poita

No issues with taking him with a rookie pick or very late draft pick if he is still available, but there is no way we should be using high draft picks on mid-sized forwards. You take genuine midfielders and key position players in the first two rounds of the draft, especially as a developing team.

Just a tip for everyone trying to trade out our VFL players for draft picks - it's not going to happen. Players like Vandenberg, Kent, Kennedy, Spencer & Bugg have zero value. We might let them walk for pick 100 just to get them a new home, but that would be it. If you want quality, you have to give up quality. Frost may have some value. Salem may have some value. I can't see too many others being considered expendable unless the deal of the century comes along.

16 wins would have had us first on this ladder this season, so it is absolutely ludicrous to have that as the benchmark for next year. 14 wins gets you in the conversation for top 4, and that is what we should be aspiring to. We won 12 this year and let slip opportunities in half a dozen others, so 14 is doable.

I wouldn't lose any sleep if any of the following are not at the club next year: Lumumba, Kent, Garland, Vandenberg, Vince, JKH, Hulett, Bugg, Spencer, King, Kennedy, T.Smith, McKenna, White, Wagner. Trengove is another, but at least he tries. Sadly we can't get rid of them all, but hopefully at least half are moved on. We need to seriously prioritise midfielders this year, and stop drafting flankers and utilities.

Any team that is second to the football is going to concede more free kicks than it receives, ie Melbourne yesterday, and especially in the first quarter. Don't blame the umpires for the players poor efforts.

Totally agree with this. Most of the posters in this thread remind me of five year old kids complaining that their sister got three jelly beans with their ice cream but they only got two. I'm not an umpire, nor do I know any. But it is an incredibly difficult job, they are human and they make mistakes from time to time (as well all do). Anybody who thinks it is easy should put their hand up and do it themselves. As an aside, the average player makes more mistakes than the average umpire each week - do we claim a AFL conspiracy every time Jeff Garlett or Dean Kent misses from 20 metres out directly in front?

I think Lewis's form has generally been trending upwards over the past month (from a fairly low base), but his biggest shortcoming in his refusal to take the hit occasionally. Instead he'll fire out a hospital handball or short pass and let one of his teammates get clobbered (Hogan being just one of many examples). I shudder to think what he and Vince could concoct together over the next month.

The biggest problem with our defence is Sam Frost. We all admire the way he takes the game on, but he turns the ball over far too often and consequently is 50 metres out of position when the ball is kicked back over his head. It happened on numerous occasions on Saturday and either Brown was left on his own or Jetta was forced to cover. If you are playing on the opposition's best forward, you have to sacrifice your game and stay close. Oscar, on the other hand, is the sort of player you can build a defence around because he is (almost) always where he is supposed to be. Yes, he needs to get stronger and tougher in the contest so he can take the number 1 forward each week, but that will happen over time. Jetta is similarly dependable, but unfortunately he isn't another four inches taller. That said, we certainly didn't lose because of the back line. We lost because our midfield collectively gave it up in the last quarter.

Lewis has had a very poor month in a side that had been playing good footy until Friday. If he steps up and leads the team to a win on Sunday, all will be forgiven. If not, it is increasingly difficult to see how he can be considered to be a best 22 player. My first request is that he puts his head down and picks up the footy at first attempt occasionally, rather than constantly fumbling because he is worried about what is happening around him. Second request is to follow an opponent rather than just standing in space pointing.

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I've been saying it all year, 90% of what Oscar does is excellent, 10% is atrocious. There is so much positive stuff in his game, he just needs to eliminate the bad stuff, and that will come with experience and confidence. Yesterday he didn't go hard enough at marking contests a couple of times early. Thereafter he was excellent. I fully expect him to play each week, irrespective of match ups. If anything, Frost or Tom can play on the smaller forwards, eg Dickson this week.

I don't expect Lewis to star every week, and am happy for him to just do his bit. However, his bit has to include being accountable for an opponent occasionally, and doing his share of the defensive work. He is sorely lacking in those areas at present.

