binman

54 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Last preseason I thought we'd win the flag because they ran to get their drinks at every break. Turns out that is not an indicator.

No, you were right - you just got your years wrong.

It was an indicator we'd win it in 2026.

I've crunched the data and the running fir drinks indicator always has a two season lag.

28 minutes ago, Dees_In_October said:

maybe some thoughts about the pointy end of the W season?

We'll def be discussing the AFLW.

Spoiler alert - George and i have differing views on our method.

19 minutes ago, Dees_In_October said:

And let's not forget, despite the way the AFL likes to present it, girls didn't wake up one day in 2017 and decide they wanted to play football because of AFLW. They've always been girls who wanted to play but were prevented (including actively by the AFL).

On that front, one of the things i love about the AFLW coverage off most, but not all (eg the freo game - ughh) is the commentary.

Daniel Hardford is knowledgeable about women's footy and clearly respects it. And co commentators and special comments people are often ex and current female players.

In the Swans game Deb Lee was one of the commentators and i thought she was brilliant.

Lee's knowledge is first class, and she provides info that really helps understand the game. And she's funny without trying too hard like so many of the bone head ex AFL footballers that dominate the coverage of AFLM.

And back to your point about there always being girls who wanted to play footy Lee is an absolute legend of the game full stop and in particular a legend of women's footy. What a contribution she has made to the game.

11 hours ago, Dees_In_October said:

Glad you enjoyed! I know what you mean about it being like suburban footy but also very much not! 😂

That's so interesting what you say about the skills looking better live. Part of that might have been the lack of wind!

So true re: Rigoni. Plus the likes of Ebert, O'Hehir, Mahony, etc., it's still early days in terms of building that next level of fitness as well as the concentration to play out games.

It was such an enjoyable game to watch, in large part because the skill level was so terrific.

Some of our kicking was brilliant, and theirs too actually.

But there was also great footy iq on display.

We're starting to see the impact of most players evidently having started playing footy from auskick on.

Players are looking so much more natural across the board - natural, instinctive, high skill footy players like Hore and Hanks (who has gone up a level this season- I think in large part because she's playing with such confidence) no longer look like outliers.

One area where that is super evident is, as I noted a couple of weeks back, the standard of marking. Chalk and cheese to the first few seasons. Players in all teams are reading the flight brilliantly and showing textbook technique- as a result so many mote marks are getting clunked.

It really changes the game because intercept marking has become a driver of transition, forwards are taking advantage of good kicks inside 50 and the game is less random because teams are controlling the ball more.

But picking up your point about the wind DIO, the AFL just simply have to play all AFL games at grounds that provide AFL level protection from the wind, which in Vic would limit games to Docklands, Okon, Taxpayer Park - and soon Mars stadium in Ballarat (the new stand is almost complete).

Wind makes all footy more difficult, but particularly women's footy. I just don't get why the AFL don't ensure, as far as is possible, all AFLW games are played in optimal conditions.

Allow the skills of the players to shine, which in turn will result in higher scoring games, less scrappy contests, fewer rolling mauls and more highlights. All of which brings new fans, promotes AFLW and gives fox and seven a better product.

I really wonder if the AFL understand what they've got with the AFLW - I don't think it's overstating things to say women's footy, if properly nutured and invested in, will future proof AFL footy.

Once Tassie comes in, I worry there simply won't be enough elite footballers who are also elite athletes. The only protection against that is increasing participation. Girls wanting to play footy, and having the opportunity to do so, makes it so much easier for families that also have boys playing footy to make it all work (one reason why both my kids, male and female, both played basketball).

Leaving that aspect aside all the young girls wanting to play footy from auskick on creates lifelong footy fans and drives interest in the game.

Which translates into more viewers (and bigger rights dollars), bigger crowds and increased membership sales.

5 minutes ago, Adam The God said:

Jack seems like a top bloke.

I heard he's not a particularly demonstrative leader, but he seems to just ooze class and respectability. And we have other blokes who are more demonstrative if needed.

