DeeSpencer

He comes from the same school on fitness as Brendan Fevola and I. He's had a tough time and AFL isn't for everyone. If he wants to make it back then I say he should return to the VFL/SANFL/WAFL and we keep an eye on him, but I don't think he does.

It shouldn't be. Even the best first year players are still first year players. For example GWS had about 5 top liners (Greene, Coniglio, Cameron, Hampton and Treloar) and 5 more who looked about as good as your average top draft pick (Smith, Shiel, Patton, Hoskin-Elliot, Adams, Tyson etc) ad they couldn't influence games. Obviously its different with the rest of our side more ready to go the GWS but I still think even if they are playing well 3 18 year olds wont massively change things overnight.

How is anyone possibly rating Spencer? He's hopeless, open your eyes. I like Gawn but he's now had 2 ACLs in the last 4 years. I'd take Giles in a flash, delist Spencer and be glad we've got Jamar and Giles for now and Gawn for the future. That said I'd rather invest in a forward and midfielders so I wouldn't go all out on him.

After AFL experience and bodies. Denied games over with Wellingham. Denies interest in Knights or Reilly and sidestepped a proper answer on a few others. Important to get players who can play Neeld's game plan. Happy with the core group and wants to bring players who can assist or compete with current players and then will make decisions on list. Aaron Davey to be at Melbourne next year. Simple one with Viney, will make decision based on what the other 2 clubs do and comes down to the day. Denies denying they have decided!

That was the old Morton family, surely we can convince them to take Cale now he is part of the premiership winning Morton family.

Certainly the next level for his is to play with physicality when it counts. None of this niggling stuff but actually cracking in a winning the hard ball. Skill and atheltic wise he has all it takes to be a reasonable half back flanker. I get worried because the last time Dunn played as well as he did in the backend of this year was when he was last out of contract. 1 year deal only is a must.

My vote is for Jake Spencer.

Surely delisting Jay Van Berlo will hurt their chances.

Anyone seen him play. He's slow and turns it over. Not interested. Toy has had a spectacular fall from grace since been touted as a top 3 draft pick, but I'd prefer him on potential alone. He had amazing skills as a junior it just seems he can't compete physically at AFL level yet (or maybe at all).

Whilst I wouldn't mind keeping Martin if I had to choose between Martin and Pedersen I'd probably take Pedersen. He's a reliable type who will get the job done as a back up ruck/forward.

Exactly! But are we a top 4 or even top 8 tackling and stoppage team yet? I doubt we are, so I'd do it again.

Say you were Mark Neeld for a day and you got to make 5 decisions on list management/pre season training/ and they were final. 1. Organise a camp with a heavy feature on adversity. I don't particularly think that these trips like Arizona deliver massive fitness benefits but I'm sure they built team work, I'd like to see our young guys go on a camp and show their leadership. I don't care where it is but I think our players have to experience hard work as a team, not just individually running laps of AAMI park. 2. Bring in a couple of recently retired players who have played Mark Neeld style football as assistant or development coaches. I'm not sure who they are but somewhere I think we need to find someone like a Brett Kirk. Maybe a Brady Rawlings who built a career on work rate. Hearing Jones talk about the benefit he's got from a mentor thinks we need a few guys around the place who have delivered on Neeld's message. Maybe there are other Sydney premiership players around. 3. Trial Tom McDonald at CHF until mid next season. Presuming we can convince Rivers to stay we've certainly got enough down back with Rivers/Frawley/Sellar/Watts that its time to trial a CHF. Neeld's game style revolves around having support for Clark so why not try McDonald who clearly has the work rate and athleticism to make it as a forward. He might not be up to it skill wise but lets give him a go. Clark will draw the second defender and Howe can help out as a target so why not try. I don't see what is to lose in this regard. 4. Go hard for mature talent who will fill roles in the team. If that is Wellingham or a lesser talent lets try to get some guys in who will do a job, we just have too many spots to fill on our list that the draft wont cut it. Richmond's success with Houli, Maric and Grigg is off the charts. Someone out there must be keen on a regular starting gig and has the talent to get the job done. 5. Put on a focus on tackling and stoppages. If we still can't run or still can't kick then that's too bad. Some players wont ever work hard enough and they'll be found out, others wont ever have elite skills, but I think everyone should be able to win the ball at a contest and tackle. Just by doing that I think we could improve from easy beats to at least rival teams. I'll live with a few Bail or Bartram or Macdonald clangers but I can't stand getting beat up at stoppages week after week and then Neeld preaching about playing a finals brand of footy.

I don't care. I think his skill set - clean kicking and good pace is better suited down back. The most important thing is that he plays at a high work rate and lifts his intensity. When he played at a good intensity he played good footy this year. When he wasn't attacking the game at 110% things started to unravel.

