Adam The God

Add in Prestia at the end of this year. Oliver is really, really impressive. What excites me is that someone like Thomas Bugg has stepped up and really shown his hand too. It just takes the pressure off a young bloke like Oliver, because there are more hands on deck and a sharing of the load across many. We are now getting goals from midfield and look dominant at stoppages. When was the last time we could say that? Gawn certainly helps us give first use, but guys like Oliver will provide really stiff competition for Gus, Petracca, Bugg, Kennedy etc. Really like Oliver's decision making and game sense though. He knows where his team mates are and he knows which decision to take. Very excited about him.

Not sure this is necessary Steve, but just about everything Garland did today resulted in a turn over.

Really worried about Tom too. His decision making is just not improving. He consistently bites off more than he can chew. I'm surprised to be honest, because I'd expect a coach like Roos to be all over a guy like this. He's continually failed to realise his limitations. It's bewildering that they let him keep doing it. It's as if they're telling him to keep backing himself in. If they are, it's dangerous. They need to treat him a bit like Zac Dawson. Just keep it really simple. Focus on what he's good at and make sure he's doing those things well. To me, he was playing within his limitations at the start of last year and then he was thoroughly beaten one week and he never turned it around again after that. He starts to take the game on too much after that.

Mumford is key to that though. He plays and I reckon we really struggle. He doesn't and we win.

Yeah, Col is a confidence player who hasn't been able to recapture the spark he once had. I still put it down to those years under Neeld that finally broke the camels back, so to speak. I expected him to look more confident against the Power having re-signed, but he still looks a lost cause. It's sad, because he seems like he really likes the club and he's a loyal sort of bloke. And to say he gels with the others, I'm not so sure about that. He looks lost at times these days, paralysed by his fear of making a mistake. We'll see him surpassed this year I reckon. But I wouldn't call it a myth that Garland can lock down small forwards. I've seen him do it. I recall a game against Hawthorn three or four years ago (I know, I know) where he shut down Rioli. We got within 12 points (?) that day. The same year he played on Buddy. He was a good prospective, but by 2017 he'll be a B plan. Which is fine.

No way Terlich plays another game. He couldn't get a game last year even when we were in dire need of running defenders and rebound off half back. Just not going to happen. And thankfully. An absolute butcher. Similarly, so is Grimes. Those are the two that would be shipped off first at the end of the year. It'd take something dramatic to see Grimes turn it around. He's disciplined, but his disposal isn't good enough for a run-with-tagger and from what I saw against Port, he still fails to make the right decision at the right time.

I'd agree, but he was probably also drafted because Dawes will be 28 this year and Pedersen 29. They've each got one to three years max. That's the perfect apprenticeship (at least in terms of time) for The Weed. I'd usually pick Pedersen ahead of Dawes, but this is where Dawes' leadership qualities, hard work and professionalism will teach Weiderman what it takes.

It'l be really interesting to see the Pedersen/Dawes et al situation unfold this year. I'd proffer that Goodwin will have a large say in who plays regularly. Roos is clearly a fan of Dawes and in a way is also responsible for reinventing Pedersen, but my feeling is that if given the choice, Roos will go with Dawes. Add Goodwin into the mix and I wonder where they both sit? Perhaps, Goodwin will be keen to develop a youngster in their place (ie. The Weed)? Garland is another one who Roos clearly rates. And before last year, I loved him, but he's really struggled for a while now. His game against Port did nothing to inspire confidence either - he looked positively shaky and hesitant. I think we'll see Frost preferred at the back by the end of 2016. I think they'll give him a bit of a go up forward during the NAB stuff and then work him into the backline as the season progresses. We'll have really interesting competition for KPB spots then too, between Tommy Mac, Dunn, Garland and Frost. Can't see Oscar Mac troubling any of those this year, but who knows with injury lists. This is a good point too. Frost certainly has the height and athleticism to play around the ground, but does he have the tank? That is a bloody exciting side. I'd probably have Kennedy ahead of ANB at this stage, as he offers an ability to rotate through the middle at a higher capacity. ANB will hopefully get there, but he's not quite there yet, IMO.