But wowee, what have St Kilda done to their culture?

If I was a St Kilda player prior to this year, I'd be thinking WTF.

All feels like a Ross Lyon vanity play- I want my flag and I want it now!

8 hours ago, Dee Dee said:

This has something of a Daniel Cross feel to it. Good bloke, excellent trainer, good to have around our younger players.

Excellent comparison.

Another that comes to mind is James McDonald - a solid citizen who does the basics consistently well and works super hard. Like Steele, a leader.

There's an interesting parallel in the shameful, not to mention plain stupid, way we treated Junior

Heart and soul players, leaders that positively contribute to their club's culture, and both captains.

We essentially forced Junior to retire and the Saints basically forced Steele to leave.

Crazy stuff.

King is doing the complete opposite - instead of moving on leaders and culture builders he's getting rid of two senior players who, in recent seasons, have not been great for the culture and bringing in a senior player who will be.

Steele is a dual All-Australian and has won two best and fairest awards. He served as St Kilda co-captain in 2021, and as the sole captain from 2022 to 2025.

Exactly the sort of player we need as we look to rebuild our culture.

20 minutes ago, Fritta and Turner said:

CJ has played 76 games. Sometimes I wonder where have I been. Still, I dont like the Hawks.

Twenty of which were last year, in a season where the hawks made the prelim.

Given he essentially replaces mcvee the comparison between the two makes for interesting reading.

Jiath is on the left

5 hours ago, RedsoxMan said:

Bin man

What's your opinion on his ability to kick accurately?

Did we want another player who cannot kick well ?

I would be interested in your thoughts 😀

He's somewhere between hit and miss and a turnover merchant.

My thoughts are we only had to pay pick 42 and a future fourth-round selection for him, peanuts in the scheme of things (which by the by makes the pick 23 we got for mcvee look like a first class deal), and so, well worth the punt.

I don't love the fact he's not an elite kick but do love his leg speed and creativity and preparedness to take the game on.

On kicking skills, every team has its share of below average kicks, the key is not having too many.

We do have too many but funnily enough tracc and claz going helps on that front and hopefully we can turn the tracc picks into a couple of players with elite kicking skills.

I think XL is a really important piece of the puzzle - if he has an uninterrupted preseason he'll get a lot more of the ball next season. He is a beautiful kick, weights it well and has great vision.

Miochek is an excellent shot for goal and Steele is a decent kick.

Sineama looks to be a beautiful kick and i think Adams is likely to be best 22 next season and he's a good kick.

So it's not all doom and gloom on the kicking front.

9 hours ago, Ted Lasso said:

I was meaning Langdon

Yep, Langdon has got good wheels.

Langford not so much - Bisons are slow off the mark but once they get up to speed can go fast and hard.

The other player with decent wheels, one i think we really missed last year (which is strange to say given he's barely played an AFL footy) is AMW.

It has become super important in footy to have a lot of players who can sustain high speed running but as importantly have really good acceleration from a standing start.

Such speed is important on offence of course, but i think it's even more important on defence (all team defence and the back 7) as with al teams now playing a variation of the aggressive back half transition game getting back quickly in numbers when the ball is turned over has become super critical.

Without wanting to disparage Clazz and Tracc, one benefit of both leaving is that is two less players in our best 22 who are slow both from a standing start and at striding pace (though Steele, who i think is terrific addition and will be a lock in our best 22, offsets that a bit as he's not super quick).

6 hours ago, Ted Lasso said:

Rapt with this signing. our team suddenly has a lot of leg speed with CJ, Windsor, Langford, Chandler, Kozzie and others.

Langford?

3 hours ago, Axis of Bob said:

The CJ acquisition is interesting as it is one of the first real ‘King’ moves that might tell us a bit about what we’re trying to do. CJ is an agent of chaos that runs hard, creates space and thinks about what to do with it later. It’s the sort of early tenure trade a new coach can make because you absolutely know that he’s going to encourage the style of play that you want, even if he isn’t perfect.

