Gold Coast,  3 games in 12 days,  2 in 5 days in Darwin's oppressive heat, this one against 2nd on the ladder??

Did i read that right?

I was assured on 'Land that you can't possibly win these games?... due to bodgie fixturing

A game with zero defence.  Both of these teams let in 100 points!  Good for ch 7 ad revenue,, though

12 hours ago, ANG13 said:

How good is it that we don’t have to play in Darwin anymore. 

Don’t speak too soon! The vagaries of the AFL FIXturing will ensure another match some time in the not too distant future.

Edited May 16, 2024May 16 by Tarax Club

44 minutes ago, Redleg said:

they know the conditions wouldn’t have suited him.

He looked at the humidity and was like "the pre game oiling will be utterly useless up there, I am out"

24 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Gold Coast,  3 games in 12 days,  2 in 5 days in Darwin's oppressive heat, this one against 2nd on the ladder??

Did i read that right?

I was assured on 'Land that you can't possibly win these games?... due to bodgie fixturing

Hats of to the suns, they obviously prepared super well.

But it's worth noting that the cats were also playing their 3rd game in 12 days.

The first was their incredibly taxing loss against the dees.

Six days later, they come out flat as a tack on a chilly friday night in geellong against port, flighting their way back to a close loss in another taxing match.

Six days later they are playing their third game in 12 days in 30 plus degree heat and humidity just about as far north from kardinia Park as you can get. Without their  two best players and choosing to rest others.

Great preparation by the suns, they obviously set themselves for the darwin double, a ground they have won their last 5 at by an average of 50 plus points.

But the cats simply could not handle those conditions at all - totally gassed from the get go. Witches hats. 

Makes our effort in similar conditions against the swans look more meritorious.

Edited May 16, 2024May 16 by binman

3 minutes ago, binman said:

Hats of to the suns, they obviously prepared super well.

But it's worth noting that the cats were also playing their 3rd game in 12 days.

The first was their incredibly taxing loss against the dees.

Six days later, they come out flat as a tack on a chilly friday night in geellong against port, flighting their way back to a close loss in another taxing match.

Six days later they are playing their third game in 12 days in 30 plus degree heat and humidity just about as far north from kardinia Park as you can get. Without their best player and choosing to rest others.

Great preparation by the suns, they obviously set themselves for the darwin double, a ground they have won their last 5 at by an average of 50 plus points.

But the cats simply could not handle those conditions at all - totally gassed from the get go. Witches hats. 

Makes our effort in similar conditions against the swans look more meritorious.

But Chris Scott assured me they were just 'off'??  

3 hours ago, MT64 said:

His aftermatch speech was written weeks ago. He will roll out "We had an off night". No acknowledge to the team that beat them.

 

I first read this as “aftermath” then realised it was “aftermatch” but then was like, yeah nah, I’ll stick with aftermath. 😅

Edited May 16, 2024May 16 by WalkingCivilWar

Can we please just have Sydney do the same to Carlton tonight.

 

1 hour ago, jnrmac said:

Gold Coast,  3 games in 12 days,  2 in 5 days in Darwin's oppressive heat, this one against 2nd on the ladder??

Did i read that right?

I was assured on 'Land that you can't possibly win these games?... due to bodgie fixturing

Well one myth busted. The misconceptions about Darwin’s oppressive heat and high humidity on a 😎 dry season evening? Minimum temperature overnight was 23.9*C, humidity at commencement of game 64%. 

Demons will play in Perth Sunday 28*C under the hot afternoon Sun.

 

Bring out the comfy chair.

Edited May 16, 2024May 16 by Tarax Club

I know the Darwin venue and the shorter breaks will have impacted, but I think (hope?) this might be an insight into the potential cliff that actually is coming for Geelong. 

Their missing players were Dangerfield, Hawkins, Duncan, Stanley, Cameron and De Koning. The first five are over 30, and there has to be a strong argument that the first four won’t play beyond this season. 

Without them, they were 11 goals behind a mid-table side (who themselves had a couple of outs).

They’ll no doubt be throwing cash to whichever midfielder is available this year because their midfield is no good. 

16 minutes ago, leave it to deever said:

Can we please just have Sydney do the same to Carlton tonight.

That would be nice.

Sydney are likely finishing top this year, but second place is very much up for grabs this year, and let's face it there is almost no benefit in finishing 1st compared to 2nd under the finals format. Therefore it's beneficial for Sydney to win against all the other contenders as it stands right now.

did we break Geelong? I really hope so 

Playing in Darwin is another level of discomfort for visiting players.

If this two week schedule is to continue visiting teams need to be selected on some form of strict rotational basis.

GCS have a good advantage in that Southern Qld in early May is still warm by comparison to Victoria.

Then there is recovery time. Games on Thursday night followed by the next round on a Sunday for visiting teams should be the rule.

