DeeSpencer

I know it's listed as a 13kg difference but weight wise they are both skinny and lack muscle mass and strength. Height wise Salem has a definite advantage but if we are kicking long and high to either JKH or Salem they aren't expected to win the contest. For now I'd rather JKH because I know he can run to present and run to chase and tackle. Salem needs to do a bit more at VFL level until he tells me he's ready for the AFL intensity.

By the way. Trengove walking in to AAMI for scans shown on the news. No moon boot. Now maybe I'm overreacting here but if you're having foot scans don't you need to be in a boot until proven otherwise? Isn't that the (less serious) equivalent of worrying about whether someone had a neck injury but not putting in a neck brace?

If the last year of McKenzie's deal is next year then that's fine by me. So many others to go before I'd worry about him. Even if he's limited to one position at least he has shown he can play that position at AFL level. The main concern I have for McKenzie is not that he can be a reasonable tagger, I think he already is and with an injury free run he can develop weaknesses in his game. My concern is more that whether it makes sense for us to have a regular tagger given where we are at in development. Until we establish a consistent trend of competing with most sides and hopefully wins every now and then I'd probably play McKenzie as he might give us the best shot at winning. When that happens I might favour spreading the tagging jobs through various midfielders to help development. By week I hope you mean month. Riley was nearly getting lapped by Viney in 300m runs only in late Feb/March. If he even ran before the new year I can't recall seeing it. Playing a guy with that level of fitness is asking them to fail especially as if we play Riley it's only fair to give him a percentage of midfield time otherwise you are wasting his best attributes.

Stephen Hill, Daniel Rich, Hamish Hartlett, even Michael Hurley who looks like being nothing more than a solid without spectacular key defender. As least with Nic Nat even if he's not at his best he is what he was meant to be. Athletic freak who can win a high percentage of hit outs including brilliantly to advantage and whilst he drifts out a lot of games he has the ability to break games open with a piece of play. Watts didn't become a bad key forward, he wasn't even a key forward at all. Right now he's a C grade skilled outside mid with plenty of potential but that's about it. The main reason we have faith in Watts is due to our previous and current coaches more than anything.

So that makes Michie, Garland and Grimes as players on the list to have the same injury and make it back. Although it's worth noting it probably takes 4 or so months for the injury to heal and by that time it's back to the beginning fitness wise. So fitness wise it's similar to an ACL I'd say. Hopefully (as Mahoney hinted at) the silver lining is they get to start all over again with Trengove. I'd say after all the time off his feet they should go back to the start with his running technique, with his fitness goals etc. It must be hard to work on your speed and things when the advise is always to get fitter and fitter as AFL midfielders must be. I'm disappointed because I think after some time in the VFL Trengove could've sorted a lot of his issues with attacking the game and creative ball use out this year and made an impact. Despite still being young he's a senior player and a capable one. However physical limitations probably would've held him back, now they can go back to square one. It's not completely unusual for players to get better after injury lay offs.

That would be a tremendous swap. Adelaide would laugh at the idea. Long kicks are great. But there's only a time for long kicks and I'd rather a guy who can kick accurately from 15 to 45m than a guy who can kick 60+ but can't due to either lack of touch or decision making make the accurate short kick. I think half the problem is Tapscott's never had the AFL fitness, hence why he was ok as a defender (although I think he's too slow to make it long term as a defender) but couldn't get near the ball as a forward. However with consecutive injuries he'll never get fit. I'm pretty sure we tried to flick him and couldn't last year.

