poita

Just to clarify, we: 1. Continued to play our most important player in the second half of a game that we had already won, after he had sustained a significant ankle injury in the first half; 2. Have no AFL standard backup ruck on the list, even though it was blatantly clear to every man and his dog that it was sheer madness to assume that a 32 year old ruckman would make it through an entire season unscathed; 3. Repeatedly balked at the opportunity to give an opportunity to Fullarton in recent weeks, even though Max has clearly been at less than full fitness; and 4. Feebly tried to cover for the absence of Max by throwing our best young forward (in the middle of a career best game) into the ruck, and therefore completely destabilising our forward line in the second half. You'd think the Petracca debacle might have taught us a few things, but we continue to do our very best to destroy our players.

Lever was absolutely terrible. I'm guessing he was directly responsible for about 8 shots on goal, mostly to Allen. He is tall, but he's not a genuine tall defender.

Imagine thinking that Hunter, Schache, Billings, McAdam, Fullarton & Hore are the experienced heads that we needed to stay in the premiership window. Our recruiters and list management staff need to be replaced pronto. What hope is there for the likes of Verrall, Adams and Brown when they see how those guys approach their football?

Not that I've seen. If he can't leap at the ball, he has no plan B.

I just love the idea that we're building our form and fitness for a finals campaign that is increasingly unlikely to happen. More likely we're just not good enough this year, and the happy clappers that dominate our supporter base are utterly deluded.

His best football is clearly very good, but we have barely seen it for three years. In some ways he has actually become a liability because his talent has demanded selection in a struggling team when he clearly hasn't been fit enough to contribute. His safety first approach also doesn't help our efforts to move the ball quickly, although he may have helped us to retain possession in the fourth quarter on Friday.

Second quarter was fantastic, but otherwise we kicked three goals (and thirteen points) in three quarters. We got exactly what we deserved by returning to negative, timid football in the last quarter instead of trying to win the game.

Absolutely cretinous Neal-Bullen.

How many marks have Brisbane taken inside 50? Our defenders are nowhere near their men.

As bad as the umpires are, we're still our own worst enemy.

Has Windsor hit a target by foot or hand in the past 6 weeks?

My 70 point estimate is looking like being massive unders.

I'm more than happy for Kalani to travel under the radar for the next 18 months. The last thing we need is for him to be a no. 1 pick contender. If we can get a quality prospect with a later pick and develop him internally, that sounds perfect.

Melksham isn't part of the future. If we're not playing finals, he shouldn't be playing at AFL level again (other than a farewell game if he wants one).

We've got plenty of players on absurdly long contracts, I've seen no evidence of us changing tack. You're a plodder in the VFL, Bailey Laurie, here's a contract until 2026. Here are contracts to take you into your mid 30s Steven May and Max Gawn.

Collingwood's medical team must be doing something right given their record over the past 12 weeks. How have we gone in that period?

Six MFC listed players with 8 touches or less. No wonder half our senior team is undroppable with so little pressure for spots.

If the club still thinks they are competing for a flag, they are totally deluded and will set us back a decade. We need to bring in a heap of talent in the 18 - 22 age bracket, and move on a bunch of list clogging 28+ year olds.

Has Lachie Hunter been delisted already?

I would struggle to name a player on the entire list who has improved since 2021. Maybe Rivers. The majority of the rest have plateaued or regressed significantly. Adding McVee, Van Rooyen and Windsor across three years (also a poor result) doesn't come close to offsetting the drop off in performance of the senior players. And the reality is that none of our 28+ year olds (ie most of our rapidly aging list) are going to recover lost ground at this stage of their careers.

Taylor has been poor over the past four draft years (Van Rooyen aside), but we definitely haven't given him enough late picks to work with. I'm keen to see what he can do with some late picks to find some hidden gems in the state leagues. Lamb has been abysmal and needs to be given his marching orders before year end.

Yes, we need to build the next midfield dynasty as we did with Petracca, Brayshaw and Oliver in consecutive years.

Another 29 year old? I'm sure the club will be right into him given their ongoing drive to make us the oldest list in the competition.

I think there is still some upside with Billings, definitely more so than with Hunter, but he has been disappointing thus far. I think we can categorically say that the sub role doesn't suit him after two failed attempts.

Incredibly brave (and stupid) of Petracca to return to the field, if only his teammates cared as much. Nobody will ever convince me that it wasn't totally negligent of the club to let him return, but we've made an art form of mismanaging injured and unfit players this season. He could have tested out his capacity to play in the rooms without putting him back out there. It is also incredibly poor coaching to have your number one midfielder standing under high balls in the forward line. That's not his role and there is a fair argument that he doesn't know how to protect himself in that situation.