DeeSpencer

Max Holmes played a lot for the Cats, they even tried to make him tag Oliver. Miers, Close, Parfitt, Henry. There’s been a number of young cats come in and play a lot of footy at a young age. Those who haven’t got a consistent chance - notably Narkle and Constable - haven’t had any interest from rival teams in trade weeks. Without the GPS numbers clubs get it’s really hard to know just how much of an issue Constable’s running is. Personally I think his lack of speed and pressure probably are more of an issue than tank. If it were purely the tank we’d try to Burgo (or new Burgo) him up. Haven’t seen too much wrong with his disposal either, not great but not awful for an inside mid. But unless you’re Paddy Cripps level good at extracting you have to pressure hard at the clearances. If he had a tank he could go to the wing like Brayshaw has. Or if he had tank and speed at 190cm he’d be handy at half forward. But it’s lack of pressure that kills him on ball.

I’ve seen this maybe 5 times and I still get nervous every time Goody asks Richo for his opinion. Also I would love to hear JT’s thoughts about Tom Green falling to 10 in the draft. Obviously GWS and Adel weren’t going to bid on him but it was very weird to see him fall

Their run and carry from the backline was far prettier than ours. Apart from Salem and maybe some Bowey late we were the kings of the hack kick from the backline. We were also brilliantly set up to make sure it didn't cost us. They certainly liked to bomb it to space more than we did but we bombed it to talls at half forward then won the ball from there. Not sure it's all that much prettier. Both teams moved it fast rather than moved it pretty. Their forward pressure was also better than ours I think. Particularly in the earlier years where they were miles above the competition. The thing we did this year is we'd pressure when the ball was clearly in dispute but we never put too many numbers forward and we always quickly shifted to a full ground zone to slow ball movement. Richmond are really unhappy about the stand rule because they know they can no longer flood 17 forward - they always leave a goalie out the back - and create as many front half turnovers. We were super clever the way as soon as we weren't getting a turnover we had no problem with teams having as many uncontested kicks in the back pocket as they liked. Or even switching the ball as much as they wanted. Our half forwards and mids covered the corridor and long down the line and said to teams, ok, you've got the ball now, you'll have to kick it to us eventually. Even if you get inside 50 we'll have May and Lever ready.

He's never great. He's simply an overexcited Neanderthal. If you like BT I have to wonder if you're under 25 or your IQ is under 70. Same goes for James Brayshaw stealing from Mike Breen and making it worse. Although JB is salvageable if you put him with a good straight man (or woman) and they got the balance between the funny guy and straight up caller. BT has the ability to get excited but often it's about whatever the monkey playing cymbals in his brain is fixated on. He's stuffed up a number of big moments - classic marks and goals by being ill prepared. He spends large chunks of games trying to make mispronunciations of players names, people in the crowd, umpires or officials a big part of the story when they clearly aren't. That's great for radio where there's a need to keep the audience entertained, particularly when there's options to choose the Triple M call or other alternatives. When it's TV we all get to see the pictures. His job is to provide some atmosphere when the game requires and to sit back and let the pictures speak for themselves when it doesn't. Which leads me to perhaps his worst trait - he dominates the call and has no chemistry with any of his commentators or special comments people. He's particularly bad at cutting off Daisy Pearce but he does it to most of the people paid to actually break down the game. Then he tries to rope others in to his silly little sub plots. Brayshaw's a willing participant. Poor old Bruce got dragged down to a whole lot of nonsense. It's great on rare occasions he's on with someone professional like Jason Bennett who wouldn't fall for it and would actually get on with calling the game.

