binman

I agree, i'm a fan. The Gys will be a really good test of Neeld ability to develop younger players i reckon. Of course Gys will have to do the work but finding a way to motivate young players to do the work is part of the job of a coach - and it is worth noting that Neelds ability to develop players was one of the strengths the club highlighted (and presumably a key reason for his appointment).

It started with the clubs feedback pre season. The reports from the club were that he was consistently at the rear of time trials, he was a fait way of the fitness level required and was struggling with the demands. To be fair though that doesn't indicate he hasn't worked hard this year, it might just mean he hadn't in previous seasons. The club said similar things about Blease early on, but have also publicly praised his effort a few times in the last few weeks. I haven't heard them say something similar about the Gys, even giving him a slight backhander i thought after bringing him in for one game and then dropping him. But again to be fair Gysberts has a wretched run with injuries, something the club has acknowledged.

We're looking for an athletic crab

That's true but i reckon a big reason for this is that the big fellas, if they don't mark, consistently (and more importantly perhaps in a predicable way and spot) bring the ball to ground, allowing the midfielders to hit packs front and center and crumb). Also with the decent big fellas bringing the ball to ground there are more stoppages again bringing the mids into play (goals from stoppages have been key to Colls success in the last few years. Finally, having backs super focused on stopping the big marking forwards and the fact they are often doubled team brings mids who are resting or floating up forward into the game (Swan and Pendlebury come to mind)

Good post and spot on i reckon. Didn't Quentin Lynch play for Wet Coke in 05/06? He was ok in that role so that gives them 2, with Hansen

Mini-draft prospects shine Draft prospect in focus: Jesse Hogan Cheers for the free links. Martin and Hogan in the photo below. In years gone past we would have focused on Martin - look how skinny he is! Also Hogan looks like a wuffian.

I have no doubt they'll keep him. I reckon he has shown a great work ethic and i suspect Neeld places a very high emphasis on this

I guess Phil is the exception that proves the rule

Signed for another 3 years.

I am strangely confident about the Adelaide game - and i for one hope we win.

Its a yes from me. I reckon he has done enough in the last few weeks to sneak a new contract. I like him up back - one on one he is good, he takes the game on and is a good kick (long too). Has he played up back previously? Another interesting and quite creative move from Neeld.

I know i'm a hopeless optimist - but i have a good feeling about next week

In which case i want him at the dees! Demonland unite. Lets get Brodie Grundy to our club. To all the naysayers i say phooey. Brodie is our man. GRUN DEE i'm with you 100%. BG to the dees!

What about a new posting name - GRUN DEE?

No i don't think so. He went at no 17 didn't he when first drafted? Do you think he has improved on that,? I don't. I mean he only played a handful of games, suffered a very serious injury, is not great defensively and has really only played one or two really good games. Don't get me wrong, he's good and will get much better but if he did nominate for the draft (which has been previously mentioned in this thread that is unlikely ie if we couldn't come to terms and forced him to go to the draft he's more likely to go thru the PSD, assuming of course his suitor is GWS or GC) i reckon he'd go late first round at best.

Thanks for keeping DL in the loop RB - you're spot on most dees fans (and no doubt most footy fans) are right behind Liam. If he does end up playing next year it would give the whole club a buzz. If not, whilst it would be sad, in his handful of games he gave us some wonderful memories.

Yep good point - one that makes my claim of us having the upper hand look very silly! If we can't come to terms and de-list him he would nominate for the PSD if (and only if) it was GWS he wanted to go to (or at a stretch GC, but even them GC would have to deal with GWS to ensure they didn't pick him up - or he could put a price on his head only GWS would be prepared to match). In which case we probably would do some sketchy deal. Sheeds would love that. But would he really want to go to GWS? Any way good point

Yep, no way. Also as i said earlier in this thread if we force him into the draft to get to a club who wanted him they would have to use one of their early draft picks to get him (assuming another club didn't get him). For argument's sake lets say GWS want him. Will they prepared to use the number pick in the draft? No, of course not. I'm not sure where their next one is (have they got an early pick as part of a under 17 trade?, if not they might get one) but again i doubt they'd want to use a first round pick on Blease. I'm not sure any club would and even if they did it would be a risk for Sammy to take (ie that he would slip through to a club that he wanted to go to, ie the club with the immediate preceding pick, say number 15, might like him). We have the upper hand here.

