DeeSpencer

Hibberd hasn't been at his best but it's still a big loss. The ideal backline is 7 defenders who can all kick, intercept (mark or punch), run and defend. Hibberd's our most well rounded defender at being able to do all 4 of those thing. Lever might be closest, he can kick, intercept and to an extent defend (the right opponent) and run but he's out as well. Hunt can defend, intercept and run when at his best and he's out too. Vince does a bit of everything but isn't the same player he once was. Lewis can kick and gets in position to help others intercept and run the ball but can't defend. Jetta a great defender and can intercept and kick but doesn't run the ball out. A lot really falls on Salem now because he can do a bit of everything but the opposition is going to clamp down on him. Chris Scott will be right on to him. So do we bring in Joel Smith who can replace Hibberd's athleticism or do we bring in Wagner who has better skills and can find the footy more. That decision probably then alters what we think Vince can do. The other options: - Harmes who can probably do a decent poor mans Hibberd replacement but then the midfield is light on for defensive effort and given the loss of Viney that's a bad result - Fritsch who is a nice intercept, run and skill option across half back but then robs the midfield of some much needed class on the outside

Until the end of 2019 injury cover for Hogan/Tommy Mc and possibly for Gawn (I think a combination of Weideman and McDonald would be surprisingly effective as a ruck duo) as well as the occasional game where 3 talls is worth the risk. Then see where the rule changes and Sam's development, possibly even Hogan's contract is at by the end of 2019 and make a decision then about his future. I can understand at some stage Weideman might get frustrated but I actually think he's had plenty of AFL footy so far for a young tall. Casey should play VFL finals as well which can be a nice intermediate step between VFL and AFL.

They may be mobile but they are both poor pressure players. Tom is overzealous and gets out of position, then doesn't have great lateral mobility and tackling skills. Jesse is slowly getting better but is not a natural tackler either. No one can be certain but with new rules to ease congestion my guess is that a CHF and FF go up in a value but otherwise the game will either keep the current preference for speed and mobility with forwards if not go even more towards it.

He made strides against Freo as well. Still a bit tentative to really run and jump at the footy and open himself up to contact which is a concern but it's much better than the few weeks before that.

Small forward: Tyson Stengle kicked 6 for Tigers VFL on the weekend. But there's not a heap going around. Draft might be the option here Wing: Gaff, Polec the big names. Tom Sheridan is a guy from Freo who's going ok and might be cheap and available Those 2 positions are the ones I think are the biggest needs. We simply have to add something at those spots. The wing has been patch work all year and Garlett is the only genuine small forward on the list and is nearly done. Medium backmen: Think we need to add at least one ready to play general purpose defender to take over the Vince role. This won't be popular but if gets cut from the bombers I'm actually a fan of Matty Dea Back up ruck: Hard to convince a back up to come play behind Gawn. The current guys, in particular Mitch King might be worth giving one more year to see if he improves Midfield depth: It might be keeping Tyson, getting Maynard back healthy and not bringing in ready made help but if we make some trades we'll want a mature body. The idea of trading Tyson for a top 40 pick and adding Mitch Wallis as a free agent appeals to me

If Bugg is to tag then it's on a wing as it was under Roos where he shut out Sidebottom in one game. He's an elite runner, so out in space he can run with anyone. I doubt he has the strength or explosive pace off the mark to restrict the best inside midfielders. The half forward tag gets Melksham in to the game so he's got that role covered. And ANB has the hard running half forward spot. I thought in the preseason that Bugg had something to offer as another hard runner in the forward line and to be honest it worked for him in the North game, but he followed it up with some stinkers with the worst display of skills you'll ever see. I wouldn't completely rule Bugg out this year for that tagging wingman role against one of the games best outside runners - Gaff (although plays more on ball now), Isaac Smith, Scully etc. But that's about it.

If Viney didn't report it - he needs a serious kick up the backside If Viney did report it - the medical staff need to be damn well fired. He could've missed the games prior, had less stress and been back sooner. Fortunately it doesn't seem to have reached the stage of an actual fracture but that's more from good luck than good management by the sounds of things. Arrrgh I'm so angry.