Richmond certainly weren't the home and away side we were. I'm usually a big percentage believer and there's was very low for a 15-7 team, even lower when you account for them losing 4 times under 10 points including some classic Richmond choke jobs. But they did start the year 5-0, battled through a mid year slump with people doubting them then finished very strongly in the lead in to finals. There home and away season was a less impressive but similar path to ours. And they dominated finals. We put the Cats and Dogs right out of their misery by blowing the game way out but once you're 40 up in a final it's all a bit academic from there. The smashed Geelong, they took care of business after a nervy start against a strong GWS side and then they really took care of a Crows side that had dominated 2 earlier finals. If it's finals that really matter for judging a side then super dominant Melbourne (with a blip in the grand final for 45 minutes) v regularly dominant Richmond. Our home and away season is interesting. I've seen people saying we were the best team all year and maybe first is first at the end of the day. I will say I think the Dogs were right with us or even had us covered in the home and away season until the loss of Bruce and lack of ruckman had them going a bit batty. And the reality is we were a Max Gawn set shot after the siren away from finishing 3rd. Our top 5 (there were 5 contenders this year) and top 8 record was very promising, but tripping over ourselves 2.5 times against Adel, Haw and Coll counts too. 17.5 wins and finishing top for the first time is one heck of an achievement, although my thoughts at the end of the year was we've snuck in to pole position of a very tight 5 car race. Melbourne 2021 v Richmond 17 is clearly advantage us. Richmond definitely played their best footy in 18 and 19 though, and remained good enough to win it in 2020, so let's go out and do that!

Rugby League certainly seems to have a lot more players from difficult backgrounds than AFL footy these days. Just have to check their scandals and court dates to see that. But the AFL has transitioned from working class kids to middle class and wealthy kids with access to better development. Although one thing that's a big reason for that is the former players who often came from the country or the suburbs have used VFL/AFL footy to better themselves financially (via opportunities as much as payments for the older guys). It's also a bit of chicken v egg with the game turning pro and the game getting a lot less violent. There's stories of great VFL talents who retired early to go to University or move away for vocations, now kids are investing in junior footy because if you make it big you've got a huge head start in life financially. As well as stories of how rough the game was and how many of the best players grew up in tough neighbourhoods. And it's not like the AFL isn't still taking in kids from different backgrounds, the schools have been fantastic with Indigenous players. But there's 2 drafts now. The one that happens for AFL clubs at 18 and the one that happens for kids in year 7/9 who get sports scholarships at private schools.

There’s too much focus on where a player is born rather than their ethnicity I think. Mac really isn’t more or less represented or disadvantaged by being born overseas than his younger siblings. Meanwhile there’s kids who’s dads were gun footballers eligible because their parents briefly worked overseas. Cat B rookies and incentives for the junior teams are enough to me. Leave the main draft alone entirely. Extra spots on rookie lists will keep the talent coming in to AFL footy and provide role models. Then use the elite junior teams to engage with the communities. I’d be beefing up their resources a lot and trying to close the gap between nab league and state leagues that we have in Victoria, ideally by amalgamating the sides as they are in WA and SA. The added benefit of that is At the moment the best way to get drafted is to be wealthy or lucky enough to get a scholarship at a private school. The second best way to be in an academy and ideally pop up on the school radars (no doubt with some afl club suggestions) so you too go to a private school! Being poor, unrecognised early junior talent and not ethnic enough to get in an academy is the worst spot to be in. TAC clubs used to be the pinnacle of junior development. Now guys are getting better support and education at schools than so called elite junior clubs.

The discount is 20% in the first round then 197 points after that. The idea is to make it easier to match bids, so if it’s a close call between matching or not teams lean towards matching. It would be a huge shame if teams missed out on father sons and the great history it has based on a narrow difference. Ie. rating a player at pick 10 and a bid coming at pick 7 The real rort comes in with being able to match the points with all the crappy picks. As a simple rule the matching should be done by a pick within 18 of the bid. Collingwood should at least be forced to find a pick in the top 19 of the draft. It’s crazy that the league hasn’t fixed that up yet. Teams are making huge profits trading down the draft and securing a bunch of points, then effectively trading Monopoly money for real cash.

Tracc was special. And delicious. Not quite ready to say we’re on par with Richmond yet alone above them and Hawthorn. Not sure what Bruce is saying by calling us more exciting. The 3rd quarter burst will go down in history for sure, but otherwise I’m not convinced. The suffocating defensive pressure and crisp handball game of the Tigers gets really underrated because they had a few unfashionable role players. When they clicked in to top gear in grand finals they were a joy to watch. And Hawthorn’s kicking and organisation changed the league entirely. 08, 12 (in a losing effort), completely shutting down Sydney in 14, they were a special side. Im glad we’ve got a chance to forge our own legacy but I think big statements are a little silly.

