Roger Mellie

Rodan will be thrilled to see his highlights package

From Snoop Dog on BF: Nathan Stark (Glenelg / 177cm / 70kg / ’94).... I dont think he is quite as highly rated by others but I like him. At times in the championships I thought he was as impressive as many of the other kids out their and I draw strong links between he and say a Nathan Wright. Both probably more HB types but have the ball winning, pace and agility to be used in the midfield. Clubs will be drawn to him because he looks very coachable and he has some attributes that they value highly. Needs to add some bulk but he could be a handy selection this late.

Great article and pics

2 points - accounting practises can and do allow for manipulation of the results by recognising or deferring etc. It's common and not sinister. It depends on what you're trying to achieve. In our case, we're trying to demonstrate viability, moving forward and setting up the framework for when we do get some on field success, everything is in place to reap the benefits. Should our objective be something like tax minimisation (just as an example), our results would reflect accordingly. 2nd point - we are on AFL life support and are relying on this and the FHs to stay afloat. We're in a similar (flimsy) boat to the Bulldogs and North. Not sustainable. To compare with other clubs: Collingwood's 4 biggest earner's for 2013 are home games v Carlton, Essendon (ANZAC Day), Hawthorn and Geelong Bummers, tiges, hawks, cats also have bumper home games like this. Our 4 biggest earning games are Collingwood, Hawthorn, Bullies (Saturday night game) and whatever the best earning interstate home game (ie sod all). I haven't included the Darwin game as it's a sold game. The clubs listed above could earn more in those 4 games than we will all year. Improved on field performance will hopefully lose us a few of our home games against interstate sides, but we've still got to wrench good home games away from the Carltons, Essendons etc.

Virago

Love your work Andy! IMHO, I'd like to change the pic of Neeld (a bit dork-like and creepy). Many more to choose from now. Cheers

I wouldn't be floored if we went backwards initially. We've got a hell of a lot of new players - all of which have to adapt to a new game plan, new roles and a new team. The forward structure is completely new and may need time to gel. The NAB Cup and first part of the season may be a time of adjustment and be a bit messy - until the players work it out. St Kilda were ordinary for the first half of the year, until they started to function under Watters. I'm hoping for a smooth transition but not banking on it.

Being the Rookie Draft and with GWS having first pick and not too many rucks, he may end up there.

There's an article in the Hun today saying he starts training with PA today for 2 weeks with a view to a spot on the rookie list

I thought it a bit odd to go for a fourth ruckman, but as an interstate rookie, he could technically sit on our list for 3 years (Spencer was on it for 2 or 3) and grow/develop. He may be back-up given injury issues/history with all of them. On that note, I don't know about this preseason, but last one, Jamar barely did any of the running. Has he been doing any of the running this year? I cant see Gawn playing with anyone but Casey for the first half of the season if not all.

Just cant see Mark Neeld having a bar of Garlett!

He's training with us, is a good rookie prospect so worth the thread. If anyone's seen him at training and can enlighten us - please do! In the meantime, Quigley had plenty to say about him and had Collingwood taking him at 21 in the ND: Jack Hannath DOB: 9/7/91 Ht: 201 Wt: 97 If I am looking for a ruck this year and I miss out on Grundy the only other guy I consider taking is Hannath. For me he has the most potential of any of the rucks playing in the state leagues and could come in and do what Giles did for GWS last year. Admittedly he might be a year or two behind Giles but he is younger and plays a similar sort of role. He has grown a couple of centimetres since his junior days and those couple of centimetres make a material difference I think when assessing a ruck. The difference between 199 and 201 does not sound like much but it is for a number 1 ruck. Hannath is also much more physically ready now than he was as an 18 year old. There are a few teams out there who need a back-up ruck who can come in and play straight away and Hannath is one who could do that. He is also still only 21 and is still developing both physically and with his game. He only really established himself at SANFL level this year and he continued to develop over the course of the year. There is every reason to think there is still plenty of development left in him and that he could become a legitimate starter or perhaps even as a 2nd ruck / KP. I don't rate the ruck talent this year and if you can grab a guy who is already a couple of years down the track development wise and looks like he could be a legit starter then why not grab him. Hannath is a mobile ruckman who gets around the park very nicely. For his around the ground effort he probably does not get the possessions that he should but like many possession rucks that could click for him in the next year or two and result in a significant jump in production. For me the important thing at the moment is that he looks good around the ground and that the effort is there. Put him into a full time environment with dedicated coaches and I think the improvement continues at apace. His ruckwork is good and is something which improved a lot over the year. He went up against some pretty good ruck talent in the SANFL and he won more than he lost. After the tap he recovers quickly and becomes a midfielder who scraps pretty well. He is not hugely effective but he does get in there and mix it up. Around the ground he presents nicely as a target and is a pretty good mark of the ball. He managed to take a mark of the round in the SANFL this year which is a pretty good effort from a big ruck. In that mark he got up really nicely on the last line of defence and flew knowing that he was going to fall hard. In the marking contest he recovers quickly if the ball spills and will often react quicker than his opposition. Around the ground his skills are solid and again is improved a lot since his junior days. There is some talk that he could be a key position defender but really I am not seeing him going down back and matching up one on one with the KPFs of the AFL. He lacks the speed and agility to go with those guys. His speed and agility is okay for a ruck but he is going to look out of his depth if he has to match up with the KPFs who are all going to be quicker and more agile then him. He could potentially play as loose third tall who picked up any ruck who was resting up forward. I do think he would do that role pretty well. There is also some potential for him to play a bit up forward where his height and marking ability could worry quite a few teams.

Note the difference in how The Age "quotes" Neeld (above) and the AFL does below- it changes the meaning altogether: "I'm no more informed than someone who buys The Age or the Herald Sun. That's where I get my information from," Neeld said. "I have learned more from reading the back page of the newspapers than anyone here. "I'm sure that information is spot on," he said with a smirk.

Slayer of the Week?

Shane Nelson - again

Could be just me but I see a bit of Nathan Burke in Wines, but given the availability would still go with Jimmy the Greek

And coaching staff Edit: And salary cap space

Kick to kick with Jamar and Fitzy might be amusing - just to see where the ball lands

I should've been out the door 30 mins ago, but find myself buried in Quigley's mock draft. His assessment of Toumpas v Wines is interesting. An allround great read

Could one assume Tapscott and Jones are back in full swing? Cheers for report

GWS Whitfield Toumpas Plowman Melb Wines WB O'Rourke Menzel Port Mayes Bris Stringer Rich Grundy Ess Daniher

I'd be pretty happy with Warrell and Carter.

He looks a bit like Wonna with speed.

More likely struggling because it's his first ever preseason

IMO a thread devoted to (conceding and) speculating penalties is sad. Not every post but FFS