Fat Tony

We are 4% off top spot. Could finish top with a big win or drop to third with a loss.

You can't win the flag at this time of year but you can lose it. Looks to me like we have had a good preseason. We have no long-term injuries, zero injuries to key players and we look fit (9 out of 11 last goals). The players who will miss against the Dogs (Petty and Rivers) are replaceable. We have been given a lesson to shut our traps and give the ball back faster. The Blues were pretty impressive IMO. McGovern looked excellent down back. Kennedy played well. Cripps is a star again. Viney looks like he could do with another run but it's a long year and we need to be careful not to over do him. Lever started poorly but got better. Fritsch a similar story.

Super impressive performance by the Dees, even though we were just blowing the cobwebs off. ANB, Brown, Spargo, Hibberd and TMac were particularly good. Oliver is becoming a combination of Judd and Cripps. Petracca was tardy at times but there was no medals to be won yesterday. Gawn was exceptional up forward. Our game style seems to have followed on from the finals last year and we are continuing to move the ball with a bit more aggression inside 50. We have so much depth in every position. Weideman looked great in his cameo. We know what Hunt can do. Smith and Tomlinson are good AFL footballers. Chandler is exciting. Injuries aside, we are in for another great year.

Interesting none of the first year players got selected. How many quarters will they play? Probably only 4 by the look of the squad size.

The team looked much better with Bannon partnering Harris inside 50. Bannon's pace means we have pressure when the ball hits the deck and gives us the chance to get goals over the back. Daisy needs to go onto the ball and play a negating role at stoppages and then drop off to play as a quasi loose man behind ball. Her pace is a big problem but she is still valuable because of her skill level. West lacks the skills required for the level.

I think we were more aggressive in terms of going inside 50 (and not kicking to the pockets) later in the year. This may have been due to playing on narrower grounds and due to Brown coming into form, but I think it was also probably a direction from Goodwin. While we were winning early on, I think the balance was actually too conservative at the start of the year and I was happy to see an adjustment. Going deep into the pocket made no sense to me when Max was in the forward line and we did not take advantage of his contested marking ability often enough IMO. From the defence and the midfield, I doubt we will see many changes in terms of our ball movement this year. The advantage you get from going into the corridor is not worth the risk of a turnover goal. That said, I think we might see a few more short kicks from the wings on the 45 degrees but I don't expect to see us switch the ball into the centre square very often. Overall, I don't think the football public has realised how good our tactics were last year. We were happy to lose possession and defend so long as we had numbers behind the ball rather than risk maintaining possession without cover. This meant that when we lost possession, the opposition could only beat us with a patient, slow movement.

Majak looked excellent in the VFL last year. I reckon he’d get a game at almost every other club in a Jackson role.

Daisy would get exposed and would need the right match up in the middle. But her pace is a bigger issue in the forward line IMO, particularly given Harris is also a witches hat defensively. The other option would be to push her to half back.

Daisy in the forward pocket next to Harris does not really work IMO. We need someone there with more pace to apply pressure, get some goals over the back and compete better when outnumbered. I would switch Bannon and put Daisy into the midfield as a tagger ala Cotchin/Viney. We really need Zanker and Paxman to be tougher in the midfield.

Me too. At 194cm Van Rooyen will need a decent leap to be a key forward at AFL level (which is small for a key forward these days) and he looks to have excellent judgement/timing.

We are the reigning AFLX champs as well!

The main issue with the rules and umpiring is there are too many areas of interpretation. Holding the ball and tackling are always going to be difficult and I think the umpires do a decent job overall. (They always seem do a much better job when I am watching on TV, which gives a closer view, than when I am at the game.) The main area I think they need to amend are the rules around out of bounds/deliberate to be more black and white. i.e. make last possession over the boundary a free kick and introduce a rule where all rushed behinds result in a ball up at the top of the square. They may also need to put some extra markings on the field to help the umpires measure 15m. They also may need to change the rules to allow throwing in the future. A lot of the reason why tackling is dangerous is that players cannot dispose of the ball with one hand and protect themselves with the other. Allowing throws would increase the pace of the game and reduce congestion. I am also a fan of reducing number on the field to 16.

Tell Nathan Jones to keep fit!

I know it’s a highlights package but he looks like a great prospect. Great size, decent athletically, good skills and courage in the air.

Armstrong was caught in the Bali Bombing but survived? Is that what Max is referring about?

The AFL clearly have hidden agendas in the draw. i.e. not playing against Essendon as the home side, because they have not had a proper away strip until recently. The WCE/Freo ones are the most perplexing. Being shunted to Hobart against North and to Geelong are explainable due to crowds/finances. We have played Adelaide in the NT.

I don’t like how the AFL uses the draw to equalise the competition. The fixture should aim to be even and the Draft and Salary Cap should be strengthened to do the job of equalising the competition properly. Our draw is tough because we play most of the other top sides twice, with Port away twice (AO and Alice) and the Cats at Kardinia. Still, we’d be favourites in 18/22 games if there was a market today, being underdogs away against the Dogs, Cats, Port and Lions.

The Dogs and then the Lions and Giants are our biggest threats IMO. The Dogs will potentially add Bruce, JUH and/or Darcy to the forward line next year. They were the only top side to beat us last year. The Lions were well on top of us in Sydney and will get Rayner back from his knee. The Giants have never had a decent run at it with injuries but have an excellent midfield. Of the other main challengers, Port are not good enough and the Cats too old. The Bombers would also be a sneaky chance, especially if Rance makes a comeback. Sydney have a chance but would need Buddy to maintain his health. The Blues don't have the midfield depth. WCE and Richmond look cooked. I think the market has our odds right at around $4. (Maybe we should be $3.50.) The Dogs at $7 looks overs IMO.

With Jordan and Rodman in the team we will win 72 games next season!

Drafting for needs makes a bit of sense after the top few picks because the talent pool is skewed and flattens off. That said, each recruiting team has emphasis on different things, so every club thinks they picked up a player who was better (or at least worthy) of their pick. Hawthorn would only look at good kicks in the late 2000s. The Tigers have favoured speed and pressure. We have favoured players who could win contested ball. Howes and Van Rooyen were almost certainly higher on our draft board than selected. I think we are in a bit of a unique position with our inside midfield, ruck and defensive talent being so strong. It meant that only outside midfielders and forwards would improve our best side.

The top 20 picks receive $90,000 base, picks 21-40 a base of $82,500 and 40+ receive a base of $80,000. He does not look 77kg. Even if he takes 2 years to build an AFL body, he will still be ahead of his father in terms of age to play his first game.

I think the first round salaries are a bit higher. Taj will need to put on a lot of muscle by the look of it and is a long way off it in terms of size. Hopefully he has a few more cms of growth as well.

The best midfielders are fairly short.

Looks a good pick up. Could be Fritsch II. Fits our needs pretty well and looks versatile.

Are we able to take a regular Rookie selection this year? Or is the list/cap full? Or are we just saving a spot for mid season? Who are the best players left undrafted?