DeeSpencer

Surely there was some champion of the 1950's/60's who was a left footer that we've all forgotten about!

Hmm Cheney, I love his strong marking going back with the flight, unfortunately thats all I like.PJ today was ok, but you sensed we really lacked the advantage we have with Jamar when PJ is on the ball. Besides a nice kick here and there and less tendency to fall over and suffer a month long injury I'd prefer the big Spencer. The time in the 3rd quarter when we kicked out for PJ and he dropped what should be a basic mark for a tall and ended up costing a goal was really disappointing.

Tackling today especially early was much better than usual. Sure they could have stuck a few more but the missed tackles were probably a sign of the increased desire and application to tackle. Jordie McKenzie didn't rack the stats up today but was back to his best in tackling. Fit him with a Scully sized motor next preseason and he'll go to another level.

Ideally you have 7 defenders all capable of shutting down an opponent and running off them. I'd say Frawley, Grimes are capable, Bruce as well until his disposal went missing. Joel Macdonald can attack and defend but seems to struggle to get the balance right. An inform Colin Garland (see QB'day) can certainly do both as well. Unfortunately Warnock/Rivers/Cheney/Bartram are primarily stoppers. Before injury Strauss was improving both aspects of his game particularly his defending. Morton as a defender needs to improve his defensive work. The question is how many can we carry of Bartram's nature. Geelong probably have none, maybe only Lonergan can't use the ball as well as the rest. On the other hand Steven Baker and Zac Dawson are both shaky by foot, but seem to do their bit in the side well enough to get by. Clarkson loves to play Tom Murphy to bolster the defensive players at the hawks. Bartram has been extremely good defensively and will probably continue to get a free ride until Strauss/Bail/Bennell really push for his spot. Unfortunately Strauss is injured and Bennell is up forward so that might be a while. Joel Macdonald and Kyle Cheney don't have the speed from what I've seen to take the dangerous quick crumbing small forward.

Can anyone add weight to the rumour that Knight's contract has KPI's that must be met one of which is making the finals - therefore at this stage he could easily be given the chop at the end of the year (with Williams a perfect replacement). I'll miss Choco, is a character. Port were silly to reappoint him though, he was never going to resurrect the list enough to get a job past 2011 and both the club and the individual were silly to try.

Lynch is just poor man's Matty Bate no? He's that kind of mid range size with a long left boot and red hair. Can mark well but isn't really a key forward. With Jurrah/Petterd/Green/Bate/Dunn I don't know how keen I'd be on Lynch. Stanley I like. I don't think he'll be a ruckman just a very tall forward who leads up well. Kind of like Watts with a couple of extra cm's but less class. I'd love to have him (despite not even being 100% certain he will make it as a good AFL player - he's still a project) but think we'd have to give up a decent pick. The saints also have Paul Cahill who goes pretty well at VFL level. He might be worth a look.

2. Anthony Nicholson 3. Brad Miller 4. Matty Whelan

PJ might very well be back this week. I think we might see him ruck a good patch of the game up against Bellchambers as both Jamar and Ryder go forward in an attempt to make an impact.

I can't believe how harshly he is marked considering how bad Jamar was for years. Spencer is every bit as good as Jamar at 21. Hasn't everyone heard the stories of how unco Dean Cox was when he first joined WC. Spencer is still worth his spot on the rookie list and as Miller/Newton/PJ aren't part of what I predict the MFC future is, then I see no reason to not play big Spence.

Will Newton ever really make it at senior level? If he does it will be as a back up ruck/forward similar to Leigh Brown. Come September teams go with 2 big ruckman, its a proven recipe. Spencer has the height to become a strong tap ruckman, unfortunately he's at the level of Jamar 2002 probably, and whilst I didn't see Jamar coming and I don't see Spencer making it any time soon for development of proper back up rucks he might be worth a game.Newton may be worth keeping as pure depth, but that is all. No doubt Casey would love us to keep him on the rookie list.

All comes down to how we perform against Essendon. They will come out absolutely pumped but we've seen in the form line that we can beat them. It's sad I'm writing off the saints game already, but the bombers game is a huge opportunity we need to take.

Earliest we could have traded was at the end of 2007, to claim end of 2006 is very keen. Yze wouldn't have been worth much then. Bruce might have been worth trading but he's helped develop a backline. Green is our only forward who beats his opponent each week and therefore is important. Both have been fantastic professional footballers who have performed at a solid level and given good off field leadership without any incidents. You wouldn't be calling for this if Jack Grimes was another Addam Maric.

