manny100

Not a lot of breaking lines from down back - which gives teams time to flood our forward line - maybe why heaps of inside 50's for not much reward???. Could do with Bowey in form disposal down back. Gus toughness and intercept ability missed down back - but plays well as a mid - only 1 of him.. Miss TMc big time as a link from high half forward. Plays like a winger at times. Harmes speed and toughness would have been valuable. Maybe worth a go at half back? JvR probably will not play this year. He is mobile so a surprise might be to bring him in for Melksham however I suspect playing Smith up forward for Casey last week signals he may replace Melksham. That will also leave a door open to play him back on say a mobile Curnow and move Petty or May forward or during game if necessary.

With BBB and TMc hitting 30 best to develop JvR as a forward IMO. At this stage he reads the play well for a tall forward,, can mark well and has enough pace. Doubt he will be a crash and bash forward but that is ok. Probably can play forward and back like TMc. I think we have a good player in JvR.

Freo 1st round pick plus Darcy for Luke and some loose change? Darcy contracted to Freo to 2024 and allegedly on around $600k. Good chance to leave Freo in 2024 in any case.

Freo would have to find the picks and /or players. Bulldogs gave up pick 6 and their Captain for Tom Boyd. So i expect Freo will have to cough up a lot to snare Luke at his age, talent and room for growth.

I would be surprised if Freo could come up with the draft capital to snare Luke Jackson. Luke was a number 3 pick and given Ruck/forwards usually take years to develop he is playing like a number one pick. He still has 10/12 plus years with natural improvement in a lot of them. Cant swap 2 middling 1st rounders for a good player available at pick 3. There are mids galore early in the 1st round but we will need a KPF and at least one ruck. I guess Meek can be steak knives in any deal but what can Freo accumulate. Their 1st round probably around 13/14 after Father Son pick. What would they get for Lobb and Louege - probably not enough for the trade. There is a chance of course that we see a couple of really good talls around mid 1st round.

Do we have any Academy players we might draft this year?

Hoping he stays but if he goes we would expect Freo to come up with a top 6 pick. They can swap and trade to get one. Plus a another current or future 1st as well. Also Meek as steak knives on top. That is a minimum. Our first ask would be more. Freo got a pick 6 for Cerra and a future 3rd rounder. Cannot compare a mobile tall who could be anything with Cerra. We could end up being the laughing stock if he ends up a GOAT which is very possible - so it has to be a stellar deal.. I think if a satisfactory deal cannot be done he will sign for 2 years with us.

Lets hope he plays basketball next year and we get him cheap.

Looks like we will be giving JvR plenty of time to develop. Already put on 5kg and will add more before next season. A good preseason and her may play a few games next season. He will be prepared for when B Brown and or TMac finish or lose form.

Great news. He is a STAR.

I think his manager would advise him he is to young and relatively inexperienced for the pressure of a big money contract at another club. I am tipping he signs for another 2 years.

Would not mind seeing Petty play occasional forward if our talls are not giving much. At least Petty lets his balls do the talking. I remember the aggression up forward he showed in his early games.

Its a mixture of recruiting, development, player leadership, back office leadership and coaching. Also we have been very lucky with a lot of best 23 being 21 or under. These players typically earn a lot less than older, experienced players. This takes a lot of pressure off the salary CAP which in turn means we get to keep our list together for a tad longer. Maybe even the so called Dynasty. Sure some players will leave for more opportunities but the recruiters have been on the ball. Players who in previous eras' would have withered on the vine are flourishing in this new environment.

.... and tough as. Just got up and on with it after that illegal bump. Did not worry about it at all.

I think this will be development year at Casey for JVR. With TMc and Ben Brown contracted until end 2024 and both in their 30's easily by then best to ease him in. No rush. Another good pre season will see him in good stead for a few games or more nest season. The club long term would be looking at him, Luke Jackson, Weid and Fritter to be the base of our taller forwards going forward. Fritter plays small and tall. No doubt we will be looking at recruiting another over the next couple of years.

The way Jason Taylor has been recruiting he will likely end up a Dees Hall of Famer one day.

Clubs down the bottom tend to go to the draft for a rebuild and once the list has a base of young talent they then go for established players. Eg we drafted heavily and then went for Lever and May. I do not think Jackson will on on West Coast radar for the moment.

Better COVID week off than an injury week off. Gives us the chance to give some players a run which we did not get a chance to do last year. All pending we win of course. Would not mind Majak getting a run to see whether he is up to AFL but the chances of both Gawn and Jacko out at the same time are minimal. So i doubt he will be selected.

He is still very young and inexperienced. It would be way harder to play to his current standard and grow as a player in a bottom 4 team than the top team. His manager would be aware of that. I think we will see at least one more contract. Not sure about our CAP position though.

Jordan will likely get a run at Half back with Harmes or Brayshaw to swap back as the break glass in case of emergency situation.

Robbo and his band were very, very good at the members/supporters day after the GF at the MCG. Definitely worthy of live TV.

I think Gus will want to see how this season is panning out before committing. No doubt he will be looking at life after football and taking that into account when making a decision. Probably looking at possibilities of media after footy. Is getting exposure and experience with Gus and Gawny. Also the more success he has as a player the better after footy looks. Chances are he will reach an agreement with the club. Probably a 2 year tops 3.

The reality is Luke while a gun in the making still has a lot of development to go through before going to another club for big $$$. He would be far better off for his own good signing on for a least another 2 years if not the RFA. Its way easier to perform in a top side like the Dees with the likes of Gawn and our mids than with a rebuilding team without a Gawn. I am tipping his management will advise him to stay while at the same time negotiating a good deal.

We may well need the depth if COVID hits clubs during the season. Looks like at or near to peak in Vic? I think our depth would likely see us fare better than most clubs if players miss COVID games. If our run of luck with injuries continues it may be the only way our depth gets AFL exposure? Although we may find players managed a little more this year.

Ben Brown is a proven AFL good player over a long period. They tend to pick the tempo up quicker. North wanted to bank his salary for future 'mature player' recruiting while presently recruiting kids and list building. We were just strategically smart picking him up for draft pick peanuts. We will get performance compared way better draft pick value from BB than the Cats will get from Cameron.