1 hour ago, A F said:

No, the Pies are beautiful, mate. They play with great arousal, they get the crowd going and lose by 7 goals to 4th bottom.

Get your red and blues glasses off FFS!

Yeah they really know how to pump and gee up the crowd and play with amazing individual brilliance every time they step on the footy court! 

20 hours ago, Go Lordie said:

I am/was a big Harmes fan but.... Dunstan seems plausible right now.

Has Dustan played in the Seniors at all this year? I know he's been injured but from the dland  reviews of games he's played at Casey, it sounds like he's up to it.

 

Some MUCH-deserved love for our wonderful vice-captain…

After the siren, before the boys ran off the field to the rooms, Jack and Tracc broke away from the group and made a bee-line straight to us, followed a minute later by Salo and Bowser. The players aren’t told to do this, they choose to. Anyways, I was on the far left and since the players start the hand-slapping a little towards the middle my hand didn’t get a look-in. Totes all good though, I’m just happy to be there yelling out to them, as all us psychotic nuffies in the DA are. 😁But… Jack realised he hadn’t hit my hand so he doubled back just to do so. A little thing yes, but a huge thing at the same time. He’s quite something else. 💕

2 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Some MUCH-deserved love for our wonderful vice-captain…

After the siren, before the boys ran off the field to the rooms, Jack and Tracc broke away from the group and made a bee-line straight to us, followed a minute later by Salo and Bowser. The players aren’t told to do this, they choose to. Anyways, I was on the far left and since the players start the hand-slapping a little towards the middle my hand didn’t get a look-in. Totes all good though, I’m just happy to be there yelling out to them, as all us psychotic nuffies in the DA are. 😁But… Jack realised he hadn’t hit my hand so he doubled back just to do so. A little thing yes, but a huge thing at the same time. He’s quite something else. 💕

Are you planning to replace your living room decoration soon? 😄

Just now, ElDiablo14 said:

Are you planning to replace your living room decoration soon? 😄

By the way I don't know if it's just me but in terms of engagement with the cheer squad, our boys are the best!

57 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Are you planning to replace your living room decoration soon? 😄

Replace? No. Add to… Bloody oath!

Although Jayden will always take pride of place. ❤️💙

15 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Hopefully the next 6 odd weeks don't resemble the Punic Wars

If its Cannae or the battle of lake trasimene and we are Carthage then we want a Punic War scenario 

Pyrrhus was a Greek I think though the battle was on the Italian peninsula 

On 8/6/2023 at 4:04 PM, Demon17 said:

No he didn't.  In fact petty didn't look like a player who's missing finals. 

Optimistic.

cough cough

On 8/6/2023 at 4:04 PM, Demon17 said:

No he didn't.  In fact petty didn't look like a player who's missing finals. 

Optimistic.

Hopefully that's still there.

On 8/6/2023 at 9:27 PM, IRW said:

There should be a moratorium on umpire comments aroind here or a group action taking the AFL to court .

We know( every clubs supporters know)that umpiring is difficult and sometimes they are "shockers" but... fmd they don't pick on the MFC.

Grow up..it will be more fun watching the games .

Pathetic  much 

Having said that it would be fair to say that the game has become un-umpireable. Retarding players off the ball, "nudges" in the back when flying for the ball, "ball" decisions ... it is impossible to guess which way the umpires are going to call half the time. 50 metre penalties are an extravagant penalty on many occasions. Insufficient intent... what a laughable rule. Mens rea, indeed.

13 hours ago, binman said:

We'll beat the blues - and jimmy will be all like:

'Typical comments from the blue and red colored glasses, happy clapper brigade. I mean get real. Of course we beat the blues - they had their two best mids and a key interceptor out.

And yes Melbourne won by 5 goals, but with their outs and the injury to Cripps in the last 30 seconds of the game, a real contender would have thrashed them by 10 goals. 

I mean the signs are clear, Melbourne pick and choose and again only played a quarter of good football - that's not going to cut it against the Pi...., i mean Po.., i mean the Li..., i mean the Dogs, who unlike Melbourne are timing their run to perfection.

Yes, yes, I know Melbourne have now won six games on end, but I simply can't get my head around why people are so confident Melbourne will beat the Hawks and the Swans.

And please, I'm not being disingenuous, negative for being negative sakes, contrarian or trying to wind anyone up. Unlike most posters, I'm simply being objective, clear eyed and realistic.

As I have predicted for weeks, I am confident Melbourne will lose three, sorry i mean two, of their final games. Nothing I have seen in the past few weeks has given me any reason to adjust that assessment. 

The Hawks showed the level they can play at with their win against the Pies. Who by the by just had an off day - all teams have them. 

The Pies are a great team as evidenced by their incredible record going back to their one point loss in the 2018 GF, three really clever rebuilding years at the bottom of the ladder under Buckley, then their narrow losses in finals last season to the Premiers and the rampaging Swans. And the Pies have an inspiring coach who actually knows how to motivate.

