poita

So, I'm a non-AFL player signed up at Casey, earning a few grand a year in match payments. I work 40 hours or more a week to provide for my family, then manage to train a couple of nights a week after work. Now I have to give up half of my weekend to fly to Queensland to play a game against Southport for a few bucks. Thanks, but no thanks - I'll just play in the EFL with my mates instead.

As I posted elsewhere, he's pretty lucky to get another contract given the competition for those mid-sized defensive roles. Hopefully he has spent the last months working on locking down on an opponent.

I thought Baker made some good progress late in the season, and he looked lit fitter than he did in 2019. That said, he needs a big pre season to ensure that he is contention for games early next year. If he is not playing regularly by mid season, it is hard to see him getting another contract.

I know many disagree, but I remain underwhelmed by Pickett. Yes, he is young and inexperienced, but he is also too small and light. The nicest thing that can be said about his 2020 averages of 7.8 disposals, 0.5 goals and 2.5 tackles is that the only way from here is up. His focus over the pre season needs to be on putting himself in the right positions more often, and getting his body behind the ball rather than reaching for it.

We desperately need Petty to get himself right over the off season and be ready to go for round 1. I really rate him, and our key position stocks are critically low at both ends of the ground.

I really don't see where Hore adds value as a third or fourth defender behind Lever, Hibberd, Smith, Rivers and others, but at least it is only for one year. Spargo doesn't have the physical attributes to be a decent AFL player, but clearly the coach is a fan. File him alongside Melksham and Vandenberg for plenty of undeserved games in 2021. The cleanout of the bottom third of our list that I was hoping for doesn't seem likely to happen this year. We'll never be a good side until we develop the sort of depth that Richmond has, and that is not going to happen while we persist with players who aren't up to it.

There's at least 15 players on our 2020 list that would offer way less in 2021 than Jones will on field, to say nothing of his experience, professionalism and leadership off field. I really don't see the downside if he is on minimal wages and accepts that he will be playing at Casey if his form warrants it. I'm looking forward to a big 300 game celebration early in the season.

The mind is willing but the body is shot. I hope he can be retained at the club in some capacity, although that will be difficult with smaller football departments. If another club is prepared to guarantee him senior football, then I'd wish him well in his new home.

Clearly just a battler, but works hard and is definitely worth another year on the list. If we could splice his head on to Weideman's body we'd have a very good player.

I can't see that he has single trait that is AFL standard, and have no idea why he got a second year on the rookie list. Surely we're not dumb enough to give him a third year, although why he hasn't been formally delisted yet is a concern.

Fair enough, he had a good year. The article in the HS this morning reporting Hibberd's extension also suggests that both Jetta & Jones are also likely to resign.

I want to like him, but it is a real concern that he couldn't get into a mediocre team when supposedly fit in the last month of the season. Needs to get super fit to convince that he is capable of cementing a spot in the best 22. At the moment he drops away every time he plays more than two games in a row, and then finds a way to get injured. I think the fundamental football skills and decision making are there, but the overall package needs some work. I'm happy for him to get a two year deal, but he would need to be playing regularly to get another deal after that.

Just a battler, but you can't tell me he wouldn't have contributed more than some of Melksham's weak efforts this year. Like Dunkley, one of far too many mid sized forwards on the list.

Josh's two games this year summed up his contribution over five years on the list - showed a little first game back, and then fell away badly the following game. The gap between his best and worst is far too great, and the worst comes out far too often. He did well to play 42 games because I would have delisted him after 2018.

The AFL as a whole, and the individual clubs, need to be really careful here. The AFL forcing players to take pay cuts in years in which they had loaded their contracts, as was the case with Jeremy Cameron and Jack Martin this year. Clubs asking players to back load contracts and then turfing them out before they have to pay up, as seems to be the case with Adam Treloar. I can't imagine the players and the AFLPA would be very happy with this situation, and players will soon get a feel for which clubs don't follow through on their promises.

It's pretty clear why he has only played 18 games in 5 years. Unfortunately he doesn't have the football nous or skills to be an AFL player, despite his obvious athletic strengths. He was always going to get a new contract after finishing the year in the senior team, but 2 years is overs given his inability to consistently get on the park. His retention surely doesn't bode well for Hore, particularly with Hibberd also in the frame.

I didn't really see anything to get excited by him last year, and we are grossly overstocked with mid-sized forwards. It would have been a fairly easy list management decision to delist him.

He's been around a few years now - is there any indication that he is capable of becoming an AFL player? I doubt that we are doing him any favours keeping him at the club if we can't guarantee him significant time as number one ruckman at Casey next year. He would be better developing in an environment where he can get the game time he needs.

Strides forward? Maybe baby steps. I'm still not convinced he has the burning desire to be a top quality AFL footballer. He seems to be happy coasting along, putting together a so-so 10 year career at a so-so club.

Apart from slaughtering Lever in his debut game, I don't think I've ever seen him do anything of note. Pass.

Neville's been on our list 12 years. He has played more than 16 games in a year 3 times, and more than 9 games in a year 6 times, for an average of 12 games a year. Realistically we would be lucky to get half a dozen games out of him next year. He absolutely squeezed everything out of his ability in 2016 - 2018 when he was close to the best small defender in the competition, but that was a long time ago now. He is slow, lacking in confidence, and his teammates don't trust him with the ball. Neville is a great person and a great leader, but the only way he should be at the club next year is in an off field role. If Collingwood want to give him a multiple year deal, good luck to him and them. This club needs to collectively put on its big boy pants and start making some tough decisions around players who won't contribute next year (see also Kolodjashnij and Nietschke).

I'd be happy to delist Hannan, so if anybody wants to take him for a pick under 100, good luck to them. Clearly has ability, but doesn't work hard enough and goes missing way too often.

I signed my son up for the first time as a MFC member in 2019. He only went to a couple of games that year as night games were not an option and he didn't have a reserved seat. We were on the fence about renewing, and then Covid happened. Not once in 2020 were we contacted about renewing his membership, not even with a form email targeting lapsed members.

Very few players spend 16 seasons in the AFL - that is a serious achievement. All the best, Lynden.

I don't get this view that people have that players should have to stay in a completely dysfunctional environment for their entire career just because the supporters will put up with mediocrity for years on end. This is a job that, for even the very best players, will be gone in 12 - 15 years. None of us would stay in a job we didn't enjoy for a decade, so how can we blame players for leaving when a superior offer lands on the table. Good luck to Chip, and thanks for eight years of great service.