Adam The God

Hodge was in Judd's year, so Hodge wasn't the best player either. Good leader yada yada, but I'm taking Judd every day of the week over Hodge.

Which means you think WC will take Reid at 1. If so, you could well be right.

So it was about their abilities? Grundy is a two time AA. He definitely has elite ability in his position. Chol has shown glimpses but not consistently. Anyway, each to their own.

I think he faded quite noticeably in this role in the late part of the year, but if he and we know that's the plan next year, then that's what he trains for this pre season.

We may just look at someone like Smith or JVR playing second ruck.

Not really. Chol is a forward/ruck. Grundy is a ruck/forward. We arguably have a list need for a forward/ruck. Or we target a ruck to back up Max and play in the 2s for most of the year, except to give Max a chop out.

That's not a very riddle. But appreciate the info mate.

Yep, still a few riddles in the works.

When Yze walked in the door at the end of 2020, Clarry had just toured the Blues. Yze got the mids on side and sold them on what was needed. Maybe McQualter will have the same impact this year?

As you show, he was called that in school. He was the year above me.

You're missing the point. The comparison wasn't about Reid and Rowell being the same sort of player. It was about them both being highly valued and thought of Under 18 players. Drafting. Is. A. Lottery. You cannot say definitively that Reid will be an elite player. Therefore, the comparison between Reid and Oliver is stupid.

Who knows. The game changes so quickly. It's just as likely to revert back to super defensive soon enough.

Selwood, Danger were elite with elite years from Guthrie and Duncan. We could absolutely get that out of Viney, Petracca, Rivers and Sparrow.

Yeah, you're talking AFL level traits, and clearly that's true. But Oliver has shown over 8 years, elite AFL. Not just AFL level traits. He has been there, done that. He has won 1 (2?) AFLCA awards, an award far more prestigious than the Brownlow. He won a BnF in a flag year. He's been a multiple AA. Reid has not played a single AFL game yet. Someone earlier in the thread rightly said he could well turn out to be another Rowell, or, which is rhe lottery in draft picks, he could turn out to be the next Dusty, with a more rounded game than Clarry. But you can't say that now and expect people to agree with you. You need to actually see it. How many top draft picks have been heralded as the next best thing. At the end of the day, drafting is a lottery.

Think about West Coast and Ben Cousins. They got a premiership with him, but their culture was a disaster and they never managed to win another. If Clarry threatens the culture, and we are not best placed to analyse this, the club is, then he has to go.

Well, let's go back to 2022 then. Geelong also won it without an elite midfield IMV. I agree with your last point about future success, but we can't answer that yet.

Your obsession with untried 18 year olds is ridiculous. You were one of the posters last year claiming this draft would be a super draft when most were saying that's the rhetoric every year. You also loved Weideman at draft time. You love potential, not actual proven elite AFL talent. To say Reid has a more rounded game than Oliver when he's never played an AFL game is frankly laughable. Having said that, in the long run, we may well be better off trading out Clarry and in Reid. But FMD, Reid's game is more rounded 🤦

I don't think it's about being seduced by picks this time mate. It's about maintaining the culture that the club has tried so hard to foster, and maximising what is a dreadfully sorry and sad situation. Clarry is my favourite player, I'm devastated. But we've got the picks this year to work a deal that could rejuvenate our list. The other thing not being talked about is the potential dramatic impact not having Clarry in our midfield will have on our game style. Collingwood have shown you don't need an elite midfield to win a flag. They've bucked the trend in that regard. I trust JT, Lamb and the broader club to do what's right for the MFC here. As gut wrenching as that is. I suspect many of us are so strongly bonded to Clarry because we waited so long for an elite midfielder and then we got him, he helped us win a flag and now here we are...

Welcome Mini. Have a feeling it's a really good get. Our first CGS student as an MFC coach too.

I'd be wanting top 5 picks just to start the convo. You build a midfield around Clarry.

Chook has arrived. 👌 Anything else for us, @Chook in Perth? Please and thank you.

Petty won't be going. We love him. And rightly so.

Yep, and I reckon the Carlton FD and MC worked out in the second half of 2023 that they played better without him and with the speed of the modern game, found he was a bit of a liability if he wasn't kicking goals and taking marks.

In many respects, Lobb is the perfect ruck/forward to add to our list this stage. He's not the guy that's going to take over from Gawn, that'll be a fella by the name of Sean Darcy in 2025 or so ( 😉 ), but he is perfect for the time being.

You just need Lobb to provide reasonable back up ruck work and then an ability better than Gawn or Grundy to play forward and it's a win. He could absolutely nail both roles.