Pennant St Dee

Not even just a long way to go but no idea about fixtures, injuries, drafts, rookies etc but this long out and open to a lot of possibilities 1.Sydney - Still were there at the pointy end this year with a lot of injuries and no chance of freshening up some of their mids 2.Fremantle - not to far off and very hard to beat, last role of dice almost for Sandi, Pav and Mcpharlin before they take a couple of steps back 3.Essendon - barring some ASADA intervention were a very good side for much of the year and only dropped off late 4.Hawthorn - will miss Buddy who always takes best defender but still have plenty of talent and some good kids coming through from Box Hill 5.Richmond - expect further improvement as they have every year under Dimmer, Cotchin is an absolute gun 6.North - will improve and were close last year in many games, midfield has plenty of upside but still very suspect on their defence 7.Collingwood - Defence may be an issue but they still have class through the middle and I think they have sorted out some dressing room issues 8.Adelaide - finished the second half of the season off well, only issue is going to be on the scoreboard while waiting on big Tex to come back _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9.Geelong - just think after so long with sustained success something has to give whilst they have turned the list over, the older heads of Kelly, Enright etc are almost there 10. Carlton - still not his list yet and they need a forward and big gorilla defender from somewhere 11. Port Adelaide - play hard running footy and are honest which will see then win plenty of games 12. Gold Coast - Quality midfield and undesirable conditions at Metricon will have them winning around 8/10 13. Melbourne - may take time but game plan will evolve and we will be better as the season goes on and win games by managing to put things together for 3 to 4 quarters 14.Meth Coast - side on the slide, Natainui is still having groin issues and there best players are getting a bit long in the tooth 15.Bulldogs - I think they may be found out a bit there midfield was really good at the back end of last season but I think teams will do their homework and 2013 will be like our 2010 16.Brisbane - plenty of off field problems which we know all about at MFC no doubt it effects the players 17. St Kilda - as above Scott Watters is a dead man walking, players no this and will be like ours were under Neeld 18.GWS - may win a couple more games but I still think they have issues The top 8 doesn't change that much there are always surprise sides who fall out and always 1 new top four side and a bolter. All depends on injuries and form a good run of luck could see you finish 7th and a bad run could see you as low as 14/15th. I just expect our boys to show plenty more grit and whilst finals for me is an absolute long shot I think the foundations will be put in place for the future

Started playing both codes (Soccer & Footy) as a kid after immigrating from Ireland not much of a change from GAA, played juniors in Perth playing at Subiaco's development squads and colts. At 17 was forced to make a very tough choice between the two codes. Fathers influence saw me choose the round ball game and headed to Europe and played over there for 4 years before starting an apprenticeship late and playing in local leagues. Returned to Perth with my wife in 1996 shiftwork played havoc with team sport and played amatuers before doing a knee, which resulted in me taking up triathlons as part of the strengthening process. Ended up getting involved off field and just do non impact sport myself, the body is shot. Have to say love watching young kids playing now and watch WAFL, local development squads, PSA (Private School footy) colts and anything I can. Great following kids from a young age and watching the progression you are always surprised with who ends up making it and 90% of the time it's not the kid you think it will be. I do often think back to what would have happened had I made a different choice back when I was young but that is life, would not have met my wife and had two wonderful boys had I made that choice.

Fook it if it is Freo at Subi, it's Freo in Subi. We were all happy the last two years thinking Brissy & Port at the G and how did that turn out. I was there in Round 1 98, we lost but were fairly good for most of the day, it was really hot and we just struggled on the big ground with the heat. We got better as the year went on and I seriously don't mind us getting a hard game first up in 2014 either. The list needs to learn to play against the best and the odd belting of mediocre sides in the last 7 years wont cut it anymore.

St Kilda did it with a ruckman a few years back can't recall his name and Freo did it last season with Jack Anthony. It can and has been done

Looks good in theory, but taking a lot of off field issues with him, very similar to a former Brownlow/Premiership player at a similar age. The issues never went away and are still there in retirement. To much risk

Hawthorn springs to mind

and take Shanahan if available with a late pick, another friend of Hogan's, kill 2 birds with one stone. By getting another mid and creating a tight knit group of players

and take Shanahan if available with a late pick, another friend of Hogan's, kill 2 birds with one stone. By getting another mid and creating a tight knit group of players

Have been talking him up all year from what I have seen and he will be available at 40 Tom Shanahan, if Patrick Cripps lasts that long in the draft he would also be a very good get. As others have said we need mids and a lot of them. IMO Dean Kent has shown enough to suggets he can play as the small forward with an ability to rotate through the middle

That is absolute carp I have watched him closely over the last 2 years and whilst he has improved his fitness and leaned down he can not rotate through the midfield. Absolute stupid statement. However if he is there at Pick 40 and Roos thinks it will assist the team than he would be worth the gamble with that Pick. Personally I would take a future mid who you can play as a forward with occassional rotations till he builds up a tank, similar to Christensen or Stokes. Dean Kent will be able to peform this role soon enough.

