binman

Not quite sure why you added a laugh emoji to whatsaywhat's post - your record with mail is worse than Tom Morris’s!

Good to hear Sparrow looks in good shape. A real crossroads year for Captain Jack I reckon. After our flag, whilst i never pegged him as an out and our star, I thought he would go up a couple of levels and be a key member of the team. The roles he has been asked to play probably haven't helped, but he has really plateaued in the last couple of seasons I reckon. Hopefully he can still go up a couple of levels. If he can't he mind find himself out of the team.

The reason we have only won one flag in the last 60 years is soft supporters like you.

Good thing we don't have to then.

Agree. And as Fat Tony notes, not having to play in the heat and humidity of qld or NSW in early March can only be a positive.

Yeah, that's a really good point. Those players who can take marks around the ground are super important, both in terms of as you say not turning it over as much, but also being able to control the tempo. The lions use that strategy well. In 2021, 2023 and 2023 tmac played that role, ditto benny Brown (and Jackson on 2021). But Tmac playing back and Brown out of the side meant we struggled to cover that role, particularly with petts a long way from his best. Hopefully if petts can hit the season fit and injury free he can push up the ground and clunk marks. And I think turner will play that role too.

Hard to say if a second bye is an advantage I reckon. Given how much historical data the high performance team must have about how to plan around one bye, having two to plan around must be tricky. And the weird thing about the OR byes were they were staggered over mutiple weeks. I think we were lucky to have ours last, or close to it, because at least we had a good block of games before that first bye. Another block of games then the mid season bye. The two grand finalists both played in the OR. So.it didn't hurt them. Did any of the other 6 teams make the finals? But you make a really good point about having to play in the early March northern states humidity and heat. Nuts. It's just a completely ridiculous idea. Embarrassing for a supposedly elite competition to basically trial something that with no way of knowing what the unintended consequences will be. The AFL infuriate me.

Blimey, tough start to the year for the Cats, Hawks, Dons and Pies. Breaks my heart.

Um, did I say he was 'exclusively lead and mark'? Wouldn't be much chop as a key forward if all he could do was take a mark on a lead, particularly in modern footy with the lack of space to lead into. By pure I meant, a traditional lead up from the goal square forward in the Dunstall mold.

I say this every off season - I'm amazed how much knowledge people have about the players in the draft. And I enjoy reading people's thoughts on who we should take I dont have any knowledge about the juniors, and not much to offer in terms of which players we should pick. But in terms of needs I'd go: Pick 5: - Tallish hard at it mid with elite foot skills, great tank, reasonable leg speed, can get forward and kick goals (not necessarily a hybrid in the tracc mold, like say kolt) and is ready to play AFL footy in 2025 Comparison players: Zac Bailey, Bont, Jarrod Berry. Pick 9: - Outside mid, half back flanker, wing with proven super elite foot skills, speed and x factor. Left footer a bonus. Comparison players: Warner, Nick Daicos, Judd McVee, Gulden, Kiddy Coleman. IMHO, we don't need another tall forward - and i don't think we'll use 5 or 9 on one. We have used draft capital on Roo and Jeffo in recent times. I think JVR is just about the most underated player in the AFL - and he's rated pretty highly. Kid is a gun and will become a star of the competition. Still two years away from his best, i cant wait to see what he does in 2025. Given Jeffo hasnt played senior footy yet he's obviously got question marks on him. Much depends on his fitness i think. But he is an old school, pure leading forward and they'll back him in. Turner is our real tall, and I reckon he'll go up a couple of levels next season, particularly if he is injury free (easy to forget he had a nasty injury last season which really derailed the first half of his season). And we have petts as a swingman option and Special K as a wild card key forward. So, I just don't think key forwards are a priority atm. Elite ball users who can open up zones and not turn the pill over are the priority.

How big is Willem? If the smallest of the boys, I wonder if they call him Wee Willem?

100% a good thing I reckon. For one thing they don't have to worry about a second bye. And we start a week later tha last year. Givn we didn't make finals we have a full month longer break between seasons than we did at the start of the 2024 season. For a team that looked tired, physically and psychologically, that can only be a good thing.

Oh lord....

Surreal.

Reasonable question. I see him as a future leader too. A big reason is arguably the most common trait of leaders is they leave no stone unturned in terms of realising their potential. Judd was on the rookie list, so not some uber talented, highly rated high draft pick. My understanding is he was no lock to stay on the rookie list, let alone the senior list. He was at the crossroads. During the 2023 preseason break Judd took it on himself to do extra work to get AFL fit, build his tank and increase his acceleration. On the back of that work he was a shock 2023 round one selection. He has been a best 22 lock since. Another big tick in terms of leadership is IIRC he wasn't a defender as a junior or at Casey. Yet that is where he was selected round one 2023 (and since). We needed a half back flanker with good kicking skills, they identified Judd as having the right attributes and defensive discipline and he stepped up and made the role his own.

Makes sense. Lost a real leader with Hunter's retirement.

And if there is no space, kick to the forwards advantage - not on his head or as is often the case, his opponents advantage. Does my head in.

He never played for the dogs.

As a player, he could find the pill, a real ball hound, who fought for the hard ball like a dog with a bone. As a coach, is on the hard side, but apparently his bark is worse than his bite.

Guaranteed star is a very high bar, but I saw plenty to suggest that if he puts the work in the kolt will become an A grader, a star. Smart, good user, good footy iq, good hands - and has the key thing all stars have: x factor. I tgink it easy to be seduced by how quickly players like daicos and Windsor impact at AFL level. But at the end of the day, kolt was in his first season of AFL football. With another preseason under his belt he will go up another level and a 60% damaging small forward, 40% inside mid. Future looks very bright for the kolt IMV.

How good are hore and hanks are such guns. Mcnamara go alright too. Pisano looks a quality player, and like those noted above natural footballer.

Thanks choco.

If I was a betting man........... .

Well, that will be up to all of us I suspect. If we can discuss it like rationale, mature adults that understand nuance then we should be fine.

Great post luci. As much as people like binary good or bad assessments, the reality is Pert did alot right and like anyone had areas for improvement. Those two things are always in tension, which is why in most organisations CEOs have a shelf life. Whatever people's view of pert, or how much credit he gets (and my views align with yours), his legacy is assured - he led the dees to our first flag in 57 years. In an industry that is all about winning flags, two flags look pretty good on a resume.