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91
Ladies Lounge / Re: AFLW Awards 2026
Last post by LP -
Quote from: DJC – on
It’s a changing of the guard, and more so with the departure of Kez Peterson.
Nobody likes the tap on the shoulder, especially fans when it happens to a fan favourite, but it's always better to go a season early than a season late! ;)

It would have been nice to see Peterson side by side with Cordner, if they were both at their peak, fit and firing, but it won't ever happen so it's just a pipe dream.

In any case, it looks to me like the coach is taking the AFLW side in a different direction, I hope the AFL team is watching. It's amazing the difference just a couple of players can make, I can also see this happening with the AFL squad as long as we don't cling to the old ways.
92
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
Last post by LP -
Quote from: DJC – on
Khawaja out is a step in the right direction but replacing him with Inglis?
The squad is welded in, looking at Shield form right now you'd have to say Inglis is bit lucky, but perhaps Australia is buying into the Bazball ideology a bit more than fans would like.

To me the Poms look brittle, if an old fashioned test batsmen comes out and makes 300 against them they look to me like they'll disintegrate.

I wasn't that impressed with how we finished the day, nor was I impressed with Smith's captaincy, his field setting was downright lunacy. He set fields like a bloke who did not want to go out and bat last night. D-Grade muck, suburban cricket clubs would sack a captain for that rubbish.

I'm a bit disillusioned with the selection policy as well, if true then no wonder Lyon is miffed. The Gabba is a known wicket taking venue for quality spinners because the good spinners get wickets with bounce. All in all, it doesn't come across to me as a Test Cricket mentality, it's looking more like a dog and bone(dog and pony) show.
93
Ladies Lounge / Re: AFLW Awards 2026
Last post by DJC -
Well-deserved awards to Dayna, Harriet, Erone, Maddy, Poppy and Sophie.

It’s a changing of the guard, and more so with the departure of Kez Peterson.
94
Ladies Lounge / AFLW Awards 2026
Last post by crashlander -
Carlton's B&F was held last night. The results;
Winner: Dayna Finn

Second place: Harriet Cordner

Third place: Erone Fitzpatrick

Equal fourth place: Poppy Scholz and Maddy Hendrie

Fifth place: Sophie McKay

Most Valuable BlueBagger: Erone Fitzpatrick

Best Finals Player: Dayna Finn

Coaches Award: Maddy Hendrie

Rookie of the Year: Poppy Scholz and Sophie McKay

Some impressive results:
[1] Maddie Hendrie was identified as one of our weakest links as the season neared, as she hadn't done much. She stepped up this year and managed the Coaches' Award. Congratulations for a season that has turned her career around.

[2] Harriet Cordner also deserves a mention after what may be her best season, after having being discarded by Melbourne and Richmond. She may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but (33 at the moment), but has also addressed her distracters in the best possible way.

[3] Our 2 kids, Sophie McKay and Poppy Scholz made a splash. May they continue to do so!

[4] Our Irish recruiters deserve a pat on the back as well, with Ronny Fitzpatrick and Dayna Finn  highlighting their year with 3rd and 1st respectively.
Hopefully, our next crop can show the same sort of improvement in 2026.

[5] Note the good players who didn't get a mention: Mimi Hill, Abbie McKay, Jess Good, Bree Harrington to mention just a few. That bodes well to have players of this calibre not dominating.
A huge mention to Maddie Guerin as well: she was struggling for much of the season but her last month was nothing short of brilliant. Hopefully, she can reproduce that form in 2026: she needs some luck after her injuries.
95
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
Last post by DJC -
Another outstanding performance from Mitch Starc that takes him past Wasim Akram with most wickets by a left arm quick.  Starc did it in fewer Tests but probably had the advantage of faster, bouncier pitches.

Another wicket in his first over too!

The Poms have built a decent total though, with Root finally getting a century here.  Our batsmen are going to have work a lot harder than they did in Perth. 

Khawaja out is a step in the right direction but replacing him with Inglis?
97
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: List Building - More than one way to skin a cat
Last post by Lods -
That's the way I see things
And it's probably 'it' in a nutshell and the centre of the whole debate.
It goes to the heart of the thread title-"More than one way to skin a cat."

Of course KPP's are important.
They are the 'backbone' of any side.

But as is generally agreed...they take time.
We drafted a spine in one draft, talented kids, that still took several years to hit their peak.
The problem was that when they did we were lacking in the supportive talent.

There are two ways to do it.
Draft the talls, and develop them, in the hope that when they reach their peak there is enough supportive talent around.
Or lay a foundation of talent and then bring them in via trade and free agency, ready to go, or well on the way to reaching their full potential.

The first one may be the more traditional way.
I suspect the second option is the direction the club has taken.

It's basically what were arguing about and I don't think anyone's going to change their mind before we see what happens on-field in the next year or two.
98
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: List Building - More than one way to skin a cat
Last post by DJC -
Quote from: Professer E – on
Some people on this site regard KPP as less important than they have been, but a lot of them got targeted and sought after by clubs this year....Jamarra, JSOS, Charlie, the lad from Swines to Collingwood.  Large % of the trades if you ask me. If they are so "unimportant", why did club go after them?

I don't think that anyone is arguing the KPPs are less important.  The point is that there's less risk involved in bringing in established KPPs through trades and free agency than through the draft.  Eight of the 50 players drafted are KPPs and eight of the 36 players traded or taken as free agents are KPPs. 

The same applies for ruckmen.
99
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: List Building - More than one way to skin a cat
Last post by Professer E -
Some people on this site regard KPP as less important than they have been, but a lot of them got targeted and sought after by clubs this year....Jamarra, JSOS, Charlie, the lad from Swines to Collingwood.  Large % of the trades if you ask me. If they are so "unimportant", why did club go after them?