Young Blood

I echo what others have said about Josh. Had a really strong start to 2017 and has been unlucky not to play more senior games due to depth at his position. I think he's going to be important this year with Lewis potentially coming in and out (I think he will be rested). He doesn't have the experience and composure as Lewis but he does use the ball well when he's playing with confidence and competes well for his height as a third tall down back or higher HB. Can release guys like Hibberd and Jetta. I think Josh could potentially be best 22 if he can have a consistent run at it. Obviously there's guys ahead of him at his position (Hibberd, Fritsch and maybe Hore). Main thing he needs to work on still as others have noted is his one on one body work. He's decent spoiling a contest when he gets a run at it but needs to use his body better one on one.

So are you saying that we should have picked better players with the picks we had the last three years or that we should have traded picks/players to get higher picks to get better talent? Firstly any picks above 30 are a gamble really. But these picks also usually take longer to develop as they have more floors to their game. Guys like Harmes, Hunt (2013), ANB, O.Mac (2014) all mostly picks 40+ have taken time to develop and carve out a role. So I would be giving these guys some time before judging them too quickly. Of course there's always two or more low picks that don't work out, but this is the case for every club. If you're complaining about the lack of high picks well we haven't had much to trade for them lately. Because we've played pretty well the last few years we haven't been given higher picks and the picks in the 20's we've used for trades. Maybe a bottom four finish will do the trick for the talent you're after.

Jesus. Maybe we should send Nev forward....

It's not abnormal for a player coming from a club with lower standards of training/fitness to rock up out of shape. I've seen those reports and believe that he'd be fairly disappointed that he wasn't starting at a level that would prepare him better for the season. But where are the reports that he wasn't enthusiastic about coming to Melbourne? Is that because there were rumours that Collingwood were keen to get him? Don't know if that necessarily means we were his last pathway out. Unless you've had discussions with him or have him quoting as such? He's played half a game or so. Guess we'll see how interested he is in playing good football when he's on the ground. '

Sounds to me like he is stating "Its a massive challenge away from home in a hostile environment".

I know this takes our two fastest players out of the team but I don't think it's really a priority considering we are too slow overall as a team this year. I think the idea is to control the contest and not let other teams get on the outside. It's going to be do or die a bit this year. Out: Hunt, Frost, Wagner In: Wagner/Lewis, May, Stretch I agree with others if Viney isn't fit bringing in Stretch makes sense. The problem with Viney is still that he doesn't play other positions effectively. I noticed on the weekend that Oliver either didn't spend or hardly spent time in the forward line. This might have been because Viney had to rest more so Oliver had to play more in the middle but its still a concern with Viney especially if he can't rest in the forward line for example. Sounds like Lewis might be available but if not I think Goodwin likes Wagner. At his best he competes well in the air for his size and has decent foot skills. When he plays with intensity I think he can be very serviceable across half back. He frees up Jetta and Hibberd to play other roles and be more attacking because he can play on third talls or smalls. I'd like to see KK and Preuss come in but I think/hope we've learnt our lesson from last week bringing players back that might be underdone. Especially early in the season it just can't happen. When the fatigue kicks in for that last quarter you need your fittest players.

Agree can't see them wavering much from what you've got there. Apart from no Hannan or Tyson this is pretty much the team we won two finals with last season. It may not be the fittest but its a proven side. I look forward to seeing KK, Hunt, Garlett, Stretch and the new young kids battle down at Casey for a spot

A very important resigning for a very important player

I definitely think Hogan should eventually be a better all round FF then McDonald. At the moment McDonald beats him in accuracy and consistency but Hogan has quite a bit more to his game that he will continue to develop. Hogans agility and ability to win the ball around the contest is better. Tom still struggles with kicking anything thats not a straight line. I agree with others this means very little at the moment. Will be interesting to see how Jesse develops out west. Tom at the moment is a more consistent and effective forward to me.

WO SMITH!

AVB looks in ripping condition. Bursting out of packs using his body. He's going to really add some oomf to our midfield this year

I'd imagine you would want both starting in the middle. I don't think Harmes will start off tagging every game. It might be a matter of seeing how much we can win the ball early and how damaging their best mid is before sending him in. Viney seems like the only one who will spend 90%+ game time in the middle as he's not as effective elsewhere as Gus and Oliver. Oliver and Gus will rotate with Harmes, Trac, Jones, ANB, Vanders all spending some time in the middle. I think we'll see less of Salem in the middle then last year and same for KK as well with both playing predominantly high HB/Wing.

