any difference of any kind, other than to say it's likely his draft position makes him more attractive in a trade. I'll give you the tackle thing though. Classic case of supporters clutching at straws. Hipwood's an exception, along with Hogan. Brown possibly, Riewoldt. Want some examples of talls who took years to get good? Lynch, Lynch, Daniher, Buddy, Kreuzer, Hawkins, Hooker, Lobb, Brown, Waite, Kennedy, Dixon... And that's just the now guys. History is littered with KP forwards who went from frustrating or downright disappointing at 20 to dominant at 23. Disagree McCartin's shown more. He's had an extra year in the system, is way heavier and match ready and has never kicked more than 2 goals in a game. Weed struggles to get involved, but has more time on his side. Also never had Reiwoldt to take the best defender. There'll come a time to write Weed off... and you never know, you may be right in 2 years if he ends up being a dud. The point is though, if we get off every 195cm kid after his first 18 months, we'll never find a good foil for Hogan. It's not about predicting whether or not a player is going to be a star. It's about at least giving them an opportunity. Weed hasn't had one. And it's stupid for fans to get on his back this early. Get on Goody's back for playing him though. That's fair enough.

There aren't any serious defenders in the league that play at 200cm. And they're not going to put a spot on the list for a guy that height who only defends. Plenty of good 193-196cm defenders who do the job well. Rance 194, Hurley 193. The height isn't the issue with our guys. Nor is their quality. They're just young.

Exactly. ie, better than McCartin. lol His first season he was doing great in the VFL. I think leading their goalkicking before he started getting some games with the Dees. That's more than Paddy's done. And yes, since you made the point, that's enough to keep him. We all know how it works for 195cm players. They get a pass for a few years while their bodies develop. You're expecting midfielder returns on a player who's the same height as Jeff White. Check out the Adelaide Lynch's stats for the first few years of his career. Two years at Saints doing less than what Weed's done so far and they made the same mistake you did. Traded him to Crows for peanuts, who gave him 12 months, after which he exploded and is now a key part of the best attack in the game. Getting good took Watts about 5 years, and he's the same height. Gawn took longer. There's really no point in drafting these kids if we only give them 24 months to start winning games off their own boots. They can't all be Hogan.

According to the radio today, heaps of interest in McCartin, and Saints desperate to keep him. If McCartin has value, Weed has even more. He's younger and has done more. I'm sounding a bit like a broken record, but since the Tom Lynch (Adelaide) trade a few years ago, teams will be very cagey when it comes to trading KP forwards 23 and under... I suspect also the 2018 draft which is stacked with tall forwards might play a part in teams' plans. That's well into the future of course.

Then we'd need a replacement for Weed. We're thin on for KP forwards. Hogan for future, Pedo for the next few years. I'd love a third to rotate in so we can free up Watts to roam far and wide. Hulett not looking to good at this stage. In reality we probably need 2 more while Weed develops. Reid is the obvious target there, and if the papers today are to be believed, McStay as well. He's a KP defender, but has played forward a lot. I think he was recruited as a forward possibly.

Demonland is a weird place. Lewis' kicking has been sensational all year, certainly in our top 5 or 6 kicks, but apparently he can't kick anymore. He's roundly been seen as a leader even by the current captains. But according to demonlanders, he's not a leader. Apparently he's slower now, and yet he gets high disposals every game. Maybe he was never that quick to begin with? 'Landers have even been sooking about how he doesn't lead or fly the flag of MFC, despite the fact he chose, out of 17 clubs, to come to us. Oh and he's arrogant, to boot. Even though A: He's earned it... and B: Arrogance and confidence are great agents in Aussie Rules football. One's we haven't had since Lyon retired. We knew what we were getting. A former star on the decline, who at 50% is still better than most players at 100%. Get a grip.

lol Gotta give a man credit when he admits fault though. Just putting my hand up. The only player I ever said will never ever make it. Jamar. 12 months after that, All Australian.

Class act fence... my boy o-hizzle made me proud today.

Yeah. If you look at our midfield, Jones, Vince, Lewis are getting on. Oliver, Viney, Tracca are A grade. We definitely needed Brayshaw as much as Lever. In fact, in a couple of years, we'll need to have found 4-5 really good midfielders. Harmes, Melksham, ANB could carry some of that weight.