I like the move because it can be so hard to break the habit of the old team, so having someone come out to create that sort of chaos with a coach’s license can be the sort of thing that makes it feel ok for established players to do something different. Given the conservative habits we’ve built over a long, successful period under Goodwin, it can be real hard to abandon those habits.

Whatever the case, King-ball looks like it is going to be a much looser and chaotic style than the Goodwin wall.

Top post.

Agree on what CJ brings. I'd add that he's pretty quick, and we're a slow team so that's a big plus.

The role he is most suited to is the attacking high half back role Windsor was playing for the first half of the season.

Windsir was worth a try because he's quick and can run and carry.

But he never looked natural down back, runs in straight lines and his kicking is a bit hit and miss (which is disappointing as when drafted I hoped we were getting an elite kick).

Jiath's kicking worries me, particularly in that role as turnovers are in bad spots.

And being compared to Frost in style is some sort of backhanded compliment

But King had said he wants players to play more on instinct and with a bit more freedom

As you suggest AoB CJ brings a bit of chaos, and is certainly less straight line and predictable than say Windsor.

So in terms of adding a player who can support King to implement his desired method CJ will be a good addition.

Over the last few years many posters have been screaming out for less structure and more dare and risk.

Looks like that's what we'll get.

Hopefully those same posters won't crack it when we see the inevitable spike in turnovers (which was already a massive issue under Goody).

10 hours ago, SFebes said:

Hawks supporter at work said - turns it over, no composure, headless chook. And that he’s happy he’s coming to Dees. I’ve never watched him closely but doesn’t sound good.

That's funny. I texted a mate who is a huge hawks fan and asked him his views on Jiath.

Perhaps you work with my mate as this was his reply:

different views on cj:

👍young,athletic, fast, outside run.

👎🏼runs in circles, makes poor decisions and can over use it.

my view: please take him

1 hour ago, dustydemon11 said:

Relax champion I was asking a question I wasn’t definitely saying Humphrey is happening

To be clear, it would have been perfectly fine if you were.

1 hour ago, Very Jaded said:

I wish GC didn't know how much we needed Trac out

We have no hope to call their bluff

G'day Suns recruitment team - a PSA.

The post above is what's called in the trading biz as a false flag.

Classic disinformation.

The dees are actually desperate to keep Christian.

2 minutes ago, pewpewpew said:

Hey @Demon Forever

3 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Hosts confirmed before speaking with Bailey's manager that Bailey won't be a part of a trade this year.

So, you're telling me there's a chance?

28 minutes ago, Mel Bourne said:

130 pages of nothing.

Must be some kind of Demonland record, no?

Hah - not even close!

21 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

I think the club would hope with the fresh start, new coach, new standards, more attacking play style etc that Trac would buy in and produce his best again.

Sure, if we keep him.

But that wasn't my point.

My question was what would it say if they are offered a poor deal and choose to take it rather than keeping tracc?

46 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

So we would be giving up, Petracca and McVee for one single pick at say 3 and maybe a second rounder back (going by GC wanting Trac and pick 24 or whatever we have)

Still far from a Tim Lamb quoted headturner.

For the sake of argument let's say that's a poor deal for tracc yet the club is willing to take it.

What does that say about what our new coach and Football Department thinks about tracc in terms of what he brings to the club in totality - ie on field performance and off field contribution (eg leadership, role modelling, culture building etc)?

8 hours ago, Adam The God said:

Problem is, Binners, 7 and 8 very likely become 11 and 12 after academy and F/Ss, so two mid first round picks for him essentially. And we may well therefore give up other picks to allow them to match academy picks.

Fair points

But we got XL at 11 and i think he will be prove to he one of the best in his draft year.

No reason to think we can't turn picks 11 and 12 into two guns.

8 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Yes. 7 and 8 is reasonable.

