Fat Tony

This is a very well written and argued post WJ, however I don’t agree with much of the premise. The Bombers have already been stripped of draft picks and had players suspended, effectively ensuring them the wooden spoon this year. You could argue that they got off lightly for their crime in the first place, but I believe that any further punishment would be a form of double jeopardy. The Brisbane trade with GWS for pick #2 was fair and Brisbane got compensated for sliding down the draft order. And GWS effectively lost McCarthy and Treloar and other later picks to get pick #2. And the Whitfield case is yet to play out and GWS will be punished down the track for bad governance if they are guilty. They will also be punished to a degree by Whitfield’s lengthy suspension. I have also no issue with Brisbane being given a priority pick and I think the AFL needs to do more to help the bottom clubs so as to even out the competition. Although it wasn’t part of the finding, we would have got a priority pick as well had we not been found guilty of tanking and so we were given overs for Frawley leaving to compensate. You make a valid point about the Riverina, which should not be within GWS’s academy and I agree with you on this.

Lewis will play mostly off half back in a role similar to Matthew Boyd at the Dogs, because having him and Tyson and Oliver leaves us too slow in the midfield. Hibberd will play more through the midfield than in defence to provide us some drive. Melksham will be better than expected. Salem will have a good preseason and finish top 10 in the B&F.

It is a great draw from a winning perspective IMO. I would partially highlight the away games where we have probably been advantaged more than we should. Geelong away at Etihad rather than Kardinia Park NM away at Hobart rather than Etihad GWS away at Manuka rather than Spotless Carlton away at the MCG rather than Etihad Also, I don’t think the stats on 6-day breaks show it is that big a disadvantage, especially since it means a longer break on the other side.

According to Graeme Wright on SEN this morning, the Carlton pick #48 will come in to around #42 after the academy players exhaust all the northern club's picks (which in part explains Carlton's dodgy trade with Hawthorn). Assuming this is true, we should be able to nab around the 41st chosen player with our first pick.

I don't understand how anyone could be against this. I would love to knock off Essendon in Round 1 in front of 80,000 at the MCG.

I know he had a slightly disappointing season in 2016 and he is not in many teams here, but I still feel Vandenberg can elevate his game if he can get his body right.

Lewis is still a very good player and essentially came for free in terms of draft picks, so the trade is a win from that perspective. However, I don't think he helps our midfield mix at all given we already have similar players in there like Tyson, Oliver and Brayshaw, so I am still a bit concerned about our lack of pace in the midfield. Still, Lewis is a smart player and I would not be surprised if he is used at half back in a similar role to Matthew Boyd. The three year deal could also be a bit too long.

He provides a bit of a mix of Jeremy Howe and Jayden Hunt. He has more breakaway speed than Howe, but isn't as good a kick or mark. He isn't quite as quick as Hunt. His athletic attributes are well suited to the modern game in that he can compete in the air and on the ground. The question mark is on his skills for mine.

I still think Barlow is a bargain pick up for whoever gets him. In 2016 he was ranked 48th in the AFL for Supercoach points per game, 54th in the AFL for average possessions per game and 23rd in the AFL for average tackles per game. He is also only 28 years old (turning 29 in December). While we are already over stacked with inside midfielders, I would be in favour of us trading out Neal-Bullen for a late draft pick/pick upgrade and then picking up Barlow.

Smith looks a real prospect from the handful of VFL games I have seen. He has very good breakaway speed and a great leap, which are valuable attributes in the modern game. He obviously needs to build up his body and work on his skills, but he could be a big surprise packet next year.

