DeeSpencer

It's the first difference I noted from him and Neeld who half the time seemed completely missing at training. This group needs some hard coaching. Not so much in that they need abuse, but they need constant advice to get things right and need to be taught. Under Neeld training just seemed to go round and round with skill errors and poor technique going unchecked.

Forget Tyson, Vince and Jones. Inside mids always have a lower DE. Vince particularly kicks too often from packs, not that I blame him. Dunn, Garland and Jetta are proper comparisons because they play similar positions. Jetta plays it pretty safe and therefore has a high DE. Nearly 10 points higher which is a fair margin. Garland and Dunn are hardly elite users either. But both go longer and riskier than Grimes. They also both play closer to goal and are more defensive anyway. No doubt a better midfield would help. Particularly an outside runner like Lumumba who gets back to help then runs to be an option, same if Matt Jones, Watts, Toumpas etc are better. Add in better half forward options - Hogan, Petracca etc, fitter Kent and JKH. But if Grimes doesn't back his skills and run and then execute he wont make the side any better. Which means much less short and sideways options and more run, carry and effective rebound.

The winner of the endurance event is usually a guy like Nicholson who has outstanding endurance and is why they are on the list. If they had other above average qualities they'd be good players. Every now and then you have to take a chance with guys with endurance but lacking some qualities because every side needs some top runners. Look at the Hawks with Isaac Smith and Brad Hill. So the winner doesn't matter. Nor really who came where. But it's very important to have a number of guys high up, especially midfielders. Nath Jones is consistently top 5. Same with Daniel Cross. Toumpas, Viney and Matt Jones will be better players with better endurance. The great CHF's have great endurance so it's pleasing Hogan is up there. You only have to play local footy to know you generally are much better when you are fitter.

Complains about Melbourne's professionalism and culture. Melbourne now have Paul Roos. GWS have Heath Shaw and Toby Greene.

Great VFL crowds. A renewed passion for the club in the region and a development model that seems to be working for the likes of Macrae, Stringer, Bontempelli etc. Now they obviously had some other issues that we know about but that doesn't mean their VFL wasn't a success.

Can you do something for us all? Interview Saty! Report back with the great mans movements and please indicate how many players he managed to hurt when talking to them

The Footscray Bulldogs won the VFL last year with the following ex-AFL players on their VFL list: Brent Prismall Will Sullivan (former West Coast ruck I've never heard of) Nick Lower Jordan Russell Lukas Markovic 2 other young guys - Darcy Fort and Jordan Keras came across from Werribee. Without knowing much about them I doubt they are top end VFL players. It seems the rest of their list was made up with guys from local leagues and out of the TAC comp. Now Troy Davis and Shannon Byrnes only makes 2 ex AFL players. But we probably enter this season with more experienced VFL players than the Dogs did last year. Such as Evan Panozza, Tim Smith, Jake Best and the 4 guys who trained at the MFC recently. For the record Box Hill Hawks have 4 - Marc Lock, Sam Crocker, Sam Iles and Ayden Kennedy. The majority of the players on their list come from the Oakleigh Chargers or Eastern Rangers. Casey should and seemingly are trying to do the same thing with Gippsland Power, Dandy Stringrays and/or Sandy Dragons

And 3 lockers next door. I think they'll gladly take the walls out and give him 4 lockers if he wants!

I don't think he'll be fast. Not many 188cm solidly built white blokes playing local footy are! I don't think coming off a shoulder injury and having never spent time at a state league, TAC or AFL club that he'll be fit either. A 10 minute 3km is a good sign. But a lot of draftees run good 3km times but then have a lot of work to do building up to AFL level with repeat efforts etc. I don't think he'll have perfect skills either. His skills look very reasonable, but even our poorly skilled players look good at VFL yet alone NEAFL. What he does look like is a competitor and very good at finding the footy. He links up, he reads the drop of the ball. I think those skills will transfer at least to VFL. If he hits form early next year in the VFL then I think he's young enough to step up and make it at AFL still. But in terms of impact next year I think that will depend on if he can get a kick playing forward as well.

Fair to say you are easily Satyated. Boom.