Why do we have to bend over backwards to satisfy Gold Coast when they’re the ones gaining a player that could help take them to a prelim or even GF next year?

I don’t care about GC’s academy picks. I only care about getting proper recompense for losing a super star.

I guess that's what I'm really saying - is tracc still a superstar?

Not on his 2025 form.

And it's worth noting that whilst it's reasonable to fact the his injury into an assessment of his 2025 season he did in fact have an uninterrupted preseason (not to mention his red bull fitness camp) so it's not like he wasn't pretty close to his optimal condition.

It's no sure thing he will ever again be a superstar that regularly wins game off his own boot.

9 hours ago, GS_1905 said:

Prove nothing? I think after what he has done in the past 2 seasons. He has a lot to prove. A LOT.

Nah.

Tracc was flying before Moore pole-axed him.

And all things considered he had a pretty good 2025 season.

1 hour ago, DeeSince73 said:

I just hate to think that the MFC are prepared to just take picks 7 & 8 for a player of Petracca's ability. Surely someone with modicum of common sense will see that we are getting shafted by GCS.

Do not accept this offer or be bullied into topping up their academy picks.

A lot is riding on the outcome of this and we must be seen as strong.

As I post every off season I don't mind skimming all the trade and draft speculation, and think it's great the thought many put into all the variables.

I particularly like reading Informed views about possible draft options

But personally I don't really care, particularly about the trading palaver. And I don't really have an informed view about value of trades etc

However I'm curious the consensus seems to be picks 7 and 8 is a bad deal.

I get that the context is its Humphrey or picks 7 or 8 and everyone is super keen on Humphrey so perhaps 7 and 8 seems bad in comparison.

But to be honest, assuming the Suns pay all of his salary, picks 7 and 8 for tracc ain't that bad.

Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe he is still a gun. But the reality is he is 30 next year, his kicking, which has never been elite, got worse last season and if I was brutally honest I'd say post injury he's still, 100% understandably, a little cautious in the heat of the battle.

Added together he's a ways off his AA best.

He may well get back to that level - and I sincerely hope he does whether that's at the dees or another club.

But as a punter I'd give no better than even money he will get back to his AA best.

In that context picks 7 and 8 is ok I reckon.

And if we take those picks to the draft (Ie as opposed to on trading for a player) that's pretty exciting.

21 minutes ago, pewpewpew said:

What happens when none of this pans out and none of these extra meetings, changes of management and medicals are spoken about.

Really - who cares?

I mean, other than you.

1 minute ago, Stanley Alves said:

First time poster, pls don't bite my head off!

I know this sounds vv far fetched and I have no credible source apart from "a friend of a friend...." .......... Merrett to the Dees & Petracca to the Hawks...

Bite your head off?

Not on your life - this is exactly the sort of post this thread is missing!

38 minutes ago, Axis of Bob said:

I'm a huge fan. Have been for a long time.

I wouldn't call him Petracca, because he moves in a different way, but I can see why some would do that. If I were to have a go at a comparison in style, it's much more de Goey. Petracca plays his power game more like a basketballer, whilst Humphrey uses his power more like a meat cleaver. He's not spinning around, he's just hitting the ball at speed, busting people out of the way, grabbing it first time and moving it on.

He's a pretty straightforward footballer, but in the best way. Less razzle dazzle and more 'big boy' football. The thing I like the most about him is his hands. He's so clean with players around him that he only needs one touch. It's just good, simple footy that does really difficult things pretty regularly in a way that doesn't look that difficult. Nightmare forward matchup with his ability overhead and one on one.

I'd do Petracca for Humphrey straight up in a heartbeat. The only thing stopping me adding a future first is the thought that we could be very early last year, but I certainly wouldn't rule the possibility out. He's one of my favourite players in the AFL.

Ta AoB

Kicking skills?

I'll confess to not watching a hell of a lot of suns games in the last few years.

Humphrey seems to be a player, but can someone who is a fan give me a summary of why we should trade him in.