spirit of norm smith

I think Stephens is a player and one who’d have got good opportunities at the Dees. He has tough competition at the Swans with Gulden, Wicks, Campbell and Mcinerney all preferred. Unfortunately he’s probably on the market 12 months too late. We recruited Hunter to fill the wing role on the left hand side on he’s entrenched imv. (if we didn’t recruit Hunter, then I’d be keen to consider Stephens for a 3rd round pick).

Great news. Kate is a super choice. Very well deserved. 👋👋 I have met Libby and Tyla and can only speak highly of them both. Very impressive young ladies and more future leaders. They bring strength on field and very personable off field. We are lucky to have them.! Rhiannon must have been hugely impressive to be selected as a leader without playing a game yet. It speaks volumes for her ability to connect and add values off field. Looking forward to season 8 Go Dees !!!

Gawn played a good game and deserved a vote or two but not BOG imv. Gawn missed the goal in the last quarter from 30 metres out. Beautiful lace out pass from Trac. It was hugely disappointing as it would have sealed the result and killed the crows. He missed and they rebounded to setup the frantic last 2 minutes. I think Viney carried us on his shoulders over the line. Not sure Goody can see much from the boundary line (???)

Any whispers as yet? Any one you think would be a big in ? (I know you’d wouldn’t mention but please not Ben King please not)

Thanks @Lord Travis I agree maybe only the 3 picks. But also thinking there may be 4 or potentially 5 list spots opening , with potential departure of guys like (retirement) BBB, Hibbo, or even Melksham or (looking elsewhere) JJ, Tomlinson, Harmesy or Laurie.

@WERRIDEEGood thoughts here. I think some players in mind on current picks (knowing the sudoku puzzle gets more complex as picks and players swap pre draft) … at this time given ladder position as is, the recent championships and considering the likely Academy and father son picks in the first and second rounds. 1st round #4 (5) Coby Mckercher/ Ryley Sanders (if available) / Zane Duursma / Daniel Curtin 1st round #15 (19) Darcy Wilson / Riley Hardeman/ Logan Morris / Joel Freijah 2nd round #23 (29) Nathan Philactides/ Archie Roberts/ Caleb Windsor / Cooper Simpson 2nd round #33 (41) start to look at players that may drop from the above, or for a specific need (mid or player with pace, taller forward) or wildcards that JT likes to pick from his recruiting team. and yes hopefully grab Kynan Brown will last pick (circa 60s) or automatically in rookie draft

Absolutely. I had Tomlinson in my votes. Solid. Made the right decisions. Only one fumble but otherwise surely handling. Bodied out Fogarty in many marking contests who just him twice on the lead when we had turnovers. I think the Crows would be an option for him if he decides to leave. They’d be interested in someone of his experience.

@WERRIDEE Grundy at Full Forward. Ummmm. And I know crunching the numbers in the “Casey” line up is hard, but Sestan on a wing is a long stretch. He’s purely a forward pocket imv.

@Jontee agreed May - one to forget

Lots of contributions from many many players. Viney clearly a standout. 6- Viney 5- Kozzzzzy 4- Tomlinson 3- Brayshaw 2- Rivers 1- Gawn apologies to Hunter, Chandler, Trac , Salem, ANB, Sparrow, Lingers150. quiet. BBB. JVR. Mcvee. Woey jnr the “Ummm” award this week - S.May Brownlow 1- Adelaide J Dawson 2- Adelaide I Rankine 3- Melbourne J Viney

Choco loves the club and the players. He has developed a lot of these blokes coming through and sees the value in his work. He’s a footy man through and through.

3rd. Kozzzzzy. 👋👋👋 Riv. Run. 👋👋 Gawn getting on top 👋 Hunter and Lingers good JV is a bull 🤮Rankine starring 🤯🤯Crows better tackling 38-54

2nd. Chandler goal x2 👍🏻👍🏻 Melksham goal x2 👍🏻👍🏻 Trac nearly nearly nearly 🤯🤯 JV a bull👍🏻 Riv and Gus very good 👍🏻 Nick Murray starting for crows BBB 🤮 Rankine starting for crows 🤔🤔🤔 stats. Tackles 25-41 🤮🤮inside 50 tackles 1-12. 🤮🤮Turnovers 38-33 🤮🤬

1st. 🤮Dees terrible kicking. Kozzzzy. Trac. May. Bad turnovers 🤔Mcvee struggling on Rankine (keep the faith) 🤔Lever brain fade deliberately out of bounds Key Stats - turnovers 🤮23Dees 🤮20Crows Rooooo. Mark. Goal. JVR. 👋👋

Yes I’m hearing through non accredited sources (John - a mad swans man) that it’s the Swans getting the $$ together for Ben McKay. They need a big bodied defender.

