Lord Travis

Spargo for mine. He’s the most competitive player from the entire draft last year. Add in his good skills and speed and he was a top 10 pick if not for injury. If his body holds up he’ll be a 10 year player for us IMO. Also excited to see Baker purely due to his pace, as pace through the middle is something we are lacking.

Daisy has a more rounded game IMO, but hard to deny Paxman has the most impact out there. She just keeps finding the ball and working it forward.

We've got a more balanced and better team IMO and I'm confident we'll win. That said... jeez that trio is possibly the best midfield trio ever assembled. Would've killed to have had even just one of those three play their career in red and blue!

Opened this thread expecting a discussion on who would be more important to our 2018 season - Gawn or Hogan? That video was quite uneventful... Hogan needs to practice more.

Despite the pathetic efforts to end last season, I'm confident the players will stand up and we'll be playing finals in 2018. Realistically we should be aiming for top 4, but finals is a benchmark considering we haven't partaken since 2006. - Our list IS top 4-6 in terms of quality. - We are now stable off-field from a financial perspective. - We now have good training facilities and more money than ever being poured into coaching and fitness staff. - We have more supporters and members than ever rocking up to games and shelling out the cash to support. If we fail to make finals in 2018 I'd consider it our biggest failure of a season since 2007. We're now 5 years into the Roos rebuild (of the rebuild, of the rebuild...) and barring major injuries to every single one of our key players, there is literally no excuse not to play finals this season. Top 4 is a successful season. Finals is a pass mark. Anything lower is an utter catastrophe.

It's an interesting comment. Though Hogan has looked decent with flashes in the midfield, I'd hope it is nothing more than that. With the loss of Watts, Hogan needs to form a partnership up forward with TMac and maybe Weid in future. We really need him to just establish himself and kick us bags. Our biggest issue at present is scoring. We dominate play the majority of the time but never seem to convert our dominance in general play into actual score. A fit and healthy Hogan playing 22 games should net 50+ goals for the season and we desperately need that. Sure, give him a few spurts up the ground to get him involved, but others can fill that roll where as not many can fill the dominant key forward spot like he can.

Haven’t read this thread but will drop my two cents. I couldn’t care less this was cancelled, as the boot camp last year was an abject failure. It’s purpose was to make the players mentally tougher and give them something to draw on when they were in challenging situations in tight matches. It failed to do this. The players proved that they were still mentally weak, with form jumping up and down like a yo-yo, and when the chips were down at the end of the season they went into their shells and failed. All that camp did was cause injuries and not give us benefit in the process. While Goodwin seems like a good tactical coach, he’s definitely failed thus far to galvanize the players and inspire them when needed. It’s a worrying sign for the future. Also, can’t blame this one on Jack Watts

He’s a talent for sure. If he can get his body fit and healthy then he’ll add a lot to our team and will be best 22 very quickly. We got a bargain in Spargo due to his shoulder injury.

Fluff piece. The club is handling him well though. Didn't give up much to get him and he's been given a one year contract to show he can get himself right and start developing. He'll need to prove himself to earn another contract. He's quite a talented player when fit and if he can stay fit physically and mentally he can break into our best 22 IMO. Would be a good half forward flank/midfield rotation. Hope he makes it as he's a good size and has some decent skills.

Looks like they're easing him back in after 6 months off. Hopefully that means they've learnt from previous foot injuries at the club destroying careers. We need him fit and firing during finals next year.

Finally. We need him to step up and IMO he is best suited to playing midfield. If he can put it together, he could be the outside polish we need.

I believe in the previous training thread there were some posters who were getting stuck into him for whatever reason and he said he's had enough of it and is going to stop posting training reports. Hopefully he returns to post some training updates. Your posts are always appreciated @Satyriconhome!

The foot injury seems quite serious. He's now delayed training start until mid January. That's a 6 months lay-off before resuming training. Let's just hope the club give it the time it needs and get it right. Foot injuries can derail careers, as we've seem with numerous players the last few years, so I hope the club medical staff have learnt some lessons and earn their keep here. A fit and firing Viney is one of the keys to our premiership success.

