Autopsy 2019 Rd 1 vs Richmond - Improved Blues go down by 33 points

Which players did you like the look of in Round 1?


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A couple of things people don't seem to understand:

When you have a mature settled group who know each other and the game plan very well they spread to their right areas much faster after a turn over. This means the player in possession doesn't have to evaluate a whole field they know where everyone is and check to see if option 1 is are free, if not option 2 etc. That's why Richmond were a lot more efficient at moving the ball after turn overs and why they seemed much faster/more open.

Good established teams also know how to change tactics and control different areas of the game. Not every result is us playing badly but can also be out threats get nullified, like the 4th quarter last night.

the first point is the big one that you don't get to see on the TV but at the game it's obvious.
 
Anybody get a load of Weller celebrating like he'd won the grand final on his own boot.

Honestly bloke, you've been delisted from two bottom 8 teams in the last 4 years. Enjoy it while you can
you answered your own statement.
Been delisted form 2 bottom 8 Clubs, 85k at the G. Could be the biggest moment of his career
 
Aug 22, 2014
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Want to get my thoughts down before reading commentary from others, so here goes.

The bad:

Charlie. Ugh. Flagged this in the Weitering thread a little while ago, that we supporters have been much more lenient with Charlie's "almost" moments in the past because he's a forward and we all think he'll be a star. Still think he'll be a star, but last night seemed to feature about a month's worth of mistakes from him. Would have liked to have seen him moved on-ball at some stage just to get his hands on the thing a few times and allow him to work into the game. Where in the past I think the entry has made things difficult for our forwards, that was really no excuse for Charlie last night, he got two hands to the ball a number of times and couldn't hold on. No need to drop him though, like I'm sure some are demanding, give him a chance to bounce back.

Dow. The limited preseason certainly showed. Had a few really good moments, but by the third quarter he was labouring and Richmond were able to work off him with ease. If Kennedy is available next week, I think Paddy could use some time in the VFL to build his fitness.

Fasolo. Got into good spots, didn't get great service. First game back at the top level in a while so happy to give him a hall pass.

Garlett. Just not involved enough. Had a tough job though, with a lot of dangerous small forwards to cover. Given those smalls didn't exactly carve us up, perhaps his defensive work was better than first thought. Either way though, he needs to improve at switching from defense to rebound quicker. Richmond's aggressive surge from half back was borderline unstoppable at times, and should be used as an example of what we need to do.

Phillips was well beaten. Nankervis is the stereotypical "journeyman" ruck. He's not a star of the comp. He's not an athletic beast. He just does most things to a reasonable level. Phillips has a decent jump on him, but I'm not convinced he knows how to use it to great effect. Interested to see how we look with Kreuzer back in the side.

Umpiring. Atrocious. A lot that should have gone our way that didn't. A couple that shouldn't have gone our way that did. Damage was done by QT though. Particular standouts - Nankervis dropping the ball while being tackled twice in 20 seconds and not being pinged, Cuningham being called for dropping the ball despite getting a kick away by an umpire 30m away and directly behind him with no visibility of whether the ball was dropped or kicked, and Cotchin being done for deliberate when nudging the ball out of bounds while at the bottom of a dog pile, once again with the umpire in no position to be able to see it. If there is any doubt, if the umpire does not have full visibility, play on. Anything else is bullshit guesswork, and while the may get it right sometimes, that doesn't make it alright when they get it wrong and cost a side possession or a goal. As expected - after getting the shitty end of the stick in the first quarter, they manufacture an even free kick count so the post-game analysis sees it as balanced. It wasn't.


Right. Got that out of the way.


The Almosts:

Walsh was a little nervy. Understandable. Debit game at AFL level, on the G, against flag favourites, in front of 85k. Got run down on the wing and it seemed to play on his mind a little for the next half dozen disposals, causing him to rush when he didn't need to. Showed some of his characteristic poise though and will be better for the run.

