RalphiusMaximus

Beat me to it. He played in a side with some legitimate legends. It's easy to overlook him with those guys getting all of the attention. You could probably throw Bickley in there as well. He was the guy who stepped in after the legends left the building. That is nothing against him, but he will always be a bit in their shadow.

Lineup for the practice match maybe?

Interestingly, when they played the last few exhibition games under these conditions a number of the players had trouble with the ball. I assume that they were used to playing with full-sized ones.

Ben Cousins?

Mitch King.

Did they list GWS as the top of every category?

You're talking about Fyfe right?

Nope

He and Watts will be roaming up the wings, so his output may not be as high as we hope. That being said I'd love it if the pair of them could crack the hundred mark in total.

Here are my thoughts on the sides. I've watched most of the exhibition games, so I have a reasonable idea of the top end talent at least. I can't claim to be any sort of expert on the leagues though, so there are probably some players I'm criminally underrating. Still, it was a fun excuse to have a look through the lists and see what's been happening. I can't agree with that. Sabrina would need to improve her mobility a hell of a lot to really be a problem and from what I've seen they have a habit of plugging holes with Tayla rather than letting her settle in one position. She can't do it all on her own. Also, Check out the Collingwood Forwards. Adelaide have made a great move in snaring Chelsea Randall as their first marquee signing. She's an absolute gun and should be Captain for their side. I have no idea how Fremantle let her go to SA, but well done to the Crows for pulling it off. They also have Abby Holmes up forward to provide a quality target. They have a good mix of youth and experience, some quality athletes from other sports and serious goal-scoring power. I rate them pretty highly. Brisbane may have a case for most attractive side in the league, but I think they'll be shown up badly for the first few seasons. Tayla Harris could well be the best player in the league in five years, but she's not there yet. I have a suspicion that Frederick-Traud may struggle with the pace of the game as well. I don't think there is enough midfield talent there to make them a real threat this season. Carlton have gone with bookends for their marquee players. Vescio played for the Bulldogs in their exhibition side, and has good pace and skills. I'd consider her ore of a HFF or FP than a KPF. At the other end is Bree Davey, the former keeper for the Matildas (If we're being honest, she held the spot by default because Williams and Dumont were both injured and Barbieri had retired, but she still represented Australia). Davey isn't the best athlete, but she's always been blessed with lightning quick hands which translate well. They have some quite decent mids as well, with the Hosking Twins among several to have played in the exhibition games. Collingwood have a deadly forward line led by The Great Moana Hope. Quite frankly I'm tempted to put them on top of the ladder just for her sake. She is an awesome player and a goal-scoring machine. Backing her up is Jess Cameron, formerly of the Demons and the Australian Wicket Keeper and opening Bat prior to that. You may remember her kicking five for up earlier this year. Looking at the rest of their list though, I see Helen Roden who just isn't that great, Hutchins I seem to recall being soundly beaten in several exhibition games and Cula-Reid played a few games but wasn't noteworthy. Their second marquee signing was a 19 year old ruck prospect. Given their fairly average mids I hope she's good at getting them first use. Fremantle have a great coach who has had years in a professional environment to refine her craft (Not at all bitter about that). Player-wise I don't really rate their marquee signings that highly, but they grabbed Ebony Antonio as a priority selection and she can do some real damage as a rebounding HBF. They've pulled heavily from the WA leagues, as expected, but I don't see them winning it just yet. GWS have already lost one marquee player to an ACL. Their other Marquee is Emma Swanson who represented Melbourne this year in the exhibition games and as such is clearly an excellent choice. They have cast the net far and wide, pulling in professional basketball and soccer players as well as quite a few West Australians. I'm not really sure what to make of the side though. I don't see any standout names from the exhibition sides in there. The players they do have weren't noteworthy. Either they have pulled some amazing talent from the far corners of our non-square nation, or they might just be a disaster. Melbourne quite naturally signed Daisy Pearce the moment marquee players were available. She has been the face of Women's Football since we drafted her at no.1 in the first ever Women's Draft and represented the MFC with distinction. More importantly, she's the best player in the country. There's no doubt that she'll be our Captain. Mel Hickey was more of a surprise. A 30+ CHB when we basically had our pick of the best talent in the country? I'll be honest and admit that I would have preferred Ellie Blackburn to complement Pearce. Still, there is method to their madness. Hickey is one of the few players in the league who can go with the likes of Mo Hope, Abby Holmes or either of Brisbane's Marquees. She will be the rock holding our defence together. We have held on to several of our players from the exhibition games, but not the best of them. Look for some new faces taking spots from them. I have concerns about our ability to score with the loss of Tayla Harris, Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Jess Cameron. We have held on to Lauren Pearce though, so our ruck is looking quite decent. The Bulldogs saw their chance and snapped up Ellie Blackburn as a Marquee Signing along with Katie Brennan. Blackburn will go head to head with Daisy Pearce in round two trying to prove that she should be considered the top mid in the game. That battle will be worth the price of admission on it's own. I'll say again I wish we'd held to to her instead of Hickey. It would have given us the best midfield in the league to build our side around. Brennan is a good forward, although not in the same league as Hope or Harris, and she can move into the midfield and absolutely dominate with her size and power. They've held on to a good group of players from their exhibition sides as well. I think the gameplan they beat us with in the last exhibition game is what we can expect in the upcoming season. Lots of pace and outside movement. Ladder: Bulldogs - They have most bases covered. Strong Midfield and decent forward line. I think their gameplan suits the new rules too. Adelaide - Like the Doggies, I think they have a really well-rounded side. They don't have the best on any given line, but they have quality all over. Collingwood - Can't go past that forward line. We know that midfields are essential, but they have so much scoring power available to them. Melbourne - We have good experience in the middle and back, but I think we'll struggle to score. Should be some advantage in having the off-field structures set up and running well. Fremantle - They have a great coach but the list isn't the best. Carlton - I'm not buying what they're selling. No real star power or A-grade talent. GWS - I have no idea if this is accurate. Their side is a mystery to me. They have recruited from some pretty weak areas, but are they still weak in the women's game? Brisbane - Maybe in a few years. Maybe I'm wrong. Who knows?

