Podcast BigFooty Tigercast - LIVE Monday Night weekly show - Vs Melbourne

[Michaels]

this weeks show is now on itunes, spotify and podcast apps!

Current episode: Pre season catch up show - Monday Night LIVE weekly show



Huge thanks to our guests for coming on!

You can now SEE us via the FB live or YouTube video of the show below. Go easy on us..


Topics covered:

-Review of Essendon practice game
-Midfield mix
-Young cubs
-Mykelti Lefau news
-Preview of Melbourne game
-Cmon Man

 

[RJK Tiger]

Our list IMO is shaping up extremely well. The ruck position doesn’t worry me at all … it’s relatively easy to get a decent ruck via trade or free agency. Premiership history says we don’t need a gun ruck - just a combative one.

We will have a ridiculous amount of quality depth from 2028 onwards. when looking at our list taking in players currently 26yo or under:

Here are players capable of very good football (oldest to youngest), or those who ‘should’ be capable based on draft position and/or some exposed form:

Miller
Balta
Banks
Gibcus
Brown
Campbell
McCauliffe
Faull
Trainor
Sims
Smillie
Armstrong
Hotton
Lalor
Cumming
Grlj

That’s 16. Only two have played 50 games.

I’d also add at least 1 x free agent and 1 x quality trade by then. Plus a top-5 pick from 2026 and fingers crossed some luck with Armstrong/Daddy/Leys. Amongst other youngsters taken across more drafts.

And you just never know the level a few others like Gray, Clarke, MRJ, Fawcett, Alger, Peucker etc… can get to, but they’re obviously not on this list. Neither are the likes of Ross, Mansell, Hugo, Sonsie etc…

Doing the same exercise for Kangas 26yo and under:

Xerri
LDU
Comben
Curtis
Wardlaw
Scheezel
McKercher
Duursma
Dawson
Whitlock
FOS
Dovaston

I give them 12. I think I’ve been fairly balanced, giving them Duursma and Whitlock, Dawson. Four of them have played 50 games.

Given we will likely have better luck with securing free agents, I think we look really well placed to be clear of North in a few seasons. I think they’ll have our measure for 2026 and 2027 as they’re 6-years into their build.

(I actually have the Eagles looking better than North in 3-4 x seasons also if analysing the potential of their 26yo and under crop)

some of the names you have under "very capable" are completely unproven & physically questionable. around 70% of all 1st & 2nd round picks don't play 100 AFL games. And the 30% that do, also includes guys like Aaron Fiora& Richard Tambling. The list you have above is us having a 100% strike rate in the 1st & 2nd round over 4 drafts. Several of which have not even debuted & a few that are unable to even play more than a couple of games of AFL/VFL without getting re-injured.

Richmond's future is very very unknown. The depth in 2-3 years is completely unknown. Loading up on picks is a decent strategy in the same way buying 20 lotto tickets gives you more chances of winning that 2. But even with 20 tickets, odd's are you are not going to hit the jackpot. Even predicting what the next 12-24 months holds is impossible to know.

We all have differeing opinions on how we should be rebuilding the club. I agree with \about 70% of the way we are approaching it - but the 30% i don't, is also the same percentage of success-rate you can hope to get from the 70% i do agree with.

I bloody hope all these guys are going to be 100+ gamers for us, would probably be the first time in AFL history if it happened. I haven;t got the statistic to back this up, but from what i can see, the success rate of young kids coming in to the AFL making it is dropping. The standard in jnr levels is dropping & as others have said, the AFL have left it up to clubs "academys' to pick up the slack which is NOT going to help Richmond as we have not gotten a single asset from that system yet.

Clubs who are allocated poor zones for academy's need to start speaking up before "the gap" becomes impossible to overcome. The AFL has made a system that is actually more unfair than the one whcih existed BEFORE drafts existed where teams like Carlton, Collingwood & Richmond just opened up cheque books to get young talent.

The club looks like it is going to look to speed for its future. If so, better keep on improving that medical team as all sports that have done this have seen higher rates of injury. NBA being one - calf/achilles injuries will become the new hamstring/ACL.

 

[Michaels]

Time to start building the best 23 for December!

 

[The_Kraken]

Rhy Gieschen X Tigercast Draft recap

-Ranking criteria
-Data vs Eye test
-Sliders and Bolters including a bit on Robey
-How/when we measure draft success
-The key attributes for this years draft selections
-A bit on each of the players we selected
-the train on players
-Louis Kellaway-2026 & 2027 draft.

