Very Jaded

Insurance policy If Schache is the answer, we have a big problem.

Trac should have been. Ask St Kilda. Oliver had his issues re: his body, and yes we got incredibly lucky to land him at 4. Being pick 1 isn't always a guarantee that you'll be the best player, we know that better than most. But if Jason Taylor wants pick 1 because he believes player X is the best of the lot by a long margin, then pick 1 is what we should try to get.

Yes we actually do. Viney isn't getting any younger, and beyond Clarry and Trac we don't have another A+ grade midfielder waiting in the wings. We've invested heavily in talls in recent years, both in terms of drafting and trading. We absolutely need to start refreshing the midfield now.

And this is what it comes down to. We don't need to stock pile good players. We already have a list full of good players, some of whom can't even get a game! We need A++ talent to help extend our premiership window and sit alongside Clarry and Trac. 3 good 1st round draft picks will be fine, but will they make us a premiership threat in 2026 and 2027? Unlikely.

I’m happy for Tassie to have a team, but the competition is already spread thin for talent. GC was a massive mistake and should be relocated down to Tassie.

Unless an interstate side ends up with pick 1 (most likely WCE or GC) and is worried about the go home factor with Reid. If he’s smart he plays it up in the hope to end up at Melbourne and we can do a trade for pick 1. Unfortunately I think Hawks will do whatever it takes to finish last and they won’t give him up so the whole discussion becomes irrelevant… unless we end up with pick 2 or 3 from Freo (doubtful) and Hawks are keen to load up because their list is hot garbage.

They are definitely not as bad as they were. They have a decent list and they’re playing with purpose. Like any inexperienced team they’ll be prone to blow outs, but they’ll also challenge sides. They have a good forwardline and a decent midfield. If we walk into the G expecting a win we will end up with the same result as the Essendon game.

I guess it depends how highly Taylor rates Harley. He might see him as better than any other two top 10 pick available. I trust our recruiting team 100%…. And hey we might end up with pick 1 anyway. Freo heave ho.

It’s a very stupid comparison. Like saying check mate Gawn is better than Jackson. Well yeah. So are most ruckmen with 10 + years of experience. Darcy is also better than Jackson for now. It’s why you don’t pay a 20 year old nearly a million dollars a year on potential and trade away the farm and then cry about it when it doesn’t immediately work out. Jackson never showed any consistency at Melbourne. He was what all 18-19 year olds are at that stage of their career and especially at that height. Inconsistent. But Jackson was also blessed to play under a generational ruckman at Melbourne and with a highly successful team. So his inconsistency wasn’t on display and nobody cared. It was just part of being a kid learning the craft. The pressure was ALWAYS coming for him when he took that contract. Especially going back to a two team footy mad state and playing for a club starved of success. It isn’t fair but it’s how it is. He should have seen it coming. It’s happened many times before.

We don’t need a few good players tho. We need A+ graders otherwise they won’t get a game and they’ll leave. We need another Oliver or Trac. Not another Laurie… absolutely no offense to Laurie I’m just using him as an example.

Poorly is very kind. Umpired like all 4 umpires had a stroke more like it.

Did Fritsch train?

Beware of the “easy” games. I’m not confident at all that this will be a smashing.

It was about as good a decision as the deliberate paid against him in round 23 2021. We did win both games though, so cheers umps.

I imagine we will have a very light week on the training track given the short turnaround, and then another interstate trip. 0 stars for the AFL fixturing. First time all year we've had two consecutive games at home all season, and it's coming off a 5 day break. Cheers Gil. At least after the bye we only travel twice.

JVR is exceptional at pack marking. We saw it at Casey and we are seeing it now at senior level. Next step is for him to work on his leading patterns so he can take those 'easier' chest marks. That is easier to teach than contested marking anyway, but it's definitely the next part of his game he needs to get better at. Which he will with more time in the forwardline and working together with the other forwards.

Hardwick is a very bitter man. He enjoys a whinge too. Can give him players all the votes in the world. They're still bottom 4.

Yes, I couldn't attend. I had a VERY big problem with it 😔

Taranto 9 votes? Wow. Nick Daicos is a freak tho.

The post match conference cuts out at 3:50 so I didn't hear him say that. Very strange he is training. Maybe he felt much better today?

Is the 12 days related to playing or also training? Maybe it's just about non contact. So he can train, but can't do contact training until tomorrow? Captains Run is not exactly high intensity.

Standard protocol is 12 days right? Tomorrow is 12 days since the Essendon game. Presumably if he was still not feeling 100% he wouldn't be allowed to train even a little bit. The fact that he is training fully on day 11, means he must be pretty close.

Once the Kosi deal is done, we have to move onto signing him up. He is a very smart operator, great goal sense, faster than you think, and a real team player. Will allow Kosi more midfield minutes as well.

Spargo training fully?

I think the problem is a result of a few things 1- Fitness. He clearly had a calf issue, and perhaps he isn't feeling confident in his body. He came off sore in the last quarter against Richmond and was very agitated. Took some painkillers. No idea if he is carrying a niggle on top of the calf worry, or he just doesn't feel good with the body at the moment 2- Our backline has been very unsettled. We moved Petty forward. We lost Lever for a week. McVee has been brought in and is a child. Hibbo has been in and out with the calf. We miss Salem. May is feeling as unsettled as the rest of the backline. Apart from Lever who has been rock solid, the rest of the defense has been very hit and miss this year. 3- Age. He is 31. The drop was going to come at some point and maybe it's here. I like the idea of Petty forward, but we have to develop someone else to play the third tall if that's the case. Tomlinson is certainly not it. Time to either bring in Turner and give him a good block of games, or bring back BB/Tmac and stick with them while Petty goes back to defense full time.