13 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Do you know a Nought Supporter?

A couple. But texts were from tiger and bomber supporting ‘mates’

they were hoping for an upset

I think it will be a mistake to play Petty Weid has to get back into that side and the sooner he and Brown gel the better. Petty will get his chance at some stage but not now. McDonald showed he can play back. Jones to stay as a sub, played most of the game so should be fine to get another game as the sub. I think we can really get Sydney with the depth of our midfield thats why I want Sparrow and Harmes both in the side they have a weakness through midfield depth and they are running out of tall backs that's where the Weid comes in.

13 minutes ago, picket fence said:

I thought Chunky Jones was excellent nearly all game. Composed and did some damaging things! Definately plays next week. 

He is the equal of any likely replacement pushing up from the McGoos at present in terms of his mop up and link man role.  I understand him being managed occasionally for a freshen up but that's about it.

Yes he is fringe 22 but still just inside 22.

But here's the rub vs alternatives...he is also very much the spirit, the essence of this club/team.  Was it any coincidence there was no zip / intensity at the start of the first half without Mr Jones?

Tow ball is as important a link as anyone and his inclusion ensures the caravan stays coupled to the 4WD and completes the journey.

Keep him in as much as possible.

Dr is a clown but he does have some merit with Brown. He was very ordinary I thought when he went off we played better was only a goal up when he went off we ended up winning by 5. He needs time but he better start clunking marks or he is useless to the side.

5 hours ago, P-man said:

Shout out to Dr D for telling me I was “the problem” for predicting at halftime that we would still win given North have a history of dropping away in the second half. Which is exactly what happened. Keep up the stellar work Doc.

To be fair to the good Doc, it must be really tough being the only intellectual on a forum full of footy fans.

16 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

He certainly popped a few up today and whilst they were worrying they did land safely! He can flatten them out too - mostly on going for goal. He's certainly not a great kick but he does have upside there. He got on the burst a few times, didn't exactly break it open but there were times - used and unused - where he was running. He certainly has acceleration that Gus doesn't. But yeah, his kicking was better than anything else he did only because it was ok not bad.

Otherwise I totally agree that he was poor and isn't high on my list, I was shocked he was picked. But short on Rosman going from fringe VFL player to AFL player in the next 10 weeks there's really no one else who can bring pace on the wing.

Maybe that's ok. We've got Langdon. We've got Hunt at half back. We just live with some combination of Gus and maybe mix in some Harmes, Sparrow, JJ etc. 

Marlion Pickett and Liam Baker both created big openings against us. I can see why the coaches were thinking let's use this chance to have a look at Baker now, then we can try it again later on. 

Yeah fair point ?

Man that was an emotional game. I’ll admit I lost it early in the 3rd. The kids were hiding. 

Thank [censored] we played that horribly against north coz we would have lost against most team with that first half. 

hopefully there are some serious conversations going on. We need to turn up 100% intensity 100% of the time. That first half easy good enough

having said all that I’m pumped we are 7-0!!

4 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

And Huddo is the same.

I’m getting the sense that perhaps you’re not a fan of Huddo?  I’m definitely a fan... I haven’t seen today’s game yet, but I love the fact that Huddo commentates as a genuine fan of the game and with unbridled enthusiasm; he doesn’t pretend to be some sort of an authority like D-wayne and other hacks... he just loves what he’s doing and he does it, for the most part, very well.

30 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Do you know a Nought Supporter?

Our gardener was a North supporter. We had to get rid of him. 

He was an alcoholic. 

Unfortunately I reckon there’s 16 teams that saw we didnt belt the bottom team off the park (far from it) and will believe we’re gettable. I can’t see too many easy games in the near future on this basis.

At least we are a strong finishing team. Our 4th quarters have been terrific.

6 hours ago, Better days ahead said:

Shocking first half performance. As undeserved a win as you are ever likely to see

The story is Thommo’s injury. Cruel luck for the lad. Has big implications for our defensive unit for the rest of the season.

Let's hope it's not as bad as it appears.

