DeeSpencer

0 goals from 3 games this year. 9 goals in 13 games last year. Has kicked more than 2 goals only twice, which was the day he somehow kicked 7 against the Hawks and then another game where he kicked 5 against North. If you put those games down as massive outliers then he's no more of a scoreboard threat than Spargo. Maybe a slightly better tackler but not as clean with the ball. Butler and Papley are much smarter. They create goals. Ronke's a quick player who just found himself in the right spot at the right time on a couple of occasions.

Watching his 2018 highlights and yes he was certainly moving better and far less robotic but he was also just full of confidence. Not a care about crashing in to a pack. Didn't run under the ball. Didn't stop and attempt to fend a player off, just grabbed the ball and ran. The last two years he's played the same was as did as a defender in 2016 and parts of 2017 when he just lost all confidence in his kicking and clearly needed the freshen up of the ruck/forward role in 17 and then full time forward in 18. All the fumbles, all the double grabbed marks, all the times he's got the ball in congestion and attempt to kick straight in to an opponents on coming smothers. They can't be due to physical problems.

The best way to make this team is to be in the 2016-2018 drafts. We traded out of 16 for Weideman and 17/18 for Lever. But we’ve also taken Fritsch (slightly too old), Spargo, Petty, Sparrow, Jordon with decent picks in those years. On talent alone Fritter isn’t far off a lot of the guys in the 22u22. Spargo looks like an AFL player again. Petty and Sparrow both have a fair bit of upside, if they can deliver next year our youth starts looking a lot stronger. As for making the team - our class of ‘19 have 3 more years to do that.

Drinking buddies?

Good from afar but a far from good. Accumulates but lacks damage. Doesn't love the contest. Doesn't love defensive running. Isn't quick enough to break lines. Is a good kick but not a great kick who opens up play and creates goals. The suns probably paid him plenty to sign on for 4 years as well given they couldn't keep losing players. We'd probably have to get a decent chunk of his cash paid to make a deal work. Had offseason groin surgery so he's a better player than he showed this year but whether he's good enough to go and chase I'm not sure.

Would you? What if the club said we'll still pay you everything you're owed but find other ways to use your considerable other talents. His legs look shot and he's ducking in to tackles and risking further concussions. Unless he and the club thinks there's something he can change over summer to find more vitality they won't be doing him any favours by having him play on.

Clubs that missed finals were doing their exit interviews even before round 18 so they could get up and out of the hub ASAP. I'd imagine given we were a legitimate finals chance until last night that we'll be holding off at least until now. I doubt we'd do what North did, but it's likely rumours or confirmation of at least the first batch come through this week. Usually we wait until the trade period for a second/third group of list changes.

I think we should have a crack at Riley Collier-Dawkins. I know inside mid isn't what we need but this kid is a big body with legspeed and a heap of potential. If we're been bold and willing to let go of Viney or others we shouldn't be afraid to make a few offers. Worst case scenario is it keeps Richmond honest and ups what they have to pay him.

We should do what the Pies did with Daniel Wells for Jetta. Retire him and give him a job in the footy department and community department. That means the money gets split under the footy department cap and in normal expenditure. Nev can provide more value to the club in a role like that than he would playing on. It only costs 80k extra and a rookie list spot to bring in a rookie in his place. Oscar is out of contract according to articles from 2018.

Re-contract: Fritsch, Spargo, Petty, Sparrow, Jordon, Hore, Lockhart, Hibberd, Nietschke Delisted: Wagner, Wagner, Dunkley, Bedford Trade: Tom Mc Retire: Jones, Jetta*, KK* Decision time: Viney Fringe: Chandler, Bennell, Smith, Oscar, Hannan, Hunt, Brown, Bradtke** *Nev and/or KK might have to be redrafted as a rookie then replaced over summer ** Bradtke likely stays assuming he keeps Category B status The future of the fringe group depends on who else we can get, how low the list size shrinks to and how many we trade out.

His decision making in particular was far more advanced than I expected. I'm certainly not against trying him there. I'd test him more on a flank before deciding he has the shutdown qualities of someone like Nev. I think we've been so spoilt by young mids who can come in and get 30 touches that we forget it's ok to have mids who get 15 and do other things well. In fact we're probably a better side with a guy like Sparrow who has a defensive focus and skirts the packs more than diving head first in to them with our other mids.

Saad interests me but we might not be able to get it done. It's also a lot to give up for a 26 year old. Cumming if he's cheap. Witherden concerns me. Looks a million dollars against bad teams but under pressure he falters. There's a reason he's not getting games for Brisbane right now. If it really is a 3rd rounder and not a huge contract then fine, but I'm not sure that will be the case.

A little, but I'm not sure he has a clear role these days. Lacks a bit of skill and speed for half back, lacks a bit of size and ability in the contest for a deeper role. And he's a smart guy who probably has a lot of other things he could be doing. I'm surprised North haven't kept him around for one more year as a good character guy whilst they chop so much from the list. It might well be that he's ready to get a real job rather than risk his body for 100k a year in the 2's.

Brisbane do. Otherwise Port, Geel and Richmond have 1 excellent big guy. Port's number 2 is a kid, Richmond's number 2 is ageing Riewoldt and Geelong don't really have a 2nd guy. The Eagles have Kennedy about to finish up and the best support system with Darling, Allen and Ryan but they aren't going anywhere. Otherwise the list of big forwards who kicked more goals than Weideman this year is very low. Jezza Cameron might be the only one remotely available and he's hardly a bullocking option. Gunston even less so. Weideman will play most of next season at 24 years old. He remains a better bet than gambling on anyone else. Fritsch should continue to improve in doing what he does. Jackson doesn't have to be a bullocking player or a big goal kicker. An x-factor type who's difficult to stop in the air is all he needs to do.