Cuningham spent a lot more time on the ball than I'd expected. He's not far away from breaking out, I feel. You can see he knows what he wants and needs to do, just needs to improve his execution and get a shade quicker with his decision making. Faded a bit late in the game, presumably because after spending most of the preseason in the forward line, he wasn't ready to run out 60% game time in the middle.

Jones only had the one error, for me. And that was the little handball to Simpson in the back pocket after marking the ball. Simmo had nobody to go to, and all it did was allow Richmond to press up and pressure his kick sooner. Not sure if Simmo called for it though, because I can't fault a big bloke in the back pocket for handballing to a rebounding defender running past and demanding the ball. Probably a mark against both blokes for not looking ahead. Hope he gets off for the Riewoldt bump, but expecting a week. Easy opportunity for the AFL to send a message in round one. Sounds like Goddard was solid in the NB game, so perhaps he gets a chance to debut. Please not Casboult...

Gibbons did alright for his first AFL game. Not going to expect big numbers for him playing up forward, and his output is always going to be a bit up-and-down. Assess again in a few weeks.

SPS was a little subdued, but not disappointing. If this is a quiet game for him, I'm satisfied.

Setterfield really surpassed my expectations. First game in a long time, 3rd ever AFL game, found the ball easily but was a little wasteful. Like Walsh, will improve quickly with more exposure.

Plowman another with a tough job to do. Fairly solid, nothing more to see here. Caught sight of a comment up the page about keeping him away from kick-in duties...strange, given he went at 100% last night. Like Garlett, I think he needs to be quicker to get into attacking positions when we win the ball.

Ed could easily be in the next category, but the one thing that held him back for me was his entry into the forward line. Was just too slow to make a decision a few times and let Richmond get numbers back. It's something Richmond do well - if they've got a player one out in the forward line, they go to them and make the defender defend. There's a time to wait for a lead, and there's a time to kick it to the one-on-one and trust Harry or Charlie or Mitch or Fasolo to win their contest.


The GOOOOD:

McKay and McGovern seemed to work a lot better last night. Mitch started slow, but worked into the game well and did some really good work pushing up the wings. More confident in Harry than Charlie as a forward, great size, speed, agility, hands and kicking. Just needs to get his timing right and he'll be a star.

Murphy and Simpson were good. Not necessarily great, but nothing major to fault with their games.

Thomas showed why he still gets picked every week. Effort, pressure, aggression. Was good with the ball and managed to hit the scoreboard.

Newman did what we brought him in to do. Gee he's a lovely kick of the ball. That goal from 50 was sublime.

Weitering was wonderful. Committed to the contests, put his body on the line, completely disrespected some opponents as he casually shrugged tackles and drove the play forward. Hopefully he's come out of last year's trials and tribulations much stronger, because he was and will be the key to our defence for a decade.

Fisher stepped up in a big way from his JLT efforts. If you showed someone a photo of Zac and said "this bloke is the one to beat a Dusty fend-off and get him for holding the ball....twice" you'd be laughed at. Impressive.

Cripps was indomitable. His chemistry with Fisher is breathtaking. The know where the other is and what they want to do at all times. Handballs without looking, underground chip kicks into space, they're going to love working together for the next 10 years.



Ultimately - we won two quarters of footy, but not by enough to offset how soundly we were beaten in the other two. 55 points of our 64 came in two quarters. I'm less concerned about the "late fade" given it seemed to be more a result of taking big risks to try and close the gap in the final quarter. If we broke even in the first quarter, I think the last 20 minutes of the game would have been a very different Carlton.


Changes for next week.

Kreuzer for Phillips, if fit.
Kennedy for Dow, if fitter.
Goddard for Jones, if suspended.
 
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Windhover

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1. I’m sick of seeing Marc Murphy laughing and smiling with the opposition after we lose.

It's a game ffs. Good competitors know when to relax. I needn't tell you what I think bad sports do.

2. We got reamed by the umpires in the first quarter.

And we played badly. I know which one I care about.
(Hint: We can control one, not the other).

3. I’ve stuck with and advocated for Bolton since the start, I’m not convinced after tonight. They lost rance and we closed to within 13 points and he kept them playing that slow down the side kick to the pocket from a kickoit game plan. He has no idea seriously.

