RalphiusMaximus

Decent first quarter. We're still bombing to the hotspot, so obviously Goodwin hasn't figured it out yet. Brown looks pretty decent. Langdon can move. Pickett has great pace and pressure, but needs to get some ball too. Spargo ignored the obvious handball, u-turned into trouble and gave a crap blind pass that went out of bounds. Lever has already taken some outstanding defensive marks, but also had a disgraceful clanger kick out of defence.

Stunning day out here.

Today's random question. Do they sell tickets to the grandstand or clubrooms at Casey? I'm taking my octogenarian father along to the game and it's a bit much to ask him to stand up for two hours to watch it all.

What sort of price are you looking at for that? I did a little digging around the AFL site and it doesn't look like tickets are available just yet. Have to keep an eye open for that.

Hey all. A quick bit of searching fails to give me an answer to this. Do our memberships get us into the game at Alice Springs or do we need to buy tickets?

The AFL has set a precedent already in these situations that the contract still counts towards the salary cap. It would be a stretch, even for them, to not at least count his entire salary for this year. After that becomes more debatable.

This is great news. No matter the outcome, the club has finally shown that they are willing to take a risk on some elite talent. If we're lucky and patient we may have our own Shaun Burgoyne out of this.

That sounds awfully like a four to six week timeline...

We sold him on the black market.

Happy New Year to all the Demonlanders. Whether I agree with you or not I respect the hell out of every single one of you for the dedication and loyalty you show the club through so many hard times. Let's hope that 2020 is the year the curse is finally broken and we see a long overdue flag.

At least this time they're only changing some administration-type things. Maybe they've finally gotten the message to stop messing with the game itself.

If he works as hard as Harmes did then he'll get there. It would be amazing if he got to that level.

Also the frees that should have been paid but weren't. Those can have just as great an impact on results and how the game is played. Imagine how different the game would be today is Scott West was called for throwing the ball.

Petracca wins his first B&F. KK retires before the end of the year. Dees make Semi-Final. In other news: The Saints make finals but bomb in the first round - They have recruited a bunch of B+ types but lack real quality and there's only so much The Rat can do. Adelaide have a horror year. Age wearies the Pies. Fremantle culture problems worsen. Geelong go downhill as their aging core players fail to maintain their previous levels.

There's a #1 pick over in the NBA right now who is renowned for his inability to shoot... Max Gawn did it over two seasons. His set shots have improved out of sight. Richmond did it with their whole squad not that long ago. They identified low trajectory passing as a skill that successful teams had and made a concerted effort to teach the technique to their entire squad, resulting in improved accuracy and ball movement. I for one am 100% in favour of using the funny-looking balls. Who cares if they are meant for kids? If they help improve kicking then they're worth having.

IF it works I'm all for it. Out of curiosity is this the coach or the guy who played for Hawthorn? If the latter, he was a bloody good kick, so there could well be something in it.

I've given us a B- for the draft. While I didn't want us to go that direction, I accept that Jackson is a legitimate pick at three, so can't fault that one. Rivers was by all reports a bit of a steal, so big points for that. I have to take points off for Pickett though. At that pick we had access to other much better-credentialed players (Kemp) and went in with blinkers on intending to target only one player. Looking at the draft/trade period as a whole I think we're an easy A+. The club chased three players through trade and FA and landed them all, then traded themselves into a position to get the two young talents they had targeted and picked them both up with the picks they brought in specifically for that purpose as well as picking up a bonus AA HB. Taken as a whole it was a flawlessly executed plan that has so far been 100% successful. Further to that, despite my repeated insistence that we'd be better off with Young and Kemp, I can't fault them on the choices they've made given that I was also very vocal in pointing out our habit of drafting safe players with great character and leadership but no x-factor or ability to turn games on their own. We've certainly smashed that image this year. Jackson, Pickett and Bennell are all in the risky but with a massive reward if they come off category. If all three come off we'll be in for some very interesting times.

I can safely say that in a team completely devoid of willingness to work off the ball for each other, his liking for bumps and shepherds will be a standout trait.

Reading that just makes it hurt more that we didn't take young.

That's damn impressive. Right on almost all counts up to our second pick, including the bids on Henry and Green.

I have no doubt that he can play. His highlights make him look like a mad scientist got hold of NicNat and Grundy's DNA and hybridised them. Whether that's a realistic representation of his abilities I guess we'll find out. I still think we should have gone with Young, but I've been harping on for months about the club not taking risks and chasing guys who could have a massive payoff, so I really can't complain. Either way, he's in the Red and Blue so I hope he absolutely kills it at AFL level and becomes a champion of our club.

So I guess we can look at this two ways. If you go solely on the value of the pick and who we could have picked up then you have to be pretty annoyed that we overlooked a bunch of seriously talented players who will probably turn out to be a lot better. If you look at it as part of the whole draft/trade period and the package we have gotten as a whole then we've filled our need for running wingers, picked up a talented small forward to replace Garlett and a 2m forward/ruck to develop who will probably see game time next year. Plus an option on Bennell and Brown if they look good in training. You'd have to call that a good haul. I just hope we can all keep looking at it this way when Kemp is accepting his Brownlow...

Apples and Oranges. Nev was a low pick who really struggled to find a place in the AFL. Jackson is sought-after and would be welcome at any club in the league. The WA clubs are no doubt already in his ear about moving home in two years if he's grabbed by anyone else. He may not plan to do it, but I don't think there's any doubt that they will be pressuring him to do it.

Both topped the agility test. I thing that's where the comparison is coming from.

Honestly, I'm not concerned with his ability on the field. I have two issues with this kid. Another ruck isn't a big priority right now. Chances are he'll do a Hogan and run for home the moment he has any currency. Given he's not a clear standout over others I would prefer us taking a local kid with great skills and movement.