PREGAME: Rd 01 vs Western Bulldogs

[Deemania since 56 6,737]

On 3/4/2023 at 10:37 PM, layzie said:

We are ready.

Soy, Tan, Lee!

[DEE fence 5,042]

Very torn about team selection, watched the practice match back, Harmes worthy of playing but then Chandler found space (not that they are in for the same spot) but I like Kozzie as a mid more than Harmes. I also think Hibbo should be a spare and we need to blood some others, Hibbi is ace and there is a role for him this year but we have to give some new players a go after a few seasons. ANB looked in wonderful touch. I wasn't completely convinced with Tmac mobility though, and I would understand if the coaches take a different approach between bBB and Tmac JVR. Sorry for the stream of consciousness type post, just really can't pick how the team is going to or should look, many people have made a case for playing.

[Roost it far 8,788]

10 hours ago, layzie said:

I think when it comes to Harmes he's really never going to be anything other than a mid so people may judge him more harshly when he's in there. 

I see both sides of the Harmes argument but he's a required player for me and would be keen to see him Rd 1. 

Harme's greatest moment is locked in demon folklore.....you all know it well

[At Least I Saw a Flag 5,304]

22 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Harmes' greatest moment is locked in demon folklore.....you all know it well

I'll pop on the replay now ... can never watch it enough.

The kick is as iconic as Clarry's goal and celebration. 

 

 

[DEE fence 5,042]

6 minutes ago, Winners at last said:

I'll pop on the replay now ... can never watch it enough.

The kick is as iconic as Clarry's goal and celebration. 

 

 

'Fatside kick' is a worthy avatar name for the forum that I have considered.

[Guest]

Curse you Ed Sheeran and your 110,000 fans! You destroyed the ‘G

😭😭😭

Nine days out from the season opener and this is how it looks right now…

 

It’s amazing how they get it up in time.

[Demonstone 23,098]

Are you sure that's not the pitch for the next Test in India?

[loges 6,767]

34 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Curse you Ed Sheeran and your 110,000 fans! You destroyed the ‘G

😭😭😭

Nine days out from the season opener and this is how it looks right now…

 

It’s amazing how they get it up in time.

 

???????

[monoccular 17,607]

4 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Interesting thoughts Kev. When it was a medi-sub the versatile player was logical. (Always thought Joel Smith was the perfect medi-sub). In the old sub days (to which we have now returned) the typical sub was "fresh legs". I suspect that we will see 3 or 4 players rotated through the role. You could also use it from a structural viewpoint. Go tall in the first half in the forward line and then sub Chandler for BBB in the second hoping to unbalance the opposition.

I suspect we will be conservative but other teams could pull a few surprises

Sadly for poor Joel, he seems rather to have become the most likely subbed out  not in 😢

[layzie 34,121]

2 hours ago, Roost it far said:

Harme's greatest moment is locked in demon folklore.....you all know it well

I like to say moments plural as he was the one who kicked to Kent in 2018 at Optus as well.

[kev martin 10,500]

The state of the MCG is atrocious. 

Gosch's took 16 weeks till they could train on it!

Has turf laying techniques changed enough so they can play on a surface that looks like it will be 50% resurfaced, and then 9 days later, used.

It will have to be spongy, moving underfoot and gaps/seams between the layers.

I said the same about the AFLW grandfinal surface and it turned out ok. 

The men will really give it a workout. Hope there are no injuries. 

We will be the third game being played on it, in three days.

I guess they know what they are doing. 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by kev martin

[layzie 34,121]

There's gonna be a lot of question marks about the state of this surface.

[Guest]

31 minutes ago, kev martin said:

The state of the MCG is atrocious. 

Gosch's took 16 weeks till they could train on it!

Has turf laying techniques changed enough so they can play on a surface that looks like it will be 50% resurfaced, and then 9 days later, used.

It will have to be spongy, moving underfoot and gaps/seams between the layers.

I said the same about the AFLW grandfinal surface and it turned out ok. 

The men will really give it a workout. Hope there are no injuries. 

We will be the third game being played on in three days.

I guess they know what they doing. 

 

My pics don’t convey the shiiitiness of the surface. The sections that’ve been laid have wide seams between them. They look like they’ve been plonked on and left as they landed.

As for the AFLW GF turf at Brighton Homes Arena, yes there were no injuries but our girls commented on the fact that the ball simply wouldn’t bounce. This is mainly why the scores were so low. They said it was very difficult to play on a surface that was not nearly established enough to play on. They all reported the ground was “spongey.”  Kate was concerned about this beforehand as well as afterwards even though we won. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by WalkingCivilWar

[layzie 34,121]

2 hours ago, DEE fence said:

'Fatside kick' is a worthy avatar name for the forum that I have considered.

Have you copyrighted it yet?

[layzie 34,121]

5 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

My pics don’t convey the shiiitiness of the surface. The sections that’ve been laid have wide seams between them. They look like they’ve been plonked on and left as they landed.

