Geelong let a huge lead go against Sydney.

We have the bye next weekend, thankfully. Then we play Geelong on a Friday night.

Voting is as usual: you have 15 votes to award pretty much as you will, with the following provisos:
[1] 15 votes in total, no more, no less.
[2] No more than 10 votes for any one player (even Sam Walsh or Patrick Cripps)
[3] Three players at least must get a mention.
[4] A grade for the game, A+ (what I want to see) to F-.

Well, thats a good win. Gets us into 2nd.
Got the week off to celebrate and prepare for 2nd half of the season.

Assume EVERYONE IS FIT.....unless it says otherwise...and pick your best 22 side.

Try and pick by position and use this to help.
http://jimmae.epizy.com/teamboard.html?i=2

Started one cos none one else did, go.

Well the next 3-4 years.
That's our permiership window.
Our side are mostly in their prime in terms of age and experience.
In 4 years just about all our best will be the wrong side of 30
With Tasmania coming into the competition, the draft will be compromised, so given we'll probably be in the top half of the comp, our draft picks will be well down the list in that period.
Some of the Northern academies also seem well set up to siphon off more talent.

You look around at other sides and see young gun midfielders like Reid, Rowell, Horne-Francis, Daicos.
We will have Walsh, but he's not the 'power-impact player' that some of these other guys are, and we have no-one in the Cripps style of player coming through.

As well as that, there is nothing like Curnow, McKay, Weitering already on our list and developing.

There is time for our next generation to be sought out and secured but it needs to happen now.
Does that mean trading to secure some better draft picks?
We do currently have plenty of currency.
The balance is keeping what we need, and letting go some, who may be very good, in the interests of 'sustained success.
We have a side that can win a flag on its day.
What will that side look like in five years time.

21st vs 19th, so we're not out of it.
However, having lost to Preston last week bodes poorly.

I doubt many of our emergencies will play, which is most of the talent we have available.

Ross Booth called the VFA footy on ABC TV with Phil Cleary and Peter Gee. An understated but knowledgeable commentator that let the action do the talking.

Ross was recently found deceased in his Toorak flat, a residence that Phil would often refer to in order to light-heartedly accuse Ross of being a Toorak toff.  Ross was in his early 70s.

Ross was a midfielder for Monash Blues in the 1970s when they were one of the VAFA powerhouses.  I probably played in opposing teams but I don’t remember him from those days. I suspect that experience helped to make him a knowledgeable, accurate and entertaining commentator.

RIP Ross Booth.

The fixture is out - starting Friday 30 August 11 games over 10 rounds - so each team has one round they play twice. For us our 2nd game-in-one-round is away to Port Adelaide off a 4 day break - tough scheduling but at least it's Port and not the Crows. All up we have 6 games at Ikon, 2 away in Melbourne and 3 interstate - Mackay, Perth and Adelaide. Overall can't complain.

Full fixture and analysis here https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/114113 ... ty-bonanza