Jaded No More

Anyone who has ever met him would tell you exactly the same thing. He is humble and genuine and caring and the way the media has treated him the last two years is nothing short of shameful! And what’s more shameful is the amount of supporters who fell for the lies.

That really sucks. He is one player who really really deserves to get to 250, having been through it all, the worst of the worst and the absolute highest of highs. Stuck it out in the worst defense in a side getting smashed by 100 points a week, to kicking a goal after the siren in our grand final win, back to filling gaps in defense. He is criminally underrated is Tom. Pick 57 to nearly 250 games and a premiership, is almost unheard of.

It really helps to get quality when you have top 10 picks at your disposal, which all of Trac, Salem, Clarry and Gus were. Roos had excellent picks at his disposal because he came into a club which sucked [censored] and also got priority picks and a top pick for Frawley's departure as a free agent. It's why taking 2 good quality picks to the draft in 2024 and 2025 has been so important. Windsor, Kolt, Lindsay and Langford may well be the next bang bang bang brigade. Turner and McVee off the rookie and mid-season drafts have been a total score, and if we can get Jefferson and Adams to make it, that's basically an entire spine and midfield drafted post a flag. That's a very very good effort in a short time period. And yes, I know that's a big if. Jason Taylor is amazing at drafting mids and smalls, but his hit rate on talls has been only so so.

Do not touch JUH. He is trouble, and the only way he ever succeeds is by moving away from his 'associates' in Victoria. Absolutely not!

We all know what happened to the person who tried that last year… I dare anyone to try that again

I’m surprised Spargo wasn’t chosen ahead of Sharp.

Could be. Could also be that this is his second concussion this season and they want to see how he pulls up, and given our season is over in terms of finals, there’s no point risking him. It’s also possible that they are determined to keep Jeffo and JVR in the seniors for a few more weeks.

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A good man with impeccable taste in dogs and choosing who to give his heart to 🙃

Kicks 60 goals down at Kardinia Park. Goes to the Pies and tops their goal kicking list. He is worth maybe as much as Trac and Clarry because he doesn't have their contract constraints. To a good team, he is a beautiful cherry on top of a cake who has proven to be a big game player. If the shoe was on the other foot, every Melbourne fan would be screaming to chase him as he's a goal kicker and exactly what we don't have but desperately need. He can play another 5-6 years, especially if another club doesn't want him to play higher up the ground and sticks him near the goal square. I am not advocating we trade him, but IMO he is one senior player who has perhaps more value to other clubs than he does to us.

I think we got 'lucky' that a few of our older targets fell through, because it allowed us to take maximum currency to the last two drafts, which have been good to us (I know Kolt is still a TBC, but Windsor will be a good player and is exactly what we need in terms of pace). We also got very lucky with Turner and McVee, off the rookie and mid-season drafts. If, and I know it's a big if, Jefferson and Adams make it, then we would have done very well post 2021-2023, where we finished top 4, to get essentially a spine and midfield core group sorted. Of course the jury is still out on Jefferson and we've seen nothing from Adams, so he could be a total bust. Had we managed to lure McKay or Houston, we would be in a vastly different list position, but not necessarily in a vastly different ladder position... although if we got McKay at the end of 2023 we could have won a second flag, as losing Petty/Melksham would have been far less significant. Either way, what we put up for the rest of the season will largely determine where we go at the end of the season. I still think that if Goody remains coach, and that seems almost inevitable, that he will back in the senior players to go again. I can't see us trading any of Trac, Clarry or Fritta unless we get a really good deal in return, especially in a weak draft, unless we have specific targets from other clubs that we need picks/cap space for.

I remember the good old days when everyone was like "ANB is terrible how is he getting a game". Half forward flank is maybe the hardest position to play, as it is often a dead zone where nothing much happens (even more so in a terrible forwardline like ours). It's why I think Kolt is struggling in that position. It is also the hardest position for fans to judge output on, because we just don't know what role these players are asked to play. It's not an obvious "win clearances, kick goals, defend goals" type situation. Sparrow could be playing a role that is vital to our ball movement, and doing it exceptionally well, and we would have no idea. Spargo, when fit, is in the side for his elite delivery inside 50, and for being one of the smartest players in terms of creating space inside the forward 50. Do I think both are beyond criticism? Definitely not. Doesn't mean I understand what role they are being asked to play, and therefore I cannot judge why they aren't dropped. Selection integrity is a funny thing, because players who are getting games will be happy, and players who are not, will say they deserve to play. I question why someone like Laurie got an extension, but isn't getting a game, but people who bring up Billings, Woewodin or Brown, and then crack the [censored] during games when we turn the ball over, are kidding themselves.

