poita

These are the list decisions that we should be making after the trade period, and probably after the draft, not before. Leave a couple of list spots open, and dangle them as a carrot to get the likes of Henderson training their backsides off and stepping up their game in the pre season. Maybe we find a hidden gem somewhere.

I get this argument to a point, but there is absolutely no way that Hawthorn should be outperforming North Melbourne by this much in 2025 given where the two sides were 5-6 years ago. One of those teams has done everything right since then, and the other has been a disaster in every respect. Same for Essendon and West Coast. I know Hawthorn are nominally a big club, but they were not attracting quality players circa 2020, nor were they loading up on draft picks. Their success has been built on finding hidden diamonds such as Newcombe, and then supplementing with players such as Ginnivan and D'Ambrosio that nobody else wanted. Mitchell has been extraordinary for that club, particularly given how little impact Clarkson has had at North. West Coast and Richmond have both won premierships in the past decade, and are now taking their medicine. Richmond's strategy has been fine and they'll come good at some point. West Coast deserve to be garbage for a long time given how they have mismanaged their list. Melbourne are probably somewhere between those two, perhaps closer to West Coast, but it's only four years since our premiership. I do agree that it is a real issue that Brisbane and Geelong can keep adding quality free agents within a seemingly unlimited salary cap, whilst the lower Victorian teams struggle to attract even mid-tier players without paying overs.

Only as a direct swap for someone in the Sparrow / Langdon / Chandler category of fringe players, and even then I'm not convinced.

10 preliminary finals in the past 11 years - that's just extraordinary in an environment where almost every Storm player is recruited from outside Victoria.

Was that the same game that Harry Sharp kicked four goals and looked like a superstar? Because we all know how that one turned out.

I really like Mihocek as a player, but I don't love him in the same forward line as Melksham. It has to be one or the other.

J.J. LISTON TROPHY (Smithy’s VFL Best and Fairest) Jacob Dawson (Southport Sharks) – 28 votes Riley Bonner (Casey Demons) – 23 votes Dom Brew (Werribee) – 21 votes Deven Robertson (Brisbane Lions) – 20 votes Henry Hustwaite (Box Hill Hawks) – 18 votes Brodie McLaughlin (Williamstown) – 17 votes Jack Bytel (Coburg) – 15 votes Ted Clohesy (Geelong Cats) – 15 votes Harvey Hooper (Port Melbourne) – 14 votes George Stevens (Geelong Cats) – 14 votes

I keep reading all these predictions that Moniz-Wakefield is a star in the making. I haven't seen anything to date that would suggest that he has the ability to be a regular AFL player, or even a decent depth option. What have people seen in his 6 AFL games over 4 years that indicates he has a bright future?

The players say they want it, but let's see how many of the big names are still on board by the time 14 February comes around. I'm guessing the clubs will have the final say on whether star players are available or not.

26 pages on Wade Derksen. Rarely have so many words been written regarding someone of such little consequence.

The salary cap for 2025 was $17.8M. If you believe the figures in the Herald Sun rich list, we have spent roughly $7.3M of this on 8 players, plus 25% of Brayshaw's wage is still counted in the cap. Oliver - $1.2M - $1.3M Petracca - $1.2M - $1.3M Gawn - $900K - $1.0M Pickett - $800K - $900K Viney - $750K - $850K May - $700K - $800K Lever - $700K - $800K Petty - $650K - $750K That would leave around $10M across the remaining 37 players on the list, including Fritsch, Langdon, Salem and Van Rooyen who would all be on decent money. Maybe we could afford to bring in one more decent player, but I suspect we're getting pretty close to the cap.

Can someone please clarify the rules around Restricted Free Agents that would make Chandler and Sparrow fall in that category. Surely neither would be in our top 11 earners (25%)?

Irrespective of the recent conjecture as to whether someone may or may not have excused themselves from consideration, our candidates do seem to be dropping like flies. Does anyone have a feel for whether we are informing candidates that they have been unsuccessful, or whether they are dropping out after receiving unsatisfactory answers to pertinent questions? I did see a clip of Paul Roos during the week suggesting that all candidates should be asking the board to provide full disclosure of our cultural shortcomings, both perceived and actual.

