DeeSpencer

Garlett was at Carlton - a team and club seriously struggling when he came to us. We weren't going much better but after a year of Roos we were steady and on the rise. Besides a bad final year at Carlton he'd been a consistent 40 goal a year player who struggled in tight games - and still does. Motlop's been at Geelong, one of the best run clubs with good leadership and well prepared and supported players. I'm not sure he's really a player that will be or needs to be turned around, he's a good player now with some flaws and that's what he'll be in the future. I'd gladly have him but with realistic expectations and I'm not sure the price will be right.

Arizona (But yuck they aren't that good, but the Colts might be terrible) New England Dallas

Definitely needs work, I was just expanding on that saying it appears he was working on it and if he gets more help from his team mates it will be less of an issue.

Think we might have to give up more than pick 10 but I don't want it to be much more. I'd try to keep next years first off the table, but at the same time I wouldn't want to give up 2nd round picks either so it's a tricky one. We have to give Jason Taylor some ammunition in the draft. I'd probably be willing to add 2018's first round pick for Adelaide's pick this year or next year but that would be a gamble. A couple of second round pick shuffles might be the safer bet. Or maybe we give the Saints something small to move pick 10 to 7 or 8 and then that satisfies the Crows. The big question might be what other business do we have in trade week and if the answer is nothing major then we can bit very patient. The last few years Mahoney has always stressed the importance of locking in deals early to allow some more movement with other players but I'm hoping we don't trade anyone out and I don't think we'll be trading anyone major in if we get Lever.

Maybe, but not really. Adelaide could've matched the contract so really they had just as much leverage then as they do now.

Possibly the hardest job to evaluate as a footy fan. You can't tell who makes the calls on selection, who makes the calls on which players play where, who's responsible for the game plan. Maybe the best judgement you can make about an assistant from the outside is the praise they receive from the players who play in their line and when you hear an assistant talk up a maligned or young player who then comes good. I remember that happening with Rawlings and Nev Jetta but I'm not sure it's happened so much the last couple of years. Maybe time to shuffle around the coaches to give them fresh jobs. If Green was the best man for the job I'd love to have him back because I think it's important to keep Melbourne people involved. It's nice to keep that history and connection to the fans in the club.

He was making a concerted effort towards the end of the year, even some times too much of an effort. But that's good, they are teaching him and he's trying. The other thing that was clear at the end of the year was he was tired. He was fumbling ground balls because he wasn't sure of his legs ability to get him out of trouble. Plus he was the only one still running. More players running and the decision making becomes a lot easier, and the miss kicks land in space and get picked up by someone else anyway. Prime example was Dusty Martin bombing it long to a richmond player v Dangerfield turning it over on the weekend. Both are players who can butcher it pretty frequently but one had more time and space to run in to and kick in to.

Key forwards rarely win finals yet alone grand finals off their own boot. Oliver, Viney and Gawn can turn games in the midfield with stoppage dominance. Hunt can break a game open. And the real match winner is Petracca, who is the one can make something out of nothing. I agree with the idea that you need elite players to be a consistently top side capable of winning a premiership but I also think if you have a team that pressures and runs and defends and has good skills then the average players look better than that, the good players look very good and the superstars get elevated as well. Richmond right now are a case of that. Riewoldt's looking great because he's doing all the team first stuff. Rance is looking good because Astbury is holding up on the best tall forard. The likes of Prestia and Grigg and Caddy are making life easier for Cotchin who is in turn playing very well and making Martin look like a superstar and to an extent vice versa.

I didn't see a lot of him and sounds like he was still getting beat up by experienced players but Mitch King's body started looking stronger and more athletic towards the end of the year. I'd expect he'd have a pretty good preseason and be an ok 3rd choice ruck if really needed - not many clubs 3rd string guy is all that good anyway. I truly think Tom McDonald is a very decent 2nd string ruckman if needed so if the club has faith in the key position spots I wouldn't panic over the need for a better 2nd string option. I'd still trade/free agent/draft a mature player to be the 2nd option guy but I wouldn't stress about it.

So it's down to Vince, Kennedy, King and Vanders from the main list still out of contract? 4 rounds of national draft picks for 4 senior list spots with the chance of trading some players in or out. You'd think only Kennedy would have any interest from another club and even that would be unlikely. So I'm guessing it would be a matter of seeing who is out there from other trades or free agent pick ups and whether they offer more than these 4.

I was initially suspect on Goodwin doing regular media during the finals but I've since come round to the idea that senior coaches need media exposure because there's going to be a time when things get rocky and having some public support doesn't hurt and getting his brand out does help with recruiting players. Plus he's going to watch the finals and analyse them closely anyway so that's a good thing. As for Menzel, I wouldn't say no to him but our forward pressure is bad how it is, we don't need another forward who doesn't chase or tackle unless we are playing to move others on.

