Binmans PA

I just asked him if he had a house or wife anymore. That was good enough for me. Admittedly, it is all a bit too easy though.

I see where you're coming from mate, but I think he's at the stage where AFL level is the best place to learn this. He'll gain confidence from his rucking performances and hopefully that will flow onto his forward work.

My old man texted me to say that King said we'd be premiers within 4 to 6 years. Did he say anything else?

Yeah, Martin was solid with his ruck duties tonight, although a couple of times (particularly early) he was out muscled. Up forward however he was mainly impotent. He did one or two good things, like bringing the ball to the ground and locking it up once or twice, but yeah, he needs work on his marking and occasionally just general awareness. He will probably make way for Bail next week, as Jamar can probably go it alone. That said, it's always a little worrying going in with only one ruckman-- if Jamar was ever to get injured we'd be just about buggered. Martin knows how to leap though-- hello, basketballing background.

I texted my Carlton mate ( who said we'd get smashed) with the words "They know we're coming!"

Yep, well said. Spot on! He played a biggie.

Despite losing the clearances tonight, our midfielders (along with the rest of the team) were absolutely fantastic! Jordie, Jack and Tom all played their roles and when called upon delivered blows to Brisbane on the scoreboard. Great to see goal kicking midfielders. So important to a team without a key tall.

I don't like bagging players on here, but you've got to be kidding right? Rarely misses? How many games over the last two or three seasons have you seen? Rarely does he hit a target. Admittedly he hit two or three against Richmond, but he also turned it over horribly by foot at least twice (having just watched the replay again ten minutes ago). One on one defensively he is 50/50 too. The two things he does have is a bit of run and creativity, which in the modern game is essential off half back.

The point is he kicks them and often at important moments. He could do a bit more up the ground admittedly, but having been to all four games this year and watched all four replays, Bate often seems like he's doing very little when watching the game live, but upon reflection often is a hard worker, who offers numerous leads to oncoming players. I think he could lift his work inside offensive 50 (chasing defenders and so fourth), but his work is often underrated. I won't say he doesn't give me the shits when I'm watching live, but the fact of the matter is he has finished on the scoreboard. I don't care how he got them, he kicked them and that's often all that matters. Btw, he didn't just kick goals against Richmond either...oh and Dunn has only ever shown that he can kick points (before the '10 season), whereas Bate has on numerous occasions kicked long goals from outside 50. Dunn has made a little bit of progress this season however.

A couple of goals a game isn't good enough for you, Lost Highway? Bate's done his job and will generally get better as the season goes on.

Good post, Dan. I agree. Trengove will be a classy player for many years to come. NicNat will be good to watch in patches. Jack will give you consistent, solid footy and that actually underrates what I think of Trenners. He'll be an absolute gun and although difficult to say, better for us than a NicNat.

Dunn will be a solid second tier backup player, when the team is fully up and running. As for Bartram, admittedly, I had ridden him off, but pleasantly he's proved me wrong and I now see him fitting into our plans going forward. He may not be our number one tagger, but he'd be close.

Agreed. He does currently offer more in attack than defence, but if manages to become more accountable and brings his defensive pressure to the half backline, then he will be a valuable commodity. He certainly quick enough to keep up with the fastest small forwards in the game.

I doesn't make sense to me either. I hope Enforcer is correct.

Yeah, I don't believe playing him QB last year was a mistake. That's a lesson learnt. He got a taste of everyone gunning for him, which I'm sure we'll see a lot more of in the coming rounds and seasons. This then enables Jack to build up his body and mind to get to a point where he will revel in a QB type game.

I agree. There is a time when a player can only develop so much in the VFL. After this, it's time to just get AFL games into him.

Very easy to rebutt this one. Mark Jamar is the most dominant ruckman in the league at the moment. He has most hit outs to advantage and our guys are generally getting their hands first to the ball. If we'd picked NicNat we wouldn't have a KPF to kick it too. There isn't really much more that needs to be said.

Perhaps. It may allow Bennell to play off half back too.

I'm glad to hear the one club player comment. That settles me down a little bit.

Can't wait to see this kid play. I'm perhaps even more excited to see Blease play though, seeing he's been around for that extra season.

Joel was fantastic against Richmond. He played his best game against them, but he's been solid all year. Occasionally, the coaches have got his match ups wrong, but generally he's been a very good pick up. He adds an important dose of experience too. His courage, backing into the pack reminded me of Rivers, who he may well be keeping out of the side at the moment.

I hope so, mate.

This sums it up for me. As a member and passionate supporter of my football club, I expect nothing less.

I would hope he stays but we may well have trouble fitting him into the salary cap. We're going to have a gun side and like the Geelong side of a couple of years ago, someone may well be a casualty, I just hope it's not Morton.

I was trying to cover a whisper I heard the other night, without stipulating where it came from. I still don't intend too. But it came from an extremely reliable source. We're going to have salary cap issues in a couple of years and may well struggle to pay Cale. The club has to sign up Morton again. He along with about 15 others are priorities.