Macca

Discovered another new artist recently - Hiromi Euhara Here's a profile of her album 'Alive' on Allmusic.com Favourite track for me is 'Seeker' which can be found in full here Hiromi - Seeker (accompanied with Contrabass guitarist & Drummer) It's a much more fuller version of the song than the youtube clip below - I like both but prefer the fuller version.

If people here can judge Watts as just another player then they will see his value - just lose those expectations that he's supposed to be a top player because he was drafted as a top end pick ... he was a standout junior, that's it. Maybe people here need to think like the coach or if you were on the match committee - do that, and he stays in the side. I'm certain that Roos & co would be looking at Watts as just another player and his draft pick number would be irrelevant in their eyes. He does have some real upside if Roos is able to create a mis-match for him - that mis-match is dependent on Hogan & Dawes both playing well and our midfield playing well. The criticisms of Watts' shortcomings are valid but we don't focus in on the shortcomings of other players to the same degree. So he ends up being judged unfairly because of the lack of context and his draft pick number.

Clearance numbers were pleasing too ... 39 - 46 in their favour but just like the inside 50's, we seem to be a lot more productive with the numbers that we achieve in both those KPI's. Would like to know what our scores were from clearances but the eyes tell me that we would have done much better than Richmond. Notables ... 7 - Vince (he's the difference maker) 5 - Tyson (right on his average) 5 - Jones (about 2 below his standard) 4 - vandenBerg (continues to impress) 3 - Watts 3 - Newton 9 other players achieved 1 or 2 clearances.

Unless Pedersen emphatically puts his hand up tomorrow he hasn't done enough to warrant a spot anyway. So, I can't see him replacing Watts - and we have no other alternatives. We've got the right amount of talls in the side and we don't need one less tall. If we judge Watts according to what he brings to the team then he obviously needs to do more but again, there's no one better and at least Watts has a fair bit more upside. The biggest upside is the mis-match that can be created for Watts if Hogan & Dawes are both playing well. Frost going down ruined the plan somewhat but we were probably a bit too top heavy anyway (Vanders can drift forward to create another marking option) I just accept Watts (for now) as a taller version of a 4th forwards role (if there is such a thing - we haven't really seen that type of role previously) Hogan is our no.1, we don't have a decent no.2 and Dawes is more of a no.3. For team structure, he stays in the side (for now)

Yeah, I gave Watts some recognition in the 'current' Watts thread - as you said BM, his skills were down (and his confidence) but he did put his head over the ball a number of times. An improved effort - he still managed at times to release his teammates to advantage despite being down on his normal skill levels. Roos isn't going to coach much differently to how he coached at Sydney. Most coaches just make minor adjustments as they get older in my opinion - what you see is what you get but with Roos it's quite complex. We've got ourselves a very good coach - Hardwick was out of his depth tonight.

6 vandenBerg 5 Hogan 4 Jones 3 Vince 2 Jamar 1 Salem Apologies to a number of others especially Garland, Tyson, T-Mac, Brayshaw, Michie & Howe. Such a great win carries with it many good players but vandenBerg was tremendous - top class recruiting there. Hogan is going to be some sort of player who already has excellent footy nous - I saw nothing wrong with his kicking tonight. Salem was safe and sure when they ventured forward in the 2nd half - he's another who plays like he's played a lot more games. Kicks the ball to his teammates advantage. Edit: Brayshaw has got the 'it' factor and he looks like he belongs out there already. Footy smarts written all over him and he's a goer. .

A few observations ... Our constant pressure was amazing - best since I don't know when. Defence was extremely well organised & efficient and we made their forward line play in a dysfunctional manner. Attack on the ball and the man was first rate - we worried them into errors. Our counter attacking style had the Roos stamp and we often looked dangerous going forward. Tempo footy is building by the looks of it. Clearing the ball long from the last line of defense was also smart play on a wet night - because of that, they were often 3 or 4 possessions away from scoring. All the players seem to know their role and they have confidence in each other. We had a number of good players as others here have mentioned but a special mention to Jamar - he went hard at it all night and got on top of Maric as the match wore on. He toiled manfully and was quite influential. Our work at the stoppages was a standout - they couldn't get enough clean possession whilst we often did. Our forward line functioned well and was open for a lot of the night - another Roos stamp. Roos outcoached Hardwick comprehensively. A fantastic win!

Watts had a reasonable crack tonight ... credit where it is due. His skills were down and so is his confidence but I thought he was improved from last week (in terms of his effort & endeavour) Not great by any means but he still got the ball 14 times (7 of which were contested) He won't be going out of the side either - we're almost certainly going to need to find 2 replacements for Kent & Jetta and that won't be easy. Whichever 2 players come in need to be hard at it with reasonable or better disposal skills . Finding 3 such players out of the 2's would be a real stretch Our forward line functioned well tonight considering the conditions so why change things up?

