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Pucovski, Carey & Patterson are in the mix as well ... there's a bit of talent around but more so with regards to unearthing a few batsmen that might have the attributes for Test cricket. The Labuschagne selection being a good example. A nice enough technique whilst showing excellent temperament. Yet he wasn't exactly banging down the door to be selected. Hopefully the selectors continue on a similar path in being able to evaluate a young batsmen or 2 looking ahead. Accumulating runs at the next level down is one thing but can that player excel at the very top against top class bowling? Works the same in footy ... a player can dominate for Casey but at AFL level the same player can be found wanting. But a player might just show the selectors enough that he could play well at AFL level without shining at a lower level. To me that is the selectors job - Identifying the next top player. So Pukovski is my prediction to shine bright at Test level. Excellent technique and just needs to work on his temperament to make it. And he's a Victorian!

Harmison was part of the ball tampering scandal in the 2005 Ashes. Lollygate. Sounds harmless but that cherry of their's swung around like nobody's business for that whole series. Cheats! Booooooooo! Trescothic was the devil at play and they all knew about it. Strauss, Vaughan, Flintoff, all of them. So they are hypocrites of the highest order. In another series Atherton went out on the field with a pocketful of dirt and there is video available of him applying the dirt along with saliva to the ball. There might be more to that story - who knows? And he was the captain. One could argue that Smith never actually ever knew about the sandpaper. But it was under his watch so he had to cop the punishment. Faf du Plessis was directly involved with a ball tampering incident and got off with a slap across the wrist. There have been a stack of other incidents but we've borne the brunt of the punishments. CA ruled over the ICC who weren't going to come down hard. I am in 2 minds about the punishments handed down. In one way it sets a great example but what if the rest of the world doesn't follow suit? Worse still if we're hung out to dry Jara Warner got off lightly is my personal view. And Smith was harshly dealt with. Bancroft fair enough.

See I don't believe we sold the farm for Lever - at all RN My view of possible drafting results isn't ever overly opttmistic though. Time might tell us that the Lever trade was a bargain. Watch this space And we all view footy differently.

Well you can't say that for sure Rusty Despite my views on what has happened previously I still believe that all things are possible with regards to recruiting.

I didn't read it that nor might anyone else It looked like you were quite clearly talking about Carlton. You didn't mention Melbourne at all Too quick with the whole Judd/Carlton supporter-hat-on supporter-speak.

If Judd had have come to Melbourne instead of Carlton we might have played finals over being absolute crud I'll take finals (however short-lived) over crud any day of the week. In that time that Carlton became relevant we were completely irrelevant. Cultural issues ... look no further than your own team Rack-em.

Judd did give Carlton on field success ... finals Just not a GF victory but that was always a tall order from unrealistic types anyway As if 1 player was ever going to make Carlton a premiership hope. Again, the messiah thinking at play again. But Carlton made the right move by recruiting Judd. They just needed 4 or 5 more Judd types (which is easier said than done of course)

Plonking the captaincy on Gawn isn't necessarily the answer either. We actually need 7 or 8 real leaders who are also automatic inclusions in the team because of their talent levels. In an ideal world. So we are a fair way off. There are players like Oliver & Brayshaw but both are too young. Lever maybe but he needs to stay fit and it's the same story with May. Maybe T-Mac but he often can't adhere to basic principles as a forward And leadership is not berating your teammates out on the field in an innecessary manner. In actual fact, those 2 incidents we saw this season shows up our lack of true leadership.

If you can't develop A grade leaders then you import them. Too much emphasis on unproven high school age kids. Way too much The model we've often adhered to is flawed. It's a hit and hope based on hype (and bs) Acquiring Lever & May was a step in the right direction but we need to continue on that course. Recruitment can take many forms which includes drafting three or four 18 year old's every season. But 18 year old draftees are often looked upon as messiah's. Which again, is the wrong type of thinking We need to recruit players of the calibre of Fyfe, Sloane, Martin & Dangerfield. Not easy but do-able if we're serious.

Barassi brought in Barry Davis at North Melbourne in the early 70's and immediately made him captain. The rest is history. Free agency is now entering its 8th off-season in the AFL so every club (including ours) has had the chance to bring in A grade experienced talent. But to do so takes a lot of forward thinking not so much as opportunistic thinking. Davis went to North (along with Rantall & Wade) under the short-lived 10 year rule. We picked up Ditterich under the same rule. So, in effect, free agency has just replaced the old model. Yet he we are with a dearth of experienced talent at the club. Jones & Jetta are the only real veterans but both have questionable future's. Injury is a factor with Jetta whilst Jones is near the end. Older A grade players are often those who are also the leaders at a club. We don't have them and haven't had them for over a decade.

