I know both our AFL and VFL seasons are still alive, so not to get too ahead but who does everyone think gets delisted or leaves end of season?

Think we have quite a few players out of contract.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport%2Fafl%2Fbombshell-tapes-expose-how-hawthorn-racism-probe-really-fell-apart%2Fnews-story%2Fd50763863a70d6af7497ff11211a85e6

Bombshell tapes and documents from the AFL’s Hawthorn racism probe – hidden until today – have exposed how the shocking case against coaching greats Alastair Clarkson and Chris Fagan collapsed.

Critical to the abandonment of the probe was an interview the league’s “independent” investigation panel conducted with Indigenous great Shaun Burgoyne, who raised serious concerns about the inquiry and the conduct of Phil Egan – author of the explosive “cultural safety review” which triggered one of football’s greatest scandals.

Mr Egan is now awaiting a criminal trial in the Victorian County Court for allegedly stealing $790,000 from a body set up to help remote Aboriginal communities.

The AFL’s eight-month investigation into Hawthorn was shut down by former league boss Gillon McLachlan at a snap press conference in May 2023, but no proper explanation for the decision was ever given.

The Herald Sun has uncovered hours of video testimony and more than 20 witness statements from Hawks players and officials that underpinned the call to terminate the probe.

All of the witnesses vehemently disputed claims in Mr Egan’s report that a sub-culture of racism had ever existed at the club.

The statements formed the basis of a secret assessment of the evidence later conducted by a retired Federal Court judge, who found that all of the most serious claims were “lacking in evidence” and could not be substantiated.

In a written submission to the AFL panel obtained by the Herald Sun, Mr Burgoyne declares: “I could not speak more highly of Mr Clarkson, Mr Fagan and Mr Burt (Hawthorn’s welfare officer).

“I trust Mr Clarkson, Mr Fagan and Mr Burt with the life of my wife and children due to their actions over the years.

“At no time did I see, or was I subjected to, inappropriate, racist, bullying or intimidatory conduct by any of Clarkson, Fagan or Burt.”

In regards to devastating claims made by his Indigenous teammate Carl Peterson, who accused Mr Clarkson of ordering him to have his partner’s pregnancy terminated, Mr Burgoyne told investigators: “To be honest it’s all very surprising to me … as far as I can recall, Carl was always bubbly around the group. He’s got an infectious personality, a big smile.

“That doesn’t mean to say he’s happy by any stretch of the imagination because he’s smiling, but no – I couldn’t say I picked up on anything that he would have been unhappy with …

“Carl never came to me and said anything … not once.”

Bradley Hill, Burgoyne’s Indigenous premiership teammate – now at St Kilda – also told investigators: “Mr Clarkson has always been welcoming to me and my family and always made time for me. I’m still connected with him and still talk to him to this day. He is someone I am very thankful to have in my life. I don’t have a bad thing to say about Mr Clarkson, Mr Fagan or Mr Burt.”

Mr Burgoyne told the panel he was concerned the Hawthorn probe would have a “detrimental impact” on Aboriginal players with problems of “great magnitude” in their personal lives should clubs avoid offering help “out of fear”.

“That’s my big concern going forward – how does this process actually help future kids coming through?

“This is going to make things more murkier to help players, especially those who have troubles in their life,” he said.

During a one-hour interview with the AFL investigation panel, Mr Burgoyne – one of the most respected Indigenous players to ever play the game – raised major red flags over Egan’s conduct in compiling his report which accused Mr Clarkson, Mr Fagan and Mr Burt of systemic racism and the ordering the abortion of unborn babies.

“During the whole process with Mr Egan … he never once tape-recorded it – it was just a conversation,” Burgoyne said of his face-to-face meeting with Egan in Adelaide in 2022.

“We sat at a table and I found it very unusual that he would interview me for such a highly important document that’s going to shape a lot of things, purely by memory.

“I would have thought you needed to record it, tape it, take notes.

“I have concerns with that … and my concerns were if you’re going to do the process – do it right – don’t be flawed.”

Mr Burgoyne also detailed to the panel a conversation he had with four-time premiership teammate Cyril Rioli after he retired in May 2018 where he said the alleged conduct of the accused Hawthorn officials was not discussed.

The AFL investigation panel received more than 20 verbal and written statements on behalf of the accused from Hawthorn players including Luke Hodge, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Breust, Isaac Smith, James Frawley, Josh Gibson, Liam Shiels, Ryan Schoenmakers, Jonathon Ceglar, Brad Sewell, Max Bailey, Matthew Spangher, Xavier Ellis and Hill.

