Young Blood

nawwwww *sad face*......

They have a more even spread of players. Their senior players are more settled in the side and overall they have put together more consistent performances.

Yes. Even though he probably needs to get his head right (literally) with a few cautious games at Casey. I definitely think once he's fit the club really invests some senior time for him and find him a role where he can play consistent footy. One of our most important players if we're to get to Saint Kilda's level.

The club said "No F....ing More" when they hired Paul Roos on big money and turned the whole club around in a few years to be at the stage we are at now. A young talented but inconsistent side that has a lot to improve on. I'd be saying those sorts of things if I was a Richmond supporter....

If Hawthorn played terribly and we lost this game then I could understand all the pissing and moaning from this guy who wrote the letter and other posters on here. But they shut our running game down for three quarters, they got numbers around the contest and forced us to handball into difficult positions and they put defenders in front of areas where the forwards could not lead forcing us to bomb it in. Offensively they changed their usual short kicking game to kick long down the line where they trusted their contested marking and it payed off. Yes Dees came out flat and should have played better in the first half. But Hawthorn were a superior side on the day.

What a d****. Doesn't deserve to go for this team. I'm really looking forward to this letter being brought up in the future when we hit some form.

When was the last time a player like this coming off a grand final and norm smith medalist left his team for $$$ And why the hell would bulldogs let him go or trade?

I think Hannan played a decent game. Was one of very few players in the forward half that put genuine pressure on a very experienced Hawthorn backline. He also created quite a few scoring opportunities. You would think JKH has to go back and get some work done down at Casey. Stretch is a definite in for me. We miss his spread and good decision making on the wings.

Agreed!! Compared to last year we weren't even close to how competitive we have been this year. Playing some daring football. There have been mistakes and the young side has lacked composure to finish games. Gotta be a little bit patient. Lets forget about finals now and see if we can put in four quarters of consistent football.

I saw T-Mac really fumble the ball in close to Hawthorns goal. Did he make many really bad kicking mistakes yesterday? Thought his decision making was better.

Yeah I think you're over reading Lewis there Lucifer. He kicked the goal, had a quick celebration (I imagine he was pretty fired up) then settled and got back into position.

Yep exactly. But also left out Burgoyne as I said.....

This is just a sample of the experience of our backline compared to Hawthorns. Yes they built a dynasty but they built it over TIME. I'm leaving Tommy Mac and Hibberd out but I've left Burgoyne out here too. Just look at the difference. We need to give these guys time to develop. Oscar McDonald - 21 (22 games) Jayden Hunt - 22 (26 games) Josh Wagner - 22 (15 games) Sam Frost - 23 (22 games for MFC) VS. Grant Birchall - 29 (243 games) James Frawley - 28 (186 games) Ben Stratton - 28 (145 games) Josh Gibson - 33 (220 games) Melbournes backline: 88 games total Hawthorns backline: 794 games total I think all of our defenders have the potential. They're athletic, have a good intensity and work rate and are all good one on one defenders. Kicking from the backline is not easy and that along with decision making will come with time. It's obvious the difference in confidence and composure when Lewis, Hibberd, Vince and Jetta have the ball compared to our younger players. We are very much still developing.

I definitely think he could be that and maybe a littler bit more. If he can play his role as a half back I think he adds depth to the Wagner/Hunt/Lewis/Hibberd/Jetta halfbacks who attack from that position. He is a decent kick and has some agility with the ball when he's playing with confidence. I think the reason he's played six games is probably because he has played his role well enough for the coaching staff to keep him in. I think many are quick to judge a player who doesn't win a lot of ball.

He even laid his first and only tackle as a dee today! What a guy.

I agree Frost has definitely taken a few steps forward in the few games he's played this year. Love the confidence in the club and himself to take out the oppositions No.1 forward and also attack with his pace. A lot of pressure acts from Sam. Frost was the main reason T-Mac was able to play up the ground more.

I haven't been watching this game. Adelaide taking serious advantage of a tired Richmond? Or just Adelaide that much better then everyone else right now bar maybe GWS?

Yeah because he played his role and attacked well off half back. I think he's done that most weeks this year but maybe stuck out more so today. Not just Goodwins favourite.

Yeah chook I think Stretch is the most obvious in. Probably just needed a rest today.

i don't know if we're carrying him.... He just finished off today with 29 disposals, 9 marks and 9 inside 50's I think Jones has been making some average passes as well as the rest of the team. I do agree his disposal needs some work as do many others on this team. Like i said in a previous post his ability to run the outside and receive the ball from an inside mid (Viney/Oliver) and release it into fwd 50 is really valuable. Not sure why Tyson is the current whipping boy as much as he is at the moment.

Vince I think the move to put Bernie, Jones and Lewis in the middle for periods in the second half really steadied us and took some of the pressure off the young guys. But I still think Vince plays a key role down back and allows Lewis to do more damage up the ground. He has been caught out playing deep in defence but I think he's much more effective as a high halfback/wing while rolling through the middle when we're needing some obvious clearances. Tyson I think Dom plays his role well most weeks. Showed today his ability to receive the ball from the in tight contest (from Viney/Oliver mostly) and release the ball for the clearance. He works really well as the outside mid. If he rotates this role with Salem and Lewis we should continue to see it work well.

Exactly. He beat his man pretty much every time so didn't need to tackle all that much.

Yeah your option or mine above. Either O mac in to cover for Frost's time in ruck or Weiderman in to cover for Watt's time in ruck.

I don't think they will drop JKH. He actually did some good things leading up through the middle of the ground in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. But it's more that I think the coaching department were really happy with his preseason and will try to give him another game to prove himself. A dry game on a quicker field. Bringing him in and out gives him no chance. For mine realistically Out: Spencer, T Smith, Hogan In: Pederson, Bugg and Lewis I think they might bring Weiderman in too as the other tall down fwd with Pederson playing mostly ruck

Yeah I actually kind of like the idea of having another mid nominate for throw ins. You basically get another midfielder around the ball who can follow up better then the oppositions ruckman which is essentially why they like Watts in, but the suggestion of lewis isn't half bad. If he can read and position himself better then the ruckman it could work every now and then. I think they could get very inventive.