DeeSpencer

I'm a big wrap for Smith but wouldn't Wagner be more likely to play early next year than Smith? If I were to promote a back flanker it would be Wags although I'd rather just go in with extra rookies and the flexibility to promote when needed. And yep. Michie would be staggering. I'd rather Newton because he's a lovely kick of the ball, if he could by some miracle find a tank he'd have something to offer. Surely we wouldn't ever try Michie as a backman again so what role would he play next? Back to the midfield/forward spot where he never touches it at AFL level? Are we going to a bulldogs based rotation system where 8-10 guys rapidly rotate between wings/mid and forward, that could help him (maybe). Another year of Dawes/Pedersen seems counter productive as well. Roll the dice with 1 guy from the state leagues or delistings. Yeah it's a small chance of finding a player but you don't exactly lose much either.

Actually go back to arguing please Saty and others because that list (maybe Hibberd aside) is nauseating.

I was in the camp that he was pretty valuable for us at times this year in a position we are light on in. But his VFL grand final sealed the deal if it wasn't already that he's just not an AFL player and we had to try someone different. If not a kid there's going to be outside runners in state leagues or delisted by other clubs worth a shot.

I think his step back in 2015 was due to injury and also a need to work on his defensive game. Easy to forget how little footy he'd played before 2014. Certainly stepped it up again in the back half of 2016. He looked a lot stronger this year but still hasn't done a full preseason. I'm hoping he can have a big preseason this year and come back with more stamina and a bit more speed. That will help his kicking, versatility and consistency. These talented midfielders who play well early in their career can seem to stagnate as expectations catch up to output. Viney showed what can happen with a big preseason. If his body has as much improvement in it as I think it might and he puts in the work he could make a big leap.

193cm, excellent tank, solid skills. Kicked 6 in a TAC game once, had over 30 touches in other games. http://websites.sportstg.com/team_info.cgi?action=PSTATS&pID=196134426&client=1-3020-111722-294694-20320265&ocompID=294694 That versatile skill set would be really handy if he made it. Footy smarts is still probably the most important thing in a player and team but versatility has helped the Hawks and the Dogs are another side that use it to advantage. Similarly tall midfielders are on the rise, as is the importance of intercept marking all over the ground. There's a few nice pieces of play in this video:

Stokes was done, no idea why Essendon picked him up. Varcoe needed a fresh start. Christensen had to move to QLD for personal reasons. I doubt Geel have any issues with Indigenous players. I think Motlop could be the first of that group to leave for off field problems - his lack of conditioning over preseason - but it could be his defensive efforts and disposal issues that cause a trade not anything else.

With their AFL team down the bottom the Bombers supporters have rallied around their VFL team like it was the pre AFL era in 1985. So they might be overstating things a bit there.

I assume the coaches all have match day roles - both AFL and VFL for some -to execute and prepare for. Then they have to do similar things for training and meetings. Lots of watching previous games, upcoming games and training sessions. Then there's the informal moments that must be important especially for young players. I doubt the job titles mean that much, I'm sure they are all doing similar things depending on their strengths. It makes sense to give Macca a title that reflects the change to mentoring Goodwin now Roos is gone. If he wasn't to be a line coach working with a group of players then development is really the most vital part of coaching a young list so that's where Egan goes. Goodwin and Macca were very hands on at training in the last 2 years along with Matthews and Rawlings. It will be interesting to see if they take a step back with the change of roles. I'd imagine Macca stays pretty hands on, he seems to love being around the players.

Covered in peanut butter no doubt.

They've had Varcoe, Stokes and Christensen whilst Motlop has been there. I think it's a bad generalisation to suggest a senior Indigenous player can turn around others. No doubt it could help but every player is still different and I don't think just because of their race you can group them together. Garlett needed a fresh start and had a great 2015 but he was shocking this year. Motlop was certainly overweight in preseason but his first 6 weeks or so of this year were fantastic. His decision making and effort just seemed to spiral off as the season went on. Whilst Motlop at his best would bring a lot of speed and skill to our team I don't think he's a priority. He isn't a hard running wingman nor is he a forward pressure player. He's kind of an inbetween forward/midfielder and I like the options we have there with rotating mids like the Dogs do.