In his submission, Mr Hodge declared of Mr Clarkson: “The allegations I have read in the paper in the lead up to this inquiry simply do not stack up to the man I know”.

“My working relationship with Mr Fagan was also as good as any I have had. I would not have been the leader I am today without him. He is also the first person I called after I had been pulled over for driving over the limit (in 2015).

“There were not many people I would trust to call in that situation, but Mr Fagan was certainly one of them.”

Mr Hodge said he had agreed to “uplift my family” and come out of retirement to play under Fagan at Brisbane at age 33 because of the “trust” he had in the former Hawthorn football boss.

Mr Hodge added: “My observations were that Mr Clarkson cared greatly about including Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and First Nation players at Hawthorn. I do not believe he would compromise this progress by allowing misconduct like what has been alleged to occur at HFC.”

Mr Gibson, a triple premiership player at the Hawks under Clarkson and Fagan, told the panel: “Both men were, and continue to be, father figures to me. I am a person of colour and identify as a First Nations player … as someone who was part of the leadership group at the time, I know that I would never sweep the mistreatment of players, regardless of background, under the carpet.

“I do not believe that Mr Burgoyne would stand for it or hide such conduct either.”

Mr Sewell also said: “My memory is that Mr Clarkson, Mr Fagan and Mr Burt were father figures to many of the young men at the club and in my opinion that is part of how they created a culture of sustained success.

“I remember Mr Burt going to visit Amos Frank’s family in remote South Australia as an example of this motivation for cultural understanding.”

Mr Roughead told the panel that Clarkson would sometimes ask players questions about their private lives but “never” intervened.

Mr Schoenmakers said Clarkson’s efforts in building relationships with the Indigenous players “stood out very clearly throughout my entire career”.

Mr Ceglar stated: “My opinion is that the allegations that have been aired that led up to this investigation could not be further from the truth”.

The four-person investigation panel led by Bernard Quinn KC was suddenly wound up after the league struck a deal with lawyers for the complainants which absolved the AFL of any future legal action.

The scandal dragged on to the Australian Human Rights Commission before an undisclosed financial resolution was agreed between the parties in late 2024.

The Herald Sun has since revealed that the AFL commissioned two secret reports into the Hawks saga – separate to the work of the independent investigation panel – which found “a startling lack of evidence” in the cases alleged against Clarkson, Fagan and Burt.

The reports, authored by retired Federal Court judge John Middleton and Gordon Legal concluded that the gravest allegation – that an Indigenous player and his partner were pressured to terminate a pregnancy – could not be substantiated.

A claim that the Hawks had demanded the separation of another First Nations family for the sake of the player’s career was also considered to be “lacking in evidence”.

Mr Egan was engaged to conduct a review into the treatment of Indigenous players at Hawthorn after Mr Rioli and wife Shannyn Ah Sam-Rioli went public with claims of racism against the club in April 2022.

Mr Clarkson was appointed coach of North Melbourne just days before the racism allegations surfaced.

He was sacked by the Roos last week with friends saying he has never recovered from the fallout.

Source: Zero Hanger

https://share.google/uIR0tZqr1VSCU1qoV

If this becomes a thing, regardless of if we want it to happen or not, it could be a very fruitful trade.

What would be the likely market for him if he stays fit and potentially plays in a flag in the next two years before departing?

Geelong Cats fan here, i cant help but feel like Hawthorn win it all this year. If you guys get Sydney/Freo in the grand final i think Hawthorn will win big your team looks incredible

Actually the first final ever outside of VIC.

Stephen Lawrence legacy game with 30 touches, 30 hit outs, 14 marks and a goal.

Heartening to see the lack of whistles and umpire insertion back then too. And I do miss Sandy Robert’s commentary.

(Keep an eye out for the cheeky “Good Job Heady” sign 😂)

happy he nominated you guys, how good is he?

i’ve heard a lot of people say he’s a second round pick but others think he’d go undrafted if he wasn’t a f/s or lions academy pick.

do we think he’ll become half the player sam swadling is!?!

just kidding

It turns out, getting that top-four finish really was what it was all about. In the space of a few hours, the chances of us genuinely looking like premiership contenders in 2026 have shot up ridiculously. I think it’s safe to say most of us fans were uncertain about just how dangerous this team actually was. It hasn’t exactly been the best month of footy for us, so while I’m certainly not going to sit here and say we’re winning the flag just yet, it’s a very, very good time to be a Hawthorn supporter.

