Cheesy D. Pun

6 ANB 5 Jackson 4 Trac 3 Harmes 2 Bowey 1 Brown

Absolutely. While it's clear he should know better, the education part of this is much more important than the punishment. Ultimately, we want to see stuff like this eradicated from society and education has always had a far greater influence on behaviour than punishment, which can sometimes act to galvanise behaviours.

I'm less worried about the quality of the umpiring (although, I too, would like to see them made professional). I'm more interested in some kind of communication function that provides an update on interpretation each week. I'm sure the players are aware of these weekly shifts. It should be explained to the public. I understand the need for the rules to be slightly dynamic to avoid allowing coaches the chance to manipulate or strangle the game but it's unfair to the rest of us who get a surprise each week when rule interpretations change.

A few suggesting Harmesy as an out and I'm not necessarily disagreeing but he and Viney are crucial to our finals chances. If we have both of those guys in and at their best, our on-ball depth starts to look more like the Doggies. Whatever we do with Harmes, it has to be with a view to getting him up for finals. My gut feel is you stick with him - he's finding the ball but is maybe lacking some confidence with ball in hand. Viney hadn't hit his straps, but laid 45 tackles in the 6 games since his return - comfortably the most by any Demon in that period. His loss is significant but obviously something we're fairly used to given his injury history. In the meantime, we absolutely need James Jordon back to his best to fill the void. With Viney out, it has to be JJ - he's a highly composed player for his age but more importantly, he's been our best tackler across the season.

It's the time difference. That episode just aired for the first time.

I love Jack but this deserves two weeks. It wasn't a reflex action that took place around the ball. It was a considered decision to place his elbow on the throat (or jaw) of the opponent. I understand and agree with the arguments around precedents but this type of thing has to be removed from the game - as much as it pains me to say it, this needs to be the new precedent. You take your medicine and move on.

6 Clarry 5 Petracca 4 Lever 3 LJ 2 Maxy 1 ANB

Looks unbelievable for his size. While it seems there is a slight knock on his kicking, his action is very natural. Also looks as though he'd suit playing anywhere on the field. Only negligence across the other 17 clubs will see him fall below 20. I can see a club taking a punt on him in the top 10.

The only difference being, the crims aren't proud of their previous life.

Loves the sound of his own voice, does old Dermot.

A lot of results have gone our way over the last couple of rounds. We have a real opportunity to lock in a top two or top four spot.

Yep. I'm a massive fan of Bedford but that comparison is not only absurd but unfair to Bedford. I still think Bedford is a big chance of being one of our small forwards that can attend the odd centre bounce - like Kozzy. He has some elite attributes, namely acceleration, agility, overall speed and stamina. We're talking about an incredibly rare combination of athletic traits. I would love to know exactly what he's been told to work on to get to the next level because I think he's very close to next in line should Kozzy, Spargs or ANB be rested.

Absolutely. We're already pushing the envelope.

Harmes has been very ordinary the last two weeks but at his best, he's a good player. I'd back him in to find some form over the next couple weeks.

6 Trac 5 McDonald 4 Oliver 3 Petty 2 Pickett 1 May

That's not his go, though. He's a lead up forward. I think it's part of the reason he's struggling to get a game. If the opposition don't provide space in our forward half, he's not as effective as you'd imagine a 200cm forward to be and for the most part, is a liability when it hits the ground. Hopefully, Port leave a bit of room for him to lead into and he can get hold of the ball. I was so excited to see Ben Brown when it looked like the game was opening up but coaches have found a way to continue to get numbers behind the ball which makes it difficult. I think one of the reasons we've been successful against the good sides is that they back themselves and don't bother overdoing numbers in the back half. Hopefully, Port do the same, however, I think the strategies that the lesser sides have employed against us might become the blueprint for better sides.

I do enjoy this thread. Had a couple of the boys hit the ball an inch or two either way, all of these negative comments would somehow be positive. A Divinyls track comes to mind.

The criticism of Gawn here is so far removed from reality. He was immense.

Calling him just athletic is under selling his value. His skills are almost unprecedented for a man his size. He is sublime below his knees, works way through traffic with ease and makes smart decisions. There's nothing wrong with his hands per se, but by his own admission he does need to put some weight to help him stay strong in the contest. Hogan is an unfair comparison - his body was ready-made for football. Jackson has work to do in that area but has the potential to be one of the most complete players the game has seen. There's not a position on the ground that he's not suited to and that kind of flexibility is everything in the modern game. In cricketing parlance, Jacko is our Richard Hadlee, Andrew Flintoff or Jaques Kallis. He allows so much flexibility at the selection table to go small, tall, or in between. The fact that we haven't had select an underdone Ben Brown is a testament to this.

Hit the nail on the head.

Essendon are almost the best team we'll come up against in terms of flooding back while maintaining some semblance of a forward setup. Personally, I'm glad we're sticking this setup. I see there being a time in the future where either Weideman or Brown are mainstays but Brown isn't covering the ground well enough and Weid needs to build confidence. GWS are unlikely to be able to fill our forward 50 in the same way that Essendon did and as a result, I think TMac, Fritsch and to a lesser extent Jacko will all benefit.

Not going to disagree but much easier to be consistent in those roles. Also, in the case of JJ, he's seems as close to a finished product as any player his age. Rivers has had the chance to play along side the best two defensive leaders in the game. While neither of those two points should negate their consideration for the award, LJ is a genuine rising star and I've always thought this award was more about picking the next big thing rather than just simply choosing the best performed young player.

I don't think it's too far-fetched to say Brown's couple of games at AFL level were poor. The current lineup is the one that played on the weekend - without either Weideman or Brown. I'm not against a system that includes those guys but we've lacked a little fwd pressure when either has played and I believe we're unbeaten when neither has played.

I'm not against this but it's an important decision with a fair bit riding on it. When selected, Brown has been poor and like you say, if they're going to select him, he needs a fair run of games but top 4 is on the line and our current lineup has been the most effective. That said, with the way Essendon defended us (and the way we entered 50), we could have done with a stay at home tall to make some of the Bomber defenders accountable. I would argue that Essendon are better than most at covering the ground and getting players into our front half to flood. Against most teams, dropping a pressure player for a tall would be unnecessary at best, detrimental at worst.

Spot on. It's not a like for like. As well as covering the ground, much of the value of those small guys is to get a hand in here and there to disrupt play. It requires reflexes/quickness. ANB is doing this consistently, even when he's having an off game. Jones is probably relying on someone to go down to get a game.