Wells 11

What surprised me watching Spence yesterday was his mobility. I live interstate so I haven't seen him for a while. But I have to say he looked like a different player to the loping, unco, try hard of yesteryear. He was good in the ruck and also really fully fierce when the ball was on the ground. I thought he added a dimension to us when he was on. Its hard to judge from a practice match but I liked him and Max in the same side. At the very least my MFCSS thoughts re Gawn going down with a knee injury on the eve of the finals don't feel as scary. One thing for sure though if he doesn't get game time this year he'll be gone next year. That isn't a reason to play him I know but he IS a valuable commodity.

Its this season or its over . Really hope, both for his and our sake ,that he gets back and in a big way. I cant even really imagine the size of the impact a powerful Trengove could make for us. I stopped including him in my mental teams quite a while back. I have all body parts crossed for him.

love your work drukn , and pre season info fine....but be careful in the real one.

Me too. I remember it well. Sean wight who was on his way, pre being set back by hamstring issues, to being a superstar took three bounces and kicked a massive, and match winning, goal against a strong wind to seal the game for us. Grinter took out Wallace , wasnt reported by the umpire and, as I remember it, became the first player to be reviewed after the game by video. 1988 was such a great season....wild ups ans downs but so many fond memories.

Yep good point. But the success of that isnt really making me feel any better either.

is there some way that he can he be impeached as well?

I agree that it seems unnecessary. Ive always preferred one captain. But I think we gotta trust Goody on this. Leading teams aside I doubt it would have happened without his blessing. He's in charge and lets hope he's reading the tea leaves the right way! Could be he just doesn't want too much dependency on Jones re leadership. Im sure Jones commands enormous respect in the group and that isnt going to change. Personally Im still a little burned after the glorious success of our last co captains Grimes and Trengove......but Im fairly confident that we are out of those dark... dark days. ( insert prayer here) ..... and repeat here (....) fark me when is this season starting!

They would still pack out stadiums when they play each other. Essendon and Collingwood could be last and second last and still get 90, 000 to a game. They already do on Anzac day. The bigger issue is if its Brisbane and Melb or Port and St Kilda with some teams crushed that they Just missed out on 12th on percentage. But all that, and most of the above being said, the fixture as it is NOW is horrible. "Blockbusters" dominate the schedule and its hard for teams with a low supporter base to get more of them. Not just that but there could be a home and away cycle every 2 years so at least we would get to play Geelong at the MCG every 2nd year! This would ultimately have the effect of evening out the competition so I dont understand why so many opposed. Id understand why the Collingwoods and Essendons dont want it as they start to lose their grip on being overlords.. I like the idea of 3 conferences. Building on Nascents idea Id maybe have the top 6 playing for finals positions (as is planned now) but the actual games played look like 1 12 3 10 5 8 and on the other side 2 11 4 9 6 7. The top 2 teams stay away from each other and theres a mix of difficulty in the final 5 rounds. The issue is, as many have already pointed out, what do the bottom 6 play for? It cant ONLY be for the draft. That may be part of it but cant be all of it. There has to be some incentive. A trophy of some kind or maybe some advantage into the next year...a wild card entry into the middle conference if they miss out next year? I dont know how that works Im just thinking out loud ..............but something.

Even if you're not interested much in the womans game...which I have to say I am. Its a massive boost for the club in general to be one of the 8 teams . Not only that but we have maybe THE face of the game in Daisy. Irritated me as one of the two founding clubs that we got the Sunday slot AGAIN. But Im hoping for a big crowd and a win!

Is it just me ? I cant help but feel Dom is consistently under rated here. I see him as SUPER important to our set up. Kelly may be great...MAY be great. So MAY Salem. Dom is already on the cusp of that imo.