Looking across the list and end of year possible changes: Retirement - Hibberd, Melksham (?) . Both are still playing good footy but may not be best 22 at start of 2024. Melksham will be 32 and Hibberd 34. Tough decisions to make if they want to play on. Looking for more opportunities elsewhere- Tomlinson, Dunstan, Laurie, Harmes. I thought Dunstan might come in with Oliver out but also got injured and only now back to full fitness. Laurie is close but can’t break in. I think he’ll look to try his chances perhaps at club like Hawks, Swans or Giants. Tomlinson would be deserving of a full season elsewhere but is a backup for us right now. Shame to say Harmesy ❤️ move but his disposal and decisions are getting worse and you need to be sharp in todays game. Physically struggling to play on - Tmcd, BBB. Both have looked cooked during games and may be look at pay outs if they cannot continue Developing still - AMD, Deakyn Smith. I think they are nearly there and I’d keep them both on rookie list for 2024.

Only saw him a few times (I only watched in patches though). He has the class. Good overhead mark. Doesn’t seem to be a high possession type midfielder but I can imagine our midfield bulls getting the ball out to his run and delivery inside 50 or kick through the majors. A safe pick but not the new generation mid to assist Clarry and Trac.

Hmmmm. Hypothetically it’s worth a shot. He’s not a once in a lifetime player. But in patches, his ballwinning, pace and aggression is super impressive.

I watched occasionally through the day but only around 1/2 of the overall match. Observations: Jefferson showed good signs. Nice mark and agility. Definitely build up his upper body strength and agree he will be a good partner for JVR. ✅ Dunstan too good for VFL. Good inside to win the footy and drive it forward. ✅ AMW. I like his agressive style and knows how to kick a goal. Definitely keep pursuing on the list. ✅ Deakyn Smith is still improving. Good overlap run on 2-3 occasions. Got caught once but needs to keep being aggressive on the rebound. ✅ Hibbo. The experience was obvious. Composed and impressed as he won a few good contested 1-1 battles. Welcome back next week (if we have any room) ✅ Harmes. No. Some of his disposals and decision making were horrible. 🤯 Spargo did some nice little things but defensively didn’t see him lay a tackle and was beaten in a few 1-1 by his defender. No recall on that form. 😕 Grundy. Excellent ruckman 👋but he’s a Novice forward. He kicked the goal after a very short boundary throw in. Had other chances but goalkicking let him down. 🤔 One to watch. Tyler Edwards. Noticed him in patches with good skills and entries inside 50. Handy top up player to the squad.

Goalkicking Accuracy ??? A work in progress.

I love it. High risk. High reward. And more entertaining!!!

Danger game. Crows on the rebound after last quarter fade out. They’ve got some talent and we will need to watch Rankine who usually plays well against us. Judd Mcvee gets the job imv and I’ll back him in. May gets Tex and Tomlinson on Fogarty. Backs with Lever as intercept look ok. Without Laird, our midfield clearly should win the day. Gawn and the Mids will give us plenty of supply so like to see JVR and BBB actually hit the scoreboard and nail a few goals each. Kozzzy to light it up hopefully.

Agree. We would have to. Daniel Turner is promising but doesn’t have the size and is more of a backup for Lever. Adams and Kye Turner are very raw and skinny. At least 2 years away. Tomlinson provides cover for Petty and May. He’s done well when played this year and would attract attention on the market if we decided to move him on. If so, we would have to get another mature bodied big defender as a backup with May being 32 at start of next year and Petty picking up a few injuries this year.

Left the game early. Hmmm. Not good. That’s a definite negative mark against his name. I’ve never left early , even in the 1979 horror show v Fitzroy at Waverley.

Captained WA Under 18s. He’s a taller half back, nice run, skilled left footer. I like his style and I think whilst he’s a half back, he could even develop as an onballer. Riley Hardeman definitely on JTs list.