Any team that can beat the Pies, even on an off day, is a huge chance to beat Melbourne. 

And don't start me on the bookies odds -  yes Melbourne are clear favorites to win the flag now but that's just a reflection of the ladder, not form. 

And on the ladder, the ladder doesn't lie.

Well, except when it does - often it papers over cracks or simply flatters.

Whilst Melbourne are second with only two rounds to go in the season, only the most blindly optimistic posters will take solace in that. And besides they won't be second after the hawks and swans beat them. And then the ladder won't lie.

And speaking of coaches, Mitchell will run rings around Goodwin tactically. 

And the Swans - well, i know they lost the grand final last year by 15 goals - all teams have an off day - and may not even make finals this year, but they are an incredible team in incredible form (so much better than Melbournes'), are playing at their fortress and will be desperate to win.

And as the coaching Svengali Mcrae says, the game is still played mostly above the shoulders. The Swan's sheer will to win will bridge the huge gulf in ladder position (which doesn't reflect form), talent and system.

And yes, Melbourne will be playing for a home final at the G in front of 90k people, but Melbourne simply won't have the same will to win, because a top 4 spot is sewn up. And Goodwin.

And Longmire will run rings around Goodwin tactically.

And Melbourne will still be reeling from their loss to the Hawks.

I mean, seriously, how does a serious contender recover from being touched up by the 16th placed team late in the season when history shows you need to be playing your very best football to be a genuine threat?

And before any happy clapper, Pie haters jump on me (you know who you are), yes i know the hawks smashed them. But as the genius Mcrae said, they got important feedback from that loss, new feedback to add to the important feedback they got from being touched up by the Blues the previous week.

And feedback from those losses is so much more valuable than Goodwin's 'learnings' from Melbourne's uninspiring wins over the Saints, Lions, Crows, Tigers, North and Blues - or even their 'learnings' from Melbourne's win over the Pies on KB (when  the Pies had an off day - all teams have them).'

 

Noice. 

I think you should tread water a bit more Binners. Remember our old battles regarding your mate Oscar McDonald, who you would defend to the death. Even after he was delisted?! You were like the black knight in the Python's holy grail. 

You do realise we were smacked from pillar to post for the first quarter and a half against a side who had lost something like 17 in a row?

I think our 'form' is grossly exaggerated on this forum. No surprise though.

I think the next three games are more difficult than many predicted a week or two weeks ago. And now some of you are changing your tune which is funny. 

Sydney are in better form than us, Carlton too. And Hawthorn are not North. 

So let's see how it pans out old mate. I'm hopeful. 

 

Edited August 7, 20231 yr by JimmyGadson

41 minutes ago, JimmyGadson said:

I think you should tread water a bit more Binners. Remember our old battles regarding your mate Oscar McDonald, who you would defend to the death. Even after he was delisted?! You were like the black knight in the Python's holy grail. 

 

Lol. I always suspected 'binman' was a take on Oscar McDonald = Oscar the Grouch = the bin man. 

 

6 hours ago, JimmyGadson said:

 

 

Sydney are in better form than us, Carlton too. And Hawthorn are not North. 

 

 

Carlton you could definitely argue are in better form. But why are Sydney in better form? They’ve won 4 in a row. We’ve won 5. Of their 4 victories they beat:

GWS (excellent win against arguably the best in form team)

Essendon by 2 points - the same Essendon who nearly lost to West Coast 

Freo who are bottom 4

Dogs who are up and down and can’t play away from Marvel

 

Their form is not bad and they’re definitely building nicely. Round 24 is make or break for them and will be super tough. We also don’t have great form at the SCG. 
But IMO we are still in better form. And Oliver back changes everything. 

1 hour ago, rpfc said:

 

Kids, you're both terrible. 

17 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Replace? No. Add to… Bloody oath!

Although Jayden will always take pride of place. ❤️💙

The bus ride home story with the cutout always makes me chuckle!

8 hours ago, bush demon said:

Having said that it would be fair to say that the game has become un-umpireable. Retarding players off the ball, "nudges" in the back when flying for the ball, "ball" decisions ... it is impossible to guess which way the umpires are going to call half the time. 50 metre penalties are an extravagant penalty on many occasions. Insufficient intent... what a laughable rule. Mens rea, indeed.

Yeah the game is pretty well  impossible to "umpire" .

Possibly the most difficult  (demanding) to play as well.

What's clear though  is that umpires are not intentionally biased and (as with  lbw decisions ,post replay technology.) over a match bad or missed decisions usually even themselves out.

Paying more attention to specific players with a yellow card rule would not be unreasonable though

24 minutes ago, IRW said:

Yeah the game is pretty well  impossible to "umpire" .

Possibly the most difficult  (demanding) to play as well.

What's clear though  is that umpires are not intentionally biased and (as with  lbw decisions ,post replay technology.) over a match bad or missed decisions usually even themselves out.

