Davos

Destination club, baby!

Bailey Laurie has had over 26 disposals in 6 out of 9 games in the VFL this season - including 5 times in his last 5 games. He's not dynamic enough to play as a small forward at AFL level (we have enough evidence of this); but he isn't a fumbler, works through traffic well and is actually a clever user by hand and foot. Given the issues we have in the midfield with forward connection, and that we won't be playing finals, I think we could do a lot worse than give him a sustained period in the side playing almost exclusively in the middle. Keep Oliver in there as the sole "extractor", and run Kozzie, Laurie and to a lesser extent Trac (think he needs to play 80% forward / 20% mid) through the midfield as much as possible. It's no coincidence that we lost all balance / "connection" in that unit from the moment Viney stepped back in there. He, Petracca and Oliver don't wax with the way we need to play now; and although I've been hesitatant to roast Goodwin given I/anyone else on here has no idea what we're talking about, he has to be held responsible if he continues to persist with that trio week after week. It's been at least 3 years of them delivering the same outcome - we have to change, and I'd argue drastically. It would take stones to relegate Viney to a defensive forward role, but to my mind it's the only way we can accomodate better users and decision makers into that midfield mix. Lastly, for those who may have forgotten what Laurie looked like before coming to the club, watch the below clip of his highlights from his junior days, then tell me that that player wouldnt help our perennial forward/midfield connection issues. Despite it being junior football footage from a while ago, I still hold some hope that that footballer is in there somewhere but just hasn't been given any opportunity to show it at AFL level.

Blow me down with a feather...

Positives - we're back to 2023 form. Negatives - we're back to 2023 form.

I remember Essendon supporting friends laughing at us picking him up back in 2015. They though Pig was a great get (he was), but also thought giving Melk a 4 year deal was absurd. Both acquisitions worked out for us in the end.

Might be a bit washed, but I'd still love it. One of the best players to watch in the league when he's on.

Our Werribee connection might help (in a small way) here. Logan is a local Werribee lad, and his parents are pretty involved with Werribee FC.

Bannockburn boy. Makes sense.

You watched Murphy Reid play yet?

Can't shake the feeling that we've made the cowardly choice, if Caro's version of events is to be believed. Hope to be proven wrong. Good luck Paul - get that home base built!

Lever is the best fit as our next captain. He's not our best player, but he's our next best leader. Although I'm happy to move on from last year's saga, the truth is I think it gave an insight into how Christian is wired. The idea that he put the club through the ringer to force change is revisionist history.

Measured as always DS. Good post.

If it's only 3, I reckon it'll be Lindsay, Langford and Sharp. I'd personally like to see Johnno in the side though. Word at Werribee is that he'll likely play early in the season, if not round 1.

Neither did our 3 best players at the start of their careers.

Forget Dogga - we'll have Reid thanks.

Morris didn't say Oliver was leaving in that video.

That's a pretty strong side on paper. Feeling more confident than most that we can give it a shake this year.

There's a reason the NFL has banned the hip drop tackle - very annoying to see it pulled out with a couple of minutes to go in a match sim.

Draft / sign Werribee players and prosper. Go Bees.

Yeah, nah. He's tough. Do yourself a favour and watch the VFL GF replay. He got the better of the Southport ruck, who is considered to be one of the VFL's toughest, on multiple occasions despite being two inches shorter. He also set the tone up forward - his "toughness" was a major contributing factor to their win. Also worth noting that the Werribee small forwards feasted all year (not just in the GF) on the back of his competitveness in the air. He's rarely out-marked.

He trained with Casey for a bit during preseason a couple of years ago - JT mentions it in his recently published interview as well. Assume he then went to Werribee to play with their Albury contingent, after he'd completed his apprenticeship. JT mentioned that the club have been monitoring him for years, going back to when he was playing for Lavington.

Good chat. Seemingly a down to earth fella - going to be easy to cheer for.

Reckon the coaching staff got sick of watching Petty get out marked every time the ball went inside 50 last season. That, or they're thinking about relieving JVR of his ruck duties next season.

My draft philosophy is simple - pick Werribee players and prosper. Welcome AJ!

Jeffo is playing ones (hopefully), Fullerton sucks, Verrall is a ruck and Melksham isn't a tall.