Pates

I think that's one of the main reason's why I'm watching them (watching the cats final right now), that talent and ferocity at the footy doesn't disappear. We had a mare of a 2019, but fitness and confidence can turn things around (or maybe that's just wishful thinking!).

15min works, I had a feeling that the promotion of halving the break was about getting it closer to 15. But unless the games really exciting I reckon fans will start to stream out earlier to get to the loo and/or the bar.

Nothing of the sort of course! Hoping there could be a free trial option of something out there if it required a subscription of some kind.

I'll give it a crack (and probably fail miserably!): 1: Oliver 2: Petracca 3: Gawn 4: Lever 5: Brayshaw 6: Viney 7: Tom McDonald 8: Langdon 9: May 10: Melksham (I'll just add that if this does end up being our top ten, with all those guys performing to full abilities I reckon we'll be right in the mix)

Ok I know this is totally random but a discussion I just read talked about the finals wins from last year and it got me really keen to watch them again, because hey why not it was fun watching it live! Does anyone know where they might be available online to watch (preferably without having to fork out any $$$ for a subscription)?

This is actually a fair point to make, we had ourselves in winning positions into the last quarter quite a few times in 2019 but failed to run the games out and get the result. This can very easily be traced back to our lack of fitness in the pre-season. Like you I'm not giving the players and get out of jail free card for the poor season we had but I does allow them to have belief in themselves and belief that if we click again we can do some serious damage in 2020.

If we get AvB playing in 202 that is like having a new recruit, I remember when we got Brayshaw back in 2018 it was much the same way, he'd almost become a forgotten figure and when he was actually given a chance to play he really shon through. I feel like he'll be a challenge for our new fitness staff to handle but boy if we get him right, could make a massive difference!

A lot of people talk with disdain about the free kicks Geelong were getting for a while with Duckwood headlining it but WC have been at it for years starting with Phil Matera. He was already tiny compared to most AFL players but he just got the timing right every time to make sure players collected him high, naturally this is a tactic that WC have continued with and perfected. They get the most ridiculous "crowd frees" in Perth.

I know this thread's being a bit derailed with talk on ANB so I'll give my two cents, when teams are playing well there are certain average players who seem to lift or at least their deficiencies are less prevalent and damaging to the team. ANB is one such player, the whole team in 2019 was awful (save for a few individuals that were able to maintain high quality output), but because of that ANB's deficiencies were full on display and exposed. His game, his worth to the team is his high athletic output and the one percenters that he produced in 2018, his role wasn't glamorous but it seemed to play an important part in that patch between half forward and deep forward. Whether or not he can reproduce that is a big question but if he can, then yes I think he's in Goodwin's 22 (frustrating as it may be for some).

What's probably most interesting is that there was the "freekickhawthorn" hashtag going around but boy the dogs got a incredible run in 2016, and looking at WC who haven't been in negative figures in the last 16 years, though that doesn't surprise me given the times you witness opposition players get their heads taken off with no free kick and yet they'll get the lightest touch on the shoulder (while dropping their knees) and get a free kick every time. It would be interesting to know the Eagle's differential away from home because it wouldn't surprise me if that's positive as well.

About time, I was worried he was on the Cale Morton diet!

I’m not reaching for the panic button just yet, but Hibberd’s disposal pre-2019 was elite and vital to our 2018 being what it was. We really need him to recapture that ability as we got so badly hit on turnovers last season. I recognise it’s December but hearing two important players (Gus and Hibberd) butchering the ball is not the best news. Brown sounds like he hit the ground running, could be a smokey for Round 1.

It’s a difficult one, when him becoming available in the PSD became clear the club made attempts to contact him and he seemed to flatly turn our approaches down. We didn’t chase him when he put himself up for trade both times so clearly he wasn’t really on the club’s radar. I found the fact he didn’t even entertain us as a bit of a slap in the face particularly as Carlton were the ones who failed at the trade table. As for whether we could’ve creatively fit him into the club’s finances, what he’s being paid is over his worth, and getting players in on overs coin (particularly if they don’t even want to be there) sets a dangerous precedent for the next round of contract negotiations. We may well be eying off a FA next year and don’t want to blow our cap. I think Martin and Carlton are a match made in heaven.

