Riewoldt nailed it. beats up on weak oppo. can’t jump like he used.

probably means he has to take more marks on long leads on the edge of his goal kicking range.

the game is evolving away from that, teams plug holes too well and pressure most of the forward entry (or devolving thanks to inbreeding at AFL House!).

I’d love to see the stats on where he’s marking the ball in the last two years vs the years he won Colemans. it’s harder to kick a bag from 10 marks outside 50 than 10 marks in the goal sq and 30 out.

as i said elsewhere, im sure they paid overs to TDK as part of a package of tactics to keep Nasiah believing i the Saints as his home. probably they front ended his contract a lot, if they get to be a top 4 club then TDK is going to have to shed weight to prevent their top end talent taking offers at other clubs.

it’s a hard call which deal was worse from the Sydney/St Kilda perspectives, and is probably irrelevant. But to me, Saints will probably be living in hope for.a couple of seasons. Sydney will probably rationalise their decision and live with it, accepting the differences between a GF loser and a GF winner are intangible and they had to try some things in the recruiting space. Could have been worse.

Cornes is a bit of a prick sometimes and a bandwagon jumper, but he’s got a sharp eye and seems to ignore the usual ex-player decorum when it comes to calling players out.

there’s no way TDK offer could been matched. at least he wanted to stay at blues (reportedly) and cried when he finished his last game in the navy blue. the JSOS loss pissed me off more, he’s a reliable and versatile role player who brings winning energy. he was great this weekend at gather round and his lucky 50m free and goal turned the game for Saints. Charlie wasn’t doing enough, don’t miss the disappointment he brought to the 3rd and 4th quarters more recently.

100%

So still nothing.

Not what I said.
I said we would have to pay overs.
And you know what will be said in here.
Just look at the tantrums from Walsh's contract.

I'd like to think we would get him but Hawthorn have their hat in the ring also.
So do you go to a club that may change their coach at the end of season or do you go to the team that will most likely give you what you will get at the Suns, a premiership?
That is the real question.

I'm happy for you to name one Bondi.

I'll start......last one was Judd.

You don't comprehend very well, do you? You must be close to finishing high school however, so I'll give you time to read it again (bolded above).

I like Mitch….

red haired Greeks are nutso….

hits the pack hard….


kindest regards tommi

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that'siti'mnotchangingthistagain......!

Yassou?

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Congratulations CK95

You were predicting the future suggesting "no A Graders are wanting in".
I was stating the obvious suggesting you were guessing. No big deal.
I get why you would think there's none given Austin's track record targeting A Graders in the last 5 years.
Other than trading in an Saad 6 years ago, who earned AA status, and B Grader Cerra 5 years ago, Austin has targeted zero A Graders. Ask Sydney Blue.

But...

The fact is we don't know what Austin has been cooking up preparing for the Tassie compromises starting in 2027, other than hearing we will be targeting FA's.
In fact, we don't know how muchit will cost us to draft Walker this year. May end up one first rounder. We do have 4 first round picks in 2026, 2027 to use.

We have currency to get us an A Grader or 2. One could be an FA, and the other could have one year left on a contract. One of those may be a B+ Grader with a star rising?

What we do know is with TDK, SOS and Charlie gone, Govs contract coming to an end, we opend a lot of salary space we didnt use this year and a few listed players would have had their contracts front loaded this year, opening up more space in 2027 and beyond, and considering Williams and Saad's contracts end this year, Carlton will have enormous cap space. That will help us pay for an A Grader.

There may well be a couple A Graders groomed from the last couple of years. I hope so. We have salary space and picks to offer.

Austin may just pull a rabbit out of the hat. That would shock all of us, but I'm being hopeful, somewhat guessing.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

OK. True. Bonafide A graders cost. We have the money and picks. Lets make sure they are A Graders with strong bodies.
I think by the end of this year, the team will find its mojo, some players will continue to improve, and we find our right mix.
I also believe Walshy is worth every cent, and he will be in the A Grader conversation come years end. If we won the games we should have won, we would be praising some of Walshy's match winning quarters.

