MATTHEW RICHARDSON’S TOP 10: Naughton must stay forward, Eagles should sign Harley for a decade & Saints’ woes

1. Big love to all of our retired servicemen and women.

Having done the Kokoda Track a few years ago with a group of great people it really opened my eyes to what these young men and women did and continue to do to protect our country. If anyone gets the opportunity I cannot recommend it enough. A great Australian history lesson. Lest we forget.

2. At half-time on Saturday night the GWS Giants had the game on their terms against the Blues.

Curnow and McKay were goalless. Yet 30 minutes later the game was blown apart by the best key forward combination in the comp. Five unanswered goals swung the game back the Blues way. You can throw in a goal from the improving Tom De Koning as well. The Blues are going deep into September because of these triple threats. Key forwards are hard to find … get excited Blues fans.

3. Lots of soft tissue injuries around the competition at the moment.

They can really derail a team’s momentum. So, it had me thinking who is the most important employee in your footy department? Senior coach, head of footy, list manager, recruiting manager? I think it’s the head of conditioning. If your best players are injured and not on the field it doesn’t matter how good everyone else is.

4. There’s been plenty of footy heads saying for a while now that Aaron Naughton needs to go down back.

Specifically centre half back. Big NO from me. There are not many key forwards in the game capable of kicking more than six goals. Naughton is one and he proved that on Thursday night against the Saints. He must play forward inside 50.

5. Continuing with the Saints; they are suffering the same old woes.

They simply can’t score. We now have enough of a snapshot to see it’s a big problem moving forward. In six games, they have only scored more than 80 points once (against the Pies in round two). In the other five games they have been trapped in the 60s with scores of 68,67,67,79 and 64.

6. There is a saying in footy that ‘it’s never as good as it seems or as bad as it seems’.

Eagles fans might say it has been as bad as it seems. I get that. The bad is over though now. Really solid month with two big wins. The derby win was a beauty. Veterans in form and some really exciting kids coming of age. Sign Harley Reid to a 10-year deal ASAP.

7. Something completely random, but it does my head in.

Why is it that when you’re parking in a big car park if you go into the second hour by three minutes you have to pay the full hour? Absolute rort.

8. Quickly. Can someone explain to me why we have a warning for the 6-6-6 rule.

We all know the rule. If you offend you should get penalised like any other rule in the game.

9. Should Adelaide have got a free kick for holding the ball against Sam Draper in the final seconds of the game against Essendon?

100 per cent they should have. If it was the 10-minute mark of the first quarter it would have been paid.

10. On the home front my third child Ella has decided it’s time to get out of the cot every night between 1-2am and come into Mum and Dad’s bed.

After experiencing this with my other two girls I’ve got no fight left in me. She can stay there. I’m cooked. I’m realistic that the next 12 months will extend my lack of sleep into a seven year period.