It seemed that in the first quarter our mids were being towelled up and not supporting our defence. 

19 x i50s against is a huge number and May, Rivers, McDee and Lever were superb  

I'm fascinated by the change of focus statistically. there's some good points from posters here differing to how extreme the change is, but it'll remain a watch for me. TBH at the end of the day I'm happy to see change, it hasn't worked for the previous couple of years winning a bunch of contested balls and just assuming we'll squeeze enough goals out of it. 

I currently have no idea which markers are our best markers to go by, and that's kinda fun. 

Not our best footy ever but to be expected for 2 in a row on the road, with a 5 day break after a tough night game against a top side, opening gather round against Adelaide! Still much to work on but we're seeing some amazing things, can't wait to see how the rest of the year goes and hopefully break this new finals curse. 2 for 2 baby!!!!

I used to hate it when oppo fans would say they beat us “without getting out of first gear” but it applies here.

Outside of Maysie and Trac doing Maysie and Trac things, it kinda felt like we did that with ease. Crows threw the kitchen sink at us and we were the schoolyard bully holding them back at arm’s length.

Feels good.

We may have lost centre clearances but our incredible backline negated this.

I'm happier with Tmac there instead of Petty so far.

14 hours ago, Lou C. Fur said:

I thought Billings played well. If he kicked straight he could have had 3 goals.

Seems nervy and lacking confidence- 3 easy goals missed. Hopefully will get better. 

25 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Congrats Rooey

 

 

Disappointed the boys didn’t get around him

Tmac deserves some love.

 

15 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

It seemed that in the first quarter our mids were being towelled up and not supporting our defence. 

19 x i50s against is a huge number and May, Rivers, McDee and Lever were superb  

Don't forget TMac who has been excellent and a great support to Lever and May. Reads the play well and marks strongly and his disposal has improved 

I didn't follow Billings closely at St Kilda, because well, who cares about St Kilda.

I know he's had a lot of injuries throughout his career, but was he struggling with injuries a lot last year too? 

If he's still building back his fitness, it could certainly explain the fumbles, miss kicks and poor tackling we saw from him last night. Fatigue does that to you, and for someone still getting back into match fitness, a 5 day break would be so hard. 

Ben Brown and Petty's poor goal kicking IMO was also fatigue related. Both with minimal pre seasons, coming back from serious injuries, and both struggling off a 5 day break.

Watching the goals replay... our third goal from Trac, all came from a fantastic flying smother by Sparrow. Watch every player get to Sparrow after the goal, almost to the point of ignoring Trac, the praise is all for Spaz.

Great to see... absolutely some shades of 2021 in this team...

2 hours ago, leave it to deever said:

Was it just my perception or did Petty seem to close to the man on the mark when shooting at goal?

How about Tex running over the mark on at least three occasions by a meter or so.  Never called back.  You're allowed to determine your own mark now apparently.  Even if the player kicking in has only 4 meters or so between the fence and the player over the mark.  One kick was partially smothered!

Shout out to our fans whether at the game or watching on TV. Amazing and pats on backs all round.

You can all take the next two days off.

14 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

I know he's had a lot of injuries throughout his career, but was he struggling with injuries a lot last year too? 

Yes, Billings had injuries across the last two years - restricted to 8 and 3 games across 2022 and 2023, respectively. 

1 hour ago, Binmans PA said:

What is interesting is that we've lost ground ball gets consistently, which used to be a key indicator of success for us. If we weren't winning ground ball, we'd struggle. I think this speaks to the defensive set up that sags back. If we don't win clean clearance, we are so aggressive from stoppage that the opposition gets clean take aways back the other way. We rely on the inside sliders off half back to push up and impact that first post clearance possession, which enables our mids to get back into the contest.

I've been curious about losing ground ball gets too. I said on the pod that the numbers are so anomalous (eg our cp and pressure numbers have been strong) that there must be an explanation.

Your explanation makes sense, and us supported by the fact our post clearance possession numbers, one of the most important stats for coaches, have been strong.

It was noticeable that the "Crow throw" (TM) is still alive and well.

