rjay

I use this term a bit but let me clarify my thinking on it. If a player is 28 plus, I would classify him a pensioner in footy terms and unless he is Fletcher or Harvey he will have limited time at the top level. If you are a team with a shot at the Premiership then you look at pensioners to fix shortfalls in the list e.g.: Hawthorn with Lake this year and North now looking at DelSanto. These types will cost either in money and/or picks but they can get you over the line. If you have a list like ours we need to get some quality experience but can't afford to be giving up too much in the way of picks or trade. It cancels us out of some players (Delsanto, Montagna etc) but we still have the option of looking at someone like Chappy. Bringing in Byrnes and Roden didn't add much, if we are going to bring in pensioners they must be the right guys on and off ground. If we are going to look at picks and trade then we need to be targeting players around 22-25yo. We can't afford to give up too much on pensioners until we have a legitimate shot at the prize.

Not necessarily. We can look at it now after a season at VFL level but if he was still playing 18's it might not be so cut and dried. Boyd was seen as the one last year with Hogan expected to go top 5. I'm happy with Hogan though, I think we've done well.

Interesting you say that 'master', I thought Freo's forward pressure was average yesterday. Geelong always apply a lot of pressure to Hawthorn's elite kickers from defence, particularly on their lefties, this is why they have a good record in recent times. The game was won from Hawthorn's rebounders being able to set up play down the ground.

I would think this is only media speculation about Fyfe. Freo need a tall forward, GWS have a mortgage on Boyd, GWS need some experience and say pick one is up for trade. Do the sums and come up with Fyfe for Boyd. OR...it's just GWS floating the idea. I don't think Freo would do this, it would be a big mistake and unsettle the club however if they did I think Fyfe would be unhappy about being used as a piece of horse flesh and might just put himself on the open market and screw Freo.

I've always thought that, but good luck to him.

Well that would count out most of Hawthorns team, apart from Mitchell they are pretty much all one sided players. Watching Gibson or Smith try and kick on their right is hilarious, they have no idea let alone any accuracy.

Don't agree with you here, I think he has lacked good direction and development.

It's been looking like him, I guess we will find out this week.

I think there is a chance that might happen.

Yep, agree with you on this.

I thought they would take Clarke off but you are right it probably wasn't a great move. Early in the game Clarke was a liability forward and Hawthorn easily ran the ball out but later in the game Clarke started to come into his own and as they say he wasn't going to get any shorter, his height could have given them an advantage.

I could put the Collingwood 2010 flag in there as well plus their 1990 one, the Swans didn't have many left of their 2006 squad, Brisbane's first one, Port's first one. It really doesn't matter, I thought the Hawks would win because they were the better team all year as they were today and they did. Things like GF experience are really overrated. A lot of teams lose GF's and come up the next year and a lot of teams win them at their first attempt, you just have to take your chances when you get a shot.

... but he is playing a great game. Keeping them in it at the moment.

Depends on the price, a player like Montagna won't come cheap and that's not for us. Some of our list is now moving into the over 25's anyway so age wise the list is balancing out. We missed top picks with GC and GWS coming in and there will be a hole in the younger talent unless we can recruit a Swallow or Adams if not we need to get into this draft and develop the ones we get along with Viney, Hogan, Toumpas and Barry.

This is what we should be looking for. If we try the quick fix with the Montagna's of this world we might get a slight bump in performance for a year or 2 then be right back where we started or even worse. It's fools gold.

Like I said a pensioner.

Thanks 'Chelly', I thought he at least trained with the bombers.

Pensioner, wouldn't pay anything for him.

Very over rated, so many teams win in their first go at it. Geelong 2007, Hawthorn 2008, Sydney 2012 (very few left from 2005) all with coached by first up GF coaches as well.

I think Joe was 'Jack', he was in a similar position to Jack Viney at Melbourne. I would hope he wasn't involved in the supplements program though.

Not for me they won't. Not everyone steps up at the same time. If you want to build long term success you have to have quality for age coming through every year. We missed out in Clarks trade year and need to bring more in this year whoever it is at pick 2.

It would be the first time he stood up in a big game. Doesn't get much ball for a mid in crunch games but maybe this is his breakout.

'Ben', I think pick 2 will be from Aish, Scharenberg and Kelly. They all look good players on the limited viewing, admittedly not live. Would trust the recruiters we have now to make the choice. I really like Crouch in this draft but I don't think we will take him this high, he is probably the best contested ball winner and clearance player in the draft, similar to Viney,he would kill to get the ball. Wouldn't be unhappy with Scharenberg.

Some continuity has got to be a good thing at Casey.

Hawthorn comfortably. Roughy to play in the middle to counter Freo's tall mids and his own loss of recent form.