Young Blood

Spargo isn't going to kick many goals. His highest was 18 in 2021, since then that numbers gone down and accuracy has always been iffy. Charlie's best position is as a hard running high HF where he can be link up player. There's an opportunity for him in this role now that ANB has left which I'd like him to push for. His strength has always been his vision, ball use going inside 50 and pressure/tackling. Hopefully a fit Spargo can push to get back into best 22 this year. The club obviously still rates him highly as they brought him in for opening round round this season even though he was underdone. (wrongly it turns out) But still.

A touch dramatic here. Its a back up ruck role. As prime example on the weekend, as a back up ruck you only need to be solid and competitive to allow the mids to go to work.

If he does leave. Do you think you would support another club? Or just stop barracking for Melbourne?

I'm very interested if its a decent offer. Love Clarry but I just think we still have a window and need to take this sort of risk to really push for a flag again. Before Gus went down I was interested in a trade for Clarry. I just felt in 2023 there were number of games with Clarry out with injury where we looked much more dynamic with the Gus, Viney, Trac and Sparrow rotations. I think the current best midfielders have players now who can play both inside and outside. I think as a primary ball winner at the contest Clarry can still excel but when we've tried him on the outside or as a release player of late I think this is an area of his game that's gone down hill somewhat. Viney, Trac and now Rivers have a greater ability to win the ball and be more damaging with the next disposal AND be able to run and spread on the outside. If we could add a Peatling and another mid in the draft like a Langford I think with our current mix we could have so many options to finding a lethal midfield to match it with the best. A starting midfield of Trac, Viney, Rivers and Peatling. With depth/rotations of Kozzy, Sparrow, Windsor. Langford and eventually McVee. I'd be much more interested in this then another year with Oliver even at his fittest. Again not against the man. I think he'll go down as one of our greatest but just think a different mix will help us moving forward. Not to mention the salary side of things.

Why on earth would Port trade him? No more Dixon and an injury prone Marshal means more playing time for Ollie. Lord (22) and Georgiades (23) are the future of Port's forwardline with both showing promising potential early on

She is contracted till 2026

At the moment his partner who is from Darwin is very happy with her current job and life here in Melbourne. Apparently Kozzy has expressed he would one day like to move up to Darwin. I think I heard if there was a Darwin AFL club he'd be keen to play there one day, but that was just a comment. To answer your question, home is where family is. I'd imagine one of Eyre Peninsula in SA or Quairading in WA. For now he has his little family and sister here in Melbourne with all the support from the team and is signed on until the end of 2027. The homesick thing is blown out by media, he's probably mentioned a few times in front of supporters which media will run with as him expressing wanting to leave. Its not going to go away unfortunately. Apart from supporting his family and perhaps looking to sign more indigenous players which Koz would like, there's not much more the club can do. I'm sure getting back into finals contention and Kozzy kicking bags in front of bigger crowds (hopefully!) will go a long way too.

Phew. I always just see 'Melbourne' written when first quickly reading something in anticipation and was relieved to read it properly in full here. North would be a good fit for him. We have our good small HB ball users already in Salem and Bowey. In terms of playing him as HF I way prefer Spargo coming back from injury in this position.

Remind me, how many list spots do we have currently? Of the players retired or delisted: Brayshaw. Smith, Brown, Farris-White and Schache? Is it only 5 or am I missing more? Any chance of more delistings?

I'd trade pick 25 for Peatling in a heartbeat. This guy is going to be better then ANB. He's just turned 24, his key strengths are his agility, speed and footy IQ. In his draft years the things he had to work on was his strength/size, endurance and disposal efficiency. Since then he's gone from 73kg to 79kg, built his tank while being able to maintain that speed and ability get in and out of traffic with quick feet and smarts. Hard to say how much his disposal has improved but considering this season that 50% of his possessions were contested (7.1 per game) his overall disposal efficiency of 70% is pretty good for a midfielder who played inside a fair bit. He can play inside or outside mid and you just love his attack on the contest and want to tackle. In the two finals played he really showed how committed his is defensively with his pressure and tackling. He also showed his versatility by hitting the scoreboard playing the high HF pressure role and I think could even play down back if needed with how well he reads the play/ball with strong marking for his size Very similar type player to Rivers, drives the legs out of packs with a penetrating kick. Whoever gets him will be stoked to get such a well rounded player already who has had to prove himself with immense improvement over three years and hasn't even reached his full potential. He is exactly what this team needs and I think in a few years looking back pick 25 for him might be a steal.