I'd be happy to give Hulett another year, it's not like we are blessed with key position depth, and he has shown at least as much as Weideman (less talent, but much more heart). Presumably King stays as well, although he should be developing on the rookie list. Not sure about Keilty, but he is not causing much grief on the rookie list. The fact that none of White, Trengove and Kennedy have played this season suggests that all are in big trouble. Trengove is the only one I have any time for, but the coach clearly doesn't rate him. JKH won't make it. VDB is average and constantly injured. Tim Smith is average and his age counts against him. Who knows if McKenna can play, but we can't afford to carry injury prone small forwards (regardless of contract). And finally we get to see the back of that toxic weed, Lumumba. That makes 6 senior players and 2 rookies, before potential trades and retirements. Pedersen clearly stays. Spencer has the next two weeks to save his career. Big question mark over Vince. Happy to trade Kent for a bag of chips. Neal-Bullen can stay.

I'd be more than happy to have Zak on board, but the trade price is key. Hawthorn got Tom Mitchell for pick 14 and a swap of late picks. Jones is not worth that, but I'd certainly grab him for our 2nd round pick, which is currently sitting at 28. That's about what we gave up for Melksham, and I rate Zak higher than Jake. Sydney might be forced to deal at that level, unless North or another team jumps in with an earlier 2nd round pick. PS Supercoach points are not a reason to trade or not trade for players.

I just don't see key position defenders as being our weakness at this point in time. We have one (Tom) who is borderline A grade and two (Frost & Oscar) who are on their way to becoming very good players. Keep in mind that Frost & Oscar have played only 47 & 25 games respectively, they are very inexperienced. Throw in some flexibility from the likes of Hibberd and Joel Smith, and we are okay down there. Sure, May would make us better, but it will be a marginal, short term improvement, for a big cost. I think our midfield still needs more depth, particularly on the outside, and this would be my focus. Plus another marking forward if we can find one.

The complacency of being at home against weaker opposition. The idea of just rocking up and banking 4 points, rather than actually making it happen. In other games we have gone in knowing we are going to have to bust our guts and play well to win. And have performed accordingly. 99% of our problems are in our own heads. If Goodwin can fix these he is a genius.

What a stupid comment. If we had won on Monday night and Dom was best on ground nobody would be questioning his contribution. But we didn't and he wasn't, so it reasonable that the performances of senior players are scrutinised. For me, Dom is one of several key midfielders who is below his best. We can afford to carry one of them, but not three or four as was the case on Monday.

So far Lewis has played one very good game against St Kilda, one very average game against Carlton, and has spent the past three weekends scratching his arse. I can't see how you can judge his importance on that sample. I was thrilled with his recruitment, but he has let us down badly so far.

He is probably now the second best and most important player on our list, behind Gawn, which is incredible given his age and inexperience. Over summer he had to work on running out games better, which he has done. Now he just needs to fix up his kicks to handballs ratio, and he will be a genuine elite player.

Why waste any more time dealing with these pr1cks? There is zero interest in Hibberd from any other club, including Essendon. We have offered a deal that is probably over the odds given Hibberd's age, his 2016 suspension, and his playing history. After caving in to Essendon with Melksham last year, I'll be bitterly disappointed if we do the same thing with Hibberd this year.

As disappointed as I am that Grimes has been booted, I will feel ten times worse if any of Newton, Dawes, Lumumba, Michie, White, and King are still on the list by the end of October. I'd like to think the club knows what it is doing, but these are the same people that gave Terlich a two year contract and then refused to play him, when most people wanted to delist him.

Expect that (a) Dangerfield hasn't had serious injury issues in recent years and (b) Geelong didn't have to get rid of the best young key position player in the competition to land Dangerfield.

Are people blowing their load over Hibberd because they think he fills some desperate need we have, or because someone (albeit a middling player from a crap team) actually chose to come us (read: nobody else wanted him)? The last thing we need is another half back flanker, particularly one who hasn't played a game for 18 months. Offer Essendon a third round pick and move on if they won't deal. They need to free up salary space and we clearly paid overs for Melksham last year.

He has had 12 months to think about things, and get himself in the absolute best shape possible. I am not convinced about Melksham as a footballer, but I would be bitterly disappointed if he is not the hardest worker at the club between now and round 1. He should be absolutely desperate to prove himself to the club and to his teammates.

I'm sure if Lumumba does play on, he'll break a finger nail in round one and miss the next three months. I wonder if he genuinely wants to be here, or is just finding it hard to say no to the million dollars he is due for the next two years. If our football department had any balls they would negotiate a settlement and quietly usher him out the door during the finals series.