Umpiring was terrible but I thought we were as lucky in the first quarter, as Essendon were in the last with a number of questionable decisions so I guess it evened out. 

Essendons ability to put scoreboard pressure was their biggest problem, would have been a different game if they kicked straight

This game may become a turning point, not for this year, but next as our young talent is now really making it's mark and we should be able to put a much better team on the field next year

  On 14/07/2024 at 11:20, DubDee said:

McVee is only 185cm

how he competes and wins 1-1 against talls is unbelievable 

second coming of Corey Enright

I'm convinced he plays about 3 inches taller through sheer mongrel. 

  On 14/07/2024 at 13:15, DistrACTION Jackson said:

I think it was actually Lindsay Thomas who broke Gary Rohan’s leg, which brought in the rule

Correct, the rule is in place to stop players going to ground to win the ball.  Draper didn't need to go to ground, and by doing so brings in the risk of injury to both players.

Bend over and pick the ball up. 

  On 14/07/2024 at 10:30, DubDee said:

i remember Viney getting done for it in a big final maybe 2018

It’s the rule I hate. Deters a player attacking the ball just because one bloke got injured? typical reactive nonsense from the AFL

Like almost every rule in the AFL it's all about how it's applied. It's not wrong to deter players sliding in hard to try to win the ball in a dangerous way, but in this case I did feel that Draper did it in a way to win the ball as the first player to the contest and didn't leave DIsco open for serious injury. Play on would've been the correct call as Draper left himself prone for head high contact.

But that's just my opinion.

  On 14/07/2024 at 13:15, DistrACTION Jackson said:

I think it was actually Lindsay Thomas who broke Gary Rohan’s leg, which brought in the rule

and he dived in two legged and feet first!

suspend him but don't change the damn rules FFS

  On 14/07/2024 at 23:06, Pates said:

Like almost every rule in the AFL it's all about how it's applied. It's not wrong to deter players sliding in hard to try to win the ball in a dangerous way, but in this case I did feel that Draper did it in a way to win the ball as the first player to the contest and didn't leave DIsco open for serious injury. Play on would've been the correct call as Draper left himself prone for head high contact.

But that's just my opinion.

so if somebody is on the ground they can be cop head high contact with no consequence?

interesting opinion

  On 14/07/2024 at 23:34, DubDee said:

so if somebody is on the ground they can be cop head high contact with no consequence?

interesting opinion

I figured Disco made contact with the head on the follow through after being tripped, therefore outside his control, and the action which initiated the free kick. 

i thought it was a clear taking the legs out free kick

  On 13/07/2024 at 12:45, leave it to deever said:

Cracker post.

Thanks, mate! :-)

  On 13/07/2024 at 12:18, ElDiablo14 said:

Essendon are a danger to lose against the Crows next week.

I think so, too. I think their next two are losable - Crows then Saints. Would put a dent in their position if those around them keep winning, which might make them wobble. They ain't a top 4 side, and probably not even a top 8. Looking forward to that correction very soon.

I was under the impression (particularly last season) that we were not so great in the wet. Didn’t Essendrug beat us in the wet over in Adelaide?

Funny how things change. Maybe we are a team for all seasons! Hope so.

Did love Fritsch's final goal, with the poise to finish on the angle playing on from around 25 out, whilst an opponent was in front of him. Most players would have stopped and taken the opportunity to kick over the man on the mark.

  On 15/07/2024 at 01:51, Engorged Onion said:

Fritsch's final goal

It was actually his penultimate, a punt performed perfectly with purpose, poise and pinpoint precision.

 

#ToxicCultureMy@rse

As you can see in the pic above, Clarrie is holding a little signed footy to give to a fan, as the boys do after a win.

But what people probably don’t notice is that Goody comes over with the boys but stops about 2/3 of the way and claps his hands above his head in our direction after every win. That’s our coach and I’m proud af of him. 

  On 14/07/2024 at 05:53, DEE fence said:

Shades of '21

 

Petty had an OK game, I am fair dinkum calling those who can't see it nuphy's, every time Goodwin gives a player a role, and they do it, they get slaughtered here. It wasn't his best game but coming back from injury, he competed and contested everything and ran all day, I re-watched the whole game yesterday didn't give up once. People talk about him as if he didn't try which is just garbage and posters putting their ego's before the facts. His 'team' effort was best summed up by his goal assist, he could have easily had a ping himself but laid it off to a better option, very '21. Halved contests and seriously put his body on the line, STFU and just say thank you. Lastly what Gawn has to say about Petty is very informative, he's backing him 100%.   

