2026 Pre-Season Thread

[Grasshopper17]

i dont think we are allowed to do so - iirc we explored this option with daniel lloyd a few years back in the same scenario and retirees arent allowed to nominate for any form of draft for 12 months

I thought the only issue with Lloyd was that he hadn't played the minimum number of games required at the lower level to be eligible for the draft.

 

[Perrip]

I thought the only issue with Lloyd was that he hadn't played the minimum number of games required at the lower level to be eligible for the draft.

Yes.

However, under AFL rules, players who left the competition as 'retired' within a year are not eligible for the mid-season draft unless they have played at least three state league games in the current season.
Lloyd was unable to hit the three-game state league mark before the May 29 mid-season intake and the club's hopes for an exemption have been ruled out.

 

[Jivlain]

I think the socio-economic conditions of workers during the Industrial Revolution provides a precedent as to what we might expect.

The issue with comparing AI to the Industrial Revolution is that the engines worked. Sure, capital wants to workers to be way more precarious, but also they've built a huge bubble on engines of extremely dubious profitability which also get completely befuddled if they're given a complex situation. So we might end up with states and industries replacing huge swathes of the workforce with machines that don't actually solve the problems and suddenly start to cost 10x, 20x what they're currently billing for them.

Fun!

 

[Warwick]

Payne’s a worry. Got a feeling that ‘mid-year return’ may stretch a little later.

Terrible injury for a footballer to have. An ACL has a faster / better / less recurrent timeline.

This was on the cards for a while. I’ve treated a few patients post patella tendon repair - terrible injury.

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

I think the socio-economic conditions of workers during the Industrial Revolution provides a precedent as to what we might expect.

Sorry to inject some economics in here, but economies tend to full employment.

 

[DERRINALPHIL]

They definitely have the levers, but after decades of wage stagnation relative to productivity growth, it doesn’t look like they are willing to pull them.

The debt bubble means Argentina await us all. The interesting thing is nearly all the governments of the world do not care about and this has never happened.

 

[SonofSuperboot]

The debt bubble means Argentina await us all. The interesting thing is nearly all the governments of the world do not care about and this has never happened.

I didn't really mean to kick off an AI discussion in a lions forum by objecting to it. It was more that I come here to hear the opinions of my fellow lion supporters, being the best of all people due to their superior taste, rather than that of some computer, until such a time as we can establish that ChatGPT is firmly a lions barracker and is deliberate giving pies supporters misleading answers to their prompts
But, if we're on the subject, I will say that of everyone I encounter, almost everyone is pessimistic about AI, with the most positive opinion being about "My job is somehow different, I think it'll be one of the last ones to be replaced". So given that, I'm a bit surprised there isn't more democratic opposition. I reckon the first political party, or more likely, minor senate party, that says they'll put the brakes on AI if they get elected, will get a lot of votes. There's an awful lot of fear out there, most of it justified. Anyway, back to the footy.
Bad news about Payne having to go under the knife again. Our key defender situation is the only one that make me lose sleep this season. Everything else looks rosy

 

[BrisVegasDru]

I think the biggest worry with AI is the actual economy which relies on humans spending money, bots don't buy homes, clothes, or need to eat, so unless Elon and his equally socially generous billionaire mates, really do pay the poor jobless humans some kind of stipend there will be far less consumption.

Fine for me I am 59 this year, but feel awful for my two sons in their early 20s trying to make their way in the world, one is already in IT the other was studying it but changed to major in business as he is so pessimistic upon the impact of AI in that space.

Go Lions - we really need something uplifting to talk about, would be far more positive about AI if it could fix Jack Payne's knee already

 

[davemc_lions]

He's too good a forward.

Really feel for Jack. He was getting to AA class , missed a flag and now this.

Let's hope it's not too bad .

If another tall back goes down we either going Joyce or Hipwood if he back.
Forward we have three rucks who can play a role forward in Draper, Fort and Smith.

AI Well it right 50% of the time and guesses 80% of the time.
You need to ask it a question with lots of info for it to get even close.

I work in IT they really pushing AI hard it can only do what it seen before.
So when working with something new it struggles to think outside the box.
Although saying that so too some of the devs I worked with ha ha ha
Those be the first to go

 

[briztoon]

If another tall back goes down we either going Joyce or Hipwood if he back.
Forward we have three rucks who can play a role forward in Draper, Fort and Smith.

Last I saw, two of those rucks were in a moon boot.

But we still have 4 tall forwards we can count on, plus a bevy of small and medium forwards.

AI Well it right 50% of the time and guesses 80% of the time.
You need to ask it a question with lots of info for it to get even close.

I work in IT they really pushing AI hard it can only do what it seen before.
So when working with something new it struggles to think outside the box.
Although saying that so too some of the devs I worked with ha ha ha
Those be the first to go

 

[BangyBangy]

Last I saw, two of those rucks were in a moon boot.

But we still have 4 tall forwards we can count on, plus a bevy of small and medium forwards.