Rhy was absolutely fantastic with his time and his answers.

Thanks for having Rhy on the podcast.

I appreciate the insights into the club’s recruitment thinking and process, especially when there’s so much passionate speculation on BigFooty.

His recurring point that often gets lost in the frenzy is that they’re just kids and don’t need the pile-ons from media and fans.

Good stuff, Michaels.

 

[LTT]

I’m not disagreeing with what you are saying, and I totally agree with your assessment of Trent’s podcast and the AFL media landscape. I will stand by my comment that the club is hyper sensitive to criticism and scrutiny, like the AFL itself, and Michael would be aware of this. Maybe he could take a harder edge to some of his analysis or commentary, but that might not be where he wants to take his show, and it’s our right to decide whether we want to continue to watch and listen.

I’d love Michael or someone, to do an in depth analysis of why our playlist disintegrated in front of our eyes, and why we haven’t been able replicate the Geelong model. It would need to be warts and all, to appreciate what went on behind the scenes so we can understand how we got to 2024. I’d like us to scrutinise some of the Demi Gods within the club and role the AFL played in killing our successful era.

Finally, I enjoyed reading your response and with that the honesty.

I can answer your question "why can't we replicate the Geelong model". IMO there are two key factors. Firstly, Geelong don't win PF & GF's. This is important because it forces a ruthless assessment of the list resulting in consistent list turnover. I can guarantee that Chris Scott will have drawn a line through several players from last year losing GF side and while the players will be on the list next year other players will be given opportunities to replace them and the recruiters will be looking for free agent as well. Richmond on the other hand won GF's. The consequence of that is we kept players a year or two too long and denied development into alternative players. Edwards, Cochin, Riewoldt and Dusty probably didn't get judged quite so ruthlessly because we won. The second reason Geelong do so well is because their ground suits bigger bodied players and hides a lack of speed. In am MCG final speed is as critical as is physical strength.

Interestingly Sydney is another perennial over achiever and has the same two problems While Collingwood is also another perennial over achiever that does not win GF's. I think part of the GF hangover is the need to rebuild.

 

[Michaels]

TRAINING REPORT | 1st December

The boys were back at Punt Road today and resident legendary track watcher Caesar from Punt Road End braved the conditions and provided an update!

 

[ShereKhan]

some of the names you have under "very capable" are completely unproven & physically questionable. around 70% of all 1st & 2nd round picks don't play 100 AFL games. And the 30% that do, also includes guys like Aaron Fiora& Richard Tambling. The list you have above is us having a 100% strike rate in the 1st & 2nd round over 4 drafts. Several of which have not even debuted & a few that are unable to even play more than a couple of games of AFL/VFL without getting re-injured.

Richmond's future is very very unknown. The depth in 2-3 years is completely unknown. Loading up on picks is a decent strategy in the same way buying 20 lotto tickets gives you more chances of winning that 2. But even with 20 tickets, odd's are you are not going to hit the jackpot. Even predicting what the next 12-24 months holds is impossible to know.

We all have differeing opinions on how we should be rebuilding the club. I agree with \about 70% of the way we are approaching it - but the 30% i don't, is also the same percentage of success-rate you can hope to get from the 70% i do agree with.

I bloody hope all these guys are going to be 100+ gamers for us, would probably be the first time in AFL history if it happened. I haven;t got the statistic to back this up, but from what i can see, the success rate of young kids coming in to the AFL making it is dropping. The standard in jnr levels is dropping & as others have said, the AFL have left it up to clubs "academys' to pick up the slack which is NOT going to help Richmond as we have not gotten a single asset from that system yet.

Clubs who are allocated poor zones for academy's need to start speaking up before "the gap" becomes impossible to overcome. The AFL has made a system that is actually more unfair than the one whcih existed BEFORE drafts existed where teams like Carlton, Collingwood & Richmond just opened up cheque books to get young talent.

The club looks like it is going to look to speed for its future. If so, better keep on improving that medical team as all sports that have done this have seen higher rates of injury. NBA being one - calf/achilles injuries will become the new hamstring/ACL.

I agree with all of that, nothing is guaranteed. But we will have more 'capable' youngsters than almost any other team. So it's just a game of percentages. And we've got a superbly balanced young list that doesn't have glaring holes.

Wing? Easy to re-deploy someone, or to secure via FA/trade.

Ruck? Easy to secure via FA/Trade.

I'm ultra confident we've got the bones of a Premiership list, even accounting for the usual rate of attrition for draftees.

