And supporters of the other 17 clubs are just loving every minute of it.
It is too late to get Jed Lamb back?

Bugg's no loss.
Give the spot to a kid who is hungry. A good outcome IMHO.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Dunno about that.
He can play and was getting a game in a top four team before he blotted his copybook. Those players don't fall into your lap that often.
Having said that, if he doesn't want to commit, you're right on the money.

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Let slip the Blues of war (with apologies to William Shakespeare) (and Sir Francis Bacon, just in case)

He only managed three games when Melbourne were a top four side, rounds 2,3 and 4, so nothing at the business end of the season when he was fit and available.

Agreed

Willo and Marchy are my two biggest worries
And...still have heart in mouth with Setterfield's return from ACL

It will turn for us. Buckley almost got sacked bc of all the injuries Coll sustained over the last 3-4 years. It gave opportunities for others to be fast tracked and then together with a fitter list, they almost won a flag

We are heading in the right direction. Period. Obstacles will challenge us but the road ahead should not be compromised

PS. Reports that Jack is thriving in his new role in the midfield from a mate of mine...Can anybody add anything to this or is it just February speculation and hype???

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If I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!

So sick of this club wasting list spots on recycled fringe players, for every one success there is 10-12 failures. Not a good strike rate.
Gibbons really should have been picked up before Bugg in the first place.
You don't improve by picking up guys just because there in the 24-28 bracket, this stupid belief that you have to have a certain number of players in muh age bracket no matter how good they are; has made our rebuild harder and longer than it had to be. We always knew it was going to take time, why did they panic? And then they compound the mistake by playing some of these guys when they shouldn't get games just because "wE nEEd maTuRe plAyeRs"
Thank Christ we got Agresta maybe he can put a stop this policy.

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"Then joked and said he (Jack himself) probably wouldn't even need to play until round 2 against Collingwood."

Geez rob you paint a rather gloomy summary of our preseason thus far...on face value.

Byrne was borderline. Great ability to run forward and link, but his timing was questionable when ball turned over.
Doc is the biggest loss, but gives us a chance to blood a Simmo replcement with Simmo still there. Doc will return.
McGoverne is back and has another 50 days to uild elite fitness.
Pickett...I had him as our line breaker with x factor we could use off the bench. he's a loss too.
Fasolo has 50 days to recover. He's in my first 22 for round 1, but he's just made way for another small who may be a revelation.
Bugg looked good lat training session before xmas, but he's also made way for players knocking on the door.
Kreuzer has done plenty of miles and preseason and will be back to full fitness over the next 50 days.
Marchbank has 50 days to get to peak fitness. Running a lot of laps, but not kicking or marking. He'll be right.
Willo...the good news is that he's done a lot to get his fitness base, and club says its being precautionary...50 days to break into best 22.

IMO, Doc, Pickett are the big losses to the fabric of the team going forward.
Fasolo's goal kicking in 2019 will be missed early on, but has plenty of time to prove himself.

We have 3 spots to fill. That's a bonus IMO. Starting with Michael Gibbons....who I think will be depth or challenging for that highly discussed small FP spot. His work in the preseason putting on forward pressure in match simulation didnt go unnoticed, and he can kick goals from midfield let alone from FP.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

This in yellow

Ive only seen Jack train twice this preseason and he really was the surprise standout.
First time I saw him domination I thought the other players around him were running at 3/4 pace.
Now I know that's not the case, and Jacks fitness enables his smarts to be utilised longer and stronger.
I'm hoping he starts in the midfield group for the first bounce of the 2019 season.

Kreuzer Cripps Silvagni SPS/ Fisher, with OBrien and Walsh on the wings and Murphy pressing up from HF.
I expect Murphy to link up with Newman and Simmo's attacks from the backline, if its not Walsh.
Silvagni's big body, footy smarts and fitness may trump Kennedy in the starting midfield line up.
That's how good I think he's looking this preseason.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I don't think there was any panic in the decision to recruit Bugg as a rookie.
The age bracket as been identified and is important to the balance of the list, but Bugg can play, and looked a shrewd decision as he stood out at training pre xmas.
He's got other interests worth millions. I can see why he made the surprise decision.
Thankfully the decision was made end of Jan rather than mid season.

Could be a blessing rather than a wasted selection. Time will tell.
Shit happens. Bugg decsion will not delay the renaissance of this club.
Everyone can see the momentum out there, let alone the shape of the list.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Matthew Owies is a player who could surprise , apparently a top player in school comp before b/ball, has proven footy ability

If Jack is dominating the preseason that is more of a concern for the rest of the playing group than a positive for Jack

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

I reckon Byrne was a significant loss myself. Obviously injury-prone. But gave us some speed out of defence, something we sorely lack at the moment.

I agree he had good break away speed, but imo with Newman coming on board, I preferred Newman Doc going down through a spanner in the works.

Byrne made a lot of bad decisions imo. I wish we still had him on our list.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Does anybody know why Mitch Grigg is not part of the discussion??

Winner of back to back Magarey Medals in the SANFL
Inside mid
Full size
Plays like Carrazzo
Experience at the Crows

What's not to like...??

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"...that's the thing about opinion - you don't have to know anything to have one..." Andre Agassi commenting on Pat Cash 2004
"...the less you know - the more you believe..." - Bono 2006

If you like to look at it this way.
You realise we have a very young list and Jack is one of those young developing players.
Seems you had already written him off. You have your reasons.

Jack is 21yo and turns 22 yo this year.
He was thrown in the deep end from day dot. Unfair situation, but I guess lucky to have the opportunity so early, albeit undeveloped.

IMO he was due for some improvement and show some progress if he was to hold spot on this list. I wasn't expecting much improvement, but every year in every team there's some who progress and have break out seasons, unexpectedly and others who go backwards. Signs are good for jack this preseason. Nothing to do with other players really.

As I said, I saw him in the flesh at training, and like a lot of training watchers he's been the one to really break out and stand out for different reasons that Walshy has.

It's for real imo. I hope he continues to head in the right direction, and he shows the way for others.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

It would make too much sense to get him and add mid depth.
We'll probably get some very average washed up recently delisted discard from the mythical 24-28 bracket.

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"Then joked and said he (Jack himself) probably wouldn't even need to play until round 2 against Collingwood."

So don't get mature age rejects, but yay 26 year old Mitch Grigg?

If this is true, then our midfield group is suddenly looking very good. There's about 12 they can rotate through there now, or at least once Stocker and Walsh get a few games under their belt. This is a far cry from what we've had in recent years

He'd be the slowest player in the AFL?

I had Jack the best of the 5 rising stars I thought he was the pick of the bunch.
Last year he was very ordinary.
But so were a lot of them.
I hope he improves but based on last year if he is the standard for training we are in a lot of trouble

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws