Especially since port had their best 22 out there bar Dixon and Carlisle who is average. We had out our skipper and reigning BnF. Not to mention Gus going down early and best 22 players like Lumumba, Dawes and Petracca out

Does anyone know why ANB wasn't playing?

1 hour ago, McQueen said:

Well I certainly hope Hunt is given another NAB game before the VFL season starts.

He clearly needs the exposure.

I hope we play him in all 3 NAB challenge games then back to the VFL to bide his time. The AFL exposure and experience will hopefully kick start his development and he can go back to Casey and play some good footy.

Oliver could be looked at for that tackle.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/nab-challenge-melbourne-hopeful-clayton-oliver-can-avoid-suspension-20160228-gn5o26.html

I wish the rules allowed the AFL to look at Hartlett's tackle. On seeing it again he jumps off the ground to make sure Brayshaw's knee has to take the full load of his weight on contact. No wonder it buckled. This type of tackle will always be potentially dangerous. 

38 minutes ago, DemonLad5 said:

Especially since port had their best 22 out there bar Dixon and Carlisle who is average. We had out our skipper and reigning BnF. Not to mention Gus going down early and best 22 players like Lumumba, Dawes and Petracca out

Wingard was missing too I think...

20 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Oliver could be looked at for that tackle.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/nab-challenge-melbourne-hopeful-clayton-oliver-can-avoid-suspension-20160228-gn5o26.html

That would be a joke if he was done.

1. The player had his arms free

2. He wasn't hurt.

It wasn't like the player had his arms held and was dumped into the turf.

Edited February 28, 20169 yr by jnrmac

6 hours ago, Bossdog said:

I really had to laugh out loud at Demonland.....In the first half there were calls that nothing had changed, we are so crap AGAIN, half the side should be sacked.   Our drafting was crap.

Players were harshly criticised for making a few mistakes in the first semi serious hit out of the year.

THEN.....In the second half we all of a sudden become a finals side.......Players, all 26 of them will be playing in the first game......Players became champions and we are finals bound.

Seriously      It was the first practise game in a very long year.......I loved the win and enjoyed the hardness of our team but I wonder if we can stop calling for players heads even if they make a few mistakes.    

Case 1      Ben Kennedy.......Hardly sighted in the first half.........Posters saying "Boy did we lose out in that trade"...........Played quite well in second half ......"Picked the right trade there"

I was going to list a few more examples but you get the drift.

How about we give all the players a chance to get into the playing side of things and give them all a go. before stating they will be duds o r champs.      

 

You're a real hate the player, not the game sorta guy hey. 

2 hours ago, rjay said:

Just a few thoughts on the game...

I think early on we got sucked into the ball too easily and lost our positioning, an old fault which allowed Port to spread and dictate the play.

This is how we have played footy over the last 10 years and it has been obvious from the early preseason games that we would be going nowhere. I was really concerned early in the game with how we approached it.

Whether it was Goodwin or not, as the game went on the players settled, got smart and started to position themselves and play like real AFL footballers in an AFL team and not a bunch of Auskick kids.

Let's hope this is the norm now.

We all get excited when we get a win like this and there is a lot of back slapping.

Let me give Oliver a backslap, I think we definitely pulled the right reign with this guy. Looked at home out there and just hunts the ball so well, then distributes well.

We do need a bit more class from defence and maybe with Oliver coming on Vanders showing he's very capable and a bit more mid depth we may look at something like running Bernie off HB or ever Trenner's when he get's up and running. We need smart's back there who can distribute.

I think Hunt probably needs a bit more time, he has attributes that we can use but yesterday looked off the pace and couldn't find his place. He's missed a lot of footy and I hope he gets another run in the NAB for his development. Not a round 1 selection on this performance.

Wagner looked lost early but settled and looked like he would be a good depth player at worse.

I like Jones, I still think he is a depth player but it was good to see him playing within his limitations. Also good that he was first at the ball and getting ridden in the back and not the other way around. He will always give it his best shot and that's what I like about him.

