Lucifers Hero

I would expect Ratten to step in for the next 6 games. It seems the President, Andrew Bassett will take a lead role in appointing the new coach which is somewhat unusual. The chat seems to be that is because Lethlean is plugging for another mate, Brad Scott to get the gig. If Ratten gets the interim role but not the gig for next year there is a fair chance he will also be on the market. While unlikely, would love him back at the Dees.

Good on him for jumping before he was pushed. He has been in no-win situation almost since the beginning. Poor management above him, poor assistants around him. Terrible list management decisions (McEvoy, Goddard, Del Santo, Reiwoldt, Montagna) and squandering of numerous draft picks. Now has a GM Football who pays his mate squillions to leave Sydney and is detrimental to the Saint's culture and can't get on the field. Hannebury is Carlisle Mark 11. As a senior coach one fault was his very deadpan manner when speaking publicly. Good for stability and consistency but not good for enthusiasm, energy and hope.

I'm all for putting players in their natural positions and settle the team for the next 6 games and as for the W/L que, sera, sera. That means: Gus in the midfield. As others have said we are styfling his development on the wing as we did when we played him in the fwd pocket a few years ago. Jones and now Lewis have taken his spot. Time to put him where he is most damaging injury permitting). Their is room for him in the midfield with Harmes, Viney and Oliver as our mids spend about 80% game time on filed, the 4 can easily rotate off the bench for the whole game. Fristch and Baker on the wings. Backline is fairly settled so time to get the cohesion going. Jones has found his niche in defence Lewis? Love everything he brings to our club but would rather he not play as he won't be there in 2020 and this is get ready for 2020 time. If he must play put him fwd. Not much we can do about the fwd line with a number of our best out. But we can settle the rest of the team as above. As an aside, Mahoney in a 3AW interview lauded Petracca's strength and ability to clear the ball from stoppages. For mine it is another reason for Lewis to not play in the midfield as it is styfling Petracca's development.

Going by this article Fritsch is the back-up guy when needed in defence which has been most of this year. versatile-fritsch-happy-to-float Recently he has been playing on the wing and expects to play there or forward in the future (unless needed to plug a gap in defence due to in game injury ala Hore last week). Think we are all happy about that as it plays to his strengths. Not sure there is much value comparing his stats 2018 vs 2019 as he has played at opposite ends of the ground.

He has one string to his bow (fwd defence ie tackles and 1%) and has been poor in those areas. His work is having little impact: last year his tackles caused turnovers, this year less so. His form is concerning as he was not in the 'preseason injury' group and his role does not require particular skills. He is competing with players like Dunkley, Sparrow, Lockhart, Dunkley, Fritsch for a spot and I can't see ANB being ahead of all of them. Next year he is likely to be a depth player at best. For these reasons if/when we trade him it will be 'at the bottom of the market'. We have/will offer him a contract but it he may get better $/years/senior games elsewhere and we will trade him and like Kent it may well be in the 60's. Or like Tyson a player who fits our needs better.

End of last year, Gus had a back problem which prevented him from doing much pre Xmas training and the traditional family Xmas day 100 x 100 with his brothers. Can't recall the exact time but it he didn't start preseason training until sometime in January. Back problems can come and go so wouldn't be surprised if that is the issue. It could also be why he is not in the middle - to protect his back from the rough and tumble of congested football. He is slow and struggles to get low to pick up the ball - also signs it could be a back issue. He looks tired but not disinterested. EOS can't come quick enough for the many that are battered and bruised in our team.

Yawn... ...of all the things in the game to pick on - it is a kick from a player who was one of our best today and has been most of the year. This thread is just another excuse to get stuck into a player some people don't like. It has become embarrassing. He wears our beloved red and blue and works his heart out every week. Give him a break.

Hope his younger bro puts in a few of those games for us in a year or two! Loved the goal Kyle kicked over Josh's head for his first AFL goal.