His core stats for his role are still above average or elite 25 disposals per game 5.6 tackles 5.7 clearances 70% disposal efficiency which is comparable to the best inside mids in the competition, and is actually higher than during his peak years 12.3 contested possessions (his career average is 14.8) - both are elite numbers 5.2 score involvements 21.6 pressure acts Supporters are definitely losing sight of how good he still is, because they're still holding a grudge against him for his behaviour in 2023/2024 and because they think he isn't worth the money he is on. Both are ridiculous reasons to dismiss how good he still is. If he was getting paid $700k a year, nobody would ever contemplate trading him. It's kinda weird too, it's like fans are convinced his and Trac's contracts are killing us with no evidence, when in fact we were able to chase Houston and secure a massive deal for Kosi. But no, the fans are apparently accountants now.

It's nice to see that not everyone is using this milestone thread to yet again pile on Clarry. Not only is he one of the greatest players in our club's history, I think that if more people knew the challenges he's faced, their level of admiration for him would increase tenfold. Nobody is perfect, and nearly everyone has faced challenges in their life, so it's quite sad to see a footballer who has given so much to this club, not least of all a flag (won a B&F and the coaches award in 2021!), cop so much negativity from not just the media but our own fans. Unfortunately Clarry is a victim of his own brilliance, and has been given very little grace for not managing to hit those exceptional highs the last 18 months, due to exceptional circumstances in his own personal life. If he had a serious physical injury, like Trac has, I wonder if he'd be given more support from the fans. I personally hope he finishes his career where and as it started, as I have no doubt that he is not far away from reaching his best again. Either way, I hope he is incredibly proud of what he's accomplished in 200 games, which is more than 99% of players ever will!

Thanks. I can see that he's been asked to play higher up the ground, and he did that very well for the first time on Sunday I thought. I understand that things like goal kicking is a confidence based skill sometime, where the more you miss the worse you kick and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Just hope we can see more of that defensive effort we saw on Sunday, because bad form can be forgiven, but bad effort IMHO can't be. It was nice to see him hit the scoreboard, but it was even nicer to see him attack the contest and give off goals. That's the sort of team performance that made us successful in 2021, and it feels like we've lost a bit of that selflessness along the way... which is not a Fritta only issue btw.

I am interesting in your opinion of his form this season.

The tribunal to North after their appeal, probably

The club's goal was to play finals this year, that is a fact. They made it clear that this was the focus. However, it's obvious now that this new game plan, which is very necessary if we are to move with the times, is taking a lot longer to implement and is harder for our core senior group to execute. It's not what we planned, but it's where we are. There is no point denying that we misjudged where the list is at, but thankfully we've gone to the draft the last two years to top up with high quality talent. Imagine if we got Houston instead of Langford or Lindsay!!!

Jake’s ankles are absolutely cooked. Pack it in for 2025, and just get his body right. He’s just not been getting any continuity with that injury and pushing him to play is definitely doing nothing for his injury or his form. Great chance to keep Tmac, and possibly debut Adams in a few weeks time.

Sure… unless it’s on the eve of finals or a big name player and then they’ll find a loophole. Under the previous guidelines he still should have been suspended.

Maynard was not suspended for ending Gus’ career. The system is [censored] rotten.

The set shots haven’t changed 😂

Not to mention that Melksham wouldn’t have the fondest memories of his time at Essendon. Robbed him of an entire year of football and god knows what else. I would say he and Hibbo, while appreciating Essendon for giving them a start, are both Melbourne thru and thru.

According to the AFL's guide, there is nothing else Not sure what their argument will be, because as you say there is no arguing the severe impact or the high contact. No doubt there are some dodgy loopholes for Carlton players they'll try and use.

What will the haters say now? A young gun speaking glowingly of our club does not fit their narrative that we are in shambles and our culture is trash. Never mind that all our young players say exactly the same thing.