 

Well said - I re-watched last night and also think Petty did ok.  Firstly put in as ruck from the start when Draper was fresh and it was kind of dry was a big ask for the guy.  He then competed hard when it was his turn - a big man in attack in the wet. 

  On 15/07/2024 at 01:40, Wodjathefirst said:

I was under the impression (particularly last season) that we were not so great in the wet. Didn’t Essendrug beat us in the wet over in Adelaide?

Funny how things change. Maybe we are a team for all seasons! Hope so.

Goodwin and Melksham both addressed that separately saying we were previously poor but have trained with soapy footballs to improve.

 

It showed

  On 14/07/2024 at 11:20, DubDee said:

McVee is only 185cm

how he competes and wins 1-1 against talls is unbelievable 

second coming of Corey Enright

What I like about Judd is the speed he puts on the ball. He seems to be able to take/create an intercept and move it directly forward faster than everyone else in the team (Riv used to do this to before the midfield move) 

Reckon we have a great player here

 

  On 15/07/2024 at 02:33, WalkingCivilWar said:

As you can see in the pic above, Clarrie is holding a little signed footy to give to a fan, as the boys do after a win.

But what people probably don’t notice is that Goody comes over with the boys but stops about 2/3 of the way and claps his hands above his head in our direction after every win. That’s our coach and I’m proud af of him. 

Whatever any faults Goody may or may not have they are wiped clean when I seem him on the boundary line fist pumping the year when a youngster scores a goal for us.

And for those who have doubted his prowess in not delivering more than one flag I can confidently say going out in straight sets twice was pretty much out of our control with our fwd line injuries.

In fact even the Gus "event" had Milkshake not gone down in the last h and a last year, we would have won the premiership.

That's a lot for just one player but Jake the snake has hit a new level of form in his footy twilight years as we have seen lately. The bombers game in the wet revealed yet again a strong link up at Chf.

Melksham was instrumental in that connection and aside from his two goals ( strangely he uncharacteristically missed a set shot  directly in front) played a hand in quite a few other goals.

He is so strong in his core that he plays like a tall ff. And he is very fast with great acceleration and his hard to tackle. As mentioned he is a very reliable shot at goal and kicks them easily from the pockets we where tend to target.

As a senior player he leads by example and brings footy wisdom like his sliding goal kick.

And yes it's a big call to say we would have won the flag with the inclusion of just one player but both our finals were extremely close and clearly lost by our ability to utilise our inside fifty count and accurate shots on goal.

It's late in the game so to speak but in an incredibly close season, Jake the snake has and will be the key to us squeezing into the top six or hopefully four depending on how we go this weekend without Max again.

JM has in his senior footy years has beaten a serious injury that would have ended some younger players careers and seems to have greater passion and hunger than before.

We have lost some games we shouldn't have and smashed in a couple of others but we are still in the mix. The reality is that some teams above us have won most or all of their close games and we two out of our three.

As the bombers found out underestimate us at your own peril. We are a team without our Coleman medalist and All Australian and possibly one of the best rucks to ever play the game. In that despite some junk time goals and questionable umpiring we absolutely smashed a top four team in the rain.

A team of experienced talent in players like Nibbler,Langers, May and Oliver buoyed by some emerging gun youngsters like Mcvee, Disco, Windsor and the Colt makes us a genuine wildcard for a shot of playing for a flag.

Our forward line has been something we have lamented about for eons.

Now with Jake back in it, a classy Fritta,a magical Kozzie and an in form Jvr it looks like it could amass 100 points easily. Throw in Disco and we don't really need Petty there. 

Edited July 15, 2024Jul 15 by leave it to deever

  On 15/07/2024 at 01:55, Demonstone said:

It was actually his penultimate, a punt performed perfectly with purpose, poise and pinpoint precision.

[censored] you and your pedantry @Demonstone, and adore you alliteration 💪🤩

  On 14/07/2024 at 22:20, layzie said:

I'm convinced he plays about 3 inches taller through sheer mongrel. 

Same with Jake Melksham who is listed at only one cm taller than Mcvee at 186 cm.

JM is pure muscle at can take pack marks with the biggest and best of them.

He has a very well timed leap and is a very hard match up for any team.

He's like a Fritta with extra strength and grit.

His two goals yesterday were pure Fritta like class and with him and Kozzie, the three of them are bound to feature in the goal of the year highlights reel.

Throw in the pack buster and high flying Jvr and the wild card Disco and suddenly all our fwd line worries seem to vanish.

  On 15/07/2024 at 02:36, jnrmac said:

Goodwin and Melksham both addressed that separately saying we were previously poor but have trained with soapy footballs to improve.