As for the AFLW GF turf at Brighton Homes Arena, yes there were no injuries but our girls commented on the fact that the ball simply wouldn’t bounce. This is mainly why the scores were so low. They said it was very difficult to play on a surface that was not nearly established enough to play on. They all reported the ground was “spongey.”  Kate was concerned about this beforehand as well as afterwards even though we won. 

The main question is what dopey security guard allowed you of all people into the ground to see all this? Everyone knows you're nothing but trouble, just ask the bus guys! 😛💋❤️

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, layzie said:

The main question is what dopey security guard allowed you of all people into the ground to see all this? Everyone knows you're nothing but trouble, just ask the bus guys! 😛💋❤️

Thanks a bunch Layz, I love you too. 😘
How did I end up there? You’re on a need-to-know basis and on this occasion you don’t need to know. 😝
 I certainly wasn’t there to check out the surface; that only happened when I got lost trying to leave. 🙄 

[Diamond_Jim 12,639]

My thoughts on ground preparation moved to another level after watching the cricket in India.

Mind you the air quality in Delhi was at another level saved only by the street food at Chandi Chowk

[layzie 34,121]

7 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Thanks a bunch Layz, I love you too. 😘
How did I end up there? You’re on a need-to-know basis and on this occasion you don’t need to know. 😝
 I certainly wasn’t there to check out the surface; that only happened when I got lost trying to leave. 🙄 

You really should have turned left at Albuquerque.

[monoccular 17,607]

9 hours ago, kev martin said:

The state of the MCG is atrocious. 

Gosch's took 16 weeks till they could train on it!

Has turf laying techniques changed enough so they can play on a surface that looks like it will be 50% resurfaced, and then 9 days later, used.

It will have to be spongy, moving underfoot and gaps/seams between the layers.

I said the same about the AFLW grandfinal surface and it turned out ok. 

The men will really give it a workout. Hope there are no injuries. 

We will be the third game being played on it, in three days.

I guess they know what they are doing. 

 

I am sure they know what they are doing - what they are doing is making a squillion from a concert in full knowledge that they will make a lot more in a couple of weeks regardless of the surface and risks to participants. 

[Ted Lasso 19,549]

Seems to be quite a lot of Hype around the dogs and a lot of commentators thinking they might bounce back to their 2021 form and push for top 4. I think we will beat them up around the midfield, the two rucks will be very mean to poor Tim English and those two forwards won't get much in the way of silver service because of our pressure. 

On paper they're a very good team though and should be good enough to play finals, i just think we're in that next level above them with Geelong and maybe Brisbane 

[CHF 2,801]

Been reading a bit about the doggies stacking their forward 50 with tall timber. I don’t think we would mind that at all. In a way it would be playing to our strengths. We have one of the best performing defences in the league and a midfield that more than shades the doggies midfield that also is well drilled in two way running and fast transistion. 
 

their mids will need to dominate and have excellent delivery all day. I believe that when it hits the ground in their forward 50 we will win it 7 out of 10 times and be able to work it out via the wings. 
 

Dees by 5 going away. 

[Lucifers Hero 40,426]

1 hour ago, Dwight Schrute said:

Seems to be quite a lot of Hype around the dogs and a lot of commentators thinking they might bounce back to their 2021 form and push for top 4. I think we will beat them up around the midfield, the two rucks will be very mean to poor Tim English and those two forwards won't get much in the way of silver service because of our pressure. 

On paper they're a very good team though and should be good enough to play finals, i just think we're in that next level above them with Geelong and maybe Brisbane 

Can't disagree.  The bulldogs have only a handful of 'impact' players or players that regularly and consistently hurt the opp:  Bontempelli, Smith, Naughton and maybe Libertore who will soon be 31.  As mentioned elsewhere, their midfield is no longer elite imv. 

Then they have a stack of young highly talented players with potential whose impact will wax and wane during the season.  I include English in this group.  I also put Treloar in this group as he is often injured.  Of course, each and every one of them will have some games where they star but I doubt they can put enough together to succeed.

The challenge for them is getting the max from the two groups of players while trying to build on field cohesion after all the list and position changes in the off season. 

Interesting that Beveridge chose to not play a scratch match.  Bound to have something up his sleeve.  Maybe they did a bit of experimenting but I see a need for them to experiment a lot more with their position changes and cohesion.

Doubt they will make the 8.  We will beat them round 1.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Lucifers Hero

[Roost it far 8,788]

If Ugle-Hagen and Darcy can step up, then they've got a incredible forward half

Tim English is on the cusp of becoming the leagues best ruckman.

Their on ball brigade is as good as any (except ours)

Pushing hard for top 4 

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15 hours ago, layzie said:

I like to say moments plural as he was the one who kicked to Kent in 2018 at Optus as well.

There's no plural, there's only 1 Harmes kick in folklore

[layzie 34,121]

2 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

There's no plural, there's only 1 Harmes kick in folklore

Well this can be my personal folklore.