Sydee

Let’s just politely agree to disagree on this topic Based on your first paragraph you probably would have sent Max packing - that would have been a mistake You also concede that LJ will probably be really good in 2 -3 years - this I agree with so why move him on now when Max may have 3 to 4 years left There are plenty of others that I would target before LJ and btw I don’t consider him as just a ruck he has the potential to be so much more than that in fact he could be a once in a generation type player - our recruiting team probably agree and that’s why he was taken with such a high pick As I’ve said before it’s great that you have an opinion on this - I hope he stays and I hope he helps us win a premiership one day Our best players will get paid handsomely - like Richmond , Geelong and previously Hawthorn during their sting years each of their better players will compromise a bit on $’s to share the ultimate success with their mates The AFL is littered with examples of players that left for big pay days that never enjoyed the ultimate success. I don’t feel Trac or Oliver are like that. Tom Scully says hi !

MD you seem to not be a LJ fan to quote you from 21 March "The only reason to play Jackson at the moment is to increase his trade value. Jackson is superfluous to need and it was a mistake to draft him. He will never be a first ruck and if he can't make this team as a forward he will be playing at Casey most of the year. We have 2 guys running around Casey that would do Jackson's job better. Majac has been doing well and Andrew Courtney is a better ruck and a better forward. The best hope is that some team sees value in Jackson and take him off our hands." That's fine you are entitled to your opinion. Any you may be right LJ may turn out to be a bust - personally I don't hold that view we can respectfully agree to disagree on that

Settle down MD I wasn't having a dig at you simply clarifying that I do not support any suggestion we trade LJ The is a long list of players who are quite well paid (I suspect) that would be higher on my list to consider trading to manage the list I'd rather note list them because that is not my role it belongs to our list managers - they know far better than me Not sure how you interpreted my comments as some sort of insult as that was certainly not intended

Assume he has signed then ?

Ah sorry MD I don't support trading LJ - please don't suggest I am in any way a fan of that strategy thank you

If we have to trade LJ to afford to keep our key midfielders we are managing our player payments as well (or as bad) as Collingwood I hope that's not the case I find it bizarre that a team that has achieved very little cannot afford to keep its playing group intact when other far more successful teams (Richmond, Geelong, Port Adelaide, West Coast) do not appear to be in that position Are we just dumb ? Are some of our better players just too greedy ? Are our weakest players getting above average payments ?

Clayton seems to have a great report with his mates at the club He and Trac are both special talents who together should lead this team to both finals and a premiership/s Great players and great teams know the importance of sticking tight and enjoying success with those who have done the hard yards to get there - they will sacrifice a little on $’s to achieve that because it is worth I hope he signs soon and on terms that fairly reflect his value to this team

Yep I noticed that too - in real time difficult for the umps to catch that one

Disappointing no mention of either Bowey or Laurie

I am hoping that some of this, if not all is driven by the knowledge that we now seem to have some depth and players very capable waiting on the sidelines and hungry to get a game Lose your spot now and it could take a considerable amount of time to win it back

Stats from the weekend - he seems to be doing something right Metres gained from centre bounces: Melbourne: 821 | St Kilda: 195

Bit harsh - the connection between Max and the midfield group seemed to be missing in round 1. It certainly seemed to be better this week It was spoken about by Goodwin after the game and I thought he said it was something they would have to work on during the week - seemed to me at least like they had made some adjustments and it was working better Max can palm or hit the ball to a designated area but if our midfielders are too slow to react or in the wrong position you can't blame Max - not saying our Max is perfect but I wouldn't be swapping him for any other ruck in the comp

Wait a minute - flag favourites ?