So how many players are we at 95% confidence they go before our pick: 1-2: JHF, Daicos 3-4: Darcy, Callaghan 5-10: Hobbs, Rachele, Andrew <15: Ward, Gibcus, Erasmus That’s 10. Goater, Amiss, Wanganeen-Milera, Draper? Anyone who’s a lock to go before what will eventually become 19?

Credit to Nibbler for finding that missing 5% and then some. His defensive effort was great for years but he really did panic with the ball and at the contest. He and the coaches clearly did some fantastic work to cut out the fumbling and panic kicking that had plagued his game. One of the more stunning turnarounds. I expect he’ll poll very well in the B+F

Yes and no. Not like we’re minnows, even if we are half the size of Richmond that’s a fair market. And I’m pretty sure we like beer. I wouldn’t make millions of the stuff but the little premiership sticker above the logo and some different packaging wouldn’t be impossible. Maybe Neita can make some unofficial premiership brew.

Giving that CUB made about a billion cases of Richmond premiership beer it really is odd that Lion wouldn't do the same.

Definitely true on Langdon, I guess just the running winger is probably what I should've called him. They give Eddie the freedom to play his game, where as Gus certainly seems encouraged not to get too far forward of the play. They want him sealing off the forward 50 then getting back to help the backline. Not convinced by Macrae as a wingman. He was good at it earlier in his career, and would certainly still be good at it. He's a beast at racking up uncontested possessions, but he doesn't do a lot with them. His kicking is somewhere from neat to decent, he's improved a lot, but it's still very safe. He doesn't kick goals or take contested marks. His game involves a lot of contested ball winning at clearances and then just a whole bunch of Bulldogs handball receiving. He's a better overall player but I think similar to Andrew Gaff that kind of handball receive player is actually better off inside now than on a wing. McCluggage or Josh Kelly are the 2 that I considered for the running wingman, both will run all day and will chop you up with their kicking. Karl Amon probably 3rd in line. Along with being a bit stronger at the contest that's where they separate themselves from someone like Langdon who isn't far behind given he's so good at the role. Langdon more likely to lose a contest but give it his all than Kelly tho, who will win more but dodge a few. Seedsman 4th or 5th option, Duncan ruled out through too many injuries and I think needing to play on ball now. Dawson is the clear standout for the other type of winger I'm looking for. 190cm+. Strong in the air. But unlike Brayshaw, Dom Sheed, Kyle Langford, Dan Howe, Menegola, Miles Bergman, Mitch Robinson or any other options he can also kick the cover off it. He's perfectly capable of playing as an intercept defender which is what you want from your dropping back winger and if he can sit on the forward 50 and get those intercepts he'll hit targets or kick long goals.

The player I referred to was Jonathan Isaac who outlined he reasoning why he feels protected after having covid. Whether you're protected by having covid as much as by getting the vaccine is up for debate. Reinfections seem higher than breakthrough infections, but in a fit healthy athlete there might not be much difference. Of course he's still wrong, because having covid then being vaccinated is the best possible situation. It makes you super immune. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/health/if-youve-had-covid-do-you-need-the-vaccine.html

Athletes are testing positive multiple times in the US. Some of them are using it as a defence on why they shouldn't get the vaccine after repeated positive cases and antibodies and in fairness they do have some case there (at least more than those who flat out refuse). They've relaxed the close contact and testing procedures for vaccinated NFL players, but there's still circumstances where some players are missing games. I think after 2022 it should be presumed everyone is vaccinated and been exposed to covid, so testing will only occur on sick people and contact tracing won't be happening. But 2022 will be the year of difficult decisions about what to do with exposures and isolation periods.

WA are on track to have 80% vaccinated by December and if rates hold 90% by the end of the year. I understand why he wants to keep the state at zero cases for as long as practically possible but surely 90% is the limit. After that you’re just delaying the inevitable and punishing your own population. The bigger challenge for the AFL will be dealing with positive tests within teams.