Kudos to you for "sticking with" Bolton from the start, you are no flake that's for sure.

We were up against what I regard as the best drilled team in the AFL. The tigers have some celebrated top-end talent but they have a whole heap of fair average players who do exactly what is expected of them week in week out. Their reserves played the same way and made our side look like school kids at Punt Rd yesterday. It took Hardwick a while. It will take Bolts a while.

That said, I agree we did not gel well as a team and nor did we handle the pressure well and Bolts is responsible. I am expecting (hoping?) that with McGovern, Setterfield, Newman, Faz, Gibbons and Walsh new to the team our next outing inevitably under less pressure will see a significant improvement in team play.

What I liked from last night was that McGovern, Setterfield and Newman showed they were valuable pick-ups. We already knew Walsh was worth pick 1, any year you like, but it was fun to see his journey start with such a sure first step. Like all the greatest players you can just relax and enjoy when he has the ball.

I also liked that Cuningham has shown his JLT form was a true indicator that he has stepped up from "promising but not proven" to "proving he is a valuable AFL level footballer". I liked Garlett as a back pocket, he was quick and committed, even if he has plenty to learn in the role. I liked Harry's continuing improvement and I liked Weitering's work against talented tall forwards.

Richmond are a hard-running side with the best 4th Q results of any side last year and that is not likely to change this year. We got off to a nervous start and were jumped by our fumbles and anxiety (and yes, curious umpiring). I was pleased to see one of our best passages of team play was in the last Q when we ran the ball up the middle of the ground with fast, slick ball handling even though many were out on their feet.

It is a funny thing to suffer a 33 point thrashing and yet think we have much to look forward to this year. Remember the Pies took until round 3, against us, to work out the rhythm of their running game.

I don't know whether we will click together next week against Port but, sooner or later, we will click. I feel it rising like the lid of a boiling pot.
 
Jul 22, 2013
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A few things:

1. Still not match fit enough
2. Still failing to make the most of our opportunities
3. Richmond moving the ball from defence too quickly
4. Richmond always seemed to have an extra man behind or in front of the ball slowing our ball movement

Two things. It is generally believed that it takes a typical player three good preseasons to develop an AFL physique and tank (unless his name is Walsh :) ) A significant portion of our side doesn't have even two consecutive preseasons under the belt.

Second. Late in the game the broadcaster showed the top 5 players on the ground for distance covered in the game. I wasn't completely focused on it, but at least 4 of them, and possibly all 5 were Carlton players. This does not say to me "not fit enough". It says to me a young side trying to climb off the bottom and having a red hot go, using work rate to try and overcome the greater experience and cohesion of one of the three best teams in the game.

Point 4 directly related to point 1,

I think you'll find it is more directly related to Richmond's game plan, sending an extra number back as soon as the ball was bounced.
 

sosos

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I know he's had his first full preseason, but he goes to ground too often and still needs to build a bigger, stronger core.
Spa....
I agree with this. It was like he thinks he has the core body strength of a seasoned mid by the way he would try to stand in the tackle thinking he was going to shrug them off but didn't and once in the last quarter he coughed it up towards goal for an easy one.

I also saw one moment where he was in perfect position to come across the front of the pack for a relatively easy mark but second guessed himself momentarily, dropped it and again spilt to the opposition's advantage.

So on one hand he backed himself when maybe he shouldn't have and the other time he didn't when he should have.

I sound like I am nitpicking and I think overall he had a pretty good game, just think my expectations are high on him and really want him to own it more. Still young, first preseason yada yada. I'm backing him in to be a superstar. I just want it now! (Shaddap Veruca Salt)

I have to say, Richmond's pressure was ridiculous.

They'd regularly close out almost instantly. It's possible that I had a better view from level 2 than what I am used to and noticed it more, but I was really surprised at how quick and intense they were in applying pressure all over the ground.

I think we just weren't prepared for the initial onslaught. No sure many other teams would have stood up in that last QTR either.

