Macca

He was brilliant but the Cats midfield was bog average ... had a virtual free reign, centre-forward With Rowell slotting back in, it's a star-studded midfield. Matching up very difficult, to say the least

New coach and a new start for the list My reckoning is that all the players will get their opportunities and we could easily see some talent emerge With the 3 players you mentioned, they all need to get a step ahead instead of a step behind. If that doesn't happen, they won't make it It's such a fast game these days and the players need lighting quick skills For whatever reason, I still vividly remember Lindsay's first disposal last season. Gained possession and then hit a target 25-30 metres away without blinking. A great sign But the talent up North is going to be hard to match

No, of course not but the comment was more about what you said (D's fans) He was fantastic tonight and because we don't care for Geelong, him dining out on them tonight was good to watch I found myself wanting him to keep up his dominance. Really strange but I feel that way about Hogan all the time. And Neal-Bullen It's hard to hate premiership players

We're lucky we've got Jason Taylor Even if he just drafts enough talent for us to stay relevant (as a minimum) But ultimately, you need lots of Stars to win big 2021 we had 5 AA's and another 4 or 5 who went close to AA honours The perfect storm and most here watched the GF at home

Cats will probably play finals but they're not a threat for the flag (they've got 10 home games at Kardinia Park) The 2 Queensland teams have talent to burn as do Sydney. Absolute midfield dominance and their mids kick goals

Ha ha! Swans & Suns will take some beating but the Blues & Cats aren't much chop We might make a run from 9th or 10th 1988 is best remembered for the heavy GF loss but I remember that year for the run we went on from round 22 onwards (we had to beat 2nd placed Carlton just to make the finals and then won 3 finals from 5th spot to make the GF) We weren't a great team but we still made the GF

Yeah Gonzo, I thought we might have traded the pick to get another 1st rounder for the 2025 Draft But, apparently, next year's draft has a deeper talent pool than the 2025 draft But at pick 25 or so, there's a good dose of luck attached in unearthing a top player. But you never know (Stevie J was pick 24) 😃

We needed a cleanout and we got it But to win more games than we lose we'll need at least 8-10 standout players week to week ... and we're a ways off that standard Need match-winners too. Gawn, Kozzie, Langford and .... maybe Steele, Windsor, Rivers, Turner?? Time and patience with the youngsters along with the senior players lifting their standards will see 8-10 wins? Maybe a few more

Yeah, understood So he wanted out and on top of that, he's now rubbing our nose in it (a kind of justification for moving clubs per se) Back to his best, it must be said Anyway, we'll be ok without him. We just need to get 60 to 70 games into all our young players (and that includes the upcoming 2026 draftees) All up, we'll have a dozen or so players aged 23 or younger who will, hopefully, all turn into good players (or, at least a good percentage of the dozen or so prospects) Reality is that at some stage we were going to have to move on from Oliver, May, Petracca, Gawn, Viney, Brayshaw, ANB et al. It's just happening a bit sooner than we thought

He's rubbing our nose in it UGH

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)