Fat Tony

Surely he would have made it at Essendon if he was good enough. They are desperate for mids also.

I met him at the beginning of the year and he seemed very close with his teammates. And the recent quotes make me think he isn't going anywhere. "I've always wanted to be a one-club player. I've spent probably just under half my life here. It's a part of me and it's a fantastic club to be a part of. I've built a lot of good friendships, not only players but staff as well."

He is a good player but he is very loyal to Essendon.

• I am not an advocate of mass delistings given the draft is meant to be very thin. • McKenzie, Bail and Reilly are almost certain to be delisted and Terlich is a fair chance to have his last year paid out. Others who might be delisted are Fitzpatrick, Jamar, Toumpas, Michie and Hunt. • Garland and Howe will be offered contracts and the ball is in their court. I would like them both to stay and feel we will get undercompensated if they leave. • We have to upgrade Vandenberg and Harmes. • Our prime target should be Dangerfield. He is a top five player in the game and would instantly give us a real chance at finals. • I feel we are most lacking outside run and skill. If we don’t get Dangerfield, we should be trying to get a player like Motlop, Yarran, Lewis Jetta or Harley Bennell. • I think Geelong are in a pickle and will delist Kelly, who is still playing well and would be a good short-term player for us. • We should look to trade Toumpas for the best deal we can get. • I’d consider trading Dawes, but I feel his contract was probably front loaded and I doubt we would get a decent return. • We should look to trade with Sydney or GWS for their first pick by packaging lower picks together. These clubs only want the points required to get their Acadamy players. i.e. trade our second, third and fourth rounder to Sydney for their first pick. The dream result would be: • Get Dangerfield via free agency. • Retain Howe and Garland. • Delist McKenzie, Bail, Reilly and Terlich. • Trade Toumpas for a 2016 pick. • Trade our second, third and fourth rounder to Sydney for their first pick. • Retain Cross and Jamar on short-term deals. Jamar is interesting given his age, but we only have three ruckmen on our list, so if he goes we may need to get another one. • I assume we will look to retain Hunt, but I haven’t seen him play. • I am undecided on Michie and think the last three games will decide his future. • I am also undecided on Fitzpatrick. • Enter the draft with only our first pick and Sydney’s first pick. (Using very late picks to upgrade Vandenberg and Harmes.)

I am not sure he is athletic enough.

B Howe, Dunn, Salem HB Lumumba, Garland, Grimes C Watts, Vince, Cross HF Stretch, Hogan, Harmes F T McDonald, Dawes, Garlett Fol Jamar, Viney, N Jones Int White, Michie, Neal-Bullen, Brayshaw (sub) In: Salem, Jamar, White, Stretch Out: Jetta, Gawn, Bail, M Jones • Gawn and Brayshaw look to be our most tired players. • I assume Tyson is not right to go. Brayshaw can make way if he is fit.

There were a lot of negatives yesterday, which I am sure have been well covered. The key negative for me was how often we went backwards from the stoppages. Gawn's ruckwork is too predictable and we need to get the ball moving in our direction more often and also be more willing to throw it on the boot. I liked the move of Tom McDonald in the ruck after the centre bounces. It was so effective that it should be Plan A from now on. He could pick up 30 possessions every week in that role. Also, Hogan should be used regularly in the centre square for the bounce and then go forward after. He could be our best centre clearance extractor with his size, strength and hands, which is very important in my view.

The game plan doesn't suit our team and Roos needs to adjust over preseason. The backwards hit outs and backwards handball are well known by opposition coaches and it is too easy to defeat us in the clearances. And then we lack speed and class on the outside. In fact, the one time we hit the ball forward in the centre bounce, Viney ran onto it and Dawes kicked a goal.

I highly doubt the AFL follows its formula to the letter. We were lucky to get pick 3 last year and Leuenberger could net a similar pick this year.

