I simply cannot believe that the AFL Draft order wasn't rigged in our favour nor that all that available talent wasn't EXACTLY what we needed.

I'm devastated.

I'm going to tear up my membership.

I mean what's Westaway doing!???

Dazzling thread. Just dazzling.

Toy will be a significantly better player in Melbourne near his family. He lost his father with whom he was very close not long before agreeing to go to the Suns and he feels a great deal of responsibility to his mum and sisters. Frankly, he probably shouldn't have gone north in the first place but ...

Gwilt will rip it up next year.

Not everyone comes off a knee reco like L Hayes.

I like Gwilt as our fullback. I'd like an athletic, playmaking backman further upfield to be honest.

He used to, I think Buddy does now? Tell me that is a joke. Please dont get like Curly. He watches the game through one very small eye. Riewoldt - 19 Matches - 33 Free kicks @ 1.7 Franklin - 19 Matches - 37 Free kicks @ 1.9 She's not joking. Who earned the most? Where was Roo on the overall list? C...

Exceptional athlete with a great temperament who if in a draft would go high on potential alone.

He's been good in bits in an awful team.

Even raw and a little ungainly he would already add something to our starting line up now IMO.

I'd have a spot for Ray in our first 22 as a marking mid/HFF type. I think he's better than depth. Glad he's sticking around. Plays like a man proud to be part of the group.

North for mine. Club on the immediate rise. Closest to his home. All along that's been important to him.

MASSIVE upside.

The Cox comparison is reasonable IMO.

Very athletic and keen to improve.

Would be an awesome get.

Absolute gun - if he leaves we must demand at least 2 first round picks :wink: Seriously, good luck Raph. The morons and haters could never admit it when you palyed well, could only absolutely attack you when you had a bad one. Seems the haters only ever carried on about the 09 GF when he played av...

Worst case is pick 12 and 13.

Not really a bad situation to be in.

He's tough and a good size, but he's selfish (evidently), has a history of long term injury and to my eye looks slow.

I'd have him, but not for anything OTT.

Being brutally honest I don't really see anything much in Cripps, I've got to say. Seems to get hurt a lot. Seems to be one for whom the magic water sponge comes out of the bucket for a lot, too. And homesick? Bah! Go cuddle up with your comforter in Cottesloe, Crippsy. Just give me Clarke as you go...

Cripps for Clarke in an absolute heartbeat.

And I'm not sure why they would want him given what they have. I guess they may as well take him, given that he wants to come home and Stevens has walked out. They can probably get away with paying him $150k so the cost is essentially zero, which makes it all upside. Worse comes to worst, he never ...

Surely people can see our club is being freaking necessarily ruthless for the first time in forever.

I'm not sure what Eddie has to do with that.

I hate that it comes to this, but there's clearly a plan in place, one it seems BJ doesn't want a part of/fit into.

This could possibly be a bad career decision by Cripps If wellingham moved there also, Cripps would have to get past Shuey, Gaff, Selwood and Wellingham for the rest of his time at west coast ...and Masten, and maybe Swift (if he ever becomes a player), and he'd about be level with Sheppard and Ash...

A further issue rarely raised: perhaps BJ is seen as a bit of a difficult narcissist whose presence is not in best interests of 'team'. Always overlooked as a captain. Always a crank dummy spitter. Maybe there's something in that. Value is defined in many ways. Just theorising of course. I don't kno...

Three days for St K to come up with a fourth year?

Simply brinksmanship?

Too much footy blah as it is. Couldn't give a rats if the show followed suit to be frank

But isn't Nick simply getting payed what he's worth?

Its just the machinations of an evolving list.

Here's an interesting take on the year if it panned out slightly differently (apologies for formatting glitches...). For mine it shows how well Watters mananged change and that luck always plays a part. http://australianfootball.com/articles/view/Micro+Noises+-+Issue+13/168 There were 23 AFL games i...

Good measured replies there folks! I'm like many who want to see BJ stay, but at the same time remember the infamous deal done by Waldron in giving Hamill five years. It's genuinely a win/win whichever way it goes as far as St K goes. As far as Beej goes I do however think the green ain't always gr...

Watching Fremantle race to an almost six goal lead in the first half against a shell-shocked Adelaide, and then be comprehensively beaten (by a first year coach) in the sort of game Lyon is supposed to excel in, explodes some of the myths being peddled about him. The reverence being bandied about b...

Midfielder of the year will be Watson comfortably from Gablett and Altar Boy Mitchell.