rjay

Our leaders have been poor haven't they. Cross has been a great addition, then we have Jones, I think Vince adds a bit and sad to say one of our other leaders is a 21yo 30 something game player.

Brisbane the same. Unless we get a good 2 for 1 deal with one of our picks then I agree, not necessarily with the picks but the idea. I remember watching McStay in his first game off HB and he just looked comfortable at the level. When are we going to get a player that looks ready to play at the level?

I think Michie worked hard today and was one of our better players, he had to do some extra time in the middle in the last Q with Tyson virtually out of the game and it might be the making of him. Kent is a bit of a dumb footballer and we just got rid of 2 of them and converted another one who still has occasional lapses (Jones). I'm not convinced by him yet but will reserve judgement. Tommy Mc really needs to keep the game simple. He needs to look at Rance at Richmond who has been a terrible decision maker, when he keeps the game simple it works for him. Tommy must learn to do the same and play within his limitations.

A lot of Yes' there but is he playing AFL level football or capable of it now. According to Scott Lucas who has watched a few of his NEAFL games, he's not playing up to the level at the moment. With Kennedy out for a few weeks he would be the logical replacement, lets see if they pick him. If he gets a game, lets see how he goes. There is no doubt he was better than nine-tenths of our list but is he now. Probably, but the question is should he be now. Of course he shouldn't and that's the problem. Will he make us better going forward? not sure.

Absolutely agree with this and it really p....me off to the max. Like I said we were C.S..ed. I am still so angry about what happened but it did and now we need to fix it. Believe me I don't blame those drafts for our predicament it rests fairly and squarely on the people who were running the club. I hope the current mob can fix it but would like to see all remnants of the last mob gone...are you out there Russell??? Remember it wasn't just the top end picks, it filtered down through the entire draft a lot of good players were taken out of the system, it has had an effect. We need to bring some class into the club and draft assistance will help, it's not the be all and end all I know but it will help.

Neville worked harder than most but against a rather strong tide today he was beaten, his opponent for most of the day was BOG.

Me neither but he's just not providing the link up at all and is getting to bad positions 'stuie'. I always found coaching in the local comps when a forward was doing this it was a confidence thing and he didn't really want the ball in his hands. He would lead to early, run under the ball or call for the ball out the back. This is what Dawes is doing. Dawes has to present as a target, he must link up, his opponent today had 24 disposals and took him to the cleaners.

He's not the only problem 'stuie' agreed but for a while now he just hasn't lead up to the ball carrier. He's been trying to get it over the back, badly out of position or just not moving at all. So yeah our disposal into the forward line isn't good but the catch 22 is he gives us nothing to kick to. He needs to get on his bike. As I said somewhere else, he has an identity crisis at the moment. He thinks he is a small defensive forward running around trying to lay tackles. Ever since that big tackle in Adelaide it's all he seems to want to do, all the praise went to his head.

Of course it does, you just don't want to see it. You and I both know we were C.S..ed at a time we could ill afford it. All clubs have been effected in different ways as I said. For some clubs the new teams meant they were able to hold their positions at the top end of the ladder longer than they would have if the teams below had access to top end talent. Free agency and player movement has been an absolute godsend for them as well. For others around the middle it meant they could be competitive but move no further. For the new clubs it means a dynasty in the next few years. St Kilda will need help in the next year or so, we need it now unless of course the AFL are happy for us to pack up and just become a memory. The other clubs don't have this issue. It is very real for us now, unless we win a premiership in the not to distant future our supporter base will not grow. We can't just be competitive we have to start winning or shrink and go away. I'm sick of the Melbourne supporter, it's not fair attitude in fact I couldn't give a f....about the other clubs and what they think. We need to push every avenue we can to get this club off it's knees. They can please themselves..

Jetta - tried but beaten Tyson- best till injured Dawes- play at Casey

6. N. Jones 5. Tyson I think Tyson was streets ahead until injured...

It's why there is now a big divide in the competition if you haven't noticed. Every club has been effected, it's just they were at different stages of development. The effect on the top clubs has meant they have been able to hold on longer, the middle clubs like Richmond, Carlton and North will never bridge the gap...and we had the double whammy with an absolutely atrocious mob ruining the club. It's not about victim, it's about common sense or we might as well hand in the licence.

Dawes needs a rocket and/or be traded out. He's not in our team as the small defensive forward which is a role he seems to relish. Lead at the ball Chris, mark the ball Chris and kick it to advantage and quickly if you're not having a shot. I'm not convinced by Kent yet, seems a dumb footballer to me. The kids may need some time but of the more established players Tyson (30+) games and established that's a joke in itself, and Jones are keepers, probably big Max but worry about his knee, Vince and Cross...the rest can go. The sooner Frawley is gone the better, compensation will be interesting...

Agree, and this is going to annoy 'Sat' but it's time for Salem to get interested in watching as much AFL as he can even at the expense of his EPL. The kids got talent, now he has to work for it.

Spot on 'Redleg', if they want a competition then it must happen. What those whinging about charity don't seem to get is that the 2 new clubs have sucked the talent pool dry which has artificially allowed clubs like Geelong to remain at the top longer without bottoming out and has meant the middle rung clubs will never be a real flag threat in this player cycle. It has meant that a club like ours, poised to make a run have been crippled by poor administration when it was critical to not make one wrong decision. Yes we screwed ourselves but got a big help from the AFL expansion. All priority picks would do is help restore the balance.

That's why a commission was brought in, to stand over and above self interest of the clubs. In other words who give a f.... about them and what they think, it's time the commission did it's job.

Good, we need someone like McCartin to work with Hogan. Find a good Forward/Ruck and we will start to move forward. Dawes, trade bait if anyone will bite.

But not against the best. He got belted by Sandy and struggled against Jacobs, he did beat big Will. Like some of our players they will need to be moved on and some will do well at other clubs, we have to accept that and move on with our own list. To be perfectly honest with you I couldn't give a stuff anymore if Stef is BOG or not. He is not our player. Moloney is retired and Silvia might as well be, so what...

Should we be interested in Smedts?

The first PSD pick could still be a very tactical bargaining chip.

I think he has a really big upside and that's what I would be looking at. We identified the upside with Tyson and he's a winner for us, we need more of the same. Roos & Stone will have the inside info on Rohan anyway, so if we do have a go at him we will have a pretty good idea about him. If we don't then so be it, but this is the type of player we need to identify and land. Added to some good drafting and development we will be on our way.

Haven't had a good look to make an opinion yet 'Paul'. We certainly need players that can use the ball, I wouldn't mind Malceski if we don't have to give too much up. We really need to draft and trade good young class into the club though and can't rely on picking up more players with only a couple of years left.

Trade for Smedts?

He's exactly the type of player we need except he needs to be 5 to 8 years younger. Can we find one of those?

...and Hogan is BOG at Casey.