Lord Travis

I like this rule too. Free Agency was introduced as an equalisation method so that lower placed clubs could attain players without the ned to trade. In reality, the lower placed clubs have just become feeders for the top clubs. Who would want to go to a team like Carlton and play in a team getting belted by 100 points every week when you can just go the Richmond/Hawthorn and get a premiership with minimal struggle. The best way to fix it is to put a rule in place where top 4 or top 8 teams are not allowed to sign free agents, but can lose them. This would stop the endless cycle of top teams being propped up, and mean if players want to leave their club then they'll have to move to a club where they earn the big bucks they're (usually) demanding.

Hit him harder until he’s incapable of whining due to be unconscious or gasping for air. Hit them hard Dees. Make those tackles hurt.

This. We've struggled all year with teams that play a loose defender to intercept forward movements by foot. When we're playing well we lower our eyes and hit shorter leading targets. Hitting these targets means we maintain possession and force their players to come man us up, thus spreading them out further and creating more space for us to utilise. It also creates pressure on the opposition defenders. When we're really on, we also use lots of overlap running to build the pressure even further. Games like last weekend, we were hitting targets and running forward in waves with confidence. When we're panicked, we bomb long. Good teams don't do this. They pass backwards or sideways to maintain possession and open up gaps in opposition defence. Teams have identified we struggle with this and play a loose defender against us. No use winning the ball at stoppages if you're just handing it back to the opposition. The Hawks game should be reviewed as a perfect example of opposition coaching on how we can be beaten. Control our forward movement without bombing long to an out number we we will win comfortably.

I'll always remember Bernie fondly. He chose to come to us when we were a struggling club and really bought in to doing his bit to improve us. He played some elite football in the red and blue too, winning our BnF and playing his role as a tagger and defender as his career progressed. He's a really laid back guy, and very likeable character who always seemed to bring positivity to the club. It's a shame he's retiring, but the time is right. Best of luck to him and hopefully we see his kids run around in red and blue in a few decades time.

I’m in need of two tickets!

He had good attributes in his draft year, but I haven't seen enough of him this year to know whether he's lost his burst of speed. That was his main strength, so without it he'd be just an average role player at best. If his speed is still there, I'd say he's worth a roomie spot. If not, then pass.

At this stage we don’t even have the option of a functioning website to purchase any tickets at all!

I just needed to get one MCC visitor ticket. Just one. Couldn’t even manage that. Now my dads not gonna get to go and will likely be dead by this time next year. I’m seriously gutted by this and will be contacting the club to see if there’s anything they can do.

We'd be stupid to actively trade Hogan. Quality key position players are hard to identify and develop properly, and he is pure quality. However, if he really wanted to be traded to a WA club, then obviously we have to look at it. I'd say Pick 5 and one of Andy Brayshaw or Adam Cerra would be a fair trade. Gives us a great young midfield talent and a pick 5 to draft another talented youngster/trade for a good established player. Only trade him if he wants out.

At this rate he will finish his career as the best player to pull on the red and blue in my lifetime. He's phenomenal and still underrated by the wider football community somehow!

Second half of this season he has developed into a legitimate weapon. He used to try the fend offs and get caught, now he's breaking through everything like Dustin Martin! He's got decent speed and is aggressive with his run both offensively and defensively. Credit to him and the coaching staff for his development this year. Sensational to see a born and bred Dee thriving to take us the next step!

His leap and timing for overhead marks is so pure. It's textbook perfect! Great to see him start sticking them now. Like I said earlier in this thread, he's got all the tools to be a good key forward, just needs to get fitter so he can stay involved for four quarters. Today he took another step towards that. Looking very promising and definitely worthy of a place in our best 22 for finals!

Don’t know how to finding my posts other than clicking through and reading 100+ pages! I was one of the few on here who thought he was a decent trade and defended him early on. He was good as a half forward/mid at the Bombers, so once moved away from defense it’s no surprise he has thrived. Here’s hoping he can keep having an impact in September!

Weid took 4 contested marks on the weekend. That was the most of anyone on the ground, and more than Hogan has taken in any match this year (his best is 3). No wonder the club are so bullish about him being a dominant aerial threat in the future. He's still got a ton of development ahead of him and he's already able to clunk them! Great to see Weid show some of his talent on the weekend. Hopefully he keeps up that form and doesn't tire. He could be vital for our structure in finals.

He's developed really well this year and adding more strings to his bow. No longer is a flighty forward flanker who just tries hard, now he can tag the elite midfielders of the competition and have an impact winning his own ball. His kicking has improved too, nowhere near as many shanks as years gone by. When the pressure has been on, he's stood up and showed real mental toughness and lead from the front. Will always have a soft spot for him knowing he was a Demon growing up too!

