DeeSpencer

I'm a fan of both Howe and Garland. I'd prefer to keep both. I think versatile medium tall players are very valuable and you don't know how much so until they are gone. Delist: McKenzie, Bail Pay out: Terlich, Matt Jones Retire: Cross, Jamar (Neither are certain yet) Monitor: Trengove Watch: Spencer, Fitzy - not sold on either yet. Riley. Hunt. Potential trades: Toumpas, Watts, Grimes (not saying we should trade any of these guys). Rookie upgrade: vanders Rookie hold: King, Harmes, White The tall guys - Jamar, Spencer and Fitzy are all dependant on what we can find in a trade period and/or mature recruitment. It would be silly to axe any of them if you can't find worthy replacements. The same principle probably applies for the contracted Matt Jones and Terlich. It's expensive to move those guys on and doesn't achieve much if you're just adding different limited depth on longer contracts. Hunt and Trengove would both be candidates to move back to the rookie list due to injury. I like how up in the air it is at the moment. We've got plenty playing for their immediate future but at the same time there's not a lot of inevitability about anyone on our list right now. Bail and McKenzie might be the obvious ones but they've both had a shot in the team recently. There's 2 thirds of the year left and every player can provide at least some case for staying on. I think that's a key reason Casey are doing better this year.

Maybe what Mooney means is his speed with the ball in hand. He's really quick to get it. Needs to find the ability to accelerate with ball in hand, then steady and kick. That's not easy. Either that or repeat speed with fitness. I totally agree he's not slow at all.

Repeat speed maybe. Not speed. He's super quick for a man of his size. Easily runs passed some quick players. Disposal sure. But he makes the right options. He's a player. If he's only 80% fit then he might be even more than that.

Winning or losing the clearances are certainly important, but our lack of run and flow with ball movement is still appalling. I don't trust Tyson. He's lost his nerve. Viney's not that type of player. Vince is hacking it forward all the time. Billy Stretch can't find the ball much but he does seem to think his way through trouble. He isn't quite a line breaker yet though. It's not good for results but protecting Stretch and Brayshaw this year will be important because they both look like they'll be key parts of the future. I'm keen to see Alex Neal-Bullen and really want to have a look at Harmes as well. The simple test for draft picks if we are going to focus on need is looking for mids who can run and hit a target. It's fast become an infuriating stat but we badly need a few 'metres gained' players.

Yeah I was wrong. I thought I would be when I heard Tom talking about aiming to improve his speed over preseason at the end of last year. It gave me a clue that he knew he had to work on his glaring defensive weakness. When Salem was moved to the backline and Grimes got dropped before round 1 I thought hooray, the coaches have realised we can't keep blindly turning it over from half back as well. All credit to Tom, he's done a great job. Now maybe he can get some of the others to join him. There's a long list to take his spot. He could start by getting his key defensive buddy Lynden Dumb to play a little better. He's gone right back to gross stupidity and brain fades.

Best corner in the draft. But it worries me when a player gets kicked off a college team. Especially such a good player who knows he has a lot at stake. And he had an experienced quality coach. Boom or bust I guess

1. TB - Winston (QB) 2. Tenn. Trade to the Eagles for pick 19 (acquired from Cleveland for Bradford), pick 20, Eagles 1st Rd 2016. Eagles pick Mariota (QB) 3. Jack - Dante Fowler (DE) 4. Oak - Leonard Williams (DT) 5. Wash - Vic Beasley (OLB) 6. Jets - Amari Cooper (WR) 7. Chic - Trae Waynes (CB) 8. Atl - Bud Dupree (OLB) 9. Giants - Brandon Scherff (OG) 10 St L - Kevin White (WR)

Never knew Stevens' misses was paying for it.

No problem with your post and I think you're right! But vanders is now forming part of the midfield rotation. Playing wing, half forward and in the guts! Not sure who that means he's keeping out but it's bloody brilliant. He's rotating with the likes of Newton and Michie (when he was subbed on) and giving Brayshaw the freedom to develop on a half forward flank.

Can't believe the speed of him. Ran straight passed Grigg who's not exactly slow. You can't be 190cm, probably 90kg, strong, fast, hard and with decent endurance and be playing in the NEAFL. That's just not freaking fair. I get how he had 60 touches, now I just don't get how he didn't have 60 a week!

