Lord Travis

Watching all four finals matches shows our forward line is completely unbalanced and poorly coached. Needs an overhaul.

Hi Tom!

Was surprised Jackson won best young player ahead of Rivers. Jacko might have a higher ceiling, but Rivers clearly performed better this season. West Coast apparently keen on luring Rivers back to WA in the coming years. We’ll need to lock him away!

Watching last night and tonight... we’re a mile off competing.

Lines up with what I posted about him weeks ago being unhappy with the way his body was handled by the club the past two years and adding weight to his body shape which made his foot problems harder to manage. Heard he was seeking a trade too, so if that bit of info is accurate then looks like he and the club have had mediation and come to an agreement that suits both sides.

Glad Petty is signed on. I was afraid he’d get cut with reduced lists due to ongoing injuries. He’s got potential at either CHB or CHF. Could be the missing piece of the puzzle for our forward line if he get stay on the park.

Port home now. God I love Butters. He’s all class and has the right amount of mongrel and crash to go with the skills and pace. I’d trade anyone on our list for him outside Petracca and Oliver.

Headed back to South Australia I’d wager.

Can we have him back to replace some of our current crop?

Wouldn't have much currency. Third rounder if both clubs are amicable.

Would love this. All 3 players could add something to our midfield rotation. Caldwell in particular has star potential IMO.

Play Salem on the opposite wing to Langdon. They both cover ground well, both have decent speed, and we could try Salems kicking skills being the release kick inside 50 instead of chips around the back flank.

Reported that Bennell has been hospitalized after a bender. I fear for him without the football environment to keep him in line. He's got serious issues and a long road ahead of him. Quite sad. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/harley-bennell-taken-to-hospital-on-gold-coast-20200929-p5606o.html

He's exactly what we need in our midfield mix. Burst of speed, kicks well to advantage, wins his own ball, creative handballer, good agility, sheperds his teammates, looks a well rounded midfielder. Not sure our clubs ready for this type of player... better grab another inside mid instead.

Oh boy wowee!

Agree it was a strange decision on his part to come to us. He was never going to get gametime ahead of the best ruckman in the league. He must've been banking on becoming a solid tall forward option to get games? Not surprising he wants out now so he can actually get a game somewhere! If what you say about Jackson is true, then either we're in a lot of trouble or the coaches have rocks in their heads. Jacko showed glimpses of promise, but on output he should've been nowhere near our top 5 this year (if playing every game). Exciting prospect sure, but jeez that's poor stuff from the coaches. Maybe Jacko is a new favorite of Goody? Could take Melkshams place when he winds up? ?

Sad that it ended this way, but it's for the best. Harley clearly struggled both mentally and physically this year. Though he was able to get back playing, he was still a shell of his former self on-field. It's a credit to our fitness staff that they got him back fit enough to get through AFL matches without breaking down. No other club was able to get him to the level we did. Combine that with a brilliant injury run this season and the fitness and medical staff get a massive tick for 2020. Looks like it was your mail that was wrong unfortunately, not mine. Sounds like your your post hasn't worked out.. ?

Time for the return of the riddler??

ANB is depth. He’s not best 22, but he’s better depth than most in the 22-30 bracket on our list. He at least covers ground well and makes the most of his opportunities up forward. Though his ceiling is lower, he’s more reliable than say Hannan, Vanders, Spargo IMO. Average cruising speed and amount of repeat sprints is important. No point being able to run a million miles an hour if you can only do it once and then you’re gassed. It’s where we should see real improvement from Kozzie in the next year or two as he becomes able to repeat his efforts and get to more contests.

Single event, which shows these players are capable but don’t utilize their speed often. Basically Vanders got up to 34kms in a chase, but otherwise stood around with his hands on his hips. Average cruising speed is the important stat. It would show players like Langdon excelling as they constantly move at speed to adjust position with hard two way running.

Why is the forward line half full of midfielders who weren't good enough to make the midfield? Why aren't there actual forwards? Dusty and Dangerfield are great footballers, but neither was worthy of All Australian selection this year. Naming them as forwards when both averaged less than a goal a game is a joke. THey're clearly in due to their names. Same goes for Gawn. I love him, but he wasn't worthy this year either. He missed games injured, and when he played he wasn't dominant. The team has always has some iffy selections, but you can usually justify their rationale. This year seems worse than usual in that regard.

The trade was fine. Yes Serong looks a gun, but we got multiple players who have shown they can play their required roles for us long term.

He’s probably copped more scrutiny from the media and footy watchers than any player in history. From day one he was billed as a messiah and could never live up to the external pressures placed on him. He was a beautiful kick and won matches for us. He stuck with us during [censored] times for the club when he would’ve bad bugger all support. He was always friendly when I met him and though it was probably the right move to trade him, I was still sad to see him go. All the best Jack.

Would sign in a heartbeat. Hill is a first round talent who can't solidify his spot due to GWS embarrassing riches of talent in their midfield and forward half. It'd solve our small issues for the next 10 years to have Pickett and Hill harassing and crumbing. Both have midfield potential too.

Ruckmen are now proven to be the least important player in the modern game. Clubs have shown you can win without even playing a designated ruckman anymore. This year the Bulldogs played 189cm midfielder Josh Dunkley in the ruck against Max Gawn for long stretches of the match and not only broke even in clearances, they actually scored more from stoppages than we did! Pruess coming to Melbourne made sense for our club, as we had no ruck backup for Max. It was baffling decision for him as a player though to go to a club where he'd never get a game in his desired position unless bad injury struck. At a club like GWS or Sydney, he'd be first ruck and play every game barring injury. If we can trade Pruess for a second round pick or a best 22 player then we should absolutely trade him. We have others now like Jackson, Weid, Tomlinson etc who can provide ruck backup when required.