I say again, players are paid by the AFL, not the club.

The selection of two senior figures as our Marquee Players suggests the club is aiming for early success in this league. Daisy is still the best player in the land and Mel Hickey is one of the few who can go toe to toe with Mo Hope. Hopefully the leadership they provide fast-tracks the development of the youngsters and helps us to a flag or two before the rest of the competition catches up.

Absolutely Awesome pics Satan.

Bombers to knock on the door of the top four. We will make the eight. Tim Smith Debuts. Watts and Hogan 100 goals between them. Garlett struggles to hold his place due to poor discipline and defensive effort. Gawn once again disappointed by the lack of love from the umpires on Brownlow night.

I think there is a very good reason for our midfield being ranked so low. They say they are basing it on numbers over two years. That would basically give us Vince and Jones who have played those two years at a high level and Viney at maybe a year and a half. Who else is going to rate a mention over a two year period? Petracca had a few brief stints, but his stats are nothing special. Brayshaw spent almost the entire season injured this year. Tyson had a shocking time in 2015. Oliver is brand new and has only played a handful of games. Melksham was suspended. Over the sample period, our midfield as it is currently listed has done virtually nothing. Half of them haven't even played both years. Of the guys who have, we already know that they aren't the absolute elite of the competition, so why get worked up? What we have are a group of hard-working senior mids who fight for every ball and a crop of youngsters who show every sign of being future stars but haven't produced it yet at AFL level. I don't think the analysis is that unfair when you actually look at the criteria and who we currently have on our list.

I must concede that the mung I was thinking of (8.20) didn't go as far as my memory had it. I had thought it was into the crowd, but it hit the fence on the half-volley. Still, he nails several goals from at or just inside 50 in this clip and doesn't seem to have any great issue with the distance.

I'm thrilled with two of those games. We'll get a nice reality check from the Doggies, then a very winnable game to follow. Not so happy about the WC game, but you can't have everything.

It's funny. In his first season he didn't have any problem kicking 50m goals, including one nasty low-flying Helicopter that he just brute-forced about 65m. This year his kicking was way off and he really struggled to make the distance, especially towards the end of the season.

OK, for the people saying that paying the team more could drive the club under, let me be clear. The Club Does Not Pay The Players! Player payments are made by the AFL. On to the actual contracts, while some question the need to pay them more, I challenge any of you to give me a reason why they should be denied insurance and boots. ANYONE who plays for the MFC should be insured regardless of which competition they are competing in.

I saw the headline and thought the show might improve, but then I saw that Hutchy is coming an and realised that the steady decline is ongoing.

Sounds a lot like drink-driving as well goind by the witness reports.

I am familiar with Knightmare, that's why I found it interesting. I'm very impressed that he's turned it into a paying gig.

Anyway, back to the topic of a young lad called Lachlan... He looks to be a pretty good athlete and not the stick-figure that many young rucks are to start with. I suspect he'll wind up being a fairly hefty specimen. I'm not overly worried about his kicking. To my mind it's more his overall game that's the concern. If they can take the raw material and develop him well then he could be a great pickup, but right now he's got a lot of work to do to keep learning how to play the game.

They have a much bigger pool to draw on, so the competition for the best athletes isn't as strong as it is here in Australia. We have Cricket, Basketball, Rugby, Rugby, Football and Football all competing for a pretty limited pool of talented kids. The kids are going to go where the money is, so if one code decides that 18 is too young to offer them contracts they will very quickly be unable to attract any decent players.

I came across this write-up from ESPN. Very interesting headline.