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Interesting first week of NFL ... any number of teams showed a bit too. And a number of teams got the job done as expected. My standout are the Patriots in the way they just dismantled the Steelers. Early doors with regards to the other contenders. Although nearly all the other challengers won. The Browns were disappointing after all the hype but the AFC North is up for grabs. Leaderboard in the Tipping Comp 1 - JV7, Clintosaurus, Dappa Dan, Gorgoroth, Go the Biff, Dee Zephyr, Macca 0 - The Usual Suspects 2 points on offer this week. I'll post up the lines and Bill Simmons podcast preview tomorrow evening. Friday's game sees the Panthers @ Tampa Bay (Divisional match-up)

Our players should be able to think for themselves and act accordingly. What are all the meetings for? Surely they can play footy without the need for a runner telling them what to do. It's not the under 12's. They don't do anything else apart from.prepare for the games and play the games. Footy IQ - not in abundance at the Demons. This year reminded me of the Neeld era where back then we just continually kicked the ball down the line of the boundary. The replacement model this season was to kick the ball without any purpose into a dysfunctional forward line. Rawlings comments are extraodinary but they make sense. I'm just shocked that such occurances can actually happen in a sport which is supposedly professional. Playing group & Coaching panel - Fail.

Credit must be given to Tim Paine as well. His captaincy apart from a few moments in the 3rd test has been excellent. Made a vital 60 odd in the first innings of the 4th test and his keeping has been very good (again) We lost 4 consecutive series' in England before this triumph and he will always be remembered as the man who captained the 2019 series win. Same as Adam Gilchrist is remembered as captaining the only winning test series in India (since 1969) But these are Smith's Ashes much like 1981 was Botham's Ashes. Langer, S Waugh & Ponting have played their part too. We now look and play like Pro's.

Belichick will probably find a way to bring Antonio Brown into line as well. They're odds on again to feature prominently. Most here on this thread support NFC teams so the Pats aren't really a threat until the SB. And even if a NFC team does have to play the Pats in season that same team gets to play the Jets, Bills and the Dolphins because of how they do the scheduling. So if you're any good it's 3 wins and 1 loss and you might strike the Pats at home. But they can well & truly stay in the AFC!

Next Test this Thursday ... we'll be up for it you'd imagine whilst England will need to pick themselves up big time. Still, it's a Test match and careers are always on the line even when the games are less important. Especially for our batsmen ... notably Warner, Harris, Head & Wade. If they all get another chance they'll all be playing for future position's within the team.

Looking ahead to the summer my top 6 might include Alex Carey at no.6. Played as a batsman only. He's a talent. Renshaw at the top with Warner (maybe) Smith & Labuschagne at no.4 & no.5 but that still leaves the no.3 spot open. Khawaja could get another go at it as it's not like he's the only one who hasn't made runs in this Ashes series. Joe Burns could be a smoky. As for the next test, I reckon we'll probably play the same team with perhaps Bancroft for Harris. Or Khawaja for Harris. All the bowlers will want to play but we'd be wise to keep rotating 1 or 2. We've won the Ashes but it would be ideal if we could win the series 3 - 1.

In all seriousness I'd be batting Labuschagne at no.5 for the foreseeable future Renshaw & maybe Burns can slot into the top along with a rejuvinated Warner as well as a possible Harris I just like the idea of Smith at no.4 & Labuschagne at no.5. We've got a chance at a soft intro for a possible 10 year batsman. It's a throwback method but it works. Ponting played nearly every one of his first 20 tests batting at no.6. Labuschagne can work his way up the order. I also believe that opener types can bat at no.3. Maybe Warner at no.3?

In a general sense small forwards feed best off good key forwards. They (small forwards) end up in better spots by default. They are the add-ons rather than the focus. Once they become the focus (or are isolated) they often fall short. Hogan went close but we haven't had a decent and consistent KPF since Neitz. And since Neitz we've played in one final series in a decade. Medium sized forwards are a different matter ... a forward line can consist of these types primarily but they need to be very good as a collective and as individuals. I'd like to see Petracca, Melksham & Fritsch work together to see if it does work (rotating deep forward and as high half forwards) Jones & Viney could easily be used as small forwards but we haven't seen it. Not sure why as our forward line didn't function at all well all season. But if we could land a player like Patton then I'd breath easier. T-Mac could then go back to being a utility forward and be used up the ground periodically as well. Weideman gets game time when needed (if form warrants)

Good point ... we can sometimes judge the whole walking bit by old standards. Gilchrist was the last true walker. But he effectively went outside the team rules by doing so. Of course, he was an all-time great and we didn't lose too many tests when he played. So he was 'allowed' to walk per se. Might have been a different story these days!

The umpires haven't been the best but it should be noted that the captains are only getting their reviews right about 30% of the time. That effectively means that the captains are getting it wrong and wasting reviews 7 out of 10 times. And unlike the umpires, the captains have any number of sets of eyes to help out and don't have to make split second decisions as the umpires do. So if we're going to get stuck into the umpires, the captains should be copping it something fierce. But that won't happen.

Could be that he didn't want to be shown up for being dishonest. If he knew he definitely hit it and that ultra-edge was going to confirm that, you're better off getting out of there. I've seen any number of batsman walk under similar circumstances with the new technology. Should be looked on as a positive too. Looked noble but was it? Ultra-edge is being trusted by the players by the looks of it. That's my take.