Lucifers Hero

If we win the premiership it will be pick 19 assuming the AFL deem the comp pick to be a first round pick. Whatever pick we get will drop 2-3 spots after a North pp and F/S pick(s). What pick do you think we get for Gus in a trade, freo aside?

Barrett doesn't have a clue. The easy way to stop a double by freo is to match their offer for Brayshaw and force a trade. As it is, they are struggling for currency for Jackson. Could only do Jackson and Brayshaw if they trade a very good player out, to us or to another team, to get a suitable draft pick for Gus. Not to mention their salary cap. Having said that does anyone think we will get better than the afl compensation pick (a late first round pick) for Gus in a trade, with any team? I'm inclined to think not so we will not match an RFA offer.

That would only work if Sparrow left, which isn't likely. Just not sure we need another inside mid. Can think of other list priorities.

Why would we go after an inside mid when Brayshaw can't get a game there. Bruhn will help our sal cap but we have a bunch of players competing for that spot and a few more yet to debut.

Thanks. I got the team wrong but the situation was he went there for more midfield time isn't played as a midfielder. All the more reason for Gus to be wary of going there.

Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper, Bobby Hill and Tanner Bruhn have all been floated as candidates to leave the Giants, but salary cap issues and a willingness from the club to “reset” amid a mini-rebuild should reportedly see all four leave. Richmond and Collingwood are among the Victorian clubs have shown interest in Taranto, while Adelaide, Richmond and Geelong have been linked to Hopper. Small forward Hill requested a trade to Essendon last year but is most likely to join the Magpies, while Bruhn is looking at a move back to Victoria, with the Cats thought to be keen on the Geelong Falcons product. gws-giants-exodus The price they pay for giving million dollar contracts to a handful of players most of whom are not pulling their weight. It is a mystery why GWS keep drafting midfielders when they don't have room for them in the side or cap space a few years later. They try to play them in other positions, the kids don't like it and go home. Rinse and repeat! Meanwhile they are deficient in key positions.

The most underwhelming reaction to being drafted, ever:

Ess midfielders are physically relatively small. Gus is the 'bigger body' type they need. Last year when Shiel was injured Parish moved into and 'starred' in the midfield, collected coaches and brownlow votes and was suddenly 'elite'. This year he and Merritt play hand-ball-in-circles, wrack up possessions and they lose. Since Parish has been out injured they go more direct to goal and won nearly every match. Some shaking up will happen in their midfield. But Gus should be careful what he wishes for and look to Jeremy Howe. Howe wanted to play fwd and quickly ended up in the backline where he was at Melbourne. Gus is not in our midfield because he is more flexible than the others we have. So he may well find he is promised midfield time but because those there are not versatile, or they would be played elsewhere now, he may find himself back on a wing or worse in the backline again. Caldwell went to Carlton for more midfield time. Quickly went to the HBF. AFL is littered with players made promises at courting clubs only to find 'circumstances change' and they end up playing in a different position to that promised. Message for Gus: Beware the Siren Song!

Perhaps. But that suggests Jackson might play one off against the other and I wouldn't have thought he was the type. One would hope that if he chooses a club he isn't going to nickle and dime them but go there for the right reasons.

The whole contract thing seems odd. If Jackson wants to go to Freo they don't need to offer such big $ or term. They could do 4 or 5 years on a more moderate package. He isn't likely to go anywhere else when it expires. Then renew another 3 or 4 years on big or bigger $ depending on how he goes.

Maybe, but there are other ways of doing those things without challenging umpires about free kicks to/denied their players.

Daisy makes a really good point saying that while she gets criticism nearly every time she is on tv it was suprising for it to come from fellow past and present commentators, especially a colleague. Neither Hunt nor Brereton would have the guts to publicly put down a male colleague the way they have Daisy. Shameful.

$10.3m for 8 years is an average of $1.250m per year! About 10% of their sal cap. A lot of money to pay for potential! At least when Buddy, Grundy, Kelly, Petracca, Oliver etc got 7+ year contracts they were in their mid 20's, mature bodied AFL players and with runs on the board whereas Jackson is all potential albeit with a great start and some major medals. History of young players taking mega trade deals when only 20/21 hasn't served them well. HWSNBN renegotiated his contract to take a lower amount when the young guns need to be paid. Never came close to reaching his potential on field. Later injured, recovered then traded to Hawthorn for a very late pick. Retired early for personal reasons. Tom Boyd. Was ostracised by Bulldog team mates. Suffered from depression. Retired from AFL after just a few years with a premiership medal and almost a NSM but disillusioned. I truly hope Jackson has the maturity to deal with the attitude of Freo fans when he has a few poor games and of team mates if they have to take a lower contact to accommodate him.

