Fat Tony

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.

Treloar will nominate his club and GWS will get a first round pick and steak knives.

I think just reducing the interchange is a good idea but it would have less impact than everyone thinks. Zones whereby three players from each side needed to be inside both 50s at stoppages would be easy to police. There are seven umpires on the field.

Oxley was named in the best last week with 23 possessions and is just named on an extended bench. I doubt he will be dropped.

We let him go because he can still leave via the draft and we get nothing.

The AFL is slowly coming to the realisation that congestion is killing the game and it is just going to get worse as players get fitter. The ‘let the game evolve’ camp have had enough time and the game has evolved to garbage. Zones at stoppages, interchange caps and 16 per side should be brought in from 2016.

David King had an interesting segment on AFL 360 last night and they discussed how Hawthorn regularly go back only two meters off the mark and then kick on a 45 degree angle. He also highlighted how their forwards play from behind the formation defense.

No chance. No club will offer Leuenberger a monster deal.

I think this is a very stupid way to look at trading. I would be happy to see Garland go if he were to net us pick 3, but it isn't happening. We may get pick 26, but we might get pick 43, either way it isn't a great result in a shallow draft. As for opening up a list spot, there are a dozen players on the block before Garland.

The draft is a lottery and, while pick 26 may get you a star, it is much more likely to get you a bust. The recent pick 26’s have included great selections in Darling and Edwards, but the mode selection would be lucky to net you 30 games. Recent Pick 26's Toby McLean Zachary Merrett Jack Viney (James Stewart at 27) Todd Elton Jack Darling Aaron Black Jayden Post Brett Meredith Shane Edwards Garrick Ibbotson Matthew Little There is also the impact on the playing group of losing another senior player which I feel you are not valuing at all.

I think it is tried to some extent, but the game is so fast and rotations make it difficult to get set up. Also the congestion around the ball means the pressure is on the kicker is high and the third man up has a field day.

Frawley got us pick 3 and Garland will get pick 26 in a weak draft if we are lucky. Steve your unhealthy obsession with Garland is like Titan with Dunn and Picket Fence with Toumpas.

Clarkson plays more forwards and Hawthorn gets a lot of goals over the back. It works because they are all quick.

Not directly. Only Garland is a Free agent.

I think it is right that we want to be innovative, but we also need to be aware that most ideas that are considered to be innovative in the AFL are really just further advances on previous ideas. The three key innovations over the last 60 years have been the use of handball as an attacking weapon and play on from defence (invented by Len Smith and used by Barrissi), flooding (Rodney Eade) and formation defence (Alistair Clarkson). Innovations like Pagan’s Paddock and Wallace’s deep flood were just an evolution of Eade’s original idea. And the modern day press is a progression from Clarkson’s Cluster. Innovation also needs to reflect the players at the coach’s disposal. You wouldn’t attempt to play a tall forward line if you had four Chris Dawes on your list. Likewise, you wouldn’t play without a ruckman if you had Todd Goldstien. Moreover, it needs to be remembered that there are only two real ways to move the ball – kick and run and handball. And there is only two paths to goal – boundary and corridor. So the number of different game plans is relatively limited.