bing181

Reasons to be optimistic for 2025: easier draw.

People should look up regression to the mean - especially when the AFL has its finger on the scale in terms of access to high-end talent. Further skewed by Academy players (Sydney especially, but also the Dogs with JUH), and father-sons (looking at you Collingwood). But take all that out and teams will rise and fall. Always.

There are any number of studies out there that show that for teams performing poorly, changing a coach brings no long term benefit.

Other silver lining of a lower finish is an easier draw next year. Helped a lot in 21.

Messiah complex. Griffith knows what he's doing. Also, was head-hunted by Burgess and worked with him for a year in the changeover. How are Adelaide going BTW?

Not disagreeing, but two of the main reasons why fitness can be down are: - missed training/pre-season/matches through injury etc - younger players who have limited pre-seasons and haven't built up the deep stamina you need at AFL level There's not too many out there who don't fall into one of those two categories.

Kane Cornes: Goodwin just needs to shut it down. Put the players who need it into surgery to give them the best chance of recovery and the best chance of a long pre-season. Oliver needs the biggest and longest pre-season he's ever had. He's a shell of himself and clearly not fit enough to be playing at this level. Fix up Max Gawn, it's cruel that they're forcing him to play because they don't have any other options, and I don't know what's going on with Viney. But there are a number of players who are clearly affected by injury. They need to shut the season down and get the players fixed and come back for a big pre-season.

In 2023 he was 4th in the B&F and won the Leadership award. The players touch his helmet before every match. Huge out in terms of what he brought off-field and on.

A currently suspended player/son-of-a-gun, who in spite of everything was our best forward in the 23 finals (though forward line was decimated in any case, even Fritsch wasn't right after his injury). Spargo - who has his detractors here, but would have at least given us some options and is still our best I50 kick. Ben Brown - no reason why he couldn't have given us 40+ goals a year and been a foil for JVR if his body had held up. He's only 31, same age as (e.g.) Jeremy Cameron. And you look at players like Taylor Walker (34) or even Tom Hawkins (36), there should have been plenty more good footy there. Salem: was a key to our 21 premiership, his experience, leadership and disposal smarts are sorely missed down back. And having hm playing (decently) would have freed up Judd for more midfield time. Plus: Viney not right/carrying a shoulder. Bowey hasn't been right since his shoulder and missing so much footy. The team/list is completely shot, regardless of what the injury list says.

Would be catastrophic, especially Melksham. Reeks of getting rid of Junior McDonald. You have to have senior/experienced players around the club or there's no point bringing in kids.

That's just your opinion. Speculation presented as fact.

B&F 2023. 2 missing 2 injured/well down on their best Lever's the only one even close to 23 form.

Joel Smith, who in spite of everything was our best forward in the 23 finals (though forward line was decimated in any case, even Fritsch wasn't right after his injury). Sparrow - who has his detractors here, but would have at least given us some options and is still our best I50 kick. Ben Brown - no reason why he couldn't have given us 40+ goals a year and been a foil for JVR if his body had held up. He's only 31, same age as (e.g.) Jeremy Cameron. And you look at players like Taylor Walker (34) or even Tom Hawkins (36), there should have been plenty more good footy there. Salem: was a key to our 21 premiership, his experience, leadership and disposal smarts are sorely missed down back. And having hm playing (decently) would have freed up Judd for more midfield time. Plus: Viney not right/carrying a shoulder. Bowey hasn't been right since his shoulder and missing so much footy. The team/list is completely shot, regardless of what the injury list says.

Hunter was a good pickup, filled a hole in giving us a genuine wing opposite Langdon. Cruelled by injury this year, but for 2023 average 22+ disposals, a couple of clearances and a handful of I50's per game was more than decent. Same for Tomlinson, was very good until the knee injury. Other trades were cheap/depth - but once again, most trades are for not-required players and players who can't get a game. This idea that there's a pool of first-22 players just waiting to be traded is just a myth. As for midfield depth, perhaps, but we weren't to know that we'd lose Brayshaw, then Petracca, and that Oliver and Viney would be down due to injury and whatnot. Suspect also that there was an expectation that Sparrow would come on more than he has, even Laurie. But you can only plan for so much, and no decent or even half-decent mid was going to come to Melbourne to be backup to a stacked midfield - which is what we had back in the 23 trade period. The reason even players like Jordan and Harmes left was because they couldn't get games. Lots of Hindsight Harries on this and other threads.

The problem here is that it's not just adversity, losing Brayshaw and then Petracca and not having Melksham and on/off Salem available has ripped the heart out of the team in terms of leadership and experience, both onfield and off. Max and Viney being injured/down on form is then just the cherry on the cake. Teams can cope with losing star players (to an extent), but they can't cope with losing leaders and heart and soul players.

Nothing like enough. He also broke his hand and is apparently playing with pins and painkillers.

So nothing to do with the fact that Oliver had no pre-season and is playing with a hand held together by pins, or that Viney is probably so shot full of painkillers to get through a game that it's a wonder he can remember which direction to kick in? And that we lost Brayshaw as well as Petracca? Our A-grade midfield has been decimated and is being held together by a half back flanker thrown in there to shore it up. Once agin, just what were people expecting?

Yes, exit interviews could be interesting unless he makes the decision himself. Would prefer TMac stayed, even if he plays the year out at Casey where he could bring a bit of experience. Can't see BBB or Schache going round again.

Jeffo will only come in if one of the other talls goes out. Can't see them dropping anyone, in spite of anything, players like Petty and Turner need game time. So depends on May?

Given that Max averages 5 clearances a game (with plenty of games more than that) 2 clearances tonight and you pretty well have the difference right there.

Grundy was never going to hang around as a backup ruck, and we weren't going to be paying a first-call ruck salary to a backup ruck.

We lost centre clearance by 2. Considering who we had out there and who they had out there I'd just about take that as a win, on paper we should have been slaughtered. (Also only lost stoppages by 2.)

No it's not. Grundy had a huge contract, and with that in place there were always going to be very few takers, especially as he wanted to leave and we didn't want/need to keep him. We traded him for a second round pick, basically got that back. Big picture.

How many of those 9 are fully fit and firing? Langdon and ANB, perhaps Lever (but he's half the player without May) and Melksham, but that's about it.

One of the issues we have isn't just with playing the kids, but playing them in an environment where they're not adequately supported. Losing Salem down back - he's been on of the leaders over the last couple of years - plus a down-on-form Viney and Oliver, and add to that the absence of on-field leaders like Petracca and Brayshaw, just leaves them too exposed.