POSTGAME: Rd 01 vs Western Bulldogs

[sue 9,277]

1 minute ago, dees189227 said:

No issues with the playing surface tonight 

Really ?  I thought there was a more than usual slipping.  Almost ice rink like (or whatever the ground is called these days).

 

[Stiff Arm 4,420]

I fear for Kossie at tribunal. Did not look good

[Jaded No More 68,976]

[Sideshow Bob 2,498]

22 minutes ago, Graeme Yeats' Mullet said:

Tomlinson outperformed expectations 

Hats off to him

He was very good.

Unfortunately will be first out on May's return. Unless he becomes a tall utility as the sub. 

[Bang Bang Bang 5,875]

Regarding Ben Brown - our new game style is going to suit him to a tee. Already looks like close to the prime North Melbourne version of himself. 

Speaking of the game style, how good was it to watch? That was way better than how we played at the MCG last year - 10 zip included. Beats me why we bombed it to the pocket for an entire year but good on Goody for switching it up. 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Bang Bang Bang

[titan_uranus 25,255]

That was a fantastic win. The Dogs are good, I’m a firm believer of that. So to perform like that against quality opposition is huge. 

What stood out to me the most at the ground was the way we set up forward of the ball. Far more often than last year, we had forwards deep. Couple that with our desire to go through the corridor and we looked scary good at times. 

I reckon we’ve found one in McVee. Looked a natural. Hunter is an incredible addition and whilst I thought Grundy lacked strength at times, his touch came back as the game went on and he is structurally critical to helping Gawn dominate. 

The thing is, there were areas to improve on too. Obviously we have four stars to bring back in, but we were well beaten in CPs and clearances. It’s a big thing to win by 7 goals when we lose those stats. 

Like last year, Brown looks fit and mobile and it makes him a much better player. Let’s see if he can maintain it. I thought Lever was immense in holding us together early, whilst Tomlinson was really good too. Also loved Chandler, who absolutely stood up, and Spargo.

The obvious sour note is Pickett, who is sure to be suspended. He has to be. We always say we have to focus on the action and not the outcome and that action has to be stamped out of the game. Hopefully it’s only graded medium impact and he only misses one week. Because he is irreplaceable and looks primed to star in 2023. 

[Demonstone 23,572]

We're on top of the ladder!  Until the Swans/GCS game finishes, that is.

Edit:  GCS have come back a bit.  We're still on top.

Edit again:  Bugger.  Swans finish well enough to relegate us to second.  

Edited March 18, 2023 by Demonstone

[Lord Travis 10,819]

You ripper! That was a great win considering the four guns missing. Injuries are the only thing that can stop us winning the flag this year.

Go Dees!

[Gawndy the Great 9,011]

Just now, Stiff Arm said:

I fear for Kossie at tribunal. Did not look good

You watch this be made an example of not being about outcome but potential to cause serious damage. I can just see that we’ll cop a whack again and then every other similar case will be half of what Kozzy gets. 
 

He should get 2-3 games but others will walk away with fines - 1 week. 

[Brownie 6,086]

Gawn and Petracca are awesome, don't get me wrong.  But Oliver is totally underated by the so called epxerts. His hands and distribution are just incredible, BOG for mine

Kozzy in the guts is just a whole new level. I'm going to miss him seeing him live next week at the gabba. He's gone for 2 to 3 weeks I reckon. He's doing what he should and playing flat out to get the best contract he can with us (I hope)

Chandler - I've watched a fair bit of Casey in the last couple of years and he just tries his guts out. He's not that classy but so happy for him to finally get a real crack. Could be another Spargo for us.

Our general field play is sooooo much better, working the angles, best options and staying out of the pockets, Yuesss!

Ugle Hayden - a real plus for us. Really unrealiable.
Naughton - Hated his scragging, pushing in the back, carrying on etc. He seemed a real Joe Daniher by the end of the game and I was enjoying his general craziness by the end.

Umps - It's time the AFL considered six umpires on the field to pick up on the throwing, dropping the ball and hands in the back. How stupid is the half rule to allow forwards to push defenders in the back now? Pfft

We are becoming a seriously big super power club now, they can't ignore us as snow bunnies anymore! Go Dees!

