Macca

This must have been what it was like watching Barassi play for the Blues in '65 (Petracca this time) It's hard to stomach but we did get 3 first rounders for him XT, Latrelle & ????? ... just need one to be A grade (2 would be immense)

Pick 17 or 18 coming our way (yippee) They will be thereabouts if they listen to Hardwick intently. Petracca is already making a big difference Cats are cactus by the looks of it

I agree re a proper home ... much needed But it's not the main reason for success or failure I've got recruiting & therefore, talent, right at the top of the tree. Everything else runs a long 2nd, even coaching And it's not a bad thing to do it tough whilst pampering can sometimes be counter-productive Another huge issue is when the players rule-the-roost. If a club has that problem (as we have done in the last few years imv), then the best training facilities in the world won't make an ounce of difference

Although there is this (Oct 2023) Essendon & Adelaide expressed interest ... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/melbourne-demons/afl-trade-news-2023-clayton-oliver-deal-explained-problems-with-melbourne-demons-handling-of-injury-rehab-offfield-concerns-contenders-to-trade-for-him-essendon-adelaide/news-story/e3943b5bcf82d4230637f9787273d9b2

Yes bing, and that's why Goodwin was kept out of it But regardless of what people thought about Pert (or Goodwin) I can't imagine Pert not consulting with Goodwin & the FD re shopping Oliver around At the time, Goodwin said nothing either way, and there's your answer, right there 'No comment' can mean a lot

You're right, it wasn't 2023 But 2023 was when the ugly mess kicked off. 11 weeks off with the Phantom hamstring injury, the incident with the training staff and rumours aplenty I won't mention all the other incidents that happened in the 2023 off-season but there was plenty going on ... google helps

Unders

I don't take any notice of appraisals based on weird attachments to players It's best to never play favourites nor have anyone in the gun (unfairly) Oliver was once a great player and for the most part, well behaved Then it all went pear-shaped Hindsight tells us we should have taken the Geelong offer in the 2024 off season But isn't hindsight a wonderful thing!

It should also be remembered that the large majority (here at least) didn't want Oliver traded to Geelong for peanuts at the end of 2024 (back then it might have been a late first rounder coming back but we were still up for a fair portion of his salary) So the mob turned on Pert as if his actions were of the renegade type "We want Oliver to stay, you can go Pert" ... and that's what actually happened People have short memories I'm by no means saying that Pert's time wasn't up, but he never acted alone It's my belief that Goodwin wanted Oliver out but didn't get his wish By the early rounds of 2025, Goodwin was benching Oliver - Old-school-style

They did try and get rid of him but Geelong offered peanuts The penny dropped when the club realised he was only worth peanuts (that took 3 off seasons) Pert shopped Oliver around at the end of the 2024 season and most here were convinced that Pert acted alone ... I always thought it was a FD & Board decision (which included Goodwin) Pert, as the CEO, took the heat But it goes back to the 2023 post season as well Blame Goodwin? How about you blame the person responsible for his own actions (Oliver himself) We are now paying him $700k per season for another 5 years to play elsewhere

Yep Drain the Swamp (hopefully, drained)

There's no maybe

The answer is to reduce the amount of players on the field (15 or 16 a side) All other measures are a bandaid approach The game is too crowded, too much congestion and too many stoppages As for stoppages conversations ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

And a year later, we started playing finals after moving to the Junction Oval Zero finals from 1965 to 1985 when training at the home of football Coincidence? Not really and a training venue is one thing, but having the talent to play finals is another For instance, we could be training in the most swish conditions right now with everyone under the one roof but will we even play finals with the current list? (This season) For now, training at AAMI & Casey is quite acceptable. That doesn't mean we can't pursue nice, swish training facilities (whenever that might occur) Just got to get on with it

Hopefully the coaches can teach CJ when to take risks and when not to One thing is for sure, we won't be booting the ball down the line in a consistent manner (there's a time and a place, of course) Fast-paced skills by hand and foot through the corridor is risky but the alternative way of playing just doesn't work Retaining possession has to be the motto. Most of the time when we hoof it long we turn the ball over. So what's the point? We might as well take risks whilst retaining possession But the players need to be able to have a mindset of defending within a split second because when we take risks, we can turn the ball over (as all the clubs can do) The thing in CJ's favour is he's in the play and gets hold of the ball a lot - so there's lots to work with His DE rating was 80% yesterday and that's from half back ... improve that to 90% and there's no real issue (clanger rating goes from 1 in 5 to 1 in 10)