Jaded No More

Ward is a better footballer than who, Godfrey? Yes. Bell? No. Bell has two things Ward doesn't, defensive ability and good disposal. Ward's main redeeming quality is his pace, but he is mainly a 'run and bomb it as far as you can' player. He makes my side until Bartram is fit. One thing is certain, I would hate to see more than one of Ward/Brown/Bizzell in the backline at any one time.

Don't worry Fan, I think our faith in Bell has payed off. He is now firmly in our best 22, and will continue to make people eat their words. He has no direct competition, in fact, Whelan can finally have a much-needed helping hand. Go Belly! :D

Very smart move to take yourself off with the first sign of soreness. It pays to be soft in pre-season games Now if we can only get some equally reassuring news about Carroll!

Apperantly a couple of people reported that he fell or copped a big hit, and was icing his collar bone?! Him not playing today could mean that either: - He was rested after a minor injury scare - He is not 100% and they didn't want to risk him - He has a serious injury they are not telling us about. A knock to the collar bone could mean anything from a bruise, to a break....

You overrate our rucks. I'd say we're 10/16. White is on his last leg, and isn't getting any taller, and Jamar is unproven. If either of those guys are injured, we're left with PJ and that would be ugly to watch!

I'm worried about Rivers... the kid has a knack for getting injured at the worse possible time. <_< Apart from that, great to hear everyone got through the match. Very lucky to avoid injuries this pre-season. Couldn't care less about the scores, especially since we don't play in Geelong this season, but always happy to hear Miller playing well. I hope everyone who played today spends the next week in cotton wool, and then bring on Round 1. Edit: disappointing to hear that Pickett didn't play, and the fact that Carroll was a no-show makes me thinks that the reports of injury from last week may be true!

He's got OP, and it's a condition that he's had since before he was drafted. I think he was badly managed as a youngster, and now our club is trying to solve this problem for him.

Absolutely terrible news for Thompson and the Kangaroos! It makes you realise how quickly your season can come unstuck. We just have one more practice game to get through, and I hope that we can make it out of Geelong unhurt and unreported.

Well it's not as if there are a lot of us around this place, so do keep up! Y_M, I'm doing whatever I can to stop the misconception that women know nothing about footy, and that their only interest in the sport lies with perving on players. It would be like me saying that all men know nothing about fashion

Thanks, but it's what 'she' said. Sorry, but it bugs me when people refer to me as a guy

It's good to believe in your players, but what I want to know is at whos expense is Yze getting a game? There are a handful of kids who have had a very good pre-season and worked very hard, and deserve to get a game. Yze doesn't play a vital role in the side anymore, and IMO could easily be replaced by a number of promising candidates. What really annoys me is that a lot of supporters are very unhappy about Miller possibly getting a game ahead of Dunn, and yet they are happy to include Yze in our side ahead of CJ or Buckley etc...

West Coast would trade for Brock + TJ + draft picks, but we would never pay such a high price. I don't think that acquiring his services is completely out of the question, but with suggestions like Miller, Yze, Ferguson, Godfrey, Ward etc... it certainly won't happen. As I said, the only way to get Judd to Melbourne, is if he requests to come to our club (like Aka), and West Coast decided to do the right thing by him and honour his request. Knowing West Coast though, it won't happen.

This is a completely pointless discussion, but still, there is no way we're trading McLean. He is the only untouchable in the side. Sylvia, 2 picks, and then maybe rubbish sweetners like Miller and Yze (ffs people, are you serious... YZE? ) will not do. 15 clubs will be throwing their house, left leg and eyeballs at West Coast. Unless Judd says "make a deal happen with Melbourne", the chances of us getting him are tiny.

Unless we tank and win the spoon, Judd being a 'free agent' does nothing for us. If Judd decides to leave West Coast, we need not only big cards for negotiations, but also Salary Cap space and money to throw at him.

I wasn't talking about you in particular, but generally about people who claim Thompson left due to lack of game time. Do you have any evidence that suggest he is actually a traitor?

Your post was spot on until the last sentence. The club begged him to stay because they didn't want to lose him. Letting him walk out without a fight wasn't an option, no matter the circumstances. But in the end the club did the right thing by accepting a good offer from Adelaide, and then using pick 12 to acquire Moloney. Losing a good player is not ideal, but it's a real shame that the club's hard work in securing Thompson and our club an equally good trade is often tarnished by rubbish accusations.

They've both played 4 pre-season games, which makes them the only 2 (along with Bruce and Yze*) senior players to have played all practice games. They deserve/ require a rest. *Yze will get his rest with Sandy in a couple of weeks time

Correct, and don't get excited about Bartram either. His ankle may have healed, but he has a fair few weeks of fitness training before he's ready to play. He will most likely play a couple of half games at Sandy, before they contemplate selecting him in the side. As for Sylvia, Round 8 would be a good result.

Agreed. Assuming he gets through Saturday's game, he will be there Round 1. Playing him is the only way to get him match fit. When looking at the opposition for Round 1, I don't see where Bizzell may fit in. If Kosi and Reiwoldt both play (unlikely), we'll need Holland. If one of those don't play, we may decide to go with 2 talls, and 4 medium running type players, which is where Bizzell may come in. He could be a temporary solution while Frawley is learning at Sandy. Then it is one of Ward or Brown, as Godfrey really won't be needed with the return of Moloney (hopefully). Miller is another certainty. He'll line up at CHF, but if the Saints stock up their forward line with talls, he may be moved to defence.

It's because apart from a very small pocket of supporters (probably the thousand or so who visit this place regularly), the rest of our 'supporters' are fickle, disloyal and jump off the bandwagon quicker than Paris Hilton jumps into bed. I'm sure many of them expected a flag last year or the year before, and when that didn't happen, many of them jumped off. I'm sure they'll be lining up for Grand Final tickets though

Since when has that ever been a consideration? We've taken his feelings, records and 'injuries' into consideration for long enough. If what you say is really true, than his future with us is in more trouble than I thought.

And he will play Round 1. I don't doubt that for a minute. A half-fit Byron is better than his possible replacements on the HFF.

No worries. Glad you're signing up, we need all the members we can get. I'm in the Northen Stand. Couldn't stand being stuck behind the goals with the cheersquad, the atmosphere may be good, but the view is shocking.

You don't need to show a concession card, or have a concession card number when buying the membership. Occasionally they'll ask you to show your concession card as you walk into the stadium and validate your membership.

I promise you that barring injury this weekend, Moloney will most certainly play Round 1. Pickett may not be 100% fit, but at least he is 100% committed, which is more than I can say for his likely forward flank replacement in Yze. It will take Pickett about 3 or 4 fair-dinkum AFL matches to get back to his ideal playing weight (or near enough). Playing him is the only way to get him match fit.