The only acceptable second team that you can go for is the one playing against Essendon. 

6 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

The only acceptable second team that you can go for is the one playing against Essendon. 

Fair call. A GW$ Essendrug Final is not something i would watch under any circumstance...

7 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Boy some of you guys must have spent a rather disinterested time for the last 50 years if you had no interest beyond the MFC.

Following MFC has taught me you have to have an interest in a second club. Mine changes from year to year.

I can even admit to following Collingwood in the late 70's when they had Hafey as coach and Ronny Weideman etc were playing electric football. Also loved West Coast when they were at their top. Who could fail to get excited by the run and carry of that midfield of Cousins, etc (albeit what we now know they were juiced on).

My second team these days is GWS ..simply because they are an experiment in building the perfect football team.

As an AFL member it's no extra cost to watch these other games if they interest me. GWS v Carlton last year was a fascinating tactical battle played at a one third full Docklands. Easy seating and change your seats to follow the forward or back play as the mood takes you.

That does not decrease my passion for the Dees but it does help pass what would otherwise be some rather disinterested seasons over the years. Hopefully the MFC delivers this year.

I don't have a second team, I just enjoy watching footy and if the Dees aren't playing I look for a good contest unless it's Meth Coast then I want them belted. 

I have the teams my boys play for, my local Ammos I follow and my WAFL side

12 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

This is exactly the problem with Collingwood as a club. Their recruiting, their dull & stagnant game plan, the kerfuffle over the Malthouse/Buckley "succession plan", all obscures the big picture, which is ...

They have succumbed to the cult of personality.

Eddie is Collingwood, and Collingwood is Eddie.

For the average C'wood fan, the two cannot be separated. Any light discussion of life at C'wood without Eddie leads to angry defences such as "18 years ago he saved the club!", "17 years ago he built the Lexus/Westpac/Holden centre with his bare hands" "the rest of the world conspires to bring him down", and things similar to what you'd hear in N Korea, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, etc.

His more recent track record is none too good, but to attack Eddie is to attack C'wood itself. It's an attack on society ... it's unpatriotic!

The CEO of C'wood is more like a personal assistant to Eddie. Because he doesn't get to call any shots. The Dear Leader does that. Even down to recruiting. Or recall the Gubby Allen mini-scandal of a year or two back. What other president would get involved at that level?

No one dares challenge, as the might of the state C'wood publicity machine naturally and automatically puts its backing behind the incumbent. All threats are squashed before they can gain momentum.

All this keeps Eddie on the throne permanently. It's also a trap for the actual football-playing part of the club, as Nathan can't be removed while he has the protection of the prince.

It's a beautiful thing . Long may it continue. Long live king Eddie!

Millionaire Hot Seat

New compere required

Next 2 contestants the President and Coach

The Footy Show

New compere required

Next 3 contestants Fev Swanny and the bloke married to the shiela in the red dress ! 

Discount the Swans at your peril.

13 hours ago, DemonAndrew said:

Sydney won’t be starting the season as slow as 2017

Death, taxes and Sydney in the top four.

14 hours ago, A F said:

You reckon? GWS scare me because they've been handed access to such depth and admittedly recruited well.

But their coach shouldn't fill their 16 supporters with much confidence. I don't see an identifiable brand that they play. Their midfield should be dominating clearances, but it's their half backs that have traditionally carved teams up.

Their forward set up is still the big problem. They don't bring enough frontal pressure and are mostly downhill skiers. Very athletic downhill skiers. Having said all that, they will probably win the flag this year. And should.

However, coaches like Beveridge are innovators and I think it's unfair to say the Bulldogs didn't have a clear plan today. I liked what I saw of them against a run of the mill Hawthorn. I don't think they've got enough stars to make finals, but I would have said the same of Richmond last year. So who knows? Their rotating forward set up against Hawthorn was relatively unique and it'll be interesting to see what else Luke and his coaching team bring to the season proper. They certainly looked to play on at all costs. Their brand was more Bulldogs of 2016, but with tweaks to their forward set up. Whereas, GWS, their brand has never been evident to me.

Nice observations that I hadn't made. Thank you.

Form through both games of preseason will be a good indicator as to where teams are at going into the season. 

Most teams will be fielding most of their fit players especially for the last game.

results last year were a good indication of where teams eventually finished. 

I’d like to see the dees take saints to task and come into the season with convincing  2 wins. 

GwS vs Collingwood is too hard on my vocal cords because I just end up booing everyone including the umpires!

Edited March 4, 20187 yr by grazman

Commentators already exploding in their pants over GC. Geelong are playing almost a reserves team. 

Edited March 4, 20187 yr by Ethan Tremblay

Our mate Derwayne has reached a new low today - Stuart Dew has been at 3 great “franchises”

That’s twice now Healy has said that Lonergan will miss the first couple of weeks of the season. 

Edited March 4, 20187 yr by Ethan Tremblay

Interesting half time scores between Cats and Suns with Suns 22 points up.

Hard to gauge this match as it's in Townsville and I suspect the Cats are far from best 22.

 

PS make that 40 points to the advantage of the Suns after 5 mins of the third quarter !

Edited March 4, 20187 yr by Diamond_Jim

What’s the point of a pre-season competition if you’re not going to play your best available? 