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This again and again. Their ability to swamp and swallow up any time was the difference.
 

Iamcarlton

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1. The 50 against Thomas was soft, had already left the ground to spoil so couldn't do anything else.
2. McGovern didn't deserve a 50
3. Cripps maybe unlucky but Cotchin got pinged for the same later on, dont remember the Rance one
4. Broad got the handball away, Cunningham got a kick away in the game and got pinged for holding the ball.

No point complaining about the umpires, some days you get the rub of the green others you don't. Didn't think they were too bad to be honest. Not the reason we lost.
Yes your right some days you do get it your way others not , corresponding game last year we got the rub of the green early in the game imo .
But to dismiss their efforts as rub of the green in particular first quarter is to give them an out and we won't see an improvement in their standards .
We have 3 umpires on field I think there needs to be more over ruling from non officiating umpires to get the correct decisions on the night and in the moment .
Example 1st quarter Jack Riewoldt crashing the front of the pack allowing Lynch to mark having no realistic chance to mark the ball himself because his timing on this occasion was out and taking Jones out of the contest at the same time .
How firstly this wasn't paid a free to jones was confusing but what is even more confusing is why 1 of the other 2 umpires did not over rule the decision .
Our umpiring is not at an acceptable level for a so called professional competition imo .
Having said that the rule makers do make it extremely hard on umpires with constant changes to rules and interpretations .
 
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Jun 6, 2007
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I’m still wired from last night’s game.

I haven’t felt this excited about the future in a long time. My eyes saw what happened last night and my brain processed it. However my excitement isn’t a response based on intelligence. It’s an emotional one. It’s that gut feeling you get. It’s telling me that success is within touching distance.

Go Blues.
 

boltsbabyblues

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It's a game ffs. Good competitors know when to relax. I needn't tell you what I think bad sports do.



And we played badly. I know which one I care about.
(Hint: We can control one, not the other).



Kudos to you for "sticking with" Bolton from the start, you are no flake that's for sure.

We were up against what I regard as the best drilled team in the AFL. The tigers have some celebrated top-end talent but they have a whole heap of fair average players who do exactly what is expected of them week in week out. Their reserves played the same way and made our side look like school kids at Punt Rd yesterday. It took Hardwick a while. It will take Bolts a while.

That said, I agree we did not gel well as a team and nor did we handle the pressure well and Bolts is responsible. I am expecting (hoping?) that with McGovern, Setterfield, Newman, Faz, Gibbons and Walsh new to the team our next outing inevitably under less pressure will see a significant improvement in team play.

What I liked from last night was that McGovern, Setterfield and Newman showed they were valuable pick-ups. We already knew Walsh was worth pick 1, any year you like, but it was fun to see his journey start with such a sure first step. Like all the greatest players you can just relax and enjoy when he has the ball.

I also liked that Cuningham has shown his JLT form was a true indicator that he has stepped up from "promising but not proven" to "proving he is a valuable AFL level footballer". I liked Garlett as a back pocket, he was quick and committed, even if he has plenty to learn in the role. I liked Harry's continuing improvement and I liked Weitering's work against talented tall forwards.

Richmond are a hard-running side with the best 4th Q results of any side last year and that is not likely to change this year. We got off to a nervous start and were jumped by our fumbles and anxiety (and yes, curious umpiring). I was pleased to see one of our best passages of team play was in the last Q when we ran the ball up the middle of the ground with fast, slick ball handling even though many were out on their feet.

It is a funny thing to suffer a 33 point thrashing and yet think we have much to look forward to this year. Remember the Pies took until round 3, against us, to work out the rhythm of their running game.

I don't know whether we will click together next week against Port but, sooner or later, we will click. I feel it rising like the lid of a boiling pot.


I hope so too. I think we need a matchday person to help in the box. My take is he is too busy focusing on the running of the team to notice things that other people can see clearly.

I’m sure most would agree with them losing rance, and us having all the momentum, we should have just gone bang straight down the middle and played on at all costs.

