DeeSpencer

Gawn - C - needs to make huge strides but we have to stick with him May - VC - the best on field leader Viney - VC - effort is never questioned, hopefully has more levels to develop Leadership group: At least one of Oliver/Petracca/Salem - the time is now for them to be given authority, they should all have been given leadership targets over summer to reach in order to be trusted in the group. Langdon - solid role player and citizen Lever - take him on trust that his footy will stack up

That’s Pickett compared with Dan Rioli. All he has to do is find half a tackle more and 3 uncontested touches which comes from work rate and team cohesion and he’s on par statistically. Games are won largely by 22 players knowing and doing their role. If one of our big forwards stands up along with Gawn, Oliver, Petracca and May I think we’ll be fine for star power. It’s finding more consistency and skill across the 22 that holds us back.

He almost always bought it defensively and Richmond have shown those players are more and more valuable. Cyril had quiet games on the stat sheet but was also making an impact on the advanced stat sheet that measures pressure. This issue with Cyril was he enjoyed a good offseason and would often come back in poor shape. Which led to hamstring injuries and missing games. And early retirement. Plus he never reached his midfield potential which is really unfortunate as he could’ve done special things in the centre. Aaron Davey was a better field kick but otherwise a lesser player and had great midfield seasons due to doing the work and necessity at a less talented club. It’s a shame Cyril never did. Kossie can have 8 disposals, 4 effective, 1 behind but make a good impact with 4 tackles. But I’m not sure he’s on Cyril’s level of missing 10 weeks with a hammy and then turning it on. So it’s important they build his body and work ethic up the right way.

Lewis also thinks the mop of strewn road kill attached to his head is similar to human hair. Kossie might have the best defensive traits since Cyril. His anticipation, closing speed and desire for contact are all great. Time will tell if he has the class and finishing skills with the ball to be a two way star.

I’m not going to speculate on trades of contracted players, there’s too many variables. Who’s going to want T Mc, Gus or Hunt? I do think Jones, Jetta, Hibberd, Vanders and Mitch Brown all retire. If that’s the case we might have to keep a majority of the younger guys. Smith, Lockhart, Hore, Baker, Bedford, Chandler, ANB, Nietschke, Bradtke, Jordon all on one year deals. I’ll say Smith, Lockhart, Hore, Chandler, ANB, Nietschke, Bradtke stay on. Baker, Bedford, Jordon don’t.

He's defensive efforts were poor all year as was his appetite for the contest. That he captained the club for a game was frankly insulting to members, players, the jumper etc. He does have talent, especially his ability to hit up a target inside 50, but if he can't do the basics then he's not a leader.

I happened to be in South Gippsland last night so I too made it through the mist to the Casey Fields Blvd. Turned up at the same time as the Wiz and thought I'd mostly stay outside the fence, didn't want to get blasted by the crew pressure washing the building. The early reports have most of what I noted. Gus in rehab. Kozzie and Lockhart put through a fair bit of work. Lockhart had a wrist taped up. Hunt with the backs. Melksham mids. Chandler forward. (Tommy Mc forward too). After a decent run to warm up Choco started them with a point to point kicking drill and he was vocal about keeping your weight through the ball not leaning back and not kicking around corners. Then in to some backs kicking it up to half forward and then finding an inside 50. I saw a fair bit of Bowey in this one and he hits his targets comfortably. 8 on 5 or 6 (I wasn't quite sure) that was a bit of a mess. Certainly some work to be done there. The mids did a handball clearance style game and Petracca was the clear standout not surprisingly. Meanwhile the forwards and backs were working moving it inside 50. There was one piece of play where Laurie was looking inside to his right foot then casually put it on his left and hit a target down the line that impressed me. The forwards and backs rotated through a 4 on 4 top of the goal square drill that was designed to crumb a contest. Fritsch swooped on to it nicely but managed points. At one stage Brown forced a nice contest against 2 that Jacko crumbed and goaled from but the next time May bodied him and took the intercept. Meanwhile most of the group were doing a 2/3rds of the ground match sim kind of drill with a spare winger starting off the back of the stoppages. That was Rosman for a fair bit and he looked comfortable getting involved. I don't think he'll be hitting up short kicks all that often but his kicking action looked better than what I expect and he seemed to have good distance. Maybe the best piece of play was Vanders (who looks so fit he might've run home across the NSW border) getting it off the back of the ball up, hitting up one target, running for a handball receive and hitting T Mc on a lead at CHF who swung around and picked out Jacko on a lead.