Week 1 Friday: North Melbourne vs Essendon - Etihad Saturday: Carlton vs Port Adelaide - Etihad GWS vs Sydney Sunday: Fremantle vs Meth Coast - Subiaco Week 2: Friday: Collingwood vs St Kilda/Adelaide - Etihad Saturday: Geelong vs Adelaide/St Kilda - Skilled or whatever it is Gold Coast vs Richmond - Metricon Sunday: Hawthorn vs Brisbane - Launceston Western Bulldogs vs Melbourne - Etihad Every State gets a game in Round 1 except for South Australia who have requested a Showdown for the Opening of the Adelaide Oval wihich also falls under the Cricket Ground issue. If AFL are looking for exposure on Friday night I think they will go with North vs Essendon on the first week and either of Pies vs St Kilda or Adelaide, I have not seen the AFL.com article so not sure whether Cats vs Crows is set stone. The above draw provides a good spread of games in Victoria over the two weeks.

They would have played together in the WA junior squads Sheed is a country boy from Kalgoorlie/Goldfields which is in the Subi zone Hogan came through Marist Junior Footy Club in the Claremont District Zone

I would not be surprised to see them take Acres, Beau Waters is shot and Acres could immediately slot in as HBF who can rotate through the middle, he is a good user of the football and sets up play across half back. West Perth colts used to find the ball and always look for Acres who would set up their plays. This was one of the main reasons he is so highly rated and has been well regarded for many years coming through the junior ranks, regularly getting high possessions and maintaining a presence. Will not find it as easy to accumulate at AFL level but the kid can run & carry is not shy at demanding the footy or going in where it hurts if needed. Disposal is also very good. IMO he is a better player than Sheed but that is to say they are both good but Acres has more tools and they should with all luck forge long careers. Meth Coast always keep their cards close to their chest so whilst Sheed has been training with them my mail is no promises have been made and they have stated they will take who they feel is best available. We will all find out in another 6 weeks

I thought the same old dee but he just continues to belittle us despite netting Roos and Jackson. His most ridiculous call has been that Hogan, Clarke & Dawes can not play in the same forward line but Paton, Cameron and Boyd can. A forward line of Clark, Dawes and Hogan is no different to the Meth Coast forward line a couple of years ago which had Lynch, Kennedy & Darling. That worked very well for them He is a [censored] there is no doubt about it

Seen very little of Sheed he is hard at it and a good player who will play from Round 1 next year. Hard to judge the effect he will have at the next level, stood out in the colts with his ball winning ability and I wanted to have a real good look at him after the championships but with the broken collarbone and already having the knowledge he would go first round Subiaco put him in cotton wool for the season as they had no chance of making finals. Stevie Armstrong is his coach at Subiaco Colts. On what Iittle I saw of Sheed I would describe him as almost a carbon copy of Matt Priddis, only he has a better kick. Speed could be a question mark but has excellent hands and is better around goal than Priddis

IMO I believe we can get this possibly at Pick 53 with Thomas Shanahan, big improver over the season and not really talked about much due to injury having a large impact on 2012 for him and he also missed U/18 State Selection. Like Kent was under the radar Shanahan is the same, inside grunt, very clean hands and good foot skills. He is a friend of Jesse Hogan and I think they may have went to Newman College together and came through the ranks at Marist JFC. Lennon for me at 9 if available and Shanahan at 53 if he is there

I agree with this once we keep Pick 9, may also need to keep Sylvia compo pick now and offer a player/s and Pick 36(or whatever it is) for Vince

The reason he is not worth pick 9 C & B is his age and also the Crows will accept Pick 20 for him

If picking up the likes of Vince, Cross, Michie, Lyons and/OR Myers means we improve sufficiently to make players coming out of contract stay because they see we are heading in the right direction, I am happy to wear the price. This is a big plus if Frawley signs an extension next season because we are on the improve

Yep bluff them and offer the pick to other sides, what have Port offered for it, I think what is clear in all this is GWS have no intention of trading Pick 1. At the end of the day happy to take a Kelly or Aish at Pick 2

Well that is not the case now, seen him play at Peel a few times very solid worker wins the ball and works hard to receive and/or provide options. Really happy to get this kid plenty of upside and we basically gave up nothing for him Welcome aboard Viv

May be just me because I am a big Shiel fan but I would say no to the two players on offer, I want Shiel and if they want Pick 2 that bad give us Shiel and pick 9, leave that hanging with them till last day of trade and they may come back with forget Pick 9 here is Shiel which I would take

Zaharakis was never injected due to a fear of needles and wasn't Kommer only drafted this season so was not there in 2012

You kidding mate, have you seen any games, I have seen both levels and little difference in both. I think WAFL defeated VFL in a close one this year

Without knowing contract situations I would look at the Option of maybe not taking Miles and trading out players who they consider surplus for late draft picks you are not going to utilise, I would also take Blake Acres over Zac Jones at Pick 21 if available but don't think he will be there