Now Hardwick is complaining to the AFL that Nankervis is getting a poor deal from umpires. He is a behind play sniper. Gets away with a lot more than for what he is penalised. He, Scott and Beveridge are perpetual whingers. I'm so glad our club just gets on with it or if they do complain to the AFL (which they have every reason to about how Max, Clarry and Petracca are targetted) they don't announce it all over the media.

I guess it never occurred to Rex and Dermot that Daisy etc being on air is because tv networks want more women watching football games and football shows. From an audience perspective the network decisions would be gender based. As many have noted in this thread male commentators and show hosts/panelists are generally ordinary. Women just aren't interested in watching/listening to blokey, has-been players trying to be showmen and make the telecasts and programs about them using voice effects, silly words and dumb questions of each other to sound interesting but add little insight into the actual game. Not saying all the female commentators are really good. But in Daisy they picked the totally wrong target. Rex and Dermot are seeing Daisy on tv through the prism of their own biases ie men should be calling/commenting on games. Under what rock have they been living in the last 10 years?

Rex and Dermot could easily have made their case that, in their view, networks make gender based appointments. And that they prefer male commentators eg Carey. They did not need to drag Daisy or any other female commentator into it. Very, very poor to expose her to pillorying on social media for something that was not of her doing. They got their 'click bait' but a fine young woman is being disparaged. They should be ashamed.

Why would he suggest that Daisey let Carey get a word in when they aren't on at the same time. He either hasn't listened to the telecast or is saying stuff, which is critical of Daisy, just to make his comment sound valid when it is a fabrication.

I could name at least half a dozen bulldogs players that lift the arm like Ginnivan does. Apparently, Scott said that Selwood is merely 'evading the tackle' not 'leaning into the tackle'! What a joke of a comment! He says we have a league wide problem with players lifting their arms/dropping knees etc but not at his club! Both coaches have a lot invested as their players get a lot of cheap frees so no wonder they want to keep the status quo. Both clubs' players would be the worst at staging for various types of frees'

A curiosity question: why is the Freo game so significant?

Where Sydney finish is an outcome beyond our control unlike that of many other top 8 teams. On paper they have a very easy draw so prepare yourself for them being 4th. What might stop them being top 4 is themselves - they haven't won many games in a row, let alone 5 and that would need to change.

I reckon the first 3 will happen. Just not sure who will be 4th, most probably Sydney. Guess it doesn't matter who is 4th as we will most likely have to beat Geelong at some stage. Just prefer it to be in a PF or the GF.

Would love it if the top 4 were: Geelong Melbourne Brisbane Any team that can beat Geelong and our QF is vs Brisbane at the G.

Have to feel for Leigh Adams a bit. They just had a great win and have a few winnable games ahead of them. But North have started the process of getting a priority pick. What does the coach do: tank to get the pick or go all out and build some belief and confidence in the next 5 games.

In round one we didn't have Lever, Petty or Hibberd and Salem went off in the first quarter. That should more than offset the return of Bruce, even if Lever doesn't play this week. iirc TMc went back after Salem went off to shore up defence so we were down a tall up fwd. They still have no all ground defence and their backman don't hold up when challenged. And their pressure isn't so great. Undoubtedly Bevo will play games with his line-ups but at the end of the day they will lose.

Good analysis, SD. I wasn't imputing the likelihood of winning the GF from a particular position. This line at the bottom of your analysis is significant: Prior to last year the Premier hadn't finished Minor Premiers since 2013. And we were only the 7th team to do so in the 20 years since 2000. We went against recent history. Given the competition is so even this year the team finishing 4th might again go against history and win the GF especially if they win the first QF. Only guessing that it is the week rest which probably increases the chances of a QF winner taking out the GF. That aside I have posted in various threads that I am confident of a top 2 finish. I think it is unlikely that we will finish 4th. If not 2nd then it will be 3rd. However, if it is us at 4th I reckon we could beat anyone in the QF who finishes first and get the extra week rest. Or take it out from 4th if we lose the QF. Last year we showed that anything can happen, just as the Bulldogs did in 2016. Last year there were so many theories based on history that said we were unlikely to win it. But we did. History doesn't always repeat itself.