Good to see Weid stick some of those marks and tackles today. The only thing holding him back is fitness IMO He's got a great leap when flying for marks, and he's an aggressive tackler. You could see in the third quarter he was buggered and his tackles started to slip, but he kept pushing himself to more contests and managed to interrupt a few Eagles forward movements. Weid will become a good AFL player. It's just going to take a bit more time to build fitness and concentration. He'll grow in confidence once his body is capable of producing four quarters of AFL level footy instead of one-two. He has all the physical attributes and skills to make it. Keep it up for the rest of the year Weid!

That’s true, if you don’t play by the teams rules then you’re gone. It just happens that in this case the rule appears to be a hinderence against quality opposition. Surely there has to be some logic applied to when to pull the trigger. I guess I’m just frustrated, like many, that we seem to waste opportunities by being too cute. And I’m frustrated that talented players like Petracca are yet to impose themselves when opportunity has been presented. Here’s hoping Weid takes his chances today and helps us over the line.

Completely understand this and agree with it all in theory. We showed in the first half of the season that we were the number one team for scoring goals within 15 meters of goal, thus meaning our accuracy was highest. This only came against poor teams however. Against any opposition of substance it hasn’t worked and it’s been an embarrassing shambles. If a player takes a mark 40 meters out from goal, they should take the responsibility of having a set shot and not looking to pass amongst a clogged up area in slow play. I want to see guys like Petracca step up and actually take some responsibility to try to and win games.

He's not alone. Whenever any of our players get the ball 40 out they still look to pass it. None of them will stand up and take responsibility for the shot. It's either team direction from above to always look for a better option, or they're all sh*t scared. I'd say it's the later.

I’m just waiting for Weid to start sticking his marks. He is our most aggressive and component tall forward in the air, he just needs to start clunking them. He just launches at the ball so well, a really good leap, it would be a shame if they never stick. The coaching staff are really bullish about him becoming an aerial threat in the future. Part of it is fitness and concentration for Weid. He’s one of the most aggressive tacklers on the list, but once he get what tired he stops sticking them. Hopefully he continues to build fitness, as the aggression and technique are already there. Here’s hoping this weekend it starts to come together more consistently.

In 2017 Pedo was competitive and had a good season. In 2018 at AFL level he has been rubbish. Up forward he has been useless, kicked less than a goal a game and got in others way with poor leads. He was tried down back as a last resort to revive his career and on the weekends showing that move is a bust. He was probably our worst player against the Swans. Only Hunt and Jetta has less impact, andthat was because they both missed part of the game injured and concussed. At 32 years old next season, he’ll be lucky to get a one year contract purely as a last resort to cover injury. As an AFL player he is finished. Disappointing performance his year considering he was competitive last year. The end has come quickly for him and a few others it seems.

Is this post sarcasm or genuine? Have no sympathy for Stevens or most journalists. The quality of journalism, especially in Australia, is utterly rubbish. The stories and things they post do far more harm than what Gaff did. If Gaff deserves 12 weeks, then Stevens should be behind bars. You get more factual information from anonymous posts on internet forums than what the so called journalists serve up these days. They spread absolute rubbish and are not held to account. Pathetic scum. I'd welcome Gaff to the club with open arms. Hopefully this incident has knocked a few hundred thousand off the contract for us

Not my petition, but sign and share this around. Doubt it will do anything to stop these muppets, but no harm signing in support. https://www.change.org/p/australian-football-league-listen-to-your-fans-we-don-t-want-state-of-the-game-rule-changes-leave-the-game-alone?recruiter=192229301&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial..&utm_term=share_twitter_responsive

The proposed rule changes are horrendous and will make the game more unwatchable if anything. Strategy will become less valued, less contested ball and more players at each end will lead to a low pressure game of aerial ping pong akin to soccer. It will become weak and boring. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think the game is in the best shape it's been for a long time. I watch more games than ever (except when Carlton is playing). I like the current style that is based on winning the hard ball and bringing intensity to every contest. The rule changes will have a negative impact on us, as we win contests by getting more players up around the ball. Removing that tactical advantage will hinder us and advantage softer teams who struggle to compete. I don't understand why they can't leave the game alone. Every 2-3 years the game style changes as coaches come up with new game styles and tactics. We're nearly two years into this current Richmond high pressure game style, it will naturally change within 12 months and rule changes aren't necessary to spur along that natural progression.

Who else do we realistically target at season end? Someone with a f*cking heart!