Pates

Something I have noticed the umps have forgotten is the rule change from last year where if a player ducks his head and gets tackled that is considered prior opportunity. Someone is going to really hurt themselves until the AFL start punishing players when they do that.

Harvey, by a country mile. What I hate most about him is that he is an absolute gun and a freak so he doesn't need to do all the cheap dirty tricks he does. He's a great player, but being a cheap, cheating little [censored] takes significant points off him for me.

Going on the match committees form I don't see that happening, the club seems to be building an "earn your spot" culture (about time) so I would imagine minimum one week at the VFL. I agree though, he's an unquestionable best 22 so he won't be waiting long once he's got his concussion sorted.

I feel that Kennedy could be the "what the hell" top 5 placer. He probably won't have the stamina to maintain it for the entire year but I think he's one that does stuff that coaches love. I'm surprised many are placing Hogan in the top 5 at this stage, he may well get there by the end of the year but I think he's had a couple of outstanding games pocketed with solid-good games and a couple of mules. Really took until round 3 before we started seeing the real Jesse. [Edit] Just realised the top 5s that included Hogan for years end.

It means we were in the mix for the finals which is what I want out of this year. Obviously finals is the main desired outcome but from where we've been to 9th would a good step ahead.

So I was thinking the other day who would be in our top 5 at the moment for the Best & Fairest. We've had quite a few even performances but I would say that Viney would have to be a lock at the top currently. His form has been outstanding and I believe he's had two perfect scores in the coaches award. That certainly would indicate he'd be leading as that award is judged by those who see more than just disposal stats but genuine influence. Beyond that though I would struggle to work it. Max Gawn, Jack Watts, Nate Jones, Bernie Vince, and Ben Ken would probably be my first names that would come to mind as top 5 contenders.

Given Maxxy has been shouldering a lot of work for the team I wouldn't be against bringing Spencer in to given him a decent chop out. Also with rucks being somewhere Port are week in it could given Spencil some chance at gaining confidence. Rotate them between ruck, forward and bench. I can't comment on who goes out but thinking about who's available (Tyson, Salem, Jetta, Pederson) and there's more putting up their hand at Casey (Trengove, Dawes, Grimes), it looks like more (good) selection headaches for the match committee.

Bloody oath we can. Port have been yoyoing this year so it's hard to know which Port you will get but they hold no fears for us and it's about time we started getting wins at these sold games.

I'm around the other side of the world so to wake up to a 10 goal win is fantastic. The fact that it sounds like we never got into top gear is even better. It shows we have the ability to score with ease when given chances by lesser teams. Obviously given I haven't seen the game I can't analise anyone's performance but it's great to hear Stretch and Oliver put in good games. In fact I haven't heard a few of the usual names being called out so its good to see others stepping up at times. One thing I have been able to see is Petracca's (non) goal. Was it ruled touch or a goal in the first place? If it was ruled touched initially then I can understand but still not totally agree with it. If it was ruled a goal initially than the video umpire has gone against the mantra that there has to be clear 100% evidence of it being touched. Which there was none. Either way we were robbed of the goal of the game.

I was under the impression from what Roos has said that it's Trengove himself that has to put his hand up first, we don't know if he's done this yet. He might well feel he's still getting the feel of the game back into him through VFL and that he doesn't want to put his hand up for selection until he's absolutely sure.

They've been trying to turn Frost into a second ruck and at the time there wasn't space for him in defence. I think he can develop into a gorilla style defender, but time will tell on the second ruck side of things. So far Pedders is streets ahead in that department. I'm looking forward to seeing Weeds debut later this year, I think it'll be right at the end if finals are off the cards and we're putting others in cotton wool. No rush with him, let him continue to develop and gain confidence at VFL level. This is what we've always dreamed of, top ten draft picks having to wait and earn their spot in the 22.

