DeeSpencer

Also, I freaking hate this. The last challenge David King had was to pass a breathalyzer. Salem isn't coasting at half back, he's working really hard. Could he be given more responsibilities by going on ball - yes. But it's hardly a challenge. The challenge is for our coaches and list management team to build a more complete side.

Wingmen mainly get the ball at half back. It's a furphy that wings deliver the ball inside 50. The wing isn't a precision ball use position either. Mostly it's about busting your backside getting in to space then moving the ball on safely often with long kicks. Half forward is the same. Gut running with the occasional hit up kick. Kozzie and Spargo are actually far better at that than most supporters give them credit. For Salem it's either half back or on ball. If we move him on ball then we're weaker at half back and even more congested on ball. I'm not against doing that. But we didn't make any moves in trade week to remove a midfielder and find a half back flanker. If we did Brayshaw or Viney out for Saad, Zac Williams etc in then Salem on ball would be a lock. We need to wait and see what we get from the draft, but the designated half back kicker is a vital position. We need more classy ball use on ball but I actually think if it's one of Rivers or Salem to move on ball I prefer Rivers.

Burgo and co must always get nervous when players go off for offseason training from their own trainers but results do look good. Very suspicious on the claim Jackson couldn't do a single chin up though.

He’s right about the value of most rucks and them taking time. But then he says Jackson will take time when he played from the second game of the year. Then he says: all the players taken around Luke Jackson have made an impact. Then names Ash, Stephens, McAsey who all played but had very little actual impact on games. Nankervis was immense in the finals for the Tigers so the whole basis of the conversation is silly. Dwayne admits as much. He says Jackson will take time and won’t be the number 1 ruck whilst Gawn is around which isn’t as inflammatory as the OP suggests. But I think it’s fair to say he doesn’t recognise the value Jackson can have whilst not being the number 1.

Goldstein won the hit outs, but I thought Jacko did more around the ground. The question is not: will he make it as a ruck? The question should be: what else can he do to maximise his value? Personally I think we shouldn’t try to make him in to Grundy but rather aim for something like Goodes. Mid/forward/ruck utility. I’d have him spending time on the wing as well as forward and ruck this year.

Would be smart for Hawks to try to push up but the issue is clubs have gone cold on going back down the order. Most are actually looking to swap picks into the future - the Crows and Melbourne are a couple who could look at that, as may Richmond. But that takes a buyer who wants to trade a future pick, and at the moment Collingwood is the only one. The Tombstone suggesting we could look at a trade out. 19 for the Pies future first would be a good deal if the players we want just aren’t there at 18/19. It looks like it will be difficult to combine our 4 picks to 3 and get a good deal so moving a pick out might be the way to go. The problem is it will be hard to get value. Collingwood are the 1 club looking for picks

If there’s a certain player we are keen on we can get them to pull their draft nomination and sign on as a rookie after the draft. The DFA window only matters for signing senior listed players on 2 year deals. Clubs will be in ongoing negotiations for picking delisted guys as rookies, it’s just a question of whether we want to commit to anyone before the draft.

They’ve deleted that photo from all socials so it’s either someone who they don’t want other teams to know about or who isn’t meant to be there

Who’s the second from the left?

No it wasn’t. All 3 lines need to get better. The backline is solid but still not up with the best teams. It can’t just be May and Salem. Lever has to improve. Hibbo has to turn back the clock as he did mid year before tiring and they need to find answers at the other spots. The midfield was ordinary against good opposition. Brisbane killed us. Port ran rings around us. Geelong spread. Richmond out worked and out smarted us. So did the Dogs. Yze has a huge job trying to create a cohesive unit that holds up under pressure. He has to retool some of our best players to change the way they play. We have more tall options up field that could help the consistency of scoring and ball movement. But it all means little if the defensive pressure isn’t good and our talls and mediums are defensive liabilities. Adding Ben Brown and then thinking of adding back T Mc means needing to find big gains with pressure. Again, another huge coaching job and likely a change in personnel

Think the clubs misses a chance to implement a rolling replacement system. Would help bottom sides bounce up the ladder faster and stop teams running in to big trouble with multiple injuries.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/525076/statement-players-afl-confirm-new-pay-deal-for-2021 It's on the AFL website too And yes, clubs that don't have 2 cat B rookies are penalised and need to (if they see fit) go out and find 2.

Incorrect. Main list and cat A rookie can only get to 42 combined with 2 B spots. Excluding B rookies clubs have 3 choices - 38/4, 37/5, 36/6. But it’s not a choice, the latter is the only good option for the salary cap. “Primary lists must have between 36 and 38 players. Category A rookies are capped at 4-6, up to a total of 42 players on a list including primary-listed players. Each club can also have two Category B rookies.” https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/news/837502/afl-confirms-2021-list-sizes

No. 42 including main list and cat A rookies.