20 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

What’s the point of a pre-season competition if you’re not going to play your best available? 

Cats players are injured... they will be hobbling into round 1

Just to keep everyone updated as they hardly have mentioned it on the telecast, no they are not fixating on it at all, nup keeping it very quiet but Ablett/Danger/Selwood are all not playing.

Watching the Cats play the thing we can take from this is that the Cats midfield don’t bat deep. They have been very, very average today

I'm not reading anything in to today's game at all - the Cats are resting some of their best players today and, outside of a few veterans, have a pretty inexperienced side up there.

Their second JLT game will be more of an indication of how they're really shaping up for Round 1.

10 minutes ago, bandicoot said:

Cats players are injured... they will be hobbling into round 1

Who are they missing the big 3 are about all that is missing, they have no depth what so ever, abbletts body is failing like most 33 year olds, Dangerfield has been playing well over his best for the last 2 years, how long can he play above his normal lever, every great champion has a 2 to 3 years of a purple patch, will it be 2 or 3 years for him. I think selwood's ankle foot problem that he has always had just might be catching up with him, they have so many ? Marks over them, all it takes is for Gary's body to keep on failing him and Joel to go down or danger to go down and you will see how fast they fall.

39 minutes ago, don't make me angry said:

Who are they missing the big 3 are about all that is missing, they have no depth what so ever, abbletts body is failing like most 33 year olds, Dangerfield has been playing well over his best for the last 2 years, how long can he play above his normal lever, every great champion has a 2 to 3 years of a purple patch, will it be 2 or 3 years for him. I think selwood's ankle foot problem that he has always had just might be catching up with him, they have so many ? Marks over them, all it takes is for Gary's body to keep on failing him and Joel to go down or danger to go down and you will see how fast they fall.

no harry taylor or henderson

Edited March 4, 20187 yr by daisycutter

34 minutes ago, don't make me angry said:

Who are they missing the big 3 are about all that is missing, they have no depth what so ever, abbletts body is failing like most 33 year olds, Dangerfield has been playing well over his best for the last 2 years, how long can he play above his normal lever, every great champion has a 2 to 3 years of a purple patch, will it be 2 or 3 years for him. I think selwood's ankle foot problem that he has always had just might be catching up with him, they have so many ? Marks over them, all it takes is for Gary's body to keep on failing him and Joel to go down or danger to go down and you will see how fast they fall.

Hhhmmmm for mine if his best level, is over 2 seasons and is above his “normal level”, for mine that’s his peak level. A purple patch is 3-4 weeks, 40 odd weeks is a pattern. I think he is a soft on diver but he is a super star. 

On 03/03/2018 at 8:18 PM, Diamond_Jim said:

Great post

To me GWS play in the classic mode (call it old fashioned). Like Adelaide they are susceptible to a team that harasses them and forces them to the boundary line. Carlton showed that they can be closed down at Docklands last year if you want a great example of game plan beating talent.

GWS need a small forward. Stevie J when he was on song added enormously to that team. They have two monster forwards in Cameron and Patton. Greene could probably play the role but he would be wasted up forward.

The MFC game plan worries me simply because we press too hard which has the dual affect of crowding our own forward line and making us easy to score against on the rebound. If we have a winner in Lever that could make the game plan a lot better.

I'd argue Stevie J was one of their weaknesses. He didn't chase. Prime example of a down hill skier. I'd also argue Toby Greene's most effective position is forward. He's an A grader there, but struggles with his decision-making in the midfield IMO. Still, one of the major knocks on him up forward is his tackling pressure.

I think your last point is spot on though. Lever's intercept game will add enormously to our defensive set up. We'll still get caught out occasionally, but his ability to read the game will enable our press to become devastating and should allow us to cripple the opposition far more often for longer.

Think that game against Richmond last year, where they basically couldn't get out of their half. But Lever's inclusion will provide an opportunity to sustain this for longer.

23 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Exactly. 

GW$ helped turn our nightmare into the darkest days of the clubs history.

I want to see the whole thing fail in my lifetime. It is pure greed

i support the MFC not the AFL

We didn't need any help with that.

I found Dwayne's one-eyed Geelong commentary embarrassing as always.

He tried to make the argument that both sides got something out of the performance. He said Geelong got to see their young players unveiled, what he didn't mention was how pathetic their list is. Their main outs were their three superstars. But across the board, their skills were terrible. In 2 years time they're going to be in big trouble. Fantastic.

No forwardline, turnover merchants down back and a severe lack of midfield depth. Two A+ graders have papered over some incredibly weak foundations and some recent retirements will expose them properly for the first time in years.

If Dangerfield cops any sustained injury, they'll finish well outside the 8 (as they did the year prior to his recruitment).

2 hours ago, daisycutter said:

no harry taylor or henderson

No Enright, no Mackie, no Lonergan now along with no Henderson for the first part of the season....

Their defensive stocks have taken a smashing over the last couple of years with retirements and injuries add to the problem.

Harry T will be a lone hand early in the season and he's rapidly approaching retirement.

I think what it does show is that Geelongs ball movement is poor.

Out side the big threes ball winning ability , they lack speed and depth.

If we can limit their clearances in round one we will go a long way to winning this.