Sad to see Trenners go. Glad he got to play again after injury but he wasn't up to it. Hope he's still a Melbourne person. Spencer just was never up to AFL standard. Finally they made the call on him. 10 years on our list. Jeepers. White I thought could play, but his body didn't hold up and he was a bit fumbly and slow. Had he been healthier and played more regularly - particularly last year - I think he might've made it but now we have depth in the half back flankers there's no reason to keep him. Better to turn the list over. Hulett just didn't come on after a promising first year. I think the biggest issue was he didn't have AFL level endurance and guys who are in shape and train ok but don't have endurance often never find it. He was never going to be super quick or athletic so he needed to run all day and that didn't seem to happen.

Yeah I'd like to see only the players be able to call for a time out in any situation. That way it has to happen before the snap. Either way it was a horrendous attempt at a block by the Chargers player and it cost me my tips. That whole game featured a couple of teams who look pretty decent in some areas but also really sloppy and poorly coached by rookie head coaches. I think Kansas City and Oakland would be looking at that game last night and knowing they have to do take care of some things - Denver's pass D, Chargers edge rushers, keep Rivers in check, pressure Siemian - but overall knowing if they play smart they'll have a big advantage.

Ahh the Bears go for a big comeback against the team that should've won the superbowl last year and then somehow drop 2 passes and can't get in with 4 goes from the 6. Lost Kevin White as well so now undeniably the worst WR group in the league. Hard to work out what is real and what is just a small sample size in week 1. So far I'm willing to believe in: - Cleveland being a really plucky team and far tougher to beat - Jacksonville's defense and running game - The Rams defense - The Colts are screwed with Luck Wait and see time with a lot of other teams deserving or needing a 2nd viewing to see what's real.

I'd add 2 extra wins and give them the division if Zeke doesn't get suspended. The OL is fantastic and any RB would put up yards for them but Zeke adds the passing game component as a back and is so versatile defenses can't get a read on him.

B: Munro Hutchins Gordon HB: Trengove Keilty Wagner C: Stretch Maynard Bugg HF: Gent Weideman JKH F: King Fritsch DJ R: Spencer Brayshaw Kennedy Int: 23. M. Cox, 55. L. Hulett, 5. D. Collis, 35. A. Ferreira, 17. E. Morris, 51. B. Giobbi, 7. Y. Zijai, 27. A. Scott 23P: 72. M. Lefau Looks better in a team with some positions I can actually read. Should still be a strong Casey side if the rucks can break even and the midfield fires. But the backline will struggle with the Richmond forwards and the Casey forward line has been hit and miss for most of the year and lacks depth. Given Casey haven't really looked like a serious contender this year and Richmond's AFL listed players have a heap to play for I'd imagine the Tigers will win pretty comfortably.

Falcons Steelers Chargers

Cowboys most likely lose Elliott for 6 weeks which sends their offense back to earth and their defense is ordinary. They aren't better than a 10 win team. Giants defense is legit but their offense can't run the ball or protect Eli, again, they shouldn't win more than 10 games. Eagles have a chance to be very good on both sides of the ball if the additions at corner and WR work out.

Had a decent start to the year and then a hot patch mid season that coincided with our best form of the year. His kicking was better and his marking was very much improved. Then started to struggle when the midfield pressure dropped off and also struggled in the games that the wind impacted. That was probably about the time he was trying to play for a big contract as well and that's not easy for a guy of limited experience. So I'm glad he signed on because I think the worst case scenario is he's handy depth and the best case scenario is he makes a leap and consistency comes and he's a very good player. His pace is a special attribute so if he gets the rest up to average he'll offer a lot. No idea if we get Lever but if we do then Lever is a 3rd tall for at least the next 2 years I think. So It's going to take a battle between Frost, Oscar, Keilty, (Tom - if not forward) and maybe another recruit to fight for the 2 key back spots. Some depth and pressure for spots will really help these guys develop instead of just a free pass in to the team each week.

We actually kick the ball a lot. Especially from the backline. Changing angles with kick mark spin inside, kick mark spin. I have no problem with this method. Although it does reflect a lack of outside run. We handball like crazy from stoppages and refuse to kick blindly forward. Again, inability to actually get these handballs moving forward with momentum is more of an issue than needing to blindly kick. We also finish well inside 50 with goals. We don't kick a lot of points. And at the other end our opponents don't because we have an open backline. There's things I want to change in our game plan: - Defenders to learn when to stick back and not blindly rush up. Assertive zone defending does mean running 30m forward when you could wait back and have a midfield close on the guy with the ball - Forwards getting the balance between leading up and back right - Mids getting handballs going to the outside by taking the receive on the move But I don't particularly think we have any issues with the pace of our ball movement. Fitter players with more spread and bit more pace outside sure, but I wouldn't undo all the work that's gone in to a style.

