9 minutes ago, Pates said:

And wow Ports first goal, blatant free to Frost. Total gift and of course it goes to that thug Dixon. 

Those decisions are a complete lottery, I've got no idea what the rule actually is.

Watching the replay, O. McDonald's inability to use his body in spoiling situations gifted Dixon their first shot in goal.

That free kick to Powell-Pepper was a disgrace.

Watts' start to the game was a dropped mark, a squib then three fumbles.

Not a huge Trengove fan but I do love his composure, very few players in our team have it.

Powell-Pepper the most blatant holding the bell, umpire calls play on.

ANB should be the prototype moving forward of once messy players who tighten their game up. Easily best 22 now.

Jetta is our General down back.

Has there ever been a small defender who competes in marking contests with big forwards better than Jetta?

Hogan's first goal should have been a free kick to Port, clear push in the front.

That kick by ANB to Garlett for his first goal was textbook.

Edited July 22, 20178 yr by Clint Bizkit

Yet another ridiculously creative handball by Oliver set up Garlett's first poster.

7 hours ago, The Reverend said:

It's hard to get one's head around it OD. MFCSS still lingers and I get very nervous when we're only 17 points ahead. I have to start believing we can beat anybody. It's just so foreign. But, the single malt helps calm the nerves. 

It's a great time to be a Dees supporter.

Go Dees!

Amen to that Reverend.

7 hours ago, Brownie said:

If we miss out on top 4 by percentage, the umps are part of the reason. You're right we were on our way to an 8 goal win.

Mmmm I hear your point - methinks the losses to North, Freo and Hawks are more damning.

34 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Hogan's first goal should have been a free kick to Port, clear push in the front.

Felt that to, very clear front on contact. 

Honestly the umpiring was abysmal. 

7 hours ago, faultydet said:

I couldn't for the life of me figure out why Oliver didn't have trainers surrounding him as he limped off.

Strange.

 

They were at Dean Kent's house fluffing his pillows. 

^ Jack Viney school of 'Harden the F up'

Umpiring was pretty average in general, on the most part I thought it was consistently bad for both sides

How the F did Hannan not get drafted earlier??

He can clearly play and has been a bright spot for us this season. I'm officially onboard.

Hogans 2nd goal made me laugh the way he casually pushed aside that Port player with one hand.

 

Edited July 22, 20178 yr by Petraccattack

15 hours ago, Pates said:

I only saw the second half, looking forward to seeing the first half. 

We outlasted them in the end which given the return trip after Darwin is a fantastic effort. 

Concerned about Maxxy, I don't know if it's just fitness or what but around the ground in (from what I saw) he was ineffective. Rucking at least seemed better though. 

Oliver looking sore after the siren isn't good either, hopefully it's just cramp or a corkey. 

Very important win. 

Max was great in the first half. Nearly back to his best till he got injured

14 hours ago, DemonOX said:

The umps were atrocious and cost us goals.

Bloody maggots. 

We won the free kick count, but I have to agree in the second and third quarters and it was the same umpire.   I think Mathew Nicholls must have a poster of Razor Ray in his locker.  There's a funny thread on Big Footy about him.  

8 hours ago, bandicoot said:

Ports success is largely due to its non existent injury list. 

They had a full side to pick from today. If they missed half the number of quality players we did this season then I wouldn't have them in the 8. 

Yeah. Braysh, Jones, AVB and Vince are the only players you could argue are in our best 22 that missed. I reckon had Wingard not gotten hurt they might have pushed us even closer too.

Let's not forget also we were at the G.

I don't buy that their success is down to an injury list. I've watched them play closely this year and they have been, at least in patches, absolutely superb. They've got the lot. 3-4 good mids now with Wingard in. An absolute superstar in Gray. Some good talls in Hoff, Dixon, Trengove... and a dominant Ruck. They're balanced, quick and skilled and have flair. I thought they'd find holes in us and expose them.

Then of course, they scored their first goal with a few minutes left in the first half. I could barely believe my App.

Geez, David King was heaping the praise on us in the first half.

Some of OMacs spoils into dangerous space were terrible. He's still a long way off despite significant improvement. Waite or Ben Brown might embarrass him next week if norf are on.