Yeah, I do like going into bat for small minority causes :-)

Of course, we've sold off 2 of our other home fixtures against interstate sides in the deal that we have with the NT Government (which I don't necessarily disagree with) We might end up having to sell another game or 2 off in the future. 100k vs 300-500 k

You may well be right too LH but the QB clash would still bring in a substantial amount of money compared to any of our other home fixtures ... especially those home games against the interstate sides (5?) That was the crux of my 100k argument. Whilst we're making a pittance, other clubs are cleaning up

These days you'd obviously be wanting to make more than 100k from a home fixture. Collingwood would probably make at least a million from each of their home games at the MCG and we'd be probably be making at least a million from the QB clash (the Pies also make a decent dollar out of the QB clash because of their high end memberships) 100k is chicken feed

Development is an over used word in footy ... the best clubs have their fair share of busts but we don't really hear about those busts if those teams win games on a consistent basis. A top player at junior level is not automatically going to become a top player in the AFL. I don't hate the drafting system we have but do I accept it for what it is - a flawed system where there has been numerous top players drafted outside the top 10 - 15 picks and ... any number of average to poor players that have been drafted inside the top 10 - 15 picks. The numbers in both those categories are extraordinarily high if one was to examine all the drafts we've had since 1986. In my opinion, Gysberts, Morton, Tapscott, Blease & Strauss wouldn't have turned out much better if Roos, McCartney and crew had them from the word go. All decent juniors but none of them had the inner drive to take the next big step. They might have been about 10-15% better but that would still have meant them falling way short as League footballers. .

I'd say the cheque would go to Richmond but next year it's our turn (if it becomes an annual event) I believe there are now trigger points (crowd numbers) on how much money a home team receives for any home game at the MCG. It's also been stated here that we receive at least 100k for every home game that we play at the MCG (of course, 100k for a home game is a virtual loss in real terms) Let's hope there's a big crowd so that we can establish this game as a traditional annual event Not sure what they'll do with this game if ANZAC day falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday but it might solve the problem that the League has with the short rest that the Pies and Bombers can sometimes have ... just match up the Demons & Bombers (another rotating home fixture?) and the Pies & Tigers the weekend before or the weekend after (depending on which day ANZAC day actually falls) In theory that in turn can (in some years) give us 3 big drawing home fixtures in the space of 6 weeks (when we include the QB clash) A flow-on effect as such.

The Wizards won again today so there's one tip that's highly questionable The Mavs, Spurs and Portland can all win their respective series' too. It's not all that clear cut really ... wouldn't surprise me if a team just gets hot and takes the title (outside of GSW & Cleveland) Rose and Bulls might surprise in the East whilst there's a number of teams in the West with claims.

It would be no real surprise if the Clippers knock the Spurs out but the other teams in the West would be mighty thankful if that happened. A 7 game series beckons but it's a toss up. Bit late with the tips but for what it's worth ... (likely winners in dark italics) Golden State to meet Cleveland in the final, EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlanta Hawks vs. Brooklyn Nets Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards WESTERN CONFERENCE Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks Los Angeles Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs Portland Trail Blazers vs. Memphis Grizzlies

Watts is a sort of prototype 4th forward. Like a half decent small forward who can get the ball periodically with good finishing skills, he's possibly just a much taller variety (who doesn't know how to use his own height to advantage) His value is when we can create a decent match-up for him (usually against the lesser-light teams) That's where he sits right now - he's never going to be the player that many want him to be and his draft pick number just clouds the issue even further. I can see his value but it's certainly not high end. He'd struggle to get a game with a lot of the best teams and equally, he struggles to to have any sort of impact against the best teams - given his actual output up until now. But we could say that about many on our list. Unless something changes in the not too distant future it will just continue to be a case of "what you see is what you get" We can largely say the same sort of thing about Dawes - again, he's not going to get much better but until we can find someone who is better, he'll continue to play and he'll continue to be the player that he is now. Our depth in tall players is negligible.

Spot on Cards ... and often it's far better for justice to be served. Cycling is far better off in the long term because Armstrong was outed. There's no longer a cloud covering the sport for those who love cycling ... those who don't love cycling don't count nor do they matter - the sport is still ridiculously popular and cycling's testing standards, procedures and penalties are just about as good as it gets. I read today that the NBA intend to do blood tests for hgh - it's about time and they will start to catch cheats because of this new action. I believe Essendon will get their just deserts in the long run. New evidence (or old evidence) will surface and they'll be cooked. The Hunter case may hold the key but the key could come about in any number of ways. Those who have been burnt will end up talking - everyone has their price. And a number of people have been burnt - including numerous players no longer on Essendon's list (all watching the Hunter case with anticipation) Then there's worksafe if they're fair dinkum. And of course, ASADA and/or WADA might still appeal and win. It ain't over till it's over.

