Pates

When they do get to that 40k capacity it’s time the AFL force Geelong to increase allocation to away fans up to a national minimum standard. I would be saying about 5000 seats and not in a s-hole pocket but behind opposing goals. Particularly as this upgrade is getting paid by the government and not through Geelong’s coffers If they want to host more Victorian teams then they need to start letting more of those fans in.

True it is a sad reflection on US politics that the age of the two candidates are mid and late 70’s. I’m sure this would be seen as unconstitutional but they should be making and age limit on nominations. I think Biden’s alright and should he continue the current trajectory I think he will be a good president for trying to reunite the country rather than divide it as Trump has so skilfully done. I thoroughly dislike Trump but one thing I will say that’s good is he shook up the political landscape. For so long there were things just expected of leaders and America in particular, but he put his foot down and played by his own rules. A lot of it was bad, some of it was good, but the system needed a shake up.

Had to laugh at Trumps comment of voter suppression. Firstly numbers of votes this year are higher than ever, that’s a good thing as it shows engagement to the democratic process. Secondly the republicans have engaged in so many voter suppression tactics over the years geared towards preventing African Americans from being able to have their say. For a country that prides itself on being seen as the shining beacon of democracy they really do a lot of nasty tactics to discourage certain demographics from voting.

Still a lot of water to go under the bridge here, Nevada is tighter than a ducks a-hole and having that shift could be big. Arizona is still in play and Trump is doing better than expected there, Biden has a lot of ground to make on the other states mind you he did it in Wisconsin and Michigan. It’s been like the slowest game of AFL, you see one side get ahead and you think it’s over but a little momentum shift can flip everything.

Ummm Pies with Treloar.... Both clubs and players are no longer respecting the idea of a contract and what it means. Clubs see it as insurance to make sure if the player wants to leave they have all the power, players are seeing it as cushions for job/salary security but then suddenly if there’s the chance to play in a premiership contending team they get “disgruntled”.

We talk about whether we should be keeping him, surely Tom must be thinking that the moment Sideshow Ben walks through the door he's got an uphill battle to earn a spot in the 22 (which he already had before we started chasing Brown). So for his own career the best thing he can do is get his manager to pitch him to clubs requiring a key forward to get first team action. If, and I stress IF, he doesn't end up leaving there needs to be some creative conversations about how we approach the rest of him contract. He was very mobile prior to 2019, if there are discussions had between him and Burgess to work out a new fitness plan could he be turned into a Richo style winger/HFF? I honestly think his defending days are behind him and his form is reflective on his own confidence as well as fitness. I think the best thing for him is to look for another club but for someone on such good coin we cannot let them stay stuck at Casey doing nothing.

The King v May argument is moot, we were never going to keep the pick to use it was always heading north so we could pick up May who was our immediate concern. His first season with us was a disaster, 2020 he should've been AA. He's become one of my favourite players.

Damn I was hoping that Adelaide would match St Kilda for Crouch, solid pick up for them. GWS did well with Jesse, basically a free hit with him. If it doesn’t work out then nothing really lost on their end. As for Freo, another big trade bust for them! ? EDIT also wanted to mention it’s absolutely incredible the clubs are going through the trade period without confirming what the list sizes will be. Amateur hour from the AFL.

The rule says something along the lines of starting their usual routine. It’s the reason why those who are lining up for snaps are more likely to be called to play on as they get caught looking at the clock. I confess that whenever I used to watch him as a kangaroo is was a constant source of annoyance but if he puts it through the big sticks as a demon I couldn’t care less!

Mitch Clark was a massive bust but also very unlucky, he'd been fairly durable over his career and early indications were very positive until he got an awful injury which royally screwed him physically and then emotionally. I'm another that looks back on the "Kelly Trade" in a mostly positive way, we had short term needs to be filled, got Tyson who made an instant impact and Salem who is a best 22 key player. We've had some very solid pick ups recently years: Melksham, Hibberd, Vince, and Langdon were all relatively cheap but been good recruits. In fact I'd say for the most part on the scale of things we've done reasonably well. Thompson wasn't a trade, we got bent over by Adelaide and they forced our hand. I'm definitely not alone in still feeling a little filthy about how it all went down. I still laugh at the comment his manager made of "he has given the club good service and now he would like to return home", by service of course he meant being injured for most of his time and using his time at the club for development before leaving just as he becomes a good player. ?

