Ted Lasso

I think Billings would improve in our system and definitely be in our best 22 based on his best football. he's down this year, but so is basically the Saints entire club. my sense is though, his name being floated is purely about assessing his potential worth, and if they couldn't get a top 20 pick, it's probably not worth the trade from the Saints end.

Ruck depth is an area i'd like to see us build in, there are some very good young rucks around the league developing in the 2's who'd potentially see a real opportunity, with Gawn getting older to learn off the best for a year or 2 with the view of taking his spot I'm not sure of his contractual status but Sam Hayes is someone i really rate from the Power, he's a very big lad, and very strong contested game, i reckon he can become a really really good player. his ruck craft probably needs some work but i'm sure Gawn and Stafford could help that alot. Port rate him so it wouldn't be a freebie, but realistically i'd expect the asking price to be reasonable

That's the thing, it's a little bit of a buzz word in AFL circles i find, a high percentage of interstate players would experience a level of homesickness during their careers, some more severe than others, but it generally is fleeting and the players are able to manage it with the support of the club

Not too worried about either to be honest Dazzle, i just think it's something that happens, sometimes it gets reported and sometimes it doesn't.

I know for a fact Trent Rivers is also expereincing mild homesickness, no concern either will leave, but a reality of recruiting interstate players, most go through it to a degree

I also think part of our clearance struggles has been the expected dominance not being met at times, because as you say Gawn isn't at his absolute best. when Jackson goes in there the mids just read the ball and we do seem to win it a bit more regularly. definitely something the coaches could play with. even a 50/50 split in the ruck between the two could change the look of the game.

I understand how big an asset Gawn is, but i'd love to see, for one game we just plonk him at Full Forward for a game, Jackson could take the ruck. i've got a feeling he'd be almost impossible down there over the course of 4 quarters.

It doesn't, but senior figures of the club have said they expect 3 key forwards to be a thing we stick with throughout the year, so i suspect if Weid goes out he'll likely be replaced with a tall. However as you point out, nothing is guaranteed. i don't mind the idea of going smaller. Jackson, TMac and Fritsch are 3 good marking targets

to this point, various interviews on the website suggest Ben Brown is training extremely strongly, looking much more aggressive and moving much more freely, i believe it was Richo? who said that. so with that in mind i don't think Ben Browns form as such is an issue for his selection, it'll be more to do with if they think Weid is filling the role they've got him there for, or not.

I do wonder if Weid would have been given as much time if we were say 6-6 rather than 11-1 coming into this game

In: Ben Brown, Jack Viney Out: Sam Weideman, Tom Sparrow

I think the other serious option in this is Mitch Brown. in the one game he played he performed strongly, i think offensively he offers more than Weid is currently, and defensively is a similar type of player. he may compliment our forward line better in the short term. However i think realistically in terms of winning the 2021 premiership, Ben Brown is the better player and potentially should be given a few weeks to see if we can make things click with him in there.

The really annoying thing is, both are very good ball users and decision makers, but their Ego's get the better of them. no doubt they would have copped a very stern talking to about trying to do too much. and a good lesson for the entire team to see what happens when you go away from the simple, team footy that's won us 11 games this year. it's one of those, the harder you try, the less it works things.

Cats big strength is the dogs big weakness. unless the Dogs can get incredible midfield dominance, i think the Cats forward line will get hold of the Dogs.

Maybe they'll try and poach Goody

With you OD. it'll take them 2-3 years to fix up the list, and some really unpopular decisions. they may have to trade a Grundy or De Goey to get things under control.

I think Yze would make a fantastic senior coach and is ready for the job, however i suspect Collingwood, given the unrest in the membership caused by the board situation would be silly not to go for a more sure thing option. honestly i wouldn't be surprised if it was Ross Lyon that got the job. I don't think you'd make this decision on Bucks who has a good coaching record if you didn't have a pretty good idea of who you were getting, it'd be strange to try and unknown coach over a pretty safe bet in what you already have, especially at a time when Stability would be helpful. I think the Hawks are our biggest threat for Yze, if Clarko leaves.

Carlton announced a review.

Correct, for a direct promotion, it's why if an assistant was hired for a succession plan it'd require the teams permission for them to go.

Really unsure how they'll view their options regarding a potential replacement, if Clarko is receptive obviously he flies to the top of the list, but the Hawks may not be willing to let him go, not sure if they 100% believe Sam Mitchell is ready this soon for a senior role. potentially needs another year

Gut feel is this is to do with Carlton and not wanting them to get a head start on potential coaching prospects. it seems that maybe they all knew this would happen at the end of the year, but the timeline has been moved forward.

there is no doubt the pies are going to lift hard for Bucks, we're going to have to be at our best to beat them.

Mate, i know Pies supporters who'd struggle to comprehend that Sydney is a different city to Melbourne haha

If lock down is lifted Centrelink is going to get absolutely smashed with requests for advanced payments so that Collingwood supporters can try and fly up to see the game.

It's hard to know if Barker quit, or was pushed. my guess is he has probably decided it's time, maybe was going to go at the end of the year anyway. I reckon Teague is cooked, and it'll be someone like Ross Lyon that they look to to replace him.