Little Goffy

The dream for me is all about Matthew Buntine. Flexible def/mid, skills, good user, reads play, can shut down opponent, 187cm. At pick 12 we would be lucky. Sam Docherty also likely to be at around the pick 12 mark. Speedy defender/rebounder, good skills, composed. Later on, my preference seems to go for guys who have fun names to say. Mihocek (191cm, def/util) Raikiwasa (191cm, def/util) Tipungwuti (171cm speculative late pick) Plus, Can we get Myles Sewell just to help Casey out? He'd also work his guts out for a chance at AFL level which might wake some others up.

Hale: was positionally valuable for Hawthorn but if he had been with us he might have been in the way of Martin's clear breakout year. Plus Gawn might not have gotten a taste this year either. As it worked out, Hawthorn and Melbourne should both be happy. We also get 'street cred', for want of a better term, for sticking to our acceptable price. Matthew Warnock gets the full measure of respect from me and I sincerely hope he finds a new club where he gets more opportunities, and stretches a hard-earned career for a few more years. Looks good in a snazzy hat, too.

We could recruit Nathan Ablett to show the other guys how to get a premiership medal without really trying very hard. More seriously, I'd rookie Ah Chee. Based largely on what I was aware of the time of his drafting, I must confess. Plus his name is fun to say.

Max Phillips needs a bit of a friendly whack over the head with the rolled-up paper the fish came in.

Fair list, I'm happy with that overall. Interesting and kind of reassuring to see Rivers up pretty high - he improved over the season, and I like that he bounced back reasonably well after a truly horrid day out on Queen's Birthday. I also like that there's still plenty of love for him around here.

2010 8 wins, a draw, percentage of 95. 2011 8 wins, a draw, percentage of 85. We can rake over the details of two wins being over the Gold Coast, and we can stare grimly at the pattern of losses being huge losses, but surely the simplest summary is; "Something went wrong in the heart of the team this year."

The possible 'Next Big Thing' list at Melbourne is just incredible. I think I have to say Trengove, even though he doesn't fit the 'next big thing' type so much as the 'ten years of genuine excellence' type. Much like Grimes. Now those are the kind of leaders that a club can revolve around. Consistent excellence with both able o get involved in the middle, while Trengove can move to a more attacking role and Grimes able to stabilise the defence. The othr pictures of consistency in a season marked by inconsistency have been Jones and Frawley. Jones - 23 Frawley - 22 Grimes - 22 Trengove - 20 Looks like the core of a long-term leadership group. Possibly just needs a consistent, charismatic forward to add to the mix... This has gone way off topic really, but can I make the stretch that my 'Next Big Thing' is the Demon's leadership?

It is kind of a shame Myles Sewell sees to already be tagged gor GWS in the Rookie Draft, it would have been fun being the club that finally gave him a chance. The Sewell, Mclean, Valenti joint Liston winner scenario would be awesome, you could just throw the trophy in a pit and let them scrap for it.

I guess the $22,000 covers the cost of having a 'on a tall building construction site it is compulsory to wear protective headgear' tattoo on his arm. Mind you, I'm getting the feeling it isn't so much the guy lodges the suit, as Workcover trying to offoad the costs onto MFC, who were neither the employer of the person nor the owner of the property nor doing any work for which the MFC had responsibility for. Odd. Makes more sense to sue a chip shop because a Seagull barfed on you.

I got a little spasm of memory looking at the match report for WC rolling over the Crows. Let's take a time warp back to 2000... my best rationalisation of Collingwood hitting he skids is by thinking of West Coast as being like the Demons of 2000. The string of wins coming home, sneaking into the top 4, knocking off a contender in the qualifying final by staging a comeback when they thought they had the game one. So then... the contender goes through the semi against a toughish 'up and coming' opponent (Carlton played Brisbane in 2000, and in this scenario Collingwood would play Carlton this year). And then comes up against the other 'form' team and eventual premier (Essendon in 2000, let's say Geelong in 2011), and in the end doesn't even make the Grand Final, despite seeing themselves all season as having a 'right' to be there. If the scenario were completed, it would be West Coast getting into the Grand Final by beating Hawthorn (which is credible, since it would be over at Subiaco and all), and then getting tragically smacked in the GF. And then everyone would think 'well done those plucky Eagles', and they would think they were on the brink of something special, and spend the next 6 years clinging onto finals and onto older players, until it all comes undone and the club goes through hell later that decade. Oops... bitterness swept in a bit there. Back on a brighter side, the knocked out contender also missed out on a Brownlow Medal they thought they owned! So maybe we should make a loose tip for a West Coast Brownlow?