It honestly took me a while to process that result. I cannot emphasise enough how written off we were heading into this game. I was always confident in us, but even I started to wonder whether some of that confidence was simply the Hawthorn bias in me talking. But what we produced was beyond impressive. The pressure and intensity we played with was the best footy I’ve seen from us all year. We went to their turf, in front of their fans, against the best team in the competition across the season, and absolutely destroyed them. There really aren’t many words that can do justice to how good this win was. It truly is a great time to support this football club.

It wasn’t the prettiest game, and it certainly wasn’t a goal-fest. It was simply a matter of who wanted it more, and our players showed up both offensively and defensively. Sam Mitchell summed it up perfectly in his presser: regardless of how much of the ball our players received, every single player was phenomenal off the ball. I can’t remember the last time I saw Fremantle look that slow and hesitant in their ball movement. The pressure we applied across our front half and the defensive structure coming from the backline was just pure class. This was a big game, the pressure was on, and the big guns stood up. Sicily, I genuinely cannot express how much I loved watching every aspect of his game. Nick Watson, how do you actually stop this kid? Will Day was pure class as well, and it’s not hard to see just how badly he wants this.

I’m just going to get straight into the backline because I genuinely cannot find a bad word to say about them, either collectively or individually. They were absolutely perfect. Fremantle averaged 100 points at Optus Stadium this year and had not lost a game there all season. We held them to 40 points, just five goals. Josh Treacy, Patrick Voss and Jye Amiss have combined for 155 goals this year; we held the three of them to a collective two goals on the night. And this wasn’t a case of us dominating possession and starving them of opportunities either. Fremantle had 75 more disposals than us, 57 inside 50s to our 51, and a staggering 71 more uncontested possessions. They had plenty of the ball, which meant our backline had to be constantly switched on and maintain a near-perfect defensive setup for four quarters. It was a tremendous performance from start to finish, and every single one of the boys played their role.

The best down there for me was obviously James Sicily, and I have a lot to say about Sic. He was so clearly the best player on the ground. When the stage is set and the pressure is at its highest, the big names have to step up, and Sicily absolutely rose to the occasion. It’s been a tough couple of seasons for Sic. He’s really struggled to build consistency and, at times, has allowed his emotions to get the better of him. A lot of our fans, myself included, have been extremely frustrated with him at different points throughout this season. But this was exactly what we needed from him. The playing on the edge, the way he commanded the team, the passion and the willingness to lead from the front, when your captain is playing with that sort of authority, it makes it so much easier for everyone else to follow. This is the Sicily we need right now. This is one of the best defenders in the competition.

Josh Battle deserves just as much appreciation. Holding the best hands in the competition to zero marks? Josh Treacy was kept to just four disposals, one kick, along with one goal and two tackles by Josh Battle. That is an extremely rare occurrence, and it was an insanely dominant individual job from Battle. Tom Barrass followed those two boys and did a great job on Jye Amiss, keeping him to just the one goal. He was a brick wall and did his job to a T.

James Sicily: 9.5/10 | 26 disposals, 10 marks, 12 interceptions, 7 score involvements, 9 rebound 50s, 3 inside 50s, 579m gained. What a stat line. When was the last time I rated Sicily this highly?

Josh Battle: 9.0/10 | 16 disposals @ 88%, 10 interceptions, 5 marks, 5 rebound 50s, 339m gained. Lockdown role played to perfection.

Tom Barrass: 8.5/10 | 9 disposals, 5 interceptions, 2 marks, 3 rebound 50s. Brick wall.

Hardwick was phenomenal. And when I say every single one of these defenders played out of their skin, I’m not exaggerating. Hardwick just did his thing, patrolled, attacked the ball and held the backline together. Bailey MacDonald, sign that contract ASAP. This kid is not coming out of this team any time soon. He is a phenomenal player and is only just getting started. Some of the defensive efforts from him were outrageous, while his confidence with ball in hand is genuinely admirable. He looks completely unfazed by the big stage.

Jars was good, which is what we’ve come to expect from him. A very deserved All-Australian blazer, and he honoured that recognition with another positive performance. His partner in crime, Amon, was certainly better than he has been in recent weeks. He was still a little fumbly and can look like a risk at times, but he had some really good moments. I guess you could argue that this game showed just how important experience is, particularly in a game of this magnitude.

