big Sauce is out for another month ...

that's the perfect amount of time for Reilly O'Brien to prove he belongs in the AFL. Backing him in.

Hodgey thinks it is a good idea to combine a well-paid media contract with a football one and provide commentary during an actual game of football ...

he might want to re-think it. Talking dribble within-match adds absolutely nothing to the broadcast, nor his now back-to-reality and consecutive-week thrashed team. Focus on your footy club, the media deals can be pursued when you're retired.

this was cricket and the opposition needed a six to win off the last ball and you weren't standing on the ropes ...

you should have been. Just as Mitch McGovern should have been standing on the goal line when Bowes kicked the scrubby match winner for the Suns last week. 

we're particularly fond of a certain type of AFL footballer ...

it is one who has toiled for years in the lesser leagues before being given a go. Loving Brody Mihocek's story. A 26-year-old, still officially a rookie on the Pies' books. Kicked 29 goals from his debut-season 16 matches last year, a magnificent four in his 21st game on Thursday night.

Rance-Astbury (or Rance-Grimes, take your pick) at the Tigers and McGovern-Barrass at West Coast have been considered the competition benchmark for key defensive pairings ...

don't discount the effect of Hooker-Hurley at the Bombers, now that Hooker will be given the chance to again settle down back.

your team kicks seven goals in an entire game of football ...

yeah, we get it, Ross, why you're musing about playing a guy capable of snagging 60 goals in a season in a defensive role this week. Makes perfect sense to play Jesse Hogan down back ... 

he's been the best player in the comp for a long part of his career ...

he's also been among the most media savvy. Which is why we'd still like to hear from Gary Ablett as to why he liked Israel Folau's social media post giving a "warning" to "homosexuals" that "hell awaits you". 

you're the closest team to being unbeaten after the first four rounds (3-1 scoreline, and the only loss being by a point in round one) ...

you may as well keep surprising and defeat the only team, the Crows, that you have been unable to better since joining the AFL in 2011. 

there's anything positive to take out of Callan Ward's injury ...

well, no there's not. But his unavailability will provide unexpected early selection opportunity for young guns Jackson Hately, Jye Caldwell and Aiden Bonar. 

others are talking the Hawks down ...

we're going the other way. Reckon bad umpiring didn't help in the two games they've lost (Bulldogs and Saints). Mounting injuries now a looming problem, though. 

we were dubious about Preuss' recruitment ...

we were less so after his first hitout last round. Has the ability to make life a whole lot easier for Gawn.

it took them four weeks to show something resembling their solid 2018 form ... 

better late than never for the Roos. A big chance against the Bombers if they maintain the commitment they showed last weekend against the Crows. 

Todd Marshall has taken time to develop ...

that is very understandable given what he's personally endured recently. Back in the team for the Good Friday game against the reigning premier, reckon he will like this big stage.    

it's been a battle for Dusty this season ...

an isolated prime-time game on Saturday night against the struggling Swans looms as his return to box office drawcard status. 

you want to see how to waste at least $400,000 - and quite possibly a whole lot more than that to come ...

we present the no-due-diligence recruitment of Hannebery. On $800K a year, and now admitting at least the first half of 2019 is a write-off. Still seeking proper admission for why he was suddenly removed from the leadership group, too. 

we understood the reasons why Tom McCartin was being used in the backline ...

we're now calling time on that project. Needs to go back to the forward line, before this season becomes a disaster.  

Kennedy and Darling are both in the team ...

the Eagles win. Just as they have on the past 16 occasions, anyway. Can't see why it won't be 17 in the second of the two Good Friday matches, against Port.

we were Sam Power, the list manager at the Dogs ... 

we're begging for an eight-year Marcus Bontempelli contract extension, at whatever price he wants. The two-year deal he signed in the off-season will come around very quickly. 

you keep providing warnings for breaches of the 6-6-6 requirements after a goal ...

there will continue to be deliberate breaches. Get. Rid. Of. The. Warnings.