There's a lot of talk about Brayshaw for the sub, Richie might be the better option. That said he was sub against Freo, injured v Dogs then played the game against Ess then a Casey game, so he's played a fair bit but didn't have the full run of 3 big NAB challenge games. I'm not convinced he's got silky skills or a great tank just yet, so this might not be the best idea, but if he does run out of steam at half forward and in the midfield mix then I'd gladly give him a run down back if one of our current back 6 get injured or suspended.

Breust, Rioli, Langford, Roughead, Puopolo even Gunston hunted Sydney's defenders lack a pack of wild (but well coordinated and highly disciplined) dogs. It's the challenge for our forwards and why despite maybe lacking fitness I want vandenBerg and Kent in the side. They have speed, hardness and an appetite for the ball and man. Jeffy Garlett buzzing around, Frost with his speed and Hogan with his attitude as well can bring the pressure. Maybe even a fired up Jack Watts. We can dream I guess.

Don't know if he has the fitness for a hard defensive job. As much as I'd rather not have him in the team if we are going a defensive forward it might have to be Bail. With Malceski, Harbrow, Kolodjashnij and McKenzie all in the same side I don't know if it serves a purpose having a defensive forward. It's almost too much skill to lock down on just one of them. We might be better off going with the 4 most attacking forwards and trying to catch them all out with one on ones.

Half forward spots are tight and he didn't get much of a chance to impress in the midfield. No doubt with Howe and Vince underdone they'll be worrying about fitness as well. But I say throw him in. Every indication is he's got AFL traits and AFL talent and whilst he might not be ready to perform at his best he'll be ready for the challenge of AFL football. Genuinely excited to see if they throw him in. Reckon it's about 50/50 and even then he could be sub.

Next Aussies summer: Warner ?????? Smith Clarke ?????? M Marsh/Faulkner/Watson Nevill Johnson Starc/Cummings Hazlewood/Pattinson Fawad/Lyon Big chance for Shaun Marsh or Voges to secure the middle order spot now before next summer. The next opener is a fascinating proposition as well. Joe Burns is presumably still in the picture. Hopefully our man Peter Handscomb is as well.

For the West Indies: Rogers Warner Smith - still not sure on him at 3 with his technique, I'd prefer him at 4 Clarke S. Marsh - Voges has the form, but S Marsh has the incumbent spot. He made 99 in Melb and 73 in Sydney Watson - he's an allrounder at test level and should bat at 6 until (if ever) he proves he can bat at the top 5 Haddin Johnson Starc Hazlewood Lyon For the Ashes just swap either Hazlewood or Starc out for Harris. If Watson is bowling well enough to be the 3rd seamer or if M Marsh gets his spot at 6 for that same reason I hope we are brave enough at some stage to play the leg spinner. He's got the ability to win test matches that Lyon doesn't.

Batting: The Kiwi's rely on McCullum to fire up the innings. After that Williamson is the class. Guptill, Taylor, Elliott, Anderson, Ronchi and Vettori give them batting all the way down to 8. They probably don't have the huge hitting that we do, but Anderson can smack it. I certainly think there are 2 big wickets and from there it's a matter of restricting the rest. Obviously if McCullum goes berserk they could score anything, but really I think there are 320 team at best. Bowling: 3 absolute guns - Boult, Southee and Vettori. And they complement each other. Boult's a star up first. Southee is dangerous throughout and Vettori can put the brakes on whenever he's needed. Only saw this Henry guy v SA, but they had 2 class options on the bench and chose him instead. He looks solid and dependable. Anderson is decent for an all rounder, but hitable. They don't have a clear 6th option, Elliott or Williamson should both go if they get called upon. Aussie's advantage: Power hitting - Watson, Maxwell, Haddin, Faulkner, Johnson can all smack it better than probably anyone but Anderson 6th bowler - with 3 all rounders we have versatility and can bank Johnson, Faulkner and most importantly Starc for big moments, the Kiwi's bowl Boult out and keep on to Southee meaning the 4th and 5th bowler often play important roles Home ground advantage Kiwi's advantage World class spinner to tie us down More reliable big hitter from the top - McCullum has been better than Finch and Warner The Kiwi's have to win it in the first 10 overs of each innings I think. If they make 1-70 from 10 they can put up or chase a big score. Similarly if they bowl and get us 3-30 again they'll have a huge advantage. The longer innings go the more chance our flexible bowling options make a difference and the more likely our big hitting does more damage.