11 minutes ago, Dappa Dan said:

Yeah. Braysh, Jones, AVB and Vince are the only players you could argue are in our best 22 that missed. I reckon had Wingard not gotten hurt they might have pushed us even closer too.

Let's not forget also we were at the G.

I don't buy that their success is down to an injury list. I've watched them play closely this year and they have been, at least in patches, absolutely superb. They've got the lot. 3-4 good mids now with Wingard in. An absolute superstar in Gray. Some good talls in Hoff, Dixon, Trengove... and a dominant Ruck. They're balanced, quick and skilled and have flair. I thought they'd find holes in us and expose them.

Then of course, they scored their first goal with a few minutes left in the first half. I could barely believe my App.

Most of their wins have come against the bottom 5 teams.

Of the top 11 teams they have beaten just 2 (Sydney and West Coast), and the Sydney win was Round 1, when the Swans were useless and started 0-6.

By comparison Melbourne have beaten 6 of the top 11 teams (Adelaide, Port, Saints, Bulldogs, Essendon, West Coast.).

Port are nothing. Theyve gotten by with a totally empty injury list and a soft draw, which has enabled them to easily beat the bottom teams, who they've played a lot.

 

Edited July 22, 20178 yr by Petraccattack

Darwin we need the $$$$

Fade out in 2nd half was mostly due to fall in output from the five ins and Max rolling his ankle:

Disposals.   1st half.     2nd half.

Tyson.           21.            8

Viney.            14.            11

Salem             11             6

Watts               6              3

Trengrove        11             5

Umpires were just the typical inconsistent performance both ways. Only killer was the 50 for no reason in Q2 that gave PA a goal! This rule & deliberate OOB are about the worst the way they are interpreted! 

Port are lucky to have virtually no injuries and the softest draw, otherwise they would be lucky to be in the 8. Bombers also in contention due to soft draw!

Watts played a bad game, but I still recall him getting us over the line against the Pies, I should have said Filth!

Talking about filth, we play the Roos next week. Dirtiest mongrels in the competition. I'm hoping Goldstein doesn't play next week, because last time he had about 10 pure hit outs in the middle that created clean centre clearances leading to one outs and goals. Hopefully Big Max is okay and we [censored] the Roos. 

Other factor last time was the worst most one sided umpiring possible, like 22-10 to North.

Have seen players (ANB, Melksham, Oscar, Frost, Hannan) improving as season goes on, and we have quite a few guns.

Just a few more wins, get into the eight fully fit and we can have a crack! Reminds me of 87 but no super teams to beat.

 

 

1 minute ago, Petraccattack said:

Most of their wins have come against the bottom 5 teams.

Of the top 11 teams they have beaten just 2 (Sydney and West Coast), and the Sydney win was Round 1, when the Swans were useless and started 0-6.

By comparison Melbourne have beaten 6 of the top 11 teams (Adelaide, Port, Saints, Bulldogs, Essendon, West Coast.).

Port are nothing. Theyve gotten by with a totally empty injury list and a soft draw, which has enabled them to easily beat the bottom teams, who they've played a lot.

 

I hear this logic every week, for every team. Giants have injuries and are flakey and only playing on talent. Adelaide score heavily until Sloane is tagged. Port have no injuries and have won against lower teams so they're "nothing."

Conversely demons have beaten teams higher up on the ladder, so that means they're great, right? Conveniently avoiding the fact we lost games to Hawthorn, Freo and somehow, North... All of whom aren't strong sides.

We can use stats to make an argument any way we like. All I look at these days is purely one-sided football. I check out teams I think are awesome regardless of opposition. What they look like when they're confident and getting the rub of the green from the umpires. And how they play defensively. For example, the Dons when they're on are as good as anyone. When they're off they're undisciplined and inaccurate. Look at Port. When they're on, they have awesome attacking players and ooze class with Boak, Wingard, Gray and Dixon who I rate. When they're off they still defend and can play dour. Like I said, they have the balance across their starting 22. Injuries be damned. We're not comparing lists going forward, we're comparing the 22 that play and will play for the last few weeks of the season and finals. If we were comparing lists, demons would be in second place across the league, only behind the Giants.

Like I say. I rate Port, and since they have the percentage, I still pick them to end up 4th. Beat the Ginats in two weeks and I'll review.

I can see the logic of trenners down back. Steadying influence like Matty Boyd at the dogs or McVeigh at the swans