Pates

AvB and Melksham were gifted games last year, both should've been dropped several times and seemed to be played on form in previous years rather than in season form/merit.

Fair point, I wasn't a fan of how Joe was ousted from the club. He came to us when we barely escaped merging and the way he was disposed of so abruptly was unfair to him. You also make a good point that under Gabriel we got a lot worse with management, it's one of the great examples of a coup at a football club only making matters worse. I'll blame my age at the time for not quite remembering things right. For a long time we just seemed to lurch from one poor management to another.

As someone currently living overseas but looking into returning home I can tell you getting into Australia is such a pain in the [censored] the only people coming will be the competitors and minimal support staff, the only people mingling in the crowd will be people that live in Australia. All signs point to those competitors being put in a pretty strict bubble (one that will be a lot tougher than the previous quarantine hotels), if done right the risk to Australia should be quite minimal. Don't forget there will also be the lead up tournaments (which probably won't have crowds) happening quite soon which will allow for great opportunity for the competitors/staff to be separate from the general public. The greater risk will be from the regular quarantine hotels and whether the lesson's learned will be properly put in place. I know I'm talking with a different perspective but I find it amazing that with no community transmission Melbourne is still in such a strict place with its rules.

In fairness to Gabriel we were such a basket case back then that entering into something like Olympic park would've been very difficult (though not impossible with proper support from the government). That was our best opportunity to be involved in a new project right on the doorstep of the MCG though, I'm not giving him (and the club) a free pass from missing out but we had such a mountain of issues back then and number one was simply surviving. For the benefit of the club I wouldn't be against moving away from the MCG precinct as long as it wasn't far away.

I thought the Wiz was living in Perth as well, if there's an opportunity to do this are we able to get him playing for either Casey or a Victorian TAC team? If he is interested in playing for the Dees then it would be good if he could have some kind of involvement in the club. That said I'd also be mindful of putting too much pressure on the kid, for me I felt taking Jesse away from his home environment a year early was a mistake for his mental wellbeing. Hopefully he's just enjoying getting to know some of the lads.

He's calling this after one (shortened) year where we have Max as our main ruckman so Jacko played mostly as a relief ruck? He also must have been watching something very different to me, as a 19 year old first year player he held his own at ruck contests which is about the most you could expect of someone at that age in that position. Around the ground he looks like he glides through the air, to me he doesn't play like a forward, he plays more like a midfielder/winger. Incidentally, Derwayne is also one of the most annoying voices involved in footy. I would not be disappointed if Fox Footy announce said he would not be commentating for them next year.

Clarry looks like he's come back fat. Just kidding, they all look in pretty good nick.

I know so many locations have been spoken about for ages but I’ve always felt that Elwood Park is the best opportunity for an existing location that is community connected and has a large enough space for expanding and creating a high class training facility. People with more knowledge I’m sure will be able to tell me why that isn’t viable for us. The plus side to it is that while it isn’t in the MCG precinct it isn’t exactly far away. It’s also close to public transport links allowing the ability for people to come watch training easily enough. I’ve also often though Elwood park would be the perfect location for a boutique stadium if they were ever to create one.

Just a thought, Goody’s pass mark should be dependent on where the club overall rates the list and Gawn himself might’ve been one to give a little away on that. He said that he feels the team is ready for success, I would interpret that internally the senior players and the FD believe that we have a top 4 capable team that’s able to be a contender. If that’s the case then surely the club is targeting the top 4 (with being in contention) as a “success”. I would then see 5-6 as the clubs acceptable pass with a win in week one. Then, again if they are rating performance vs expectations-with-list, anything below that is considered a fail, and a cross against Goody. If we’re out of finals contention at the mid point of the year then Simon’s papers will be stamped. On the flip side the club might see things differently, with top 6 considered “success” and just making finals a pass. (I hope not, I don’t want us to be making up the numbers)

I doubt many people are arguing with the decision to move him on, but just because a top 6 wouldn’t have him doesn’t mean he isn’t of value to another club in the AFL. I think he’s a chance of getting another go, even if it’s just as depth/coverage to a team that doesn’t have a lot of defensive options. If he gets that chance can only wish him the best of luck.

I might be wrong but I think it’s also been decreasing in population, or at the very least growth is minimal.

