Dees2014

Yes, a la Geelong last year. I like it...

Also David Neitz at the Hawks. Would be a great mentor for Hoges, Weideman and Huelett next year IMHO.

Of those last four, I think now only Brayshaw and Salem are certainties when fully fit. Where are they going to fit in? I would say Brayshaw for Stretch and Salem for Wagner, although if if Jetta puts in too many more games like QB, could also be in the firing line when Salem returns. I'd also like to see Salem move further up the ground and on the ball, where I think he plays his best football, and is extremely dangerous around goal

Totally agree BB. JW epitomises the overall improvement of the team, and that mark puts the doubts about Watts to do with his intensity and hardness well and truly to bed. On the subject of Jack Watts, has anyone else noticed the dislike of him, bordering on contempt, of many opposition supporters, particularly the Carlton mob. It is truly disgusting. I suspect it may have a bit to do with their unsuccessful attempt to sign him during his last contract negotiations, but some of the comments I have heard from them are totally over the top.

Totally agree OD. I am always delighted when we turn out in our traditional strip. In my view there is no case for us to play in the alternate strip when there is no clash of jumpers. I venture to suggest though that since QB is traditionally a home game, if it were the reverse, I bet we would have gone with the white strip: one of the few things I admire about Eddie is he does stand up for Collingwood tradition. The QB sight of both teams in the traditional strip is entirely driven by Eddie's refusal to wear the alternative strip. In that, he is dead right. It is about time we stood up for our equally strong traditions.

North Melbourne by a street Essendon Dockers your thoughts

BB, yes I think he would be too, but I suspect there are a few like Scully who simply chase the dollar. I'm beginning to suspect Tom is one of them. If so, let him go, we will get well compensated for him, and it wont compromise what Roos has brought to us - an incredibly strong culture and an uncompromising attitude. You are also right that we are positioning ourselves as a destination club. Bernie Vince was the trail blazer (and if the rumours are to be believed there are at least a couple of his star mates who would love to join him), and I have no doubt there will be a number of players who will put their hands up to join us in the next couple of years. Ironically, what might be hanging them back is our star list, and their ability to break into the senior side. The future is bright, but there is no doubt we have to perform. To be another Richmond or Freo, is simply un-acceptable, but we will not be. The leadership is far brighter than that....

you're dreaming. and he is dreaming of the pies,dons,hawks, and freo. he is gone.

I'm not showing any colours. just the respect that there is a time and a place for politics, but a football forums is not one of them.

Yes I agree with Trengove and Grimes. I think we have missed experienced heads over the last month at time. The leadership these two bring I think might be really valuable as we head into the depths of winter!

Thought this was supposed to be a football forum. Don't we get enough endless repetition of mindless political rivalries elsewhere...

Spot on BB. I think we should have faith in this administration to get these negotiations right. We have not been hurt at all by free agent/out of contract departures (Rivers, Clark, Frawley, Howe, Scully). In fact if anything it has strengthened the team because we got high draft choices in return which we used to trailor high draft talent to our team needs. It also allowed us to build a stronger team culture and offer fair value to the whole team, at least potentially. If Tom mcd doesn't want to buy into that team culture, then he can and should go and will miss out on our golden era in declining teams like Hawthorn, North, Richmond, Carlton who in my view would be the prime candidates target him.

Yes list is not only much younger than circa 2010, but much higher proportion of first round draft picks, much better coached, and a much higher proportion of potential A grader. We have a number of players who will be in the top 25 AFL players in a year or two. We had none in 2010. This is very different.

Search google using the title, and it will come up. Works on most newspaper sites.

Quite, but there is no doubt his output and effectiveness has reduced considerably over the last 2-3 weeks. Now this maybe that the opposition has simply worked him out, but that does not explain the reason why he is spilling so many overhead marks. An injured hand makes sense in that context. Or he simply might need a rest. Now that Spencer is back in form we now have more options. For mine the best option is to play both Spencer and Gawn as we did against Geelong last year so effectively. I'm not holding my breath though.

I understand he has a left hand injury. That is why he is dropping so many marks which he took earlier in the year cos he is effectively going for them one handed. His hitting out isn't affected because he does that with his right hand. It is interesting in the presser after the Brisbane game Roos quite pointedly said the press don't understand how we (the MFC) judge Max's performance. He said for him it was about hit outs and clearances. The problem is that recently, particularly against top eight sides, he has been beaten in that criteria. IMHO I think if he is injured then he should be rested, and replaced by Spencer. He is much too valuable player to be risked with long term injury. And who knows, we might even play better in the near term than our recent inconsistent form.

This is just another truism that whenever clubs lose to Melbourne they go into meltdown. This is yet another test that we have arrived: commentators and fans say "we were beaten by a better teams. Psychotically, we still have a long way to do with the football community. It has its advantages - they obviously crohically underestimate us. Long may it continue to allow us to sneak under their radar...

