Lord Travis

We won't. He'll have to wait or develop more strings to his bow. That's a sign of a good team.

Jeez no wonder we've struggled for the past 18 months then!

Disagree this is the best team we've had for the last 50 years. Several teams in the mid-late 90s and early 2000s were better IMO. While we have some of the best inside midfielders we've had for decades, our team is still unbalanced. I prefer midfields that had some classy players like Tingay to compliment the ball winners. We've always been blessed for rucks, probably had the best rucks of any club for the past 3 decades - Stynes, White, Jamar, Gawn were all All Australian. Our current forward line and backline is nowhere near some teams of the 90s though. We need to get some more potent forwards who consistently hit the scoreboard. We also need some more smaller lockdown defenders, as Jetta is declining at a rapid rate and we have noone else bar Lockhart. It's definitely the best list we've had for a decade or so, but best of last 50 years? Nup. Sorry.

I tend to agree. I don't think he's showed any forward craft yet. Around the ball though he's showed he can get involved and read the play better. He follows up better when the balls not in the air, ironic considering his defining attribute is his leap. Due to his athleticism, I think he'll be a good modern ruckman who essentially plays as an additional midfielder once the ruck contest is over. I struggle to see him becoming a good key forward though at this stage. Would be happy to be wrong!

Petraccaaaaaaaa

I don't think he wouldn't make it as a mid, but I do agree he should be tried as a defender. I wanted him and Lockhart tried as small defenders, and thankfully we're trying Lockhart there now. We still need more small defenders on our list, especially with the game trending towards smaller forward lines and Nev being our only consistent small defender.

I agree we need him in to take those sorts of players, but he's not in great form so I understand the calls for him to be dropped. Him, Jetta and Hibberd are going to need to have good games this week if we're to be any chance.

Much better game yesterday, he showed glimpses of his best attributes. His smarts were on display, ran to the right spots whether he got the ball or not, held his own in the ruck. If he can contribute at that level while he continues to develop then we'll all be very happy. With time he could become a special player, it will take time though. Talls take longer and he'll be no exception to that as he builds his body up. Imagine how good he could be with some extra strength so he isn't pushed out of contests. Strength, leap, agility, smarts, he could become a serious weapon in a few years.

Had a few decent games, but has been poor for a few weeks now. He's a mile off the accumulating goal kicker he was in 2018. Hopefully the coaches work out how to get him playing a role he excels at, and hopefully he finds form soon. Too much talent to be wasted!

So baffling that it took them this long to play Weid and let play him up forward. Kids a natural forward and could’ve had 5-6 goals today. Leave him up forward and he’ll kick 40-50 goals a year for the rest of his playing days.

Cmon Dees keep your foot on the pedal. Need that percentage if we’re gonna fight our way back up the ladder!

We looked so much better with Weid up forward. He just provides a contest every time. Petracca has arrived this year. He’s on track for All Australian. Huge impact again today.

Jeez Lockhart and Brayshaw both poor again today after a few poor weeks.

Kobe is part of Freos academy as well as being eligible for father son at both Freo and Dees. His family lives in WA, he’s born and raised in WA, he’s a Freo supporter who idolizes Fyfe, and the Wizard works for Freo now in an ambassador role (not sure if Covid killed this role). If Kobe is good enough to play AFL, he’ll be playing for Freo.

I did too. I also wanted Green or Young instead of Jackson. Rivers was one of the two I wanted once we got the 20s pick however. I think we made the wrong choices with the high picks, but it’s in the past now and I support the players that are now in red and blue. Pickett is very exciting and shows glimpses of greatness. Doggies are probably the best team to watch in 2020. They win contested ball but also have a good fast brand played through the corridor. They have genuine stars and X factor. Good to see them beating some of the less like able teams!

We won 20 quarters in a row and were the most potent team in the league! Seems another lifetime now

Same. Was gutted that day and lost a few bets with friends as a result. The Collingwood game in 2018 was similar, though less offensive on the scoreboard in the end. We were in good form and on a winning streak, but their midfield absolute ripped us apart that day. DeGoey started the game in the midfield and had a massive impact with 12 inside 50s, 10 of those leading to scores. We had a good run later in 2018, but we still got embarrassed by the Pies and it hurt. I think some supporters may have glorified 2018 a bit over the years. We couldn't beat a top 8 team right until the end of the year and spent most of the year beating up on bottom teams. Had we been more competitive against top teams, we likely would've finished top 2 on the ladder and had an easier run in finals. It was still a good year, but not as good as some tend to remember it.

We actually might've taken Ben King. He played and excelled as a key defender at underage level, though swung forward a few times. His brother Max was the tall forward and higher rated brother. If we were after a key defender, Ben King was the best of that draft, so we might've taken him! He started his career as a tall defender at Gold Coast, hence no goals in his first few games. He was tried forward out of necessity and it's turned out he's a gun tall forward and will likely play out his career there. But yes, if our pick was later than pick 6 as originally projected, we were very keen on Butters as a classy midfielder to compliment our grunt. I'm still hopefully we could get him across at some point, as he looks a real talent and exactly what we need IMO.

Umpiring last night was amongst some of the worst I've seen. Pies had a dream run and even got paid marks when dropping the ball! There definitely needs to be a pull back on all the rule changes. We no longer have rules, just interpretations. It's making sport unwatchable, un-umpirable, and impossible to explain to new prospective fans and markets.

A quality goal kicking key forward is number 1 on the shopping list. Number two is a classy mid who can kick goals, and Butters will be exactly that player. Port nailed the 2018 draft, with Rozee, Butters and Duursma. We were super keen on Butters in his draft year but he wasn't within our grasp in the end. He's a second year player who has already showed he's a running machine, has good speed, great disposal by foot, can hit the scoreboard and doesn't mind a bit of niggle. He could play midfield, forward or back flank. If we could pry him away from Port, it'd be a massive win for us. He'd become part of our core midfield for a decade.

Why did we bother getting Brown if we’re not going to play him when we need a key forward and TMac is injured?! Guessing Jackson will come in as he and Brown were the reported standouts in the scratch match.

Mcevoy has been playing CHB/FB most of the year. They shifted him down there and use Ceglar as ruck. McEvoy has been good down back, but they swung him forward the past fortnight with success also. He's a solid utility. Ceglar out robs them of that tall option both back and forward. I think McEvoy is a better ruckman than Ceglar, and he's nullified Max in the past so our ruck advantage has just been reduced IMO. Does help us structurally though with Tmac out, giving them one less marking and intercepting option down back.

I’d go unchanged this week if TMac gets up from the eye scrape. If Hawks get their kicking possession game going, we’re toast. Need to bring the pressure this week to combat this.

That picture is from his profile on the club website. It's simplistic, but it paints a pretty clear picture. He's a poor defender and AFL player thus far. Harsh, but true. He should only get a game in our defence if we have a bad run with injury. As I said, I think it's forward or bust for him.

He does come across as laconic, similar to Travis Johnstone many years ago. Just because they appear that way, doesn't mean they're not busting their gut. I don't recall any specific encumbrance reported, but last year they had him do a mini pre-season mid year to "rebuild his body and confidence". Interesting looking back, as he may have built increased strength that was previously lacking and be moving more freely as a result.