Dr. Gonzo

It's the reality of the situation so it doesn't really matter if you're sick of hearing it or not unfortunately. Noone is denying that the way we finished the year leaves a bitter taste. But all things considered Goodwin gets a pass mark for 2017. He'll learn from it, he is still developing too - it was his first season after all. If he doesn't and the team starts going backwards and we start seeing the same mistakes then pressure will mount but when you're best players are all under 23 (a couple in only their 2nd full seasons) of course we're not gonna be worldbeaters yet. I have faith the club is on the right track and my disappointment at the last game and missing finals won't detract from that. All things being equal we should be pushing for top 4/6 next year. I'm interested to see what moves are made in trade week/offseason to get us there.

It's not a furphy at all. Especially when you consider "in-game" injuries which can legitimately be seen to have cost us wins against Cats & Tigers. Especially when you cop injuries to key playmakers (Gawn, Hogan, Viney, Watts, Jones). This doesn't excuse the 22 who do suit up but it provides a reason why things may not have gone our way. Compare ours to the injury list the Tigers had this year. We had poor showings against North (x2) Pies etc but also had great showings against Saints, Adelaide, WCE & Dogs. It's not all doom and gloom, we are a young team with a rookie coach on the rise and I legitimately think we are very close to it all coming together. The final step to being a very good team is probably the hardest but if the coach and players have faith in themselves and the desire/application to carry it out we have the structures in place to ensure it happens.

It's not about hypotheticals its about viewing the season holistically. Considering we went so close to finals with so many injuries to key players I think was a decent effort all things considered. Are we really that far off the top 4/8 teams? I don't think we're that far off at all, the main issue is getting the players in the right headspace and having a decent run with injuries. Not taking away anything from your initial post, Goodwin has things he needs to continue to develop. He's not the total package but I think supporters tend to jump at shadows sometimes when they're understandably furious after the turn up in last game. We need to continue on the path were on, it's the right path. I hope we don't panic and throw the baby out with the bathwater. I also think Goodwin seems to have a good rapport with the players, has shown an ability to be a strategic thinker about how the game is played and is a capable of not polished media performer.

I thought for a first year coach he did a fantastic job, especially considering the injuries to key players he had to contend with. Up until the Swans game we had been in every game up until the last 15 minutes or so. There's still some issues to sort out in regards to dropping easy games, handling big key forwards and list turnover of depth players but we have a very good core to work with and a very good coach. We missed finals by a bees dick. I know results are all that matter and the last game leaves a very bitter taste in our mouth over the offseason but had we snuck in to finals would some of us be so critical? What if we had then lost in the same manner as the Bombers did? I think assessing the performance of the coach and playing list on the back of the most recent game is fraught with danger. We need to view these things holistically and over the course of the season and especially considering injuries to Gawn, Hogan & Spencer early and then Viney, Jones and Watts later I think overall we gave ourselves a solid base to begin an assault on our 13th flag in the next few years.

We're not a long way off at all, in fact I think we're extremely close. But for bad luck with injuries and a few one goal games going against us we could easily be in the position Richmond find themselves in this weekend.

Pretty sure we played those formation years as The Invincible Whites, so how far back does our red and blue tradition go? Not as far back as the Navy Blues or The Same Olds from Essendon in the black and red. We also wore royal blue for a dozen years, does that discount the navy blue years? Do we start again from 1987? Fact is it's all irrelevant. All that matters is the reality these days is clubs need clash jumpers and it is up to us to design one that is not abominable to look at and pays respect to our history.

Red with a blue yoke (inverted traditional jumper) - I don't see an issue with that, better than the Bintang one we have now

Great point and one I've not seen raised before. If we clash with Carlton and Essendon then surely they also clash with each other? How much difference is there between our design and the Bombers design compared to Carlton's? If we have the "redback" design which we saw on occasions this year there should be no need to wear white against the Blues.

Essendon and Carlton are also foundation clubs.

After the game on Saturday on fox footy they were discussing the difference between the Tigers and GWS as GWS clearly has the better list. They referred to the Richmond players "deciding to be great" something that I think Rance had said in his post game interview. In an article on AFL.com.au they also talked about Balme coming in last year and telling the club "you're not that far away" and having a calming influence as people trusted him because he'd been there before. There were similar comments made during the "1997" doco on the Crows first flag. The players trusted Blight because he'd been there before. I think we are in a similar position. We have the list to match anyone in the comp on our day, we may need to tweak a couple of things here or there but overall the biggest challenge now is above the shoulders. Will our players decide they want to be great? Will they have the belief that they can be the best?

I hope so - they do seem to lack the intangible that every other expansion club has had. If the go flagless for another decade or 5 that'd be just great.

They won't get bucketful of first round picks but they will continue to get academy selections like their mates the Swans who topped up with Heeney and Mills after just missing out on a flag.

Get a grip, they need to unwind as well, not just from footy but from personal issues too. Hope they have a good break and come back fresher and rearing to go for preseason

He has been the Geelong supporters whipping boy for at least 2 years. Has been pretty horrible over that time too with the exception of the last 2 weeks. His QF against Richmond was deplorable. On the one hand he has the exact attributes we lack. On the other hand he is a potential Jack Watts mk2. I'm torn but if we did go for him I wouldn't be upset. Menzel too.

Shiel was at the ball first, had won the ball and was in an extremely vulnerable position. Cotchin elected to bump, he didn't try and tackle or dive for the ball. He charged in with arm tucked, got him in the head and concussed him. The rules are there to protect the ball players. I don't really understand how there is an argument about this. If it's a suspension in a NAB challenge game or in round 5 it's a suspension in the preliminary final. The rules don't just change in September.

Viney knocked out Shannon Hurn this year jumping for the ball and wasn't cited but I think this is different. Does provide an avenue for them to argue it though.

He didn't attempt to bump, he did bump and he bumped his opponent who had his head down going for the ball, got him on the head and concussed him putting him out for the game. If that happened to one of our players and/or we were playing Richmond next week and he got off you'd be filthy (and rightly so).

Talent is one thing and I don't think we're too far off in that regard. The other things we need to work on are application, imposing our will, and trusting each other as a team.

Have a look at the reverse angle shot. He definitely chose to bump, tucked the arm, charged in and hit Shiel in the head. Shiel then sat out the game with concussion. If the AFL have any balls or integrity he'll be suspended. I won't hold my breath.

I reckon it's great - I've never watched a GF with the Tiges playing

Of course Sloane and Walker safe as houses too

Eat em alive, Tigers

He's probably a better option than Kennedy, JKH etc as depth with the chance he could become best 22. Worth a punt for a later round pick for sure.

Yeah he wasn't in the game as much last night as the Cats tried to take him away from the contest to limit his impact. Sacrificed his personal game for the team game.

That's great for those in the region (sincerely) however this is a job the AFL should be doing not the clubs. I have no issue with GWS being created, the issue I have is the ridiculous amount of concessions they had and the fact the AFL has tried to "guarantee" success in their first few years. Remember they had greater concessions than the Suns did on startup. If they get through the next 7 or so year having won 0 or 1 flag I won't have an issue with them. If they win multiple flags and continue to get concessions (such as the academy zones) I think a lot of people will resent them no end. Especially if it doesn't even pay off in members/crowds. I want to see footy succeed in the northern states, we'll all be better off in the long run. But I don't want to see the integrity of the competition impacted in doing so.