Pink Freud

6. Max Gawn 5. Clayton Oliver 4. Kysaiah Pickett 3. Steven May 2. Christian Petracca 1. Trent Rivers

Management of players seems to be the flavour of the month so I would suggest that it’s time to give a week off to TMac who has been fantastic this year but could do with the rest. This would enable Lever to fit back into the side without upsetting the applecart in defence too much. I would like to get a bit more out of Caleb Windsor - perhaps change he and Lindsay around to see if that works. I would leave AJ in the side because the combination in the ruck with Max worked well. Jack Viney has to come in - for an unlucky Harry Sharp. I would also reward Kynan Brown for his hard tackling work at Casey. I don’t think Charlie Spargo has done enough up forward and quite frankly, if you can’t rely on a forward to make the distance from 40 metres out …

Wow, both teams have been up and down since they last played. Ironically, the game was their second home and away game in a row because they played each other in the final round of 2023.

A perfect day for it.

I won’t be gambling but I might place a wager on XL at the generous odds of $34.00. I’m also shocked that five clubs in Collingwood, Geelong, GWS Giants, Hawthorn and Sydney currently have no candidates among the top 27 favourites for the award. The first two have aging lists so they are investigating heavily on their current crop of players to get them home.

I came on to ask the same question. Most clubs are into a regular training program which would involve three main sessions a week. I know Carlton trained today.

Neal-Bullen? I didn’t notice him at Gosch’s Paddock.

Insights into the 2025 AFL Draft: Rising Stars and Key Strategies

Yes … it’s him Stingrays win double header

I came across a poster on bigfooty who I think also posts here GoodoilBartul who has taken a swipe at Melbourne’s drafting and given it his lowest grade. This was partly based on his assessment of XL as follows - “I'm not a huge fan of the pick at a basic level. He's a very good player bursting from stoppage but I worry about his distribution and ability to stand up in the heat of the contest as an inside mid and think his play as a free-wheeling player is over-rated. Happy to be proven wrong, but the Dees could be left with a mediocre receiver type or an inside mid who is too slight for the role.” This runs counter to everything I saw of him in the National Championships, his disposal was neat, he attacked the ball strongly, got plenty of contested ball and in the deciding game of the series, there was no sign that he shirked any issues. His first quarter was superb. Any thoughts?

Not what I heard from people closely involved in negotiations. I’ve heard the contrary which I suppose just goes to show that people looking at things, sometimes see them from the perspective of their own agendas.

Kennedy and Owies would both be worthwhile options if not too expensive but I wouldn’t touch Lewis Young - not a clean ball handler. We might also be well advised to move on a couple of players who are likely to be list cloggers to make way for them.

So Gale was in the seat for 7 years and his strategic plan had been written 6 years earlier when this review was carried out. Did Caroline Wilson express dismay at the time?

During the 2023 preseason, when Jack Ginnivan was with Collingwood in Torquay, it was reported that he was busted taking illicit substances in a hotel bathroom. This cost him a two-game ban. He returned to play in the Pies’ premiership but then requested a trade to Hawthorn and people were saying it was win for the Pies’ culture. Look who’s playing in the finals this year and who’s not. .

Demons move up the ladder to ninth without a sweat.

My theory is they picked Petty because they didn’t know how to spell Faller … Fuller … Fullarton

Looks like they’re looking to give away you know who’s junper number.

No - he’s eligible in the 2024 draft.

Oakleigh Chargers had a comfortable 33 point win against Eastern Ranges and Noah Yze had a productive game with 23 touches, 2 marks and 4 tackles. He’s getting it together at last after a slowish start. I believe that he’s a likely rookie draft pick and since he wasn’t considered for the state side in the national championships, I assume that we won’t be challenged by any of the other clubs.

6 Rivers 5 Windsor 4 van Rooyen 3 Langdon 2 Pickett 1 Viney

6. Jack Viney 5. Christian Salem 4. Christian Petracca 3. Max Gawn 2. Clayton Oliver 1. Ed Langdon

To their credit, we had them on the ropes but they didn’t give up. We need to do better next week.

They always take one or two emergencies up in these cases and in view of the five day break it would be wise to take all three up there and rest them in case they’re required for the Gather Round game. This is especially so after the embarrassing fiasco last year when Melbourne travelled across the Nullarbor to play in Perth, flew back to Melbourne and then to Adelaide with disastrous results.

Big if. Unless he has an outstanding season, Mentha is likely to miss on top 40 because of his size. Look at Kynan Brown - he was one of Vic Metro’s best in the national championships and was very good in the Coates Boys League but nobody tried to draft him.

Significant move at the Doggies James Harms out Oskar Baker in Make of that what you will!