Paying more attention to specific players with a yellow card rule would not be unreasonable though

At the risk of being misrepresented and personally abused by a certain poster I'll dare to make a comment on this.

I agree with IRW in every respect, umpires are not biased (though unfortunately influenced on occasion by crowds) and the game is exceptionally difficult to play and umpire.  I differ with some in thinking the AFL's policies/rules/interpreations/rules-of-the-week exacerbate the difficulty.

 I think the word 'usually' in IRW's statement that "over a match bad or missed decisions usually even themselves out" needs  consideration.  While statistically it may seem to even out, there is no doubt that bad or missed decisions can change the momentum of a game or affect the result in a close game.  This naturally frustrates supporters. There is no obvious solution expect to fix the AFL's policies which currently make a difficult job even harder.

Edited August 7, 20231 yr by sue

20 hours ago, old55 said:

Based on form.

And other factors such as head to head record, record at the venue, injuries and how the two teams match up against each other in terms of game plan and personnel (eg we match up well against the blues, not so well against say the crows).

35 minutes ago, layzie said:

The bus ride home story with the cutout always makes me chuckle!

The passengers on that packed replacement bus weren’t chuckling, that’s for sure! 

22 hours ago, A F said:

JJ cannot play any other available position, other than midfield (wing is not available anymore). That's why I think Harmes will be ahead of him next week if Clarry comes back. JJ struggles at half forward. We saw it against Adelaide's half backs, he's too slow and doesn't read the play quickly enough.

I like JJ, but he's midfield depth for when we have injuries like Clarry's.

 

Interestingly, I see it the opposite, if we are lucky to get Oliver back this week, I see Harmes going out, not JJ.  Harmes doesn't seem to be aware of what is happening around him, he throws it on the boot, and sties to break through tackles. JJ is looking for options, and admittedly he had a flat few games earlier in the season, and came back into the team a better player, Harmes hasn', or at least not to the same level.

Still think Woewodin was stiff to miss the game, I didn't know if he was up to AFL standard, but he lifted when he made the team,... was a bit sloppy with disposal at the VFL level, but didn't think he's done a lot wrong to date.

1 hour ago, sue said:

At the risk of being misrepresented and personally abused by a certain poster I'll dare to make a comment on this.

I agree with IRW in every respect, umpires are not biased (though unfortunately influenced on occasion by crowds) and the game is exceptionally difficult to play and umpire.  I differ with some in thinking the AFL's policies/rules/interpreations/rules-of-the-week exacerbate the difficulty.

 I think the word 'usually' in IRW's statement that "over a match bad or missed decisions usually even themselves out" needs  consideration.  While statistically it may seem to even out, there is no doubt that bad or missed decisions can change the momentum of a game or affect the result in a close game.  This naturally frustrates supporters. There is no obvious solution expect to fix the AFL's policies which currently make a difficult job even harder.

It's interesting that Port has asked the AFL umpires department for clarification after the Geelong game. Decisions went 32-14 against them (or something like that) but one umpire gave 15 decisions against Port Adelaide alone.... thats a huge number of frees.

The umpiring at the game wasn't fantastic, however that was the standard as a whole. I will say, 4 umpires is not improving the standards of umpiring, just making it easier for them to cover the areas of the ground.  

15 minutes ago, Ouch! said:

I will say, 4 umpires is not improving the standards of umpiring, just making it easier for them to cover the areas of the ground.  

I hadn't considered that aspect until I heard Brett Rosebury, who had just broken the record for most games officiated (503), mention it in an interview on SEN the other day.

Though he said that in making it easier for them to cover the areas of the ground, means they can emphasis decision making skills over endurance for both current umpires (eg in terms of training mix) and attracting new umpires (eh put greater emphasis on decision in the selection process).

He also said there's no doubt it would mean experienced umpires like him could stay in the game longer.  

Interestingly he also supported having some professional full time umpires (he liked the idea of a mix of full time and people like him who had other careers), which would be supported by having them umpire at AFLW and thought there would be plenty of young umpires keen to be a full time professional umpire. 

It's no brainer in my opinion to have full time professional umpires, so i was really interested in his take. 

12 hours ago, layzie said:

Hopefully that's still there.

No news and it's nearly midday Tuesday. I am an optimist  and wonder if it was clearly season ending that news would be out yesterday.

2 hours ago, binman said:

It's no brainer in my opinion to have full time professional umpires, so i was really interested in his take. 

Agree 100% Binman, we should have a pool of full-time professional umpires. Don't have a problem with 'extending' their career by allowing it to be less physical, but being full time would improve that aspect too.

With luck they might be the only umps to attempt to bounce the ball. The number of failed bounces I experienced over the weekend was laughable.  Also, is it just me or are umpires who throw the ball up, seemingly throwing the ball up towards the rucks rather than throwing it directly up in the air and backing away from the throw?