Fat Tony

I know it will draw a lot of ire, but Mason Cox could be an option to be a backup ruck/forward. Click here for vomit emoji

Yes, but he would likely go back to WA for squillions if he leaves.

I don't see the big issue with going uninsured. If Max gets injured for long stretch, we are not going to win the flag anyway. It is challenging to recruit a decent back up ruck because we have Gawn. And we managed to get through Gawn's injury with a 1-1 record, with both games against top 8 sides. (I don't think we would have beaten Freo in Perth even if we still had Grundy as our back up.) Hopefully Verrell becomes an AFL level player as he gets stronger.

I am pretty confident we will win this week. We will have the edge in the air and our zone will suffocate the Giants.

Not only is effort a non negotiable but it can't be taught. Still think Jefferson was a strange Jason Taylor pick. He does some nice things in a game, but he shows no desperation. He is a less skilful Fritsch with less intensity.

I expect Salem to miss due to his hamstring. I think Howes coming in as his replacement makes sense. I am not sure who goes out for Gawn? Possibly Melksham or Tholstrup plays as the sub. Kynan Brown was best for Casey and could come in. I expect we will beat GWS. The Suns were actually +20 on X Score last match and the Tigers +5 on X Score the week before.

I think Goodwin is ruthless and would trade him in a heartbeat if he could get a deal that puts us in a much better position. He knows that Oliver is not a good example or influence on the younger players, is a media distraction and that he is being paid 10% of our cap.

Those stats are average volume for a centre square midfielder, but they don’t take into account the poor effectiveness of his disposal. Oliver has been an elite volume midfielder but a relatively poorly skilled ball user. Without elite pace, he is now getting only average stat numbers (for a centre square midfielder) and he can no longer breakaway from congestion, which means he is not getting the same depth and penetration from his disposals. His drop off in explosiveness has reduced both his volume and the effectiveness of his possessions. The latter is the main issue with his game and he is a liability unless this is fixed. The way I see it, he will either go back to being a top line midfielder (with elite breakaway pace) or a C-Grade midfield plodder for the rest of his career. (He is not able to play any other position.) We don’t know if he will get his acceleration and power back to an elite level, but this is the only way he becomes an asset again. I have my doubts. What I do know is that no AFL team can be a premiership team with a C-Grade inside midfielder taking home 10% of our salary cap.

Oliver was told to become more professional or leave when the trade window was open in October last year. He then was sent home for our pre-season camp in January for being unprofessional and he was not allowed to start preseason with the team until late February. The club has the right to revisit things at the end of the year IMO.

I think you’re cherry picking stats. Oliver has polled Coaches Votes in just one game this season.

Oliver is a liability. He can’t stick a tackle and gives panic handballs. Unfortunately we have no one else and he needs to play to stay on the rails. Salem is almost finished as an AFL player. No drive and getting soft tissue injuries. Goodwin needs to show less loyalty here. Viney is getting found out against the better midfields. I haven’t given up on the year. Still think we will beat GWS next week. Our whole game is built around Max, so to split the last two games is a reasonable result.

Salem would have no trade value.

I prefer no double chance and a knock out system. I like the old NFL system with 12 finalists for the AFL. Essentially it would work whereby the top 4 get the first round off and 5-12 play against each other to get into the second round of 8 teams. The match ups and home ground advantages work through ladder seedings. The four winners then play off in the prelim. Again the match ups and home ground advantages work through ladder seedings. This means the top 4 need to to win three in a row and 5-12 need to win four in row to be premiers.

Bedford got off on another error of law. What an embarrassment. The whole kangaroo court needs to be sacked.

What a joke the AFL are. There is about 50 lawyers working at AFL house and they repeatedly make errors of law at the tribunal.

Goodwin has shown that he is capable of making ruthless decisions on players who are distractions. This is definitely a 'watch this space' and, if we do put Oliver on the trade block again, I trust that the club knows more than us. I view salary cap space as the club's most important football asset (much more important than picks because the draft is inefficient and players can get to their preferred clubs) and so an Oliver trade could look terrible on the surface but leave us in a better position. I also think that the difference between Oliver being a superstar and a plodder is whether or not he can regain his elite speed. He is not a great kick and, when he cannot break away from congestion, he has become a liability on the field. Is the loss of Oliver's breakaway speed due to his poor preseason or is it due to age and the rest of the competition catching up? (I am sure it is both, but it is hard to say which is more.)

Shannon Gill is a Demon fanatic and was talking about Jako on Whateley this morning. Hope this link works https://megaphone.link/NTETP1385721706

They are official AFL player ratings for 2024. Houston was 24th rated in the AFL last year. https://s.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL Tenant/AFL/PlayerRatings/PlayerRatings_HOW.pdf

Dan Houston is the 33rd ranked player in the AFL this year according to Wheelo Ratings. Gawn and Petracca are the only Demons ahead of him. He is definitely worth a 2024 first round pick. By comparison, Isaac Cumming is ranked 90th. (But is a younger free agent.) Trent Rivers is ranked 119th Judd McVee is ranked 193rd Salem is ranked 308th.

Cumming would be better than Houston given he is a free agent.

Our captain would vomit at the thought.

We have been contending for the last four years and so we have almost certainly been backloading contracts. Petracca, Oliver and Kossie are now all on mega long-term deals. You can always fit players in by extending and backloading contracts, but eventually you have to pay the piper (unless you are the Pies or Cats who have the advantage of being destination clubs and pay only 75 cents on the dollar). Other clubs (Hawthorn, Crows, Saints, Roos etc) have been front loading contracts in recent years and have war chests to spend. The way for us to reload is with cheap veterans and via the draft.

Bolton is not in our price range. He is already on a large, long-term contract and the WA clubs are all over him. It is fanciful.

I think we also played a bit differently in terms of our method. Without Max we added an extra player to the stoppages, which increased our pressure around the ball. And, as good as Gawn and Petracca are, they are not favoured by the wet. Petracca can fumble and it takes away Gawn's biggest advantage, in his marking.