6 hours ago, wizardinoz said:

Hope Frisch doesn't get suspended.

He will.

Appalling first half characterised by the Melbourne of old - lack of workrate and low percentage attempts to move the ball.

Happily, we only needed two quarters to outscore them by 8 goals. Undoubtedly, it is a good sign to win games when we're nowhere near our best and today we were nowhere near our best. 

Tomlinson going down is a disaster for us. I was surprised to see TMac get sent down there and I'm not sure I like it. He's not really a defender anymore and I don't know if May and Lever can trust him like they trust Tomlinson. However, it does allow us to being Weideman back.

Melksham's getting a lot of focus again. I personally thought he was poor, again. I know his pressure acts were high and I'm sure that is what the FD are looking at, and will likely mean he's playing his role the way they want. I'll accept that if true, but watching him I can't stand his half-hearted tackle attempts and his inability to get out of tackles.

Baker was terrible though. I have no idea why we played him. If we knew Viney was a risk of not playing, it's unfathomable to me that we didn't play Sparrow. Sparrow's done nothing wrong iMO with the chances he's had and is a perfect replacement for Viney, as far as like-for-like goes.

I actually liked Brown's game. He clearly wasn't at his best but he gave us so many options all day, he just wasn't sticking those marks. But he did enough to kick two and was a centimetre away from three (if the goal umpire had called it a goal I reckon on a score review it would have stayed a goal). I'm confident that as he keeps playing he gels more with the mids, finds his feet and his hands, and settles in.

All of that aside, we're now 7-0, we're a game clear on top, we're two games and 29% clear of 3rd and we're three games and 31% clear of 5th. No matter how disappointed you are with elements of our game today, banking these wins when we're not at our best is huge for us. We're going to drop games, with Viney and Tomlinson out and Fritsch possibly suspended I expect us to drop one of the Sydney-Carlton-Adelaide games, so getting these wins is critical.

33 minutes ago, WERRIDEE said:

Dr is a clown but he does have some merit with Brown. He was very ordinary I thought when he went off we played better was only a goal up when he went off we ended up winning by 5. He needs time but he better start clunking marks or he is useless to the side.

Our issues in the first half and the turn round were not a result of Ben Brown playing or not playing, it was the result of north getting possession in the middle under little or no pressure and being able to deliver into there f50, our return from our own inside 50s didn’t change throughout the game north’s supply and quality of entry simply dropped off.

I think I am right in saying in each of our games thus far we have been down and somewhat under pressure on the scoreboard. I didn’t expect that to be the case today but it was. I am extremely happy we have learnt how to turn momentum this season. And we seem to know how to fight back from bad positions in games / quarters. 
go get em Dees!

40 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

Tow ball is as important a link as anyone and his inclusion ensures the caravan stays coupled to the 4WD and completes the journey.

 

RN that is beginning to sound suspiciously like ‘grey nomad’ territory and heading ‘out to pasture’.

6 hours ago, Pates said:

I’ve just woken up in the UK, this is very close to how I expected it to go. After the big high of last week we were off but 2% and the Kanga’s took us all the way. An ugly win is still a win, gutted for Tommo though. Career best form and now it looks like he’s out for the season. Fingers crossed for a miracle. 

You might want to watch the game mate. We were off by a lot more than 2% in that first half. Try 50% or so.

1 minute ago, A F said:

You might want to watch the game mate. We were off by a lot more than 2% in that first half. Try 50% or so.

I will watch when I get the chance, my point was more that I really am not that surprised that after we brought our best against the best last week, it sounds like we probably brought our worst against the worst this week. 

I’ve seen some of the highlights, and more than a few of our goals came from just absolute basic errors from North with us not adhering to our usual structures. I’ve got no doubt you’re probably right about us being that much off our usual pace. 

14 minutes ago, A F said:

You might want to watch the game mate. We were off by a lot more than 2% in that first half. Try 50% or so.

Maybe he meant we were off by 98% and there was only 2% to write home about?

