Pates

I’m not sure if this is an open question or what but certainly I think we’ve had more success with our incoming players vs our outgoing players. The ones that I think we botched more were back in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s when we would trade players for picks, then failed to properly develop those picks.

I don’t necessarily disagree with you regarding Bailey, I think there were some insane things going through the club and talk of a players strike of sorts has been discussed. The fact that it sounded like it went from Schwab getting the sack to Bailey getting the sack just shows that the club was chaos personified. Whatever happened that day was bigger than whether a coach was any good at his job, I will admit that at the time I was of the opinion he had to go for the very reason you mentioned. I feel in retrospect this was an error as Bailey had a good relationship with the players and when things clicked it clicked well. We had a talented bunch, but there were glaring defensive issues that hurt us that year. In the end though it has lead (eventually) to the success we’re having now. I also agree with some sentiments that Neeld may well have been acting in accordance with the direction the club was telling him to go, but just took it way too far. (He was still a god awful choice no matter how you look at it)

I would say that the chances of that happening at 0 right now. Danny Boy’s presser yesterday pointing to light easing of things such as fitness and extension of radius. Nothing about gatherings and believe me I was keeping a sharp ear out for it as my fiancée and I are desperately trying to get married, but there wasn’t even mention of a potential for groups of 5 outdoors. (People are bloody well doing that anyway 🤬)

I think the sad thing to hear is that during the Neeld era there was fear and dread about turning up to training. I’m sure he wasn’t alone with that as well, when there’s that kind of atmosphere in any organisation you are never going to have success. I hate Sheedy, but even he would’ve been a much better choice as say what you like about him he has a passion for footy and it came out in his players. It sounded like Neeld had a passion for discipline and being unlikeable. All this matching players up against each other, punishing those that came in the bottom part, AFL is competitive enough as it is without pitting teammates against each other. I remember seeing in Hell and Back, Burgess would do these competitions but the winners were praised, the losers weren’t chastised. Thank [censored] Roos came in and flipped everything on its head. I actually think Jack would’ve turned into a much better (possibly still playing) footballer if he had someone like Roos from the start. Dean Bailey’s (RIP) sacking was a mistake by the club sadly.

Was shaking my head hearing the BS about him being told at the start of the season he would debut after a 10 week program no matter what. I mean we all knew it but far out what a joke of a club we had back then, commercial benefit dictating team selection makes me want to vomit.

You don’t trade players that are closely loved within the club, it breaks the cohesion in the playing group. Aside from that Gus has also been doing a very underrated job as a defensive winger. If we are to get Cerra, it should not be at Gus’s expense.

McGowen has got to be one of the least likeable people from Oz citizens outside of his state. I’m sure he’s someone who’s now being hailed as some kind of legend by the WA folks, but jeez he just should not step foot in Melbourne or Sydney. I wouldn’t wish the pandemic onto anybody, but I’d love him to walk a 5km radius in our bloody shoes.

100%. I can imagine there were draftees praying that we didn’t choose them. It appeared to be a career death sentence.

Even knowing it was coming this is a bitter pill to swallow. Am I correct in saying the extra week off after prelim is to allow for WA quarantine?

I remember Akermanis started becoming a burden on the club despite his footballing ability (different reasons but similar d-head issues). Leon Cameron and the leaders at the club need to pull him aside and in no uncertain terms tell him to pull his head in. You always want to see the best players out there, some of them get unlucky due to injury but when they’re their own worst enemy it really does your head in.

Josh’s role during the Roos era should never be underestimated in the success we’re currently having. Good luck to him with the shot at the AFL GM role.

The early comments were immediately after the game and how he felt on the field, which is fair because he may have been more focused on speaking to Greene about what was going out on the field. His comments now refer to how it looks from his point of view seeing the visuals and what it means to be an official.

That will be very important to the defence, but remember optics played the bigger part in Viney’s suspension than the actual contact or physical harm to the player. The image of one of the games top players walking through the umpire and showing blatant disrespect harms the league at the grass roots level.

Pleading not guilty feels like they’re playing a game of chicken where they’re daring the tribunal to give him weeks.

He’s only 19! If he keeps going this way he won’t have any real teeth left! Listen to your mother, Dogga! 😁

It needs to be changed next season earning a game against your tally as a sub. Surely someone can go back after the game and add the game played if they pull off the vest.

It’s all well and good to say that but the sub is there for a reason, if we have a player go down in the first quarter then Jones is playing a full game. Look what happened to Brisbane. I’m not saying Jones wouldn’t be ready to go but it’s a gamble putting a club champ in as the medi-sub if he isn’t picked on form and fitness (he’s barely played a competitive match in the last 2 months). If he puts a strong week of training and get himself in line to be picked then that’s a different story.

Barring sudden injuries to JJ and Sparrow, and probably also Melksham and Vanders, I just can’t see him being put in the team even as the sub. It’s sad but it is what it is.

For me the only sport in the world that treats the officials with less respect is football (hate calling it soccer). When their players get a penalty/free kick they don’t agree with it’s not uncommon for the ref to be surrounded by close to 10 players all getting in his/her face. It’s disgusting, it’s disrespectful, and it’s pathetic. AFL is only marginally ahead because I think they have a little bit more of a laugh, the 50m penalty exists as a deterrent, and there’s more transparency with the umpires mic’d up (the players also know this so they know they have to bite their tongue). But I would gladly have the tribunal come down hard on Greene if it makes the players show the proper respect the officials deserve. Jack Riewoldt should’ve been given a massive fine for his comment to the umpire after the game say that he cost the tigers the win. Pathetic from someone who only a couple of weeks earlier was on his high horse about Pickett’s attitude.

Quite happy with my comment here 😄. He seems to have taken the off-season to improve key parts of his game which include staying in the contest longer. His kicking has finally come good (action was always ok I felt he just needed an adjustment of direction and mindset), but what’s been great lately is he’s tackling. For a player in his position that is huge.

Yeah I would rather him say nothing, particularly hinting that certain players who bring people through the gate basically get a bit of special treatment.

Bad look for Greene it going to the tribunal but who the hell knows what they’ll do.

Personally not worried, he’s a cog in the machine, just needs to take his chances when they come.

He played his role last night and is definitely allowing Fritta to be more of a threat. That miss from 15m on a slight angle though…🤦‍♂️

Haha myself and my dad were in your son’s camp, we both had said to each other “Trac’s having a ‘good’ game but he really needs to impact some big contests and score a goal or two”, nek minut! 😆