Macca

Haven't they also said (or intimated) that they see him as a dashing half back I wouldn't be believing anything that the clubs are saying right now. Ducks and drakes and posturing mostly

Well if he's unhappy about how he is being used, he could easily string things along By the way, he copped it sweet all season and played where he was picked .... and has now made a decision to move on I don't have a problem with that as you only get one career. Let's face it, the club had/has any number of issues so why wouldn't a player (or players) want out?

Well May looks like he has been accepted back into the fold so there's that. No suitors by the looks of it Could not the same outcome be forthcoming for Oliver & Petracca if suitable trades not eventuate? I still reckon the biggest issue is the length of contracts, salary amounts and the strong perception that we want to get rid of them because they are damaged goods and/or disruptive influences Other clubs will want them cheap but will we accept unders?

It wasn't all about Goodwin, it's about the whole club. The Board, CEO, Fellow players, President, Football Dept & the Match Committee Earlier in April (on the Goodwin thread) I went to town about the players being allowed to rule the Roost A law unto themselves That type of behaviour can have an effect on those players who want to do the right thing. One answer is don't waste your time and get out To my way of thinking, the club only has itself to blame, if players want out

2 things Goodwin played Judd out of position and wasted his talents McVee is a dashing, rebounding half back flanker, not a lockdown back pocket type And Freo have almost certainly offered him a better, long-term deal I don't blame him for wanting out. The behaviour of any number of our senior players wouldn't have helped either I'm surprised that a few other players haven't wanted out, but that could still happen

Declaring our hand with regards to the $750k* subsidy for Oliver (per annum for 5 years) looks desperate and quite frankly, rather embarrassing Keep your cards close to your chest and don't ever weaken your bargaining power The other clubs are now knowing that they don't have to offer much to get him across the line It's not like Oliver has forgotten how to play top level football ... he just needs to be told some home truths He should have spent a month at Casey to bring him into line. If that doesn't work, give him another month Goodwin benched him early in the season but that was a soft-feathered approach (and 2 years too late) *The club hasn't denied the $750k figure

I've got no doubt that Clarrie & Trac will be gone if the club accepts unders But the way Lamb is talking, accepting unders is not on the agenda. In fact, Lamb wants top value coming back for both players Unless of course, he's just grandstanding. Who knows? Interesting that May slips back with very little fanfare. All that yap, but he'll probably suit up in the seniors in round 1 (or round zero)

Yeah, all that stuff is well documented and has been freely discussed But the trades still need to go through ... much will depend on whether the club is serious with regards to wanting good value back for Oliver & Petracca My reckoning is that the trades will go through if we accept unders (except for May, who looks like he is back in the fold (no suitors?)) And the club needs to be careful about supporter backlash ... paying Collingwood $3.5Million and receiving a 3rd round pick for Oliver would not go down well (at all) We're already getting smacked in the membership stakes, don't give the supporters another reason to withhold their cash

Is there a possibility that May, Clarrie & Trac all end up in Demon colours next season? May can't find a new home (almost certainly because of the $800k asking price) The whole league knows about Oliver's troubles. He's high risk (and costly) However, if the club is happy to take unders, he could find a new home. But again, Lamb keeps saying that we need good value back As for Petracca, Lamb also seems to be serious about getting back very good value in a trade (and that may not happen) So maybe Oliver to go but not sure on the other two

Turns out the Pats/Bills game was a close one. I listened to the game and New England played very well Not predicting a return to their glory days but they might snag a wild-card spot I reckon the Bills just had an off day in a trap game A lot of us have picked the Chiefs tomorrow but the Jags have a genuine chance of winning and it wouldn't surprise if they salute

Fritsch, Salem, Chandler, Bowey, Sparrow & Turner are all out of contract after the 2026 season Would any of the other clubs offer 2, 3 or 4+ year deals for any of the aforementioned 6 players? Turner, Bowey & Chandler the most likely (?) I wouldn't like to lose any of the 6 but all the clubs are trying to improve their lists A lot of long term contracts are bandied about these days along with player managers constantly on the lookout for their clients For instance, a 4 year deal at $700k per annum means $112k goes in the player managers pocket (4%)

Especially if the Coach took him on a tour of Clyde Nth In all seriousness, I'm hoping that we can land him as it's either that or we draft a top end pick youngster (who can play) and who we can develop The fact that 'Barry' is entertaining a move is a positive as is our war chest that has suddenly appeared May, Ollie & Trac leaving creates a $3.5Million hole in the salary cap so we're compelled to spend it up to 100% (?) So there's a chance and money talks

We are low on top level talent 2 x A Graders (Gawn & Kozzie) with a whole host of players who were formerly very good, but have collectively dropped a couple of notches Some good young talent but we need lots more In the premiership year I reckon we had 16+ top level players. We're nowhere near that level now 16 losses in a year where we didn't have a lot of injuries says it all If we're not rebuilding what are we doing? Adjust the list so that we lose another 16 matches? King has his work cut out but if he can get the team to win 10-12 games he'll be doing very well (2026) In the meantime, we need to recruit aggressively and hit the draft hard with Taylor at the helm Face it, unless we recruit ready-made talent, the only other avenue is the draft