6 hours ago, chook fowler said:

I think we really missed Viney, especially in the first half. He would’ve made Cunnington much more accountable. I hope the toe is not a long term problem 

Agreed, although this presents a really good opportunity for Harmes to step up. When Viney was out in 2018, Harmes played the lockdown midfield role beautifully and hit the scoreboard too. He wasn't great for Casey, but we know what he's capable of. I'd get him into that midfield. There's room for Sparrow too.

6 hours ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

FWIW . . . the Norf list is in better long term shape the the Filth's, Horethorn and Calscum. And that's something to very definitely be celebrated. 

Disagree with you on Carlton. Their spine is enviable, plus they have Cripps and Walsh in the middle. It's their effort and system that's nonsense. They'll go close to beating us in a fortnight.

6 hours ago, chook fowler said:

Jordon is putting together a good body of work. Doesn’t get the attention of Kozzie and Jackson but very impressive and definitely in the best 22

Reckon he had a quiet week or two and was on the cusp of the 22 going in to today, but today's game was excellent. Was in our top 5 easily. Uses the ball well and love his tackling.

The big disappointment was how bad our senior players were playing. 

Gawn was flat out abysmal. Hitting it straight down North players throats, little pressure, flopping around for free kicks, making dumb decisions with the ball (please never kick short Max). It was everything that he hasn't been in recent weeks.

Oliver and Petracca weren't winning the ball nor defending. Cunnington is going to win his share of the ball but he's pretty easy to force in to scrappy disposals if you pay him respect.

The forward line pressure was unsurprisingly a mess but Tommy Mc didn't show any intent to take advantage of his match up with Walker by getting him way up the ground. Moving him back was just as much about getting him in the game as it was filling Tomlinson's spot.

Lever was trying too hard to intercept rather than stick with his man. And May was doing the same only worse! Plus adding a degree of flopping around like an [censored] too.

Our leaders have had a great first 6 weeks, but it's disappointing they were the ones to have the huge mental let downs not the younger players. 

Jackson, Pickett, Fritsch and some dumb luck kept us in it for a half really.

North were both clever and good. They tagged Lever with a physical forward in Zuhaar and dragged him deep. They put speed in the midfield. They sat on Salem. They sent Simpkin out to a wing to tag and work off Langdon. Ziebell did a great job intercepting - and a less great job defending Fritsch (he's very Lever like). They moved the ball from side to side and hit up their leading forwards rather than bomb long. Certainly a tick for their game plan and execution for 2.5 quarters. 

 

this thread is not 15, play on!!!!!

For mine it all started with that first contest between Max & Goldy.  Max barely got a trot up and only just made the contest.  Then when the ball hit the turf Goldy tunnel balled it backwards towards their goal (which should've been called a throw), one of their players cleared and pretty sure they scored from that shortly after.  They were off with tails up especially after the 2nd in a row.

Now Max has had a very good year.  Not questioning the big fella's contribution.  BOG in at least one match & fabulous so far.  But at times today he looked like he was playing in an E.J. Whitton legends game after a big night reminiscing on the turps.

6 hours ago, Jaded said:

Norf can play against Brown better than anyone. He would have trained on their defenders for 10 pre seasons. 
It’s little wonder May smashed Lynch last week. 
 

But Brown was always going to take time to get into the swing of things and for us to work out a structure around him. It’s exactly why we didn’t bring him in last week against Richmond. 
Our delivery inside 50 in the first half was not helping him, and he looked shaky on the lead. He hasn’t played senior footy in almost a year. This was always going to be a slow start. 
I don’t think we should judge him on today. 

Look at you sticking up for Ben Brown, mate. After all those years haha. FWIW, I completely agree with you.

The team should not fly to the venue on the morning of the match. Flights seem to suck the life out of the players!

5 hours ago, Brownie said:

Bedford in for Melksham as well.

Feel for Tomlinson. Quite worried for Viney too. I wonder if his game time might have to be managed for the rest of this season.

I'm not convinced Bedford is good enough. Sparrow should be in before Bedford.