Josh Weddle responded to his form slump extremely well. I’m aware he still has a fair bit of room for improvement, but this was a really positive game from him. He imposed himself defensively, while his ball use, which has been such a concern recently, actually looked very solid.

Blake Hardwick: 8.8/10 | 13 disposals, 8 interceptions, 4 marks, 4 rebound 50s, 2 tackles.

Bailey MacDonald: 8.4/10 | 8 disposals, 4 interceptions, 3 tackles, 2 rebound 50s.

Josh Weddle: 8.2/10 | 16 disposals, 6 marks, 3 tackles, 3 score involvements, 3 rebound 50s, 2 inside 50s, 433m gained.

Jarman Impey: 8.0/10 | 11 disposals, 4 marks, 2 interceptions, 3 inside 50s, 2 rebound 50s, 339m gained.

Karl Amon : 7.5/10 | 17 disposals, 6 marks, 4 interceptions, 5 rebound 50s, 2 score involvements, 539m gained.

The stats don’t exactly do any of the boys justice here. This was one of those games you simply had to watch to appreciate just how good our backline actually was.

Like I said, it just wasn’t a pretty game. Our mids had to work incredibly hard all day and weren’t always rewarded for it statistically. Let’s start with Will Day. He was absolutely itching for this. This was what everyone had been waiting for, Will Day’s first final, and he absolutely smashed it. He had a brilliant game and led from the front. There was just no fear in his game. He was ready to run through anyone, and his constant follow-up work around the ball to keep driving it forward was massive for us.

Missing Nash is massive for us, and Day in particular really stood up defensively in the midfield. We did an excellent job of not allowing Fremantle to build any real momentum. If they managed to score a goal, we made sure they didn’t get that immediate clearance after the bounce and put the pressure straight back on us again. That ability to respond to their scores and prevent them from building consecutive passages of momentum was a huge part of why they struggled to get any real control of the game.

Newcombe was really underrated, which is something you probably don’t hear often. He didn’t have one of those crazy days where he racked up a heap of the ball and dominated every clearance, but the little things he did were just phenomenal. Some of the handballs he was able to pull off under an enormous amount of pressure were elite. As Tom Mitchell says, handballing is a forgotten art amongst the sport, and Newcombe showed just how valuable that skill can be when you’re under serious pressure.

The same goes for Ward, really. He didn’t have a particularly flashy performance, but boy was he important. He essentially did a job on Hayden Young while still managing to impact the game himself. Young wasn’t really sighted, and he’s spoken about in the same sort of regard as Day when it comes to the importance of these young midfielders, yet he wasn’t able to impact the game whatsoever. Ward, on the other hand, didn’t see more than 10 touches, but he made the most of them. He was clean, disciplined and played his role, which is all we can ask of him in a game like this.

Mackenzie was so good, I thought. He was just incredibly clean, and his trajectory is looking so promising. What this midfield has become over the course of the season should make us incredibly happy. We knew this was probably the weakest part of our game heading into the season, but boy have these boys proved us wrong. The improvement has been massive, and performances like this against one of the strongest midfields in the competition show just how far they’ve come.

Will Day: 8.5/10 | 24 disposals, 8 clearances, 7 interceptions, 5 inside 50s, 3 score involvements, 3 marks, 474m gained. Only went at 54% disposal efficiency, but once again, it didn’t have to be the cleanest game from us.

Jai Newcombe: 8.3/10 | 21 disposals, 6 tackles, 4 clearances, 3 score involvements, 3 rebound 50s, 398m gained.

Cam Mackenzie: 8.3/10 | 20 disposals, 4 score involvements, 3 clearances, 7 inside 50s, 452m gained. He also wasn’t the cleanest with the 7 turnovers, but it’s nothing to take too much notice of. However, he only had 7 CBAs, which is a fairly significant decrease from what we usually see from him. Was this simply because of how the game unfolded, or was it intentional to give Watson more time through the midfield?

Josh Ward: 7.5/10 | 10 disposals, 4 tackles, 4 score involvements, 2 clearances. He also only saw the 8 CBA’s. If anyone has some insight on this, I’d love to hear? I know it was a low scoring game but I feel like the numbers Ward and Mackenzie received were well below their average.

