Ted Lasso

I would say our slight drop off is in part due to opposition teams having planned more for us, moving the ball more aggressively in general and we've dramatically improved offensively. i think a fully fit Hibberd and an inform Tmac will allow Petty to also drop back and stiffen the backline up nicely. Salem will also help a lot. We look like a dramatically better team when Kozzie is in the middle and our forward line looks downright scary with Petracca down there. you wish you could clone blokes but i do think these guys need to split that time a bit more evenly. give Kozzie more of a look at the midfield.

I suspect you could have a third team in either Perth or Adelaide.

It's hard to imagine too many changes given how the team went last night but i'd guess Spargo and Petty walk back in and Schache and Jordan probably make way

Enjoy the night mate! hope we get a big win for ya!

I'm sure his manager would have had that chat but it looks as though it was always something like 90% Fremantle or 10% Melbourne and no other team was ever really in the discussion

I suspect it'll be Laurie, but they might also consider Harmes

I personally would have advised LJ to go to West Coast. he'd have gotten the same or more money and been their number 1 ruck with Nic Nat as a mentor in the short term.

If it were me i'm going HARD at Ben King, who i think we could definitely get with one of our world famous presentations and we have the draft assets to get it done, unsure on the cap side of things. if not, geez pick 1 would be tempting, especially given 2 of the picks we're offering would likely be late teens. something like 6, 18 and 18 so Harley Read can come in and win a flag in his first year and develop without the pressure in a strong team that won't rely on him the way the Hawks would

I am still incredibly confident in the player Luke Jackson will in time become. but the pressure of being at a club like Fremantle on that sort of money this early in his career is a legitimate risk to his development

Happy days. massive to keep Kozzie on board given the way his career is trending! also i believe means all major potential departures are now signed up for this year so no distractions or will he won't he questions

Yeah i know, i am just suggesting this for purely selfish reasons. kid is going to be special. like Jefferson as well!

Geez JVR is a special young player. can we sign him up for a decade now and save multiple threads about his contract in the future?

Some people generate headlines and ratings with their thoughtful and respected analyses, credit to Kane Kornes in that he's recognised he's not that, unlike some other commentators and he's god down a more pizz taking path.

Hearing that Essendon and the Saints both have real interest in JJ and will pursue him. which makes sense as he's a quality guy and player with premiership experience.

It's incredible to me that someone with so much Raw talent wasn't an early draft pick, but it really does show that even with the incredible work recruiters do, at times guys slip through the cracks and you can get an incredible pick up if you're at the right place, and the right time Even Bailey Fritsch is a good example of an elite player that somehow slipped much later than he really should have based on AFL output

No, it's been a few years in the making to be honest, the only role JH really has made his own is the tagging role when we choose to go down that path. truthfully he's always been a guy who's given us an incredible return for a rookie, but he has some limitations and i suspect those inside the club rate guys like Jordan and Sparrow a little bit higher now.

James Harmes is not a best 22 player at the MFC right at the moment. he's right on the fringe and i suspect will be at another club next year. Ripping guy and great team man, but it's one of those good team problems we haven't had in a really long time

Essendon are likely to only have the resting ruck, and Jones as their main tall targets and Stringer kinda I reckon we could get away with going slightly smaller at both ends against the Bomber

we're all just guessing ultimately! but awesome that Riv is sticking around! he's been a great pick up for us!

there were a few considerations around the Gus deal, our intention last year was always to re-sign both though. i think the difference is there is a possibility we have to pay slightly more than we'd ideally like in order to keep Kozzie, where as we would have paid LJ whatever it took i suspect to keep him

Because of the size and scope of a potential kozzie contract, and the reality he'd be our clear priority, we simply wouldn't make this move unless we had a level of certainty around what Kozzie is likely to do. If we didn't have a clear idea what that contract was going to look like, we'd be holding off on any major extensions as long as we reasonably could.

this is not just a great signing for the club, it's a really positive sign for the prospects of re-signing Kozzie as well!

Not a chance

I definitely think we will look at bundling up multiple first round picks this year and next year and trying to inject some top end midfield talent I rate our developing keys in Jefferson and Van Rooyen. i am really optimistic what they will become salary cap permitting i'd have a very serious look at Ben Mckay as a long term replacement for Steven May to extend our window

It doesn't help when you trade out multiple players who played roles for your club in order to fit in a kid who hasn't proven he's a consistent AFL performer yet on Huge money. this was a huge gamble by Freo and i suspect it's greatly upset parts of the club and really upset the chemistry of the team. Not to mention they're completely void of any real offensive power and have totally misread where the game is going