And Dunkley......he can ruck.

Never gets old.

 

[SonofSuperboot]

If another tall back goes down we either going Joyce or Hipwood if he back.
Forward we have three rucks who can play a role forward in Draper, Fort and Smith.

AI Well it right 50% of the time and guesses 80% of the time.
You need to ask it a question with lots of info for it to get even close.

I work in IT they really pushing AI hard it can only do what it seen before.
So when working with something new it struggles to think outside the box.
Although saying that so too some of the devs I worked with ha ha ha
Those be the first to go

This is kind of what I'm referring to. Everyone thinks their job will be the last to go. Meanwhile you're already getting it to do half the tasks that a few years ago they were paying you to use your personal skills and experience to do. But you comfort yourself by saying all those things were kind of low level (i.e. what most peoples working day consists of), and there's still some higher-order things it's not very good at, and you're right. For now...

 

[Bucking Beads]

Frustrating to hear about the Payne injury. Hopefully he can get back and make an impact for us later in the season. We're certainly think down back at the moment. It could end up being a blessing with the potential for some younger players to get an opportunity.

We have such good depth across our midfield and front half that if we win enough ball we should still be in a good position to win most games.

 

[Saucery]

I think the biggest worry with AI is the actual economy which relies on humans spending money, bots don't buy homes, clothes, or need to eat, so unless Elon and his equally socially generous billionaire mates, really do pay the poor jobless humans some kind of stipend there will be far less consumption.

Fine for me I am 59 this year, but feel awful for my two sons in their early 20s trying to make their way in the world, one is already in IT the other was studying it but changed to major in business as he is so pessimistic upon the impact of AI in that space.

Go Lions - we really need something uplifting to talk about, would be far more positive about AI if it could fix Jack Payne's knee already

 

[SonofSuperboot]

Last I saw, two of those rucks were in a moon boot.

But we still have 4 tall forwards we can count on, plus a bevy of small and medium forwards.

View attachment 2535525

this'll be my last post on the subject, I promise. I told myself not to do any, it's a footy forum, but couldn't help myself. Just after I posted saying it's going to kill off coding jobs, I was looking at The Age news site only to see this headline: WiseTech to cut 2000 jobs as AI tightens its grip about them cutting 2000-7000 tech jobs in Australia. And so it begins...

 

[Perrip]

 

[morsie]

To be fair, we've been using Wikipedia in much the same way for 2 decades basically

Even the guy who started Wikipedia says it's not accurate

 

[morsie]

I absolutely love AI. Saves me hours a day.

But what the longer term economic and social impacts are I don't think anyone knows.

So much for telling people whose job vanished to learn to code

 

[Saucery]

So much for telling people whose job vanished to learn to code

Let's just move on and check out this year's draft crop

 

[Viceregal]

Let's just move on and check out this year's draft crop

View attachment 2535571

I presume that any Northern Academy algorithms in the programming and/or construction will give us matching rights on the relevant draftees?

 

[Kernel Kurtz]

It's scary and I doubt the majority of the population have any idea what's coming.

Even professional jobs particularly in finance/accountancy, law and medicine are very much at risk. And education.

Ironically with massive productivity improvements company profits will rise and the rich will get richer. But many companies that we thought had impenetrable moats will fall by the wayside.

Fortunately , putting aside the massive debt bubble , Governments are more equipped than ever to manage socio economic change. If you could trust any of them.

But I digress .....

We were talking about it with a few mates over a few ales, and they were kind of exited about how usefull it is.
Go figure. I don't get it.
My son works in accounts he uses it all the time doing reports, thinks it's great.
I might be a bit one eyed but I just see it as businesses operating with less reliants on staff to perform jobs or give expertise , so they are happy until .
Then those businesses or departments will no longer be required.
To me that is the reality, why are people getting exited , embracing it.

It's like Mitre 10 rubbed out all the little hardware stores only to be dominated by a larger Bunnings Franchise.
Who's next.

I just did a quote for a guy and he used AI to get information on specifications on Outdoor seating. No problem.
Foam densities, fabrics, use of velcroes.
Most of the info was useful but not all of it , I asked him if that's what the architect specified , nope, AI .
I still had to explain why we do certain things depending on personal preference , versatility, practicality, comfort, durability and so on.
F...k the first person that tells me how to do my job because AI said it's this way. LOL.
That will be the day I retire.
Ok maybe the end of the week , lol.
Mind you if the job fails, then sweet , not my problem.
Governments, ha.
Who can trust Governments to do anything for the long term.
look at the housing Crisis.
It's apparently just the market doing it's thing.
Nothing to do with the levers pulled or not pulled by governments or shonky real Estates .