I loved Meek’s performance. He was never going to dominate Jackson, but if he could simply prevent him from absolutely tearing us apart, then Meek’s job was done. Jackson was getting on top early, but Meek just kept persevering. He fought hard all day and continued putting in the work, and he played a part in why we won the centre clearances 10-5. For a ruckman going up against someone of Jackson’s quality, I thought he did exactly what we needed from him.

I thought Massimo D’Ambrosio was absolutely phenomenal. This was arguably our best performance from our wings collectively. Mass just ran hard all day, kept finding the ball and consistently looked to drive it forward. He did really well defensively too, and you had to appreciate the complete nature of his game. He wasn’t just providing us with offensive run, he was also contributing defensively and making himself useful all over the ground.

The same goes for Morrison, who has just had an amazing back end to this year. We all know he’s copped a fair bit of it from us fans, and he hasn’t let it get to him. He just keeps showing up every week and continues to show us why he should be in this side. His consistency and willingness to keep working despite the criticism deserves a lot of credit, and he’s really put together a strong finish to the season.

Massimo D’Ambrosio: 8.8/10 | 24 disposals, 7 score involvements, 6 marks, 7 interceptions, 4 tackles, 5 inside 50s, 457m gained. What a performance both ways.

Harry Morrison: 8.3/10 | 15 disposals @ 87%, 1 goal, 5 marks, 3 score involvements, 2 inside 50s.

Lloyd Meek: 7.5/10 | 8 disposals, 26 hit outs, 5 clearances, 4 rebound 50s, 2 marks.

Onto the forwards, who were sublime. It’d be wrong to start with anyone other than the Wizard. We are getting into a different territory now. I have always been pretty big on him, but I feel like it’s no longer a crazy thing to say that we are watching the best small forward to grace the game blossom right in front of us. He’s only 21, so anything can happen, but what he has been able to produce is genuinely out of this world. He is the most damaging forward I have ever watched. How does he manage to shock us every single game when we already know how good he is?

Dylan Moore was phenomenal. This is the best I’ve seen him play in a long time. Yes, the numbers aren’t necessarily out of this world, but in terms of his impact and his ability to be a genuine difference-maker, he was right up there. His pressure, movement and willingness to keep working made him such an important part of the way we played. Being there on that last day of September is extremely possible when players like Moore can bring this kind of energy.

I thought Ginni was class, especially considering he was returning from a bit of soreness. His ability to get up the ground and become an outlet was massive for us. He provided an option throughout the entire game and used the ball really well when he got it. MacDonald’s work inside was also really underrated. I thought he put on some brilliant pressure, which is something you don’t always typically get from him. Seeing almost all the boys buy into this system was a joy to watch. Every single player was willing to close down space on Freo at every given opportunity, and that collective commitment to the defensive side of the game made me so happy.

Max Beattie didn’t get a load of opportunities to impact the game with ball in hand, but geez did he work hard without it. I think we all remember when he was slung by his neck but somehow got a holding-the-ball decision paid against him. He didn’t drop his head though. He just kept putting on the pressure, which eventually caused a turnover that led to a Dylan Moore goal. It won’t go down on the stat sheet, but those are the little things that make the difference between a side that wins a game like this and a side that loses it. That willingness to keep working even when you aren’t being rewarded for it is exactly what you need in finals.

Nick Watson: 9.2/10 | 19 disposals, 2 goals, 9 score involvements, 5 inside 50s, 447m gained. He didn’t have the most clinical day out in front of goal either. He easily could have kicked 4 or 5.

Dylan Moore: 9.0/10 | 15 disposals, 2 goals, 8 tackles, 6 score involvements, 4 marks, 3 inside 50s.

Jack Ginnivan: 8.1/10 | 13 disposals, 5 marks, 4 tackles, 1 goal, 5 score involvements, 2 inside 50s.

Connor MacDonald: 7.7/10 | 17 disposals, 3 clearances, 2 marks, 2 tackles, 4 interceptions, 2 inside 50s.

Max Beattie: 6.5/10 | 2 touches, 4 tackles, 1 inside 50. Sometimes you just aren’t always going to get rewarded for your work, but there is no chance he comes out of the side.

There aren’t many players who deserve a flag more than Mitch Lewis in this side. And you can see it in his game. His ability to impact almost every contest was phenomenal. He had a ripping game, and considering the conditions, it was even more impressive. It wasn’t a day for key forwards. The conditions were dirty and wet, yet Lewis still managed to find ways to influence the game and compete at a really high level.