 

It showed

I think we also played a bit differently in terms of our method.

Without Max we added an extra player to the stoppages, which increased our pressure around the ball.

And, as good as Gawn and Petracca are, they are not favoured by the wet. Petracca can fumble and it takes away Gawn's biggest advantage, in his marking.

  On 15/07/2024 at 03:01, leave it to deever said:

Whatever any faults Goody may or may not have they are wiped clean when I seem him on the boundary line fist pumping the year when a youngster scores a goal for us.

And for those who have doubted his prowess in not delivering more than one flag I can confidently say going out in straight sets twice was pretty much out of our control with our fwd line injuries.

In fact even the Gus "event" had Milkshake not gone down in the last h and a last year, we would have won the premiership.

That's a lot for just one player but Jake the snake has hit a new level of form in his footy twilight years as we have seen lately. The bombers game in the wet revealed yet again a strong link up at Chf.

Melksham was instrumental in that connection and aside from his two goals ( strangely he uncharacteristically missed a set shot  directly in front) played a hand in quite a few other goals.

He is so strong in his core that he plays like a tall ff. And he is very fast with great acceleration and his hard to tackle. As mentioned he is a very reliable shot at goal and kicks them easily from the pockets we where tend to target.

As a senior player he leads by example and brings footy wisdom like his sliding goal kick.

And yes it's a big call to say we would have won the flag with the inclusion of just one player but both our finals were extremely close and clearly lost by our ability to utilise our inside fifty count and accurate shots on goal.

It's late in the game so to speak but in an incredibly close season, Jake the snake has and will be the key to us squeezing into the top six or hopefully four depending on how we go this weekend without Max again.

JM has in his senior footy years has beaten a serious injury that would have ended some younger players careers and seems to have greater passion and hunger than before.

We have lost some games we shouldn't have and smashed in a couple of others but we are still in the mix. The reality is that some teams above us have won most or all of their close games and we two out of our three.

As the bombers found out underestimate us at your own peril. We are a team without our Coleman medalist and All Australian and possibly one of the best rucks to ever play the game. In that despite some junk time goals and questionable umpiring we absolutely smashed a top four team in the rain.

A team of experienced talent in players like Nibbler,Langers, May and Oliver buoyed by some emerging gun youngsters like Mcvee, Disco, Windsor and the Colt makes us a genuine wildcard for a shot of playing for a flag.

Our forward line has been something we have lamented about for eons.

Now with Jake back in it, a classy Fritta,a magical Kozzie and an in form Jvr it looks like it could amass 100 points easily. Throw in Disco and we don't really need Petty there. 

This is why I HATE the whole straight sets BS. We weren’t pathetic, we weren’t humiliated. Our finals campaign wasn’t embarrassing.

Had Melk not done his ACL in the final round and had Gus not been flattened, we absolutely would’ve made the grand final and probably would’ve won it.

Even without those two incidents, had Tracc’s legit goal been paid in the semi we would’ve been hosting a prelim and who knows where we’d end up.

The results of those two losing finals ARE NOT a reflection of who we were and of what we were capable. 

  On 15/07/2024 at 03:01, leave it to deever said:

Whatever any faults Goody may or may not have they are wiped clean when I seem him on the boundary line fist pumping the year when a youngster scores a goal for us.

............ In that despite some junk time goals and questionable umpiring we absolutely smashed a top four team in the rain.

A team of experienced talent in players like Nibbler,Langers, May and Oliver buoyed by some emerging gun youngsters like Mcvee, Disco, Windsor and the Colt makes us a genuine wildcard for a shot of playing for a flag.

Our forward line has been something we have lamented about for eons.

Now with Jake back in it, a classy Fritta,a magical Kozzie and an in form Jvr it looks like it could amass 100 points easily. Throw in Disco and we don't really need Petty there. 

I think you have taken a bit of licence there... Essendon aren't a top 4 side in reality.

Agree with most other things you have said but Essendon's season to date was:

2 wins v West Coast (by 6p and 30p)

1 win v North

Wins v St Kilda Richmond Adelaide, Dogs, Giants (when they were poor) and a decent win against Collingwood.

Despite their easy draw their percentage was only 14th best in the league at 99.9%

Nonetheless it was a test for us and its always brilliant to beat them

Was anybody else surprised to see AMW taken off for Woewoden   AMW is a down under, inside defender with a rugby background perfect for those conditions and been playing well.  Woewodin is not soft but is more an outside defender like Bowey and McVee.  I thought it unbalanced us a bit.