AFL Insider tonight

[Scottee]

It is hard to say Adam Goodes is underated if you ask me... the obvious no 5 on that list is Alex Johnson. Every Swans supporter knows how superb he has been for us this season, but not many other supporters even know who he is, let alone how good he has been. The guy is a first year player but he has fitted in like he's a 10 year veteran. Give him another good pre-season for next season and I have the feeling he is going to develop into a very classy defender indeed - a perfect find with the loss of Craig Bolton. In many ways, he looks to me like he could be a new Mach II Craig Bolton - does his job perfectly, works hard for the team, a classy defender, but when at his best you barely notice him. Just like Nick Smith - who if he played for a Melbourne club would have teams drooling over his ability to take players out of the game. His job on Milne on Saturday night went a long way towards winning us that game.

Well said mcs.AJ has been outstanding and in my view is going to at least be a 10 year player and a major stumbling block for opposition teams. He has the athletic ability of LRT but knows the game because he has grown up with it whereas LRT had to pick the game up after rugby. Reads the game really well and obviously has the application to work on his weaknesses (eg his kicking) because that element of his game has improved considerably over the year.

[Swanner]

I am with B Scott. Goodes plays every game and rarely has a real shocker. I am constantly amused when people talk about Goodes he isn't rated even more highly. A couple of swannie friends who i go to the games with say yeah he is good but he goes missing too much. I seriuosly think he is as consistent as any of the out and out champ i have watched in the AFL over the last 20 years; ie Buckley/Voss/Carey etc. In fact i would rank Goodes above all three because i think he has equal influence on games but Goodes is more versatile.

[Triple B]

I think Scott was pointing out that as highly regarded as he is by the general footy public, he is regarded even higher by the opposition coaching fraternity for the things which aren't often apparent nor appreciated by Joe Public in the stands...

[Rod_]

With us in the finals again when are they going to rate us is my question.

We are now in a position to do some real hurt in the finals again and eventually they will take notice.. Missed a prelim final in 2010 by 5 point... That to me indicates we are up and about.. But again the Melbourne focused media has taken the heat off us.. well done!

Hopefully this is the case for years to come

Rod_

[aardvark]

No mention of Davo? Boo!

You Terrorist you !!!

[Jewels]

With the Ross Lyon aftermatch comments i believe he came out of it looking like a guy who had already been planning his game against the Hawks. He was almost shocked that they had lost.

That is exactly how I took his comments also. Very much a "It's our right or destiny" kind of thing.

[royboy42]

What the heck. The whole team is underrated!

Year after year we get the 'flying under the radar' nonsense from the Vic-centric press.

I haven't heard that at all this season!

Maybe , at last, they have decided we just may be a team worth taking seriously?

[mcs]

I am with B Scott. Goodes plays every game and rarely has a real shocker. I am constantly amused when people talk about Goodes he isn't rated even more highly. A couple of swannie friends who i go to the games with say yeah he is good but he goes missing too much. I seriuosly think he is as consistent as any of the out and out champ i have watched in the AFL over the last 20 years; ie Buckley/Voss/Carey etc. In fact i would rank Goodes above all three because i think he has equal influence on games but Goodes is more versatile.

Goodes is the sort of player that fulfills that old saying 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone'. Only when he retires will we as supporters truly realise how good he has been.

If he was not in our team this year, we would of missed the finals imo, and his presence in the team imo gives us an X-factor that means, despite what 99 per cent of us think, and probably 99.9999% of all other supporters think, means we could go all the way this year. If he was to pull out 3 games of his vintage Brownlow best, then it would not suprise me to see him and Jarred holding aloft a certain piece of Silverware. Of course, a lot of other things would have to go right for that to happen, but he is the one player in our team that can truly turn a game on its head in a few moments of brilliance, and the one man that can genuinely strike fear into any opposing player or coach by his ability to change a game with a few seconds of brilliance.

[stellation]

You Terrorist you !!!

Harry O'Brien hater!

[aardvark]

Harry O'Brien hater!

I had him in my dreamteam, little good that did me.

[supersall]

Don't forget the Melbourne media only really pay lip service to Goodes the Great, quite often forgetting he won his 2 Brownlows in different positions. Eg. MMM The Rub podcast has regular 'top 10s', and they always just slip him in the bottom half ignoring his versatility and value to his team/brothers etc.
He is a living legend of the AFL, has at least another 50 games in him, and he's ours.

p.s If you don't want to hear about Collingwood or Hawthorn for 90% of the podcast mentioned, don't subsrcibe!