Oskar Baker

I get what you're saying but he's a top 10 pick, pressure is going to be there whether he likes it or not and as you've said pick just about any number and there'll be history to it. I feel there are some guernsey numbers that have special association to the indigenous players we've had at the club and if nothing else it would be an absolute kicker to see Flash around the club again. (Although if Kozzie gets a first round call up his first game will be in Perth ?‍♂️) Besides Flash hasn't played for 7 years, it's not like it's super recent history unlike giving a player Cyril Rioli's number.

I'm personally not expecting a whole lot from Jackson in 2020, I think he'll play some good games, might even have an absolute cracker where he kicks say 3 goals or something but for the most part I think he'll be developing at Casey. Pickett similarly I'm not expecting him to be incredible, but I think his injection of pace, excitement, and pressure on defenders will make a wider difference to the team. His stats may well look on the low end come the end of the year but it's my hope that bringing something different to the forward line will help bring it all together.

We definitely need to get our forward entries right but I think the addition of Kozzie and Jackson will help us a lot, throw in hopefully a fit Hannan and AvB, Fritch playing as a permanent forward, all of a sudden we have some serious options to go forward with.

I disagree, I think most people are savvy enough to know when the game is actually meant to start and would turn on during the ad break 5min before the bounce. But fans are interested in getting analysis of the game and discussion on how their team could potentially win it. With a 10min break there wouldn’t be much time for that stuff.

I'd really love to see Brad back at the club in a kicking coach capacity. Was just about one of the best kicks I've seen come through the club, so good seeing him present the jumpers to the new recruits.

I'm hoping the AFL doesn't jump straight towards halving the half time break. Maybe knock off 5min to start with if they really want to give it a go but I hope they don't completely dismiss the average fan with this issue, obviously the players welfare should be highest priority but the half time break as it stands is hard enough to squeeze in bathroom breaks and the opportunity to get some food. What I can tell you is that I reckon the broadcasters could have a say in here that could affect the AFL's decision. The current half time break allows for 2 ad breaks, and of course advertising is key to the rights, reducing HT to 10-12 minutes will only give them one ad break, and while they could put it at the end of the match I guarantee the viewership would be significantly less post game compared to HT.

I'd be thinking Pickett gets 36, close enough to Nev's locker but after a certain great former indigenous small forward in Flash. Would love to see Aaron present him with his guernsey!

Welcome to the Dees Kozzie! Can’t wait to see him light up the G, an injection of excitement and x-factor is exactly what we need. We can argue the merits of picking him at 10 until the cows come home but ultimately we wanted him and I’m glad he’s pulling on the Red and Blue!

I'm not expecting much in 2020, this isn't because I have any intimate knowledge of his situation it's just going on his past recurrence of injuries. The issue that many forget is that when a body gets serious injuries it creates other issues, his calves may get back to full fitness but who knows he might get back related soreness through overcompensation, or his hammy might be a bit susceptible to injury because it hasn't experienced regular full training for a long time. I don't think this is being negative but I think there will be setbacks, all he (and we) can hope for is that he puts the hours into the rehab to minimise setbacks, and he continues to have the attitude that he is currently displaying. If those things happen then we might see what he can do on the field.

If we get him I think the coaching staff should be making his instructions for his first year pretty simple: chase hard, get to the front of packs, and back yourself. I don't know that pick 10 is necessarily where he's rated as to the quality of the draft but remember we picked up a certain ginger draft bolter that surprised a few in the media, and so far he's looked pretty damn good! If nothing else it'll be good to have some x-factor making defenders sweat.

Tom needs to focus on getting back to kicking goals, not captaincy. I’d have him in the leadership group but nothing else.