The Chazz

The biggest stat that would suggest he didn't have a good day was accuracy. His other stats, I'd imagine, would be exactly what Goodwin is looking for in him. As I said, it'll be interesting to see what Goody rates higher, but I'm expecting that Bugg will play this week.

And, it will also be interesting to see what Goody does with Bugg this week. On one hand, he 19 disposals, laid 6 tackles and had 4 shots on goal. On the other hand, if you are a forward, your job is to kick goals when you get the opportunity, which he had multiple opportunities and failed.

I want Jane Bunn on match committee. When she predicts rain, Jeffy gets a week off. Our structures all over the ground just fell done after 1/4 time. I still think we area good side, but i also thought Scully would stay.

Not only that, but Brown kicked at least 1 goal from a down-field free kick. Nothing Oscar could do about that. Also, I'm pretty sure Waite kicked one from a down-field free too. Oscar and Frost worked well. Can absolutely see our backline fitting the three (inc Lever) moving forward.

And I still think Brayshaw can add his name to this list. Whatever it is that is stopping him from getting in to the seniors, I hope he sorts it out ASAP, otherwise, he's going to find his AFL career will be over in no time, and he'll miss out on being part of something pretty special. Over to you Gus. With regards to Clarry's goal - he actually times his run to perfection in terms of gathering the ball. You can see he just drops his speed ever so slightly, so that when he makes his attack on the ball, he's hitting it at the right time. It's only a fraction of a second that he does this, but it allows him to gather the ball at the perfect height for him, allowing him to turn and kick without fumble. Pure genius.

You're easily pleased.

I really don't know why I read the "changes" thread each week. I mean, people calling for the inclusions of the likes of Spargo, Smith x 2, Baker. Then someone calling for a bloke that kicked 4 goals to be dropped, just because he doesn't like him. Please.

Think this could be pretty right, LDVC. I'm surprised that Kent has been picked. He has clearly worked hard post-Christmas to get back in the good books, but, like many players in recent times, he needs to understand that the hard work starts when you get in to the side, not when you are trying to get in to it. I don't rate North. We are a significantly better side than they are, and if we can go out there with a killer mindset, we will blow them away. That said, there are two areas where we could be vulnerable against them; - Brown's input of recent times has been the difference between us winning and losing against them. I had similar concerns about Hawkins going in to the Geelong game, yet he was held goalless, so perhaps Oscar is ready/capable to stop the influence that Brown has on the game. If this happens, I can't see how they will get near us. - My other concern will be how we respond when North try and rough us up. They did it very effectively last year, and we were too dumb to just concentrate on our game. If we get sucked in to their crap again this year, it will even things up a bit. And mark my word, they will try and get in our heads.

You've been saying we shouldn't chase him if he is pushed out?

Ah, so your contribution to this thread is that Wines could be pushed out of Port because of cap issues. But if that happens, we shouldn't be the ones chasing him? I'm sure you can understand why I have misinterpreted your point.

I can assure you of one thing - he WILL leave Port. Highly likely that it will be at the end of his career, but you can take it to the bank that he will stop playing for them one day. My initial issue was with your little fantasy of Wines being forced out of Port because of salary cap issues, but we'd be in a position to fit him in ours. You can create any scenario with imagination, so I admire you for that, but your views on this one were always going to be off the mark.

Ok, I will seek your views when this does actually happen, which it will, so I'd suggest you start considering your response.

Read the first 2 or 3 pages of this thread, in particular, yours, mine and DaveyDees discussions. You were hopeful that Port may have had salary cap issues, which could've forced Wines out. I was telling you that they wouldn't put themselves in the position of forcing out Wines because of the players they brought in. Now it looks certain he's extending for another 2 years, so I'm wondering what your thoughts are now on this topic.

@TeamPlayedFine39 @DaveyDee So, with the imminent extension to Wines' contract, can we presume that they will be breaching their salary cap? Or do we put it down to list management doing what they do best? I know which way I'm going.