Pretty much backwards to my rating. 1. Nic Nat, despite current injury struggles he's definitely a top 5 ruck just waiting to break free. He's only one year older than Max Gawn FFS! Once he gets the body right and Cox goes he'll get to ruck full time and his clean hit outs and great stoppage play with shine. He's won games by brilliant play, who else on this list has done that? 2. Gibbs, yeah he's a bit lazy but he's also a 25 touch midfielder who can kick goals and use the ball well 3. Watts - a younger even softer and lazier version of Gibbs, hopefully he lifts soon, signs are slowly positive 4. Kreuzer - too slow forward, too short ruck, not physical, but at least he's a reasonable player even if he'd be anonymous as a late round pick 5. Scully - no weapons (doesn't use his endurance for benefit), can't kick, can't win the ball inside, pretty much a poor mans Rohan Bail

Trengove has Navicular stress fracture in 2012. Trengove has foot pain for x amount of weeks? 1? 2? 4? Scan shows no injury Trengove's pain gets worse and repeat scans show a full blown fracture and needs surgery. Um did they not think the scan might be wrong and that the foot pain might be related? Considering Trengove is in the VFL why not a week off with foot pain and to see if it will settle? If it doesn't settle then it's pretty obvious something is wrong. I'm really getting sick of our doctors, physios and Misson. Bad luck is bad luck but we seem to be brining some on our selves.

I totally rate Whitfield. Just think both Daniher and O'Meara were true number 1 picks as well, all 3 should be true superstars and Viney and Crouch I think most recruiters had above Toumpas and O'Rourke. The out of the box performances are that of Wines and Macrae being good not Toumpas being bad.

Bail is in mine until JKH, Kent, Evans, Blease or Toumpas go past him. We simply don't have anyone else at half forward who runs out a full game, always leads to the right spots, lays defensive tackles and regularly has shots on goal (even if Bail misses a lot). I'm hoping by next year JKH and Kent are clearly above Bail but it will probably take them at least another preseason as well as however many games they can play this year. My thinking on Bail is that his bad attributes (mainly kicking) might well cost him being a regular player (or even on the list) of a top 4 club, but his good attributes in his run, pace, hardness, tackling would probably have him able to slide in to a top 4 team and contribute a lot. There's very little gap between Bail and guys like Puopolo or Matt De Boer who played in the grand final last year.

Or in other words Toumpas compares equally to 5 of the other top 7 picks including the number 1 pick, it just so happens 2 guys have started their careers super well. Plus remember O'Meara, Daniher, Viney and Crouch would've gone in the top 5 of unaltered drafts. I'd actually have them as O'Meara/Daniher depending on needs, then Whitfield, then Viney and Crouch. Our so called pick 4 with Toumpas was more like a pick 8 when you add in the 2 father sons and 2 17 year old mini drafts. It pays to remember that at times.

This. Don't think we had even a part time ruck coach under Neeld. Aaron Greaves as development coach tried to help out the big guys with Jamar leading the way. Makes so much more sense to have a ruck coach work with them.

I think Gawn and Spencer are tremendous assets and wouldn't worry about going all out for a guy who might only be marginally better. There are only a few ruckman at any time who have big influences on games and besides the true greats like Cox the rest go in and out of form an influence - see Jamar, Minson even Mumford. Considering we lost Clark I'd be much more interested in a forward/ruck to replace him.

They rarely hand it to those who play in losing teams. So based on super coach scores of players in winning teams JKH was about 5th. But they then combine it with the strength of the individual game combined with the strength of the season of footy played. In like of that either McDonald (North) or Crouch (Adel) will get the nod. If they disregard winning team and go for the best overall game as well as one of the stronger 4 game stretches to Martin Gleeson should get the nomination. He's been fantastic for the dons and actually looks like a rising star.

Could do Trengove in Evans out and Kent/JKH back to the sub if we want a bit more fitness in the starting line up instead of youth and pace. Even Trengove as sub. As fast as Gold Coast are their main strength might even be there clearance ability, they are super strong at stoppages. Or Trengove in for Terlich and make Matt Jones a half back flanker or Dunn back. Lots of options. Mainly though it depends on what Trengove was doing wrong and what he has improved. I think the main things they were working on would've been using the ball faster and more direct and also getting more involved in contests despite his lack of speed. Plus Dunn's comments are likely more saying the team line than any official statement.

Just another thing though on the game gee I was glad to see we weren't our usual stepping stone for under performing players ie. Dale Thomas, Murphy and the left out Waite to get back in to form. Nor were we the walk over for a kid in his first game in Cripps. That said Cripps does look a beauty. Just has to get use to the pace of AFL but has natural clearance instincts and a monster frame for a midfielder. He'll be very good I think. Is JKH a rising star chance at all? Can Georgiou get the nom even though he's too old! (please AFL).

