Adam The God

He's not a dominant or better than half way decent option though. He butchers the ball at HB. Just as Terlich does. People have finally realised this of Terlich. How many more turn overs is it going to take for people to realise it of Grimes?

Of the remaining options, I think I'd prefer to face the GCS up there.

Without stepping Tim's toes, I think a few of us have been aware for a while that Grimes is limited player. His foot skills are ordinary and his decision making heightens that. I'm not saying there's no scope for him to improve, but I would hope that we recruit someone that supersedes Grimes as a HBF. For the moment, I would prefer Jimmy Toumpas delivering the ball off half back. I think eventually, if Grimes is to make it, he'll have to develop a clearance-winning ability. Players like Sewell, Cross and even Priddis have shown the football world that you don't necessarily have to be the most talented, to be an important midfield contributor. These players have exemplified a tireless commitment to improving and getting the best out of themselves. Grimes certainly has these attributes, so I won't write him off becoming an important cog just yet.

That's another thing that is worrying me most about our list this coming season. Unless our disposal by foot increases ten fold or our fitness goes through the roof, we may have a very lean season. Hawthorn has their sublime kicking to prevent them from being beaten by pace on the outside. Sydney have their gut-running and some line-breakers to get outside of a slower team like the Hawks. We turn it over far too often by foot, lack fitness and foot speed. I don't want to be a pessimist, but those three factors equate to danger. A clearer, more definable game plan will help, as will belief in our players from the coaching staff, but it can only bridge so much.

For that matter, Cross is equally adept on either side of the body. So much so, I "think" he's a right footer, but can never be sure.

He is too. Derps.

Vince is a right footer, but the others are left footers. EDIT. Thanks Ben. I'm a zombie today. Viv is also a right footer.

There's no way GWS would trade Blease for Shiel. But I could see them doing it for Howe and pick 9. Won't happen though.

I agree. It's about identifying and assessing strong characters. I played cricket with Josh and footy against him. Couldn't meet a nicer guy. Not a trace of the spoilt silver spoon.

Judd was at Caulfield from Year 7. He was a God-like figure for the school. Pretty sure he wasn't on scholarship. If he was, it could have been for general academic excellence too. Scored in the high 90s in his VCE. You're right about Bugg, Shiel and Goddard though. Andrew Walker and Brett Deledio are others. Not sure if Jack Ziebell was on one.

I know my school offered scholarships to prospective AFL players and even ones that had been drafted. They don't have "sporting" scholarships anymore. It's simply "general excellence".

Dopey's going to come in and ask a silly question. Apologies in advance. As well as upgrading Clisby (leaving three spots), could we use two picks in the ND and then one in the PSD? Or do the minimum of three picks have to come from the ND?

Jones, Frawley and Garland weren't held back by the poor players around them. They have thrived. Sylvia never has and he played with some half decent midfielders at the beginning of his career.

As long as these guys aren't committing crimes, I couldn't give a toss what they do in their own time.

Yep. Strauss was captain of Scotch.

Agree, Doc. Naturally, I'm more than happy to trust Roos and his team. If they think Howe is too good to give up, then so be it. But they'd be stupid not to look at a deal like Howe for Shiel. It won't happen, but we have to be ruthless and open to these types of trades.

I don't want any cautioning of unrealistic expectations. We should have lofty expectations and aspirations as a football club. It's part of the reason we've been such an insipid organisation for so many decades. We don't aim high enough and are too happy to settle for second best. I can't believe you would prefer that, than a bloke coming in and acting with extreme professionalism. He's rolled up his sleeves and gone about his business quietly, but proficiently. I know it's been a few decades since we've had a premiership winning coach at the helm of the club, but he doesn't need to assure anyone. He has the history and league-wide respect to back him up.

Yeah, I reckon Spencer cops a bit of unfair flak on DL. He's certainly not flawless and we still need to see a lot of improvement in him, but I thought his efforts this year were vastly improved. Some of his chasing and tackling was excellent for a big man.

Severe oversight on my part, 55. You're right. It probably has to be Clark for 5 minutes a quarter then. Jees, it's not ideal though is it? I'd hope that with time Hogan could play this role, much like Roughead does for the complainers.

No one's saying he is, mate. Naming him best 22 is logical and says more about our previous team than anything else. His lack of experience is largely irrelevant, as he will hopefully become a role player, not a star. If the latter eventuates, then that'll be a bonus.

That's not quite true. Chip really struggled when he started. I'm guessing, but I still believe Wellman's coaching was key to his development. He's obviously one of our most important players now.

The one element of modern footy that some observers seem to lack understanding of is the role of the "small forward". The game has changed and it's about defensive forwards, who can tackle and contribute on the scoreboard. Crumbing goal kickers have to be able to play through the midfield and will never merely be stay-at-home forwards, at the feet of man mountain full forwards. The game has evolved. Whilst I don't think our list is rounded by any stretch of the imagination, I don't see us requiring a "small forward" in the traditional mould. We certainly lack pace in our side and hopefully the acquisition of someone like Freeman will assist this, but in the next one to two years, I'd be looking for more outside pace to compliment the rest of our list. They may start as natural forward pockets or forward flankers, but they will need to be able to drift into the midfield and play a role. They will also need to possess a good goal sense, speed and strong tackling abilities. Flexibility is particularly pertinent to a Paul Roos coached side (and the successful modern teams), so I suspect he'd look at our list in a similar fashion and identify players who will fill those needs. To a degree, the role of a "small defender" has evolved too. They must be able to run through the midfield, but must also be able to break lines at half back and deliver efficiency to their team mates up the field. I reckon this is the sort of player we'll target in the next (2014) trade/draft period. In the meantime though, one would hope Strauss can become proficient at this.

Ah, I misinterpreted you here, 55. I thought you meant Clark rucking at centre bounces. I suppose he'll do the forward rucking, unless they feel Hogan can do it.

We won't play Clark as a ruck. The hope of playing as a permanent forward was what partly lured him to the MFC.

Exactly. He really would compliment our midfield perfectly. In fact, his "type" is one of the major missing ingredients.