Some over the top comments here, I don't think Jones is the big defensive liability some think. When Roos first came he sharpened his defensive work but that was because he Roos bought in other players to help win the ball. Even at the start of the year without Viney it was clear Jones was our most dangerous midfielder with the ball. Now he's back on the wing and he's not ideally suited but he spent most of the 2nd half on Ed Richards who is a very talented young player and Jones restricted his influence. It's not worth talking about Jones' career end date until he's settled in a lesser role, one which he could do for 1 year or 5 years, we don't know yet. I'm not even sure if it should be half back or half forward but I've got not doubt he's got a role in one of those positions coming up maybe from next year (we need to bring in some proper wingmen to make that happen).

Agree, he has the run and skills to play wing, but it's going to be hard to make sure the match ups are right because wings will get kick to 1 on 1's at some stage so they better make sure he's not matched up on a strong marker.

Looked a mile off in the first half but lifted after half time. He's not a rubbish footballer - he can kick, he can handball, he can tackle, he can read the play, fit enough and a good burst of pace. But he's small, clearly doesn't relish the rough stuff and he seems to lose confidence very easily. The spilled mark running with the flight off the ball was alarming but credit to him for lifting. Also think he's also the latest square peg in a round hole trying to play on the wing. Surely high half forward (in competition with Spargo and ANB) and even some centre bounce time is a what he's suited to more than the wing.

64.5% DE - good enough in the slip slop and for his position and most importantly only 1 clanger on the weekend. Not to be too harsh on the guy but he had a team high 6 clangers against the Saints and was caught out defensively as well. So it's nice to see him bounce back big time. Cutting out the lazy kicking mistakes that happened a fair bit at training over summer where he'd be finding the ball with ease but kick off one step or bomb the ball. It was why I understood that he was left out of the side. Still, he's bounced back really strongly from the injury interrupted years and from being left out at the start of the year and I still think he's got a heap of improvement left.

Eyes off the ball is a cue for the umpires, its not in any way illegal. Stupid commentators repeat it like it's a law and then fans pick up on it. It does my head in. For what? If the Melbourne player hadn't marked then all Hibberd did was use his body to take front position at the drop of the ball. Perfectly legal, he didn't hold, didn't shepherd his opponent out of the contest by taking him out. It wasn't "an unreasonable block that prevents an opposition player from contesting the football". What the umpires should look for when it comes to blocking is whether the player would've contested the ball if not for his team mate. And Hibberd had every right and the perfect position to contest the mark if his team mate didn't take the ball in front of him. Anyway, to get back on topic, Hibberd failing or not failing to execute a good team play isn't comparable to Lewis giving away a really stupid and selfish 50m penalty out of frustration.

You mean where he positioned himself between the ball and his man in a perfectly legal spot with legal body contact but was called for blocking because the umpire is an idiot and/or the rules have lost the plot? Punishing teams for having more players at the drop of the ball has to be one of the dumber rule interpretations of recent times.

What mongrel? A cheap shot 50 that didn't hurt and cost a goal is not mongrel. Neither is looking to hack the ball off the ground or punch it wildly because you won't put your body on the line. We need mongrel for sure. But it comes from the players who are willing to go when it's their turn. I'd like to see Vanders in the team for just that reason, but otherwise Lewis isn't provide any form of intimidation when he's the one who's running scared

Fantastic post.

The missed punch of the ball that went for a deliberate when it was 3 on 1 was one of softest things I've seen on a footy field this year. Of course Derm and the rest of the crew covered for him but any Demon fan who has been watching closely knows he was afraid to gather that ball and to get tackled.

Happy for Stretch to be trialled again. I don't see ANB as a wing at all even with his fitness. If we are to play a guy purely for fitness on a wing it should be Bugg. Did the job there under Roos. Fritsch is quick enough, lovely skills. Fitness is good but not great, should improve in future years. A lot of our problems come from just not having the experience in our midfield group. They all have to get fitter.

Petracca, Oliver, Brayshaw clearly have a way to go with their fitness. As it lifts that will help our midfield transition. God knows the forwards and backs should improve as well. As far as the wings go though - I think we need to just pick who we will play there and back them in. Fritsch was looking really good. Now suddenly he's a forward again? He's a very good forward but moving him around robs peter to pay paul. Gus and Harmes have been tried. Both like to hunt the ball too much IMO. Gus too slow as well. Lacks sustained speed. Maybe now Viney is back we commit to Jones playing wing and train him as much as possible to be the outside player. The inside mids were obliterated against Port, so we put Tyson on a wing to boost the stoppage play and provide a hard worker with a fit, capable body. But with no pace he doesn't help. So we all know that is only a stop gap. From here I'd go: Jones and Fritsch on the wings, maybe Harmes rotating wing/mid/forward. Add Spargo, T Smith and maybe even Baker or Bugg to the forward mix.

