I know many of us think we have dropped the ball on the season and it's going to be tough road ahead but in my opinion we are entering a very important little stretch that will help shape the club going forward. While I would have loved a couple of more wins I'm far from disappointed.
Careers are in the balance though and decisions will be made on who to invest time in and who will just be treading water until the end of the season


The positives
Aaron Norton - The move forward has been a brilliant one by Bevo. He has played some excellent games and we now have a genuine match winning forward signed for a long period. His marking has been a real highlight.
Caleb Daniel - I'll be honest here but I never expected him to be the force that he has been as a small (well smallest) defender. It's been another brilliant move and he so often provides great decision making and he just distributes the ball so well. I had my doubts that other coaches would have worked him out by now and exploited his lack of height but week after week he is making a difference for us
Bailey Smith - he has vastly exceeded my expectations especially given his limited preseason. He's got the pace that we need, he's physical in a contest and his skill level has looked very good. I thought he'd need to be rested and managed throughout the season but he's handled the transition from the TAC better than most of us expected. It's hard not to get excited about his future
Josh Dunkley - A return to the midfield has returned a midfield beast to us. Dunkley has some faults but he's been a strong performer and someone I hope continues to improve

Special mentions to:
Lloyd, Trengove and Crozier as recent additions via trades, Bontempelli who is one of the games genuine stars, and Hunter who despite some critics has had a good season so far

Time to Lift
Macrae - He's currently not the force he's previously been and perhaps it's a slight change in his role but he isn't at his best
Liberatore - Started off well but has faded a bit in recent weeks, we just need a bit more from him
Richards - He was sensational for us last year but he just has come close to that form. Perhaps he's another one who has had difficulties adjusting to a new role
McLean - Another player who is well down on the form he displayed last year
Wood - The captain has been almost immune from criticism and expectation for his career just now needs to adapt and lift for us.

Question marks
We know Boyd and Picken are gone but there are a number of players with questions marks against there names for 2020
Morris - The warrior who we need to finish the season off strongly. Could he get another 1 year deal?
Dickson - The sharpshooter who is struggling a bit with injuries and form
Roberts, Webb, Dale, Lynch R.Smith and Jong who have all been given chances to establish themselves but haven't quite yet. The next few weeks loom large fore them
Porter has yet to be tried but needs to get a wriggle on
Of course there are some others but attitude and effort will play a big part of who stays and goes at the end of the season

The 'balance' of the list
It's been hotly debated here and most were very comfortable with the balance of our list at the end of the trade period last year but as we enter the middle of the 2019 season I think some might have altered their view on if we have enough key position players and ruck man. Even Bevo concedes this.
On top of that we have an over supply of mid sized defenders
It's critical going forward that we strike a better balance and maybe Power and Austin start this correction with the mid season draft on Monday

Summary
I think there are a few too many supporters reluctantly considering putting their cue in the rack for the balance of the season but in my opinion there are a number of things that will play out in the next few months. It should at least be interesting.
Many on the playing list need to impress, many need to show improvement simply from a pride perspective and then there is a good chance we can turn a game on it's head like we nearly did yesterday.

Stick with us folks, there is still plenty of machinations to play out in 2019