Jaded No More

I’d take Butters, or shove it up you Port! 😂

We know what Petty can do. What benefit is VFL time going to have? He has been thrown around even more than Gus this season. He’s taken it in his stride and performed well between all the injuries he’s had to deal with. He is best 22, and is underrated. The selection integrity would be even worse if we dropped Tomlinson yet again, when he’s come in and proven he can still perform multiple times, while we scream for a key forward. I understand the frustration for Dunstan, but as you say, Gus took over that role, and has performed it very well. I think if Viney was injured Dunstan would play. Simple as that. But Sparrow and Dunstan are very different players, as is Clarry and Dunstan. They’re both far more dynamic, they have better acceleration, use the ball better and Sparrow often spends time forward of the contest. Harmes is far more like for like in that regard, even tho Harmes has had an ordinary season, and I would argue is unlikely to be at the club next year. Top 2 is on the line. Now isn’t the time to reward players we feel bad for. Now is the time to play best available and win as many games as possible. I expect Woewodin to make way fairly soon after a taste, likewise Harmes and Melksham. When Clarry, Sparrow and Fritta are available, they’ll get picked even if others are performing well. It’s not always fair, but that’s the downside of being a good team.

Been waiting for an update from you. Thanks 😃

Harmes is going to need to start delivering some seriously good games if he wants to play in September. With Sparrow and Clarry a lock, he’s really on the very edge of best 23. It’ll be Harmes and Petty in for Brown and Sparrow. 50/50 line ball between McVee and Hibbo. I would go Hibbo personally.

He would have been getting more game time at Essendon right now. But they were a rabble so I understand why he chose us. Still a risky move, when you can’t get a game for a bottom side so you decide to come to a premiership winning midfield full of players in their prime. I doubt he thought he’d be a walk up start, and I doubt we gave him that impression. If we did, then that’s poor from us.

Tomlinson has continued to deliver. There’s no need to keep pushing him back to the VFL when we have a desperate need for another tall forward and Petty can fill that role. It’s a win win.

I don’t necessarily disagree, but I think the FD clearly doesn’t rate him and they like that Harmes, like Sparrow, can play mid and half forward. I think we are a little too one dimensional with Viney, JJ, Dunstan and Gus playing inside. Harmes is a bit more explosive, even tho I don’t rate his season at all. Dunstan is clearly only rated by the coaches as a clearance player. He’s only ever played when Viney was injured if my memory serves me.

Harmes is still a better player and more versatile. But yes Dunstan is stiff. Was a poor decision from him to come to us.

Brown omitted and both Grundy and Petty named on the extended bench with Tomlinson keeping his spot! So either Petty goes forward or Grundy replaces Brown and Petty misses out. Seems very unlikely Petty doesn’t play, but you can’t play him, Tomlinson, May and Lever down back so… forward it is. Shame about Sparrow. Hopefully a minor calf issue only. Knowing our luck this year it’ll be a 9 year injury 🙄

If you think our midfield is more balanced without Clarry then wouldn’t it be a reasonable assumption to make that you wouldn’t mind if he didn’t come back for finals? Or do you think that when the heat of finals is on and the game becomes more contested, we need the best clearance player in the game? Your entire argument that our midfield has done ok without him, doesn’t take into consideration that in his absence we’ve had to play an extra player in stoppages which has really impacted our ability to defend on turnover. We’ve also gone from being comfortably inside the top 4 in the competition for clearances, to sitting in 8th spot currently. There is no argument that we’ve done well to cover his loss, and very few teams could do as well as us if they lost their star midfielder for as long as we have. But your dismissal of Oliver as just a clearance player who wastes disposal is plain wrong. You said you don’t want him back at the expense of other players who have stepped up in his absence. So you think Gus, Viney, Kosi, Sparrow and Rivers will be lesser players with Oliver copping the attention each week instead?

Why do you barrack for Melbourne? I don't think I have read a single positive thought about our club from you. On one thread you say we have a talented list. On another thread you say Clarry and Trac are ball butchers and that we are better without Clarry. What joy do you actually get from supporting a team that has been far more successful than Collingwood over the past 3 seasons? It seems none. I am really sad that we have supporters who have clearly lived through some horrific times with the club, and yet are still so negative all the time about where the list and club is currently at. What a waste of a good era for you! No team or list is perfect. We have flaws, and we have room to improve. So does Collingwood. If you think McRae is sitting back smoking a cigar and thinking his work is done and they got the flag in the bag, I have news for you. He'd be looking at their contested ball numbers, their clearance numbers, their ability to defend on turnover, and he will be looking at ways to improve that because he is a great coach. And any great coach knows how different finals are. A team that is not consistently winning the contested ball, rarely wins the premiership. The Pies play a really fun game to watch, I completely agree. They are very entertaining, because chaos is entertaining. It means they are almost always risking losing thanks to high turnover numbers, it is a very risky game style, and they pull it off better than anyone. The real test will come in finals. Last year this game style did not stack up against the sides who beat you in contest and defence (Geelong and Sydney). Will it fare differently this season? Maybe. Maybe not.

So I assume you’d both be fine to go into finals without him then? @dazzledavey36 @JimmyGadson I can’t believe how underrated Clarry is. Even by our own supporters. Btw, is there a player on our list you actually rate Jimmy? Because you reckon Oliver and Trac are ball butchers. Is Gawn a dud too?

Poor North. Can’t win anything.

Probably the second worse away game to attend at the G after Collingwood. Their supporters are vile morons.

I reckon Fritsch might be back for the last game of the season. Listed as 4-5 so it is possible.

Could also be because JT doesn’t think there is any better key position forward we are likely to draft in the next 2 years, so it’s a no brainer to keep developing Jefferson. His position on the list is not going to become surplus in other words.

Fairly sure it was the same re: 1st in 2021 We make history

Probably too late now anyway. Doubt we will see anymore debuts this year. Oliver 2-3. At the rate he’s progressing it’ll be 1-2 weeks in 9 months 🙄

Better sign him up quick smart before that Freo troll comes sniffing around.

Teams looking to spend $800k on Ben McKay should look to spend $300k on Tomlinson for better return instead.

If Tmac makes the side in finals, one of two things would have happened 1- he made some miraculous recovery and in the process gained back all the speed and agility he lost with his previous foot injury 2- the rest of our tall forwards got injured I hope it’s option 1, because a fit and firing Tmac makes us better and solves like 10 of our problems.

@Lucifers Hero I think we need a separate “what are they saying at Fremantle” thread with all the melts over their season and lack of draft picks.

He’s way better than Superman. How many All Australian teams and coaches awards has Superman won? None. He is a hack.

You could argue that if we don't have a horrible year in 2019, we don't win the 2021 flag, considering the players we secured in the first round of the draft that year.

I was sure he's a WA boy. Did I get him mixed up with Jed Adams?