Williams can certainly be a KPF, just like Darling can, but at the 190-193cm height you have to play more on the lead or by great body work. Tall defenders have you covered with reach. However if you can run and know how to get first hands on the ball then you can be a target and that's the basics in any key forward. Be the guy who brings the ball to the ground is job number 1 and its not as easy as it sounds. Williams did look a touch VFL class from what I've seen - lacks either extremely good body work, speed or a leap, of which you need 1 if not 2 to make it at AFL. But midseason he was in an ICU half dead and last year he was playing suburban footy so you'd think there would be significant upside to him.Fitzpatrick obviously has the speed, but I'm yet to see him take pack marks or even break packs. To me he looks like a quick tall bloke who if you could develop skills could be a handy back up ruck and then be dangerous up forward due to mismatches but in no way am I convinced he is a tall forward. To me he's just a poor mans Stef Martin. Sheahan has been going nicely as a defender in the VFL after being an Under 18 forward, but I think his skill set in terms of fitness, reading the play and skills are better down back. I know he's had a great season down back but I'm still really pushing for Tom McDonald to play CHF. He can find the footy, he can run all day and he can mark. Plus his kicking under pressure is not good but his kicking when balanced isn't back. I'd have to see him have shots at training but I expect he wouldn't be a horrible set shot. For mine I think Rivers, Watts, Garland, Sellar, Davis and Sheahan represent a good core of key defenders with different attributes to complement Frawley. So why not give McDonald a go up forward. The guy I'd be super keen on is Cam Pedersen from North. He' 25, ready to go body and can play back up ruck or CHB as well because his strength is not a particular athletic ability but his football ability. He's a guy who can read the play and go get the ball. To me he could fill in at CHF and do a very good job. He doesn't move like lightening but he has good size so you couldn't get away with a third tall defender on him, you'd actually have to respect him. He's a similar type to Sellar but I think he's got better hands and would just do enough to do the job each week with the occasional good week and offer more than Rivers at CHF. It would also let Rivers and Sellar go back to fighting for spots in the backline and would put the pressure on Martin and the other young forwards to lift their game. Goldstein, Petrie, Hansen and Tarrant aren't going anywhere so you'd expect he'd be keen to move after only 2 games this year. Lynch at nearly 30 is too old to worry about and I'd let Collingwood and Carlton fight for him and whilst I wouldn't say no to Gumbleton I expect with the investment they've made he'd be worth much more for Essendon to keep now than sell. I'd have concerns given up a high second round pick for him. My plan: Get Pedersen for a 3rd round pick to be the stop gap tall forward and back up ruck. Throw Tom McDonald forward for half a season to see if he's as good as I think he could be. Take a promising key forward in the draft. I expect Pedersen would do a job but if he doesn't then its not a huge waste, if McDonald doesn't cut it then he can go to the backline for the second half of the year and by that time the kid we took in the draft might be ready for a taste of AFL, otherwise we know Rivers can at least contribute something up forward especially if McDonald/Watts and Sellar can take CHB. All up if we have Mitch Clark firing then at least we are only 1 target short. Don't forget Howe can roam through the forward line and demands respect.

Why don't we rotate the BandF winner through the captaincy every year. That was Moloney would have been captain this year, that would have worked out well wouldn't it, hmmmm.Grimes and Trengove were the best leaders last year, I don't see how (especially given the weight off captaincy on a 20 year old) a mixed season from Trengove changes things. His faults from this year where his disposal (which they are working on when really they should have left it alone because he was a lovely kick when he came to the club) and his speed, which I think has been hampered by his excellent endurance and playing a lot of footy early in his career. None of those have any barring on his leadership. I'd gladly promote Jones to sole VC but I wouldn't mess with the captains.

I don't particularly care too much for casey, melbourne has to come first, but some communication as to who is out and why sounds fair enough to me. Good luck to Tynan and Sheahan (the 2 of the 6 I haven't given up on).

I think Rivers playing forward was directly to fit a need. He was handy down back before that. Surely we can't rely on Tom McDonald, Sellar, Watts, Dunn and Joel Macdonald as our tall defending options away from Frawley. I expect Rivers to get a 2 year deal and return to CHB or back pocket playing alongside Frawley and McDonald, possibly Watts and playing good footy. Of course if Clark goes down in absence of a mature CHF or drastic improvement from Watts I expect Rivers to go forward again.

Don't worry about Wilkes, I say we got and get the Q stick! Big Lynch! the glove man!

I presume we are talking main list only, rookie list doesn't much bother me. Green, Moloney, Jurrah, Bate Morton if possible Any 4 of: Bartram, Bennell, Cook, Davis, Fitzpatrick, Macdonald, Petterd, Spencer, I see little future in any of them. 8 would do me.

I'm not convinced on Goddard, I'd rather look elsewhere. I think we should follow Richmond's approach and get players who will contribute like Houli, Grigg and Maric rather than chase a guy who's probably played his best footy and I'm not convinced is a leader.

As always a lot of blokes getting by on reputation - Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes, Rioli, Harry Taylor, Corey Enright - I'm not convinced by any of those guys. Jones was the only you could even dream about from Melbourne but I'm not overly fussed with him missing out, he isn't quiet in the 22 anyway. FB: Reilly Richards Dempster HB: Birchall McPharlin Deledio C: Jack Mitchell Dangerfield HF: Beams Pavlich Thompson FF: Franklin Hawkins Petrie Foll: Jacobs, Cotchin, Ablett Int: Cox Watson Pendlebury Kennedy

He'll go to Essendon and proceed to tear every single soft tissue in his body, unless he continues just front running in which case he might be their only healthy player. Guys this seasoned 28 year old experienced midfielder got absolutely creamed by Toby Greene and Harley Bennell amognst others this year, and why? Because he just doesn't work hard enough on the field.

His number 1 attribute is marking, surely we want to max out on that quality instead of whatever else he does. High half forward for mine, who has the scope to come up the ground and be used as a target out of defence, who can be a target through half forward and who can also play like a midfield.

I disagree. Whilst I don't think he will ever be a damaging user of the football I see no reason why he can't work off an opponent to win his own ball. I'm super concerned about our lack of top end midfielders and our lack of development of more promising types in that regard but I'm not worried about McKenzie who can clearly perform a role.

He's shown the ability to win contested ball and rack up reasonable numbers of his own whilst shutting down an opponent before. Remember he missed a fair chunk of preseason and is still doing a reasonable job. I expect him to improve next year especially as everyone becomes more familiar with the Neeld plan.