Yet the Hawks have also got out ahead of the trend drafting endurance freaks in Isaac Smith and Hill, plus Billy Hartung who we haven't seen yet. It's clearly a balance, but the main thing is if you draft a guy for his athleticism make sure it's the right one that will suit his role and AFL footballer. Ie. Tom McDonald's elite endurance is pretty handy for a CHB.

Spencer has now clearly beaten Hickey and Warnock for influence on games. And he wasn't disgraced against West Coast's 3 prong attack. Being taken apart by Mumford wasn't pretty but it happened, you move on. I like that we have Spencer and Gawn on the list. Sure if they play together it might cause problems in lack of run but I think Gawn forward can be a real weapon once he takes his goal kicking at VFL level to AFL level. Either way they should push each other for the next 5 or more years in to becoming above average ruckmen and they provide injury cover for each other. It's always easier to find a back up just to do 20% in the ruck and play forward. Look at Jessie White, the pies got him for not much at all. And Fitzy supported by proper tall forwards (ie. Dawes, Hogan, Frawley or Dunn) can probably do the same once he's back in form. Unfortunately Clark is gone because he would've been a star in the same circumstances. Anyway the only thing we need to do with Spencer right now is make sure he's getting the right amount of rest. He's fit but not super human. I think they left him on the field for too long in the first half against Carlton. And I don't think he should ever rest forward when he's the number 1 ruck with no proper support player. Without knowing anything about fitness I'd be trying to get him 7 minutes on, 2 minutes off and never worrying about him going forward.

I'd add a 4th. I'd give him a few games tagging at some stage. I remember Jones playing outside midfield and then tagging in 2011 under Bailey. Not sure he was happy with it at the time but when he got freed up back to the inside midfield in 2012 he was such an improved player.

3 things for Trengove I think. 1, The first thing he needs is confidence I think. Confidence to take the game on despite limited speed he still needs to be an attacking running player. Too often he sits out the back because he's so worried about defending and at the same time takes slow options with the ball for the same reason. More footy in the VFL should hopefully hope with that. 2, I think he needs a new preseason working on some different things. The first thing I'd do is try and take 5kg off him which might mean a strict diet as well. He's not going to be an inside clearance beast so he should be as lean as possible especially in the upper body dead weight. That way he might get that little edge of speed back as well as maximum endurance. At the same time I'd take him away from Misson and try to do sprint training somewhere. 3. Every time he gets the ball at training he has to kick it properly and at speed. Too often I've seen him at training and kick these dinky lobbed kicks whilst jogging along. He has to train like a fast runner and fast kick.

Sure I'd like Fitzy to develop mongrel and physicality (same with Watts and some others!) but even if he doesn't get that yet he can still offer something. My point more was that he had some limitations in preseason, was knocked out in round 1, played in a drubbing in round 2 and then played in pouring rain in round 3. Overall they aren't ideal conditions. A few weeks in the VFL and he might come back in and be ok in the ruck and kick a couple of goals most weeks up forward especially if he comes in to a team that's actually moving the ball and has other forward options. If there is no difference to the scoreboard either way I'd rather Fitzy as second ruck than Jamar or Pedersen.

Good to see Fitzy get at least a couple. I do think he can be of use once back in form and surrounded by some decent reliable forwards like Dawes and Hogan. Seems like a definite scoring end and that Casey failed to take advantage of it in the first quarter. Nothing better than losing a toss on a windy day I reckon. Hate kicking with the wind first.

Unless we go baldy v baldy on Ablett? Would be a brave decision.

Your tip for the Toumpas v Strauss v Nicholson v Clisby v play another mid/forward for Terlich's spot? Toumpas leading the disposals it seems.

Yep noticed it early in the game. Another thing he needs to do is just work out his leading a bit better to know when to lead up so another player can come in behind and spread an opponent. He's keen to get the ball over the back with his speed which is fine but sometimes you have to take your turn to go at the ball to make space for others.