Adam The God

I don't wish to fuel the digression much further, but to be fair to Jack, there aren't many players that have had to deal with the same level of scrutiny that he has. So I don't agree entirely with the weak mindedness. The AFL endorsed article on Watts being dropped is a prime example of this scrutiny though. Who else gets articles written about them when they get dropped? Absolute A graders perhaps, but Watts hasn't delivered to that level and yet still gets 'microscoped'. Does Scully? Does Naitanui? It's a tired conversation and I know we've all been at it for years. I am in the boat of being an MFC supporter utterly frustrated by Jack's lack of physicality and at times concentration, but ultimately due to his creativity, I wonder whether he should be playing this week. Particularly, when Hawthorn have a few soft outsiders themselves.

I go every week, including to some interstate games and it frustrates the hell out of me when some 'supporters' find any excuse under the sun not to attend a game. It's pathetic. Particularly if they have the money. And whilst I agree with the rest of your post, LDVC, the players earn a bloody good wage and should turn up irrespective of whether the supporters do. It's their job.

Indeed.

I don't think you could play Hogan at FF. He's too important to halving contests up the field. Unless of course, Dawes starts taking grabs or bringing the ball to his feet in a constructive manner. Not sure you could say this about Jeremy Howe. How (pardon the pun) he continues to get games is beyond me. Given Watts has finally been dropped, I wonder whether Howe is next to go if he dishes up another performance of jogging and fading in and out of the game.

But I think you back yourself in to draft a 250 game A grader, otherwise what are we doing? We need A graders. If our recruiting department think there's a ten year A grade prospect in the top 5, I'd rather go for them. Unless of course there's a chance we can get Shiel, Prestia or Treloar, which I can't see happening.

Agreed.

He's certainly not the bloke I'd be giving up a top 5 pick for.

He's on the cusp, but a B grader, IMO.

For a B grader? I wouldn't.

We didn't want Thompson to leave either. In the end, there's only so much a club can do.

Then we'll barely have any icing. We've already got so little, to lose more would make for a pretty bland cake.

But the guys we've brought in struggle to hit a target. And sides like Hawthorn punish the opposition on the turn over. This spells danger. At least they're trying something though, I guess.

That's no worry, mate. Hope it lasts another two seasons. May as well shut the club down now. Fold.

I want more involvement and run and carry from Lumumba. He only needs to get it 20 times and he can be really damaging. Vince has been okay at times this year, but he's nowhere near the heights of early last year. We need him racking up high disposals, because he's such a good user.

Doesn't excite me. Could be a good player, but I get the sense that a lot of the love for him is sentimental.

I had more confidence in the Sydney game than the Hawthorn or Freo games. I didn't think we'd win the Sydney game though. My girlfriend and I have been dating eight years now (she's Hawthorn filth) and we haven't won a game against them in this time. I'd prefer to win this game over the Freo or Sydney games.

Now, would you give Tommy Mac an 8 year deal as well? I'd certainly consider it. With the advent of free agency, list management is coming into a new age. I wonder how certain clubs will deal with it.

Neither.

10 for $10 mill.

Oy vey! It's the midfield. I'm just not sure you can get away with this style of play in the modern game. It's effectively hiding JKH in the forward 50. It's tough. Opposition players will run off him and he'll invariably get dragged out. But at the moment, unless there's someone else at Casey demanding a spot, he'll probably have to go around again. He needs a major lift though. His decision making this season has been frustrating to say the least. I'd play him as sub. Bring on his run and seeming toughness at the end of the third. Get him to lay a couple of tackles and run his opponent off their feet. Gut running for a quarter and a bit.

That's what the players have told him anyway.

Apologies. I did actually think you were legitimately trolling. :D Let's say I disagree and retract my troll comment with an apology attached. Disposal efficiency is one of the most misleading stats in the game. We chipped the ball around at half back all year in '14. That made our DE look a lot healthier. Now that we're taking a few more risks, our DE is dropping. Thanks for the clangers stats though. That is enlightening. I hope Jones, Tyson and Vince can turn it around. I suspect Tyson is carrying an injury though, which continues to hinder him. And Collingwood are going to say that they miss him? Far too arrogant to admit fault. Dawes should be playing out of the square, IMO.

So it's a Tuesday afternoon troll, is it?

Completely agree, mate. He's one you can build a dynasty around. With the way the salary cap is inflating each year, a mill a season for ten years probably wouldn't be a massive dint in the cap. You could also front load some of that now to ensure we can keep others down the track.

I can get on board with most of this, but I wonder whether this is too much of a comservative approach in modern footy. With the advent of free agency, you must be competitive most of the time and that means pushing for finals as well, otherwise it's too easy for players to jump ship.