DeeSpencer

Of course speed and power matter. Rance and May are elite in that area hence they don’t need height. Turner stands out at Casey as a good mover which is why he has afl potential, but he’s not in the same ball park as May. And in terms of power he can’t be expected to be until he’s 23+. There’s a huge difference between having draft-able attributes and elite afl level attributes. The question is not can he play at afl level, it’s whether he’s good enough to take over from a proven performer in Petty. Especially as May probably starts to decline. With the rise of the 2m key forwards I can’t see the coaches taking out a guy with the reach and overhead game of Petty for Turner who will be conceding multiple inches to the big boys. Not immediately next year anyway.

Training at Casey, Port Melbourne and then on an underdone oval is absolutely a small factor. Small factors add up. If we had a pies or tigers crowd last night we get 4 more frees in front of goal. We’re also signing McStay and 3 more trade recruits over the years due to off field $$$.

Because Smith just gave up a really soft goal, highlighting how silly it is he’s got 2 more years and our season came up short because of crazy list management decisions that we seem desperate to continue

I’m enjoying the game and the efforts of the Casey and young demons. Even enjoying some of the older demons too

Dunstan has to call his forward in or out, he’s got the clean view of it. If McDonald didn’t list then it’s his fault

In the case of Bedford for GWS or Essendon

Going to be a genuine toss up between Smith’s 2 year deal and Brayshaw’s 6 year deal for which one is worse

Baker and Dunstan just showed you all why they’re in the VFL.

Happy for the initial contact not paid, but the second guy who jumped on Toby’s head has to be paid

McDonald and JVR both bossing a VFL kid for sure but that’s good alternating of useful talls in the ruck contests

In September next year ‘24 will be the draft, then in September ‘24 everyone will want ‘25. It’s always the way.

And if he had May or Rance’s speed and power he’d be great. Or if he plays as the third tall like Stewart and gets 20 touches a game and kicks it unbelievably well. Petty’s height and reach makes him the perfect complement to May and allows Harry to take genuine pack intercept marks. Turner’s a good prospect. I expect him to play a lot of AFL footy. But if we want an elite backline we need him as the 2nd or 3rd tall. And he’s your friend, cousin, significant other or all or the above. But he’s on the shorter side for key defenders

Haha a classic Tom McDonald crap fend and turnover. He’s been so overrated in his absence

Nah, he can’t run. Sparrow’s our best running mid and a capable defensive forward. A couple of good kicks from Dunstan at the VFL level doesn’t mean he’s suddenly a good user

Similar to the home and away game the Casey VFL mids are getting smashed at the contest and on the spread. Backline is zoning way too much too, need to press up

Could’ve played a 2m tall bath tub at chf and got similar results to Tomlinson. Surprised we didn’t try that

Retire: M Brown, Daw Delist: Baker, Rosman (train on) Trade: Jackson, Bedford That’s 6 list spots. Plus Hunt is every chance to find a home elsewhere if he isn’t signed yet. Wait and see: Hibbo, Melk Seek to move on Weid and Tomlinson but good luck finding homes for them.

Not likely. Possible, but unlikely. Turner’s on the shorter side and Tomlinson can’t move, both have physical impairments to being as good as Petty has been.

He’s mostly dropped because 4 talls just won’t work in the forward line so Weid has to ruck to open the forward line up. I think there’s probably better state league options but the way he was developing suggests to me he’ll be a good VFL ruck in a year or 2. The difference between good VFL rucks and half the back up rucks on afl lists is just good luck so it wouldn’t shock me

That’s just about the opposite of ‘big news’ but Port and Adelaide sure aren’t operating like he’s available any time soon. Kos has family in Perth and Adelaide right? West Coast might be the one to watch next year if they lose Rioli. So far I’m not seeing anything more than the usual interstate player trade speculation.

Crows going after Rankine and Port going for Jnr Burger suggests otherwise. Port’s the club that makes the most sense and apart from saving Hinkley’s job you’d think you’d prioritise Pickett over Rioli

Wasted year is harsh. Back to back is bloody tough for any club yet alone a small club not used to success with a short preseason, nomadic training ground and unreliable fan base. Hawks 09, Dogs 17, even the Cats super team never did it. The teams who have done it, Hawks 14/15 honestly didn’t beat much and were just a mile clear on talent, and Richmond 2020 with a 17 game season of 17 minute quarters. Our season took a massive hit when Salem and Lever both weren’t themselves. That’s 2 elite players that make our backline elite. Then our next path to success is rucks and Max wasn’t himself and LJ had the go home stuff. Our final path to success is the midfield and Tracc cops a broken leg and Oliver’s season sure wasn’t helped by his thumb exploding.

That gets said every year, and honestly I think it’s only been right once in the last 20 years which was the ‘18 draft.

When we did the Weideman and Pickett deals we bet on ourselves winning our way from lowly ladder positions to mid table to justify those deals. Now we’re at the top we have to win a lot just to break even. We more than did that with Bowey/Laurie. Unfortunately the groundhog is stuck in second gear but value wise that was worth it. This year we’ve now ended up sending our first pick to Sydney via Adelaide for JVR. Pick 19 in for a pick that probably ends up at 14 or 15. Not a huge deal, and easy to say it’s worth it for a much needed key forward with a year of development. 4 pick slide is a pretty good interest rate in this economy. But without the 10 game win streak to start the year we might’ve finished outside or barely in the 8. And giving away a pick around 10 for pick 19 would’ve been nasty. Most years a gem falls around the 10 mark. You don’t want to be giving up a pick on the edges of the top 10 that gets to pick right after all the bad teams pick, to then pick after all the good clubs have had a go in the late teens.

I’d love to see a Petty, JVR and T Mc forward line. Rotate all of them through the ruck as needed. But my guess is Petty is still seen as a vital defender and the future post May as well. Struggling to see Turner (has upside), Tomlinson or Joel Smith being trusted as the 2nd tall defender. Could Petty be a swing man for McDonald or JVR? I think it’s entirely reasonable. Start with a defensive game plan, as the game opens up throw Petty forward to capitalise. Maybe even a trump card that we use at unexpected moments.