I know that as recent as about 3 weeks ago, Kent had to do a lot to prove to the football department that he should be even considered for the senior team.

I think the Karma Cup has a better ring to it...

Not sure if you are trolling by picking Tyson. You are his biggest critic on here, so wondering what your agenda is?

We could've have Glen Jakovich, SOS Silvagni and Sean Wight playing in our backline and they all would've struggled in that first half, thanks to the ease the ball was coming in. When our mids and half forward flanks put more pressure on after half time, our backs restricted them to 2 goals in 2 quarters. Dorkins was soundly beaten by Oscar, and other than two reasonable contested marks, Menzel continued to get rewarded for being a soft, lazy, unaccountable, outside player. I noticed they highlighted the dropped mark that Jake let go in the last quarter (I think it was). I was up that end - the ball was kicked in high, he had to run back with the flight of the ball, and the wind was swirling the ball all over the place. Muppets that commentate from the wind-free commentary box, and the equally bigger muppets that no doubt cringed from the comfort of their couch, would've had no idea the degree of difficulty that mark was. The biggest error for the day that I saw Jake make was in the first quarter when he was outmarked/smarted by Menzel. Other than that, he was very good, and in the last quarter in particular, you could see (from behind the goals), just how much work he does with positioning of himself and his teammates.

Oliver not being in that list is criminal. 18 clubs in the league, Carlton are represented twice (I, like most, am debating Curnow's inclusion) and us thrice. While I understand @Fork 'em pessimism, I think this song definitely has a different tune. Not sure if we'll be the headline act this season, but we're bloody close.

The point is not carrying a shutdown player, it's carrying someone that can do it to a high standard if needed. Richmond got back in to the grand final last year when they sent someone (Lennon maybe?) to tag Sloane after quarter time (Sloane was the most damaging mid in the first quarter, and Adelaide were looking strong). Same happened when we sent Viney to Selwood a couple of years ago, and got a lot of the ball himself. Same when Vince tagged Danger back when he was playing for Adelaide. They both (Viney and Vince) got a fair bit of the ball themselves. I'm thinking someone like Bugg could be that man. His standard role is being the HFF that kicks goals, but at any moment, can go in to the guts and stop a dominant mid. He has the tank, but does he have the discipline? It would depend on if Goody thinks we need someone to play this sort of role. I personally think it's something we lack, but I'm not the coach!

We don't have a great shutdown player. Someone who is willing to sit on the most damaging midfielder. Their sole job is to make sure they make it impossible for their opponent to get in to space. Might be for 10 minutes, might be for the rest of the game. If they can stop a dominant mid, as well as getting the ball themselves, even better. Generally a team's momentum starts in the middle.

I have no idea why, in particular, Tyson and Brayshaw weren't playing this weekend. Listening to Goodwin's post-game presser, Tyson had probably done enough work to be 100%, so clearly for Goody it was more about form. Now, if Gus' non-inclusion was for the same reason, then I don't see how promoting two blokes that have form question marks above them, and that played no game this weekend at any level to work on their form, can be included. If it's more about miles in legs, then I'm sure they could've worked on that this weekend to have them right for the Brisbane game. But because I have no knowledge of this, there's no way I can make any changes, for changes sake. Also, looking at your other selections, if we bring Frost in we're likely to be too big down back, Bugg, well, see my above comments about Tyson/Brayshaw. Of your omissions, all of Harmes, Hannan and Wagner worked in to the game in the 2nd half, to the point that the former two were two of our better players I felt. While Ablett got 39 touches, his 2nd half - which is when Maynard played tighter on him - was far less dominant than his 2nd quarter. Jeffy always takes a couple of games to get his touch, and he's not a liability finding it in the seniors. We lacked a bit of polish and a lot of composure going forward. Making sweeping changes won't assist in this area, especially after round 1. I don't expect you to agree with any of the above.

No change

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Ah Kero, when she says nice/calm/soothing things about our club, she's such a cherub. But that one occasion is soon erased from my mind whenever else she opens her trap.