Saw the story. Humans are amazing creatures, eh? So vulnerable, and so resilient. That story really got to me for some reason.

Fevola is not required. Fevola is not elite. Fevola is not going to last. Fevola is just not. I'd be puking if we passed on an unknown quantity with all sorts of possibilities (Tupungwuti comes to mind, for example) mid-late in the draft for the sake of picking up an ugly brainfart version of Nick Sauntner.

I'd only be worried if Kevin Sheedy tweeted back.

Blease and Tapscott... a bit chalk and cheese if you ask me. Gotta see a future for both, don't you? I was particularly pleased to see Blease kick it a solid distance a few times, as well as the pretty good shot-medium kicks. Didn't know he had that option so just more to like. Blease coming through the way he has done so far, well that adds a little bit of cheer for the end of year tensions.

There's always a role for a quality running player these days. A coach's dream to have a collection of versatile big men allowing for a bench full of extra midfield rotations and half-backs or half-forwards. Also, Joel MacDonald is the first man 'out' from the half back line if space needs to be made. Garland would be a better option to handle anyone that MacDonald would currently be assigned to. I'm sadly with the others - Jared Rivers needs to continuously improve in order to hold his spot. Strange situation, our captain and two of our vice-captains all being outside the set of 'first picked' players.

For me, Bennell took over the Brad Miller emotional niche. The Richmond fans are calling Miller 'The Almost Man'. Drives me mad that he can seem so good, yet so often contribute relatively little. But in Bennell's favour, he's still a kid. I still find him frustrating, but enjoy the signs of improvement.

What a disaster for the club that people who don't feel they are ideal for certain roles are seeking instead to contribute in other ways. Continue with your Messiah-search, if you must.

Ricky Petterd has more upside than Tibet. Trade him and weep.

What do you mean? There have been plenty of adventurous moves in the last couple of years. Watts to the half-back line and Jurrah to the half-back line to start! And don't forget Davey to the half-back line, or Green who was tried out on the half-back line. And so forth. Personally, I see Garland as high quality defender and not expendable from that role in anything but short bursts to mix things up. But I certainly appreciate the fresh feeling from seeing any piece of positive tactical movement going on.

Weak senior players are an unmissable driving reason we're in a hole. The kids are performing as well as kids can be expected, or better. Sylvia is starting to give me the right s417s.

What Gutnick didn't realise was that it was the desk from the Carlton head office, and there were $100 notes sewn into the fabric which could be automatically spit out into paper bags which landed in the lap of the person opposite.

Sigh. I just decided what to do with my tax return. If things don't come together at the Demons, it won't be because I shirked my part.

MAX.GAWN. STAY'N. Sorry. Had to say it.

Lot's of players who have only had partial 'good years'. Moloney no doubt thereabouts. Jones for his consistency. Martin for not only really stepping up in simple quality, but also for (IMO) playing quite a hard-woking team game in general. Watts would be up there, so would Trengove who has quietly gone about being solid over and over. Jordie McKenzie if he'd played a full season, gien the votes are coaches votes. Damn... the process of thinking this through has really highlighted how many people we've had out with injury for long periods or who have been waaaay down on form. Will there be any more than one or two carry-overs from last year's B&F to this one?

What I find fasciating is that in all this; it keeps occuring to me that we are almost certainly going to make the finals in 2012. It troubles me that there has been a deliberate effort to make this as much of a crisis as possible by some within the club. That effort to generate heat and hope 'enemies' getburned is the greatest threat to this club that there is.