Rams 13 Packers 30 Ravens 27 Bills 24 Browns 25 Chiefs 31 Bucs 24 Saints 20 Been out of the NFL thread, just far too depressing a year for my boys. Predicting a couple of upsets

The spin is always positive. And there’s always injuries as they ramp up contact, match sim and practice games. But this is January 23 2019: “Gus (Angus Brayshaw) had a back-issue pre-Christmas which has been resolved. “The shoulder guys that we had, Harmesy (James Harmes), Neville (Jetta), Jayden (Hunt) and Vanders (Aaron vandenBerg), all joined in training on Monday so they’re virtually full contact now. “They’ll all do most of the sessions from here on in.” Misson isn’t worried about too many of the players in a long-term capacity and believes the majority of the rehab group is now ready for full training. “Billy (Stretch) did 80 percent of the session on Monday – he had that toe operated on last year,” Misson said. “Oscar (McDonald) had a hip scope, so he’s been going really well in rehab. He’s back in full training now, as is Tim Smith who had an ankle scope, and Trac (Christian Petracca) who had a knee scope. “There are no major concerns long-term.” Eight players remain in the rehab group, so with the club set to head on its pre-season camp next week, Misson has provided an update on their individual progress. Oskar Baker “Oskar Baker is due to do some training on camp. He did a pretty bad hamstring injury towards the end of the VFL season. Because speed is his main weapon we’ve taken a fair bit of time with him and he’s now put together some really good fast running in rehab.” Mitch Hannan “He had a double knee scope so he’s going OK. He hasn’t started football stuff yet but he’s doing a bit of running.” Nathan Jones “He just had some back and hamstring issues before Christmas and over the Christmas period that’s been a little bit slow. Because he’s a bit older and it’s the first hamstring he’s done we’re taking it a little bit slower.” Jake Lever “Lever had a few issues pre-Christmas primarily with some nerve stuff but he’s definitely over the hump now. He’s starting to run fast, he’s doing agility and looking to start some one-on-one skill stuff next week. We’re confident now he’s over the little issue he had pre-Christmas and he’s starting to put in some really consistent training.” Jake Melksham “He’s another one who just had a little hamstring thing before Christmas which has been slow and it’s similar to an injury he had during the season last year. So we’re just taking a little bit more time with it.” Clayton Oliver “Clarry had both shoulders [operated on]. He actually joined in a drill on Monday, so he’ll be doing more and more with the group over the next couple of weeks. By the end of camp we expect he’s going to be in full training.” Jack Viney “Vines is going really well. He’s probably put together his most consistent training period. So he’ll do some training with the group on camp and then afterwards he’ll be back.” Guy Walker “Guy had an issue with his shoulder pre-Christmas just in a contact drill. He actually had a procedure during the Christmas break which is going to be a reasonably slow recovery.”

Worse than the HS, the Daily Mail have been all over this like it's watergate. Unfortunately they love that they can set headlines of bad boy AFL star to images of girls in bikinis.

It's not entirely foolproof, as long as there's a doctor who will admit you and the insurance will pay the bills private psych will gladly take patients...but in the balance of things I do very much agree. Even private psych hospitals aren't nice places to be in and it's very unlikely someone would go through that effort. I hope he makes it through this, mostly because I don't think what he's done is so bad to completely cost him his career and ruin his reputation to the stage that it's beyond repair. That's not saying it's not bad, just not so bad as to not deserve a second chance. But apart from that I hope instead of criticising AFL players or anyone else for so called playing the mental health card I'd like to see the message spread further about asking for help. Mens mental health is the biggest threat to men and women and I find it hard to believe that Patton was purely just doing the wrong thing for the thrill of it. I wish that the next guy out there thinking of doing the same thing isn't just reminded of the potential punishment but is told to get help.

Nothing new on the facilities. The board thing is the most interesting. I thought the new Directors were filling casual vacancies and there wouldn’t be an election? Now there is one? The lengthy explanation on how they recruit and approve Directors was very interesting, but also had a thou doth protest too much vibe to it. If they’ve clearly selected the right individuals why are they worried about one independent challenger?

I agree with that and maybe I should just want Pickett, Laurie and Spargo to come on really quickly. Expecting our young players to all play well isn’t realistic though. I look at Richmond with Castagna, Rioli and Lambert and just how important those elite running and pressure players are. They all offer more than ANB but Rioli and Castagna particularly don’t have much more skill. Lesser players than ANB have come good before, certainly if he discovers some physicality it will make a huge difference.

1. Oliver - it's vital that he returns to a multiple AA trajectory and he'll do that by panicking less with the ball, absorbing contact to release team mates and knowing when to use his legs. 2. Petty - the CHB role is vacant and ready for him if he's physically ready and is trained in proper defensive techniques. Needs some Burgo time and then May to coach him up in defensive skills (May not Chaplin). 3. Weid. Could take the improvements made in 2020 to a new level and own the forward line 4. ANB. It will be easy to see him overtaken by Koz, Spargo and Laurie but I get the sense he's got another level that he might just be ready to go to now it's finally been made clear he has to play with more skill and composure. And be an aggressive tackler not just a prolific one. He's not a fashionable player and I've been as down on him as most but we aren't going to achieve consistent defensive pressure unless we've got someone with his physical capabilities in the side. 5. Hunt. He's never had the tank to be a legitimate wing option before. More of a hope than anything but maybe that changes this year.

