Macca

The Hawks remind me a bit of the Demons of '87 They are riding the crest of a wave and if they can get past the Doggies, their probable SF opponent will be the Cats at the MCG Port in Adelaide would be a lot tougher but Port are coming off a straight sets exit in last years finals campaign, so the pressure would be on them I can see the Hawks winning at least 2 finals #StraightSetsHinkley

That's true but a long contract was once upon a time a huge deterrent for a player to shift clubs Now, the longer contract can just be taken up by the club a player might want to go to. 2 years or 5 years, is there any difference anymore?

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Port (1-39) Hawks (1-39) Swans (1-39) Lions (1-39) All up 25-1 #GambleResponsibly

A lot of our kicking issues are related to how we play, game plan, and also, a lack of actual leg speed and an ability to clear away from being under pressure or from congestion or stoppages In isolation and when in the clear, Oliver, Viney, Petracca, Rivers & Langdon can all deliver the ball quite well But we can often only judge on what we actually witness. And it often isn't pretty But for a first year player, Windsor is an excellent kick to position ... he just happens to have an excellent turn of foot, especially the first 2 or 3 steps Earlier in the year (before the season started) I remarked here that we really need to get our midfield schemes right End result - having a player in the clear with the time and space to deliver the ball well, further afield. From any given stoppage Same rule applies when we win the ball back in any part of the ground It's actually quite a basic fundamental of footy and we see other teams being able to do it with a minimum of fuss In the old days the above was just simply called teamwork or sharing the ball until a player is in the clear And we have ourselves been quite efficient in that area previously, but we have to go back to the last half of the 2021 season to see those efficient schemes on a consistent basis

One example By my reckoning, less than 25% of Richmond members attend games on a week to week basis We know that have 100,000+ members Most of their games are at the MCG where any number of MCC & AFL members would be attending their games (non Richmond aligned financially) And then there are the games at Docklands and interstate So their average crowds are 43,692 Allowing for opposition supporters we can at least half that figure So why do at least 75,000+ Richmond members not attend games? (on average)

Considering they've got 100,000+ members, their crowd numbers are quite pathetic The above type of logic is constantly used against the MFC We have no excuses (apparently) but which other club ever has their crowd numbers questioned? It never happens Reality is that we are a small club and I've been saying that for decades so it's not news to me That barren period from 1965 to 1986 wiped out any chance of being a big club So in that time frame, we held no attraction to new supporters. And their kids & grand kids don't barrack for us either Close on 3 generations of potential supporters lost in the wind. And in that time period, save for 1976, we never looked like playing finals So we've been playing catch-up ever since And membership numbers are related to attendees but only about 25% - 30% of members attend. And that's for just about every club Many buy membership as a donation as most members don't attend games. If they did, all the clubs would play to sell-out crowds every match So when factoring 3 game & 6 game memberships, 65,000 members might equate to 15,000 members attending (on average) For the bigger games, the percentage would increase and for low drawing teams, the percentage of members attending might decrease ... big game atmosphere vs low atmosphere games Just my take on it but I'm wondering why the finger only ever gets pointed at the MFC. There again, logic gets thrown out the window with these sorts of things Footnote: South Melbourne & Fitzroy lost their clubs because of similar barren periods. North very nearly closed up shop as well (RDB & Allen Aylett saved them)

Last year we started off with 6 & 13 and ended up with 6 & 11 so not a lot of movement but we now know that we wanted to make sure we acquired Tholstrup so those 2 spots were vital Let's say that the Tigers ended up with 4 or 5 1st round picks. Would they be open to trading 1 of them so as to strengthen their hand in the 2025 off season? They are going to be in full rebuild mode but you can't do that in 1 off season Meanwhile, we're still in the window but maybe that window isn't wide open next year but 2026 or 2027? Imagine going into 2026 or 2027 with Viney, Petracca, Oliver, Rivers (Sparrow in a defensive midfielder role) plus 2 more gun midfielders as part of the new breed We'd be hard to beat

Good points I reckon we'll keep T-Mac for another year so in terms of talls, we might be ok front & back Although we absolutely need a forward/ruck unless we go again with Fullarton (who couldn't even get a run when Max was out) If we acquired a forward/ruck who is not just depth, do we keep Petty, JVR & Turner in the forward line as well? Probably not May, Lever & T-Mac down back is enough but maybe Petty goes back in a swing role (if we add in a forward/ruck) In that situation, T-Mac becomes depth? And there are injuries to consider especially with Lever & May

History tells us that we've often been quite creative in terms of getting better placed in the draft For instance, we moved up in the draft order from pick 6 to pick 3 in order to acquire Oliver But moving up is one thing, acquiring another first round pick would be tricky to pull off

With a reasonable amount of depth with regards to midfielders in the upcoming draft, do we try and get another pick in the 8-12 area? (after somehow moving a pick in the 11-14 area up in the draft) The only way I could see that happening is if we swap next years 1st round pick for another club's 1st rounder this season There might be a club who believes we'll struggle next season so a swap of picks is feasible The Tigers could be a likely suitor as they might end up with a swathe of 1st round picks (To sweeten the deal we can add in a 3rd rounder or 2) Our midfield has a question mark over it and we need to start looking to the future in terms of replacing a player like Gus. Viney is 32 next season and Clarrie & Petracca still need to get back to their best Rivers has stepped up to the plate but we need to look at 2026/2027 and onwards. It's not always about the right now Ideally, I'd like to see us add 2 up and coming midfielders this off-season n.b. It should be noted that after finishing in the top 4* in 2023 we ended up with picks 6 & 11 in the draft (after Academy selections, 7 & 13) *Losing both finals dropped us down 2 spots in the draft order

