Cheesy D. Pun

Some fair points, there. I'm probably going to be on my own here, but I think the game has passed Mark Williams by and I'm not sure he's the man to develop our young guys. I'm really surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response both here and on social media to his appointment. I'm no expert and would be stoked to be proven wrong but how many times have we seen older coaches move out of the elite level, come back and struggle to grasp what they need to be successful?

Can we keep Mahoney and give them Pert instead?

I would have been about 5 when he retired so didn't see him play in the flesh but gee, his balance turn of speed and IQ was phenomenal. Also, I'm so used to checksides/bananas/snaps, that seeing a bloke try and drop punt from the boundary almost seems like lairising. What a gem!

I apologise as I misinterpreted the context of your post - thought this was a generalisation about white people, not specifically the McGuire family.

...doesn't that make you ask yourself why?

Spot on. This is the type of language people revert to when they find themselves unable to engage with the actual issues. Could best be described as playing the man (or woman) and not the ball.

Ridiculous - there's absolutely no evidence to support this claim. Even if it ended up being true, it's pure speculation.

We disagree on what we're seeing in the vid and I'm certainly no expert but on the bolded above, I wholeheartedly agree. There is a small part of me that was happy with him staying on our list because I see him as a guy who's determined and has always played as if he's an outsider with something to prove. He believes in himself, so if getting back is possible, he'll get there. If not, he's been an asset to the club as a late draft pick. Let's hope he makes it back.

Thanks for this but this actually made me feel less confident about Tommy. His lateral movement doesn't compare well to any of those boys. I really hope we can get him up again because it will give us a great option at either end.

You've struck a nerve for me with that call, Dee. A second or third small forward could be the key to unlocking our entire game plan. We're trying to play Richmond's mosquito fleet game plan with only one mozzy (Kozzy). Whether we have the right guys on the list ATM is debatable but we need to find some support for Kozzy and stop relying on stop-gap, medium-sized solutions.

We should be able marked improvement regardless of results but the bottom line is going to be finals. If we fail to make finals, he'll likely be gone. If we make it, he's safe.

Couldn't have done more.

Cousin, apparently. From highlights, moves a little like Nev but has a bit of Lewis' leg speed.

Tend to agree but he does have a tendency to be able to completely nullify a player when he gets that role so he must be doing some running. That said, I agree there's probably not another position for him.

We've got to add at least one more small forward. All of the forward lines put up here, still look way out of balance. I'd like to see Melksham moved to another position (except when a HBF requires a tag) and replaced with a genuine small forward (Bedford or incoming player). Our forward strategy is to pin the opposition defence in for repeat entries, however, we don't have the right cattle to get that done. If we had two (or even three) Kozzys, I think it would unlock our whole game plan. We need players that understand the running patterns (mostly unrewarded) required. That's why I'm not so sure about dropping a mid in there. It can be done but it would require a pre-season of training and education.

Just watching the Eddie Ford highlights - not sure he's the right type for us but gee he looks good. Great hands and has a serious swagger about him.

I get where you're coming from but you can critique a player's performance without the disrespect that many have shown here. Add to that the fact that people are still continuing with the same rhetoric after the player is gone and it's pretty evident that many aren't interested in anything other than making themselves feel good by degrading others.

Completely unnecessary.

Thanks mate - I've got some stiff competition but I'm just happy for the nomination. I stand by it. Our game plan relies so heavily on small forwards of which we currently have one. I don't think it's too far fetched to say that whoever is able to fill that position is going to have as much of an impact on our success as any player on the list. I'll admit though, I've made the comment taking the current performance of our players for granted. Perhaps, it might be better to have said it is my opinion, that whatever happens in the small forward space will be the most important factor to our success in the next year or two.

I reckon this guy is close to the most important player we have. If he comes on and is able to form a formidable combination with Kozzy, then I think our entire game plan will look a whole lot better.

Delete please mods. Had a senior moment.

I think that extra 5 metres is significant. It should go some way to stopping repeat entries by breaking the zone. I can't see any kick-in happening from inside 25m with that rule, although teams might look to make sure their fastest blokes are manning the mark to effect this. That means a solid kick puts you 75 out from goal. An average long kick from say, Steven May should have you somewhere in the vicinity of centre wing. Also, the game is good. Tinkering at the edges is all it needs to keep coaches on their toes and stop them from manipulating the rules too much.

Both fairly logical changes, I would have thought.

Cheers for that 58 - you're probably right.

I love the modern game and can't get my head around the view that the game was better 'back in the day'. I was recently watching a final from '98 (I think) between the Doggies and Kangas. It's considered one of the great finals games but by today's standards it was horrendous and the entire game plan involved the backmen torping it from half back to half forward, then back again until someone accidentally kicked it to a team mate. Don't get me wrong, it had its charm. It was aggressive, loads of bumps and great one on one contests but the notion that today's players are less skillful, in my opinion, just doesn't stack up. The decision-making of today's players is phenomenal given what they face defensively. The ability to stay calm and not just 'kick it', and work through traffic is so common, where it was once only the stars that could do this. The game has and is evolving and I, for one, love it.