rjay

Not so big in current terms 'norm'. We don't have anyone close to the $1mill mark so I'm sure we have plenty of cap space if we choose to use it.

Yep, and that's ok in a team like Brisbane... We should be well past that stage if we are to be a legitimate flag contender. Are we still developing like Brisbane, GC & Carlton or are we ahead of them? Carlton will move quickly once they learn to win...if Clarkson had that list they would be a finals contender this season. If we are a legitimate flag contender then Lewis' job is done here. I've run another thread where I asked whether "The Writing was/is on the Wall" I'm not sure our list is good enough yet and think we're still in rebuild, the window many not yet be open for us. If you're telling me we still need Lewis then it answers that question.

Experience is also overrated when it's inclusion is built on memories past... If anyone watched Hodge last night & didn't buy into the Bruce...Hodgy BS, you would have seen a great player past his use by date. The Pies ran rings around him & all the experience & guidance in the world doesn't cover that up. He wasn't on his own last night of course but his experience added nothing & had them one man down from the start. Injury then added to that. If we are to be a serious finals contender then someone else needs to take the leadership role down back. We can't afford to carry a tour guide. Lewis like Hodge has gone one or two seasons too many...

He has but for those wondering why McInnerney wasn't picked up. Just check out when Martin took a fairly long break forward in the 3rd (I think it was). The big O couldn't get near it and Grundy took him to the cleaners... Grundy is a very good player but Oscar is a long way off the pace.

It's not when he gets the ball that concerns me, he's good with ball in hand...but he doesn't get it enough... ...more importantly as 'Earl' says above the Saints cut us up from half back last year. Spargo offers zero defensive pressure.

The best mate thing and barracking for a club as a kid doesn't really matter. It's going to be cash and opportunity. If GWS miss out again this year can we deliver him cash and a flag? ...or are the Hawks better placed?

Gaff at pick 4 ensured they managed the list...pick 4 in a compromised draft is a pretty good reward. The rubbish defence doesn't stand up as we know. We can only wish we were as rubbish as WC were... ...their list was streets ahead of ours. Put their 2010 list up against our list of the same year and any of the lists where we had bottomed out (nice way of say we were s...) ...it's embarrassing to compare the lists side by side.

What a lot of people don't understand is that Hawthorn built their membership base from the 70's...kicked off in the 60's with Kennedy's commandos... It was when they started to really win flags, the kids that jumped on board the Hawks then are the backbone of their current membership. They had a latent supporter base to tap into. Conversely we were on the opposite trajectory and have been dying a slow death since the'60's. Our supporter base is ageing and has been dwindling... Now, I'm not being negative as I like the goal of 70k + members. With the population growth in Melbourne I would think we are being conservative and will probably need 100k+ members in the future to be a viable club. Good to know Pert is on to it. He doesn't have a large latent supporter base to tap into and will need to be very creative to grow the club. ...and of course the FD will need to back him up with Premierships and sustained success. New arrivals in Melbourne will be looking to get on board a successful club with plenty on offer.

I don't think we've had speculative picks or trades that I can think of... Clarrie was probably the only one to come close as being speculative, would you rather we played safe and went for a solid player like Parish?

...and we never will be unless we take the opportunities that present. It's a good idea to have a look at what strong organisations do and emulate them.

Like Hawthorn??? Forget Burgoyne...O'Meara Geelong??? Selwood or Stevie J.... We can't play it totally safe 'Febes' or we get nowhere... I do understand the frustration though. May & Lever would be handy on the park now.

I think we will smack them this week...

At the moment Tommy Mac couldn't catch a cold & Maxy is not much better. Those 2 get their mojo back & our contested figures come up dramatically. ...but as 'team' says a lot of general around the ground marking is about game plan. We're not a tempo team, we're more ballistic...

Garlett for Spargo... Spargo had some nice little cameos but can't lay a solid tackle and opposition players know & expose him.... If he can't tackle then he needs to get a lot more possession & hit the scoreboard regularly, neither of which he does. Oscar probably rested with concussion.

I think ANB will show where our depth sits at the moment. Expect he will get 30+ touches. We don't have others getting that amount of ball at Casey and it's a concern to me... We need players to step up and rip the game apart at that level to put pressure on the senior team.

Naughton looked good in the 3rd Q...

Do you reckon the dogs could lend us Macrae for 5 or 6 years????

Eddie...I shake my head. Were the spin doctors at work with the coin toss??????

On another note...I thought Phil Davis was good last night. I generally don't like current players commenting on the game but he gave some good insights. Also, we could do with him at FB...

Agree 'Hillary', got to keep it simple for Frosty... No short kicks, no switching the play, just long down the line please. I think he also really struggles with the zone concept, needs a player to watch and that's it. Anything more and he's done...

He's so close to really imposing himself on a game...played well last night. Was a very important part of the win.

Well, that's what Brian & Bruce we're saying... ...but looked more like he got the wind knocked out of him if I was to guess.

He is a smart footballer and used it well but he didn't get much of it & is a liability as a pressure forward. He just can't stick a tackle, the oppo run through him & off him too easily.

Tmac - Lost his touch... Tommy is really struggling with his marking at the mo...has lost all confidence. He even 2 touched a simple gimme. Some of it is positioning but a lot of it is touch. Tommy gets his touch back and it makes us a much more dangerous team.