Recruiting too many depth players and then giving them 2 or 3 year deals ended up clogging the list with NQR's Of course, Taylor is also responsible as he is the head recruiter but his fortè is the draft And because he's been so successful with drafting talent, we should lean on him to do as you've suggested ... pluck out some talent in the late 2nd round and in the 3rd round Have a go at least Both in this post season and in the 2026 post season (pre Tassie) Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, losing May, Trac & Ollie means that we are in a rebuild phase. The list without those 3 is not going to contend for the flag So it's the additions that can take us back to contending So what are we good at? Drafting talent and swapping draft picks for proven, top 12-15 talent (Formerly players such as May, Lever, Hibberd, Langdon, Brown, Melksham and 1 or 2 others) The good news is that we got a bit of a head start with the acquisition of Windsor, Kolt, Lindsay & Langford Windsor is a wingman and Kolt is an onballer. Hopefully King gives them both a chance to show their worth Lindsay will probably end up on a HBF (as a distributor/rebounder) whilst Langford is an onballer in the making It's not rocket science but it seemingly was for the previous FD & MC

Week 5 kicks off at 12.30am with the London game (Vikes/Browns) And there's at least 6 good match-ups this week culminating in the MNF clash ... Chiefs @ Jags Here's the Week 5 Preview from NBC

A fast and furious first half! Broncos not out of it but if the Storm score the first try in the 2nd half that might be it

Tips, @Dr. Gonzo Here are mine Vikes Detroit Chiefs

I was never a Goodwin fan but he was never the only major issue. Back in April on the Goodwin thread I was calling for a cleanout in FD and an overhaul of the list We are well on the way to doing so but I'd like to see Lamb & Richardson exited as well. Ironically, they are both contracted, so we're stuck with them (for now) As for the MC, they lost their way which calls into question all of the assistants Our teamwork within the midfield and the disposal and decision making from the midfielders was substandard ... albeit with some very talented players at our disposal

The only absolute question mark is Jefferson and with almost all the other top 20 draftees, it's too early to have a definitive opinion All this with a dysfunctional and obsolete game plan that wasn't working anyway Let's see how all these youngsters go with.a different plan and a new coach

We don't know what we're going to get for Petracca yet But one thing is for sure, we will need picks & players and that has to happen now We can't rebuild unless we have the assets The one thing up our sleeve is that we're prepared to burn $$$$'s in the cap. So picks (or players) appear if we're happy to subsidise Cash for picks

So what? It's not the same We wasted Kolt's time plonking him into a dysfunctional forward line with rubbish delivery into the forward line What a baptism of fire ... especially when Kolt is not a natural forward Our MC was clueless when it came to player positions. It's as if they were trying to sabotage our season

Taylor is no good? He's been nothing short of fantastic, if being 85% plus right with regards to drafting, is an outstanding percentage You think it's easy, predicting champion status for a teenager? The revised draft order for every single draft always looks vastly different to the original ... that stat alone should make everyone a sceptic Again, don't believe everything you're told. Footy is full of lies, always has been As for believing any comments re drafting players, I take it all with a grain of salt Everyone keeps their cards close to their chests. i.e. feed 'em the BS But again, Taylor defies the pattern and I'm sure he'd love having 5 or 6 picks in this year's draft (top 30 picks) However, I'd trade picks for A Grade or B+ proven players, but they have to be available to trade for. And they can't be too expensive either And we have to also get hold of the picks My bet is that we'll be busy come draft day

Is Kolt supposed to be A grade at pick 13? You've got high hopes And Kolt should have been used as a midfielder once the season was shot (post round 5) He was drafted as a mid/forward so where were the mid minutes? We wasted him this year but he's still a youngster The MC played a whole host of players out of position For instance, Windsor is a dashing wingman and McVee is a rebounding, attacking half back. Blind Freddy could see that Goodwin was not the only issue at the club (as we're finding out) but the selection criteria and positional moves were amatuerish

What would Twomey know? Has he got a crystal ball? They are just 'educated' guesses and nothing more than that Some of the nonsense talked about re drafting never ceases to amaze In 5 years time will anyone even bring up the 2025 draft evaluation as being correct or not. Doubt it Again, the draftees are just kids and miles off being the finished product Believe what you want to believe but I'd rather remain a sceptic. The draft is hit and miss at the best of times But Taylor defies the pattern and is a great asset. So we need to trust him to find the diamonds in the rough If it was still Barry, forget it. Trade the picks

I reckon the fine-print with the $3.5Million giveaway to another club (for Oliver's services) is that we require draft picks in return i. e. Cash for picks (there's always a catch) Oddly enough, Oliver's best game all season came in the final game of the year ... 30 possessions against a top 4 team and he hardly wasted a possession (DE of 87% which is very high for an under pressure mid) But it all came too late