Jaded No More

Surely this week the kid will be rewarded for what has been a brilliant start to his career That boy is an absolute gun!!! No issue with his kicking either

You love PJ, fair enough, and nobody is saying that Jamar is some sort of superstar, but Jamar has shown more in his two games this year as a ruckman (note: that is the primary role of both), than PJ has over his career. I will be surprised, if he is around next year (if uncontracted). Bailey is not a fan of poor users and thinkers. PJ is both, so his survival seems improbable.

The man can't take a contested mark to save himself, and is hardly a beautiful kick. I lost you at the Schwarz comparison

Each to their own. I guess some of us are not blinded by three bad loses, or one meaningless win. I too am sick of losing, and it will be nice to win, but in the long term, a win or a loss will mean absolutely nothing. In fact, a loss is technically going to be classified as a win. There is no doubt in my mind that we will actually win this game, and by a fair margin too, but if we don't, I'm not gonna slit my wrists or go on a massive killing spree, because win or lose, we will be in the exact same rebuilding phase as we were in round 1. As for the media, 5 weeks ago we were "the best worst team ever", now we are simply "the worst team ever"... that's reactionary [censored] if ever I've seen it

Paul Johnson's game tally was significantly boosted this season by the injuries which attacked our entire ruck division. He has been floating between terrible and average this year, and will be lucky to survive the cuts at the end of the year. He is a poor ruckman, a terrible decision maker and an average user of the ball. He can't take contested marks, and while he can run fairly well for someone his size, he has no idea what accountability is. As for Miller, he is struggling, and some of that can be attributed to our terrible forward delivery. He started the year well, and provided a good target, but for some reason or another, hasn't done that recently. His lack of confidence in front of goal is also a major worry. Needs to go back to Casey, take as many contested marks as possible inside 50, and go for goal EVERY SINGLE TIME. Otherwise, he and Newton will keep handballing it to one another.

Nobody is falling apart, and one game does not make any difference. If we win by 100 points, are we all of a sudden in contention for a flag next year? Is Bailey all of a sudden the messiah? Seriously, people need to stop being so blinded by weekly performances. If we played Geelong tomorrow, would people be annoyed if we lost, because we "didn't do it for Jimmy?". As long as we play with the right level of intensity, and don't [censored] ourselves in the first/second/third quarter, before coming alive in the last when the pressure is off, that's a satisfactory result for all involved. Jimmy will rest comfortably knowing we just stole the PP off West Coast if we lose. He is not a short-sighted sort of guy.

What exactly is Wheatley's role? He is not accountable, so essentially he is a rebounding defender. I'd much prefer Grimes, Bennell or even Cheney to play that role (Cheney was poor on the weekend for Casey... about as poor as Wheatley! ), and really that spot in the side should belong to Petterd this week, if we are ever going to see him do anything of value ever again. Wheatley is not a KPP, he is not an on-baller, he plays what I call a "soft" role, which is one that alters to fit the game. There are 6 or so players capable of playing his role, including Dunn. I rather try younger players in new positions, to see what they can give us, than start farewell campaigns this early on. Dunn played a few games down back previously, and has been doing everything right with Casey, to the point of dominating regularly. I'm not saying he is much good, or in fact, any good, but has the club already made their decision about him? Is he gone, can we play him and try and get some sort of trade value for him? do we know which position suits him best? And you are kidding yourself if you don't think West Coast are tanking this week. Kerr with "general soreness"... they are not even hiding it!

Crap news if true. Should never have been dropped to begin with! <_<

The next two weeks are our best chance of getting some wins into the kids. While it was inevitable that Wheatley was going to get a farewell tour at some stage, it seems an odd time to do it. Firstly because he had a shocking game with Casey last weekend, and secondly become this is a game we can win, but shouldn't. I do note however that Strauss is not named for Casey, and neither is Maric, so the options to choose from are thin. I would have preferred to play Dunn instead of Wheatley, purely because he has been in great form at Casey, has more of a chance of saving himself from the chop at season's end and is not prone to turning it over constantly (the last thing we need). Since West Coast are clearly tanking, this would have been an ideal week to bring in someone like Bail, instead of dropping him to the seconds. And given the choice, Whelan ahead of Wheatley every day of the week (although both should retire).