Port: Down hill skiers Lions: The real deal

The anti-Max rule is alive and well!!! Wasn't he penalised 5 times vs Saints in 2017 for the 'straight arm block'. It is the rule the umps pull out of their dusty old box when they want to bring Max down and give the ops an advantage. Really hurts us when it is front of their goals.

Agreed. GCS have had plenty of top picks in the last few years: In 2016: picks 4, 7, 9, 10. In 2018: picks 2, 3, 6. ie 7 top 10 picks in a 24 month period. Those players are still developing and some will be elite, if they keep them. Cochrane goes on about the mistakes in the early years. But he has nothing to Crow about. He has been there for 6 years and overseen the appointment of Eade and Dew. He grandstands, breathes fire and brimstone and cries poor but not much apparent positive impact. They really need help and a new Chairman might be a good start. The AFL put in Mark Evans as CEO but he isn't having much impact either but needs time. They also need to put people and resources into development, medical, rehab etc. It is the only feasible option.

Yes, the Crows could elect to pay some of Jenkin's contract. The last line is a bit confusing needing 'more than 'A depth player' but a mature body...would be a handy addition to our depth... We may have different definitions of 'depth'. To me it is someone who comes into the seniors when needed for injury, match ups or team balance otherwise they play at Casey.

I would take Casboult over Jenkins. Jenkins would want to play as best 22 and at his salary we could not afford him in the VFL. Jenkins has another 3 years on his sizeable $$ contract (when he will be 33 yo), whereas Casboult is on a much lower salary and out of contract this year. Nothing comes 'cheaply' with Adelaide so they would insist on a high draft pick and we take over his $$ contract. No trade required for Casboult as he is a free agent this year. We have a depth player to contest in the forward line and that is the Big Scary Man, Preuss. Like Casboult he wouldn't be there for goals but to add some muscle and create a contest.

Dew gets it: "The priority pick is not the answer, flat out. "Like every other club you've got to work as hard as you can, you've got to improve your list through draft and trade, that's the answer". laughing-crows-leave-a-bad-taste-in-dews-mouth Brave coach to say that after his Chairman was so OTT about demanding a pp. Dew knows what a successful club looks like: premiership player at Port and Hawks and understudy to Longmire. The AFL need to talk to Stewie to see what he wants and the club really need.

At a time when commentators have gone soft on umpiring, apparently under AFL 'guidance', it is good to see Richo call them out richo-fumes-at-inconsistent-decisions "What did we lose free kicks by? A lot I think. I didn't think the umps had a great night...It was as much about the non-calls as it was the calls." Free kicks last night Geel 26 vs Saints 14. Last week North 25 vs Saints 16 and the location of the frees means a great deal as 7 were in front of goal which resulted in 7 goals for North. Richo has every reason to be fuming - the umpiring is terribly inconsistent especially within games and no one is allowed to say anything for fear of offending them!!! Bravo, Richo! Folks, we need to brace ourselves for the umpiring today - Bulldogs are perennial beneficiaries of lopside free kick counts and non-calls of their colloquially called 'slick handballs' ie throws.

Its one of the reasons Matty Whelan' was recruited "... He will also manage the club’s Reconciliation Action Plan, in conjunction with the current working group, focus on the Next Generation Academy, with an emphasis on Alice Springs and the club’s Indigenous/Multicultural pathways, plus build relationships in the Northern Territory..." whelan-rejoins-melbourne-in-new-role The role was created 2.5 years ago but haven't heard anything re talent development around Alice or NT. Hopefully Matty has some players in the wings to unveil soon...

Add Weideman to the list with a calf injury. In the last 12 months we have had typical football injuries (soft tissue, knee, foot) and an inordinate amount of collision injuries (shoulder, hip, broken collar bone, concussion). This has to be more than bad luck and our injury toll should be ringing alarm bells at the club. I don't subscribe to the 'its Misson's fault' hysteria but I hope the club investigates the causes. I'm not talking a 'witch hunt' but a genuine find out what the hell is going on. Thoughts: I recall in 2017 when we lost Gawn, Watts, Jones etc to soft tissue injuries the club had concerns about the Gosch surface. I hpothesised in another thread that our crash and bash style of play could be a cause of the collision injury/surgeries over the last 12 months. When crashing into a player it is hip, shoulder that come into play and they, along with the collar bone and head can come off second best. Do we have the right techniques to reduce collision injury risks. When we talk about 2020 there is an implicit assumption that the injury cloud will lift and we will sail back up the ladder. We won't if we have anything like this year's injury epidemic. Hopefully we have a better preseason. Our luck re injuries might change but I feel something more deliberate needs to happen to ensure they are minimised or the impact of them (games missed) is minimised.