The positive for Tom is that I think 2020 was rock bottom for him, I can imagine him being a very proud individual so no doubt the fire burns to get back to some good form. Question comes where will it be? Personally I think he’s got a better opportunity as the second tall defender. For our future (and Sam’s) he should be the first choice to be behind BBB, Mitch Brown showed plenty against Essendon, and Jacko is a fantastic talent (I’d actually like to see us try him on the opposite with to Langdon). Down back we have May and Lever as first picked defenders, but Lever would surely work better if given the license to peel off and play as an intercept defender. In the wings we have Smith and Petty developing (though I think Petty looked better as a forward).

As bad as this is from the Bombers (and it’s bloody unprofessional from them or any organisation) it’s also been born out of the AFL taking its sweet time to finalise list sizes and salary caps. I get that there must have been things to work out but it should’ve been finished soon after the Grand Final and certainly before the trade/FA period. Still, gotta love Essendon continuing their slide as an organisation. Could well imagine seeing another exodus next year if they keep treating their players this way.

When we started getting shuffled around between various different grounds for training the club should’ve tried to create their own base near the G or at least not far away. Possibly complaisant thinking they had something to plug the hole rather than getting a long term solution. Pert has said a number of times there are options being discussed but nothing seems to be materialising. If he can get it done he will go down in history at the club.

Every time the argument for Tassie gets brought up I feel a little sorry for them. 10-15 years ago there probably could’ve been a better chance for them to get a team by pointing to the additional revenue that an extra game for TV rights will bring plus the fact that there would be support for them pretty much guaranteed so you wouldn’t be scraping for fans at the ground. But the lack of growth for the game clearly trumped the decision and GWS and GC got the nod. Incredibly I think GWS has a decent potential to go into a real footy club. The Gold Coast on the other hand seems to be where sport goes to die. The AFL have thus far tried everything to get them competitive and they are still getting left behind. Perhaps the recent concessions will get them functioning (and they at least looked better this year) but I just don’t see any buy in from the locals. Despite all that the AFL seem determined to keep persevering with them. I think it really sucks for them but unless a Victorian club gets into dire circumstances financially (North seems to be the ones that’s always talked about) and is essentially forced to shift there then I don’t see how logistically they’ll get a team.

Absolutely incredible stuff. Has the potential to wreck one, or both clubs salary caps. The Pies have always looked bad in this but the dogs are looking very stupid as well, the contract should have been the first thing negotiated and terms written down. If one club is going down let it be Collingwood!

I’ll meet you there on those thoughts. He has a good action so I think it comes down to a little confidence. I just really hope he and Brown are able to work well in tandem to ease the pressure on each other.

He missed some extremely gettable goals this year for a forward that actually has a good kicking style, and also kicked quite a few from point blank finishing the good work of others (good work from him too to get into that position). The Brisbane game in particular I remember him missing a couple of fairly standard shots, we lost that by a goal, and vs North he should’ve had a massive bag but finished 2.3. True over the course of his career he’s been a decent set shot.

And missed goals he should kick. I’m willing to cut him a bit of slack but with him in the second forward role to Brown 2021 is the year he needs to make things click.

I’d also say that Frawley adds leadership and experience to their backline, a way of being a mentor. I’m not as critical of Oscar as some here but I’d still probably be taking Chip over him even with Frawley definitely being at the end of his career.

Do you expect the players to stay silent the entire pre-season? They need to drum up some press and positive attitude to pump up the clubs exposure.

I just can’t figure out why the dogs wouldn’t have put that down as the first point of bargaining. It was clearly the biggest issue for the Pies and therefore one of the major bargaining chips, possible guess is that the pies said they would pay $200k but didn’t specify if that was for the length of the contract or just for one year. As I said, I can’t figure out why that wouldn’t have been the very first thing to talk about as they sit down. Truly amateur hour from both clubs. So glad we stayed away from it.

He's a great man battling an awful illness, a true inspiration.

Bring on To Hell and Back #2! I'm glad he's positive, and he should be as there are some guys that can seriously play in our team. Time to make something of it.

It's comments like this that made me very wary of when the Pies "graciously" gave us the QB gate earnings every year. Firstly I knew it was never going to last forever and sure enough just as we were starting to show something as a team and the crowd was getting really big they decided they wanted it to be shared. Secondly I can see him using that as ammunition for things like this to do with us saying stuff like, "oh when you were on you knees begging for scraps we gave you this purely out of the kindness of our hearts". Whatever has gone on in the past is done, if the dogs look like they're going to be completely screwed over then they should make damn sure the [censored] rains down on the pies. EDIT: Also thinking about the QB earnings, I always looked at it as a form of equalisation as clubs like Pies, Essendon, Richmond, and Carlton were always very well looked after for primetime slots making them clearly more attractive to sponsors.