When we moved the ball quickly we looked great, anyway who really knows as I am not privy to what he is doing inside the box. I could be way off the mark, and it might be the players reverting to that slow game style and not him.

Ps, how dumb are channel 7? Going on and on about the orange square, it’s clearly a signal for a set play. I’m guessing it means play some tempo footy
 

skadoosh

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Ok, I really didn't want to start the year on a negative, and I realise we are only 1 game in, so I may come under fire for this but...

SPS - Needs to be traded (midyear?) Whilst he still has some currency. Abundantly clear he has skills, but only when he has a free run. Loves to run, but doesn't like even a sniff of pressure. I don't care if he goes on to another club to become a Brownlow medalist, he is doing us no favors, and needs to go before he smothers out belief in one another.

Ed Curnow - hurts me to say it but he is just not current AFL standard. Super fit, and in previous day's was a great tagger, but in today's game you just can't afford to continually turn it over, and as a senior player he's had long enough to get it sorted. Depth player at best. Give another kid his spot and don't let him near the forward line if he is in the 22.

Garlett - All the skill under the sun, but just not interested in playing to an AFL standard. Cut ASAP.

Ploughman - 50/50 at present. Too slow, makes some howlers, but does read the play well. Would do well in a tight defence, but not with us at present. We need to get some consistency around him for him to play any better.

On a positive note, Walsh is a freak, has good footskills, works super hard and can read the play. Will be better than Judd.
Harry McKay is now, and will be our best forward in the future. Athletically balanced, reads the play well, knows where to present, and has all the marking and kicking skills to be the next Buddy. Probably my favourite player after last night's effort.


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I’m not going to go crazy on Charlie because at the end of the day it’s one bad game and everyone has them. I expect him to come out next week and have a really good game and all will be forgotten very quicky.
What I will say about him though is that he is already physically matured. He really should be at the point where he can become a dominant player in the league not just a 30 goal a year forward and the fact that we extended his contract at $800k pa suggests the club expect that from him too.
Here is a list of similar players who were physically developed like Charlie and how
many goals they managed in a single season within their first four years in the AFL.

Walker 63
Riewoldt 75
Cameron 63
Roughead 78
Franklin 113
Darling 53

There’s absolutely no reason why he shouldn’t be able to have a season like any of these guys did (Franklin excluded) and I expect that he will
Here's a good reason: He plays for Carlton, where a huge chunk not our list is still developing and learning to play together. Would be a different story if you dropped him into a seasoned AFL team.
 

Blue and Blue

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That said, I agree we did not gel well as a team and nor did we handle the pressure well and Bolts is responsible. I am expecting (hoping?) that with McGovern, Setterfield, Newman, Faz, Gibbons and Walsh new to the team our next outing inevitably under less pressure will see a significant improvement in team play.
I really like your post mate....except this bit.
I think Bolts is not responsible for that first quarter. You can spend forever on what they should do out there but it was a big night and they were just too pumped up and got overawed and a few 'soft' goals to the Tigers hit them hard. When Bolts finally got to talk with them it all changed. This no runners thing meant they were totally out there on their own. They will soon grow from that.
 
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Mr_Plow

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Let me say this the loss last night was much better than last year and I come away feeling we’ve got a more sustainable team going fwd.
l like how the crows fans have changed their tune from pick1 to it’ll be at least pick 4. Deep down they’re shitting themselves because we could climb as high as 10th.

Not getting ahead of myself, but if we can get back and maintain Kreuzer, Marchbank and Williamson, we will push hard for the 8.

This list is absolutely stacked with elite talent. It's likely that they will need another year, but you never know.
 
He did play his role Soapy but with such a young midfield we need a ruckman that can do more than just try to get the hitouts. We would have been better off with Cas in the ruck tonight playing a Mumford style basher and crasher in the middle.

My hindsight offering is to have played Cas forward instead of Charlie. He would have marked a heap of ball that Charlie got hands to. His 4 goals 12 would have been handy.
 
