Swooper Northey

Having already lost Jordon and Harmes, and now with ANB leaving, we certainly need to restock on strong, reliable mid-tier players who know their roles. That's a vital ingredient that we need to get right.

Kate disappoints me. From a supporters perspective, I think she's been an absent leader. When she does appear publicly, I feel she lacks a certain humility and some of her comments are off key. Leaders need to stand up in good times and bad.

Fritsch would walk into the starting line-up of ever other club in the league. Any thoughts of trading him are ridiculous. In the absence of genuine key forward targets, he's been relied upon as our focal point for too long, which is an indictment on our list management. Bolster our forward line and he'll improve with it. He's genuine class that we can't afford to lose.

Christian's brother Julian works for Connors Sports Management, the same firm that manages his affairs. Family and management are one of the same. https://www.afl.com.au/news/1119542/player-agent-julian-petracca-switches-to-rival-management-group

Even if there were some crossed wires between players and Petracca as to why he was recuperating in Noosa and wasn't in Melbourne with his teammates, surely this could be easily rectified? And as a leader of the club, if he felt the message wasn't getting through and he was worried about it, couldn't he clarify it? The players have ample ways of communicating these days - phone calls, SMS, email, WhatsApp, messenger etc. It ain't hard.

Brilliant bloke, brilliant player, brilliant leader. Well done Max.

Yes, four weeks it is.

He seems like a dropkick. Caused a rift with his teammates for acting inappropriately with the girlfriend of another Swans player. Has now been rubbed out for a week in the VFL.

I hope this is simply Trac's management firing a shot across the club's bow, pushing them to lift their game.

We would be a better team with Lukosius.

There was a time when Membrey played like Wayne Carey every time he lined up against the Dees.

Petracca's absence was felt hard tonight. We really lack any sort of dynamism through the midfield and it shows.

Not a fan of the red back jumper. If the AFL are worried that purple v royal is a clash, we might need to think about an all-red alternative for that match. Perhaps a full reverse of our current jumper?

The same problems we encountered when playing Freo in the NT resurfaced yesterday. When at their best, the Dockers' midfield is dynamic. It also runs deep. Whilst we might not like to admit it, Brayshaw, Serong, Young, Fyfe, O'Meara plus Jackson and Darcy are superior to our current midfield group. Yes Gawn and Petracca will make a big difference when fit, and Clarry with a full preseason under his belt should result in much better output in 2025, but at the moment our midfield doesn't stack up with the best in the league. Reviewing our engine room over the offseason and adding to our mix will be critical. That also means considering how we replace Rivers at half back to allow him to become a permanent mid. I like the fact that we've been linked to Isaac Cumming (GWS) and Dan Houston (PA) to address that important need. And if we can add to our midfield depth we can also return ANB to half forward where we've really missed his pressure.

Ahead of the season many of us were contemplating 2024 without Clayton playing a game. The fact that he's played most matches and most importantly appears happy, healthy and engaged, is well ahead of expectations. If he can keep that up and then complete a strong preseason, he'll be back and firing in 2025. He ain't going anywhere.

I'm glad that we've retained him. An uninterrupted pre-season where he can prepare as a defender will be important. T-Mac doesn't have many years left and soon enough we'll need another tall backman. Petty is a premiership defender and it's where he plays his best footy. The recruiting priorities should be about restocking our midfield and recruiting for genuine key forward options.

Put simply, matches against Freo reinforce that we must increase the power and depth in our midfield over the pre-season. Yes Gawn and Petracca will make a difference, as will Oliver with a healthy, uninterrupted pre-season under his belt, but right now we just don't have the personnel to match it with Freo's onballers, and it shows in a big way.

Would be a very handy addition. Houston's inclusion at half back would free up Rivers to become a permanent mid. He's a great kick and would provide plenty of run.

I don't see Clarry going anywhere. With the support of the club, he's worked himself into what appears to be a much happier, healthier version of himself which is fantastic. He looks highly engaged, including making the trip to WA to visit Kozzie's family. With a strong, healthy preseason under his belt, I expect he'll have an improved season in 2025.

It feels like the position we were in a few years ago when a concerted effort was made to address our key defensive stocks. We traded heavily back then (I remember some arguing we paid too much) for Lever and May, but those decisions well and truly paid dividends. Just as we addressed those defensive needs, the time to address our long lasting forward issues is now, otherwise I fear we'll waste some of the generational talent on our list. A quality, competitive key forward to partner JVR would be rare gold for the MFC.

Absolutely agree. Allen would bring instant firepower and all of our forwards - JVR, Fritsch, Pickett and co would be better for his introduction. A forward line with that quality would seriously scare some opposition defenders.

Oscar Allen is arguably the best young tall in the game. At 197cm he's a superb forward who kicked 53 goals last season, is super competitive and can ruck when needed. At 25 years of age, he's precisely the forward we need. Imagine a forward line of Allen, JVR, Pickett, Fritsch and co.

An absolute class act who the club and us supporters miss in so many ways.

Terrific to see so much young talent coming through. Rivers as a prime mover in the midfield, Windsor, JVR, McVee, Tholstrup, AMW and Turner. And then it's easy to forget that Kozzie only just turned 23! In a frustrating season these players represent every reason to remain optimistic.

People complained about paying too much for Lever when we got him from Adelaide, but it's been well worth it. This presents as a similar opportunity. The chance to recruit a quality, long-term key position player. Back then we desperately needed to bolster our defence. Today it's our forward line.