Nasher

Heath Shaw was a father/son, picked before they introduced the rule to actually make the father/son rule fair. There's no way Collingwood would've gotten away with picking him at 48 under the current rules.

Jeer.

LOL! Took me a minute to work that one out. Well done. Agree on Bail. Plenty to like about what he offers.

How embarrassing for you

? He got subbed off ages ago.

Just about threw my glass at the TV with the Howe decision. Reminder to self: not the TV's fault.

Agreed - surface looks great and the ground just has that bit of "personality" that lacks in the newer concrete jungles.

He is at least two of those things.

Not related to tanking, but why do so many in the media and general footy public think a Port win is a foregone conclusion? Port have won two games for the year, and their 20 losses include two spankings that rival the one we took against Geelong, AND it's a game that is being played at a ground where neither team have played. We've had some rubbish games this year, but if we're a worse side than Port then I've been watching the wrong team all year. To the question at hand, the draft picks would be a nice consolation, but I hope we smash them. With six months to spend in the footy black hole, I'd like my last memory of the season to be a happy one, even if it's a meaningless win in the big picture.

If Carlton end up being in the market for a coach at the same time as us I'm going to stomp my feet, fold my arms and pout. Geez I hate those bastards and their blank cheques.

I noticed this also. Considering that this season is widely considered to be a complete disaster, our actual finishing spot and ladder position isn't too far from where I expected it to be.

Morton had a very disappointing year by any measure, but the way he is singled out and abused in an oft vulgar fashion stinks. Yes - there's the "all is going to plan" element, and the "all is turning to poo" element. I don't identify with either group.

Exactly. The forum groupthink doesn't help either - people feed off each other's negativity until all they ever see is what they've conditioned their minds to see and not what actually happens in reality. Then the problem just snowballs. Also, "despising" someone you've never met based on what happens on a footy field is unhealthy at the absolute best. I'd suggest a look in the mirror and an assessment over one's priorities in life may be in order.

I'd rather leave it up as an avatar of how crazy it is to draw large conclusions from the smallest bites of information.

I don't know that it was because the premiership model was being pushed too hard/fast - that doesn't make a lot of sense; you'd have thought that the players would want a premiership tomorrow if it could be done and that nothing was "too fast". It would seem that Connolly, Schwab and Bailey were all at the centre of the "fracturing" though, but I doubt we'll (rightfully) ever know the details, and I for one will never again feel 100% comfortable until all three have left the room.

Happy news. I've come to terms with the fact that Sylvia will never be consistent enough to be a true a star, but as our side becomes stronger I expect his ability to tear a game open will be great "icing" and I'd rather have him in our side than not. Here's hoping he can continue to bridge the gap between his best and worst.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the club can't do that.

What's worse - so was Petterd. There was heaps of talk about it on this very forum. People just have ridiculously short/selective memories. I haven't heard much from the "but why would the media stake their reputations on unsubstantiated rumours!!" crowd after the Taylor Walker signing either.

You might've been being sarcastic, but you're right. PJ would have been well behind Jamar and the SME and possibly Gawn if he'd been on our list this year and has made the Hawthorn side through attrition. Which small defender is Cheney better than in our backline? That was my issue with him when he was on our list and my view hasn't changed despite his getting a game at Hawthorn. He'd have been in direct competition with Tapscott for a spot in the side. The dynamic of each side is completely different, so it's not unusual for a player to fail in a poor side and succeed in a strong side. The ruck and defence are two areas where our list looks strong, so it's not surprising that the odd outlier can fall off and make it elsewhere. You can absolutely bet that none of our delisted midfielders or forwards will make it elsewhere.

Bingo.

I forgot he was on their list.

Bang on. It's not about rejecting the notion that he may leave, it's rejecting the notion that he has already left and therefore everything he's said is a lie.

Forget about trade bait; if Martin's year this year was like his year last year then he'd have shoved Matty Warnock and Addam Maric out of the way for first to be delisted, and his career would've been finished. He was definitely on the rocks at the start of this year, that's what makes his improvement all the more spectacular.

Can't view those at work. Any chance of an executive summary?

Very difficult to go past Martin. His transformation in the ruck when Jamar went out had to be seen to be believed. Watts has come on in leaps and bounds too, but I'd say his increase in form has been more incremental where Martin's was sudden and sharp.