Mitchell was on the shorter side for a midfielder but his biggest problem was lack of speed. He more than made up for it by a super footballing brain and then the best dual sided player I've seen in my time closely watching footy. (Or possibly equal to Aker). He maximised his skills and smarts to more than make up for his deficits. I wasn't overly impressed when I first saw Bowey because he was playing on the wing and the lack of height worries me for wingers in the way we (and most teams) play. Gus Brayshaw showed the benefit for a taller winger all year and in the grand final. And whilst Bowey had played some forward as well I wasn't super impressed by his highlights in that role. He looked a bit reluctant to get involved and didn't really have major advantages over defenders. As soon as Jason Taylor said they'd start him down back I was far more impressed by the pick. That's where his cool head and disposal was going to be of most value. His highlights showed a natural ability to run to receive the ball, pace and a leap to close forwards and smart players are always valuable down back. I don't think other clubs used a top 20 pick on him because they wouldn't have seen that possibility for him. Zippy small forward without the amazing pressure skills of someone like Koz or even the ball winning of Spargo, that's probably not a player who goes top 20. The vision to see him as a defender, the coaching to train his defensive skills up (from a fairly low base early in the year to more than adequate at AFL level) and of course Jake for doing the work all deserve a heap of praise.

Nothing lasts forever but in recent years we've told Watts to find a new home, gently suggested Hogan move back to Perth and then let fringe players in Preuss, Frost, Hannan and Kent find better deals elsewhere (and tried to do the same with McDonald and ANB). Most of our core - Gawn, Salem, Lever, Brayshaw haven't ever been linked anywhere else. Viney had a tricky free agency decision to make but recommitted. Petracca wanted to play more midfield, the club very calmly said get fit and you'll be in the guts, he did and he's been as happy as can be since. Oliver clearly went through some stuff last year, Goody and the club didn't panic, they knew a fresh set of assistant coaches and the team bouncing back would take care of that. If Jackson's family really do relocate to Melbourne then that mostly takes care of the go home factor which is still the biggest draw card for a lot of trades. Look at Dawson and Cerra, the only big names to move this year. After that then yeah it's a matter of him getting his development as a player and person right and the club holding up their end of the bargain. As I said, nothing is forever, but if he signed on for 4 more years I think a fair bit would have to go wrong for him not be at the club for at least 3. And judging by our recent moves we've been pretty good at working out who should stay.

Boyd played some unbelievable finals, but he clearly struggled under the expectations of being an AFL footballer, expectations that are highest on number 1 picks. And don’t even get me started on his awful contract. We stuffed the careers of a lot of players but the development of Watts is right up there. Do we pick a number 2 pick to debut on queens birthday? Petracca from 2020 on is a player unburdened from anything really. But the various times in his career where his development was questioned - 2019 particularly - would’ve been twice as nasty had he been the number 1 pick. Sam Walsh is going to be a superstar. He was a handy player from his very first game. But even he’s copped negative pressure for not being as flashy as some of the players drafted after him. It’s a huge burden to carry.

Would be interested to know just how much Jack Watts and Tom Boyd would’ve paid not to be the number 1 picks if they could. Apart from hurting your rivals the best reason to bid is to take away that pressure.

I guess they’re just hold’en on for now

Don't you have your own forum?

Most likely they'll draft someone with a late or rookie pick and start the whole process again, will be interesting to see if Kreuger is a fix for their key forward issues. The Daicos situation timing up with them tumbling down the ladder really hurts them. They'll still get him at a great discount, but it means they've only had last years picks which weren't in the top 10 and Daicos to start a rebuild. They can't really point to a whole bunch of really high end picks. Will be interesting to see what their plans are for 2022. The Hawks kind of put the cat out of the bag that they want to play kids next year rather than push hard for wins, the Pies still have enough experience to push for finals if they were healthy and committed.

Not sure he beat Maxy but he absolutely made it hard for him and found plenty of the ball around the ground. Then didn’t play for the rest of the season. Collingwood not playing him at all in a dead season then shipping him away is really confusing. 5 more games might’ve got a side to come calling with a future 2nd or an early 3rd.