Watts is going to be a handful as a 3rd tall drifting around the forward line, I also enjoyed see him and also Jesse dropping back and mopping up in defence at times. We looked like a real football team prepared to back each other up.

To sum up, looks very promising on yesterdays performance. Let's see if we can put a few more games together then come into the real season with a head of steam..

I really hope we can get Weideman and/or Hullet up and running soon, despite Pedders doing some good things we still lack another good tall forward who is really dangerous and take some of the heat off Jesse.

Might be a few trips to Casey to check out Petracca early in the season, he will give us another real option up forward and spread the load a bit.

Iike your wrap rjay.

I've been thinking of a 3rd tall but don't haven't seen Watts in this role for 5 years or more,  as  he doesn't impose himself on physical contests.

 

I still see him as a taller mid or small/medium forward who happens to be 195cms, but a lightweight...  aka Warren Dean.  I see similarities in what could be Watts forward gamestyle, to this very capable & mobile former player.

Warren Dean played tall,  Watts plays smaller than he is.

2 hours ago, rjay said:

Just a few thoughts on the game...

I think early on we got sucked into the ball too easily and lost our positioning, an old fault which allowed Port to spread and dictate the play.

This is how we have played footy over the last 10 years and it has been obvious from the early preseason games that we would be going nowhere. I was really concerned early in the game with how we approached it.

Whether it was Goodwin or not, as the game went on the players settled, got smart and started to position themselves and play like real AFL footballers in an AFL team and not a bunch of Auskick kids.

Let's hope this is the norm now.

We all get excited when we get a win like this and there is a lot of back slapping.

Let me give Oliver a backslap, I think we definitely pulled the right reign with this guy. Looked at home out there and just hunts the ball so well, then distributes well.

We do need a bit more class from defence and maybe with Oliver coming on Vanders showing he's very capable and a bit more mid depth we may look at something like running Bernie off HB or ever Trenner's when he get's up and running. We need smart's back there who can distribute.

I think Hunt probably needs a bit more time, he has attributes that we can use but yesterday looked off the pace and couldn't find his place. He's missed a lot of footy and I hope he gets another run in the NAB for his development. Not a round 1 selection on this performance.

Wagner looked lost early but settled and looked like he would be a good depth player at worse.

I like Jones, I still think he is a depth player but it was good to see him playing within his limitations. Also good that he was first at the ball and getting ridden in the back and not the other way around. He will always give it his best shot and that's what I like about him.

Watts is going to be a handful as a 3rd tall drifting around the forward line, I also enjoyed see him and also Jesse dropping back and mopping up in defence at times. We looked like a real football team prepared to back each other up.

To sum up, looks very promising on yesterdays performance. Let's see if we can put a few more games together then come into the real season with a head of steam..

I really hope we can get Weideman and/or Hullet up and running soon, despite Pedders doing some good things we still lack another good tall forward who is really dangerous and take some of the heat off Jesse.

Might be a few trips to Casey to check out Petracca early in the season, he will give us another real option up forward and spread the load a bit.

Iike your wrap rjay.

I've been thinking of a 3rd tall but don't haven't seen Watts in this role for 5 years or more,  as  he doesn't impose himself on physical contests.

 

I still see him as a taller mid or small/medium forward who happens to be 195cms, but a lightweight...  aka Warren Dean.  I see similarities in what could be Watts forward gamestyle, to this very capable & mobile former player.

Warren Dean played tall,  Watts plays smaller than he is.

Really liked Watts' game yesterday 

Just now, chook fowler said:

Really liked Watts' game yesterday 

U liked it that much u said it twice chook!

Just now, DemonOX said:

U liked it that much u said it twice chook!

Yeah I don't know why that happened - but it was worth repeating.

I put 80 bucks on and collected 440, hopefully we stay at 5 bucks next week cos now I've got some spending money

 

 

6 minutes ago, chook fowler said:

Really liked Watts' game yesterday 

Typical Watts good game. Lots of positives - some really nice kicks to team mates. Some clever positioning. Underrated clean pick ups hitting the ball at speed. And a few decent marks as well. 