Lockhart’s close to a regular player compared with JJ who hasn’t played. Isn’t that enough?

36 main list and 6 rookie list is the only reasonable way to compose the list. 37-5 would waste 80k of salary cap space for no good reason. 38-4 would waste 160k. Every team has a super tight salary cap as they negotiate the cap decrease and player contracts. So it makes sense that JJ would be given the rookie designation. For that reason 3 draft picks and 1 rookie (pick or train on player) remains the overwhelming favourite unless we have a way to drop another player back, which I assume we don't.

A few points of interest here: 1. Essendon, another Goodwin connection or just raiding one of their deckchairs? 2. No mention if it's part time or full time, the initial plan was part time but that was before confirmation of Egan leaving. I still don't really get it, I'd have though Casey coach and development manager would be a vital coach to have full time even after big cuts. 3. McPherson making the announcement instead of Mahoney

The Dogs 3rd and North 4th were more about making sure we had the right picks to allow trading the first than betting on results there IMO. The Lions second will very likely be a downgrade from our own but that's part of the deal that saw us turn 1 first in to two. The risk concerns me. A potentially very high pick for 2 muddling picks in the most compromised draft of all time is a risk. As is targeting players in the draft. Brisbane needed a small forward, they traded a first rounder for Charlie Cameron who they knew was a gun. We traded for Kozzie, who we certainly like but is just a kid. The good news is that we should have 3 picks and so we shouldn't target them all, which I guess is similar to last year. Target 1 pick in the right range for Kozzie, take the best available elsewhere. That's hopefully what we are doing this year. Get the balance right between being confident we'll get at least 1 kid who matches the needs whilst keeping a best available focus. Drafting for need as well as trading a future pick, that's a recipe for trouble.

I agree with that, I'm just saying it's a shame he never had that development stage. He was pretty much a starting member of the side from age 20 and then when things really started to stall over the last two years he didn't get that confidence boost and to establish that he's too good for VFL level. It's not the perfect metaphor but if Oscar was a cricket batsmen he might've had a couple of 50's and a century in year 2 and was then promoted to the test side. And once he was dropped he didn't get that summer making 1000 runs to show he's ready to come back in.

The one regret I have about Oscar is he never got a consistent stretch at Casey with a mature body to show he can dominate VFL games. Could he have played like Steve May does for the AFL side down at Casey - 20 touches, 10 marks, shut down an opponent? And what would that have done for his confidence at AFL level? I doubt it would’ve mattered but he became a regular in the AFL side at a young age on the back of a few decent Casey games. And any time he was dropped over the last two years he didn’t get that chance to really re-establish his credentials. Last year they sent him for a mini preseason, this year it was the hubs and scratch matches. Im at least mildly interested to see how he goes if given a long stretch in the VFL. Does he become an intercept marker and more aggressive participant in games?

The most concerning part of the article IMO was the last line. West Coast have agreed to across the board 7% cuts. In addition to 2 less senior listed players that probably makes up the 9% reduction. Other clubs will have players hold firm on the 3.5%. Or negotiate back end deals that see them only truly give up 3.5%. West Coast will then end up with a 3.5% margin over other clubs. That’s one free best 22 player. The AFLPA should’ve laid out an exact plan on how the 9% was going to be deducted. As for Essendon - I’m sure they meant well. Better to withhold some of the cash than pay them more than they’ll end up earning and make a deduction in future pay. Every club should be holding 3.5% back because that’s the minimum all players will be giving up.

Geelong seem to do better with recruiting and retaining players than any other side. Sleepy hollow + good surf beaches seem to be a winning combination. Most afl players are in long term relationships by 25, married with kids soon after. The simple life appeals. Clearly it’s harder with Vic clubs targeting players that they don’t do to Geelong, but it’s possible. If you got Chris Fagan and David Noble to do what they’ve done in Brisbane you’d get similar results.

I’ve never seen anyone as desperate to get discounted school fees as Stevo is at Xavier. Reports on them nearly as much as he does the Kennel

We’ve got Brown and Weideman, 2 big forwards who lack mobility. Are you dropping one of them for Preuss? And why leave Jackson out of the side when he’s absolutely ready to play. He doesn’t need Casey time to be hungry. Preuss was injured for the first half of the year and has had a number of niggles last year. A second round pick and to cash out of his contract, this was the time. There’s no way his value was going up even if he played 22 games. A pick inside 30 for a 26 year old ruck, come on now? Clearly the hope was to bring Andrew Phillips in for Tom McDonald. We’ll wait a year for a different Phillips type, they’re always available. In the short term - I have full faith in a Jackson/Tom McDonald tandem holding their own if needed as they did against Goldstein. Geelong just made the grand final with a Stanley/Blicavs combination. Jackson/T Mc, Jackson/Ben Brown, Jackson/Weid. Plenty of ways to cover.