TOPIC:

Danyle Pearce looked good in patches, suited to the wide-open spaces of Subi, Hilly put the hammer down a couple of times and burnt the opposition which was pleasing to see but concerns around where the goals may come from if Pav goes down during the year.

Looked good around the park. For the young blokes, Crozier and Sutcliffe looked fit and got amongst it.

Good signs all round.

Doubt Faulks would replace McPhee. Speaking to a few mates from Fremantle their view is that from the Final 22 last year against Adelaide the outs would be:
McPhee
Silvagni


Ins:
D Pearce
McPharlin (was injured)

Depth and pressure to the side to come from:
Sutcliffe
Neale
Crozier
Sheridan
Mellington
Silvagni
Pitt
Michie

Players in trouble in my opinion are:
Ibbotson
Duffield
Pearce C
Clarke
Spurr

Whilst Duffs, Pearcey and Spurr had good years last year, it wont take much of a drop off before they are dropped.

Agreed on your comments, but you are thinking that they are safe before they put together one good season. Too many Dockers players over the last 5 years have had form issues year to year. I was half considering putting Crowley, Mayne, Johnson, etc on that list. The players I named, and more are never consistent performers year in year out. I just hope that the tides are changing, and I would like nothing more than Clancee, Duffield, Spurr, etc to match last seasons efforts or improve further. Unfortunately, I am no a one-eyed supporter, I am a realist, and I can see the Dockers easily dropping pace with the top 4 if we dont get strong performances from the players ranked 11-25 each and every week. Its a fine line, but it is the difference between finishing Top 4 and say 10th.

As for Silvagni. I agree. Depth player at best. Can do a job holding the oppositions 2nd or 3rd tall but that is it.

Again, if you were a realist, you would simply wait and see how they go this year before commenting. Our history is filled with good years followed by poor years. Name two consecutive seasons where we have performed well. Even a few years back when we got to the Hawthorn elim and won, with a young squad, we follwed that up with a poor year. Please dont go throwing in injuries, etc as excuses. Facts are fact.

My point is that I will want and hope for the best for my team. But do I sit here thinking it is guaranteed to happen as we are a 'professional outfit'..... the answer is no. It is never a guarantee, as the AFL comp is too tight, and there is ample other clubs striving to make the top 8 and top 4.

Very happy we got Lyon. I am very happy with last years results. But again, that doesnt mean success will just happen this year.

My comments previously on our list is that we will need our 11-25 players playing well or we may quickly find ourselves in trouble after our first 5 games. The players I named such as Duffield, C Pearce, Ibbotson, Spurr, Clarke, etc are all ranked within this profile.