Yeah shocking in the high pressure game down at Geelong, much better across half back in that game at Etihad. 3rd tall defender is where I'd play him. Give him an opponent to work off instead of struggling to get in to games at half forward. The knock on him pre draft was consistency and sounds like that hasn't changed over in the west.

Pretty sure Lumumba got 3 with an option that he's unlikely to fulfil. But for all of those guys I think the extra year (or years) were to attract them to the club. Even Garland as a free agent might've got 2 years somewhere else last year. The other factor I'd suggest is the longer term deals might be to front load more salaries to pay the full cap but effective have more space towards the end of the deals. I wasn't happy with Lumumba or Garland getting 3 at their ages and thought 2 would've done it. Same for the Garlett extension he signed this year which I found staggering given he was already at the club. If it took longer deals to get Melksham and Bugg then even if I don't particularly rate them as players I'm not worried by it. I don't think many players can significantly lift their form due to being out of contract and not someone like Bugg who gives his all anyway. I've heard Josh Mahoney talk about paying players based on their level of performance in a type of band structure. So even if the extra years don't suit that I hope we are on track with a sensible salary structure which really might be more important than worrying about having guys a year too long. We've still got way more possible delistings this year than we can fill with worthy draft picks and that doesn't look to be changing any time soon.

2 years ago Carlton way overpaid for Jaksch who was a speculative player who probably won't make it and Whiley who was a reject depth player. But last year they got a good deal for Plowman who's good enough to make it, Phillips who's a handy 2nd ruck then 2 guys in Sumner and Lamb who were young enough to fill out their depth spots given how much Carlton needed to clean out. So 1 good player, 1 ruckmen who are their own category and 2 rejects in the right age bracket. Marchbank was tracking well for a young tall. He's certainly not a reject. Stewart is more like that, but given Carlton's lack of tall forwards he's worth a look. Looking at his NEAFL form it's mostly 2 or 3 goals in the first half of the year then in the back half he kicks a few bags of 5 and then an 8 goal haul. I think you'd have to look up what opposition they were against and how much GWS won by but that's some serious goal kicking. I'd certainly rather have Stewart than Dawes or Pedersen but I'm really not sure what he'd be worth as a trade and what contract he'd want. If he has to be paid big money and it costs a early 3rd or late 2nd round pick (that we don't have) I'm not sure it's a good deal.

No one knows. Utility size and with the skills to play anywhere. Elite runner. Yet apparently a lazy player on the ground. Seems like a kid who just dominated junior footy but there were even questions in his under 18 year as to what type of player he'd be and those have continued at West Coast. At this stage I'd say he'd only have limited currency.

Farewelled in front of 100 Melbourne supporters in a 100 point loss. No thanks. His farewell game was the VFL grand final. Farewell games only really make sense for club champions retiring who can be rushed back in from injury to play one last game.

Any idea on how long someone can stay as a B rookie. Assuming Smith gets at least a 2nd year as a B rookie before having to go to either the normal rookie list or main list. Then someone like Maynard who signed on and trained just before the end of the year, does he have 2 more years? It may not matter but just interested given clubs can now sign Indigenous and multicultural players as B rookies.

Matt Jones managed to play what 10 games this year? Terlich and Grimes shouldn't have been on the list this year but there was no way to get rid of them and their contracts. Certainly a long way to go. Now that said: Grimes was a warrior when he first started. Unfairly burdened with the captaincy and injury. Gave his all. Just didn't have the skills or speed of decision making for the modern game IMO. I thank him for his service. Terlich gave us something in 2013 with his willingness to run and attack the game, great tackler as well. Another who's skills weren't up to it. Seemingly a popular team mate. I'm glad he had a good year in the VFL this year. Matt Jones was a polarising player. I thought we had a good one in 2013. Fantastic spread from a contest and decent work rate. Yet his skills weren't great and more so his physicality was poor. Good luck to all of these guys.