 

[Michaels]

Building a best 23 | 2nd day of Christmas!


Day 2 of my best 23 as part of the 23 days of Christmas!

 

[THE_GUN]

Building a best 23 | 2nd day of Christmas!


Day 2 of my best 23 as part of the 23 days of Christmas!

Agree with a lot of what you say but we really need to get off the play Nank at all cost theory
RFC need to actually rest Nank for 4-5 games in this year for the benefit of the sides development and give guys like Ryan & OHB games to see if we can go foward with these 2 players whilst also resting a combative vetran like Nank

Will it cost game ? Perhaps but who really cares 2nd year of the rebuild

 

[TJTIGER]

Whenever I’m doing a recorded video it’s mainly the intro I stuff up and end up starting again.

Just too many phrases running through my head at once that botch it followed by a ‘cmon it can’t be that hard to say x y z

Could save and post at Xmas time as Tigercast out takes "The year in review" or "That was the year it was"...
Just an idea... great job on the vids, really enjoy em!

 

[Michaels]

Agree with a lot of what you say but we really need to get off the play Nank at all cost theory
RFC need to actually rest Nank for 4-5 games in this year for the benefit of the sides development and give guys like Ryan & OHB games to see if we can go foward with these 2 players whilst also resting a combative vetran like Nank

Will it cost game ? Perhaps but who really cares 2nd year of the rebuild

Yeah I did say in there that we have to manage his work load and there should be games he misses to ensure longevity

 

[Michaels]

Could save and post at Xmas time as Tigercast out takes "The year in review" or "That was the year it was"...
Just an idea... great job on the vids, really enjoy em!

Yeah I really do need to keep them and compile them

 

[sregit]

I’m not disagreeing with what you are saying, and I totally agree with your assessment of Trent’s podcast and the AFL media landscape. I will stand by my comment that the club is hyper sensitive to criticism and scrutiny, like the AFL itself, and Michael would be aware of this. Maybe he could take a harder edge to some of his analysis or commentary, but that might not be where he wants to take his show, and it’s our right to decide whether we want to continue to watch and listen.

I’d love Michael or someone, to do an in depth analysis of why our playlist disintegrated in front of our eyes, and why we haven’t been able replicate the Geelong model. It would need to be warts and all, to appreciate what went on behind the scenes so we can understand how we got to 2024. I’d like us to scrutinise some of the Demi Gods within the club and role the AFL played in killing our successful era.

Finally, I enjoyed reading your response and with that the honesty.

So how do you think our list got to be so RS by 2024?

I think our 2021 drafting was a complete bust. Followed by paying overs for both Hopper and Taranto.
Geelong managed to get some of their top players with small cost and drafted very well with later picks. They also drafted speed whilst we floundered with a midfield that lacked pace. The game changed and we did not react. Also on top of this our older players were relied upon probably more than at any other club. Martin, Prestia and even Lynch had severe injuries and were now not as effective any longer. The cats seemed to get far more from their older players whilst picking youth that just performed better than ours. Their drafting was better!

There are just many areas where we’ve been out performed by the cats and other clubs.

 

[tropicaltiger]

He probably wants success, and I suspect at his exit interview he spoke about wanting to explore opportunities elsewhere. I’m guessing he appreciate that we are a well run organisation that has shown loyalty, we treat our players properly and have a young developing list and he is contracted.

The club would probably prefer him to stay, given the list profile, but isn’t going to stand in his way if the right offer presents itself. I’m guessing we’d be looking for a late first rounder.

The issue his Manager has is twofold. One, finding a club that “needs” a player with Hopper’s traits. Two, is that club able to put something on the table that matches our valuation of Hopper, in this set of circumstances.

Ultimately, we’re happy to keep him and he’s unlikely to publicly push for a trade.

had the re-read this post about six times to try and untangle such a word salad of mysterious nonsense.

hopper is a man of integrity he choose us, so him and his mate could finish their careers together and help richmond taste success, prestia if he stays sound is good but on his last legs and if taranto cops a long term knee (he already has chronic shoulder soreness) which would mean hopper easily becomes our best ball getter over our rebuild.

do the sums... first decent pre season, he is in a 3 way for our B&F and its obvious was a warrior often playing a bit sore with his knee strapped and wore a lot of heavy clashes with the plan being our youngsters not being exposed to heavy lifting just yet especially with 3 potential future mids Lalor, smile and hotton not able to get on the park and sonsie, hugo, brown, banks, short, clark types being earmarked as outside runners. nank and hopper will be vital as our brutes (mansell, steely and even ross are to small and featherweights trying to go with the bonts, rowells and tom greene of the comp.

