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I haven't posted once in the TS thread, do I win a prize or something? How about free membership for a year

All things considered ~37k is an outstanding result really. When you consider that we have a long term project ahead of us in capturing the Casey heartland and should/could be pushing for ~40k next year I think we are well positioned to be a solid middle tier Victorian club wrt membership at the very least. Add a premiership or two to the equation and the possibilities absolutely soar.

Morton's #1 problem on the wing is that he doesn't play on enough due to a slow take off speed and this is clearly in the back of his mind after taking a mark - hence he often looks hesitant. He can find space ok but if he has an opponent remotely in his vicinity or square on he can't get around them to run on so he either looks to offload or goes back from the mark for a kick. This is a pretty significant issue, in fact I think if given the game time, Watts could make for a better winger than Morton. Morton can only run when he has a paddock - any player can do this, he is no good in congestion and only kicks well when he has the time. Contrary to many posts I have read over the years, size is not his main issue. As some others have said here it is strength and power, particularly from the core down that is the key for Morton. When you consider that he is underpowered for his current frame, if he puts on another 5kg without an appreciable increase in core and leg strength his career is in trouble. In the modern (2011) vernacular the term 'utility' is more a term for a spare parts man who doesn't have a prime role IMO. Years gone past when the game was slower I think the utility was a genuine role, but (as 'Cards' noted) most players are expected to be versatile these days so the traditional utility role is becoming redundant. When you consider that the main list may be extended to include rookies and competition for spots will be unprecedented, to try and groom Morton in the substitute/"utility" role is IMO death to his career by a thousand cuts. He needs to master a role and if he becomes versatile enough to cover other spots then that is a bonus.

The problem I see for Morton is that he is quickly running out of time to lock down a position/role and hone a particular craft - quite simply because positions are being snaffled up. I don't dispute that he'll be a better footballer as time goes on and despite his experience he is still young. We have to put something into context though. This is probably the first year we have locked down or earmarked most positions on the ground. As we had our list turnover period Morton enjoyed a lot of games after he was drafted (and rightly so). Some injuries haven't helped but nearly 60 games all the same. The significance of the turnover period wasn't just the game time but the availability of multiple roles and positions to gauge his strengths/weaknesses. This luxury is quickly running out. Jamar was always going to be a ruckman, Watts was always going to be a forward, Garland (despite conjecture about being played forward) was always in the estimates as a defender I believe. What is Morton's role? He is still underpowered and too slow to play wing, undersized to play a consistent role across halfback and now has no hope of a forward gig with Watts/Cook/Jurrah/resting-ruck/Howe (and Green if you want to throw him in). Morton virtually had a 2 yr head start in order to at least hone in on his optimal role and we are still none the wiser - for me this is a bigger worry than the issue or pure form and development. I don't like pointing out the weaknesses of young players and the #4 pick is no longer relevant either so it is not about criticising him. Now it is about having a platform to contribute and I think it will be hard for him with the way the team is heading. To my mind the only way Morton will master a position/craft is if he is given a starting spot week in week out and drilled in that particular role, the only problem is that this luxury is no longer viable IMO.

As silly as it sounds it's true. With the rigorous turnover of our list in the last 3 years we have so many players now who we have to put in the wait and see basket - we don't want to cut anyone prematurely. Out list of known quantities who are "obvious" delist material at yr end is dwindling by the year - tougher decisions from here on in.

Also, we can't put Jamar on the VL until the end of next season can we?

21.2.3 Contract of Service (a) Where a Club includes a Player on its Rookie List, it shall:- (i) in the case of an International Player, enter into a Contract of Service for a minimum of 2 AFL Football Seasons; or (ii) in the case any other Player, enter into a Contract of Service for a minimum of 1 AFL Football Season. This would include an initial contract as well so 2 yrs is not necessarily automatic I don't think.

Bumper of a draft!

How bad did it look? Will the Pies be dickless for the rest of the season?