B Howe, Dunn, Jetta HB Lumumba, Garland, Grimes C Watts, Vince, Salem HF M Jones, Hogan, Harmes F T McDonald, Dawes, Garlett Fol Gawn, Viney, N Jones Int Tyson, Cross, Neal-Bullen, Brayshaw (sub) In: Salem Out: Michie • I wouldn’t make significant changes. While I would like to give Michie one more chance, I couldn’t find anyone else to drop for Salem. • Brayshaw could do with a rest but I would rather start him as the sub. • I would think about trying McDonald forward again, although he might be required to play on Redpath. • M Jones to take Murphy.

We would be a reasonably attractive option for him. We can pay him the biggest contract, we have a good young list with the best key forward in the game and we are based in Victoria.

Got some good delivery and was too big for his opponents also.

I have been a critic but he was fantastic yesterday.

I actually thought we started the game with seven in the backline. The big problem with having a loose man is that we try to over possess the ball out of stoppages rather than giving a quick kick forward and we don't have the skills to match.

Myers is contracted till the end of 2016 and will become a free agent. I could see Essendon letting him go for our second round pick. I think the risk of suspensions is low given the evidence is so circumstantial. He is a prototype modern midfielder with a huge kick.

I cannot agree with this. Hogan's pressure is a clear weakness and it is very important in today's game. Roughead and Franklin both average over three tackles per game.

I like Bonner from the little I have seen. He's a good size and looks to be a good kick. Still most pundits seem to think he is a mid-teen selection.

Which is flattering given how many goals he has kicked over the back.

B Howe, Dunn, Jetta HB Lumumba, Fitzpatrick, Garland C Watts, Vince, Grimes HF Brayshaw, Hogan, Harmes F T McDonald, Dawes, Garlett Fol Gawn, Viney, N Jones Int Tyson, Cross, Vandenberg, Neal-Bullen (sub) In: Fitzpatrick Out: Michie • We need to give Fitzpatrick another opportunity before the end of the year and Ben Brown is a very good player and a tough match up. Fitzpatrick can also help give Gawn a chop out. • I think we should continue to trial McDonald forward. Dunn will take Petrie and Garland on Waite. • Poor Michie hasn’t been able to find enough of the ball at AFL level. • I still think we lack outside run, but neither Matt Jones or JKH had great VFL reports. (I considered dropping Neal-Bullen, but he has only just come back into the side and is clearly too good for the VFL.)

Dawes has been a flop. He has less goals this year than Ben Newton and one more than Alex Neal-Bullen.

I don't know why Mahoney keeps giving long deals to fringe players like Terlich, Matt Jones and Barry. They should get one year max at the end of the season once the list has been worked out. If they walk to another club, they walk.

I have changed my mind on Dawes and would also now swap him for Bail. B Howe, Dunn, Jetta HB Lumumba, Garland, Grimes C Watts, Vince, M Jones HF Stretch, Hogan, Harmes F Bail, T McDonald, Garlett Fol Gawn, Viney, N Jones Int Tyson, Cross, Michie, Brayshaw (sub) In: M Jones, Bail Out: Vandenberg, Dawes

Hawthorn went from four wins to premiers in four years OD. We just need to draft well. I don't really like our game plan or team selections, but Roos has done a very good job in starting to re-building our list. This is the key to long-term success.

We are playing too many inside mids and need to recruit some pace and class. Vandenberg needs to go back to the VFL and find some footy.

B Howe, Dunn, Jetta HB Lumumba, Garland, Grimes C Watts, Vince, M Jones HF Stretch, Hogan, Harmes F T McDonald, Dawes, Garlett Fol Gawn, Viney, N Jones Int Tyson, Cross, Michie, Brayshaw (sub) In: M Jones Out: Vandenberg • Dawes and Hogan are too slow to play in the same forward line, but we don’t have any depth and I don’t like the idea of two ruckmen. • We don’t have enough pace and we need to pick some additional outside runners like M Jones, JKH and/or Hunt. I have just gone for Jones. • Vandenberg is out of touch and needs a run in the VFL. • Tyson’s kicking is poor, but the potential replacements are worse. • Brayshaw needs a rest and starts as sub. Stretch probably needs a rest too, but that would make us slower. • Tom McDonald starts forward for the rest of 2015.