16,200 Too many weak supporters have already jumped off, and not many West Coast supporters will be making the trip given their season.

Clearly West Coast are not intent on winning another match for the rest of the year. Kerr rested and no Cox. Make no mistake about this, they can still grab those picks 1 & 2 off us, even though they are capable of winning at least one more.

Not great about Watts, although I don't entirely believe the "illness" thing. This would have been a perfect week for him to really get comfortable, given we are playing a lesser opponent. He may have even experienced his first win! Paul Wheatley getting a game after his average display for Casey on the weekend, is bizarre. The farewell tour starting early? And never thought I would say this, but thank goodness Jamar is back!!!

Swine flu is your friend! :D

Without a doubt. Even while facing his toughest battle, Jimmy made sure he encouraged every one of us to turn up to the game on Saturday and wear our colours with pride. He loves this club, and he wants to see us succeed. If we help that happen, we will no doubt play a part in his return to the club sooner rather than later. For this reason alone, I hope everyone turns up for the rest of the year to watch us play, even if we are on the bottom of the ladder and struggling and our team is an infuriating collection of crap right now. We need to make sure Jimmy has a club to get back to!

This sounds a lot more serious than they are letting on, and more than anything I hope Jimmy makes a full and quick recovery. He has been a brilliant front man for our club, and his work (and that of his board) over the past year or so has been significant on so many levels. I honestly don't know where our club would be today if it wasn't for him and the board. My thoughts are with him and his family, and hopefully he'll be back with the club before we know it! P.S.- screw you Football Gods, just give us a break

Had to ring the club about another matter this morning, and the lady on the phone told me there is a bit of madness going on with emergency meetings taking place. This is obviously a big shock to everyone, Jim included. Tried as I may, she wouldn't give me anything else. Said she doesn't know yet. Let's hope it is only a temporary thing and that Jim is able to make a full and quick recovery!

[censored] news!

I'm happy to lose every game for the rest of the year just to get Scully. Amazing footballer already!

I like that Scully just runs and runs and runs. Fitzpatrick has showed a bit. Any chance he'll make it to 18?

First time I saw Butcher, and was left highly disappointed. He really didn't stand out at this level with his marking, and given his size he should. Don't know how he'll transfer his skills against much bigger bodies. After that performance, I would be disappointed if we went for him over a skillful midfielder (although it is a bit harsh to judge him after seeing him live once!) Scully coming up!

If they both develop as planned, a Watts-Jurrah combo is equal, or better than Geelong's Johnson-Mooney forward combo (because Watts should be much better than Mooney). What we lack is the ability to win the ball and use it well when moving forward, so midfielders galore this draft hopefully!

He's an average kick, but gees he's a massive boy and can certainly take a mark. I was a bit excited to begin with, thinking he's probably 19 and could slip through to the second round (because of his kicking), only to find out he's a 17 year old on steroids. Bloody Gold Coast are bleeding us all dry! :angry:

While I would love to do it, and feel honored to be mentioned, I'm actually going to be interstate (plus I can't afford the price of admission ). Besides, I can think of other more deserving individuals who have been involved with this club for longer than I have been alive.

Done DN123263

If you watched Naitanui this weekend, and were impressed, you would realise why a win this week (had West Coast not won last week), would have been a disaster. I was convinced, and in some ways still am, that they are tanking. With the pressure off Warsfold, given his new contract, it is not out of the question to expect them to not win another game for the rest of the year by way of "list management". Our extra win in 2007, be it the win against Carlton or the Dogs, was a monumental disaster that cost us Naitanui or Rich or Ziebell etc etc... In one of the best drafts in recent years, we missed out on having the two best kids in the country. To miss out on that two years in a row, will be a disaster that could very well cost us a premiership (it might not, of course, but we are a better chance of progressing our list the more early picks we have). And never before, has having the best picks in the draft been more important. Gold Coast and West Sydney are about to milk every ounce of top talent coming through, so this is our very last chance of getting the best of the best.