 

[SonofSuperboot]

A recent interview with oscar allen

4

Oscar Allen

Age

26

Ht

196cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.8

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.2

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.1

4star

No current season stats available

D

8.6

3star

K

5.8

3star

HB

2.8

3star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

G

1.2

4star

on code sports. Here's a bit of it, in case anyone's interested:

It was a year, he said, which taught him more than any other.
“My job is to play footy, so that is what I was doing,” he said.
“I had that (patella tendon injury) and the achilles injury towards the back half of the year which ended my season.
“While I was recovering from that achilles surgery – that is when the surgeon decided that we also needed to fix my knee.
“I was inhibited for a long period of time, and then eventually your body just gives in on you, really.
“How much of that was psychological stress that probably led to my body needing a break or actually performance-wise (struggling), I don’t know.
“It was probably a combination of both.
“I didn’t sleep a hell of a lot.
“But meeting up with ‘Fages’ (Chris Fagan) and the whole Brisbane crew, they just seemed like great people.”
It was the second year in a row Allen’s body packed up on him amid stints in the back line last season.
In 2023, the Whitford product looked like one of the most promising key forwards in the competition, booting 53 goals.
But last year West Coast seemed happy to let him go as part of a free agency move which netted the Eagles pick two and exciting young tall Cooper Duff-Tytler

By the time things imploded, Allen was ready for change. And while Hawthorn was clearly keen on him, so was Brisbane in the background.
Here was a long-term opportunity to go from the worst team in the AFL to the best.
And with such a young and talented midfield group, Brisbane’s premiership window looks set to stay open for many years.
There were eight players in the grand final team which toppled Geelong last year aged 23 or under.
From a list management perspective, it’s a big, fat flag sweet spot.
The Lions just needed two more talls to bolster the spine, and got them largely for nothing as free agents. Allen and former Bomber Sam Draper.
But he doesn’t want to be someone who relies on A-grade service from the brilliant midfielders.
Allen is desperate, perhaps more than anything, to earn his supper each week and re-establish his reputation as a hard-working quality key forward option.
“At times, you have moments where they are putting it on your lap and you can’t do anything but stuff it up,” he said.
“I think probably people recognise internally at the footy club that someone really does their work and provides an option all day and makes a contest and is able to follow up.
“That is something I pride myself on.
“It is great to get it lace-out from the boys every now and then.
“So, yeah, there might be 10 perfect plays a game, but for the other 100 minutes it is ‘hell for leather’.
“I want to make something out of my career and want to prove that all that hard work is worth it.”
Allen and his wife were married in Perth over summer before their New York honeymoon, and the big trip across the country.
They sold their house and packed up their two dogs.
But it wasn’t always easy for Lorna, and her family, either.
“She’s very close with her family and her mum, so to move over here (is big),” he said.
“She started a new job and I disappeared on pre-season camp, but we are both really thriving and enjoying the environment.”
Allen picked the Lions over the Hawks not just because of the attractiveness of the list, and the laid-back Queensland lifestyle, but also the club culture.

“I think probably people recognise internally at the footy club that someone really does their work and provides an option all day and makes a contest and is able to follow up.
“That is something I pride myself on.
“It is great to get it lace-out from the boys every now and then.
“So, yeah, there might be 10 perfect plays a game, but for the other 100 minutes it is ‘hell for leather’.
“I want to make something out of my career and want to prove that all that hard work is worth it.”
Allen and his wife were married in Perth over summer before their New York honeymoon, and the big trip across the country.
They sold their house and packed up their two dogs.
But it wasn’t always easy for Lorna, and her family, either.
“She’s very close with her family and her mum, so to move over here (is big),” he said.
“She started a new job and I disappeared on pre-season camp, but we are both really thriving and enjoying the environment.”
Allen picked the Lions over the Hawks not just because of the attractiveness of the list, and the laid-back Queensland lifestyle, but also the club culture.
“Whether they (West Coast) got that right or I got that right, maybe I won’t know,” he said.
“I have lived in Perth my whole life, I was 26 years old. No kids. It is a great opportunity for us to try something new.
“All in all, it wasn’t a great period of time, but that’s all it was. It was a period of time.
“I love WA, I love West Coast. I love West Coast people. I am a West Coast fan. I was growing up.
“I just think they really ride the highs and the lows and that is what makes them great fans because the last three or four years they have had a really rough trot and are still getting 40,000-50,000 there every week.
“That is a credit to them but, I can also see why it (poor performance) would frustrate them.
“In a footy-heavy town, that certainly played a part in it.
“The lifestyle here in Queensland was very attractive.
“Sitting here now 30 degrees, there’s a light breeze and it will be like this in winter as well.
“Whether we play well or play poorly (each week) I can go down and get a coffee or something and life is the same.
“That appeals to me as a person and helping me be a bit more level-headed with everything.
“I feel like Brisbane and Queensland in general provides that opportunity for me as well.”

 

[NotQuiteJezza]

Can’t wait

 

[Saucery]

I presume that any Northern Academy algorithms in the programming and/or construction will give us matching rights on the relevant draftees?

I think they are all from the Madeinchina company so,

 

[DevRoboGun]

With Paynes injury Dizzy has basically become one of our more important players. His prelim and GF last year were close to his best football.

Who would have thought! Another late career bloomer.