I absolutely agree we should pick our best team, except there are two issues we need to consider: 1. for the first time in ten years there are probably 28-30 players who we would be happy playing, and exactly who we play probably does not matter much for the last 5-6 picked. In those circumstances we should rotate the younger ones to keep them fresh. There are a couple though who have unusual skills ( Viney, Clarrie) who make a huge difference to us and should play as often as possible; and 2. we should pick our side to best match up on our opposition. In both cases it provides plenty of room for rotations, which we should do for our young players' sakes.

I would add Trengove and Grimes to add to our experience base. Some of the kids are getting very tired.

We are, but I would also like to se a bit more experience injected. The addition of Grimes and Trengove this weekend would be a positive. I also have heard that Max has a hand injury and that is why he is not holding his marks because he effectively is going for them one handed. This weekend it would be good to see Spencer included with or without Max. If he is injured then he should be rested, in preparation for the battles ahead against the top sides, until he recovers now that Spencer is showing form in the 2s. In-form Gawn AND Spencer would substantially improve our second half year line up IMHO, and give us some grunt when typically younger players get tired as they did last year. I thought even Jack Viney looked tired at the weekend - we sometimes forget he is only 21. I think it is time for us to start including Dunn, Grimes, Trengove, AVB, Jetta and Pederson into our line up and rest some of the kids, depending on form and perceived "tiredness". We need some hard nuts in the second half of the year.

My point entirely. The outcry about whether new teams would work happened widely when those teams came in with the common refrain "would you ever go to a grand final with Brisbane playing!" . It has just been replayed to me here re Gold Coast. The fact is a lot of people do not like change, and there is no more conservative person than a "dyed in the wool" AFL supporter.

Mmmm, that is exactly what they said about West Coast, Adelaide and Brisbane 30 years ago. That seemed to work out alright!

Very nearly ventured out there this evening. Sorry I didn't now. Sounds like a great game and really pleasing about Dawes. He also started to play pretty well against Sandy as well. Very impressed with his endeavour. An in form Chris Dawes would be a huge boost for us over the next couple of years as we wait for the Weed to mature. I have always thought we were short of one quality lead up tall forward to lead the attack in the ones. Dawes in form is just that person, particularly given his strong leadership skills. Would be a great mentor for Hogan as well. Great win, and great reporting guys.

I was at the game. I think Tenners slips under the radar at the moment. I don't think he is ready yet either, and I suspect he thinks the same too. I doubt he has put his hand up yet to Roos.. I was very surprised to see he had 27 possessions today - it didn't "look" a high possession game to me, but obviously was. Some other comments. I usually stand at our scoring ends at Casey games, and looking at the forward line there is real scoring potency there just like the ones. When you have talls of Dawes, Huelett, and the Weed (as well as Spencer playing a similar role to Gawn down forward and playing it very well) that would look good in a few AFL sides, plus with ABN and Newton lurking for the crumbs. Also number 6 for Casey James Munro kicked two superb goals from outside 50 both with and against the wind. Hard at it too, could be worth looking at next year and in his early 20s. Just a word on Spencer and Dawes. Jake is running into really good form in his third game back. He has one of the longest kicks on him for a big man I have seen and kicked what looked like a 70 meter goal with the wind on the run. His ruck work is also excellent and easily beat his Saints opponent, as well as taking some good marks around the ground and up forward. On this form it would not surprise at all if we went for the Gawn/Spencer combination in the near future as we did against when winning at Skilled Stadium last year. Going on current form of the two ruckman it could prove to be a mighty weapon particularly against top sides, and very difficult to match up on. Chris Dawes is also making good progress with his comeback. His endeavour was first class yesterday, as was his end to end running (something he has been criticised for in the past) and he is starting to hold some really difficult overhead marks. His kicking for goal though still needs improvement. He is a powerful emplacement for any of our key forwards should they go down. Overall a very impressive win. Unlike in past years Casey is being competently coached and is following the Roos game plan to the letter, and it is pleasing to see a similar style of play to the seniors and similar results. With the exception of the Williamstown game, there is real potency on the field at Casey games this year. It was also pleasing to see almost the whole of the senior coaching panel amongst whom were McCartney, Rawlings and Goodwin stand together at one end for most of the match. No doubt they would have been delighted with what they saw.

I agree. The Weed moves beautifully, is a superb kick, any angle, also outside the 50m arc. At the moment he is not holding his pack marks and tends to be double teamed a bit like Hogan. With maturity and greater bulk, I think he will be a great pickup, but don't expect him to be promoted this year - he is not ready yet, and if we continue to be in the finals race to the end I wouldn't expect too much "blooding" going on this year.