Ben Brown is the priority clearly right now and with good reason, I think the comments made about not landing Smith is to prepare for the possibility of us not landing someone to fill that role. Almost all the players mentioned have been tried in that position and failed to make a regular impact. I’d love it to be Hunt that takes that position and makes it his own but he just doesn’t seem to have it in him. I’m on the positive side with Oscar Baker, I think he hasn’t had much opportunity to show his worth yet and while one game is never enough of a sample size to get excited about he did show some good signs against GWS. That said I would personally be keener for us to trade in a mature player who has a proven record in that position, particularly if what Bartlett said was true that internally they want the club pushing into the top 4 next year.

It’s interesting that we’ve ruled out using pick 25, I’m quite happy for us to be keen to go to the draft with it but at the same time I would like a trade for Brown that is low fuss. Going to be interesting to see what our first offer is and what it ends up being.

That’s what I was thinking, no way does Phillips command a top 10 pick. If they can get a pick in the low 20’s that would surely get it done quickly on their end.

I guess if the player gets paid then there isn’t anything about breaching any rules directly but I still feel like the Pies should be answering to the AFL’s integrity unit for some kind of salary cap manipulation that is against the spirit of the game. I mean it’s like buying a Porsche for 80k and only paying off 20,000 for the first few (and it’s best) years then handing it to someone else expecting them to pay the rest when it’s deprecated in value. It’s really wrong and I’m now back on the bandwagon that Treloar should be staying put and the pies should be paying him what THEY promised him.

I'm not arguing their onfield success hasn't been good, of course I'm bloody envious. But many of us bemoan the fact that during the AFL's transition from semi-professional into elite sport we were garbage meant that we missed out on the opportunity to be a bigger and better club. North had that but are still in the position they are where they're fighting to survive, I'm just pointing out that they failed to capitalise when they had their chance, they should be a powerhouse with that success but they aren't.

And the media will say Buckley has “reinvented” TMac as a forward!

Truth is given North’s relative success it actually shows that having success is one piece of the puzzle, being able to capitalise on it is another. Given their 90s they should be a powerhouse. Since 2000 they haven’t had anything to ride home about and been sitting comfortably in mediocrity ever since, unwilling to ever bottom out properly (no choice now). I’m not saying we’ve been any better because we haven’t.

Interesting that the pies are not only keen but are intending to play him as a defender again. It’s a bit of a gamble given he has no form to go on for that position and wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire prior to his forward shift. Still the pies have form with turning Melbourne players into functioning members of their team. TMac for Treloar though seems to be counterproductive to what we’re moving him on for, if the pies pay $100k for Treloar salary would we consider it? Still means they’re essentially paying overs for Tommy. Would’ve thought a straight swap for Phillips would be more on the cards.

I think North fans better get ready for disappointment, they’ve basically made Brown staying at North impossible and they have only one piece of leverage, saying they’ll let him walk (which in their current situation they really don’t want). They’ve just moved on a lot of players, how are they stocked for defenders? Brown for pick 23 and Oscar perhaps?

I just wish him good luck, hindsight is always going to be 20/20 but I think the better thing for Jesse before moving to WA would’ve been us trying to encourage support networks to relocate to Melbourne. Seems like WA hasn’t been a place of comfort for him. Will be interesting to see how he goes at GWS, if he gets his body right that’s step one, step two will be him making a clear effort to stay on the straight and narrow.

Can someone enlighten me on the rules of what happens after an offer gets matched? I understand that it means a trade needs to be facilitated but if it can’t does that mean it defers back to the old model of nominating of the PSD/ND? That the druggies got pick 7 for Daniher and Crouch gets pick 23 tells you all you need to know about how much of a messed up system it is. 100% Adelaide should match, as should GWS. Could be an interesting trade period now that the Saints (and likely the cats) will have to trade for the players they want. Bet you the AFLPA have a cry about their players not being able to get to their clubs of choice easy.

Shout out to Sean Connery, Never Say Never Again. I really hope we aren’t pinning out hopes on Baker though. That’s not to say I don’t like him but I really would like us to push for Phillips.

Just have a piece of gum instead. As for Brown, no news is not bad it’s just things still need to play out. If it’s between us and the bombers then surely they’ll have to pony up extra dough, hopefully we’re selling the better opportunity at finals.

It would be the ultimate irony if both Tom and Jesse went to GWS to reunite their powerful connection from 2018!

Surely the biggest issue with this trade is the Pies salary space is already spread thin. We will likely pony up a portion of his first year but can the Pies squeeze him in?