If WADA do appeal I'm expecting the AFL to attempt to put up a roadblock. Maybe not so much breaking ranks but maybe in part. They could release a statement indicating that the current agreement is too cut & dried or has too much grey area attached. Nothing would surprise me. If WADA can somehow get Dank on side it would help as the CAS doesn't have to have a cynical view with regards to Dank. They could and can take him on face value. But the AFL may not want punishments handed down on the back of the word of someone who they have banned for life (if he is banned for life) Is anyone else going to cooperate with WADA? I believe WADA needs to appeal even if they know they have very little chance of getting a desired result. To walk away now after going so hard wouldn't make a lot of sense. They can at least make Essendon & the AFL uncomfortable for another 6 months or so. However, WADA's funding is only in the region of 20-30 million per year so cost might be a factor. ASADA might still appeal but more likely it will be WADA.

I've always been in favour of lifting the draft age but didn't think the AFL would address what is an obvious issue ... however, just lifting the age by 1 year means they'll need to possibly re-structure the next tier down. Perhaps the newly named (if it happens) under 19 or under 20 championships could involve a lot more games - all the states and territories could play for the one championship title (each team would then play 7-8 games, plus finals) Also, the AFL might decide to incorporate a transitional period (allow clubs to still draft 1 or 2 eighteen year old's for a couple/few years) Raising the draft age by 2 years should fix a lot of the problems but 1 year would do for starters. Lifting the draft age by 2 years to age 20 carries with it the unknown risk of young sportsmen possibly choosing other sports. Maybe the AFL could introduce a rookie wage to offset that obstacle ... for the better players perhaps - a scholarship type scheme or such like.

There were other issues that came out of the game but many of those issues were caused by our inability to win enough clearances (for instance, our forward line became largely dysfunctional as the game wore on) Other clubs would be fully aware of our reliance on Jones & Tyson (before Tyson it was just Jones for a time) so that's why we need others to step up. Viney, Vince, Brayshaw, Cross, vandenBerg, Newton, Lumumba and others need to increase their numbers with regards to contested possessions and clearances. Even just 1 extra clearance per game, per pertinent player would make a big difference. And of course we need a quick return to form for Jones & Tyson.

Tyson & Jones collected 4 clearances out of a total of 86. That is an aberration and the chances of it happening again are minimal. Both those 2 normally average over 11 clearances between them per game and what also should be remembered is the high clearance figure for the game (86 - about 10 over the average) To me, that's the main reason why we lost the game. Our 2 best players (both midfielders) couldn't win anywhere near enough clearances (otherwise known as winning the ball out of the middle or winning the ball at the 'other' ball-ups or the throw-ins) Clearances 2014 Jones 138 (season) 6.3 (average) Tyson 108 (season) 4.9 (average)

The new rules of free agency created a situation where players see themselves as commodities. What many couldn't have foreseen is that that type of thinking would extend itself to out of contract or even contracted players. Unintended consequences (although other sports around the world have these sorts of patterns) It's no real surprise to me what has happened with regards to player movement so I'd rather look at how it all works from a more practical viewpoint. In other words, we need to make our club a club of destination and if a player still wants to go, get the best deal done. There's nothing to stop our club from becoming one of the main players in securing talent. We just need to be ahead of the game and resourceful. Roos is good at spotting talented players who are looking for opportunities elsewhere ... he now needs to go after a few free agents as well (A grade midfielders if possible ) Drafting as we all know by now is hit and miss.

Or incorporate him into the existing thread .. The No T$ No M€ No B$ Thread ... we can just keep adding players when applicable Quite seriously, we should move on with regards to Clark - he wanted a fresh start and we didn't stand in his way ... we picked up Lumumba in the trade and to my way of thinking, that puts us ahead. I don't wish the bloke any ill will either - we've had at least a half a dozen players leave the club for one reason or another in the last few years and I just put him in with the others. That's the new age of footy - you win some, you lose some (more frequently) .

Also, the ruck position is like no other - quite often potential ruckmen needs to be given the main role to see how good they are. Some respond and relish the role - others don't. We've seen 2nd stringers go to other clubs and become very good 1st choice ruckmen. Opportunity is everything for a number of would-be ruckmen, It should be noted that we had all 3 of White, Jolly & Jamar on our list at the same time (2 years) I'm not sure that too many were making too many predictions with regards to Jolly & Jamar back then. If so, it wouldn't have been very many.