Agree - it almost a given in this day and age that having a balanced respectful discussion without people pushing their own agenda or being respectful is not possible This is not just a reflection of Demonland but also main stream media and social media It seems very easy for some to lose sight of the real issues and big picture

Most of these guys would have no trouble getting a kick under no pressure to within a couple of metres of a team mate standing 40 metres away The problem is in my opinion is not so much about technique but what is going on in their heads Think golfer on tee who rarely hits a ball off line until he gets to his bogey hole - there he regularly hooks the ball into a hazard - not because of technique so much but because he is focused on missing the fairway Fritsch always looks to me that he is over thinking every kick - if he ignored the goal posts and just imagined he was kicking to a team mate behind the goals he might just find things turned around quickly

Curious - who would you play on the wing ? Please don't say Oskar Baker give me Gus or Jonesy any day of the week AVB - love his aggression but has limitations Hunt - rather let him settle back to HBF where I think he adds a lot of much needed pace Bedford - love to see him succeed but just never seems to get enough of the ball Rivers - he seems like a natural HBF to me why shift him

I haven't given up hope that LJ can be a very effective forward He's played a handful of games and as we know the big guys take a bit more time - he is learning every week and with some patience and some game time we will be paid back in spades if you ask me Can he mark - you betcha Is his kicking action sound - it needs a little bit of work but basically its solid in fact I'd go so far as to say its better than one JH who some predicted to be the next messiah He will continue to improve - it may not be linear as in better each week but by the end of this season I am confident that he will be a much better player and be far more confident in his own ability (of which he has plenty)

Luke took a few nice marks , missed an easy goal (by not much I might add) made some skill errors and got out positioned by his opponent several times I am a big fan and think he will be a very good player but atm he looks like he lacks some confidence - hopefully he can put together a strong game this week He certainly wasn’t alone in the skill errors dept quarter 3 probably some of the sloppiest footy I’ve seen for a while I was glad to see Goodwin give Luke encouragement straight after he’d made a simple error I think he’s in good hands with our coaching group

Really I stand by my comments - the games I’ve watched there seems to be quite a gap in the way the umpires assess lateral movement off the mark, sometimes they wait until the ball carrier has almost run past the player on the mark - other times they call play on almost straight away Maybe this will be judged more consistently in time but for now it’s a bit of a lottery The more scope for umpires to influence the game = a risk to me and a source of confusion and frustration for supporters IMHO is this rule change bad - maybe not is this rule change really necessary - not sure

Jake will get his chance soon enough If not this week then it will not be that long - I have now seen enough to realise why he was picked up with our first pick Speed, great delivery by foot, good evasive skills and awareness - overall a neat package. Time will tell but if he keeps training well , playing well for Casey and a few injuries happen he will get his chance Hopefully he makes the most of it and cements a place in the team because we certainly could use more people who can choose the best option and hit targets consistently

Disappointing news - despite the lack of love for James Harmes from some here at Demonland I think we are a better team with him in the side - played out of position most of last year which was not his choice

What has Melksham done to deserve a recall ? Did he play a blinder last week ? His form in the last couple of seasons has been poor and I would have thought he should earn a recall particularly when others have done a full pre season and have greater match fitness. I'd love to think we are past the days of gifting players games on reputation

Agree Nev actually played quite well and Jones was a pass in my book The problem lies with the Saints fast smalls particularly in the front half of the ground Nev whilst reading the play brilliantly and being fantastic one on one will struggle to keep pace with them How do we combat them ? I'm tempted to say Bowey in but I know I'll get howled down by a few on here Other key threats Brad Hill - I'd try Harmes first in a run with role Steele - Viney hopefully comes in matching his physicality (Sparrow has done ok but if Viney is fit he has to play)

Fine with being aggressive but stupid remonstrating and targeting players with the view to roughing them up will likely lead to suspensions - that we certainly don't need or want

I think this played a big part in what was at times comical kicks for goal from players on both sides At one point I watched Fritta lining up and his shorts were seriously flapping in the wind - has to be pretty strong breeze for that you would think Players on both teams totally shanked kicks for goal and in general play - strong gusts must explain at least some of those I don't really like the ball spinning that Trac and others do - with goal kicking the less moving parts the better i would of thought. Trac doesn't even seem to make sure the laces are on top of the ball on his set shots - unless footy's are different these days its hard to connect perfectly when the laces are underneath as the ball tends to be firmer on the side