Hopper might not be our best player in 26-27 but could close to our most important.

 

[The Vaucluse]

had the re-read this post about six times to try and untangle such a word salad of mysterious nonsense.

hopper is a man of integrity he choose us, so him and his mate could finish their careers together and help richmond taste success, prestia if he stays sound is good but on his last legs and if taranto cops a long term knee (he already has chronic shoulder soreness) which would mean hopper easily becomes our best ball getter over our rebuild.

do the sums... first decent pre season, he is in a 3 way for our B&F and its obvious was a warrior often playing a bit sore with his knee strapped and wore a lot of heavy clashes with the plan being our youngsters not being exposed to heavy lifting just yet especially with 3 potential future mids Lalor, smile and hotton not able to get on the park and sonsie, hugo, brown, banks, short, clark types being earmarked as outside runners. nank and hopper will be vital as our brutes (mansell, steely and even ross are to small and featherweights trying to go with the bonts, rowells and tom greene of the comp.

Hopper might not be our best player in 26-27 but could close to our most important.

Our midfield got smashed all year. A number of posters have shared the data that shows how bad we were at the coalface. Something needs to change because we can’t go forward with the current group if we want success.

I don’t rate Hopper that much. He’s ok with ball in hand, but does little or no defensive running, tends to run backwards to release by hand to an outside runner, doesn’t win enough clearances and isn’t particularly quick so can’t break the line.

Polling well in our BnF last year is no great achievement, given the position he plays, the number of injuries we had, the age profile of our list and the fact that we finished 2nd last.

My earlier post was in response to Tig’s, in one of Michael’s pre trade shows, reporting that his name had been thrown around as a possible trade, maybe by his Manager.

At best Hopper is a transitional player, as we shift from Dusty, Lambert, Prestia, Edwards and Cotchin to the new breed of midfielders that are starting their careers with us.

Finally, there’s no need to get personal about how I wrote a post, it’s just a cheap hit.

 

[Michaels]

So how do you think our list got to be so RS by 2024?

I think our 2021 drafting was a complete bust. Followed by paying overs for both Hopper and Taranto.
Geelong managed to get some of their top players with small cost and drafted very well with later picks. They also drafted speed whilst we floundered with a midfield that lacked pace. The game changed and we did not react. Also on top of this our older players were relied upon probably more than at any other club. Martin, Prestia and even Lynch had severe injuries and were now not as effective any longer. The cats seemed to get far more from their older players whilst picking youth that just performed better than ours. Their drafting was better!

There are just many areas where we’ve been out performed by the cats and other clubs.

It’s an interesting argument, the Geelong method vs Richmond method.

I’ve always respected the fact they have stayed ‘up’ for so long.

But has it really amounted to anything of any significance greater than what we achieved?

Personally I don’t think it has but it’s an interesting discussion!

 

[TJTIGER]

It’s an interesting argument, the Geelong method vs Richmond method.

I’ve always respected the fact they have stayed ‘up’ for so long.

But has it really amounted to anything of any significance greater than what we achieved?

Personally I don’t think it has but it’s an interesting discussion!

It is indeed an interesting discussion! Geelong have been, as you say competitive for a long time. Which one could argue makes the extreme highs & lows less? Would have to talk with their supporters to find out, if they prefer that or greater lows/highs for more premierships? For which there is No guarentee, that the highs follow on from the real lows?

 

[tropicaltiger]

Our midfield got smashed all year. A number of posters have shared the data that shows how bad we were at the coalface. Something needs to change because we can’t go forward with the current group if we want success.

I don’t rate Hopper that much. He’s ok with ball in hand, but does little or no defensive running, tends to run backwards to release by hand to an outside runner, doesn’t win enough clearances and isn’t particularly quick so can’t break the line.

Polling well in our BnF last year is no great achievement, given the position he plays, the number of injuries we had, the age profile of our list and the fact that we finished 2nd last.

My earlier post was in response to Tig’s, in one of Michael’s pre trade shows, reporting that his name had been thrown around as a possible trade, maybe by his Manager.

At best Hopper is a transitional player, as we shift from Dusty, Lambert, Prestia, Edwards and Cotchin to the new breed of midfielders that are starting their careers with us.

