Dappa Dan

I stopped reading right there. Stupidest post I've read on here in a while. Fair dinkum. I know everyone is upset. But you don't go blind when you're upset.

Good post. While I agree with that, that sort of is a given. They won a flag last year and their mature players are the core... It's not like they were the Saints... bottomed out at the same time as us and climbed quickly. They've got some list structure questions to sort out, but will be better in 3 years than they are now or were last year. Them leapfrogging us next year wouldn't be a surprise to anyone. But yes to everything else. The important bits and pieces are all there. And many more besides. Would you call Hibberd, Hunt, Lewis, Melksham, Frost, Jetta, Garlett, Harmes core? Possibly not. But all have done good things. Most would be walk up starts at all the other clubs.

- I'd love to know what specifically you mean by the north and Collingwood ones... What I saw was a super young list tiring. It's been exactly that the last 6 rounds. All the stats support it. We would get smashed by gun players, but mediocre ones we'd still outplay. It's all about tank. Tracca and Oliver particularly. The Roos loss was the first out-and-out proof. The subsequent games just proved it more. Pies game for example, their really young kids didn't win it for them. It was the mature guys like Howe, Elliot and others. - Well I won't insist, but I'd love to know which ones. I worry about a list when 10+ players can be called dead wood. But if you're speaking of guys like Vince, Jordie, Jones.... all will be gone in a few years... but we're not going to struggle to replace them. We'll be drafting high for each spot. Not praying rookies work out. The 22, and the entire list as a whole, is in great, great shape. We're not in rebuild mode. What we needed in 2017 was for it to be 2018. And people have been saying it all year. The kids are just kids. Nothing to worry about. We'd still be the envy of most lists. Consider Richmond. Out in straight sets and lose Dusty. Man. They'd be furious and depressed. We're in good shape.

Here's another interesting metric for you wise... My brother is inconsolable today. He says we're improving too slowly. I tried to explain that it's all relative. You can only compare to the teams in the league... Noone that was at our level at round 1 is now "better" than us. And noone who was below us has gone past us... Port have been developing nicely for a few years with their core. GWS for longer than that. Richmond's mature players are all 5+ years in. Swans you could argue have jumped past us, but I see their usual superstars doing the heavy lifting. No Parker, Kennedy and Buddy and they're just another team. The dons is the only one that you might say went past us. They had a finals squad before the bans though, and have been given plenty of picks. Also, if they had half our injuries, we would have smoked them easily. We're about where we should be. A final would have been nice learning... but next year we're in or there'll be hell to pay.

Yep those are givens too. I think the hardest part though is getting the players there in the first place. And we've done that.

I'm not worried at all. Not even a little bit. I was shattered after the second Roos loss cos that was the proof we're on a hiding to nothing this year. I would have preferred to get a final into the kids, but that's negligible. The big picture here is the core list. We need a KP defender in the off season, and we're getting one. Or at least doing everything we can to get one. Aside from that, the core is well and truly there. Our only pressing concerns in coming years will be replacing Vince, Jones and Jordie who will all age out. Aside from that we can only improve. It'll fall on deaf ears, but we can't possibly go backwards next year. We were smashed by injury all year. And we were never going to win one in 2017 anyway, so this sad time on demonland would have come at some point in the next few weeks anyway. All's well folks. We/re looking good.

Jeez I don't know about this. When your list is in good shape, you don't change it. You only make the move when you have gaps. Lever is special. Getting him not only means we get production, but we stop other clubs having him. If there's a time to trade away a young good player with attributes, I guess now is the time. I'm interested in other peoples' idea that we lose one and gain one and everything's fine. We currently have only 4 on the senior list, and one's Garland. Another will play forward to some degree. Imagine if one or both Macdonalds got hurt. In truth we need both Lever and a backup like Frost. Frost is probably too good now to be told he has to play the majority of the year in the reserves. But given Lever has an injury history and plays the game very hard... Frost is basically the ideal to have stashed on your list. This is a tricky one.