I like it ...at least on paper ( or in your dreams) would have to see how the balance looks with Spencer on the ground with Maxy at the same time. Everything seems possible in Jan though. The first time we get pantsed and look slow ( hope not but it could well happen in round 1) this dream of yours may look like a nightmare. eg Spencer losing in the ruck as we're getting flogged in the middle , Hogan over reaching, trying to lift us, is injured in a centre scrum...maxy standing around doing nothing at full forward while we lose the clearances all over the ground. Theres a big difference betwen Jan and April lol.... but on paper I like your mind.

The only sides that I think cant make it this year are the Roos and the lions. Every other team walks into the season with finals expectations imo. People write off Freo at their own peril I reckon. Bennell back and fit, Fyfe and Sandllands the same, then add in Mc Cartney. Theyre retty handy ins. In the same way, if we're excited about Melksham and Hibbard coming in and and about the impact they could make..then the bombers have 10 of these and bigger names than that. Its going to be a full on dog fight. I expect no more than 2 games between 6 and 14th. So In a year like this we just HAVE to win the close ones. whoever does better in the clutches will make it.

One of a series of real heart aches at the time. Schwartz, Sean Charles and Jakovich all went down at the same time. And all of them had massive x factor. With no disrespect to schwartz who had generational player written all over him, Jakovich could have been every bit as good if not better.

agree with all above...AND he played 100 games for us and captained the club. Yes it was a dark time....but not too many players get to have that on there resume.

Annoying...but true.

Coming into a season with finals expectations is going to be a whole different thing as a supporter. The losses are going to hurt more and the wins will feel less revolutionary and probably less satisfying. Could be a tough year. Hoping its an enjoyable one!

My concern with the Weid is whether he's actually going to be strong enough on the ground. Speed and pressure will be kings again in 2017. The way the games going you really need that in a key forward. Im hoping he's not an old prototype in a new game. Time will tell.

Except that we had a rolling commentary by Caro for months shaming us and questioning our very existence as a club. We got to be known as cheats and tankers and we STILL get that label all these years on. .A massive hit on a club brand ...and a big hit on our young supporter base. .Id take what they got every day of the week....Compared to us they got next to nothing. And how do we actually KNOW that the stance by the managers wasnt a club wide approach?

Ive thought for a long time that rather than getting bonuses for attendence levels which I think he gets...his bouses should be ties to the differential between first and last. The lower the difference the bigger the payout. Watch how quickly equalisation would happen then!

I agree, but then again Ive thought this every December since 1971

True. Except compared to what we did in the rebuild they have been outright geniuses. I guess using us as an example is probably stupid as everyone looks good by comparison to THAT. But they held on to their olders players way longer than we did and have set themselves up pretty well I reckon. Robbo, Jeff White and obviously junior should all have played on for a bit. I guess its easy in retrospect. The saints did drop but are suddenly right back in the mix and I think they're putting a team together that isnt going to drop that much when those guys leave. However they may not really soar either. I think they're going to be 6-10 for a few years.....and, as much as I hate saying it, Im not sure we will knock them off next year. Im hoping we will be 6-10 also, before hitting another level in a year or two.

Yep. looks like we're tracking well. More like 1000 up, I was just looking back at the thread and all the numbers and so deleted my comment.

Beveridge probably wasnt the doggies first choice either. Carlton got Malthouse as their first choice and before that they got Pagan. So you need a bit of luck in these things ...not simply access to "first choice" . Dew was obviously his prime pick but I wonder now if he isnt at home wishing he taken the position now. Imo he blew that. That ex collingwood dude was rejected by a couple of other clubs and we just fell into Mathouses egotistic desire for a legacy. Goodwin on the other hand would probably be coaching Adelaide now if we hadnt grabbed him. I agree that its hard to imagine dee success anymore.....but Im as hopeful as Ive been since 1988 coming into a season,

Imo the current system is just hopelessly compromised. Financial interests running over the top of an equal competition. I love the thought of a 17-5 format and hope they bring it in

wow...getting excited! What pick did we use?