Our backline next year is: May, Lever, Salem, Rivers. If we move 1 of Salem or Rivers to the midfield then it's down to 3. Who's going to fill the last 4 spots? Hibberd 1 more year and not an automatic selection. Tomlinson and Lockhart are suspect at AFL level, they shouldn't be plan A without a decent plan B. Oscar? Smith? Chandler? Hore? Nietschke? Petty (might be needed forward). Jetta, KK, Wagner likely go. Port and Richmond are 2 of the best backlines in the league, very hard to get games in. Webster was a good player for a long time, Ratten is just making sure the side has some youth. I'm happy to listen to any other suggestions as well. Either way I think we need to bring in some cheap defensive depth options.

Phillips is a bit too similar to Langdon for my likings. Great runner, but not good in the contest and shoddy kick. I think we'd have to use either Langdon or Phillips through half forward if we had both of them just to spread out the traits. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Daicos is my suggestion. The kicking skills we need. We don't seem to be involved in the Xavier O'Halloran sweepstakes. The Crows would probably give Seedsman up pretty cheaply given they are getting younger. There's a couple of guys who went in the draft 2 years ago to good clubs and haven't got games - Jacob Kennerly to Geel and Fraser Turner to Richmond. No idea how they are tracking but might be worth a look. I'd also very much consider training up Harmes and/or Melksham for the role if we can find some flankers at either end. JJ too. And Baker has shown at least a flicker that he's not completely out of the equation.

Gunston's a professional goal kicker who would be great, we can move Fritsch around. But spending up on a tall forward would be a big waste. Tall defender is a big need, but you can find them cheaper.

Chiefs, Niners, Ravens. Handy when you pick 3 of the best teams in football. Let's see how they stuff it up.

Not sure Narkle has the tank, forward craft or skills to be an improvement at half forward. Even for 700k when the Pies can only offer 450k would Daicos not leave? I'm saying go hard and see what happens. I'd rather Hooker than Hurley. Can play both ends and is more reliable defensively. Would make us play 3 big talls but he's smart enough to make it work. Not convinced by Polec. Something is wrong if North are so keen to push him out. I don't Geelong would. Stanley and Esava are no worse than Preuss. GWS maybe, but if I was them I'd be looking for a long term starter who might have less exposed form than Preuss but has more upside. I think Preuss is at best a 3rd round pick and we still need him.

Weid kicked multiple goals in all but one game and averaged 4 marks a game for 9 rounds between round 6 and 14. His 18 goals in 9 goals was very strong. Then came the short breaks and awful cairns conditions. One more preseason of the right physical improvements and he'll get there. Jackson is a stud. Harry Petty came in to a disaster of a side in 2019 and was clunking marks and hitting the scoreboard. We'll be fine with what we have. We have to allocate resources in other positions - namely guys who can run, pressure and kick. We do that and our forwards will look a whole lot better.

Zero interest in Hogan. All he does is lead up to the wings and slow ball movement. Keep Mitch Brown if that's what we want. Happy to go for the Jackson and Weid combo with Petty as back up. The only big ticket items we should be chasing are guys who can run and kick. Genuine solutions to those issues - ie. Saad or Daicos. Otherwise we should bring in a number of lesser valued players and replace our depth types who clearly aren't up to it.

We aren't getting that for Pruess and if we think Sparrow is a player we're better off keeping him and moving out guys ahead of him. If a team - mainly Adelaide - come for Sparrow with a 2nd round pick that would mean they think he's a player.

I think we have 3 big weaknesses: Wing, half forward flank class and backline depth. It's nearly impossible to find the quality half forward pieces, head to the draft for that, but the best wing option IMO is Daicos. There's plenty of backline depth out there so that should be an easy one to find and fill cheaply. 1. Josh Daicos. Pies have to find room for De Goey, Mihocek and Moore. Make Josh Daicos a big money offer and get a skilled wingman to complement Langdon. Yeah he's Collingwood royalty but money talks. 2. Saad. If the price is right, pull the trigger. 3. Jarrod Lienert - solid 3rd tall kicking defender type. Gives us some badly needed defensive depth 4. Oleg Markov - quick mid sized defender, if the price isn't right on Saad he's a nice option 5. Jimmy Webster - should be free to a good home and can play

Thought he had given up Alcohol for life. Or at least for the season. Failing to wait to get the all clear to be on holidays and away from the hub is just monumentally stupid.

The Sydney and Freo games with wind and rain and short breaks aren't a fair indication of our defensive system, which has worked almost all year. They are an indication that our midfield lacks run and skill to retain possession or forward movement in the wet and that our backline are incredibly flaky under adverse conditions. Plus a condemnation of the list that we couldn't shuffle in new players and play to the same standard. It's really hard to get pressure on a team when your midfield is gassed, dishing out nothing handballs and you can't retain possession from the backline. Our pressure was great for 3 quarters yesterday, then dropped off which is all mental application, getting way ahead of ourselves. Then instead of immediately settling in to a chip it around game plan to take the heat out of the game we give up 3 goals first. Because we lack on field leadership and we lack mental strength to know what to do - which is keep running hard and attacking but use the ball safely. We went in to ultra defensive not moving or trusting ourselves mode. Again, it's mostly mental but combined with a lack of run and skill particularly in the backline and midfield. The craziest thing about the commentary yesterday was hearing them say Melbourne need to go in to all out attack more. The thing we need to do is beef up the flanker and outside mid work rate and skill so we can be comfortable mixing tempos and using the ball far smarter than we currently do.