Enjoyed his farewell goal when he finally found himself in a decent position. Otherwise it was 120 minutes of turnovers, being pushed around, refusing to bend down to gather the ball, trailing his opponent to contests and doing little if anything at all to set up the backline.

In 2011 in his 3rd year as a 20 year old he played every game averaged 16 disposals, 5.5 marks and a goal a game. He played as the floating taller flanker with good skills and was looking promising. We all know what happened next and it took 5 years for his mind, body and talent to get it together in 2016

Sylvia and Watts both had pretty good seasons as young players. They became Sylvia and Watts because the club had no standards and didn't develop them to reach their potential. If Petracca is giving his all at training and off field to be the best he can be then he will get better. And his first quarter on the weekend was indicative of a guy who knew he had more to give. If he's not quite getting it done at training and/or the coaches think an easy kill at Casey would get him some more touch then he should be dropped. In the stats that matter for a guy playing half forward this year compared to (last year) Disposals: 20.3 (18.8) Goals: 0.8 (1.2) Tackles: 2.7 (2.5) Score Involvements: 6.2 (5.7) Clangers: 3.8 (2.9) Disposal efficiency: 66.5 (66.8) Those numbers - and the eye test especially when he goes in to the midfield - tell me that he hasn't improved his work rate and he hasn't improved his skill execution.

Two step plan for Mrs Tracc then: 1. Stop feeding the kid so much 2. Shoot his stupid dog The clubs handling of his finger injury was almost certainly a classic Melbourne medical mistake, but I care little for any players parents especially once the player has been in the system for a few years.

Your 1 example of me being wrong was when I said I was done with Tom McDonald, who is now playing a completely different role. I wasn't going to delist the guy on the spot, I would've sat down with him, worked out what's wrong in his game and quite possible played him ruck or forward years ago. Instead he played back with diminishing returns week after week until Gawn got injured and they bit the bullet to put him forward/ruck. Like most people on here I have varying opinion on a number of players and have been wrong on lots of them over the years. But I don't believe I've started a thread or maintained a constant position against any players besides Tom McDonald (as a defender) and Lewis. The only players worse than Lewis last night: Hogan (rough couple of weeks), Petracca (but a big first term), maybe Vince and Joel Smith who both spent a lot of time chasing after Lewis' opponent for him. As well as Oscar's poorly timed lapses that undid a lot of good work on Dixon.

Did a good job on Dixon. Although looking at Dixon's stats for the year I wonder how that actually is. Unfortunately let his guard down against Westhoff a couple of times. Didn't adjust to the more mobile opponent. He also has to watch the ball and not let it go over his head like the Thomas ( I think) goal. The first 50 was a joke. The player marks after Oscar has left the ground to spoil and it was a reasonable spoil. The 2nd 50 was there. Oscar too fascinated by the ball and his ungainly attempt to spoil and was there way too late. Of course the number of missed 50's our way and the face it was a 70m penalty are for another discussion.

I don't see them as a pairing. Vince does anywhere between 3 to 30 ridiculous things a game but otherwise he's just Bernie but a little slower with less penetration on the kicking. The guy will still go most of the time when it's his turn to go and he often takes a taller opponent given we aren't playing a designated 3rd tall (or even a designated 2nd to be more correct). With Lever and Hunt injured the replacement for Bernie is either Wagner - who doesn't inspire confidence or a first year kid in Petty. I understand why the coaches are reluctant to chuck a kid in, even if I think it's time. Lewis is completely different to me. He's playing as the loosest defender - a prime position to get a lot of the ball and impact games. And yeah he's solid enough with the ball in the uncontested kicking game, and that's important, but I'd love to see Salem or Fritsch in that role, both guys with more kicking penetration and the speed to take it on. When it gets close in tight Lewis won't turn left. He can't even handball on his right hand, so he's always looking to go in one direction. Can't break a tackle so we throw it away before it comes to that. His kicks often end up wild up an unders. And the defending. The awful awful defending. If he's not in the perfect position he just can't offer anything.