I'm on the record as supporting what Goody did up until 2018 as a job pretty well done. I don't think he really was provided with a huge chance to mold the list, he added Melk, Hibbo and Lewis to bring in some skill and then went out and won games. If anything I think he was the victim of being a first time head coach surrounded by this club mantra of winning contested ball and being hard at it. The Roos, McCartney, Viney even Jason Taylor mantra was flowing full bore and we were winning more than we had previously, it's pretty easy to see where we fell in to a trap. How much should've been changed faster than the end of 2018 and how much of that is on Goody? I'm not confident to say one way or the other. Our draft picks for a long time had a skill/speed/run component, way back to Hannan and Johnstone, Spargo, Fritsch, Baker, Jordon, Bedford, Chandler. Plus key defenders with Lever, May, Petty. Bringing in KK. We had Langdon pretty much locked in a year before he came too. I'll give him some benefit of the doubt with the list, there's too many others responsible for the failings too. Changes to game plan - we should've seen more in 2019 but the whole year was a dumpster fire, 2020 was better at least with the defensive zone and after a bad start with the tempo coming under control. Positional changes - meh, we've had so many one dimensional players for so long it's hard to move them around. The big faults are failing to turn over assistants and failing to create the right processes that prevent issues building up. We've needed a skills coach for a long time. We've needed a fresh voice for the midfield. We've needed to train more on MCG sized ovals. Etc etc. Those kind of little details that add up to important things on the ground are where he's lacking. Attention to details is one of the most vital things for a coach in any sport and I don't think Goody really has it

Buckley, Hardwick, Goodwin?

Maybe some marking advice for the forwards?

I actually think Goodwin from 16-18 did a heck of a job and should've been regarded as a top 6 coach in the comp at that time. Outside of the round 23 disaster costing us finals in 2017 he got the most out of that list with an innovative and aggressive game plan. Yes it had it's flaws, but most sides do. Geelong this year were dominating the grand final and after the game you look at them and think how the heck did they even get close with that side and that plan. Obviously 2019 was a disaster and last year a mixed bag and yes there's a case that some of the issues that led to 19/20 should've been addressed ahead of time rather than waiting until they became abundantly clear. But going in to 2021 we've got: Backline: should be decent but lacks mature depth unless Lever finally hits his potential and a number of Hore/Smith/Petty/Lockhart/Rivers lock down spots. Midfield: needs a massive retune to stop the issues of 19/20 for good, Yze has a huge task Forwards: dramatically overhauled since 2018 with a mix of young players and now the addition of B Brown. And all of that personnel change means establishing a new plan which takes time. If we're bad, then Goody goes, that's pretty clear cut. But if we're somewhere between 6-10th on the ladder then assessing if we're actually on the right path or not is very difficult and we could actually be heading in the right direction and needing a bit more patience.

Pert has been a player and a CEO, never a coach or football manager as far as I know, so I am concerned when he gets involved in footy his opinions will be framed by his playing experience. And he played when key forwards were vital which is different to how footy is played now. When you add in the misadventures of the Collingwood football department during his time there it doesn't fill me with confidence. I guess he has picked Richo and given him the chance to take the reigns now. Demonland opinion has soured on him but he's an experienced football person who did far better than others would've with what he was given at the Saints, let's hope he's making the right calls.

The issue I have with Brown and Weid is about fit. 2 big talls who don’t offer a lot of possessions and defensive effort. Jackson complements either of them individually. But alone they have value. Brown’s value is obvious as a 60 goal forward. Weid’s 2020 apart from Cairns he crashed packs, kicked goals at a decent clip and took strong marks. He was a solid afl player and the best and fairest reflected that, with a couple more touches he’d be a very good afl player. After that it’s a matter of fit with Brown as above.

I think positioning and not getting enough easy ball are far bigger problems for Weid than toughness or presence. The lack of reliable second option meant he had to be up the ground, and the game plan to get goal side for long bombs to the square left him sprinting deep. The Jackson - Weid combo worked briefly before Jacko went down. Personally I’d rather stick with that but the Brown-Weid combo should be able to produce similar results. But part of that is Weid finding easy ball when he’s up the ground or even leading inside 50. Add a couple of uncontested marks each game and another half a goal a week and he’s right up with the best forwards.

The major factors for whether a kid can play early are whether they are physically and mentally prepared for the intensity and whether they can run. Rosman looks more of a project so I don’t expect him to play but there’s no concern over his athleticism and hopefully his size protects him from the heat. Bowey and Laurie are strong runners too. If you can run you can do a job. It’s a big ask of a coach to start a small light body in Bowey on a back flank but I think he’ll get his chance. They didn’t rush Rivers in so much so my guess is coaches are more conservative when it comes to defenders. Laurie should certainly get chances if the likes of Spargo and Pickett are a guide from their first years. Is he going to be a better option than ANB who’s rock hard fit and a super worker? My guess is not straight in to round 1 but pretty early in to the year he’ll put good vfl from on the board.

Rivers would do very well to be in AA contention yet not finish in the top 2 in the Rising Star.

We're going to get smashed, then they'll be an overreaction, then in a months time everyone will realise Freo were actually good so it's not that bad a loss. We can't score against a Longmuir defensive set up and we'll get frustrated, make mistakes and leak goals because that's what we do. Unless....... The forward pressure is spicy and dialed right up to start a season AND The midfield learn to work together and use the ball smartly.

They’re both tall athletic left footed wingmen. Obviously a lot of differences too but I’m fine with people daring to dream.