Nasher

Exactly. His role is more holistic than just the interviews, he's responsible for the entire content and it's improved significantly since he took on the role - there are actually articles worth reading on there now and they're presented in a timely manner. I'm happy with his work even if he isn't the most polished interviewer in the known universe.

You are drastically overstating his weaknesses. If he was a bumbling fool who'd take out every other forward in every contest, I doubt St. Kilda would've let him anywhere near their prized forwards like Riewoldt or Milne during their finals campaigns. Of course nobody here is going to be a "massive" Koschitzke fan - if he was a player everyone loved then he wouldn't be available. Sure we'd love to attract Jonathan Brown of the 00s or Chris Dawes, but at some point we have to realise that if we want to fill this hole from the current talent pool then it has to be a B-Grader, because the best players won't budge. This isn't accepting mediocrity (before anyone bothers suggesting it) - it's just being realistic. He'd simply be there as an aide for building our structure. I quite like the idea as a stop-gap measure.

It's the fact that we're not in our premiership window that actually allows us to do something like this, it's not a prohibitive. We wouldn't be drafting Kozi to be our premiership full forward, we'd be drafting our practice target until the real targets get good enough to be used in that capacity. The point is to fill a gap so the players playing in the guts get used to the idea that they can hoof it forward in times of an emergency and know that there'll be a bloke there who can grab it (this is why those who say they'd prefer Newton have obviously missed the point). The reason you can't use Jamar is because you need him in the ruck (!) and the reason you can't use Martin (when not in the ruck) is because he can't take the big marks yet. The reason you can't use Cook or Fitzpatrick yet is because they're not strong enough or good enough - the system is going to fall down if the option to use can't actually be used in the manner we want. I'm not necessarily pro-Kozi but I appreciate the logic. It's solving a clearly defined problem - we've got no giant who can be counted on to take a strong contested mark at any time during the game while our homegrown talent develops. We want our midfield to get used to hitting that target when there are no viable leading options so when the window is open, there's nothing new that needs to be learned in that regard. There aren't going to be too many options available to fill this role. I also don't share your view that Kozi wouldn't move. Dawes was never going to shift for mine - he's a young player whose best footy is ahead of him, playing in a successful team. Kozi might not "want" to move per se, but I expect St Kilda will listen to offers, and ultimately if we make an offer that is attractive to them and they indicate they want him to move on, he'll become a lot easier to convince.

Yes - it has to be a net change of -3. Even without trying to rehome Dunn and Bate, coming up with three outs should be a piece of piss. Maric and Wonaeamirri would be delisted with the promise to rookie list the latter. Warnock on to the trade table then delisted if no takers. You're right though - it's the possibility of trading in players that makes it interesting. It then becomes even more critical that we try and find a home for those other two, and I'd accept pretty much anything in return, including a downgrade of third round picks (Jade Rawlings deal) if we were absolutely desparate. The other option is to delist while in contract, but that one always makes me nervous.

Much, much better on my Nokia C5 (work phone). On a non-touch phone, quality mobile skins are critical for usability. You guys with your iPhones/Androids are blessed, trust me (having gone from an Android back to a "just a phone" phone). Thanks Andy.

I reckon what happens with Davey next year will be interesting. I argued until I was blue in the face last year that he was crucial to our midfield due to his primary weapons being class use of the ball. The club put in some hard yards converting him in to a midfielder and until this year I'd have called it a success. At his best Davey is our best user of the ball and was capable of nailing the foot passes with the highest degree of difficulty. He can also time his runs through packs to perfection. Pacy midfielder who gets plenty of the ball, splits packs and can hit a target even when under extreme pressure - what's not to like? Then this year happened. It's hard to imagine how he could possibly have had a worse year than this year. With his well documented "poor efforts" (being kind), his body language and his general poor form, he burned a great deal of credits with me. I still think there's a place for him in our midfield, but he's coming from a long way back after this year. I think using him as a forward is wasting his primary weapons. BTW he played forward in a couple of games this year and stunk in those too.

I stopped reading here.

I'd have no problem with my 17 year old son earning big money, so long as he only saw a fraction of it as disposable income each week.

Geelong sliding is inevitable - our competition is built that way by design. Bottom 4 within two years is a stretch though I think - still too many good players on their list for that to happen, although a few of their players will be found out when the side ceases to be superhuman. I think it'll be quite some time before they disappear out of the eight, and I don't think a rebuild without any major time out of the eight (like Sydney) would be out of the question.

I'm pretty sure there is. I'm probably being precious, but it's a bit of a peeve of mine when players have to be "the next XYZ". Let the players be individuals without needing to have an instant comparison, and therefore enormous shoes to fill, before their careers have even started. Especially when being compared to a unique case like Liam Jurrah.

There's only one Liam Jurrah.

So I gather Beamer's speech this year wasn't that memorable then, given that it hasn't even been mentioned in passing anywhere I can see.

The SME finished 8th - an incredible effort for a career that was on the brink of death at the start of the season. Well done Stef. It seems no "most improved" was awarded but he'd have been a monty for it for mine.

Great stuff, thanks for that.

Big Max: First impression: scared. Second impression: scared. Heh.

Me too, my heart was thumping when I opened this thread. I'd have been figuratively burning my figurative #13 jumper if that'd happened. I absolutely love Jordie for the way he plays and the way he carries himself, and would be shattered if he turned out to be anything else. Well done on the awards - can't wait for the time when he becomes part of a successful team.

Wow, that surprises me, but what the heck would I know? Well done JR.

Well done.

I just don't understand this place sometimes. People get upset when their posts are deleted because they make crass references to Cale Morton being soft in the name of "humour", then whinge when someone posts something that is obviously harmless satire. My senseofhumourometer must be calibrated differently to everyone else, because I found the article pretty funny.

Would you say the same for Bartram? They share similar faults. I don't share your view that Warnock is what we need, but I'm interested in your point of view. This isn't the first time I've heard that Bailey (and/or the entire coaching team) was poor at communicating with players who are out of the side. I do wonder how much onus is on the coach and how much is on the player though - if you're not automatically getting the answers you want from the coach, what stops you from knocking on his door and saying "hey Dean, what do I need to do to get back in the side?".

You are one very frustrating individual to communicate with. Nasher attempts to make a point. Belzebub misinterprets. Nasher reads own point again - sees how the words he wrote don't actually say what he meant, follows up with a reword so point is written as intended. Mea culpa. Belzebub replies, pointing out the first mistake for a second time. Nasher frustratingly acknowledges mistake for a second time Belzebub replies, pointing out the first mistake for a third time, accuses Nasher of backpedaling. Nasher bashes head against the desk, very hard.

There's your problem, you only read half the sentence. This is proven by the fact that you've "dot-dot-dotted" the bit that changes the context of the sentence completely. Forgiveable initially given that I worded it poorly, but then a bit silly when I reworded it to make it obvious and you still didn't get it. See above post, in which I've said the same point I was trying to make in the first place, with the words placed in a different order.

I suggested nothing of the sort. Perhaps if I'd said "in the many years they've been out of the game, they've shown no inclination to coach" it might've made my point a bit clearer.

The idea of Brereton or Carey being on our coaching panel are outrageous. These guys have been out of the game forever and to date have shown zero inclination to coach, so why would either of them suddenly decide they want to turn their careers and their lives on their head to be an assistant coach? Come on, let's try and be at least a little bit reasonable.

I hadn't considered Watts in the leadership group either, but why is it such an outrageous suggestion?