I think you can only have one very slow player in the midfield but not two in modern football. (Ideally you would prefer to have none.) Tyson is that player for us at the moment. Both Lewis and Tyson in the middle would just leave us to exposed on the spread and both are pure inside midfielders and both would be in our best 22 on talent. Barlow produces similar numbers possession wise to Lewis and more tackles. He is not as good a kick or overly penetrating. But his salary would be half that of Lewis, so I just see him as better value if we are going down this track. And he has also shown good ability to play a defensive role on speedy midfielders like Robbie Gray. I see inside midfielders as our lowest priority need at the moment. And our depth in this area means that we have inside midfielders who have to play on the outside and are not that well suited to it. i.e. Brayshaw on the wing.

He would make our slow midfield slower. Jones, Viney, Tyson, Oliver, Brayshaw and Vince provide enough grunt. We need some pace and class on the outside not experience.

Lewis is still a very good player but he is slow and not the type of player we need IMO. He is very similar to Dom Tyson and I feel our other inside players are not quick enough to compensate for the lack of pace we would have from playing both Tyson and Lewis. Personally, I think Michael Barlow is a better option if we go down this track, as he is slightly younger and would not command the same salary as Lewis. I also think Barlow is slightly quicker than Lewis and better defensively.

They should ship off a lesser player for a draft pick if they need the cap space. As I said, Hawthorn are in the premiership window and this makes them worse. The pick they get for Sam Mitchell won't be enough to help them get O'Meara and Tom Mitchell.

I don't know how anyone can think this is good for Hawthorn. It looks like they will lose their best and fairest, who was on a low wage contract, for a low draft pick. And at a time while they are in the premiership window. It could well cost them a flag.

The answer to fixing this is via the salary cap. Give the wooden spooner $100K more cap space than 17th, and 17th $100K more than 16th etc. This would mean that the bottom team would have an extra $1.7m in the salary cap than the premier. Players could then become free agents from after the initial contract but the competition would still be even.

I like Tuohy as a footballer and think he would add to our side. But I think we have missed the boat. He will either end up at Geelong or stay at Carlton.

Wells said that cap space, not picks would be the big issue with bringing in Tuohy and Deledio.

I don't mind Mzungu either, but he turns 31 in February 2016 and his kicking lets him down. He only played 5 games this year.

I am happy to hear he has signed and committed. While I am not as confident in Hogan becoming a superstar as others on Demonland, he is still a very good player and could potentially end up being a great one. This needed to happen prior to trade week IMO given his trade value and contract size, so it is a bit of a relief it is all over.

Patton played well last night, but no better than Smith or Dickson. And it doesn't change the fact that the Coleman winner's goal tally has declined over the last 20 years. And none of Hawkins, Podsiadly or Mooney were "great key forwards" from 2007 to 2011. (Hawkins had a great grand final.) Geelong's dynasty was build on its midfield and defence.

Who was Geelong's great key forward? I don't even think Hawthorn had one after Buddy left. IMO last nights game showed how effective modern team defensive strategies have become at nullifying the power forwards. Cameron clearly didn't work hard enough last night, but there wasn't many instances I saw where he was involved in the play and made significant errors. (I would also doubt he covered significantly different territory than his usual distance covered.) And this was against a Dogs team that has a below average set of tall defenders. I loved the game in the 80s and 90s when key forwards were the most important players in the game. But the game has changed and coaches are not willing to let key forwards contest one on one. The midfield is where most games are now won and lost.

I don't agree that Darling is not a power forward. He plays the same position as Hogan IMO. But I digress. And I really think you are missing the point, which is that players improve at different rates. Hogan has had a great first two/three years, but many players who start their careers strongly don't progress to the levels that most expect. My biggest concern with Hogan is that his strengths are very good and don't need improving significantly, but his weaknesses have not improved in the last two years. He is still an inconsistent kick for goal and applies poor defensive pressure. He also doesn't get enough goals from ground level play.

This is such hyperbole. He is playing in the same generation as Ablett Jnr, Buddy Franklin, Fyfe, Dangerfield, Bontempelli, Cameron, Lynch. I don't even think Hogan is the best prospect on our list!

Sorry, you are correct. He kicked 24, 53 and 42 in his first three years.