So what happens now? As @sue pointed out, the footy media is widespread so do they get stuck into Petracca? Maybe for a day or so? And what about all the Roffey & Pert talk? It'll continue here until people get bored with it, but in the media? Or has the cycle run it's course making way for the next story (gossip based?) First final is next Thursday so the bye weekend had it's story to keep footy in the news

Yes, one of the boards is our version of the illuminati And the Demon illuminati got Petracca back on board (they're very persuasive)

Well, there goes 6 picks in the first 30!! Welcome back, Trac (he says coyly)

Nice prizemoney! And in all reality, nearly all of us are on the same page with regards to where we hope we'll finish in any given season. We all want success Those who are optimistic are aware that things can go pear-shaped and we can lose ground. There's always a chance of that happening And those who are less optimistic are hoping that we can perform better anyway. Being pleasantly surprised being the reward I wonder how many of us genuinely believed that we'd win the flag in 2021? I know I didn't Did we have a prediction poll? Anyway, at a guess, I reckon it would have been less than 5%

Well, it's a small world then This mate of yours will know who I'm talking about But keep it on the quiet, Roost it (isn't that typical of the horse racing industry ... 'keep it quiet' haha)

It kinda was if you want to explore the site (not easy to find though) No clues!! Haha

@Redleg Congrats Redleg Won like a good horse too!!

Ha ha, yeah, we live in hope, Roost it 🙄😁 Side note : I like how Tholstrup gets to a lot of contests ... another JT trait when he picks midfielder types. Sounds straight forward but easier said than done at the top level And in breaking news (speaking of gambling) A promenant member of this site just got his horse over the line a few minutes ago in the G1 Memsie Stakes No names, no pack drill !! (But he'll be a happy man!)

You also completely changed your mind a few times during the season haha (don't worry, I took a sabbatical but kept an eye on your posts) Your prediction of 1st to 12th (about as wide as anyone could go) was wrong anyway ... we finished 14th!!! Happy days!! Don't ever take up gambling, Roost it (and not too much sun either, that can frazzle your brain) ... free advice But footy brings out the passion and like I've always said, most footy fans are extremely optimistic and extremely pessimistic at the same time. One win or one loss and we're either ecstatic or despondent Our season went South when Brayshaw retired. Oliver was way below his best, Petty was average only and Melk was just ok So what I needed to happen to get my prediction right, didn't happen We needed a number of things going our way but when Petracca went down, that was it I remain realistic but my theory of X amount of good players equals X amount of wins will be tested in 2025 Interesting note We had 5 AA's & another 5 that were in the mix for AA honours in 2021 Yet this year it was Max only with no others going close We'll push for finals next season if somehow Petracca & Kozzie stay but if one or both go, we can defer to our MVP (Jason Taylor) to help us rebuild It's not easy replacing A grade talent so cross your fingers JT is still on his game I'm backing him in as he's never let us down yet ... in fact, why doesn't the FD trust him to pick out the odd gem from the 3rd round of draftees? Even the 4th round I'll take that over recycling NQR's If we swap picks for talent, it should be for players who are automatic selections

We need to rebuild the midfield with A grade quality talent (at least 2 add-ons) Another proper ruckman who can eventually take over from Max but in the meantime, we do need a forward ruck of some description I'm expecting the next 2 off-seasons to be rebuilding years and therefore have low expectations in the W/L column for 2025. A gap year with maybe 10 wins maximum But 2026 can see finals again but it's mandatory that we recruit well The above is based on the club losing 1 or 2 decent players with a good haul of decent draft picks to play with coming back as a consequence If everyone stays, we'll still need to bolster the midfield and our overall rucking & forward/ruck still needs to be addressed. And we might get to 12-14 wins Petracca/Kozzie has a +/- factor of 3 or 4 wins Same as losing Brayshaw & Petracca this season cost us some wins. Injuries to A grade players does matter As it stands, pick 5 should net us a decent midfielder and we might even move the pick up if needs be If Petracca & Kozzie stay I can see the club moving forward our 1st round pick from next year (some club may bite) ... so another pick in the 8-12 range could net us another quality midfielder

i.e. Club: We're pleased to offer you a $3Million 4 year deal Player: Where do I sign? A week later ... Player: I want to be traded to Freo Club: Wtf! You just signed a 4 year deal Player: I know that but Freo are happy to take up the contract Club: %&$=@#&%$&#@%!!!!!!

The contract amount that another club has to trump up for? Pardon my cynicism

I see, so a draftee can still be traded, like any other player under contract Thanks for that With a player like Reid, I can see the Eagles paying him big money on an extension just to secure him when a future trade is offered But Dockett's point about length of contract is quite valid. It's not the length of contract anymore although 1 year only on a contract leaves a club a bit more vulnerable A 5 year contract is not a deterrent if a player wants out. As we've seen with Petracca Of course, a club can hold a player to a contract but if a player remains and is unhappy, will we see their best?

It seems that way, Dockett, and the destination club just takes up the contract after satisfying the original club with picks and/or players. No matter how long the contract is for. 1, 2 or 5 years, it makes no difference And of course, there might be a level of thinking that if a player wants out, his original club might just do the best deal possible to clear the books. Get it done quick and move on, in other words I'm starting to think that way, whenever a player is looking elsewhere ... just do the deal and hopefully win out on the deal. It helps that we've got the Guru talent spotter in JT If it was still Barry, my thinking would be to get experienced talent coming back (best 15 player - automatic selection) And I wouldn't trust Barry with any picks either!!! (Swap them for best 15 talent) Of course in sports like soccer, a transfer fee is involved so a club in that sport can often set a price and there are often any number of suitors In other big sports in the USA, a club can often move a player to another club where the player has no choice but to just pack his bags and go