Edited March 18, 2023 by Brownie

[binman 44,824]

22 minutes ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Trac changed the game in the second quarter I thought.
My favourite play was in the second when Grundy roved off the pack, did an underground handball to Langdon and Lingers centred it to Spargo. 
Spargs and Kozzie electric. 

Yep.

Willed himself to wrest the game back. And we never looked back.

A star

[dees189227 12,512]

If you said before the game we'd win by 50 points I don't think I would have believed it.

Lever was absolutely fantastic.

Spargo worked himself into the game and did some very nice things.

Bbb was great up forward.

 

[YearOfTheDees 3,266]

Little bit of a fight back from the Suns and we are now stuck on top of the ladder.

[Wodjathefirst 2,671]

5 minutes ago, Stiff Arm said:

I fear for Kossie at tribunal. Did not look good

I wish his second name was ‘Cripps’.

[Demonsterative 3,021]

My reflections;

Gawn is more than a ruckman. Agile, great below his knees. An elite aerialist. Creative with vision and play in any situation. 

Trac is Trac,  nuff said

Oliver is Oliver, nuff said

Pickett - the more roles he plays the more he excels. Vision, pace, creativity and the ability to bring others into the game, the better he is impactful. We have to resign him more than Jako last year, he finishes and creates finishes by bringing other into play. The perfect creator and finisher
 

My comments on the lesser likes. 
 

BBB, with fast footy, he creates and is impactful

Chandler was busy consistently and will get better

McVee had very good moments and will get better. Scary given one game in

Tomlinson, Petty and Lever were a great team. Happy for Thompson. Bring n May tho

Langers and Hunter did not dominate but had influence. 

the new game style  suits our flankers to contribute more. Spargo,  Nibbler  Chandler had more attacking plays

Grundy got better as the game went on. He will get better with time. This Grawdny experiment is not about 2 x AA players  being influential as they did with each club as AA , the combination they provide as a Duo provide  high level play without AA players, but very influential 

bowey is just special

we are real contenders with more options 

[The Swimming Dee 1,907]

Chandler great tonight I thought

[titan_uranus 25,255]

3 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

You watch this be made an example of not being about outcome but potential to cause serious damage. I can just see that we’ll cop a whack again and then every other similar case will be half of what Kozzy gets. 
 

He should get 2-3 games but others will walk away with fines - 1 week. 

Should (maybe) be 1 week. Careless, medium, high. I think the reason Smith gets up is that it was shoulder to shoulder, so the impact actually was low, but MRO will upgrade it to medium given the potential for harm. 

But yes, generally players from clubs like us get made examples of (eg Chandler’s tackle last year). 

[Graeme Yeats' Mullet 6,792]

Loved watching McVee walk past Liberatore on wing in last

Libba thought about moving, legs didn't respond...

[Deeoldfart 8,201]

Outstanding win against a fellow contender.  Given no Maysie, Vines, Fritta and Salo, it tastes even sweeter.  Hard to imagine a more impressive start to the season.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 11,064]

Thought Nibbler was pretty good tonight, along with Spargo and Chandler. 

Melksham also more than handy when he came on.  Could have found himself a role as super sub?

[Jaded No More 68,976]

A great win when you consider we were missing our best defender, best forward and third best midfielder. 
Really happy with what we got from McVee and Chandler (Laurie didn’t disgrace himself either!), and hats off to Tomlinson. He was absolutely the player we saw in 2021. 
 

Oliver and Gawn are literal freaks. Gawn is Benjamin Buttoning his career. Just gets better and better with age and if the only thing Grundy does is prolong Gawny’s career by 2 years, he’s been worth every cent. Gawn is a giant of this game. Literally and figuratively. 

[Demon Disciple 12,536]

28 minutes ago, YearOfTheDees said:

And we won on the MCG again.

About b100dy time

[Bates Mate 4,520]

Great atmosphere at the ground tonight. What was the crowd number

[Demon Disciple 12,536]

Just now, Bates Mate said:

Great atmosphere at the ground tonight. What was the crowd number

48k

[gs77 4,614]

Tomlinson looked so much more assured with his body than after coming back from his ACL last year. Hats off to him, I thought he was done. Wonderful to see.

First game live for my two boys tonight. Great way to break them in. 😀

Carn the mighty Demons!