Adam The God

Did he make a move all night? He seems to look aghast in the box, picks up the phone and threatens to make a phone call and then goes back to being aghast again. How we lost to them in Round 23 I'll never know. I actually think their list has somehow gotten worse over the off season. Maybe because they have no forward structure without Blair and co? I'd bite the bullet and play a small quick forwardline if I was Buckley - the Richmond blueprint. Their ball use was terrible, but they had absolutely no forward structure all night. The fact that Reid and Cox couldn't have marked a beach ball tonight, only exacerbated their ineffectiveness forward of centre.

Gee, the ball movement from both teams here is snail-like. St Kilda rely too heavily on Savage's disposal off half back.

Too many half backs in the team this week. Hunt, Lewis, Jones, Salem and too many mids. Brayshaw can really only play half back or midfield. He's shown reasonably consistently that he struggles forward of centre, so I reckon it's a horses for courses deal here. Same with Tyson.

Disagree. I reckon, despite the odd turn over, he has shown some good poise and with more experience, will eliminate the turn overs and increase the poise.

The defence is all about run and carry. That's how we're going to play. We want runners to help our 18 man press. Wagner and Tyson are not competing for the same spot, but we have 13 players that can and have run through the middle before (Jones, Vince, Lewis, Salem, Petracca, Harmes, Hogan, Garlett, Oliver, Neal-Bullen, Melksham, Hannan and Maynard). This is a decision more about our defence than our midfield. We have enough who can roll through the midfield. This is pretty much it, Paul. No, we're not.

Perhaps ironically, I'd argue Wagner is less versatile than Tyson, which I think is Tyson's weakness and why he finds himself just outside the 22 for this game.

I read it... still a strange question.

Oliver is on the cusp of elite. Only injury and application can hold him back from being a champion. He's the best Melbourne midfielder in my 30 year lifetime quite comfortably. He does things consistently that players on your list would dream of being able to do.

Strange question. They're completely different players.

I think Tyson will be cusp 22 unless he can add more strings to his bow. But he is the prototype finals footballer at his best - that is a clearance specialist and goal kicking mid. Where he needs to improve this year is hitting the scoreboard like he did in his first year and his field kicking needs to improve too. If his field kicking improves, he then becomes a potential half back option. However, he doesn't have the same versatility as an Oliver or Petracca, but that doesn't mean he won't be a key for us on multiple occasions in 2018. I said this in the wake of Richmond's grand final win, but with the game's evolution towards pressure forwards and Goodwin's desire for versatility and midfield options, Tyson could be on the outer this year unless he can evolve as well. He's too slow to play a pressure forward, so it'll be interesting to see how he goes this year, as I like him as a player.

So you'd be prepared to pay top dollar for someone you call depth? Okay. I wouldn't. That's not how you build a premiership list.

Hard not to be really disappointed about this. When are we going to get our best 22 on the park? Hopefully, we can get them all there by the midway mark. We really missed Viney's leadership last year. I hope Tom's injury hasn't occurred due to mismanagement. I'll trust that it hasn't.

Hogan and then Salem, please.

Easily the best news of 2018. ? Well done, Clarry.

One of the key reasons their propaganda was strong on this is I know how well connected at Geelong you are. So if you were saying it, they'd convinced many.

I'd rather nick a GWS mid from them. That'll certainly bring us closer to them. Shiel, Coniglio, Whitfield or Kelly. That said, priority one for us should be ensuring we hold onto what we've got. Yeah, I'm confident that by the end of 2018, if injury free, Petracca, Salem and Brayshaw will be a feared group, lead by Oliver and eventually Viney.

Wasn't Round 1 though.

I've posed this as a potential question for Goody on the forthcoming podcast. We'll see if it gets asked.

Absolutely. Never said he wouldn't be in our best 22. But what would he offer (specifically) that we don't already possess? As you say, at what cost? I'd take him if he came cheaply, but he won't. Oliver, Viney, Petracca, Salem, Brayshaw, Tyson and Jones will do me fine.

If that's the case, Pedo has to make Taylor accountable. That becomes a key match up.

Wow. There's definitely a strong Ministry for Propaganda at Geelong. No way Dangerfield plays after pulling a hamstring. It's see ya later for 2+ weeks.

What does he provide that most of our mids don't already? Apart from an inability to break a tag... He's meat and potatoes. That's it.

I suspect this stat will remain relatively the same for the foreseeable future. We play a very high press and when teams eventually get out the back, as we've seen on multiple occasions, they have a paddock to run into. Inside 50 stats can be very misleading in the modern game.

No, thanks. Sloane doesn't excite me.

No reason why he can't be as good as Martin by the end of 2018 and as damaging forward as the bikie.