Cheesy D. Pun

His hair is a work of art. I think we recruit the hair to play at full forward.

Thanks for this, Lord. I'd love to see scoring chain involvements and 1v1 contests but those numbers are pretty compelling.

Yeah, fair call Binman. I'll admit I may have overstated the difference between the two but I'd have Salem ahead of Saad. When Salem has the ball, I feel comfortable that we're almost certainly going to maintain posession and there's a fair chance something good will happen. I rate him highly. When Saad has the ball, it feels like a 50/50 equation and that's not what we're aiming for. Admittedly, I probably only watch a third to a half of Bombers games, so happy to hear from others who have watched more closely.

Salem is twice the player that Saad is.

I'm surprised that most seem to think our priorities lie in the back half. I would be investing in forwards that aren't makeshift or mid-sized. We're desperate for both small forwards and a genuine beast (Dixon, Kennedy, Darling). That said, Saad could be useful and an upgrade but I wouldn't be investing so much time and effort that it becomes detrimental to other possible deals.

They're pretty consistent with the way they judge these. Form across multiple weeks outweighs one big game. To be honest, I don't mind it.

Don't mind this call. I've been a bit critical of him, mainly because of ill discipline but I think this is a great role for Melky and you're right, he is definitely one of the more skilled players in our side.

They decided on the 3 players they wanted and they got them. Analysing those selections against pick numbers without taking into account the entire draft, is an over-simplification of the situation. If you don't trade up and take Kozzie, you probably don't get Rivers. Also, Kozzie is a 19-year-old small forward. Complaining that he doesn't get enough of the ball is almost ludicrous. His impact in his first year has been significant. I think Taylor has done a great job of analysing the talent without being influenced by hype.

If he's willing to remain a fringe 22 player, I'd keep him. He's got some great attributes - he's quick, tough and can kick a goal. His field kicking restricts him from being used anywhere else, but we need as many quick small forwards as we can get. I understand people seeing him as a Langdon type on the wing but Langdon has a pretty good footy IQ and maintains a high disposal efficiency by taking the easy option and out running his opponents to get low pressure opportunities. I'm not sure Jayden is capable of this.

I don't reckon I'm equipped with the intel to answer that question but I love what Jacko brings to our team already. He is a very dynamic talent, to the point where it's almost like picking two guys for the price of one. I am genuinely surprised with what he's been able to do in his first year.

True. You can only create that space in the centre (while also creating a fat side) by sending all of the defence to one side. I'd love to see stats on our success from kick outs. Being boring on the kick outs should, in theory, allow us to be more bold with the next kick. The defence has absolutely no choice but to break structure and crowd Max. All we need from there is one contested ball win and we're facing an out of position defence. That said, a bit more variation would be nice.

I don't disagree with this and it's part of the frustration. There are several times in every game where there's a ground ball to be won, and he just stands there. He's a huge unit and I'd love to see him start using his body to advantage. You are right to point out his flexibility and I think this helps create a more balanced structure overall but he needs to bring more heat to the contest, if he's going to hang onto his spot.

Quick question, why are you here? What do you get out of it? Is it to get one over genuine supporters who might have some modicum of hope? Let's say you're right and we lose next week - is all that head shaking going to give you some form of satisfaction?

I'm tentatively throwing Tomlinson in the out column. He just really seems to lack effort and toughness. He's probably doing a bit that we can't see on TV, but he is genuinely the most frustrating player on our list. I'm really hoping for Jacko to come back in to provide a bit of assistance to Weideman. The Weid is starting to look tired but don't think we can afford to rest him.

The bloke gives everything, every minute of every game and is a fine leader. We're a mid-table side whose main issue seems to be consistency of effort and a lack of on-field leadership. This sounds like the worst place to start making changes.

Also, the highest paid player in the game. Would love the have him though.

We can only hope he sorts his body out. It's his lateral agility that seems to have gone. No value in a trade and still might come good. Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but does anyone know his contract status?

West Coast are a well-run operation. Throw almost any league coach into that situation and they'd likely thrive. We give way too much credit (and criticism) to head coaches. For the most part, they're all preaching pretty similar philosophies. Yes, they play a leadership role but so do many others. These are large organisations with differing resources at their disposal. Generally, over time, these differences are reflected in the success that a football club has. We can keep shuffling coaches until the cows come home, but the club as a whole needs to find a way to get out of survival mode - where we put economic decisions ahead of football decisions - and move toward a model that puts winning at the forefront of any club decisions.

Very worried about going in with two rucks, neither of whom have shown any forward craft. On the flipside, it's good to see we've finally picked two genuine small forwards.

He needs to have the confidence to put his body on the line before he gets back into the senior team. I think we've handled him just about right. If he starts throwing himself into contests in the scratch matches, I'd imagine he'll get a call up.

I know we often give it to Goodwin for being overly positive after a loss but Shaw sounds so negative regardless of the outcome. I can't see him lasting too long.

No problem at all, mate. Happy to see those numbers and you should always pull people up if they're throwing out false stats. The numbers I'm referencing were from the Fox broadcast on the weekend. It only included forwards and had Butler (STK) first, Lonie (STK) second and Pickett (MEL) 4th. Others may be able to verify that I wasn't dreaming it!

Totally agree, Titan. I would love to see us trade in a good small forward to pair with Kozzie. He needs a partner in crime, so that he gets a little less attention and finds a bit more space. That said, I don't think it'll be long before we see Kozzie kick 3 or 4 and really break out. What impresses me is his willingness to gut run up and down the field. That usually takes a couple of years to instill. Part of what makes me hesitant to drop/rest him is the fact that we're playing a couple of sides in the coming weeks who don't have great matchups for him. I see a chance for him get a bit of confidence.

Number four in the comp among forwards for pressure acts.

No problem, mate. It wasn't my intention to sound arrogant or discount your opinion in any way and in fact, I tend to agree that he might need a rest at some stage. I was just expressing the opinion that possessions and goals are secondary for small forwards in the modern game - pressure is everything. We disagree on how the game looks and that's fine. Also, you are correct - on balance, you probably have the support of most posters here for Kozzy's omission. I'm ok with that.