Goes hunting for wickets and is worried about economy. I think he's never been secure on a test team and hasn't played enough shield cricket to have full faith in his ability, either that or he gets guys out too easily the next level down. Wait until he's picked for the first test in a series and backed in the entire way. He'll find his confidence and bowl like he does in ODIs. Only problem is for now when Harris and Johnson are fit he's still going to be competing with Hazlewood for a test team and Hazlewood has bowled beautifully these last two games at least at the start of innings.

2 weeks and no reply might be enough to answer your question. Access to the NBA on TV has killed it. No point going to watch D graders when you can tune in to the worlds best on ESPN/league pass etc.

Let's also be honest, props are often the fat kids or to be more kind the beefy kids. From my days of school rugby it would usually take a very serious preseason of running to turn from a prop to a good footballer.

Not necessarily a bad thing. Presumably he went through Auskick and learnt how to kick a footy with his old man. Probably got to high school age and was sick of everyone expecting him to be a gun at footy so turned to rugby. If he has the natural skills he could quickly play well at school or local level and make a shot at TAC for his under 18 year. With the new father son bidding proposal we don't really gain anything from a draft steal basis, but it's nice for the club and heritage to have father sons. With player movement becoming more common I think fans will appreciate the familiar names we hopefully run out with over the next few years.

I'd probably rather use pick 10 on him than not have a QB or to take a flier on anyone after the top 2 this year. The question for the Eagles is what would pick 10 plus their first pick get them? It's not getting them pick 1 or pick 2 either. They'll likely need to add next years first as well. Plus I don't think we've got a read on Mariota and Winston definitively being the first 2 picks.

This sums up my thoughts on the play: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/02/02/analysis-notebook-super-bowl-xlix-that-play/ Not saying it was the right play. But I think it's ignorant of some of the top NFL minds if they feed the public with the idea that it was some kind of grossly stupid play that was always destined to fail. Smart preparation by the Pats, a super play the young corner and maybe even some luck made the play happen. Who knows, maybe the corner wasn't even meant to break on the slant so hard and got lucky that it wasn't a fake and the WR didn't catch the ball in 10m of space by himself after he faked in and ran out. That's one of the great things about the NFL and I think it applies to the AFL as well, particularly a Paul Roos team. Disciplined defense will only get you so far and some times it's the player who has the courage to commit to instinct who wins the day. I want to see more of that from our defenders this year.

He's managed to get his media company set up over there. Who knows what they are doing. But he's obviously found a media pass as well. It's ridiculous how many people they let on the field after the game and the presentation is just a mess. The grand final does it much better! Russell Wilson's pass was the 109th time a QB has passed from the 1 yard line this year and the first to be intercepted. Marshawn Lynch is 1 from 5 from the 1 yard line this year.

Offense difference makers: Russ Wilson, Lynch, Russ Okung (LT), Unger © Defense difference makers: Earl Thomas, Sherman, Bennett, Chancellor, Avril, Mebane, KJ Wright, Bobby Wagner Of that list they've signed most of the key defensive starters long term. It's at least half a defense of champions signed up. Bobby Wagner is the big one they'll need to get and will be hard to fit in. He's looming as the cap casualty. Wilson will get his 18-20 mil maybe with a little discount or flexibility at least. Lynch will probably get 1-2 mil extra tapped on for next year after he holds out. They'll be cool with that. But I don't expect he'll be back for the next year (ie 2016). He'll be the wrong side of 30. Their ability to stay as a good to great offense will depend on finding a superstar to replace Lynch, but it doesn't matter if it's a WR, TE or RB. The best QB's only need 1 star guy to take focus and perform and then they can work with a cast of bums if coached up efficiently. Edelman was the best WR out there today. I think that's a message that the smart guys in this league aren't overspending on receivers. The SeaHawks already spent a 2nd round pick on a good young guy last year to groom up. I think these teams proved that WR's are overrated. Heck a guy on debut had 100 yards on his first ever 3 catches! What they have is a luxury of young quality signed up for their prime. They'll have to keep drafting and developing to stay at the top once Wilson's contract comes in. But I think they already know that and they'll follow the Pats lead - pay the QB, pay the defensive superstars if you have them and pay at least 1 offensive superstar (Gronk v Lynch) and don't waste money on receivers and running backs otherwise.