Yeah. To be honest it would be really out of the ordinary if it did. We all only have our suspicions.

Pumped that Bucks might stay. Richest club in the land and completely hamstrung by egos. If they keep him it'll be about Eddie and how they think they're better than everyone else. It'll blow up in their faces and we get to watch them implode year after year.

Is that right? Wow. News to me. You have to wonder though where they rated him. They had picks 65 and 77... One used for Langdon who is also a defender. So you may be right to point it out. I have to wonder though, when did they come out and say they wanted him? Was it mid draft? In the leadup? Or two years after when he exploded? If the latter, then I don't believe that. Everyone says "I knew he'd be a jet" after the fact. I reckon they might have rookied him at best. My point is that if you make a deal involving pick 2 and 9 with Tyson involved... The later pick is a matter of "just get me in that round somewhere." It's not the same as, say, Oliver... who, had we waited on him and taken Weed, he'd DEFINITELY had gone to the Dons after us. The AFL draft is all about rounds 1 and 2. Round 3 is a little bit more of "choose your random guy" creeping in... and after that, it's essentially guys who noone really wanted that much. If you take a look at USA sports drafts, they're very similar... rounds 1 and 2 serious. Rounds 3-4 less important role players. Rounds 5-7 meh. I reckon had the giants included their fourth rounder (72, which they passed on) we may well still have gotten our man. I have to admit rpfc, I'm not following the second sentence (try not to string me up for it lol). I don't agree though. A first rounder isn't a 3rd rounder... and neither are the same as rookies. The trade was all about Salem and Tyson vs Kelly... Everyone knew what Tyson was and that Kelly was the consensus pick 2. The Hunt pick was smart recruiting and scouting... but an afterthought in the trade itself. The Giants didn't even use the 4th rounder we spat back at them.

This Kraken guy? Cowboys fan... I'm gonna make him my [censored].

@Kraken Might want in too.

Yeah people say that. I don't buy it. I reckon had we waited for another round, or waited for rookies he'd still be ours. He was completely out of nowhere. Noone saw him coming. Incidental where the pick was.

I'd be a bit annoyed. I mean we have Salem and Tyson. But the fact we could have had him for just one first rounder, and will have to give up way more to get him now is a bit embarrassing.

Was just about best on for us. Not just for shut down job and disposals... but the fact that every time he was called upon he smashed a player or got the ball and made a positive effect. He's Hibberd like right now. Not to bring it back to negativity, as he's done more than enough to be absolutely best 22 this year and next... but I still worry about his role going forward.

I'm embracing it. We've won 12 games. We're ahead of .500 for the first time in ever.

12 clearances from our single season clearance record currently held by Beamer. Not sure if clearances in finals count, or if it's for just the 22 weeks. Highest possession average for a season is held by Jones in 2016, and stands at 28.05 for 22 games. That's 617 touches. Clarry has 629 and broke Nathan's record in the third quarter on Sunday. If he gets 31 touches against pies, he'll crack 30 for the home and away season. And he hasn't even started planning his 21st.

I see what you did there.

Fabric player. What a gun. We're lucky to have him.

Frost has to come in. The dash is badly needed. I think Watts should as well. It'll depend a lot on how Goody feels about what Dunn, Howe and potentially Schade bring to the table. Salem also probably should be slotted in. We badly need that skill. Wagner out... not doing enough. Stretch looked awful. And I think Hannan is lacking just a little. I have a strong feeling Bugg has some more to prove this season. And boy oh boy... do we ever need fresh legs. Looked like we were running with lead-legs the whole game.

Is it just my poor maths, or does a big percentage boosting win mean we make finals?

Congratulations pedo!

Zing...

Yeah... Fair enough. For me, I want to win a final. If we got in, came 7th and Tigers came 6th... what a day that would be.

And apart from anything else, save him for finals. Everyone's acting like just making it is enough.