I'm just going by lots of photos of him standing next to and being the same height as Harry and Hogan. I always find this so funny in other sports when they do the bare feet measurements. Its so silly. Unless players play in barefeet its a stupid exercise IMO. Do they go as far to measure with studs on? On grass or hard surface? If on grass wet or dry day?.. Would make quite a difference I'd say 🙃

He's the same height as Hogan and Harry Himmelberg so 194-195cm

Make some suggestions. Ones that would be happy to play behind Max / for Casey for a few years. Worked out great with Grundy... I imagine the club is looking at younger rucks across the comp to bring in and develop alongside Verrall to hopefully be a longterm option post Gawn. Until then whats wrong with bringing in a mature decent back up Ruckman who can compete at AFL level if/when Max is out or needs a rest which is likely to happen in the next two seasons?

Sorry, I didn't realize there was a backstory to that particular poster actually trolling. My apologies

How is that trolling? I don't think @Demonsone was talking about their performance in this game. Its a fact that both wanted to leave the Dees to play in another teams best 22. They did and now they're both about to play in a premiership and have played their roles to get there... kudos to both of them.

Umpires ear pieces getting a good work over tonight

Are Port being ghost coached by Goodwin 😉

This is inside goss you're getting? Or its reported?

Would be more funny if it weren't so true... 😪 But I'm not giving up on 25 yr old Fullarton just yet! A lot of 200cm players take time to develop. This is my mediocre half glass full approach.

Answers - Very good - Jesse Hogan

Well for one thing, unlike Smith he'll be available at pick 5 most likely. But I don't rate Reid at all for us at pick 5. I think he will slide to the teens. Lacks pace, agility and contest. He could develop to a Pendles type outside mid who relies on his timing and skills. But I just don't see it. His possessions aren't damaging and doesn't get separation from opponents. At best he'll be a handy flanker.

Fair enough. Physically I see O'Sullivan with elite agility. He has the Kozzy like bounce/footwork and quick lateral movement and burst to get himself free. Long legs with long strides with a booming kick, covers a lot of ground. Makes good decisions and doesn't waste many possessions. He's more of an outside mid/wing at this stage but I think he could develop his inside game over time. Which is why he'd be perfect for us fit-wise at the moment. I will agree with you that he has had an up and down year being in and out with injuries without a clear run. I watched him play a few games including VFL for Richmond where he really held his own and showed some of the pure talent. This kid oozes talent and has the highest upside in the whole draft. I would be thrilled if he dropped to us. He's like a Josh Kelly with more speed and agility. He's listed at 182cm but I reckon that's an old measurement. I'd say he's closer to 184-185cm now.

Curious as to why no O'Sullivan? I think he's the most talented player in this draft and has the highest skill and quick footwork we need as an outside mid. Lalor is very tempting but won't have much impact in his first season (or two maybe). As he mentioned in a recent interview he hasn't had much pre seasons of late because he plays high grade cricket. He mentioned coming into this years season underdone. I think it will take a few pre seasons for him to build a proper AFL level of fitness and conditioning to perform at the level. FWIW my order of preference: 1. O'Sullivan - Shades of Heeney with how complete his all round game is. His ability to get out of traffic is elite 2. Jagga - Definitely has that forward run out of stoppages like Butters. He has super strong hips like a Daicos too 3. Draper - Although I think he'll get snapped up by Adelaide or WC I think he is the exact player we need with his skill and pure speed as a midfielder. He's a jet. I think he's the most like Warner in this draft. 4. Langford - I'm not sure where he will fit in to this current team but long term a solid choice as a midfield workhorse that could develop into a Dawson/Cripps type mid with his size.

Yes and most of these came from precision ball movement from Carlton mids who put it down his throat. Out midfield, ball movement is very different... He's not able to create much himself out of contest. I'm sure there's a few reasons that Carlton is happy to move on from him. I think he's greatly benefited from playing alongside Curnow and Mckay who draw all the attention which has allowed him to play off of them and find space and time He does kick straight I'll give him that and is a decent mark. I'd like to concentrate on other players ahead of him.