I can't see Frost playing further up the ground. Yes he is quick over 50-100m but he's buggered everytime he does so. Hence why he plays predominantly within back 50m. He would need to really build up his endurance to play wing. Like Tom Mcdonald his straight line kicking is good which he can get away with as a backman but would need to really change his style to be more dynamic with his disposal.

Didn't know he had that height. Makes him our tallest midfielder. Long strides, good length in marking contests. He seems to run and really good pace over 100m. Can't wait to see him really improving our run and spread on the wings which we badly need.

Having Hibberd, Jetta and May is going to be something special. There's compeditive backlines and then there's just mean, physical players who use their bodies incredibly well to beat their opposition. We now have 3x the latter. Give these guys a look at finals where one on ones are crucial and it just gives you chills.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see J.Smith train with the forwards through pre-season. With May our backline depth is looking solid. He's the next best option to step up and create some depth as a marking forward who competes well in the air. Has the ability to impact further up the ground like a Darling light. I think its a good option while he continues to try to find some continuity in his kicking where turnovers are less costly. Excited to see him have a full preseason and really challenge the likes of Hannan and AVB as the third tall/HF. I think his pace would also be beneficial if he can use it in the forward press putting opposition backlines under pressure.

I think he's the type of player we need if he can get back to the consistent form he had back in 2015 where he was third runner up in GC best and fairest (not a huge feat at GC but he was only a 20). You only need to look at his stats that shows how much he marks the ball demonstrating how well he spreads to find space. He's not lightning quick but has solid speed and athleticism. Really builds up speed well. I like the idea of him on a wing or half back with his ability to really spread. Uses the ball well too.

Yes this is very true. I was going to post earlier in regards to why Pruess would even consider Melbourne I think you have answered a potential reason why both player and club would be interested. There is a greater need for two ruckman. Along with potential rule/interchange changes you only need to look as far as the last two teams left playing in the GF. Both teams play with two ruckman (I know Cox is predominantly forward). It definitely gives you more options.

Would Freo not just wait another year so they don't have to pay overs and pick him up in free agency? Gives them more time to sort out their key pieces before then.

I agree. I watch Trac and definitely think if he dropped even a few kg's he could be so much more damaging. I think with Weid coming on and Tmac as main forward option the most obvious thing to do would be to train Hogan as a CHF/Wing who can be dynamic in the middle part of the ground and drift forward when needed. We know he has the tank and showed in the first few games he can perform around in and around the contest further up the ground. He will probably need to be a little bit lighter again and work more on the defensive side of his game. Would love to see Hoges work with Vanders in the off season to become more the two way running player that Vanders is.

- Slight role change to start the season - Injury set backs / couldn't put together solid string of games - Only 23 with plenty of time and potential He has a competitiveness that makes me confident if he can get his body right and carve out a role in this young team he will be best 22 for quite some time. Clean up his disposal and decision making and he's well on the way.

Or maybe even some shields? like the colours on this one.

The most pleasing thing looking at the bigger picture is there's guys that could potentially (but probably doubtful) play that could round out an even better bottom 6 and maybe be ahead of JKH Hunt, Joel Smith, Pederson, Bugg, Garlett, Wagner Not to mentioned the injured that won't be available: Lever, Vince, Kent, Stretch Thats some depth right there.

Are these lists based on current form? Or overall this season? Importance to the team? If it was based on form and importance right now Harmes would be top 5 and I don't think Jones would crack the top 10 to be honest. He's playing his role well but not influencing games as much as others.

He deserves a lot of credit for this clubs recent success. He came across because Roos was going to be coach and saw some hope and opportunity for growth. There aren't many players who are playing close to their peak that would do that. I think he's had a huge impact on the young playing group. The way he attacks every contest (bar a few high ones) is exactly the type of player you want influencing everyone. I've always enjoyed Bern's honesty and professionalism in front of the media. He will be missed. I don't think he will take up a role at the club as he has a real estate career/business waiting for him.