Bit like Kent really. 'Hey, he's fast, he's got a bit of mongrel'. FWIW, I agree with your above post too.

Agree. Also thought our disposal by hand and foot (but particularly by hand) was ordinary. Lots of room for improvement which is exciting. Won't play finals this year, IMO, but I hope you're right, Ron.

I said last season Gawn wouldn't make it unless he improved his tank. Well, he ran that game out well. If he can do that consistently, he'll be an A grader. He's so dominant.

Very impressive game. Managed to keep his feet at a couple of crucial moments, he made good decisions and his disposal is pretty neat. He's definitely an upgrade on the Ben Newton's of the world.

I like the look of Clarry. He's quick in and under and makes good decisions quickly. The pace of the game didn't seem too much for him. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

I'll say it again. Dean Kent. Not good enough.

Looking forward to SOS bungling Carlton's list.

I don't like the Yze comparison and I've knocked it before. I loved 'Ooz' in the early years, but I grew weary of his softness and picking and choosing which contests to hit. Salem is deceptively tough though. His only major weaknesses so far are his ability to get a lot of it and his inability to stay on the park. If he manages to get 30 touches, we'll win just about every time. His skills and decision-making are A grade.

Are we? At times last year we really struggled for depth. The fact that Brayshaw played so many games says something. He was terrific, don't get me wrong, but in a side with more depth he plays 10-15 games. With Oliver, Petracca and the return of Trengove, we have a bit more depth, but I think Oliver will get an earlier call up than he would in a better side. I still think we can and should win 10-12 games this year though.

Couple of things here. 1) most of the big blokes that have left their respective clubs have started negotiating with their club's-to-be a year out from being uncontracted. Two years in this day and actually is more akin to one year. 2) he was presented with targets the club had to reach under Roos and we hit them. There's also clear wins to loss ratio improvement. 3) yes, the salary cap is going up, but Hogan's manager would have known that months ago. He would be negligent not to. Yet, still, Hogan's management sat down and listened to deals at the end of last year. If their intention was to wait until the salary cap jump (that they knew was coming), why did they string us along with negotiations late last year? 4) you can't seriously think we didn't offer him the rightful amount of money. We offered him oodles. Even with salary jumps, we won't be able to offer him more than $10 mill over 10 years.

He would have been offered something ridiculous by us, so given he has put off talks, that says he's gone. As if we wouldn't have offered him $10mill over 10 years or even more. Really disappointing. I'll find it very difficult watching him run around this season.

You're always banging on about Gen Y, jnrmac. To be fair though, Gen Z are the ones with participation ribbons. My Gen Yers just want to get places no matter what. Shall I bang on about the Baby Boomers sitting in jobs for too long, so that poor old Gen Xers get too old and then passed over for Gen Yers? Every generation has their thing. Give the Gen Y thing a rest though. I've been reading it for years. And from what I've heard, I'd be very surprised if they both re-sign with the Suns.

For the last year, I've said 10-12 wins this year is the pass mark. I think we'll get there.

Would love to know who'd be better. Playing 22 games, the bloke is one of the best clearance players in the comp. We're kidding ourselves if we think Viney, Jones or Tyson or even Vince are likely to do better. If we can play in a finals series, then we've arrived again as a club.

When Jones, Terlich and Grimes are no longer on our list, we'll have an AFL standard list. That'll be at the end of 2016.

I think it's pretty obvious Howe was pushed. He was told his contract and game time would be limited. The only reason he was played when he shouldn't have been last season was to ensure we didn't tarnish his trade value. People can argue all they like about that, but Roos did it with Frawley as well.

He'd be our best midfielder straight away, by quite a margin. Only Hogan would be ahead of him in terms of Top 10 players.