I was watching the game and Tim Watson made a really stupid comment saying he was convulsing. Without having a medical background it is really irresponsible to say something like that without know what the implications of it could be. Not to mention it wasn't even true. Hope Wood's ok and he just has a sore head for the next couple of days.

I'm 29 so in terms of what I saw of him with his involvement in football it's confined to coaching at the Sydney Swans. What I know or feel about him is that his legacy transcends clubs and relationships. He's a football legend, and I'm glad he's wearing Red and Blue.

And as theoretically good as Adelaide have been we've won the same amount of games. The loss to Essendon will haunt us. As for the game tonight, I want the coaches to show the players the last minute from the Swans point of view. They hold an absolutely golden chance to ice the time off the clock, Franklin was all on his own 20m away, instead he chose to bomb it in long. Ironically those are the games that teams like Hawks and Swans have always managed to find a way to win. What a finish though!

Sounds like Brayshaw's copping some crappy luck in his second year, hope he's ok.

Chuck a beard on the Demon logo!

Part of me is willing to accept that last game against the dogs was an aberration, something was clearly off with the boys and that was the first time I really noticed Nate Jones was hampered. He was bumped off the ball by Lin Jong, I kinda hope someone brings that up to him through the week! This is the game where it all needs to click, it clicked for the second half last week and we showed (again) we can score quickly when we get a run on but the Dogs are a totally different kettle of fish the GC. Really looking forward to this game, both teams have points to prove and both don't shy away from the contest. It'll be interesting to see who we play on Stringer.

We win this week then 40k is on the cards but we're now at the point of 95% of those who wanted to sign on have done so. I wonder if the club could offer some kind of incentive of first time members get a 10% discount off next years membership if they sign on now. Might get people thinking further ahead.

I was thinking about this going into the game this weekend. GWS is the only team of note we've beaten and we lost to the Bombers who we should've destroyed. This is where this week's game is so important, it is a chance to stamp ourselves as a real team and not just a team making up numbers.

It's quite funny thinking about the criticism he's copped in his time at the club but the more I think about it the more I realise that was a primary responsibility. To be the one that copped it from the media so the rest of the club could build itself up quietly.

Good to see him back playing and even better news that he's signed on again.

It was good to see him back on 360, I miss his usual spot but having said that it makes these times he's on a bit more involved. It really seems like he feels he's achieve at least a part of what he's set out to do. He's built a professional foundation and team, and is confident he's leaving the club in good hands with team Goodwin. I sense a lot of love for Jack Viney from him as well!

Might not be misquoted but he might've misspoke. Not quite sure what he was getting at though, might not be a wordsmith! Sounds like he's pretty chilled about it and he's more than likely to remain a Demon.

He is a guy that the players will follow into battle and know that he will leave nothing on the park. And Rance knows that if you cheap shot a Melbourne player you'll have Jack Viney to deal with. Great stuff Jack!

One big question on Fremantle is how big will their rebuild be? The other question is whether Ross Lyon is the man to pull it off. He has walked into two teams who were classified "contenders" but he took St Kilda to the edge and left them needing a rebuild, he's now done the same with Fremantle and they will have to go through their list and decide who will be there for the next window and who won't. Either way you would imagine they will be at least 2-3 years from being in any kind of legitimate bracket of contention, and it could very well be longer. Point is Jesse has just been through witnessing that at Melbourne, if he does end up choosing Freo he'll have to go through that again but this time as messiah meant to lead them to glory and be on stupid money so therefor have even more expectation and scrutiny. Now obviously he's going to have scrutiny wherever he plays, but there is something about leaving a club that has drafted and developed you to go somewhere else that adds a lot more weight. We are on the up, but more than that he doesn't appear to be copping the messiah tag as often as before. He had pretty harsh criticism levelled at him earlier in the year but now that he's knuckled down and the team is doing well the criticism has dissipated. We'll be offering him pretty stupid money as well, so he won't have to worry about that, I think he'll have to ask himself what he actually wants out of his career. Money or the chance to be a part of something.