The Dunkley family will enjoy seeing Josh and Kyle on the same pitch. Special day for them. Hope Kyle gets a few decent tackles on his older bro!

Clearly I know frees do not have to be even! Shallow? Why? Sorry I don't buy the 'statistically proven' bit as the dogs had only 10 more tackles and granted a lot more 1%. In other respects the game was relatively even. And, stats can be used to paint any picture to suit a viewpoint eg I could argue the Cats had a better conversion rate than the Dogs: 20 scoring shots for 44 i50 to Dogs 21 scoring shots for 52 i50. Also, neither tackles nor 1%'ers is a good indicator of free kicks. And certainly not for a differential of 28 to 13. Crikey, I would love us to get 2.2 frees for the opp 1.0 every time we win the tackle, 1%, and i50 count! Anyway, my post was a bit tongue-in-cheek.

Free kicks: Dogs 28 to Cats 13.

I/C from: Petracca, O. McDonald, Neal-Bullen, Petty, C. Wagner, Lockhart, J. Wagner, Dunkley IN: Lever, Jetta, Gawn, O. McDonald, C. Wagner, J. Wagner OUT: Hore (injured), T. McDonald (injured) No surprises. Interesting interchange. Hopefully the final 4 are Petracca, Dunkley, Lockhart and .... Glad the Big Scary Man gets another gig. Finally we get our best back 6 on the park! For the first time it frees Salem or Fritsch to spend the whole game centre/forward.

Quite often an experienced AFL player with many preseasons comes straight back in after a long injury out, without a VFL game. So, I don't see a problem bringing in Nev with one VFL game. If he comes in he will be ready to play and will perform to his usual high standard.

In 2016 they used pick 4, 7, 9, 10. In 2018 they used pick 2, 3, 6. That is 7 top 10 picks in a 24 month period. They gambled badly in 2017 trade period, trading a raft of high 2nd round 2017/2018 picks to WCE for their 2018 1st round pick (approx pick #20). Incompetent. 2019 #1 and 2 will get them Rowell and Anderson, rated the two best but are also best mates. GCS figure they have a better chance of keeping them if they get both. Hence the pp request. Top picks don't matter if they can't develop them and look after them physically and medically. Apparently O'Meara and others complained about how their injuries were mis managed. Could be deja vu with Rankine (2018 pick 3): Hamstring injury in JLT game. Two months ago had a 'small' setback during rehab and is yet to play a game, anywhere. The AFL needs to put people and resources into development, medical, rehab etc. It is the only feasible option. Priority picks gives GCS no incentive to sort themselves out and just makes them addicted to more and better draft picks only to become a nursery for other AFL clubs. There are 7 games to go and GCS could easily not be last...unless they tank. As we know this will hurt their culture more than not getting a pp.

Thanks for insightful report. Good news re Max. Interesting observation re younger players. Didn't we have something similar a few years ago? Or is it a result of the coaching changes with Macca and Rooke doing what they do best: Development. Lockhart not too effective recently and was looking tired this week. Do you think it is time for him to have a rest at VFL? Having said that not sure who we have fit to bring in...Baker maybe...?

Not sure whether this post is in jest... Sit back and relax is a recipe for disaster for us. Too often in recent years everyone thought 'it would just happen'. Consistent hard work is the only way we will have success (ie regularly contend for a flag). History might repeat itself but it is more likely to be the erratic MFC history than the constant finals playing teams of Cats and Tigers both of which have missed once in the last 6 years.