The Good: We finish 6th, making finals for the first time since 2006. We finally beat North. Our midfield becomes one of the best in the league, and teams struggle to combat our pressure around the ball. The rebound from our backline becomes a real weapon, with Hunt, Hibberd, Brayshaw, Salem and Jetta causing head-aches. Bugg surprises many as a pesky small forward and becomes best 22. Christian Petracca continues his rise to stardom and makes the AA squad. Kicks 30+ goals for the season and is the match-winner in a few games. Dom Tyson has yet another top 5 finish in our BnF to remind everyone why he is an important part of our future midfield. Clayton Oliver becomes recognised as a bonafide star of the competition, finishing 5th in the Brownlow and making the AA midfield. Gawn stays fit and plays the full season, reclaiming his thrown as AA ruckman. The Bad: Jones, Vince and Lewis all struggle with the pace of the game and lingering injury issues. 2 of the 3 retire at years end. Tom McDonald forward doesn't work out and he returns to the backline. This exposes our lack of quality tall forwards and increased pressure on Hogan. We continue to struggle against big forwards. Frost's form deteriorates, Oscar struggles to develop further, TMac heads down back but his form fluctuates and Lever is left to try and steady the ship in more of a shut down role. We endure another year of media speculation about Hogan returning to WA, after he has a mediocre year form-wise. We lose to Richmond after controlling the majority of the match again. The soft-underbelly lingers. While we finish 6th, we could have finished 1st-2nd if not for losing winnable matches against lesser opponents.

When rumours circulated we were into Baker I was worried we'd use our first pick on him and thought it was the wrong move. Turns out we landed him with our last pick at 47. He's definitely got great pace and agility, question will be how it holds up under AFL level pressure. Though his highlights look excited, there is bugger all defensive pressure in the NEAFL and it almost looked like they were playing touch footy at times He doesn't mind laying a tackle though and looks competitive so he'll give it a red hot crack. Of all our draftees this year I'm hoping Baker makes it. He's got exactly what our midfield needs: pace. Welcome Oskar!

Happy with this pickup. I was hoping either him or Bailey would slip to our first pick and we landed Spargo. He's a talent. Decent pace, great agility, great competitor, can rack up ball and chime in with goals. He'd be perfect to play up forward for the first few years of his careers to partner up with Jeffy. He could be added to the midfield rotation over time or own a small forward role. Though he's small, he's a competitor and take down his share of bigger players over his time. Welcome Charlie!

I reckon that's bang on. Garner and Petrucelle are tipped to go around our mark, and suit our needs for outside pace and class. Coleman-Jones as a long-tam forward/ruck option, and Baker as another with pace but less rounded than the other two. I hope Bailey lasts until our pick as I reckon he will develop into a really fine player and would love him in red and blue.

Haven't seen this kid play other than the usual highlights clips, but surely a 19 year old who couldn't even crack it onto the list of the worst team in the AFL isn't worth blowing our first pick on?! If someone like Bailey or Spargo is still available, I'd hope the club drafts them.

As for Liam Ryan, I'll quote myself from earlier in this thread. He'll go as a late/rookie pick to a WA club. I'd hope the club don't bother with a 21 year old who has serious attitude and application issues. He would not suit the modern AFL game where defensive pressure and hard running both ways are now a requirement. He'll never make it at AFL level IMO.

Correct. http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2017-11-22/taylor-has-list-of-names-ready-to-go States no rookie picks and will use 4 picks in the draft.

Really hoping Zac Bailey makes it to our picks. He’s a perfect fit for us IMO. Not only is he quick, but he fits the competitive type that Goodwins panel is assembling/developing. He’s great with contested ball but has the pace the break through/away from packs and could play outside earlier in his career. Not sure he will last to our pick but I’m crossing me fingers he winds up in red and blue!

Stretch is a renowned good trainer and prepare himself well. He is in ripping knick!

While Balic was at the back of the pack, he was also only a few steps behind Petracca. I don’t see anyone having a go at Trac though as he’s a fan favorite. As I said, it’s no cause for concern at this stage. If Balic doesn’t put in the work and improve over the next few months then it’s a different story.

Strong around the ball, good pace, looks to release team mates with solid handballs while drawing contact from opponents. Only query at this stage is his kicking. It's inconsistent, but I don't think it's a skill issue, I think it's a composure issue where he hasn't learnt to slow down the last step or two to steady for the kick. I think it's due to inexperience and not knowing his limits yet. Could be fixed and would be a good option with any of our picks if he's available.

That's likely a result of not being in a professional club environment for a while. He played one WAFL match in early June and then came home to Victoria again after being granted personal leave by Freo. Prior to that he hadn't played since Round 4 at any level. He's likely coming off a low fitness base having not been at a club properly since April. No cause for concern, he's over his injuries and preseason is there to build fitness and strength. He's only got a one year contract so he'll have to bust his ass to get another contract with us in 12 months time.