rjay

Guthrie is settled at Geelong, getting a regular game and seems now in their best 22. There's not much reason for him to leave.

That's what you call an assumption, maybe a good well reasoned assumption but an assumption non the less.

He did it when Bailey was sacked and the results were underwhelming. The playing list then most certainly did not stand up for him, I agree to a point with 'RP' that employing a caretaker will be a lame duck appointment. It's only been a success at other clubs when the caretaker has a real show at the top job, we have no one in that position. A couple of bad results and our hand maybe forced though but no to Todd for me, let Jack have his own career without his father getting in the way.

Ok, so we're assuming. It could be someone she just sat next to at the football but if she was connected then she should have given her support of course.

Strauss is a good kick and surprised me with his pace last week. We need to get consistent games into these guys, not up and down.

Does anyone know it was her mum? (haven't read the papers today) or are we assuming.

I don't think we had the choice.

What's Malthouse doing?

Would be a good get, this guy can play. Injuries have been a problem though. He is a bit better than a quick fix.

I've said this elsewhere but you have to get like for like, if we were to lose Frawley we would need to get an AA 100 game plus 25 yo. A pick or a kid just won't cut it. Watts for a 22 yo high draft pick big upside or maybe someone like a Prestia. GC have no one for Frawley so they are not in the race, neither do St Kilda.

It's an area that gets right at the heart of where we are as a club. The best tackling game I've seen in years from us was the preseason game at Renwick, not surprisingly we fielded a team missing a lot of our senior players. I'm sick to death of the token efforts by our guys and of the excuses about younger bodies etc. what a let out. Watching preseason training we were being taught to go low in the tackle, watching the games most of our guys still go high and more often than not with no conviction. This is how we are playing our football, not learning lessons and no conviction. Now, I just noticed above the mention of technique and strength. The most important thing in laying a good tackle is desire, the want to do it. If you have that and develop the right technique then strength comes a distant 3rd. Even if you are a lightweight you can at least hang on to even the strongest player, you might not bring him to ground but you will slow him down. Players being brushed off are being brushed off because they have no conviction and they haven't taken their lessons on board. As for hard ball gets over tackling, all things are important. The way the game is the opposition are going to have the ball for a fair period of time and tackling is an important component to getting it back and putting pressure on.

Contracted or not Silvia is the only free agent. The rest stay or there is a stand off and they stand out of football, now the AFL can't afford that to happen so unless we have any Tippett deals in the background they stay or we get an appropriate trade. Like for like...promising 22yo with great skills 60 games experience yet to reach potential, who mirrors that at another club. Maybe Swallow at the GC, good kid but not reached his potential, they might offer??? Key position AA full back 25yo 100 games etc. Who can match that? If Richmond want Frawley then the appropriate trade is Riewoldt or Delidio, they would offer someone like Edwards We don't go for nqr players like someone suggested with Robinson. The right offer and we consider otherwise they stay. It's important we don't roll over on this.

They usually take 3 so I think Spencer will go.

He got the 'a' at Freo for being nqr. We need very right.

I love this stuff about 'working on the defensive side of the game'....I loved what 'KB' replied when the 'Ox' asked him if he ever laid a tackle in his career...'No David, I always had the ball'.. That's something our guys are not guilty of (getting the ball and if they do they give it back) and they still don't tackle. We have so many in the senior team still working on their defensive aspects how about we put some of the others up and give them a go at it. One of them can actually hit a target as well if he just happens to get the ball while working on defensive aspects, one of the others can actually out run opposition. How about that. I'm not for gifting games but I think it's about time we see who can play and give them more that one or two games to prove it. Most of our senior side is being gifted games at the moment, it's called football not zone defence or stand around like a statue.

Yep...

They have got to be kidding now....Spencer and Gillies have been rewarded for good form at Casey. Spencer and Gillies were comprehensively beaten last week against Box Hill, the stats I saw for Spencer were not in anyway an indication of what really happened at the game and Hawthorn (Box Hills) forwards had a field day. Ok, so lets be honest and say we are taking these guys over as cover, we don't think we will need to use them and would rather get more game time into Pederson and Davis needs the run (well they kinda said that one).

mmmm...don't remember that original statement at all, but I do remember Watts was dropped after that game and kept as an emergency for the next. I think it would have been better for him to play a game somewhere and I don't think he should have been dropped in the first place. He was dropped not injured.

I'm not sure how you get dropped because of injury??? you are either injured or omitted, Jack was omitted. If Watts wasn't playing better football now than 3 years ago something would be drastically wrong, it's part of his growth in the game. Whether he should be playing better football is the debate. I just didn't like what seemed to be him being made an example of, Jack just doesn't need that. If he's crook or injured then say it and leave him out.

That is bad player management in itself if true.

This I find an urban myth based on a total cop out. He was set up on that QB debut but surely that can't be used as an excuse anymore, he has a coach now who has not handled him well at all. Dragging Watts (he was not the worst that game) was always going to draw focus on a kid who did not need it, then dropping him and have him hang around without a game. This is poor player management and Neeld finally lost me with this.

We can get 'Sat' to turn out the lights when everyones gone...

Get the Rev back anyone? Clarkson certainly heaped the praise on the other night.

This is a good post and it shows up what has been really worrying me about where we sit now and the failure of the last 7 years. We should be making a run for the flag now and sitting in prime position as one of the power clubs, instead because of total incompetence we are sitting at the bottom of the heap with diminished chances of a quick turn around in fortunes. It was vital that we got things right as the concessions going ahead for GC and GWS were always set to stifle any club who was relying on draft picks. If we look where Richmond are now, we were seen as being at least a year ahead of them. Unfortunately for them they have missed some key components that would make them a real threat, at the moment I can't see them winning a flag with this list. They have done well trying to recruit from other clubs but in the end class will win out and the 2 new clubs will jump them unless something significant happens to change things. FA might save them as they are seen as a club on the rise, it's going to crucify us. I just feel like throwing things at the incompetents that have led us to this position.

"The roles of football manager Josh Mahoney, director of sports performance Neil Craig, list manager Tim Harrington and player development and strategy manager Todd Viney will be overhauled." From the article above and looks to be taking place already with Mahoney in the box and Craig on the boundary being an indication. Jackson has stated he wants some clean air to let the coach coach, he will give Neeld some time from when he gets the FD structure in place. How much time???? depends a bit on the results, massive blowouts he can't afford.