praha

And then pick 6 to Freo for Jackson

St Kilda has a bad reputation in the league dating back to the early 2000s and their dealings to nab a few stars from other clubs. They are basically Temu Geelong in that area in terms of promising the universe to players with added dangling carrots. They have always had a weird allure that I just don't understand. But they would have been in TDK and Silvangi's ears for a while now and honestly I reckon they have Flanders in the bag as well. They don't often trade or sign strategically like a Collingwood or Hawthorn or Geelong. They're doing exactly what they did to nab Gehrig and Hamill back in the day. They are a nothing club of hot headed Frankston High graduates.

The AFLW will go the way of the WNBA in being ridiculed and lambasted by cynics if we keep forcing token gestures just for the sake of it. He also clearly says "end of the AFL season" before mentioning AFLW. I'm sure the AFLW team can deal.

He and has management have clearly taken Melbourne for a ride as leverage to get a strong deal from Freo. This seems certain given he didn't mention wanting a trade at exit interviews. Yes he may well have been waiting for King and that might have played a role if he isn't getting what he wanted, but he didn't know Goodwin would be sacked. So the narrative that he was waiting to see who the coach would be doesn't align for mine. He was always leaving.

Also I am guessing this means we keep May? No way we can afford to lose two key defenders in one off season after having already lost Hibberd.

Is anyone really surprised? You don't wait this long and then opt to stay. Freo is pulling dodgy on us and the club absolutely needs to stand firm. We can't keep bleeding out WA talent after a few years. It's not bloody good enough.

Pick 11 or gtfo.

Scott's a little b-i-t-ch. It's everyone else's fault but his own. They live in a little media and football bubble down the highway. It's like the twilight zone down there. Everything is so pristine and perfect that when things don't go their way, there must be a reason that isn't related to something they did (or didn't) do.

I guess they always come up Gee-short.

whispers we beat the premiers on their home turf.

Suck [censored] Geelong

I think that what we saw this finals series, it really woke Goody up to the reality. After beating Geelong in 2021, they have played in three Prelims, two Grand Finals, and won a flag. After beating Brisbane, they've played in four Prelims, three Grand Finals, and won a flag. Hawthorn threw absolutely everything at Geelong: in the last quarter they were a completely different line-up and outside of moving Petty back/forward we just never saw that type of readjustment mid game from Goodwin. I think it really showed how far off his high pressure coaching was.

Hawthorn and Collingwood both struggled after their drought breaking flags. Pies in 1990, were pretty average for a decade after. Hawthorn only went 18 years without a flag but it took them 4 seasons to get good again.

Great, now have that stupid "Despacito" song stuck in my head.

I mean they're not really world beaters. All very good role players. Geelong has landed Dangerfield, Cameron and Smith, three of arguably the top 50 players of the past decade. Collingwood Wait until things start clicking for GC.

It was hard to be excited about last night. The media banged on about it being a huge game but for many of us we watched it with a lingering sense of bitterness. It reality that combination of teams is boring to everyone except Geelong and Hawthorn supporters. The outcome is hardly surprising. And we all know it'll be a Collingwood v Geelong Grand Final. They'll each be playing in Grand Final No. 7 since 2007. Of which only two will be against each other. Meaning 10 of the last 19 Grand Finals have included one of them. Brisbane or Hawthorn winning wouldn't have been much different. The sad thing is that Hawthorn is the only one that has done this without really raiding other team lists, and done it through strong drafting. I'd have been okay with them winning this year precisely because it would show how quickly things can turn if you trust your list and players.

Yes, we're all aware that people need to leave Melbourne to see sustained success. Nothing new there.

Yep shocking. This game doesn't even feel finals worthy.

Man I would love GC to win. I don't hate Brisbane as a whole as much as I do some of their players and honestly, either of these two winning the flag is better than any of Collingwood, Hawthorn or Geelong.

The pre-finals bye destroys all momentum but Hawthorn was always a legitimate chance irrespective of where they finished. They have one of the best defenses in the league. I think the third best. IMO it was always going to be between Hawks, Adelaide and Crows for the flag. I can totally see the Hawks absolutely pummelling the Cats next week on the turnover. Watch them absolutely tear about the corridor of the MCG.

We are shocked by it because we never saw such a sudden shift in momentum under Goodwin's tenure. It was either all going right or all going wrong. We always needed a pre-season to reboot. Collingwood in 2022 and then 2023 (they lost to West Coast early in 2022 and looked destined for bottom 4 before eventually making a Prelim - it turned overnight for them). Lions in 2024 after starting 0-3 and being like 3-9 at one point. Hawthorn as well after being 0-5. We looked destined for a similar run this year when we were 5-6 and had just smashed Sydney. Instead we went 2-10 to end the year and rightfully sacked the coach. While Hawthorn's shift has been sudden, it is not really surprising when you really consider the pedigree and football experience of Mitchell. He just oozes success. That killer instinct is so important. It gets you over the line in close games, and gets you belting anyone that even remotely buckles under pressure. As we saw tonight. I would fully expect Hawthorn to win next week.

Adelaide really staring down the barrel of doing a Melbourne.

I'm actually happy we didn't get Buckley. Seemed less likely by the day and with every article by Caroline Wilson, or by the AFL about Tassie. Timing seemed very peculiar. At least King has been recently active in coaching.

I think the one constant here is simply Geelong's player development. Tom Stewart - He was pick 40. We've gotten lucky with a few in this range. Stengle - He couldn't get a game in one of the strongest teams of the modern era in Richmond, and couldn't break into an Adelaide team who themselves had a number of strong small forwards. As for Martin we simply didn't have a spot for him at the end of last year. I don't think that when the club was signing and re-signing players in 2021 and 2022 that they could have possibly foreseen that checks notes Jack Martin would be available. The question here isn't what players Melbourne missed out on. But rather what they're doing with the players they are bringing in. You just know that if Billings and McAdam ended up at Geelong they'd be locked in their best 22 and playing AA-calibre football. I mean, no one was saying our Recruitment was poor even 12 months ago. We've had a really poor 12 months of football and now suddenly our list Management is being compared with the flag favourites lol give it a spell!

I know we have had trouble on field and in the lockroom but I would immediately be gutting the marketing and membership departments. To lose that amount only four years after a flag... that is just absolutely shocking. Really reminds me of 90s Melbourne, run like an amateur club that hasn't moved into the professional era. I imagine signing Buckley won't prompt a bump in membership but nothing short of a trip back to finals would help. We are at real risk of falling behind North next year.