Lever is the main target I believe and a sensible choice. Might not solve our key defensive weaknesses initially but he's one of the best intercept players in the league and can rebound pretty well also. Along with Hibberd and Hunt we'd have a seriously strong repelling half back line. For both salary cap and draft reasons it's then hard to sign more than 1 big name player so I wouldn't set the sights too high. We need to move on from Spencer and add a back up ruck. We need to add a ready to play CHB to move Tom McDonald to a ruck/forward role - Lever might grow in to that role but we need depth. We need outside run. This might sound silly but I think we should look at Blaine Boekhorst from Carlton as a cheap wing option. Don't think he has a deal there yet and we might get him for free.

Ok I'm back in for tipping and thought I'd pick the division champs: AFC: North: Steelers East: Pats South: Texans West: ???? Chiefs WC: Raiders, Bengals NFC: North: Packers East: Eagles South: Falcons West: SeaHawks WC: Giants, Panthers Aside from the usual standouts - Pats in the AFC East, Packers and SeaHawks in the NFC, there's some really competitive divisions. With a bumper crop of QB's coming in to the league the teams without one - in particular the Jets, the Bills might fall by the wayside quickly. Otherwise a lot of teams will have something to offer. I expect the 49ers offense with Hoyer playing for Shanahan before will surprise a lot of people. They won't be Atlanta but they'll score. As a Bears fan I'm hoping the team restores some proper Bears defense and they can if they stay healthy. After that most of the season is just living in hope Trubisky develops in to a franchise QB.

He was great least year. Talent is there. But was bad this year and obviously hasn't been at his best training wise either. The athleticism, reading the play, marking and kicking skills are all there. Plus he'd probably do even better in our free roaming style of defending (or not defending) that Sydney's structure anyway. You'd take him knowing it could be a disaster but also knowing he could be great. Personally I think the Swans will be keen to get him right because Grundy won't go on forever. Mellican - who overtook Aliir - can slide back to FB and Aliir can resume his CHB role.

Delist: Lumumba, Trengove, Hulett, Kennedy, White (r) - that's the easy ones. Delist: Spencer - not an AFL level player, often injured. Time to cut the cord and find a mature back up. If not, Tom McDonald can back up Garland - similar to Spencer he's isn't up to AFL any more, find a way to pay him out if we can, keep him as a coach. Kent I wouldn't mind trying to fix if there's not a trade deal for him but I wouldn't play him until he's fit enough to play wing, even if that takes all year. Hogan I wouldn't even enter trade negotiations unless he's really unhappy or a team is selling the farm Vince I'd keep on a modest deal but play mostly at Casey or bring in to tag. Frost I'd rather keep but if he's part of the Lever deal and we need the salary cap space then I can handle him going, he hasn't shown enough to lock in on a long term deal if someone else offers him one. Important to find a mature ruck and key defender if the draft/trade/free agency. I can see why we want Jackson Trengove, he can fill both spots. Tim Smith and Keilty are going to be kept as mature age rookies. As is Maynard. So we should add a bit more depth but really we can hand over to Jason Taylor to take a lot of picks on kids even if it's a shallow draft. Maybe 3 picks in the main draft and 3 picks in the rookie draft and go with extra rookies.

Obviously it's different if we had won last week but there's not a lot of players that I feel I have a deep connection with and I think that's projected on how much I think they love the club. Look at our round 23 team: From another club: Vince, Lewis, Hibberd, Garlett, Tyson, Melksham even Pedersen I loved Vince and he embraced the club but now he's kind of done. Pedersen is a fun journeyman who always speaks highly of the club. Hibberd is great to watch but is new. I'm learning to love Melky. Nagging feeling he might leave: Hogan Nagging feeling he deeply cares about the club but doesn't care about giving his all on field: Watts Limited fan/media exposure: ANB, Harmes, Hannan, Salem Disliked due to playing style: McDonald, T. McDonald, O. Out of form: Gawn That leaves me with: Jones, Jetta, Oliver, Brayshaw (limited games), Petracca, Hunt Jones, Gawn, Watts and Viney are really the heartbeat of the playing group. They are the guys who connect most with fans. If they are out of the team or down on form it's a bit harder to get a strong emotional connection with a lot of the players. Guys like Hogan, Oliver and Petracca I love watching and I hope play for us for a long time and win games and become champions of the club, but we've just had too many young talents slip away. Make some finals, win some finals, develop stars, lock in consistent players and there will be more love towards and from the players. And for that matter the same thing will occur with the coach.