Synbad wrote:
Selwood is a good player but there are Thorp and Gibbs on offer this year..
And lying down???
Where do you realistically think we will end up next year???
Im not talking about hope. cos were all hoping for the flag.
Were miles away.. were still in rebuilding mode and will be for another couple of years.
Thats just how it is. - for now
I know we're still shite ... a lot of work still to be done BUT hopefully we're heading in the right direction (after all we can't drop any lower!).
I think the players are fairly unaccountable these days. Bannister, Prenda, Davies, Sporn, Wiggins, Livo and a few others are lucky to be on a list with contracts in place given their level of output over not just last year but over their whole careers. Lance still gets his pieces of silver for 1 decent year (I'm not someone who though he was 'that' great last season despite what his manager tells us

) especially after a disappointing previous 4, Kouta's still earning the equivalent of Voss + Akermanis + C Scott at Brisbane (not his fault but still a sign of our culture) AND Camporeale is still on our list (even on paper only is bad enough!) when he was waiting in the carpark with a freakin' Scum jumper.
Where do I think we are ... we finished last because our higher paid players just don't perform to the level their pay packets suggest and we still have 6-12 players who will never make it as regulars at AFL level (on top of the crop of unproven youngsters) who we are forced to play week after week. The hard line on contracts and choice of tall younsters won't help us this year (so pain still beckons) but will lay the platform for our future success. 2007 PKC (Post Kouta's Contract) is the one where we start structuring our list payments on a level playing field for the first time in a long time. I suppose we just all want to see a bit of positivity on this forum ... looking at ways we can get better that don't involve us losing. In this socialist AFL system we have it may just be a naive dream!
For me, it's all the criticism in hindsight from some of us winning 10 games in 2004 that infuriated the most. We had a decent year where many of our players played to their potential ... and showed what we are capable of - Fev, Houlihan, Scotland, Thornton being the obvious examples which spring to mind.
Best case prediction for 2006 is 12th ... worst case is another year struggling at the bottom with Hawthorn (at the moment our list can't be rated any higher than about 15th in the comp).