One thing i that frustrates me is the idea that Neeld has 'lost"some players. I'm sorry but this is a nonsense and reeks of one of the key problems the club has for a long time - ie so called senior players having too much influence and basically running the show; the classic tail wagging the dog scenario. Neeld has come in with a clear mandate from the board to address this and other culture related issues. Now you could argue that his approach of going hard is not the right one and that more a less abrasive, "man management" (ie an approach more like the one Wallace used at Richmond to change culture) approach might be better. Myself i'm not sure - i do think he went a bit hard early but i think he has become more inclusive and dare i say it supportive in the last few months. This is particulalry true when it comes to the younger player, who Neeld seems to pump up alot (see his quotes on Blease, Strauss, the Jacks et al - Robbos interviews with are quite reveling on this) However it could easily be argued that our culture has been so so poor that nothing but a slash and burn approach would be effective. So he has 'lost' some senior player by being direct, daring to drop them (from the team and leadership group). So what? To be honest these so called senior player are part of the problem and i reckon Neeld demands the buy in green talked about or if not he's more than happy to see them go and build his team from the ground up. Root and branch. Not a re-build; a new build.

Good point, neither GWS or GC would use their first round on him. Would any club? Is he worth a first round pick in this years draft? Perhaps but only just you'd have to think. This would perhaps imply that a club that is keen on him would want to trade with the dees to avoid him being forced to go into the draft. If we refuse to trade we have the upper hand i assume. As i said i reckon nwe would play hard ball with him and if he wants out force him to go into the draft.

It could only be GWS or GC who would have a real chance of getting him as unless a club higher up the ladder made an offer we couldn't refuse (which is unlikely as unless a club specifically needed a small quick player who is yet to prove himself at AFL level they're not going to offer up much) then i have no doubt at all we'll play hard ball and force him to the draft (even if that means we get jack) and into the arms of GWS. Does he really want to go there?

Beamer, you know you are a dreamer Well can you put your hands in your head, oh no I said, "Beamer, you're nothing but a beamer" Well can you put your hands in your head, oh no I said "Far out, what a day, a year, a laugh it is" You know, well you know you had it comin' to you Now there's not a lot I can do Beamer, you stupid little Beamer So now you put your head in your hands, oh no I said "Far out, what a day, a year, a laugh it is" You know, well you know you had it comin' to you Now there's not a lot I can do Work it out someday

No. Both will be great players but Watts will be better.

I also thought it wasn't a bad game from us. In the first we were up in contested possessions and inside 50's. Our lack of option in outr forward line was the killer - and so frustrating to watch. Very difficult for a team that keeps throwing the ball into their forward half only to watch it rebound time and time again not to begin to struggle. The Saints third quarter was predictable in that sense. That's one of the biggest problems of having no forward line to speak off - the rebound so often becomes a scoring threat and puts huge pressure on the back line. But our field kicking was ok and is getting better. A couple of howlers but less that earlier in the year. Jetta showed with that one act of bravery why Neeld rates him. I bet that vision will be on high rotation in the review. Our back half held up well until that third quarter. We showed terrific application not to get blown away. The other thing i really liked was that through out the game, as some have noted, we were taking some risks with ball movement and doing quite a lot of switching. Quite aggressive really. To me this is a glimpse of what we can expect next year and shows that Neeld is slowly revealing his plan. He has been adamant all along that before adding flair the defensive aspect needs to become second nature. In his robbo interviews over last 5-6 weeks he has noted he has been pretty happy with our pressure and contested possession; so i think we are getting there. Even if Saints dropped off in intensity we still managed to kick 8 goals in that last quarter, which by any measure is impressive - particularly with a forward line missing most of its key players. It shows that we are not simply developing a defensive mind set. This subltle change is something the Neeld knockers should take note of before they start banging on about no development and a boring limited game plan.

The silver lining actually is lead from which you get poisoned