deelusions from afar

I think (hope) the difference this time round is that the coaches say day 1 of pre-season that they start as a blank slate and everyone has to earn their spot. There were too many players that were given the benefit of the doubt based on past performance that never turned the corner... while our 2nds lost only one game for the year. There's about 5 of AFL quality that didn't get a look in last season plus one or two more from the draft / trade period this year. That should be enough

Out of interest, if a player such as JDG did breach the behavioural standards in their contract and (due to pressure from sponsors) the pies decide to rely on the clause and sack him. If St Kilda still want him the next season do they have to trade with Collingwood or do they draft him or ??

Gil has done some great things for AFL but his handling of numerous racism related issues has been a failure (From Adam Goodes at the start to this and everything in-between). This is not something he can fix. He needs to go and let the next in line resolve this as they don't have the baggage he has accumulated. It won't happen of course because Gil is too worried about his legacy.

If I was coaching the Dogs I would play him in defence next season. That's where he played as a junior and that's their weakness. Up forward they already have JUH, Darcy and Lobb/English with Bruce as backup if he can recover fully. Unless they've told him and he wants to be a forward, can't see any reason why he would leave the dogs.

If Cerra were available this year, would we really want him for Jackson though? Not sure he is really what we need in any case.

So if we're going for at least one top 10 pick, do people think this will be for a trade of our own or we have our eye on someone in the draft?

If the AFL had it three weeks ago the ARC might have had a different decision on the Thursday night!

I think that's it - if he does a TMac style 2020/2021 pre-season and can get back to his early 2021 form he is definitely a best 22 player. If he can't get there (might be hard to know at this point) then he should be encouraged to seek opportunities elsewhere. Petty should be played forward regardless.

I'm a fan of Spargo but he does have limitations (lack of size, lack of speed, doesn't get it enough etc). I like what I've seen from Chandler (at VFL level) too and hope he gets a crack - but don't think he necessarily has Spargo covered in these areas? Bedford has them both covered for speed but doesn't seem to be as reliable with ball in hand - not sure if its skills or decision making.

It means we've given up the strategy of kicking to the pocket! We might not break the defensive records anymore but it will mean we'll be playing an attacking brand

I like these tactical discussions (mostly because they would only work in theory). But to counter your response, what if the team that had 5 forwards run into the centre square then (assuming they win the ball with weight of numbers) run and carry the ball forward to goal rather than kicking to the deep forward? Surely they would get through each defender with handballs and shepherds.

If there's one there I hope we can snag one. But we might have the players we need on our list already. If Grundy is coming in as reported then we would like 2 key forwards (in addition to the 2nd ruck). This is out of TMac, Brown, Petty and JVR. If it were me I'd be pencilling in Petty and JVR over summer and see how they go training a full pre-season of this. In defence we have May, Lever and the last spot to be filled by one of Turner, Smith, Tomlinson and Tmac (if injury free and not first choice forward). Petty and JVR would take time to develop chemistry but both can take a mark, have good skills and are good with follow up efforts. I think in terms of flexibility it wouldn't be a terrible thing to have TMac and Petty both in the side where either could be swung forward or back depending on the game / matchups etc.

Why would he come to us if we have Gawn and Grundy? Surely other than Freo any other club would offer more opportunities

If Grundy comes, I'm hoping he brings across a bit of the pies IP from this year particularly re ball movement. He's meant to be an intelligent footballer... has he been in the coaches box while injured this year? I imagine not if they always planned to offload him.

I was keen a few years back after he kicked four goals in a game. But he doesnt seem to have done much since then in a team that has needed tall forwards. Is he really an improvement on Weid?

No worries - sounds like we're on the same page then

C'mon mate - it was (I think) his first AFL game. We wasn't coming in to dominate against the best ruck in the game, he was coming in to compete. And by Gawn's own admission, Gawn didn't have the greatest of days.

Think it also depends on the what he's capable of. He was not the same player in 2022 as he was in early 2021. In early 2021 he had the best 1 on 1 record (or something) in the league. Coming back from a serious injury he may still get back to that level. Needs a 2020-2021 TMac style summer working on agility and speed and we may lose little in defence if Petty goes forward.

I agree with your point. The gun forwards that you can build your side around are generally top picks. If we are in the position to draft Cadman, then along with JVR we have a good chance of having at least one gun KPF over the next 10 years. Look at how quickly Richmond and Geelong are able to rebuild on the run - it is in part from having quality key position forwards at the peak of their powers. It is easier to bring in midfielders / defenders when you have the big key forward sorted. And who knows, Petty might become a gun forward himself if played there regularly next year. Will be interesting to see how this plays out - if could all be for nothing if North rate Cadman highly and draft him with their first pick (should they retain it).

Looking at those highlights I'm thinking maybe we should be looking at his teammates that can kick inside 50 to a moving target 😆

That's a bit harsh for mine. No team has depth in every position on the field and we are no exception. To make the cutoff at 195cm conveniently rules out JVR and Turner who are both promising young KPP. Weid hasn't come on as hoped (but was a high pick) and Jackson has performed well beyond his years when compared with other ruck/forwards at the same age. The reality is good players over 195cm are rare - the good ones generally get snapped up pretty high in the draft and a fair portion of them end up as busts anyway.

I think you're right - and maybe Max also wants to prolong his career and playing with another ruckman is the only way. With Trac and Clarry signing long term deals he prob wants to stay in the team as long as he can. Re the strategy though, while it makes sense, isn't this making it a little easy for the pies. They are a rival next year (not to mention beating us twice this year). Grundy has barely played for them - is not in their finals side or the sides that beat us twice. By paying 70% of Grundy's salary and locking that in, it allows them to go after players that will plug holes in a side that has already overtaken us. Geelong and Port are (reportedly) out of the race for Grundy and the pies want to move him on to sign De Goey and bring in McStay/Hill and whoever else they're chasing. What's the rush? If the cap is so tight for them then we hold all the leverage. Having said that, I feel like this is already a done deal with most of the details nutted out - it's just a matter of waiting for the pies season to finish / trade period to start to announce.

If we can get Bedford for 22 then that is a steal IMO (unless there is truth that Kozzie does want to go to SA)

I don't boo unless they make negative comments about the club, our facilities, our supporters, etc etc This is why Scully, Howe and co deserve to be booed

He's drawn comparisons to Cameron with his aerobic ability, and footskills to go along with his contested marking and goal kicking. Haven't seen him live so have no idea how realistic those comparisons are.