Little Richard

I've been as critical of Petty as anyone this year but he has clearly improved in the latter part of the season. I don't think it would do Jeffo any good playing in this side tonight.

What a sad, embarrassing way to end the season. Barely fired a shot. I'll probably cop flack for this but I think we should seriously entertain the idea of trading Fritsch.

I was really hoping their season would still be on the line this week. Getting one up over them and killing their hopes of finals would be excellent. I'll take a win regardless though!

I'd be a bit [censored] if they didn't play him. A farewell game for a great servant of the club yes, but he's an integral part of the team until the season is done and we'll need him to beat the Pies.

Thanks for your service big man. Will be interesting to see if this change freshens up the forward line in 2025!

Dresden is fantastic, if you're so inclined I'd highly recommend checking out the military museum there!

That's a super pleasing win considering our performance this season and scrutiny over the past week or two. Now we just need to end Collingwood's year and we'll be ending on a solid upswing. Jack Viney is an absolute warrior. No Trac, Clarry, or Gus. Ably supported by Rivers and Langdon but boy he played so well. He's been really inconsistent this year obviously but when he flicks the switch he farkn goes. What a legend. JVR, Disco, and Petty... our future tall timber up forward? The best thing about it is that all three of those guys are really dynamic, with JVR ably playing ruck and Petty and Disco both really good backmen. That versatility is such a handy problem to have when it comes to selection.

Yeah from the limited footage and stats I've seen, Verrall looks a likely type. We still need someone to fill that mid-twenties gap though as a ready-made replacement... not that it's possible to 'replace' the greatest ruckman to ever grace the field. Going off @DistrACTION Jackson's comment Reidy would be a really solid get IMO. Maybe then they could work on developing other areas of Fullarton's game, potentially finding him a spot as a permanent forward.

Hard agree regarding 'reset' vs 'rebuild'. We had a huge gap in good, experienced players and leaders in the dark early to mid 2010's. These days we have a fantastic crop of older guys like Maxy, Trac, Viney, Oliver, Nibbler, May and Lever to guide and shield the young players that are coming up. I've said it numerous times but we're going to bounce back quite quickly I reckon.

Well done on a great series mate, really appreciate your work and have enjoyed reading your insights. Taylor has been huge for this club and is clearly a massive part of our recent success. Huge off-season coming up. Taylor, Lamb & Co have to nail it, or the near future could be rough.

Heard exactly the same through different channels re Christian and the club. Doesn't sound great, hopefully it can all be worked out.

Dunstall-esque figures.

Not to mention (assuming we're going to continue to bomb it into the forward line) we'd be eliminating one of the guys that actually has a chance of marking the ball.

I really want to see one of Fullarton or Verrell but if they picked Fullarton and played JVR as our main ruck I'll be so [censored].

Anyone who follows Maxy on Instagram seen his most recent post? One of the slides is footage of his foot and ankle, and the bruising is hectic. No wonder he's been proppy, the fact he played so well against the Dogs just shows what an absolute warrior this man is, we're so lucky to have him.

Especially since the back half of his season has been pretty damn good.

I'm bullish on 2025. If a few things go our way (Clarry's form, a couple of savvy trades, Trac back to full health), I can definitely see us contending for the top 6. Top 4 if next season is as close as this year.

After seeing Port last night, I have some concerns about this week.

Where do you have Petty if Turner is taking May's position? Personally I'd prefer to see Petty go back and see how a forward line of JVR, Turner and Jeffo works.

It definitely feels that way recently.

2021 was an incredible year - everything clicked for us, every single player was playing out of their skin. That continued on into 2022 and then our momentum and form started to peter out. Throw in some mental fragility and we were cooked. I don't however, believe we're doomed to bottom out as part of the 'rebuild'. We still have serious quality on our list, and if Oliver finds his feet again next year, we can bounce back quickly I believe. A midfield consisting of Petracca, Oliver, Rivers, McVee, Windsor, Langdon, Kozzy rolling through, and hopefully a B grade midfielder that we can trade in is going to cause problems for even the best teams. In terms of the forwards, I think we have the makings of our best attacking group in years. JVR, Kozzy, Fritsch, Chandler, ANB, and then add in Waterman if we can get it done - that's a really solid forward group. Our defence is going to suffer as May ages, but Lever has quite a few good years left, Petty is a very good key back, and Turner has serious ability at both ends of the ground. We can keep building around them, and I like the look of Howes. Anyway, I've got faith that it's not as bad as it looks right now and we can bounce back quickly. Can we challenge again in the next couple of years? Not so sure about that, but I believe we can definitely make the finals next year and if we keep developing the young crop who knows.

Really, we should never have traded Grundy in. It never made sense.

Thank God for Maximus.

Not a real fan unless you stay in your seat until they shut the lights off.

Harsh on Turner and Howes I think. Also incredibly early to be calling Kentfied a swing and miss, he's played what, 7 games at Casey?