Pates

If fit Tomlinson is best 22 without a doubt, he was brought in fir a specific purpose (like Langdon). If we get a blessed run of injuries like what the Lions got last year and the Tigers in their 2017 premiership year, we will be seriously competitive. Luck is an intangible quality that can't be underestimated.

One of his biggest issues over the years is that lack of pre-season fitness, this will go a LONG way to him being available in the season proper. He's an easily forgotten man because he hasn't played much, I'd just love to see him get a full crack at it.

Us missing Melksham for much of the season can't be underestimated. Don't forget a lot of the games we lost we either had more or just about the same amount of inside 50s. One of the biggest issues we had was a terrible disconnect between the midfield and forward line. Melksham is one of the major ingredients in making this work, his and direct pass into the forward line set us up for lots of shots on goal in 2018. We had so many balls go into the forward 50 that bounced straight back out and we were so easy to score against on the rebound. I also think that we need to look at developing Weids in this area, he had an injury riddled 2019 but 2020 has to be a big one for him. He's got the talent, we saw it in the first final v Geelong! I really think we have one of the largest scopes for improvement in the league but it's all potential.

I was always concerned about the fact that we were beginning the QB sharing in 2019 to coincide with us not hvaing the ANZAC eve gate, adding to the pokies reduction (I believe we are still operating some but not as much unless I'm mistaken), and of course all this happened just as we had an demorolising season of woe to ensure the fans wouldn't want anythign to do with the club. A lot of the hard work built over years got lost very quickly. BUT this can turn around quickly next year. We get those two big games back, if our players are able to hit back to the form they (in my opinion) are capable of and we have success, then we will be back in the black next year. It sucks, we as members should be dissapointed this has happened, but we aren't a juggernaut club and we won't be until we have SUSTAINED success.

This is fantastic and a great start towards building for a big year. The other thing I hope he's working on (hopefully with the help of any coach other than Jordie Lewis!) is controlling his aggression to use it in a positive way. One of the big frustrations over his career is that he might get into some good form and ruin it with a 2-3 week stint from bumping someone. It's important he stay injury free, it's equally important he doesn't do anything stupid to end up having weeks on the sidelines. Massive year for him.

I've gone back to the predications that I had in 2018, which was between 5th to 10th. I think we can finish higher but a lot will depend on the start of the year and whether we can get some early momentum to exorcise the demons of 2019. Missing the finals is a definite fail, but I think a kinder injury run will give us a good chance to show that we have good talent, then it'll be down to the coaches and the game plan.

That's good news, I'm sure it must've been a difficult decision but it shows his dedication. I hope he and his family have some good people to be around in the break period.

I called Kozzie to 36. Reckon it's a great choice, a chance for him to add his own history to the number.

Hardly surprising but still depressing to look at. Surely the 20's can be our decade, our fans deserve it!!! ? A new decade comes, new beginning. God I'd love nothing more to see that ladder flipped so the Cats, Hawks, and Swans fans can experience our depression! (Cat's fans especially)

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.