T-34

Decisions like this will do nothing for a return to one on one contests and will merely perpetuate the ultra defensive scrum we witness now. Absolutely criminal decision.

Can't agree more, as a pure defender he has been our best this season. Wish we could get more backmen who defend as desperately as this bloke. I would have guessed his disposal efficiency was solid as he seems to know and accept his limitations and tries to operate within them. Like what he has brought to the table and wish we had more of it.

Surely any game involving Collingwood,Essendon,Hawthorn Geelong,Richmond and Carlton would draw just as big TV audiences on Anzac day. The AFL give Anzac day to Collingwood and Essendon because they don't want the Eddie generated angst giving it to someone else would draw.

This is the classic "sky is falling" Things are grim but we are improving, anyone who can't see this is hopelessly mistaken. We have the opportunity to stay in the game and compete, huge step forward. It's much easier to have the hang shite on everything job on D'land I guess.

Having gone out to Casey Fields yesterday the only players who put up their hands were Gawn, McKenzie and to a lesser extent Riley. Garland and Kent would be a chance if fit. Who replaces Watts and Howe? Certainly wouldn't be like for like. Would be good to see Riley get a chance, similar to Jordie but with better disposal and greater vision. Should make for an interesting selection this week anyway.

Max spent most of his time in the ruck. Plugger or Huddo would have struggled to kick a goal today the way the ball came in.

Saw him at Casey today with JKH and Dean Kent and actually saw him smile several times. Don't know if that means anything more than he was mildly amused. Was moving freely and was not in a full body cast either. Some probably need to take a deep breath and count to ten rather than trying to read anything into body language. Didn't want to annoy him with the obvious question as at least 15 people stopped and asked about his back, but he wishes he could get out and play which may account for his frustration.

I can back up WJ on that one, Max was probably the best listed player in my eyes. Started slowly but really worked into the game and was excellent in the ruck, which wasn't really capitalized on by the midfield. Also thought Riley and Harmes tried hard without much return. Overall no one grabbed the opportunity presenting itself which in itself was disappointing.

Pick 4 1994 - David Strooper St.Kilda, would be up there as well.

I will be surprised if he is dropped.

This does not glorify war in any manner, it is a chance to enjoy the freedoms won by people who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, and thank them for it.

Does this mean if we win by 10 goals but we lose a quarter badly then that result is null and void ? Positives can occur even in 100 point loses let alone 8 point ones just as negatives can occur in 10 goal wins. We need to take the positives where we can and continue to move forward.

These games are crackers, just remember the core of both these teams have being playing together for 7-10 seasons and most have been developed to be the best they can be. Both teams have leadership all over the ground and they drive the teams to excellence. They also have been playing to a game plan for several seasons, which only receives a slight tweak yearly to stay ahead of the pack. We are several seasons from being in this situation, but I hope we get there eventually.

To the best side in the comp. who will rack up a number of similar sized victories this year. They are a more than reasonable side containing the best player in the game.

Honestly, what were your expectations for this year? Considering where we are coming from I expected pretty much what we are getting. Slow but steady improvement, which is what we are getting. Remember our first five games last year............

Hard to find positives in relation to Watts but I will say he makes space and provides leads which are very rarely honored, and when they are the ball is never kicked to a position which favors him. Just a passing observation.

He gives absolutely nothing of importance, he is no dummy.

Robbie Flower says hi.

Can't understand the want to drop Georgiou, has allowed Chip and Dunn to play forward and is a defender who actually defends. Not all backmen need to make an impact they just need to do their job and defend.

They don't possess a player that decent. Pick 1, if we have it, should be the only pick off the table regarding trading. We are not that well off that we can trade away access to the best kid available, especially to Carlton. They have nothing on their playing list deserving of that trade and I wouldn't think we would be giving them a leg up in getting what they want. If Carlton want pick 1 then they can finish last and cop all that comes with being worse than us.

The difference at the moment between us and almost everybody is they have multiple experienced players who drive the player group from within. We would seem to be trying to address that hole but when players like Frawley,Watts etc. make comments suggesting they just need someone to lead and drive the group it worries me, because these are the guys that should be stepping up, not waiting for someone else to take charge. I would love to have a Judd and Murphy to help Jones lead this team both on and off the field. The other glaring difference is our lamentable skill level, we make poor decisions and then amplify that with terrible disposal. Our list is easily the poorest in AFL bar none, which reflects our current position.

I would love to keep Frawley as he is one of very few defenders we have who actually defends and because of that I have often forgiven his short comings. However he needs to accept that as a seasoned player he is as much a part of the problem as anything, and his wanting to see the direction the club takes is a monumental cop out for someone who should be a driving force in setting the standards and direction the club is taking. It would be a step back for a club that really can't take many more backward steps to lose him but if we are serious about changing the culture then we can't be held ransom by any players, from our best player through to those rookie listed. It will be on issues like this that the club can set the boundaries of the new culture it wants to set and if that means we have to take a stand and lose Chip then so be it. I'm sure there is still a bit of water to flow under the bridge on this one yet.

That is a value judgement on his behalf, his Clark based quote surely is based on some solid information.

We need to stop looking for external reasons when the real reason is staring us in the face. This list has far too many passengers who turn up on a weekly basis thinking that giving the absolute minimum is enough, they don't bleed for the jumper, christ they don't even try for the jumper. They carry the moniker of AFL footballer and that is good enough for them, losing doesn't seem to hurt and working hard to improve is a foreign concept, we have as few as 5 or 6 players who are up to this while the rest are happy doing what they are doing. We will only move forward with a generational change to the list and it is probably to late for that.

Don't know if I want the current players to commit as they are the problem, blokes like Frawley are trying to hold the club to ransom, they need to buy a mirror and have a good hard look at the bloke staring back at them, as they are as big a part of the problem as anything currently. I am almost in the camp where we let these players go as we are going nowhere as long as we pander to them in the remote hope that suddenly they will find some passion, pride, effort and ability. The very least we deserve is a team that has a crack every week but to be brutally honest that hasn't really happened for almost a decade and is not likely to change with the current crop of players. The lack of pride shown in the jumper is only surpassed by an obvious lack of pride in their personal performance. I hope Roos and Jackson do commit but this rubbish will only stop when we have a generational change in players and unfortunately I don't know that the club has that long.