I don't care much about what posters think players are worth. Once drafted, or traded in, they are just a list spot, and bought in to improve our list and therefore our team performance. We have 20 kids on our list, some who will continue to improve and make the grade. They are surrounded and supported by some seriously high quality AFL players. We need to add to this to make us better, quicker.

1. A ruck who can ruck 80% Game time and take marks around the ground. Reidy is not the answer.
2. A Senior Midfielder to add to Cripps Walsh Cerra Williams Smith Walker and Lord. Adding speed and power.
3. A bonafide marking Fwd Ruck for the chop out. O'Keefe is not the answer for next couple years.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I like your optimism.
But for the moment I am yet to be convinced, so I'll follow the line of past performances are a good indicator of future ones.
Until that changes.

I agree with you on Walsh, that first quarter last week was a good as you'll see from our mids.
He's a jet when he is on and he should only get better as the season progresses.

The one area I don't have hope in is our youngsters and we have a few players reaching the end of their careers so we will have to have large list turnovers in a time when Tassie is coming in.
It will be quite the feat if it is pulled off.

Adding to your list.
4. An A grade half back that is fast, skilful and can cause damage from the backline.
5. A goal kicking mid/forward that is dangerous.
6. A player with X factor that can tear other teams apart if left unchecked. Pickett/Rankine/Rayner type. This could be player 5 above.
7. A damaging wing, Carroll is looking the best prospect for us at the moment. Happy to see how he goes at the end of the year. If he kills it then we need a 190cm+ wing on the other side that marks the ball well and can hit a target.

We have some holes, none that can't be fixed though.
But I can say with certainty that this current list will not win us a premiership, so we need to build on it.
Dean, Jagga, HOF, Walker are all steps in the right direction.
Our rebuild began last year, that is my mindset this year.
Now it is time to attract players by cementing our brand and banking a few wins (not too many, we need the points ).

Completely agree with that.

I always think there's always a chance, a reason, a possibility, and nothing in footy is finite. Otherwise there would be no betting. Things happen. Surprises happen.

The 2 ruck debate/ thread all started when some posters said there's no reason in the modern game to play 2 rucks, when teams were, that Vossy would not play 2 rucks, and he did, and no other team would do it either, and they did, that it was a fad of the past, and it wasn't for some teams. I could always see the possibility and reasons why two rucks would be selected, and still do, just as teams continue like Saints and Freo to name a couple still do.

I see the same with a FA or an A Grader coming to Carlton. It wont happen overnight, but it will happen. I know the Coach for next year is a big question mark, but I wouldnt be surprised if GW has been working on this in the background. I dont think it will be malcolm Blight, but it may be someone of interest to potential A graders, and I strongly believe plenty of work has gone into our list management and targeting/ grooming of potential stars over the last two years to join Carlton and MCGA.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Ouryagoin’…!


kindest regards tommi

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that'siti'mnotchangingthistagain......!

Thirty something year olds, Gov, Newman, Acres, Saad, Williams, Hewett, Haynes, Cripps, plus Pitto need to be replaced. At least 4 gone end of 26.
We will have plenty of holes. Tassie boy, Cowan, will be a Tassie target too. I think the prospect of moving is playing in his head, hence form slump.

But we do have ... bird in hand ...

KPDs: Weitering with Dean and O'Farrell
Defenders: Florent Cowan Wilson Monohan
Wings: Carroll Ollie Cottrell
Rucks: _________________
Mids: Walsh Cerra Smith Walker Lord
Forwards: Elijah Haywood Ainsworth Ison Moir Byrne
KPF: McKay O'Keefe

Of the rest I do like Charleson, but he may not be on our list in 27. Not convinced with Chesser or Campos but depth may be theirs for the taking.

Not only do we have holes to fill, we also need depth. We need to improve on players like Lewis Young, Reidy, and Kemp and Pitto should be depth IMO

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

I agree. Good summary of the good and the bad.

Having a redheaded grandchild I can vouch for that .

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All my dangerous friends