Finally, there’s no need to get personal about how I wrote a post, it’s just a cheap hit.

sorry just found the Hooper rumour annoying and ludicrous (yes I saw the show) for several reasons here's a couple....hinting that hooper was after instant success, ......why would the pies or Saints be interested after offloading Mitchell and steele

Lions, Suns, dogs and swans are choc a block with highly rated and paid mids??
suns just got their hands on tracca and he wouldn't get a game at the lions as a mid....North would not be interested especially keeping their Captain out of the midfield mix and still desperate to keep him....cats will be looking at youth as they are ageing worse than we were back a few years with older types and now with brauhn over his finger injury as well haha. and there is no way known Hopps would be interested in going over the Nullarbor or interstate, sorry if I insulted you but I just found the whole predicament very unsavoury with you and a couple of others having a stab in the dark with their own opinion/s rather than hoppers or the clubs.

 

[_RT_]

We tried the Geelong/Pies approach of trading to stay at the top and it all went to shit when Hardwick lost focus/hunger to be our coach plus a few unfortunate injuries to some key players along the way particularly Lynch & Martin. It really is that simple.

For those praising that Pies & Cats approach, Geelong have played finals 9 times since 2015 for 1 flag, Pies have played finals 6 times since 2015 for 1 flag, for comparison we played finals 6 times over the same period and won 3 flags and I'd be willing to bet that if given the choice both sets of fans would prefer to have had our success over theirs and I'm also sure that there isn't a Richmond fan anywhere that would swap records with those 2 teams either.

As we head into 2026 both are heading for a slide down the ladder unless they can somehow manage to keep finding a way to bring in ready made replacements for their aging stars. As far as their young talent goes, it's much easier to look good in a side where you're surrounded by stars who take a lot of the focus and allow you to just go about playing the games without much worry.

As mentioned we tried that approach, but were smart enough to recognise when it wasn't going to work to change tactic and aggressively approach the draft, by having honest and open conversations with players about where we were heading and whether they were prepared to go through the tough times as we built the list back up again. So while we are dealing with the short term pain of finding ourselves down the bottom I'm confident that as Tasmania ravage the draft pool over the next few years and those 2 teams in particular try and rebuild their lists that we will go straight past them

 

[Tigerturbulance]

Just want to take a moment to acknowledge the work Michaels puts into the BigFooty Tigercast. The sheer amount of content he’s pumping out week after week, draft recaps, interviews, training reports, best 23 discussions is massive. It’s easy to forget how much time and effort goes into producing that sort of output unless you have put together media content yourself.

And putting up ideas and analysis in a forum like this, where hindsight experts and armchair critics are everywhere, takes real courage. Anyone can sit back after the fact and say what should’ve been done, but stepping up in the moment, sharing thoughts, and opening yourself up to debate is something else entirely. That’s what makes it valuable and it sparks discussion, it gets us thinking, and it builds the BigFooty and Richmond community.

So hats off to you Michaels, keep doing what you’re doing mate, it’s appreciated more than you probably hear.

 

[The Vaucluse]

We tried the Geelong/Pies approach of trading to stay at the top and it all went to shit when Hardwick lost focus/hunger to be our coach plus a few unfortunate injuries to some key players along the way particularly Lynch & Martin. It really is that simple.

For those praising that Pies & Cats approach, Geelong have played finals 9 times since 2015 for 1 flag, Pies have played finals 6 times since 2015 for 1 flag, for comparison we played finals 6 times over the same period and won 3 flags and I'd be willing to bet that if given the choice both sets of fans would prefer to have had our success over theirs and I'm also sure that there isn't a Richmond fan anywhere that would swap records with those 2 teams either.

As we head into 2026 both are heading for a slide down the ladder unless they can somehow manage to keep finding a way to bring in ready made replacements for their aging stars. As far as their young talent goes, it's much easier to look good in a side where you're surrounded by stars who take a lot of the focus and allow you to just go about playing the games without much worry.

As mentioned we tried that approach, but were smart enough to recognise when it wasn't going to work to change tactic and aggressively approach the draft, by having honest and open conversations with players about where we were heading and whether they were prepared to go through the tough times as we built the list back up again. So while we are dealing with the short term pain of finding ourselves down the bottom I'm confident that as Tasmania ravage the draft pool over the next few years and those 2 teams in particular try and rebuild their lists that we will go straight past them

While I don’t think Hoper and Taranto are a bust, I do think our football department lost control over the list profile, and with that I believe that Benny got distracted and failed to check Hardwick’s short term ambitions. Plus, we were paying Hardwick a fair bit of coin (I know he was a 3 time Premiership coach), and that meant other departments took a haircut, and in hindsight it appears that there was an underinvestment in Strength & Conditioning.

