- Russell was good for patches, but when you hear the croud go ohhhhh as a collective you know you've made a big mistake. I heard that twice in the last quarter.

- Waite was flogged by O'Keefe. What a waste of a 100th.

- We should never of dropped Browne, he is our best hope for the back pocket and should be playing the last 6 games there. Carrazzo was shite again in the backline.

Cons:
- Ruck - beaten for the umpteenth time (must be a priority in the trade period to get an established and effective ruck while Hammer & Kreuz develop

I agree with pretty much all your post mjonc. I just want to comment on 3 of your points:



Was Russell "good for patches", or did he do 2 good things? There's a difference. For me, there were 2 or 3 good brief moments of play - the rest was lamentable.

What killed us was the continue use of our worse users by foot off half back. Waitey, Carazzo and Walker murdered us off half back

Pros
Gibbs

Austin looked good

Maybe we will get a top 5 pick

I listed the following players in the match day thread as those who needed to lift.

- Stevo very poor and didn't chase hard or pay any respect to his man.
- Fisher continued to show why he needs a rest in the magoos. 1 good mark doesn't make a game.
- Cloke is drastically out of form at present. Sammy knocking on the door?
- Carrazzo flogged again by Bevan and moved out of defence.
- Russell was good for patches, but when you hear the croud go ohhhhh as a collective you know you've made a big mistake. I heard that twice in the last quarter.
- Chief was on fire early, when he went missing so did our half forward line.
- Bentick is struggling like Cloke. Blackers time has come?
- Murphy was great today, constantly found space where it wasn't and delivered by foot well.
- Waite was flogged by O'Keefe. What a waste of a 100th.
- Kreuzer was easily our best ruckman and did well in the contest and around the ground on occassions.

Pros:

- Gibbs flogged Goodes, gee he is good, seriously good.
- Jamo. See Gibbs but he flogged O'Laughlin even before he was injured.
- Simmo was magnificent with his 1%ers, how many smothers did he have. That is what wins respect by your peers.
- Walker was good until injured. We missed his versatility in the last quarter.
- Fev for kicking 5 goals on an average day.
- Betts for bagging another 3
- Aussie played great in his second game. Bright future ahead.
- We only lost by 2pts without 22 contributors again. Juddy was flogged by Kirk

Cons:

- We should never of dropped Browne, he is our best hope for the back pocket and should be playing the last 6 games there. Carrazzo was shite again in the backline.
- We can cover the tall guys now, but the small guys kick all the goals against us.
- Too many players who can't kick, the difference between our best and worst is miles apart.

Gibbs? Why on Earth would you be shocked?! Russell playing like Gibbs would be a

Austin!?!?! Looked lost almost the entire game - 7 possessions, 1 or 2 that were decent. Provided nothing from kickouts, didn't contest the ball much and wasn't getting into himself in the passage of play.

Sure he hasn't played much - you can't expect everything, but today's effort didn't constitute a 'pro'.

Maybe we will get a top 5 pick? Gee.... wouldn't it be great to get a top 5 pick ever year for the next 8 years.... WHAT A TEAM WE WOULD BE!

Gibbs? Why on Earth would you be shocked?! Russell playing like Gibbs would be a

Austin!?!?! Looked lost almost the entire game - 7 possessions, 1 or 2 that were decent. Provided nothing from kickouts, didn't contest the ball much and wasn't getting into himself in the passage of play.

Sure he hasn't played much - you can't expect everything, but today's effort didn't constitute a 'pro'.

Maybe we will get a top 5 pick? Gee.... wouldn't it be great to get a top 5 pick ever year for the next 8 years.... WHAT A TEAM WE WOULD BE!

But who do you buy in?

Warnock? Brogan?... I'm not convinced. We've bought a #2 ruck before... Like Mott, French, Ackland, etc there is prob a good reason why he's #2.... The Cats have got a good stockpile:

Brad Ottens (28yo, 202cm, 108kg)
Mark Blake (23yo, 199cm, 100kg)
Trent West (21yo, 198cm, 102kg)
Shane Mumford (22yo, 200cm, 102kg)
Dawson Simpson (19yo, 206cm, 104kg)

But Ottens and Blake would be the only two you would want. Ottens is a big ticket guy, while Blake may just be riding coat-tails.

Even if we were able to trade for a #1 ruck, would we be any better off than we are with Hammer? I'm not so sure.... Tap ruckmen are tradespeople. Theirs is a skill that only they possess. Considering Hammer has only been in the game for a few years, you could argue that he is just waiting for the right master to help him finish off his apprenticeship.

Gibbs? Why on Earth would you be shocked?! Russell playing like Gibbs would be a

Austin!?!?! Looked lost almost the entire game - 7 possessions, 1 or 2 that were decent. Provided nothing from kickouts, didn't contest the ball much and wasn't getting into himself in the passage of play.

Sure he hasn't played much - you can't expect everything, but today's effort didn't constitute a 'pro'.

Maybe we will get a top 5 pick? Gee.... wouldn't it be great to get a top 5 pick ever year for the next 8 years.... WHAT A TEAM WE WOULD BE!

Settle down hero.

A 19yo dominating a game isn't somethng you see everyday
Austin did look good, he kept Playfair very quite and for a second gamer showed signs that your shat sheet might have missed.
how is getting a better pick not a Pro? I didn't say that I wanted us to tank just that it was something we could take out of missing the finals.

Playfair flogged him then i take it? It's not all about stats with defenders, Austin won more contests than he lost, had alot of second efforts to hold the ball in and only realy made 1 mistake when he dropped a mark that resulted in Playfair getting a cheapy off the back of the pack.

Was Russell "good for patches", or did he do 2 good things? There's a difference. For me, there were 2 or 3 good brief moments of play - the rest was lamentable.