Adam The God

This has probably been mentioned, but Petracca needs to take the first option. You're not a superstar yet, son. Don't over complicate it.

JR - the new OD?

Can you do it on Scully, please?

I know there's a long way to go, but no one is really standing out at this stage. The Hawks could quite easily miss out on the top 4, but become one of the first (if not the first?) to win it from outside of the top 4. That's how even it is. The competition reminds me of 2005. Just about anyone in the top 6 could win it.

The way the game is being played, if you can accumulate a disparity in uncontested possessions, it means you're probably scoring more freely. A large number of the goals in 2016 seem to be coming from passages where teams get over the press. Teams are doing this with a mixture of contested and uncontested possessions, which underlines the continued importance of contested possessions. But how many goals seem to be scored 'out the back' these days? Heaps. So I'd say it's certainly a trend of the new brand of AFL footy, rather than a coincidence.

Almost certainly the case...

I think it's a combination of both. They really do lack tall targets up forward, but their inability to move the ball quickly through the corridor by opening up the game with attacking kicks from half back, ensures their ball movement is significantly slower. In short, they've become more predictable, which is a pity, because I like watching the Bulldogs in flight. Selfishly, their injuries have come at a good time for us. We'll be a real shot against them if we bring our game.

Only if we keep winning. I said after the Essendon loss that it meant whatever faint chance we had of reaching 40,000 was lost. A loss tomorrow will surely be the final nail in the coffin for the 40,000 target this year. But wouldn't it be terrific if in Roos' final year, we... made the finals; hit 40,000 members; had one or two players (I'm looking at you Viney and Gawn) go close in the Brownlow; and Petracca or Oliver won the Rising Star. What a platform it would be for Goody in 2017!

The QLD and NSW academy systems are rubbish too. I can understand giving these clubs access to one pick a year, but it should be capped at that. It's outrageous that they get these massive draft concessions. You only have to look at Sydney with Heeney and now Mills. Funnily enough, we bid on both of those players. We could have had both of them.

Reckon it's a dangerous move from North. That's the place they'd be relocated to and hopefully, sooner the better. Tassie Kangaroos. I like it.

Sounds reasonably ridiculous to me...

Love him.

I can't see us playing Dawes and Pedersen in this team. It's one or the other.

And by the end of this season there could be an exodus at Freo. I've never been worried about Freo. It's another Melbourne club that I've always thought is more likely to woo Jesse. But if we keep up-trending, we can still offer him more than pretty much anyone else and hopefully the promise of sustained success. I think ultimately he'll re-sign with us.

Delusional.

Opinion/feeling.

This will work alright for us though. It allows Salem to continue working on his defensive and one-on-one game, which will help his contested ball winning ability and forward play in the years to come. He's got this year to play off half back and next year he'll probably be moved up the ground, if not sooner.

I think it's more a case of not winning a flag with the guys they've built a side around. Okay, Fyfe will probably come back and still be a star, but Pavlich, Sandilands etc. They had to win a flag when these guys were around, because there's just not that next batch of talent coming through. It doesn't really matter if they're tired or not. They've missed their chance with the majority of this list. Where does Lyon go next? I think he has to reinvent himself and build from the ground up, a new list. I'm not sure he's capable. It'll be interesting to see. One thing that seems almost certain is they're in for some pain.

Depends if Lyon has another game plan. His only game plan is irrelevant now. I think they might be in for a full rebuild.

I knew someone would say that. Let's wait and see.

Think it might be more about WJ trying to encourage debate, DD.

Yeah, I'm not sure of his place in this side, although I wouldn't completely rule him out. If Pedersen manages to fit into this structure, it's just possible Dawes is capable too. Though I'm looking forward to Weideman coming in to this side.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Oliver come in for Pedersen.

That's definitely what it looks like...

He's another piece of the puzzle. A potentially important piece of the puzzle, but this team is playing like a team at the moment. And I hope it continues. There might be a whiff of a cynical motive in trying to get bums on seats at Etihad this weekend, however the hype being generated around him is mostly the work of external football media, rather than the club.