rjay

Great news and well deserved. Good work Jack you're a true champion...

What's he on???

This comment is patent rubbish... "However, the 28-year-old is confident he has overcome the injury problems that dogged his first three seasons at Melbourne" He's missed too many games again this year through injury and/or "player management" for this to be the case.

Yes, and you still don't trade out a first round pick...particularly in a strong draft which next years is. You want to trade down to a 2nd round pick and a couple of depth players you say are not best 22. So in other words we give away a first round pick for a 2nd rounder...I don't think so.

You don't pay a future first round pick for depth 'stuie'. ...by the way, we're not interested in Tomlinson. Have told you this before and believe it is still the case.

'Joey' Kennedy mark II....I think he has a few more tricks than you think he does. ...best years are ahead of him.

Can't stand the guy but Boomer would be a much better role model than Stevie J.... Would he add anything to our long term success? by this I mean would he leave a legacy or just one year of good footy? I guess this is the Q 'dazzle'.

These are the same people that had Collingwood &/or Richmond top 4 this year, St Kilda not winning a game last year...Port on the move this year and didn't see the fall of Freo this year or Carlton last year. They thought Adelaide would drop off without Danger. They wouldn't have a clue... Groupthink doesn't win us any games or give us premiership points next year.

Agree with a lot of what you have said here. ...but with Frost what you have identified is his athletic prowess, no problem with that. As a footballer I see him as lacking, even in his good games it's his athletic prowess you see. He doesn't have great hands, he makes poor decisions, doesn't position himself well and is a poor kick, I'm not sure this can be turned around. The problem Cameron and many recruiters had is they looked for an athlete when they should have seen the footballer.

I probably should have titled the thread "The loss we were always going to have"... I think we are tracking well, Roos & PJ have done a massive job to get us back on track and I think they are well aware of where we sit unlike our friends at Punt Rd. With a young team we are always going to be up & down...I think there should be some genuine excitement for the future. ...It doesn't mean there are not problems and there are players who will not be up to the challenge. I'm looking at what a Premiership team might look like for us in the future. I'm looking at some of the players who I think won't take us there & what we need to get there. Also I'm looking at what some like Viney need to do to reach the next level. As 'dimmy' points out he has trouble with the Big mids, he has to get smarter, he's no longer the bull at a gate kid at school who scares other kids his age. He's been really good this year but must evolve his game to be better & a better leader. Games like today's give a really good gauge, they are true to form for a young team as are games like the Hawthorn win.

Not convinced on this one 'Pro', he sure needs to though. Salem will be a player but how far he goes is the question for me. Will he be a good average player or start to be the player we think he can be? next year will tell that story for me. Maybe not a true make of break. Stretch, many were pumping him up over the last few weeks. Today shows he's no guarantee. Yep, it's a young exciting list. It's why I see today as part of the growth and haven't been devastated by the loss. You could see it coming in the first 10 mins. I stand by the comments on Frost Kent & Stretch are no guarantees. Vince not shocking just getting older even though he still looks and behaves like a kid. Some of his indiscretions this year are a sign of a player getting frustrated, still has a role. Bugg is a depth player, along with Harmes they will fill a role but both hit of miss kicks. We need Hibberd... You are looking at the list like Dimmer, can't see the faults for the team loyalty.

Put it on the line 'Josh'. Where am I wrong? Where will I eat humble pie? How do you see the list?