It would actually be less than four vacancies, as four of the delistings are from the rookie list. Billings and Fullarton are the only delisted players to go from the main list, plus Spargo as a free agent.

Sure, but then he walks to West Coast for nothing in the PSD. Hardly a win for us.

If Tim Lamb is doing the deal it will be 2025 2nd round, 2026 1st round and multiple late selections. He is clearly in way over his head.

That's great, but why does it take a serious injury at age 30 for him to get to that point? If he had turned up in proper condition with the right attitude two years ago, most of us would be more understanding and supportive. It is very hard to see a new coach hitching his wagon to an injury prone 31 year old next season when younger, more reliable options are available.

I suspect they give out a truck load of memberships to the local community. Just like St Kilda offer a free 3 game membership to every kid in the SMJFL.

I take it by "around the mark" you mean finishing 14th again? Assuming we'll see improvement from May, Lever, Tholstrup, Sparrow, Kentfield, Moniz-Wakefield and Howes is delusional in the extreme.

I think this is a good outcome for both player & club. He played an important role in 2021, but hasn't been great since. A fresh start might get him back on track.

I posted this in the pinned thread earlier, but this might be a more appropriate location. In a year where 14 clubs achieved record membership numbers, and some increased their number by more than 10%, our result is more than 10% below our 2024 number and more than 17% off our record from 2023. That is disgraceful. What's even worse is that, despite barely winning a game for 6 years, North is on track to surpass us next year. That would leave us as the smallest Victorian club, despite winning a premiership in the past 5 years. What can we do about this? More flexible membership options, with better value provided. Every year we pay more for less. In particular we need to remove the GFG from the reserved seat package. Better member communications and social media presence. Engage with the supporter base. Should the club have a presence on Demonland? Deliver a better brand of football that people actually want to watch (more wins would be nice as well). Change the prevailing narrative that we are a divided and unprofessional club. Provide realistic opportunities for members, particularly kids, to engage with players (ie don't hold open training sessions on school days). Publicly advocate for the club and the players. I can't stand Chris Scott, but he never would have let the AFL get away with suspending May. If we are going to cop [censored] fixtures (eg West Coast @ Marvel), find a way to embrace these and deliver something of value to get people to come along.

I'm glad that Billings was told ahead of time, and not blindsided on the night, now give him the respect of a proper announcement that acknowledges 172 games over a 12 year AFL career. This club has made an artform out of embarrassing itself over the past two years.

In a year where 14 clubs achieved record membership numbers, and some increased their number by more than 10%, our result is more than 10% below our 2024 number and more than 17% off our record from 2023. That is disgraceful. What's even worse is that, despite barely winning a game for 6 years, North is on track to surpass us next year. That would leave us as the smallest Victorian club, despite winning a premiership in the past 5 years. What can we do about this? More flexible membership options, with better value provided. Every year we pay more for less. In particular we need to remove the GFG from the reserved seat package. Better member communications and social media presence. Engage with the supporter base. Should the club have a presence on Demonland? Deliver a better brand of football that people actually want to watch (more wins would be nice as well). Change the prevailing narrative that we are a divided and unprofessional club. Provide realistic opportunities for members, particularly kids, to engage with players (ie don't hold open training sessions on school days). Publicly advocate for the club and the players. I can't stand Chris Scott, but he never would have let the AFL get away with suspending May. If we are going to cop [censored] fixtures (eg West Coast @ Marvel), find a way to embrace these and deliver something of value to get people to come along.

Well done to Gawn, a much deserved winner who definitely should have more than 3 B&Fs. Congratulations also to Petracca, Pickett and Bowey who were clearly our next best 3 players over the year. As for the rest, the less said the better. If you agree with the coaches' assessment that he was our 5th best player (and I don't), Salem's votes equate to 404 / 23 games =17.56 / 4 coaches = 4.39 out of 10 on average. That was a failing grade when I was growing up. That the others were even worse is an indictment on the group. It is actually a real concern that our coaches rate Salem, Chandler and Langdon amongst our better players for the year, because all three were pretty ordinary for the most part. It makes me wonder whether as a club we are valuing the things that are going to bring us success in the next few years. Hopefully a new coach will change this.