5 hours ago, forever demons said:

I never blame the umps but last night was the worst i have seen

No other Team is treated the way we are, at centre bounces, on marks, play on angles, and most of all time factors with just about everything. Total bunch of cheats.

Last night's were pushing, holding and high tackles.

My brother and I both live in Adelaide and went last night to support our beloved Dees, and their supporters were worse than ever. Fans around us all squealing for free kicks even when we pointed out how lopsided the free kick count was, booing players for no reason, and basically saying how bad their own team was and then aggressively abusing our players. They are a disgrace. Worst in the league. 

We kept offering tissues every time they booed Rick Lever, and bronx cheered all of the 9 times we got a free! Stuff em. Hope they go zero and 10, sack the coach and head to the bottom of the ladder for the next decade. 

The All The Goals video lied. There’s a goal missing 

40 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

I didn't follow Billings closely at St Kilda, because well, who cares about St Kilda.

I know he's had a lot of injuries throughout his career, but was he struggling with injuries a lot last year too? 

If he's still building back his fitness, it could certainly explain the fumbles, miss kicks and poor tackling we saw from him last night. Fatigue does that to you, and for someone still getting back into match fitness, a 5 day break would be so hard. 

Ben Brown and Petty's poor goal kicking IMO was also fatigue related. Both with minimal pre seasons, coming back from serious injuries, and both struggling off a 5 day break.

Billings played 11 games the last 2 years and was sub in 4 of them, barely played afl at all last year.

So there’s a match fitness issue for sure.

But his goal kicking has always been poor for such a skilled field kick.

And Ross Lyon had little to no interest in him which probably suggests defensive effort isn’t his strong suit.

I can live with the goal kicking for now, and even the contested efforts. But he’s had a decade on afl lists to learn how to hold a tackle. 

I wouldn’t have picked either he or BBB on a short break but Goody has always favoured continuity. 

 

South Australians drafted by the Melbourne Football Club and the players taken before them by Adelaide:

2019

Pick 6 - Fisher McAsey

Pick 12 - Kysaiah Pickett 😈

2018

Pick 9 - Chayce Jones

Pick 16 - Ned McHenry

Pick 27 - Tom Sparrow 😈

Rookie - Kade Chandler 😈

2017

Pick 12 - Darcy Fogarty

Pick 37 - Harrison Petty 😈

2014

Pick 14 - Jake Lever (damn)

Pick 35 - Harrison Wigg

Pick 40 - Alex Neal-Bullen  😈

19 minutes ago, HBDee said:

My brother and I both live in Adelaide and went last night to support our beloved Dees, and their supporters were worse than ever. Fans around us all squealing for free kicks even when we pointed out how lopsided the free kick count was, booing players for no reason, and basically saying how bad their own team was and then aggressively abusing our players. They are a disgrace. Worst in the league. 

We kept offering tissues every time they booed Rick Lever, and bronx cheered all of the 9 times we got a free! Stuff em. Hope they go zero and 10, sack the coach and head to the bottom of the ladder for the next decade. 

Filth fans say hi !!

 

 

47 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

I didn't follow Billings closely at St Kilda, because well, who cares about St Kilda.

I know he's had a lot of injuries throughout his career, but was he struggling with injuries a lot last year too? 

If he's still building back his fitness, it could certainly explain the fumbles, miss kicks and poor tackling we saw from him last night. Fatigue does that to you, and for someone still getting back into match fitness, a 5 day break would be so hard. 

Ben Brown and Petty's poor goal kicking IMO was also fatigue related. Both with minimal pre seasons, coming back from serious injuries, and both struggling off a 5 day break.

Billing’s is a bit like Watts, the expectation of the position he was drafted is greater than the realistic ability. Saints were waiting for billings to turn into a superstar but it just didn’t happen. When he has a good game he is very good, but then he’ll have 2-3 in a row where he’s just ok. He isn’t a player you build a team around, he’s a role player that has always struggled to put consecutive games together. He would also dip in and out of form at Saints.
 

He is what he is I guess.

Reckon any experts want to revisit their predictions in early April??

I remember andy Maher listing his 6 locks for finals. we weren’t included and now we are $6.50 to win the flag