The question is how much money do you need to pump in when the team only wins 1 or 2 games per season. If they do save the club I think they'd need to not only give them money to survive but also some form of business opportunity (ie pokies) so they can make money long term to pay enough salary to keep strong VFL players like Port Melbourne and Williamstown do. So if they have to give them pokies to save a community club that's not a win. Maybe the local council could run the club and delegate to the club a bunch of facilities to manage like how Richmond are getting in to community facility management. Certainly they need more than just cash. A few AFL players over the last decade isn't really enough to keep the club alive if it never wins.

I don't think Jong's that player at AFL level though. His ball use is better at VFL level where he has a lot more time.

Same. Not sure he's as good a goal kicker as Dickson. But I think he's more athletic, takes a bigger grab and is more of a bull with his tackling. If he was 21 all the clubs would want him, at 25 I'm not so sure. He battled away pretty well in the grand final given he got a nasty corky.

'The momentum killing byes' are a little overrated. We've had young kids and repeatedly injured players who need time coming back from injury in the VFL and there's frustration that we can't get best 22 types out there, but if you have more depth and experienced guys who don't need time in the reserves it isn't such an issue. 18 games is more than enough for youngsters to play. Sad for the VFL to lose a side and for young developing players chasing a chance to miss out. Don't want to gloat but it might be good news for Casey in signing talented players from the Mornington Peninsula or Dandy Stingrays area.

Agility is certainly the concern with Hulett. I'm not concerned by his skills. His kicking is very good and his handballing should improve, Weideman's handballing in tight for a tall is amazing. For Hulett I think it's a matter of if he isn't agile or quick then he'll have to be really fit. If he's really fit then he can be a lead up player or (as I've said before) trialled at CHB as a physical zone marking defender. There's talk we drafted him as a defender and if he's playing forward for development and in the hope he makes it as a more valuable forward I'm fine with that. Without Dunn or Garland he could go to CHB at Casey next year.

I've heard Simon Dalrymple (dogs recruiter) talk about the brilliance of Beveridge and use the example of Wood going from an often injured fringe player to an intercept marking star. Apparently Bevo told him to back himself, trained his confidence and got him to use his fantastic overhead ability. Turned a player from the scrap heap to a star and captain. Harder to say what Macca would've done with the others. JJ, Jong and others were stuck in the 2's. Wallis was a tagger. Roughead a bad CHB. But some of that might have been development. Roughead at CHB might have been the best way to get him in the team. Wallis tagging the same, let him learn from elite mids. Bevo is fantastic and brought the modern game plan of zone defending and revitalised Wood and Boyd down back. Freed up Picken. Has thrown in a lot of kids. It's interesting that at Melbourne we switched to zone defending this year. Young key defenders were given opportunities. Young small and medium defenders with speed and skill as well. Not sure how much of a say in that Macca has had but he might have change his ways a fair bit. All very hard to predict what he would've done at the Dogs if he was still there. Certainly for all his faults he did prioritise contested ball so at least the Dogs had a basis in that for Bevo to work with.

Schildkröte

No thanks. We've got Jones, Vince, Oliver, Tyson, Viney, Brayshaw, Petracca. Bugg and Harmes could play inside if needed. Vanders played the year on dodgy ankles and I've got no doubt at VFL level he could play the game Stevens played today and is a better forward at AFL level than Stevens, bigger, stronger, faster. Stevens might be a slightly better ball user but I think that comes from playing at the Dogs not a huge gap in ability. Where was Stevens when Clarry was smashing the Dogs in the first half? Sure he's better than Kennedy and ANB but they aren't too bad, you can play them at AFL level and win if needed. Too many needs in other areas to give a reasonable draft pick (say 3rd round?) and decent contract 2-3 years on reasonable money to a guy like Stevens. Take a similar player in the same spot in the draft that a trade would cost and with decent development I think you'd get: 30% chance worse player, 60% chance pretty similar level of player, 9% better player and 1% chance way better player. I'd rather those odds.