Prediction Michael Barlow

[Rear Admiral]

I have said before if CEY had the endevour and intensity of Charlie Cameron he would be a beast.

CEY has every bit the endeavour and intensity of Charlie Cameron, just not the pace. Whether he's good enough to cement a spot? That's open to conjecture. If we do what we need to do, which is chuck out each and every one of our veterans, then there'll be plenty of room to try different options. What sh*ts me is that we've had players rotting in the SANFL for years, but they hardly get a gig. Like it's been said in some of the Crowcasts - we need to either play these guys or get rid of them, not sit on the fence and give them one or two games every year or so. If we gave the likes of CEY a decent shot, and they weren't up to standard....fine, then get rid of them. You cannot get an honest assessment of a player....any player....until he (or she) gets several games in a row in the senior side. Not one or two games, purely as a fill in. What's been going on with CEY, Greenwood, etc....absolute bullsh*t. We're just protecting our Veterans, and nothing more. Until Thommo and Co. are chucked out, we cannot make a fair assessment of CEY and most of the others.

I think the thing we lack from our mids is size as in height and bulk and Greenwood gives us that.

All said and done, this is what we need in any new players we Trade or Draft in -

 

[Rear Admiral]

We've all been talking about wanting more speed

 

[scoota10]

No for me on Barlow. I would like to see Smith McGovern Laird even Lynch given a chance at times
in the Mid/Field

 

[Sanders]

Perhaps our list strategy is less organic and more hydroponic?

I was going to go with hallucinogenic, as in a mirage. Doesn't exist

 

[Sanders]

I think if we go for Barlow it doesn't go against the "organic growth" strategy.

Of course you don't!

 

[GROTTO]

And 50k will still rock up every week to "cheer the boys on" cause "they gave it their best".

I'm not trying to be too harsh, but I've got a feeling that sitting between 4th and 12th all the time breeds mediocrity and content, amongst the supporters and the club.

Thats where we will land in 2017, somewhere around 4th to 12th. The opportunity to address our short comings in 2016 was via the trade and we simply failed to change the status quo and explore ways of potentially improving our midfield in 2017.

The term organic growth is basically Crows code for "we failed to trade for any mids to improve our number one deficiency".

It will be hard for some to not get excited when we smash some teams next year in the home and away season, most in here will hold their breath till we beat a genuine strong finals side in September.

 

[Sanders]

The first steps in an "Organic Growth" journey are always to re-sign an aging slow mid and bring in a dumped injury-prone mid to block the place of performing youngsters

Naturally

Why the sarcasm?

 

[1970crow]

Pretty sure if we had let Thjommo go we would get barlow, but we kept Thommo cant see us having both on the list

If there's room for Thommo, there's room for Barlow. Barlow can at least run defensively and get to the odd contest before the stoppage is called for.

 

[1970crow]

Douglas will play 22 matches. Mackay gets 20+. Thommo at least 15

Nothing to back me up here, history on your side, but I'd bet at evens that Mackay and Thommo fall shoert if those numbers.

 

[Redleg Crow]

Douglas will play 22 matches. Mackay gets 20+. Thommo at least 15

This is worth having a vote for each player

I'm in my off-season deluded optimism phase. So I'll go:
Thommo: 0-5
Douglas: 5-10
Mackay: 10-15

 

[Sanders]

He goes to the club of his choice no cost in points,

Only if he is a delisted free agent

Not all delisted players are delisted free agents.

There is a difference.

If a player been offered a contract he is not a DFA. He must specifically have been delisted without ever having been offered a new contract

Otherwise every out of contact player could refuse to sign and make themselves free agents

If he is a DFA he has not been offered a contract

If he has been offered any contract he is not DFA

It's binary

 

[Danger in Texas]

Douglas will play 22 matches. Mackay gets 20+. Thommo at least 15

Douglas 15 (in and out of the side)
Mackay 10 (start the season in the side, then drop out)
Thommo 7 (whenever Sloane/Brouch/Mrouch/CEY/Barlow(?) is injured)

 

[1970crow]

Mackay has two years left on his contract. Very unlikely he will be phased out

Unlikely he won't be. 22nd in the b&f, dropped during the year and benefitted from injuries to players who would easily push past him. I see him spending a fair bit of time in the 2's. Douglas is the only one I see getting a decent crack at it. Even then, I'm confident that much less latitude will be shown if there are fit and in form players in the 2's. Of course, if it's more of the same, I'll be devastated.