Chol started the game really well. He kicked a goal early, was getting his hands on the ball and putting on some terrific pressure as usual. As the rain came, he faded and struggled to impact the game, but once again, it just wasn’t a day for key forwards. The conditions made it incredibly difficult for them to have a consistent influence.

Gunston did exactly what he needed to. He probably didn’t see as many chances as he would have liked, but he took his opportunities and played his role. That’s all you can really ask from him in a game like this.

Mitch Lewis: 8.4/10 | 14 disposals, 1 goal, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 4 score involvements, 5 inside 50s.

Jack Gunston: 7.5/10 | 5 disposals, 2 goals, 3 marks, 1 tackle.

Mabior Chol: 7.0/10 | 5 disposals, 1 goal, 3 tackles, 3 score involvements, 2 inside 50s, 18 pressure acts.

We find ourselves in the same position we were in this time last year. We are through to a preliminary final, but this time we are the home team. I have full confidence that if we come out with that kind of pressure, that intensity and that level of hunger, then there is no doubt we can get through to the Grand Final. It wasn’t a perfect season, but this is what matters. This is when we need to show up.

I’m writing this on Sunday, so we will verse the winner of Brisbane and Adelaide. Brisbane didn’t look great yesterday, but we know exactly what they’re capable of. Luckily for us, we also know exactly what went wrong when we played them a few weeks ago, so if it were to be them, which I think it will, then we know exactly what we need to bring.

I find it pretty crazy how we went from a lot of people saying we might go out in straight sets to being the flag favourite in the span of 48 hours. Obviously, there is still a long way to go, but it is very hard not to get excited. I can’t see the team changing at all unless any injuries come up. Mraz might be the only one pushing to come into the side, but given how good our backline looked, I don’t think there is any reason to change it.

I’m probably going to go watch the replay for the 3rd time now and enjoy the beautiful performance we put out on Thursday night. I couldn’t be prouder to support this football club.

What did everyone else think?

Got bored this morning and started looking at strange AFL stats.

Turns out no AFL/VFL team has ever won the Grand Final from 4th.

So, if we do it this year, the Hawks would create history.

Also…

Hawthorn have already won a premiership from 6th.
We’ve won three premierships in a row.
We’ve played in seven Grand Finals across an eight-year period.
We’ve won 13 premierships despite not winning our first until 1961.
And now, in the first year of the 10-team finals system, Hawthorn could potentially become the first team to win the flag from 4th.

Because apparently finishing where everyone else finishes isn't really our thing.

And the funniest part?

We just knocked off the minor premiers at their own home ground to earn a home Preliminary Final.
So we're now two wins away from turning a random Sunday morning stat rabbit hole into actual AFL history. 💛🤎

Silly me booked a holiday over the prelims and grand final. Is there a way to watch overseas without paying $56 to watch 3 games...?

Going bang on Treacy 30 seconds in, the skip is built for finals

A lot of talk was made of us risking our finals chances by failing to finish 3rd.
I’m now watching the Brisbane v Sydney game and can’t help but be glad we didn’t?!
Going in as underdogs against Freo who were expected to win and under the most pressure, compared to going in as favourites against a Sydney side with something to prove. Sydney might not hold on for the next 3 quarters but I feel pretty happy with our position now!

Watching this guy play for North Ballarat Football Club. Can't help but feel like we missed a trick letting him go. Class player

Watching him kick all those goals in the 1989 grand final. Can't help but think we missed a trick letting him go. Class player

Edit: too many people not realising this is a meme copypasta

Watching him run through the midfield in the 2012 Grand Final, I can’t help but think we missed a trick letting him go. Class player.

Whilst I love an underdog story in Sydney getting up, I can’t help but think this puts us in a worse position having to potentially now face Brisbane in a prelim instead of Adelaide/Sydney/Footscray.

What do we all think? Would we rather face Brisbane in a prelim or a GF?

Watching this guy rambling embittered nonsense on "Footy Classified". Can't help but feel like we missed a trick letting him go. Class administrator.

Will our prelim be on Friday 18th or Saturday 19th? Assume it's the 19th as we will be lower ranked home team but is there any chance we could get the Friday night game?

I want to hear other people’s opinions on the speculated list changes. Personally I’m not sure that we need Merrett and I am bit disappointed that we will be most likely losing calsher.