Fat Tony

It won't be a good outcome if Jackson leaves. At best, if we play it right, it will be a less bad one.

That's good to hear. He looks very promising at VFL level.

Our list includes 5 AFL standard key defenders assuming Turner can continue to develop. (I think van Rooyen projects as a defender in addition to this.) But we don't have the cattle up forward. Ben Brown needs to lift and take a few marks. Kossie is brilliant on the ground but not yet a threat in the air. Fritsch plays as a seagull. van Rooyen is promising but not ready yet. TMac will be lucky to get back this year. Weideman has shown the same promise for his whole career. Spargo and ANB are in there to play pressure roles. There is not a lot Goodwin can do.

Lucky he isn't a skinner ruckman or he would go top 5!

My view is May has been mediocre since returning from suspension. Not hopeless but not at his best. Looks like Frankenstein bending over, missing short kicks and fumbling too often.

Time for May, Salem and Gawn to find some form.

I have never really liked the double chance. A final 10 with the first week being 7th vs 10th and 8th vs 9th followed by knock out quarter, semi/preliminary and grand finals makes the most sense to me. The benefit for finishing top 2 is an unrested opponent and home finals (until the grand final).

Jeremy Howe deserves it as well!

I think Jackson covers the ground very well but you are right in saying that he isn't Blicavs level in endurance. That said, I have wanted us to put Jackson in the midfield all year because he has the size, hands and explosiveness to be a weapon inside. I also think we need to experiment with the Cats in mind and would say that Blicavs has been a revelation due to his size and discipline more than just because of his running ability.

Petty and Oliver are automatic inclusions. Bedford and Tomlinson (assuming Lever is fit) out, albeit Tomlinson very stiff after a close to flawless game. We could see Brown (knee) miss and Weideman replace him. Tactically I would like to see Jackson run on the ball with Bontempelli for some parts of the game. The key issues in our game at the moment are the down form of Salem, Gawn and May. I would go for Hunt or Tomlinson as the sub.

Pies are chasing McStay as well, so they won't get free agent compensation if De Goey leaves.

You are right that they could have been a dynasty with that list profile but the Pies did come up against a great side in 2011 and led by 16 points in the Grand Final. (The 2011 Cats sit on the frontier of premiership sides since 2000 along with the 2000 Bombers, 2007 Cats and 2021 Demons according to the squiggle. https://live.squiggle.com.au/2000.html) The exit of Malthouse was another factor in the failure to capitalise on a great list. Your analysis also shows that dynasties are hard to come by. Sometimes you have to take risks with bad eggs and trust your culture. The Hawks added Brian Lake and won 3 flags.

What about the Rat Pack Pies in 2010? There are also plenty of examples of bad eggs in good cultures who became premiership players. (De Goey would also be a premiership player but for a Dom Sheed kick from the boundary.) That said, I agree with the sentiment that culture is important and I raised De Goey as a topic without having a firm view on the pros/cons.

It is not the pick though. The issue with Grundy is he is on too much money. And it is hard to see the Pies being willing to pay enough money to facilitate a trade given they are still paying for Treloar. In the NBA, salary dump trades are pretty common, but they are harder in the AFL because the reward for tanking is less (the draft isn't as good an equalisation tool because we have 18 players) and because the player has to agree to any trade. I think we would get more value out of going for Goldstein, who is long in the tooth but will cost less salary cap space.

I wouldn't be going for De Goey if he wasn't a free agent. As for Sparrow and Harmes. They are both good players but they are not De Goey level talent.

De Goey could replace Sparrow (on current form), Bedford, Harmes, or Melksham and we would be better. How many players in the competition are 20 possessions and a goal per game? Maybe 10?

Dusty was seen as an ice addict and 'cultural cancer' when he was shopping himself around Western Sydney and went on to win three Norm Smith Medals Steven May has proven himself to be no angel. Should we get rid of him?

The media are stating that De Goey is likely to go to the Cats or Saints if he leaves Collingwood. I question whether we should look at him. Negatives are obvious. (He is a DH and hard to manage). Pros are: He is one of the better players in the competition on his day He fits our need to bolster the forward half It looks like he will not command ridiculous money He is a free agent He is the same age as our core stars (Petracca, Oliver and Lever) Obviously we won't have room in the cap if Jackson and Brayshaw end up staying and so we won't even consider recruiting De Goey until they let us know what they are doing. And any compensation if Brayshaw leaves will be eroded.

Our centre clearances have been pretty ordinary recently and I think we should experiment with Jackson as midfielder (at least for the clearance). Blicavs as a tagger has been a revelation and he is a big reason the Cats are the best side in the competition the moment. With an in form Bontempelli next week, now is the time to pull the trigger and trial it.

Good to see we tried one kick in the other way today. Unfortunately the chai. broke down due to a poor Rivers kick.

The Kelly trade was as follows: Geelong received: Pick 14, Pick 24, pick 37, 2020 first-round pick Geelong lost: Tim Kelly, Pick 57, 2020 third-round pick While there was no early pick involved, the points value for Kelly was worth more than pick 1. Freo's current picks for this year are Pick 16* and Pick 72*, so any trade would need to include 2023 picks.

Of course he is. What else do you think he does all week?

Grundy would be untradeable. The Pies won't be able to spin another contract flip after Treloar.

Yep, I think he will get found out for pace at AFL level. Needs to be strong enough to win contested possessions and should be getting 25-30 possessions a week at VFL level. The game against the Cats was in very wet conditions in the second half, which was to his advantage.

Chandler is quicker, better in the air and a long kick. He has a game that looks better suited for AFL than Laurie at this stage. Laurie needs to get an AFL body like Viney or ANB given isn't quick. Chandler hasn't really been given that many chances. 9 games but sub for most of them (unused in 4 games).