I think we're on the right path but still have a way to go... I know we would have loved the finals fairy tale but it was not to be and in truth never was going to happen. We're not good enough yet, the EFC game early in the year probably stamped those papers. I'm not sure if it's the loss the club had to have as I hope those running the football club are a bit more astute than those (including self) on this forum but as supporters we overrate our list. Most fans do, it's the fans motto to be like the tigers. Unfortunately for the Tiges it's the pros that get it wrong. It's a loss that as supporters we can use to evaluate where we are and where we are heading. Sorry but I've just browsed the other threads and I just don't buy the idea that we got big heads, got ahead of ourselves, or we're going nowhere, match day coaching, selection, the umpires cost us... or any other of the hand wringing responses a day like today brings. A few things stood out for me today and if being truthful have for the year. Some will be fixed with experience and some will need changes such as list changes to fix. Firstly, some of the players. I don't think Frosty is going to make it, will need a footy brain transplant in the off season. Not going to happen. Viney is not the heir apparent to me, not yet anyway. Love his passion but he's doing too much of a Moloney at the moment. Needs to open his eyes and use better options, needs to play for the team. He hits up balls that sometimes his teammate is in a better position to get, puts the team offside. This can all be fixed, a leader needs to keep his head...Jack's young and not there yet. ANB deserved a run but we know he's not a small forward, had a purple patch last year against the Cats but it was one out of the box. Still only 20 so has time so lets see but as a smaller ground player has no tricks and few mids ahead of him. Kent to me is still a player in the balance, yes he got an injury today but was very average early. He has a tendency to be a bit lazy and showed it again today, not good in the air and lacks some real tricks to be a top level small forward. He's done enough this year but next year it's his make or break, must be more consistent. I like that Weed got another taste today, he's had a good one and a bad one. I reckon any KPP worth his salt need this experience early, he's had it and depending on conditions should have another run at Geelong next week. Preseason and the weight room will sort him out. I'm concerned that we overuse the ball, particularly when it gets wet. It's why we struggle in these games. I hope Goodwin has an alt plan but fear this might be a bit of the South Aus influence. They were renowned for p.....around with the footy. Still not convinced with young Billy, he's a good kid but will he take us to a flag? to early to tell. A bit will depend on the game plan. Vanders, a good story but probably going to finish at Casey. A natural mid with to many ahead of him, it might have been a good day to throw him in today but I don't think the club see him that way. Oscar & Tommy were good, a lot of ball coming in today but lets face it the Blues have no forwards. Oscar like Weed need to weight room. Buggy, a good pest to have as back up but not a best 22... We know Viv is a good VFL player, probably not quite there but hasn't had the opportunity of consistent games and probably won't. Bernie, best footy behind him now. Will still play some good games but don't expect him to do it week in week out. Should have been used on Gibbs today, said it to a mate in the first few mins of Q1. Bernie needs a role and we are not a tier one team who can afford to go head to head with good midfields, we still need to tag (run with). We really need a 2nd ruck/forward, that's pretty obvious. Max can't do it all and today if we had that option Jack could have helped counter the 3rd man up pretty easily. Hunt can't be our only runner, oppo have worked that one out. He still did his job today though. Need another good runner, not Frost. Hibberd will be a bonus if we get him, we need hard, experienced defenders who can attack and kick the ball well. I think we could do with a class mid but not a small mid like Prestia. Don't know if one is availably but if I was list manager I would be looking at a FA over the next couple of years as Jones & Vince wind down. Another versatile tall would be good, play back & forward. Of the Casey crew we have Hullet who looks promising, Harmes needs to sort out disposal, Wagner could be ok, Salem needs a good run (next year make or break), J Smith looks the goods need Spencer as back up and I would keep Trengove, unsure about JKH (would trade for a good offer). The rest are not part of the plan moving forward as far as I see it... Here's looking forward to better times ahead, not concerned missing finals this year but would be very concerned next year...

I think we've got clearance players 'Andrew', just don't think we played it smart today. I would have put Vince on to Gibbs early in the first Q to cut his effectiveness and cut him out from going 3rd up. However, I don't know what the agenda was in the box. It might have been more about the learning experience.

Not sure if you were at the game but the couple of times he got caught, one glaringly in the 3rd Q there were no options ahead or either side of him. I think it told a bit about how we played today that pretty much the whole team was in the back half and no one worked up to at least give him a let out kick on the wing.

So you thought our kicking game was good??? We are still in desperate need of good kicks...

Pretty obvious after todays game that we need someone like Hibberd.

Mills is a gun... can we get him???

Been watching a bit of the Richmond/St Kilda game with a Tiges mate. I know this gets said a bit but this one would have to be the worst exhibition (I use the word loosely) of football I've ever seen played by supposed AFL teams... There are not only turnovers but triple and quadruple turnovers...how did the Saints ever beat us???

Dermott is stating the obvious but as usual only looking at the surface. Stringer is carrying a shoulder injury, if you check footage from last year he had no tape on his shoulders. He's heavily tapped now and receiving jabs to get him through the game. The dogs need him to stand up in September so he goes back to the VFL to see if he can hit up a contest, take a hit with that shoulder, get a bit of confidence that he can do it. He has no confidence in his body at the moment. He's playing counter to his usual style.

I like the changes... We get to see Weideman & Hogan. Pedders a bit unlucky but maybe a late inclusion for either of them. ANB comes in for Garlett, he's been playing more forward at Casey recently ...Kennedy has dropped off a little the last few weeks. Michie has been playing well off half back and setting the game up with his kicking...Harmes needs a reset. Salem would be lucky to be anywhere near 90% for AFL...it would be unfair on him to play. If you remember his earlier games before taking time out he wasn't impacting at all and about to be dropped. Let him come back in when he's really up and running.

Weideman, Michie & ANB in Harms, Peders & Garlett out...

Hogan is our best forward, he draws the oppositions best defender and they get numbers back on him. This should open the game out for our other scoring options. I think sometimes we have a tendency to bomb the ball into him or be a bit too Hogan focussed. We need to learn to use his strengths and work better moving the ball in with multiple options and lowering the eyes. It's time to start using Hogan & Weideman and building the forward structure with these 2 and Watts. There is no point in him going back to the VFL unless we want to be a "rabble without a plan"...Collingwood, Richmond.

Yep, it's going back a bit now but from memory we had at least a 2 week break. Say the Hawks win their first final they could have 2 by 1 week breaks though which could make things hard to get on a bit of a roll.

This is a big downside 'Clint'... I remember when playing local footy we had clearly the best team in the competition but the way the draw worked we only had 2 games over a 5 week period and lost the GF. The loss of momentum was a huge disadvantage and will be this year. It might be the year to miss a top 4 spot and win the GF.