***Early after the game rant***** F*** honourable losses, lets go back to the future (and the skip). 2 ruckmen may as well develop them. Play the guys of the future. In: McDonald, Sylvia, Strauss, MacNamara, Spencer Out: Macdonald, Dunn, Bartram, Rivers, Miller

What concerned me today was our midfield was smashed without McDonald and Sylvia (with heavy tags to Moloney and Davey). What got rid of that concern was that Morton, Scully, Trengove, McKenzie and Gysberts should be around the mark for years together. Jones, Moloney, Davey, Sylvia still plenty of footy left. We got a taste of Grimes in the middle. Plus Blease, Tapscott and others haven't got started yet. The midfield is the most important area on the ground. Just look at Geelong v StKilda on Friday night. I hope we take it to the saints in the middle next week.

He's a tool.

Maybe we can have In: Wheatley, Out: Bruce. (please people don't overreact).I swear Wheatley kicked a goal from 60 against the saints in his final game with his hamstring torn in half, loved it.

Would be thinking its just a standard rest, in line with the AFL guys. That said don't Casey have a bye this week so I'm surprised both of them weren't playing last week in order to push their chances of getting into the senior team.

Thanks to twitter: So it depends how much they offer him. I really hope Petterd stays though.

Here's one for you: Aaron Cornelius from Brisbane, listed at 192cm. Pick 57 of the 2008 draft from Tassie. Might want to come somewhere closer to home and where he can get a game instead of being stuck behind Fev and Brown. Is definitely a goal kicker who could make it as a full forward with Watts and medium forward around him.

Are you sure Cheney, McNamara and Bartram all resigned for 2 years? When resigned last year their length of contract was not specified so I believed at least 1 of them would only get a 1 year deal.Also why the hell is Dunn contracted to 2011, when was that done. What about retirements, Bruce could easily go, he doesn't offer a heap more than the guys in the VFL. McDonald must only be a couple of injuries away from giving it up.

I'm happy to play Green, Bate, Sylvia, Jetta and Watts every week in the forward line. If Hughes wants to get into the side he has to get in front of Dunn and Miller, and do it before Jurrah is back. As he will never be a backup ruck that means he probably needs to star at VFL level as well as develop something in his game. At the moment he looks a nice undersized lead up forward, he needs either good forward pressure, goal kicking ability or something else like sublime skills. I don't like his chances for a game against Adelaide, but any chance of a recall will need dominant performances in the VFL, starting against Williamstown. Hughes' problem is his similarity with Green, Bate, Jurrah,Petterd and Dunn. We've got the mid size goal kicking and lead up talls covered. I'm no drafting expert but I'd actually recommend Hughes to another club at the end of the year, for example St Kilda who have Kosi and Roo, and Milne and Schneider but could benefit with Hughes on their books. Could step into a side for a finals campaign like Josh Mahoney did for Port.

One of the guys (JB?) asked about Frawley going forward as Danny Frawley always fancied himself up front and could therefore could feel some justification if his nephew kicked a few up forward.Bailey said what you said above - if the game situation suited it they could move Frawley or Garland up forward. I think what that really means is that they are definitely aware that Garland has some ability as a forward, and just like Brian Lake, Adam Hunter, Dustin Fletcher and many of others Garland could be the guy who gets moved forward when you need a goal or two to win a game, or when injuries to forwards during games happen. But by the fact they keep playing him as a defender I really think that's where they will keep him as long as he holds his spot there. Cheney will have to take another spot in the starting 7 defenders.

Morton started down back this season but on Monday was moved to wing after being the lose man in defence and I think that is where he excels. I like the way he dropped back to help out but also got on the end of a few pieces of play (with the goal and beautiful kick to Bate in particular). Cale probably played a tough a game I've seen him play and hopefully that improvement will continue. Bruce has really been a pillar on which this backline was built. He held the group together many times last year and in 08 and I think has been instrumental in helping Grimes, Frawley, Warnock and others. But now his disposal especially under immense pressure is leaving a lot to be desired and I even thought there were times on Monday the players didn't want to give him the ball. I'm happy with him in the side at the moment. I'm not a massive fan of Macdonald or Cheney and I'd like to see Strauss have a couple of more good games first. However I'd be very disappointed if either Cam or the club made a decision to keep him around when he was past it. Retiring on a high would be nice, we've seen some imperfect ends to careers of late and thinking back to the Daniher years we've seen veteran players block the development of youngsters.

Even those 3 were hard bodied more contested ball winners than outside players.Guess it all changes next year when Longmire starts coaching. As for the votes, I wonder if Bailey gave the 1 vote to Beams or Dick. I would have to presume Dick and can see why he got a vote, can't see what Beams did more than Davey or others.

I agree with that. I think there was tweak which was the moving men behind the ball early in the 1st quarter. The plan was to slow the play and stop the bleeding which worked very well. We then attacked for the rest of the day, including at one stage going with 7 forwards.Also guys just realised how lucky we were with Maxwell getting injured. That was a big benefit for us.