RalphiusMaximus

The entire point of the Cat B rookie is to take a couple of years to work with them and teach them how to play. A slow start right now isn't really an issue. We'll see in time. About all we'll get this pre-season is how much of an athlete he is.

Jesse Hogan to realise he hates it at Freo and demand a return to Melbourne. ?

You're not a sorcerer? Mine began with The Greatest American Hero whose title character was named Ralph Hinkley. Through many years of message boards, games and chats the name evolved due to other members having already claimed the name Ralph, until the current version came into existence.

I signed up for the free trial last night to watch the Asian Cup. It was good quality, only stopped once and there were no issues with signing up or getting the stream started. On the NBN front, I spent a lot of time looking into satellite plans since the fibre will never reach my house. There aren't any available that meet my needs. Last month I switched from ADSL2+ which was getting up to 800Kb/s to Optus Mobile Broadband. I'm now seeing 20Mbps speeds all day with no dropout issues in bad weather. For anyone else with really crappy phone lines killing their ADSL speeds, I highly recommend checking it out.

Anyone else notice a fairly glaring omission in the team they named for us?

Head in the lap of a pretty girl. Good on him.

I just don't like their version of our best lineup. For a start I'd have Frost filling the third tall defender spot over Oscar. Also, with the need for pace on the outside I'm not sure that Jones is still first choice in the midfield mix. He could well be coming off the bench. For that matter, Lewis could well struggle to get into the side at all. Still, it's very nice to see such positive coverage of the team.

I've been wondering about that myself. One of them is my Dad's Christmas present.

Honestly, I hope we don't see or hear much from Mr Pert. The less we hear from that branch of the club the better off we are as it indicates we are stable and running smoothly.

So we'd be listening to a song about Those three days in September/October? Sounds about right to me. Would we have three public holidays as well? Would they play the third even if it was a dead rubber? Would they give medals to every player who played in any of the three games? What would they do if a side sent their seconds over to Perth for match two to get an advantage in the third game back at home again?

I think this article goes back to Gawn's B&F speech. He mentioned there that while he had done all of the training required in previous years, he hadn't really explored all of the things he could do to optimise his lifestyle. Things like listening to the dieticians and adjusting his diet to get the absolute best possible benefit. Chatting to the doctors and physios about the things he could do to improve his recovery and training outcomes. Even making sure he gets plenty of sleep. It's not just about what they do on the track, it's all of the little details that make up their lifestyle. Gawn made a decision to do everything possible to benefit his game. That's where Petracca needs to go.

I'll be happy to play finals again. Finals is a bare pass. Top four a good pass. The GF would be awesome. I don't think it's reasonable to demand a top 2 finish given how much luck and other factors can influence the results. One unfortunate game could be the difference between top two and not.

Sounds like they may have had a word to the recruiting team?

But those two silvers give us a complete set that's worth a hell of a lot more.

I'd love to see Coniglio playing for the Dees. I think of the GWS collection he's the most likely to fit into our style and culture, but as has been pointed out, he's a WA product, so odds are that he either stays at GWS or heads home. Still, I'd love to hear that we are having a go at him. I'd also love to see us make a play for Jack Martin, even though he won't be a FA. He's exactly what our list is missing, fast, skilled, marks like someone half a foot taller than he is and he can win his own ball when he needs to. He'd be great as the attacking wing we want to add. Sadly I'm pretty sure Clarkson has been in his ear for a while and he'll find his way to the Hawks when his time comes.

Bit of X-factor there.

I think you might find that he did not in fact take money from those 200 disabled Australians. Rather, he used them to take money from the Government. This is in no way significant when determining his guilt or innocence, and indeed he would probably get a harsher sentence for robbing the Government, but it's an interesting note on how they do headlines. Nobody really cares if he robs the Government, but say that he was robbing poor disability pensioners and suddenly he's going straight to hell. Which is appropriate given his choice of head-wear.

May just gave Goodwin a huge tick. Said he'd never spoken to us or even considered us until he had a hat with Goodwin at the end of the season. Loved that Goodwin was all about what the club can do to help him get the most from his game and the values they are trying to hold in the playing group.

This guy is exactly what we want in terms of ability. He's a bloody good size for a mid or flanker, quick and has actual foot skills. We just need to see if he can get his head right. Still would have liked Martin though. ?

I'm not too fussed with this trade. Sad to see Jesse go, but ultimately we were given an on paper value of around pick two for him. We got slightly more than Freo got for Neale (pick three roughly). Ultimately we hit every Mark the club had set for trade period. I am fascinated by the journey of pick six though. It started as pick five at Freo, was downgraded due to the Lynch deal, traded to Port, then Brisbane, back to Freo, Melbourne and finally Gold Coast. Will we see stove again? Will Adelaide make a late play for it?

I would have liked to see him kicking bags for Melbourne for a decade. Now, I wish him all good fortune in his personal life and none at all professionally. May he prosper as the highest paid player in the lowest ranked team.

May - A player who fills a hole that has cost us multiple game this year. KK - Was pick 5 in 2013. Looks a bit of a Morton, given his pace, skills and lack of contested game. That being said his brother has turned into a bit of a beast for Geelong, so maybe there's something there. Pick 23 - Who knows? Last few pick 23's have included: Will Walker; Alex Witherden; David Cunningham; Pat McKenna; Matt Crouch; Marco Paparone. In other words, a mixed bag, but a couple of good ones here and there. Overall, I'd feel that we probably got a bit less than Hogan is worth, but it would be a solid return in terms of getting what we wanted out of the trade period.

Emotion aside, if he came cheap and didn't want a huge contract, I'd take him. We could use that run on the outside. I doubt if he would ever be popular with the fans, but you live with the decisions you make.

If Melbourne "buckle first" I'll be furious. We are asking for a fair price for the best young forward in the game. If Fremantle don't have the nerve to follow 5hrough, they can go to hell. I'd be thrilled to keep him.