poita

Another reason to get our own facility, so we can (a) have our shop located somewhere that is reasonably accessible and (b) not be forced to shut down by international musicians.

How hard would it be for each of the line coaches to write a piece for the website once a fortnight telling us how the players in their group are progressing? And if they don't want to do it, surely they can get some year 10 work experience kids to do it. Ditto for the Casey coach after each game. Do a pocket profile for each of the players like they used to have in the footy record, and release 1 or 2 each week during the pre season. I'd be interested in learning more about some of the off field staff we have as well, and what their jobs entail. Give us some regular, accurate injury and fitness updates. Not everything is a state secret that has to be kept away from opposition clubs. Put some posters and other downloadable materials on the website. Run some competitions on there as well. Update the team pages on the website so that the AFLW players drafted two months ago appear and those we traded out are removed.

Obviously a tough gig being opposed to Max, but are there any indications that KFW has made any progress over the off season? We haven't had a great record developing young ruckmen since Max came of age, and Kyah is coming from a long way back.

I'm really not seeing what the club saw in McAdam - regularly injured, lacks fitness and turns 29 in a few months. Hope he comes cheap. Disappointing to hear that Petty is still miles off.

We can't expect Max to keep carrying such a huge load on and off the field forever. The guy turns 33 this year and has a young family to think about. I desperately want to see him lift the premiership cup on the MCG this year but, whether or not that happens, this has to be his last year as captain. I'm happy to be the contrary voice on Lever. I think there are significant issues with the way he plays that will see his career come to an end quicker than most expect. He may be a good captain for a year or two, but I don't see him as a sensible choice in the longer term. Clearly Brayshaw has some issues that make him a risky choice as well. Petracca seems to be the clear next in line, presumably with Viney staying on as vice captain.

Imagine if a team was dumb enough to give a contract to a 32 year old who will miss most of the season with a serious knee injury, instead of giving its 32 year old star ruckman the experienced backup that he needs and deserves.

Anyone criticising Tom McDonald's spot on the list in 2024 needs to direct their anger / frustration to the club. Don't blame the player for taking a pay cut whilst extending contract length to help the club out. It is simply woeful list management to have all of Brown, McDonald and Schache coming out of contract next year, and all likely to be spending much of their time impeding Jefferson's potential development at Casey. Don't be surprised if at least one of those three plays on in 2025, because we're unlikely to delist / retire three similar players at the same time. That said, I'm one of McDonald's biggest fans and will back him in to have a significant impact if he is anywhere near full fitness.

Taj showed enough in 2023 to maintain my confidence that he can play at this level. Hopefully he can take a McVee-level leap forward in 2024 with his fitness and confidence.

Again I wonder where are his opportunities come from. I assume Pickett, Neal-Bullen, Fritsch and two talls are locks in the forward line. That leaves him fighting against McAdam, Melksham (when fit), Tholstrup, Billings, Chandler, Spargo and others for 1 - 2 spots. Tough gig, especially with a body that doesn't look ready for AFL level yet.

If he can't get his fitness up to the required level in the next month or so, it is hard to see where his opportunities will come from. There is very significant depth in his position, so it is really tough to see where he fits.

Laurie is another who doesn't win enough of his own football, and who isn't tall or quick enough to compensate for that. I honestly don't see a single AFL standard trait in his kitbag, and for that reason I don't think he'll make it.

I've said it before, but we are doing Kyah absolutely no favours playing him against men in a (very) part time ruck role in the VFL, as opposed to him playing games against players at a similar stage of their physical and football development. The chances of him playing a single AFL game are currently about 100/1.

I understand the initial decision to recruit Schache, and unfortunately he probably hurt his chances of playing more regular football with some fairly underwhelming efforts in round 7. Why you would select a guy in a final, then not use him, is completely beyond me. But even that is less puzzling than giving him a new contract before the end of the trade & draft period. I'm guessing our injury list would need to have at least 15 names on it before he is considered for senior games in 2024.

Showed some good signs early in the season, then reverted to the same inconsistency that he showed in previous seasons. Another who is going to need to lift in a big way to play senior football in 2024 given our recruiting.

Ordinary footballer who would have been well advised to look for another club in the off season given the ridiculous number of small & medium forwards we currently have on our list. Doesn't win enough of his own football, doesn't kick enough goals, doesn't apply enough defensive pressure - it's a bad combination for a guy who is coming into his 7th season.

Harry is already a super defender, and he looks capable of becoming a very good forward as well. That is potentially a great problem for the club to have if (a) he can get his body right and (b) he is prepared to sign a long term contract to stay here.

Super debut season for Jacob, despite a couple of costly brain fades. You don't want him to lose his passion or his attack on the contest but, if he can eliminate the really dumb acts from his game, he is going to be a very good player for this club over the next decade.

Amazing player, who has been consistently excellent over the past three years (aside from his recent injury). You can just about guarantee another 50 goal plus season if he is available for 20 games or more, and you can't say that about too many players.

If he can't get his body right this year, then we have some tough decisions to make. He has missed far too much football or otherwise played well below his ability far too often over the last few years. Undoubtedly he is a very good player at his best, but he is not good enough to carry indefinitely at reduced capacity.

As I've said before, Jake is being squeezed into a small defender role that just doesn't suit him. His disposal and decision making out of defence is great, but he is too often exposed defensively against good sides. Hopefully Goodwin is prepared to give him a run on a wing or at half forward over the pre season and we can see what he looks like in a different role.

Tom has all the attributes to be a very good player, but is a rung or two below that level at present. He has too many periods in games where he just goes completely missing, and then you find he has only had 12 or 15 touches for the match. He has to be getting 20 plus touches on a regular basis, otherwise others will just go past him.

Really poor season from Ed, and his drop off from the early part of 2022 has been astonishing. Now that we have some depth in the wing position, I hope he is really made to earn his games in 2024. Gifting him games, as was the case for much of 2023, is getting us nowhere.

Players missing training sessions and leaving camp early; players being rescued from surfing mishaps; members upset at not being notified of events before they happen and others upset about the lack of coverage from the camp. Sounds like business as usual for the club over the past four months.

I've seen some stuff posted by GWS on Facebook and it is light years ahead of anything that we do. Our communications are, at best, the absolute bare minimum.

Played some outstanding games in tough circumstances late in the season, then was injured when finals beckoned. I still think we should have tapped him on the shoulder at year, particularly given that we have since significantly strengthened our depth of mid-sized forwards, but I can also see why the club has kept him around.