Random Task

In: AVB, Bennell, Tomlinson, ANB Out: Jackson, Pickett, Jones, Hannan I like the kids, but with a heavy workload block in their first year they will probably be due for a break. Jones seems ineffectual if he's not in the guts, sad to see but I not sure where I would slot him into our team. Hannan can have some great cameos and apply good pressure, but far too often he goes missing for significant portions of the game. Brayshaw and Harmes very lucky. As is 90% of our list from the Port game to be honest. Rivers, Smith and Jetta could/should be considered for an extra back rotation. My preference would be Rivers. Also wouldn't be surprised if Jones stays and Sparrow gets the chop, although I hope for his sake he gets some continuity and doesn't become a scapegoat when all the senior players around him failed so badly.

Is it too much to ask for a competitive game week in week out?

Seen a few one on one contests and the next three to four players arriving in support have all been from Port. Either the club erred in thinking we could recover and perform off a 4-day turn-around or we are mentally weak as p*** with no work rate and gave up half way through the first quarter. Also doesn't help that our decision making and execution has been disgraceful.

Butters would be my ideal target but doubt anyone has a shot at getting him out of Port anytime soon. Given our history of tracking and targeting players we've liked from their respective draft years (Lever, Langdon), I wonder if we will have a crack at luring Butters or Georgiades in the future. Another thought is if we might see ourselves try and move up the draft this year considering we have hawthorn's 2nd round pick and two 4th rounders from blues and freo. Plenty of teams might look to accumulate points for their academy or father/son selections.

Still want those numbers Tarax?

Lions Hawks Saints Eagles Demons Bombers Giants Tigers Bulldogs

I like the changes. Makes the team more balanced in my view. Hopefully it shows on Saturday night.

Are the players doing what Simon says? Because if not they're out.

Ended up buying a Jumper as well at the draft experience. Figured I get nerdy enough about it during the off season so might get some good insights into how it all works and what players we rate. Assuming I don't get told not to divulge any pertinent information I will try and give a run down of the night.

Apologies, I am tired and angry. The post game thread is full of happy-go-lucky folks. I sure hope they do however the last year and half hasn't filled me with much confidence.

Well today was yet another frustratingly familiar experience where poor skill execution and inefficient use of the ball forward of 50 was the staple of our play. With the large bulk of our best 22 now 4 years + into the system, we should be seeing more consistency of effort, decision making and skill execution from this group. Whats more worrying is the development/output of our players all seeming to stagnate with only Petracca showing signs of improving on his previous year. Having said that, I believe a lot of our deficiencies could be addressed at the selection table. 1. Bring in a second tall KPF. Be it Brown or Weideman to not only help with a target inside forward 50 but to help with representation on the wings for the bailout down the line kicks and relieve Gawn in the ruck. This will allow Gawn time to rest up forward on occasion where he has proven to be a threat. Just on Gawn, I can barely recall him taking a contested mark this year, a real feature of his game and one that can seriously influence an outcome of a match. Having an extra tall in our line up can give Gawn time to push forward and back and influence the contest there. 2. Bring in a second genuine KPB. I had hoped for Petty to be in this role but due to injury that's not longer possible. We recruited Lever as a star intercept 3rd floating defender who would regular intercept mark and control the backline. Now I don't think he is actually performing badly at the moment as a key back, but I believe we could further utilize his skill sets by bringing in another defender to perform this role. At the moment that person is O.Mac and while he doesn't get much love here I feel a May, Omac, Lever combo is a more potent defense than a May, Smith, Lever combo. 3. Smith to the forward line or dropped. I see what the football department see in him from an athleticism point of view, however he just doesn't have the footy IQ in defense. Perhaps he needs time to get familiar with his role but he is costing us a lot currently with his decisions to fly at certain contests and poorly checking his man. Up forward he could become a real handful with his ability to spring and mark at its highest point as well as bringing his speed to create defensive pressure in the forward 50. Unfortunately we have a lot of medium forwards at the moment so would be fighting Hannan, AVB, Melksham, Fritsch for a spot. If he is to be persisted with, I would happily trial him ahead of Hannan and AVB. 4. Harmes and Brayshaw to get more midfield time. These two play their best footy on-ball and Harmes is being absolutely wasted down back. I don't have the answer to how you would allocate appropriate midfield time to all of Oliver, Viney, Petracca, Brayshaw and Harmes, but I feel the balance isn't right and we are under utilising players in this area of the ground. These are just my opinions. I can't imagine Goodwin will survive the year if 2020 continues on its trajectory towards a 2019 like result. We are tired and angry and I think the board knows we are running out of patience.