Mixed in with the usual negatives - the one late brain fade and a couple of other strange moments with the ball and at least a couple of marking attempts where he went up one handed and protected himself instead of winning the contest. 

I'm all for him being clever with tapping the ball to team mates etc but if it clearly doesn't come off then it's bad play to not back himself to stand under it. He's got to get the balance right and at this stage I'd say go up two handed and attacking the ball and once he's mastered that he can try fancier things.

 

 

Last year I was able to watch the replays free from afl.com.au. Now it appears you need to subscribe to watch live football and also the replay. Is this new this year or is there another way around this to watch the replays free on the net? I don't have foxtel.

12 minutes ago, djr said:

Last year I was able to watch the replays free from afl.com.au. Now it appears you need to subscribe to watch live football and also the replay. Is this new this year or is there another way around this to watch the replays free on the net? I don't have foxtel.

As far as i know it's still being offered djr but only for the season proper, not the NAB which is exclusive to Foxtel

27 minutes ago, djr said:

Last year I was able to watch the replays free from afl.com.au. Now it appears you need to subscribe to watch live football and also the replay. Is this new this year or is there another way around this to watch the replays free on the net? I don't have foxtel.

Sorry forget that last post djr. Completely false

Go to AFL website click on > Fixtures & Results > NAB Challenge > 2016 Season and it is on the right hand side. Only the last 3 quarters though and probably wont last long so you better get on it

 

After every pre season game I have watched in the past ten years I came away thinking "if we play like this in the real season we are going to get smashed". This is the first game I have thought afterward that if we play like that second half for a full game we could actually win a lot of games in the real season.

Unfortunately like many of us on here I'm to scared to get my hopes up but I have watched enough pre season games to get a little excited.......just a little. 

Edited February 28, 20169 yr by ILLDieADemon

9 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

Sorry forget that last post djr. Completely false

Go to AFL website click on > Fixtures & Results > NAB Challenge > 2016 Season and it is on the right hand side. Only the last 3 quarters though and probably wont last long so you better get on it

 

thanks, I missed that - and

http://www.afl.com.au/video/2016-02-28/nab-power-v-demons-q1

2 hours ago, rjay said:

Just a few thoughts on the game...

I think early on we got sucked into the ball too easily and lost our positioning, an old fault which allowed Port to spread and dictate the play.

This is how we have played footy over the last 10 years and it has been obvious from the early preseason games that we would be going nowhere. I was really concerned early in the game with how we approached it.

Whether it was Goodwin or not, as the game went on the players settled, got smart and started to position themselves and play like real AFL footballers in an AFL team and not a bunch of Auskick kids.

Let's hope this is the norm now.

We all get excited when we get a win like this and there is a lot of back slapping.

Let me give Oliver a backslap, I think we definitely pulled the right reign with this guy. Looked at home out there and just hunts the ball so well, then distributes well.

We do need a bit more class from defence and maybe with Oliver coming on Vanders showing he's very capable and a bit more mid depth we may look at something like running Bernie off HB or ever Trenner's when he get's up and running. We need smart's back there who can distribute.

I think Hunt probably needs a bit more time, he has attributes that we can use but yesterday looked off the pace and couldn't find his place. He's missed a lot of footy and I hope he gets another run in the NAB for his development. Not a round 1 selection on this performance.

Wagner looked lost early but settled and looked like he would be a good depth player at worse.

I like Jones, I still think he is a depth player but it was good to see him playing within his limitations. Also good that he was first at the ball and getting ridden in the back and not the other way around. He will always give it his best shot and that's what I like about him.

Watts is going to be a handful as a 3rd tall drifting around the forward line, I also enjoyed see him and also Jesse dropping back and mopping up in defence at times. We looked like a real football team prepared to back each other up.

To sum up, looks very promising on yesterdays performance. Let's see if we can put a few more games together then come into the real season with a head of steam..

I really hope we can get Weideman and/or Hullet up and running soon, despite Pedders doing some good things we still lack another good tall forward who is really dangerous and take some of the heat off Jesse.

Might be a few trips to Casey to check out Petracca early in the season, he will give us another real option up forward and spread the load a bit.