I don’t accept the narrative that winning three Premiership, should mean we fall as hard as we have. Maybe it was just an unfortunate set of circumstances that worked against us, but maybe there was also a little bit of negligence on the part of those who were in charge.

Ultimately, I’m very happy with where the Club is heading and really excited with the young batch of players coming through. And I congratulate O’Rourke, Livingston and Hartley for navigating the Club and targeting the messaging through this difficult period.

 

[Drunken Wookie]

While I don’t think Hoper and Taranto are a bust, I do think our football department lost control over the list profile, and with that I believe that Benny got distracted and failed to check Hardwick’s short term ambitions. Plus, we were paying Hardwick a fair bit of coin (I know he was a 3 time Premiership coach), and that meant other departments took a haircut, and in hindsight it appears that there was an underinvestment in Strength & Conditioning.

I don’t accept the narrative that winning three Premiership, should mean we fall as hard as we have. Maybe it was just an unfortunate set of circumstances that worked against us, but maybe there was also a little bit of negligence on the part of those who were in charge.

Ultimately, I’m very happy with where the Club is heading and really excited with the young batch of players coming through. And I congratulate O’Rourke, Livingston and Hartley for navigating the Club and targeting the messaging through this difficult period.

i think our fall was the natural result of being up the very top for half a decade and both getting less access to top end young talent and not being able to develop young talent because the premiership group is impossible to break into. the cats are an outlier because theyre able to offer elite players house and land packages to get them across.

 

[THE THIN MAN]

I’m not disagreeing with what you are saying, and I totally agree with your assessment of Trent’s podcast and the AFL media landscape. I will stand by my comment that the club is hyper sensitive to criticism and scrutiny, like the AFL itself, and Michael would be aware of this. Maybe he could take a harder edge to some of his analysis or commentary, but that might not be where he wants to take his show, and it’s our right to decide whether we want to continue to watch and listen.

I’d love Michael or someone, to do an in depth analysis of why our playlist disintegrated in front of our eyes, and why we haven’t been able replicate the Geelong model. It would need to be warts and all, to appreciate what went on behind the scenes so we can understand how we got to 2024. I’d like us to scrutinise some of the Demi Gods within the club and role the AFL played in killing our successful era.

Finally, I enjoyed reading your response and with that the honesty.

A major factor would be the style both teams played, Richmond frenetic pace, ball movement and crash and bash style, while Geelong used long kicks and a less contested style.

This Geelong style is also suited to the Stand era.

 

[Michaels]

Just want to take a moment to acknowledge the work Michaels puts into the BigFooty Tigercast. The sheer amount of content he’s pumping out week after week, draft recaps, interviews, training reports, best 23 discussions is massive. It’s easy to forget how much time and effort goes into producing that sort of output unless you have put together media content yourself.

And putting up ideas and analysis in a forum like this, where hindsight experts and armchair critics are everywhere, takes real courage. Anyone can sit back after the fact and say what should’ve been done, but stepping up in the moment, sharing thoughts, and opening yourself up to debate is something else entirely. That’s what makes it valuable and it sparks discussion, it gets us thinking, and it builds the BigFooty and Richmond community.

So hats off to you Michaels, keep doing what you’re doing mate, it’s appreciated more than you probably hear.

Very very kind words mate, thank you so much it really means a lot to me reading that.

It's definitely a lot of hours, mostly done after the kids are sorted and in bed, but it's worth it because a wonderful community has been built on the back of it.

Might slow down a bit for December and catch my breath a bit after a hectic November!

I do enjoy being able to challenge the thinking of people as well with different ideas and concepts that may not always be the most popular, but it's always healthy discussion.

 

[tropicaltiger]

i think our fall was the natural result of being up the very top for half a decade and both getting less access to top end young talent and not being able to develop young talent because the premiership group is impossible to break into. the cats are an outlier because theyre able to offer elite players house and land packages to get them across.

don't forget cat players can also lend some of their chump change money to already filthy rich supporters, say $10,000 and quadruple their investment back within 6 months (100 x better than bank interest) no questions asked.

 

[TJTIGER]

don't forget cat players can also lend some of their chump change money to already filthy rich supporters, say $10,000 and quadruple their investment back within 6 months (100 x better than bank interest) no questions asked.

Really??? They loan $$$ out? That seems a bit of an unusual set up?!