We could probably predict the most likely candidates based on the selected 22 today + emergencies and likely additions. 22 from today vs Richmond May Salem Harmes Petraccca Viney Lever Brayshaw Gawn Oliver Hibberd Langdon Melksham Hannan Tomlinson Vandenberg Rivers T. McDonald Hunt Fritsch Pickett Lockhart Smith Emergencies Spargo O. McDonald Jackson Brown Next 7 likely candidates Jones Bennell Jordan Weideman Neal-Bullen Sparrow Jetta In the Mix? Bedford Pruess Baker Chandler C. Wagner J. Wagner Unlikely/Injured Bradtke Dunkley Kolodjashnij Nietschke Hore Petty

Disappointing to hear that he is going on for surgery on his groin tomorrow and will miss a large chunk of the season. I rate him highly and thought he looked quite promising as Key Position player that can take a contested grab and play either end of the ground. I believe he is out of contract this year so would love to see us sign him up soon.

Absolutely. Trading away their future mid round 1 pick now looks like smart move. Not sure what extra picks they have left but unless they fall off a cliff surely they would have to be rescinded.

Gawn mentioned he thought one area Carlton got on top of us was tall contested marks/representation down the wings when the ball was kicked down the line. Interesting that we've gone with one less tall and nil support for the ruck and key forward positions. We're going to have some less than ideal set ups throughout the game. Instruction must be to run and carry as much as possible +/- hope for wet conditions to bring our smalls into the game.

Are pants optional?

Waaaay too much time.

Josh Kennedy of the Eagles and Swans fame both still currently playing. We did have two Scott Thompsons playing concurrently not too long ago. Tom Lynch from Adelaide and Gold Coast/Richmond. Sam Reid from Sydney and GWS Giants. Bailey Williams from Bulldogs and Eagles. Edit: It appears we also have two Callum Browns (Collingwood, GWS) and Harrison Jones (Hawks, Bombers) playing at the moment, albiet at the start of their careers.

Nathan D Brown: Melbourne (146 games) Nathan G Brown: Western Bulldogs (137) & Richmond (82) Nathan J Brown: Collingwood (130) & St Kilda (53*) *still playing

Optics of a handshake might not be great, however it's probably the most sanitary thing they've done all night after manhandling, breathing and sweating on each other for 100 odd minutes. The damage would've been done. Not wanting them to shake hands out of concern of transmission in this scenario is kind of like putting on a condom after intercourse.

Pickett and Bedford debuting. ... there's an echo in here.

This exactly!

Minor rant incoming. Last year was a horror show on just about every front. But the one thing that really grated me was how we let our opposition get in our faces and respond so meekly. One example really comes to mind here is when Nick Blakey, a bean pole 1st year player with a dozen or so games to his name, buried a couple of our players in decent tackles then following that up by pushing their heads into the turf and letting them know all about it. This happened on 3 occasions, on the first two occasions our players just took it without showing any fight or aggression. Worse yet, not a single one of our players came over to help them out. Only Frost had any pride to give a bit back and showed he wouldn't just accept being pushed around. What sort of team allows their players to be treated with such disrespect? It really felt like we gave up that day and it made me question our team culture. So what do I want to see? I want to see the closest person to any contest where one of our players has been tackled, involved in a heavy collision or any scuffle, to go over and assist them. Whether its picking them up off the ground, giving them a high five, or pushing the opposition off them. Shouldn't be too much to ask, but happens far too rarely.

Forgot about him, cheers.

Premiers: GWS Runners Up: Western Bulldogs Melbourne finish: 5th Wooden Spoon: Gold Coast - Small improvement on this year Brownlow: Marcus Bontempelli Coleman: Tom Lynch (Rich) Rising Star: Deven Robertson Story of the year: Gold Coast apply for more draft concessions after starting the year 0-11, AFL decline request. Story you're unlikely to see: "Hird returns to Essendon to inject some team spirit" Random Melbourne Predictions Rivers first of draftees to debut Petracca to kick 30 goals playing predominantly as a mid and star for most of the season. Lever, Gawn, Oliver & Petracca to make AA team Jordan to establish himself in the team by half way through the year.