Iike your wrap rjay.

I've been thinking of a 3rd tall but don't haven't seen Watts in this role for 5 years or more,  as  he doesn't impose himself on physical contests.

 

I still see him as a taller mid or small/medium forward who happens to be 195cms, but a lightweight...  aka Warren Dean.  I see similarities in what could be Watts forward gamestyle, to this very capable & mobile former player.

Warren Dean played tall,  Watts plays smaller than he is.

5 hours ago, rjay said:

Just a few thoughts on the game...

I think early on we got sucked into the ball too easily and lost our positioning, an old fault which allowed Port to spread and dictate the play.

This is how we have played footy over the last 10 years and it has been obvious from the early preseason games that we would be going nowhere. I was really concerned early in the game with how we approached it.

Whether it was Goodwin or not, as the game went on the players settled, got smart and started to position themselves and play like real AFL footballers in an AFL team and not a bunch of Auskick kids.

Let's hope this is the norm now.

We all get excited when we get a win like this and there is a lot of back slapping.

Let me give Oliver a backslap, I think we definitely pulled the right reign with this guy. Looked at home out there and just hunts the ball so well, then distributes well.

We do need a bit more class from defence and maybe with Oliver coming on Vanders showing he's very capable and a bit more mid depth we may look at something like running Bernie off HB or ever Trenner's when he get's up and running. We need smart's back there who can distribute.

I think Hunt probably needs a bit more time, he has attributes that we can use but yesterday looked off the pace and couldn't find his place. He's missed a lot of footy and I hope he gets another run in the NAB for his development. Not a round 1 selection on this performance.

Wagner looked lost early but settled and looked like he would be a good depth player at worse.

I like Jones, I still think he is a depth player but it was good to see him playing within his limitations. Also good that he was first at the ball and getting ridden in the back and not the other way around. He will always give it his best shot and that's what I like about him.

Watts is going to be a handful as a 3rd tall drifting around the forward line, I also enjoyed see him and also Jesse dropping back and mopping up in defence at times. We looked like a real football team prepared to back each other up.

To sum up, looks very promising on yesterdays performance. Let's see if we can put a few more games together then come into the real season with a head of steam..

I really hope we can get Weideman and/or Hullet up and running soon, despite Pedders doing some good things we still lack another good tall forward who is really dangerous and take some of the heat off Jesse.

Might be a few trips to Casey to check out Petracca early in the season, he will give us another real option up forward and spread the load a bit.

Iike your wrap rjay.

I've been thinking of a 3rd tall but don't see Watts in this role for 5 years or more,  as he doesn't impose himself on physical contests.

 

I still see him as a taller mid or small/medium forward who happens to be 195cms, but a lightweight...  aka Warren Dean.  I see similarities in what could be Watts forward gamestyle,  to this very capable & mobile former player.

Warren Dean played tall,  Watts plays smaller than he is.

Edited February 28, 20169 yr by dee-luded

3 hours ago, chook fowler said:

Does anyone know why ANB wasn't playing?

Not good enough?

8 hours ago, ProDee said:

Moved ball far quicker

Spread far better

Better setups at stoppages 

Still poor kicks to leading forwards inside f50 - Viney, Hunt, Oscar,  Garlett, etc.

 

Agree. Also thought our disposal by hand and foot (but particularly by hand) was ordinary. Lots of room for improvement which is exciting.

 

4 hours ago, Ron Burgundy said:

That was a bloody good win. 

Port wanted to win that game. They are good team with a seriously good midfield. On home turf. Brayshaw down within the first 10 secs. Jones out. Vince out. On the back foot for the first half.

We then adjusted a few things and flogged them.

With some luck on the injury front, we're playing finals this year.

I. Am. Pumped.

 

Won't play finals this year, IMO, but I hope you're right, Ron.

2 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

Sorry forget that last post djr. Completely false

Go to AFL website click on > Fixtures & Results > NAB Challenge > 2016 Season and it is on the right hand side. Only the last 3 quarters though and probably wont last long so you better get on it

 

Thanks Rusty