The Darwin curse derailed the Bulldogs season last year as they lost to the Suns and then lost the following week. (Missed finals by one game)

Sure you can say.... anyone, anywhere, anytime.. but Darwin is different

Avoiding Darwin is now my only reason for supporting our Alice Springs game. I used to be a big fan but now I believe there are better ways to support the local community than token bread and circus shows

15 minutes ago, Tarax Club said:

Well one myth busted. The misconceptions about Darwin’s oppressive heat and high humidity on a 😎 dry season evening? Minimum temperature overnight was 23.9*C, humidity at commencement of game 64%

At game time it was 30 degrees. Humidity discomfort is a factor of heat. (Simply put the warmer it is the more moisture the air can hold) At 30 degrees the amount of air moisture represented by 64% is certainly not low for high performance sport

41 minutes ago, Tarax Club said:

 

Well one myth busted. The misconceptions about Darwin’s oppressive heat and high humidity on a 😎 dry season evening? Minimum temperature overnight was 23.9*C, humidity at commencement of game 64%. 

Demons will play in Perth Sunday 28*C under the hot afternoon Sun.

 

Bring out the comfy chair.

The only positive is that it will be dry heat.

 

11 hours ago, The heart beats true said:

And Sydney at the SCG 2 weeks after, before the bye. I think they’ll struggle to win either of those, and turn 8-5.

The Giants game is at GMHBA. I didn’t realise that. I think they’ll win that down there with the talent they have coming back in.

God I hate what an advantage that ground is. 

We did it. We broke Geelong.

Watching other teams feast on the corpse is a bit like being the leopard which has been harassed off a kill by hyenas, but we did get our meal and the hunt was excellent, too.

Geelong likely to be in sixth by the end of the round and out of the 8 by their round 14 bye.

 

1 hour ago, titan_uranus said:

I know the Darwin venue and the shorter breaks will have impacted, but I think (hope?) this might be an insight into the potential cliff that actually is coming for Geelong. 

Their missing players were Dangerfield, Hawkins, Duncan, Stanley, Cameron and De Koning. The first five are over 30, and there has to be a strong argument that the first four won’t play beyond this season. 

We can only hope they become the next North Melbourne.

Great to witness the potential downfall of Geelong.

I didn't mind them in that 2007-2011 window but then they just never went away. Got an arrogant coach, cheating captain who ducked for his entire career, and, well, I don't know what it is about Dangerfield either, but I can't stand him!

Was hoping they wouldn't get that flag in 2022, but they did (well deserved too)... now they can hopefully bugger off... finally!

They will probably go on a 15 game winning streak now. 

 

9 minutes ago, Jibroni said:

We can only hope they become the next North Melbourne.

North Geelongmond!!!!

1 hour ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Playing in Darwin is another level of discomfort for visiting players.

If this two week schedule is to continue visiting teams need to be selected on some form of strict rotational basis.

GCS have a good advantage in that Southern Qld in early May is still warm by comparison to Victoria.

Then there is recovery time. Games on Thursday night followed by the next round on a Sunday for visiting teams should be the rule.

The Darwin curse derailed the Bulldogs season last year as they lost to the Suns and then lost the following week. (Missed finals by one game)

Sure you can say.... anyone, anywhere, anytime.. but Darwin is different

Avoiding Darwin is now my only reason for supporting our Alice Springs game. I used to be a big fan but now I believe there are better ways to support the local community than token bread and circus shows

☀️’s appear to have adapted well. Taking the opportunity to acclimatise obviously helps.

 🪰 in 🪰 out at your peril.

Edited May 17, 2024May 17 by Tarax Club

19 minutes ago, Tarax Club said:

☀️’s appear to have adapted well. Taking the opportunity to acclimatise obviously helps.

 🪰 in 🪰 out at your peril.

Agree that the acclimatisation for a week or two before is a great idea but the player agreements and cost preclude such an approach normally.

When Suns are poor (form wise) the issue is less obvious but when they are a 6-10 capable team the home ground advantage is massive

Strangely enough having a Darwin based team with all teams playing in Darwin on a rotational basis would be a fairer outcome than the two week lottery presently practised.

It does look like the stadium needs a lot of work and the ground surface looked like a cow paddock (obviously soaked with water)

Edited May 17, 2024May 17 by Diamond_Jim

You can just about guarantee that avoiding a game up there will be on every 'big' Victorian team's fixture wish list for 2025. 

3 hours ago, jnrmac said:

Gold Coast,  3 games in 12 days,  2 in 5 days in Darwin's oppressive heat, this one against 2nd on the ladder??

Did i read that right?

I was assured on 'Land that you can't possibly win these games?... due to bodgie fixturing

Does sort of make one feel this factor of fatigue might not be all the problem

1 hour ago, The heart beats true said:

The Giants game is at GMHBA. I didn’t realise that. I think they’ll win that down there with the talent they have coming back in.

God I hate what an advantage that ground is. 

And yet Port came out on top there the other week so while I agree it's a fortress, the cats are well and truly off their game. 

What a shame. 

Probably still traumatized from Max.