I agree with that, we don't want dick making a presence in our pockets. The Pies definitely have enough players who eat dick but I tend to think they'll keep him for depth rather than just [censored] him off.

Will he play or is Malthouse just dick teasing?

List depth which is what I think most teams focus on is probably used in a different context to how the term "depth player" is thrown about.

Yep, and just 1 week after he came out and said we had to be "bold".

26/27 is probably getting a bit old for our purposes although at the end of this calendar year we will have (excluding Newton rookie) just 4 players on our list in the 24 - 26 age bracket. If you factor a couple more 26+ players possibly coming off the list at seasons end then we start to have quite an exclusive senior group around the club. I agree with others that NQR players are pointless, we don't want a revolving door for older players not up to it but if we can get our hands on a 24-26 yr old to just bolster that in between group then that would be good IMO. As always the $1mill question is how? Good players in this age group cost the world and we would need to get a good player to make the whole exercise worth while. Given how much pressure our senior players are under atm I am not sure why a good player would even want to join us atm and it may not be worth the effort of stuffing our salary cap around just now which is something the club has carefully prepared for in a few years time when I expect them to pull the trigger.

Do you actually know what a forward press is? Indeed they are not the same thing, hence my use of the word "or": vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv ie we don't press with a zone or man up at opposition kick outs. The opposition have too much space too often and work the flanks on us with relative ease from kick outs.

Our forward 50 entries are an issue in itself but at opposition kick outs we don't press them. We don't even man up. I think someone on 360 made a point of how easy opposition teams go coast to coast on us. wrt a forward press specifically, you won't be fit enough to execute it if you aren't drilled to execute it at training. I'm not saying that we don't train to exert pressure but we clearly have had no emphasis on a forward press or even manning up. The practice game against Essendon rang alarm bells for some people when they pressed us up and we had no answer and it hasn't got any better since. The sub rule is actually an interesting parameter wrt how we build from defence. We give up so much easy meterage to the opposition and then work our butts off working the transition - a cardinal sin any time let alone 2011.

You'll get lambasted for this but you're spot on in all areas.

David King summed us up over a month ago long before the media frenzy.

My understanding is that if we hadn't taken Cook another club would have taken him long before Darling was even in the picture. IMO our 09 draft was a bumper and last years draft definitely had a development emphasis on it but wasn't necessarily a poor draft - only time will tell. I must admit though that from this year on it would be nice to get a few more kids who have filled out a little more as they integrate with our current players.

Thanks for the write up mate, sounds like a lot of positive aspects despite the opposition. To answer the Evans question, neither he or any other rookie besides Newton can play MFC games (unless there is a LTI movement) until mid-year when we can nominate another rookie. Newton was given the full year nomination at the start of the season.

Would the ultimate irony be a player injuring themselves in some obscure manner this weekend?

So PS3 and X-Box have been dropped?

Yeah, I think Watts might enjoy the extra space at Subi as well. Dunn hasn't been in the game enough so far but I just wonder if his tank would be useful at Subi as well. I thought Bartram was a little off today but not exactly a "poor" game. Will be a tough call at the selection meeting that's for sure and we had no injuries of note did we? I just hope that our sub is a running type as it will be hard going over there.

Sydney have made the finals in 2 of the last 3 years. During that time they have won 1 of 9 MCG games (against Richmond). This doesn't pencil us in for a win but it does suggest that the MCG has been a stumbling block for them of late. I'll be looking at our forward line defensive pressure as a critical area - we can't let their defenders bring the ball out too easily (no Malceski will hurt them). IMO we're good enough to break even in the middle and defensively we can at least be sure that Garland and co will make them earn it. Sydney are honest but I expect us to win this.

I think that would be a general option most teams would look at through the season. IMO we should start with Martin in the 21 and see where we're at as early as possible this season with 1 main ruck and a versatile secondary. If Martin can develop as a viable 2nd option it means we have more strings to our bow as the season goes on. I think teams who can keep the opposition guessing up to 90 minutes (wrt final line up) will have an advantage. We won't have this advantage if we literally don't have the versatility.