 

[Elite Crow]

Only if he is a delisted free agent

Not all delisted players are delisted free agents.

There is a difference.

If a player been offered a contract he is not a DFA. He must specifically have been delisted without ever having been offered a new contract

Otherwise every out of contact player could refuse to sign and make themselves free agents

If he is a DFA he has not been offered a contract

If he has been offered any contract he is not DFA

It's binary

Unless the AFL interprets it differently

 

[Sanders]

Barlow is an elite ball hunter, but he's as slow as the earth is patient and a worse kick

But worst of all he's a ball movement black hole. If you thought thommo slowed the ball down you haven't seen anything yet. Play terminates in his hands.

He's like the hamburglar, stuffs the ball under his jumper, leaps the fence running off through the crowd, and into a getaway car type of ball movement

Remember he moved the ball too slowly for Ross Lyon.

Let that sink in

 

[Sanders]

Unless the AFL interprets it differently

Ouch

 

[arrowman]

Only if he is a delisted free agent

Not all delisted players are delisted free agents.

There is a difference.

If a player been offered a contract he is not a DFA. He must specifically have been delisted without ever having been offered a new contract

Otherwise every out of contact player could refuse to sign and make themselves free agents

If he is a DFA he has not been offered a contract

If he has been offered any contract he is not DFA

It's binary

I think the article posted by Bicks in #168 has settled that. DFA.

 

[1970crow]

I hope with the extra space we have this year that we pay DMac 2 years worth this year. Will make cutting him next year an easier decision.

Given the shit he served up last year, I hope they jammed as much of his contract value into this year as the salary cap would allow. Incompetent to do anything else.

 

[Sanders]

And 50k will still rock up every week to "cheer the boys on" cause "they gave it their best".

I'm not trying to be too harsh, but I've got a feeling that sitting between 4th and 12th all the time breeds mediocrity and content, amongst the supporters and the club.

Sitting between 5th and 12th

4th? We should be so lucky

 

[ad victoriam]

Only if he is a delisted free agent

Not all delisted players are delisted free agents.

There is a difference.

If a player been offered a contract he is not a DFA. He must specifically have been delisted without ever having been offered a new contract

Otherwise every out of contact player could refuse to sign and make themselves free agents

If he is a DFA he has not been offered a contract

If he has been offered any contract he is not DFA

It's binary

Freo on Monday confirm he has not been offered a new contract, for 2017,
http://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news/2016-10-24/fremantle-list-update

 

[Don Muraco]

If he fails in the midfield he's a great singer, perhaps we could use him to raise money for the first AFL game in Alaska (Alaskans are as desperate for the Afl as the Chinese)

 

[WetCrow1991]

Unlikely he won't be. 22nd in the b&f, dropped during the year and benefitted from injuries to players who would easily push past him. I see him spending a fair bit of time in the 2's. Douglas is the only one I see getting a decent crack at it. Even then, I'm confident that much less latitude will be shown if there are fit and in form players in the 2's. Of course, if it's more of the same, I'll be devastated.

Dougie is the holder of the golden ticket, was given all season to find form and didn't.

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

Barlow is an elite ball hunter, but he's as slow as the earth is patient and a worse kick

But worst of all he's a ball movement black hole. If you thought thommo slowed the ball down you haven't seen anything yet. Play terminates in his hands.

He's like the hamburglar, stuffs the ball under his jumper, leaps the fence running off through the crowd, and into a getaway car type of ball movement

Remember he moved the ball too slowly for Ross Lyon.

Let that sink in

Fremantle coaches still gave him enough votes to finish 8th in their B&F and he only played 13 games

 

[dylan123]

Remember he moved the ball too slowly for Ross Lyon.

You sure that was the reason he was phased out off the midfield?

 

[baby back Bibs]

I don't really want Barlow, but I will still be annoyed when he chooses someone else over us.