poita

So, are we just throwing up names for the sake of looking like we are doing something useful, or is there actually more than a miniscule chance that we can land someone who can lead this club out of the mire? Because Melksham is far closer to the Newton / Michie / Dawes / Lumumba level of recruit, than the level of Dangerfield or O'Meara . If Goodwin, McCartney & co are as good as everyone says they are, shouldn't they be able to realise the potential of a Toumpas or a Watts, rather than talking up their value to another club? By all means move on Watts, Toumpas & co as part of a trade for a big fish, but what's the point of moving on a player of Watts' ability for pick 43 in a weak draft or a nobody like Melksham?

Nice work if you can get it, being paid $1m a year plus and you get to hand over most of your responsibilities to your successor.

It remains incredible to me that a bloke who is slow, poorly skilled and doesn't get enough of the football was given a three year contract, presumably on decent money. Thanks for that, Neeldy. That said, Jordie was a much better player in his first four years than some around here give him credit for, and he probably deserved more than a quarter of senior football this year to save his career. Thanks and good luck, Jordie.

I thought he was fair at best this year, although he did suffer from some poor matchups at times (eg Tippett in round 6). I would like to see him show some more leadership on the field.

He is a much better player than he showed this year, but could find himself on the fringes if he has a slow start to 2016. Needs a big pre season.

Excellent run of form through the latter half of this season, and very much justified our continued faith in him. We need to be very careful how we manage him going forward, as he always seems likely to break down when over worked. It is just a pity that he wasn't given the same opportunities to cement his spot at the end of 2014 when Jamar was floundering, but perhaps the penny had to drop for him. Maybe Spencer's run of games from round 6 onwards was the spur that Max needed to get his act together.

Putting aside the WADA shennanigans for a second, Essendon are by a large margin the worst team in the comp to trade with. They severely overvalue every one of their players, which makes it almost impossible to trade with them. I wouldn't want the club wasting it's time negotiating a trade with these morons, let alone for a mediocre player like Melksham. We've got more chance of trading for Dangerfield.

Which one of Laird and Jaensch does he reckon he will unseat?

I love how some around here think Howe should take whatever we offer him, and not bother about trying to get the best deal for himself. And in the same breath can't wait to throw the likes of Watts and Grimes to the curb. Loyalty runs both ways. You can't expect the players to think only of the club, when the club is only too willing to ditch players if and when it suits them. We tried to change the terms of Evans' contract last year. I'm sure we will do the same with Terlich (and possibly others) this year. Don't blame the players for looking after themselves.

Would love to see Jack back on the field next year, if nothing else just to see him get some reward for all the hard work he is putting in.

He is already a seriously good player, and would have been even better if he had been given a rest throughout the season. Expecting big things in 2016.

If we had 22 players running out each week with the competitive spirit of Jack Viney, we would be a very hard side to beat. If he can add a bit more polish to his kicking over games 50 - 100, we will have a super player on our hands.

Terrible from start to finish. Looked scared of getting hurt, scared of making a mistake, scared of doing too much. Most of his (all-too-rare) possessions resulted in a teammate being put in a horrible position, and I don't recall him ever negating an opponent either. Should have been dropped well before the mid year break and given an opportunity to recharge at Casey for a couple of weeks. He is well outside my best 22 at present, and I hate to think that we have to tolerate another three years of his pea-heartedness, particularly on the salary that has been reported. I would give serious consideration to paying out his contract if we see a repeat of this year in 2016.

Jack's best football is elite, I truly believe that. His worst football is a long way below that. It is disappointing that he hasn't been able to close that gap in seven years. He has had three senior coaches, and numerous assistance coaches in that time. I don't know if that has hurt his development, but it certainly hasn't helped. I would hate to see him at another club, but if the price is right I couldn't blame the club for moving him on. I certainly wouldn't move him on in a fire sale though - there would have to be something seriously good coming back the other way.

Jimmy clearly is well below where we, and presumably he, thought he would be after three years. That said, I would love to know why the likes of Stretch, Neal-Bullen, Harmes, Michie, Newton and even Lumumba were allowed weeks and weeks of mediocre performances, whereas Jimmy gets dropped after two quiet games. We know his confidence is an issue, and I doubt that this helps. I think he can play, but he needs a big pre season and a strong start to 2016.

My only concern about him after year 1 was whether he could consistently get 20 plus touches a week. He showed very early this year that he could, and he will clearly be a super player for many years to come, fitness permitting.

Nathan Jones's (relatively) poor seasons are still a benchmark which few on our list are capable of attaining. Hopefully he gets himself right over the break and has a massive 2016. If anyone in the comp deserves some success it is this bloke, and the club owes it to him to give him 43 teammates who will stop at nothing to be the best that they can be.

Could not have been more impressive. My expectations of him this year were hopeful rather than confident, but he did everything we could have asked. Now, for an injury-free pre season and a big 2016.

I just can't see the point to persisting with Dawes any further. He is not capable of being the player we need him to be, and I would much rather get games into younger players. Even if that means moving Dunn / McDonald / Garland forward so we can play Frost or Oscar in defence. Pedersen is a much better option than Dawes anyway, and additionally I hope we can find the next Josh Bruce in the trade period.

Okay. A pitiful 4 votes at his reported salary would be about $150K a vote. On that basis Vince would be worth almost $22M a season. And Lumumba wasn't dropped at any stage because ???? I think the top seven will be the same in the Bluey as well, possibly with Cross & Jones slightly higher.

Thanks all for the comp, especially Robbo. Sorry I haven't been as active on the message boards as I had hoped. In an even comp my team lost its way mid season and never recovered, although we did okay in the losers finals. Hopefully we can go around again next year.

I'm another who doesn't really mind if Howe goes or stays, but I certainly don't believe in showing talented players the door just to bring in pick 753 in a weak draft. If other clubs aren't willing to cough up decent players or picks, then we may as well keep him. Howe, like Lumumba and others, would benefit from a trip to Casey every now and then when he starts to look disinterested. Roos needs to start wielding a big stick with some of these players.

We seriously dropped Watts ahead of Newton? FMD, this club has no idea.

Until the past month I wouldn't have thought it possible for us to perform worse than we did against GWS in round 21 last year. Given the venue, and our recent performances, there is every chance of us plumbing even greater depths on Sunday.

About fricken time. The dope who proposed the sub rule should be banned from having any further say in the direction of the game.