Jerry Lundergard

Just read the match thread on 'ology and it's seemed like over half their goals were kicked from frees. My only hope that i am hanging on is, even though we had a strong team, not all players can produce a quality performance first up. We rested Greeny and Junior who played the first 2 games, we have Bruce and Rivers(i hope) to come back in and with a couple of extra weeks to get it together before round 1 against an understrengthed Hawks, we may be alright. No point peaking in Febuary.

John Bertrand and Nicky Buckley. Not the highest profiles, but supporters nonetheless. Oh, and don't forget Sachin and Anna Ivanovic.

Which depth players are you talikng about? Bizzell, Brown and Pickett all retired. Ward and Godfrey shown the door. You could've maybe kept one of those two maximum, but with Brown, they were are worst three players in terms of disposal, so i'm glad they are gone....especially Ward, he was terrible.

Good call Magic. I was thinking the same thing when i was reading that post, because when i was watching the game i was quietly thinking to myself "Why can the Saints compete so well against the Cats with an understrengthed an inexperienced team, when we just capititulate?".

Thanks for that report. Makes me feel a little easier about our list going into the first few rounds of the season.

Carroll should just plead with Fev to not tear him a new areshole....again.

I would think that implenting a new game plan would be far easier for the players away from the cameras and perceived pressure of needing to win for the $$$'s if we had of remained in the cup. We go away to Cairns now, there is no pressure(everyone thinks we suck now anyway) and we can work on the new game plan and hopefully fly under the radar a little.

I think the other thing to mention about the players missing from both teams, is that we replaced ours with many first gamers or really inexperienced players, where Geelong used alot of fringe players who have been in their system for a while like Byrnes, Tenace and D.Johnson. We were putting players out there who were playing just to see if they could compete at the top level, where Geelong had many players out there who were playing to show they could break into the Cats first 22. I can't cop that we go down to Geelong and play last years premiers with an almost seconds team and get thumped, and people are dissappointed. Yet the Pies can get smashed by Adelaide, and most observers can objectively say it's just a preseason match it doesn't mean anything. Let's pause to remember who has won 2 of the last 3 preseason cups, and also look at the way a team like the Swans has gone about their work in the preseason, and get a bit more perspective.

I am usually pretty negative when it comes to the Demons, but most of the positives that have been mentioned on this thread i agree with. The first qtr with the wind was disastrous, but there were some real positives to take out of that game considering the team we fielded. The only negative i have is Jeff White. I'll admit, i am not his greatest fan, but he set the tone early in the game with his inability to get near the ball in the ruck against Ottens, and if you are going to play without an opponent as a loose man in defence, as a senior player on an inexperienced team, can you at least hit some targets.

I've been expressing my doubts about Col for a couple of seasons now, and thought he should have been used as trade bait at the end of this season. As much as i would like to see Sylvia live up to the potential that a No.3 pick comes with, i have resigned myself to the fact he will never reach our expectations.

I predict a slow start to the season, but a strong finish will see us scrape into the 8 and have a few teams worried about having to face a young team with some momentum behind them. I also have Ricky Pettard to win the Rising Star award, as he will still be eligible after not playing enough games last season. It will also be a great feel good story for the media with what happened to Ricky last season.

If we get Welsh cheaply, i have no problem with it. He has towelled us up a few times, is a straight kick and applies great foward pressure with his strong tackling. Something we lack. He is a little injury prone, but so are our other fowards. It would be good to have a bit of depth, so we have someone else to kick to if Neitz and Robbo go down again.

We just need to get it out of the stoppages now. That is why i like the sound of Masten for our no.4 pick.

I'll make the call that in three years time Dunn will consistently be one of the top 5 players at the MFC. I love the way Dunny goes about his footy.

I am wondering if the bad OP and one eyed Eagle supporter rumours are being peddled from teams or agents from the west so they have a better chance of securing Masten.

What the hell is dynamic anyway? Who would you descibe as "dynamic"? Someone who does a couple of flash in the pan things for the whole game? Definitely not Brock.

After reading the Masten profile, i am extremely keen on him. I think one of our biggest weaknesses is a lack of players who are super clean around the stoppages. Sounds like he could be the man for this job.

To put a different twist on things. If the Tigers do take Cotchin and the Eagles decide they will go for Palmer or Masten, who do we take then? Morton?

Looks like there was a bit of jaw clenching from Cousins going on to me. Hmmmm.....

Well, that Swans game is a memorable game to me. And he hasn't played many to choose from yet. Now it can be suggested that it was memorable because it was unexpected, or you can say if he was taken at no.3 himself in the draft and played that well in his first game, how excited would we be about was to come in the future. This thread probably shouldn't go down the path of a Ricky vs. Col debate though, we all hope they both become great. I just have some serious doubt on Sylvia, but i will be the first to come on the boards and happily be proven wrong if he has a break out year in '08.

I rate him from the perspective of seeing him do some unselfish acts on the ground, the likes of which we have been complaining about some of our so called leaders rarely doing at all.

You need to get a hold of Ricky's debut game against the Swans and have a rethink. What did Col have in his first game 2 years in? 1 handball? I will have always have a lasting memory of Pettard backing into the hole with Barry Hall charging in, as opposed to Sylvia crunching one of his own players and putting him on the injury list for 8 weeks.

Blah, blah, blah, blah.....if you are a number three pick in the national draft as a midfielder, you should have racked up numerous games of substance. Pettard was pick 20-something, and he already has a couple of memorable games. Brock, Bate, Dunn they have all had more memorable games. I keep hearing on these boards about what a gun he is, and he's the best player on our list, and he's gonna rip games apart, but i want to actually see it.

I'll be the first to admit, Sylvia is one of my least favourite players. I have already called to trade him already why he still has value. I am not sure if i judge him harder because he was a number three pick in the draft, but then again, i sometimes feel if he wasn't taken that high he might not have been given the chances he has over the last couple of years with what he has delivered. I am not completely buying ino the never done a full preseason excuse. If he does the right things off the field, i am sure his body will come good. In my mind, 2008 is the year he needs to stand up and actually influence some games, or we will be forever whinging on these boards about what a wasted high draft pick he was.

Troy Simmons hardly played this season too.