That bit kind of confuses me. He had injuries (not sure what besides the corkie) yet still won their B+F so was obviously fit for most of the season? Were the championships and him just playing in 1 game enough to say he's not draftable? Because many players get draft each year without playing in the champs (although it might be rarer these days). Hibberd is a pretty high comparison, you wouldnt make that lightly. I know Hibberd had periods this year down on form and injured, but he's been close to AA form in the past. I'm just glad we added a kicker from half back no matter what pick it was. If you look at our future team for a few years down the track it was such a glaring weakness. Pick 20 in the rookie draft isn't exactly a sure thing, but I'm glad we've got a kid in to at least compete for that spot. Good stats. http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?pID=196134485

For a great cause. Well done MFC and the guys. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLtN14uP8Bs

Hope we found him by ourselves. We do have a pro scout and a full recruiting department, they probably should have checked out a 22 year old who's dominated a semi-pro league of footy even if it's just the NEAFL. Doesn't mean they had to draft him, but what are we paying these guys for if they hadn't even heard of him and watched him play. I did like the highlights when he was taking on Ryan O'Keefe

Positives: - Beautiful left foot kick - Good versatile size - Won B+F So I guess the negatives are probably getting his body up to scratch and athleticism, otherwise he'd have gone a lot higher!

Which of those games were up against the Swans, Lions or Giants reserves? I want to know if he could do it against what is more like VFL standard.

Vandenberg had a shoulder reco that might set him back. Harmes got glandular, but looks pretty fit otherwise. King is still battling away in the running. He's a slow build. White I know nothing about how ready to play he is. The correct answer is we have 40 on the senior list. 39 with Trengove injured. So there's still plenty to cover 22 on game day. That said I can see Vandenberg and Harmes debuting at some stage during the year and I'm pretty happy we've got a half back flanker developing, but don't know anything about how close White is until we see some senior results.

Still think he'll start back. His run and footskills are as important as his marking back there. But I hope he gets thrown forward at the right times and do hope one day he can become a wingman.

The academies. The gifts that keep on giving.

- Development resources - Salary cap - Footy department costs (they are on a short leash from the AFL) - Low yield - how are these late picks or rookies going to get a game ahead of their gun pick ups?

AFL Canberra may introduce draft as part of first-grade restructure He looks 22 going on 30. Very Michael Barlow like. I hope he has some athleticism to go with good height and ability to find the pill. Also see we've found a mate for Bernie Vince to do rehab with.

I was worried he was the former Eagles and Cats forward/ruck. Anyway, looks like a solid body and a left footer with some skill from half back is exactly what we need. I wonder what his injuries were.

So he must be almost as good as Tom Mitchell I guess?

Interesting in that thread there was talk that Grimes had a chronic back injury that would restrict his career. Now he's always out there training full on, but he doesn't carry much weight and has been moved (correctly) to a half back role. I've also heard a player say that Grimes puts in a lot of effort to stay fit. I wonder if he does have to do a lot of extra work to make sure he's at peak fitness and also not bulk up in order to keep stress from his back or another injury. Maybe there is something more to Grimes that is limiting his form and we just haven't been told about it. Maybe without pressure to play and play well every week that the footy department can try some different things with Grimes - resting him for some games, subbing him on or off, We focus a lot on the mental pressure that captaincy put on Grimes. But maybe that's overstated and it's actually the physical pressure that Grimes and Trengove copped that is holding them back now. Maybe besides the mature Jones, anyone who played regularly in 2012/2013 particularly in the midfield that was severely short for help ended up copping a physical beating.

How are you so frequently on here yet don't know the answer to that!

Well if they enjoy the praise too much then it might not be long until they start getting plenty of criticism. Every time I see Watts in training I feel a little sick inside wanting to abuse him over the fence! Saty has brief encounters with players on the sidelines or after they finish training. From his comments I gather he has a better rapport with some than others but no one is really bothered. I think it has zero effect on anything. Sometimes I have slight concerns he is putting sensitive info on here, but that's the players fault really and it's rare as anything. At worst he's a little like Herbert, except with AFL players not boys! And if the players had a problem with him they'd probably let him know.