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Two things. It is generally believed that it takes a typical player three good preseasons to develop an AFL physique and tank (unless his name is Walsh :) ) A significant portion of our side doesn't have even two consecutive preseasons under the belt.

Second. Late in the game the broadcaster showed the top 5 players on the ground for distance covered in the game. I wasn't completely focused on it, but at least 4 of them, and possibly all 5 were Carlton players. This does not say to me "not fit enough". It says to me a young side trying to climb off the bottom and having a red hot go, using work rate to try and overcome the greater experience and cohesion of one of the three best teams in the game.



I think you'll find it is more directly related to Richmond's game plan, sending an extra number back as soon as the ball was bounced.

As I observed in pre-season : Walsh is the most composed player on our list already and one of our top 5 players with ball in hand if not top 2. Able to assess multiple options very quickly and typically execute very well. Was surprised he was actually half caught sort of - once.
 

HavUEvaSeenTheRain

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Here's a good reason: He plays for Carlton, where a huge chunk not our list is still developing and learning to play together. Would be a different story if you dropped him into a seasoned AFL team.
No doubt it makes it easier being in a good side. Out of those 6 players only Riewoldt and Cameron were part of teams as poor or worse than ours. Both made AA too.
Roughead and Buddy were the reason they were a good side in their 4th season.
Walker and Darling were guns but may not have hit the scoreboard as much had they been in a worse environment.
Still I’m hoping Curnow is a superior player to Darling and Walker so it shouldn’t be beyond him.
 

Mr_Plow

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Loved how Setterfield, Walsh and co were willing to try and stand up in the tackles/work through traffic to try and find the better option. Sure, it didn't always come off, but watch out when their bodies match their minds.

It's that sort of composure and willingness to make plays that will drive us forward. Zac needs to re-evaluate how he manages the ball in the clinches.
 

Jorge

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When we took the game on & ran risks, we looked quite good. When we tried to slow it down & hold them up, we looked poor.

I thought our kick ins were too slow. Many were short to the pocket, which with the new rules IMO is a bad option especially against a side known for forward half pressure.

I am surprised McGovern's only got 40% of the vote. If you weigh it all up, there was plenty to like about his first game.

Weitering was great. Can really see his confidence growing. His timing & positioning (on tv) were both good.

Newman was a quality pick-up. His composure, toughness & skills are all huge assets to our backline.

Encouraged by Cuningham, McKay, Walsh & Setterfield.
Expect better performances next week from Fisher, Dow & CCurnow.

On another note, the umpiring was mostly fine.
 
Jul 22, 2013
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Good established teams also know how to change tactics and control different areas of the game. Not every result is us playing badly but can also be out threats get nullified, like the 4th quarter last night.

An under rated idea. The runner ban is a disaster for developing teams.

Saw the exact same thing in the JLT v Collingwood. They killed us with the switch in the first quarter, and the coaching team was not able to make the necessary adjustment until 1/4 time, after which the hole in the dyke was plugged.

Richmond belted us in the first, also with a structure our guys couldn't work out on their own. Again, the adjustment at 1/4 time sorted it out.

Good sides who have an extended period in the system together have more of a chance to work it out on field.
 

btdg

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I’d have Newman Top 3 easily if not our best

He had a horrific first quarter. Bad turnover cost a goal, and got caught out of position badly for another. He knew it too... you could see he wanted to make a good start

Was brilliant after that. His kicking is immaculate - that pinpoint bomb to a running (Murphy?) in between 3 opponents in the third quarter was possibly the best skill execution I’ve seen by a Carlton player in years. Same with his goal. Just so nice to half a tough running defender who can nail big kicks out of the backline...
 
We are ahead already. Setterfield Stocker and one more player vs Shiel. It's over it's just now how far

Setterfield was already in the bag when we pitched our next years first rounder for Shiel.
It didn't happen and maybe was unlikely to ever do so, but if GWS wanted their way and Essendon held their ground with their original offer......????

Anyway, I was always happy with Setterfield.
Looked like a star in the making in 2016 and nothing has changed, now that he's actually in good health.
 
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