Wells 11

Brown in 2018 was excellent. So was Tmac... whose highlights from that year were equally impressive and we can barely give him away now. You don’t get rid of a big gun forward for a second rounder unless something serious has happened to his body. We absolutely need due diligence here. Would way rather an elite outside mid.

agreed. we’ve seen what injured big men look like w tmac AND i don’t believe it’s what we need either. Petty ( hopefully) weid and Jackson is enough. no idea if he’s on the market but shei bolton would be a huge get fr us.

reminding me of a certain prelim in 2018. pies look spent .

As far as I know, he's out of contract but not a free agent.

Do you know if they stalled because of the shaw situation?

Which may be enough. I dont know..Ive lost track of where we are as a club tbh. But I have that sinking feeling as I watch the saints and the blues essentially taking the players that seemed a good fit for us and gearing up for a shot at the big one. They've both seemingly shot past us now.

Disappointed re Polec. Do have any info re what blocked that move? Was it the money he wanted, what North wanted in exchange or just a lack of interest on our part?

Seems like just yesterday he was one of the players ushering in our new era. In his early years he was fast , exciting, AA and set to be almost anything. Couldn’t kick unfortunately and Never really became the player many thought he might. Got caught up in the Neeld years of abomination and left for a flag. All in all a decent career... but a slightly bitter taste when I think about him and that era. In terms of the dees, Probably the best thing he did for us was bring in a Brayshaw.

We missed a golden oppurtunity last year with Jack Martin....and theyve done us again with Saad. Deep pockets and lots of brown paper bags down there at carlton. imo he was exactly what we needed.

He’s probably our best recruit for about 25 plus years, still with a huge ceiling, Already a winner of 2 of our B&F’s, Coming into his full power. Ie The epitome of the future of the club. If we lost him I might just pack it in too.

Hope they’re not the same ones dusty had. We sure dodged a bullet not interviewing him.

and thank you for rarely posting.

the bulldogs were a side of undelivered potential this year. they scraped in and lost their first final. in 2018 we also had that “ potential” tag. but we also lost a lot of close games .. the two to Geelong come to mind . imo we absolutely should have been top 4 we then WON our first 2 finals before losing to a WC side we’d beaten 3 weeks earlier. So, i don’t agree we needed an overhaul after the prelim and i supported goody in that position. honestly i think we need to put this to bed..... rule changes and game plans evolved and in 2019 it was apparent we now had the wrong kind of list to adjust as easily as others, it was hard to foresee in the off season what the changes would bring. as well we had a seemingly lost coach who couldn’t clearly steer the side thru the changes and injuries. Imo it’s what we didn’t do w our game plan and recruiting last off season that needs to come under the microscope... not post 2018.

IF it was fitness and / or body weight related and not injury related (which honestly I doubt) then we need to keep him. I know he's just a child and maybe that was part of it? But as an outside observer it looks like injury has ruined his career.

Add in Troy Simonds. but to be fair we’ve usually been well presented ourselves in the ruck.

yep. I think injuries have cruelled ,what started out as a really promising career. But given his knee ( who knows what else) I highly doubt he's going to be able to grow a tank. I like him as a player, but I think we've already seen the best of him.

I feel for him. Without knowing anything behind the scenes he appears to have given it everything. Must be he just couldn’t get his body right... enough. I wonder on his miss versus the lions. Such a pivital moment. If he kicked that we very likely would have won... and be playing finals. He misses , we lose and he has never played again. Not even a decent seconds comp to show form in. Obviously it’s about way more than a kick he’d make prob 98 out of hundred times. But, none the less, i can’t help wondering if he had kicked it whether this story may be different.

exactly. unless his form was related to injury as in tmac.

Fully agree with you on this. Sick of the nonsense being spoken in regards to this. Maybe the dees had the leadership that Adelaide lacked to stand up and say no. we very well might have saved ourselves an Adelaide like unravelling. I recognise those camps were run by different groups but if the squad isnt behind it then very probably something wasn't right. How about we presume the players were actually on to something rather than they were wimps.

Fritsch- left me out.

I could see the logical sense in losing Viney. But in terms of club culture you just cant let someone like him walk away. Its the sort of decision that ends up hurting a club in ways that aren't immediately obvious.

I have this strange confidence that things will pan out well for us and we'll not just play finals but win one also. As a follower since 71 Im never confident about the dees so its an unfamiliar and unusual sensation ...could it be a new form of delusion that Im not used to? can it be treated? Dees to finish top 4.

yes how could i forget jackovich! I wasn’t AS invested in Bennett and Cordner. but none the less good point.

As per ET, thanks siren. I know people often like to jump on people that say they have info but I do appreciate getting it. cant help being a little nostalgic thinking about tmac. he was a genuine star of the comp in 2018. mature body, super fit, confident. I had so much hope for at least 4-5 years of more of it.... and a flag. we seem to have just a terrible record w key forwards. as a kid Dillon was going to be the one. then greg Parke then Warren Dean, Spalding, schwartz , then Hogan . we’ve been genuinely unlucky at that end of the ground most of my life. A series of great ruckman i might add but v few career long key forwards.

If Tmac were to say " I was injured ( knee and foot) but now im back to my best" how much would this influence things? Then swapping Tmac for Saad is almost a win for the Bombers without 22. Theres a lot to play out in this space .