Max Gawn has to get the 3 Brownlow votes this evening.

He was monumental yet again!

Was probably a totally complete game from him.

Daniel Turner was pretty impressive too.

Kade Chandler has also greatly matured and improved as a footballer.

9 minutes ago, DubDee said:

I laugh as I think of all the posters wondering why we kept Chandler whilst getting rid of Bedford

what were we thinking?

For me the whole Bedford thing is we shouldn't have been in a situation of it being one or the other. Bedford deserved games, at the time others weren't performing and should've been dropped. We would look better with Bedford in the squad right now.

Just a thought that I've had for the last few weeks. Since Gus got taken out of the game with concussion I feel like that's a hole we have struggled to fill. The player that has great endurance and go to either end of the ground at any point in the game to be that extra option. Now Langdon has always been a sheepdog with crazy endurance and ability to get to both ends of the ground, but I just feel like what we're seeing from him resembles a bit more of a Gus-style game. He's taking more marks than he has in his career, more intercept marks, and seems to bob up for a goal or two every couple of games. I'm wondering whether Langford and others taking on the other wing role at times is just freeing him up to be a bit of a Mr Fix-it when we need that senior head.

Very good second half after failing to capitalise early and things went pear shaped in the 2nd quarter.

Gawn was immense again. Kicked that goal at the end when the pressure was off which hopefully helps get the monkey off the back.

Petracca, Viney did well but I thought Windsor, Chandler and Salem stood up when it counted. Disco huge in the 3rd quarter as well after Petty was subbed out.

Tholstrup had a "nearly" game, could've had 3 if things went his way. Some will want him dropped but I'd prefer to give him a solid block and back him in. He is getting to where the footy is and his manic pressure is required inside 50. If he keeps working hard the results will come.

Huge game now next week against the Hawks.

Edited May 3May 3 by Dr. Gonzo

4 minutes ago, hardtack said:

I think that one of the most important periods in this game was the first half of the first quarter, when Viney sucked the confidence out of Harley Reid, like a dementor sucking the soul out of Barty Crouch Jnr!! That set us up for the rest of the game, despite our ordinary quarter and a half prior to half time.

Viney must remain as a tagger for the rest of the season, he goes to each teams gun player to nullify and harass. From the first bounce I knew that Ried was not going to have anything his way.

10 minutes ago, Pates said:

For me the whole Bedford thing is we shouldn't have been in a situation of it being one or the other. Bedford deserved games, at the time others weren't performing and should've been dropped. We would look better with Bedford in the squad right now.

Just a thought that I've had for the last few weeks. Since Gus got taken out of the game with concussion I feel like that's a hole we have struggled to fill. The player that has great endurance and go to either end of the ground at any point in the game to be that extra option. Now Langdon has always been a sheepdog with crazy endurance and ability to get to both ends of the ground, but I just feel like what we're seeing from him resembles a bit more of a Gus-style game. He's taking more marks than he has in his career, more intercept marks, and seems to bob up for a goal or two every couple of games. I'm wondering whether Langford and others taking on the other wing role at times is just freeing him up to be a bit of a Mr Fix-it when we need that senior head.

we were a top 4 team at the time they were both emerging, and we prioritised chandler's development in favour of bedford's, and so the other has subsequently moved on to further his career

there wasn't a role for them both in the way our side was constructed

the footy dept made the right decision for the side and bedford make the right call for his career

swings / roundabouts

I know it was against ordinary opposition, but our transition and ball movement is getting way better.

If we'd been able to tidy up our forward entries in the first 5 weeks, we'd have won a lot more than we'd lost.

Now that our entries are improving, we're starting to look dangerous with the modern game.

If you think back to the last two weeks, we looked to use uncontested possessions at the back to shift the zone, whereas today we were far more direct, probably because we don't rate the Eagles and their set ups and personnel, which is fair enough.

I'm hoping we see a lot of uncontested possession at the back next week and an emphasis on aggressive forward handball.

There does seem to be an interesting coaching philosophy evolving though. Previously, Goody would be quite rigid in his game day coaching and his processes. Now, the game style seems to change depending on the opposition and even depending on the state of the game, from quarter to quarter.

Many have called for that flexibility. It means we don't become all duck, no dinner like Collingwood. The problem is if you're not being all duck, no dinner, you don't get to practice the ballistic transition game style that has become modern footy. For now, it's starting to work for us, but it means we're trying to shift between styles mid-game, so that depending on the opposition, the type of footy we play might vary. It also depends on our leaders being able to implement this shift mid-game.

I suspect, if we keep winning though, most won't care what game style we play.

Just now, whatwhat say what said:

we were a top 4 team at the time they were both emerging, and we prioritised chandler's development in favour of bedford's, and so the other has subsequently moved on to further his career

there wasn't a role for them both in the way our side was constructed

the footy dept made the right decision for the side and bedford make the right call for his career

swings / roundabouts

We were a top 4 team, but there were players (looking at Spargo and Nibbler) who were performing well below their best and easily could've been dropped to both put selection pressure on them and to reward Casey form for Bedford. Generating a list and keeping it fresh is an art form that we failed at when it comes to retaining depth.

Edited May 3May 3 by Pates

1 hour ago, Graeme Yeats' Mullet said:

I think he actually moves well, relatively swift without looking fast

Big bodied and competitive in contest, particularly for marks

Definitely keep playing him, breakout game awaits

I think Kolt's issue is he lacks polish. I like his energy though.

Where are all the * insert player * bashers now?

1 hour ago, At the break of Gawn said:

I've got no idea what we did to Jack Riewoldt but he absolutely hates us. The only thing I can think of he pretty much always played a stinker against us except for one game in 2017.

We picked Frawley ahead of him... 🤷‍♂️

Edited May 3May 3 by Adam The God

I think some are overplaying the "Viney is a tagger". I'd say you could call it a tag in the first half, but it was gone by the third quarter.

I'd rather reframe his role as the defensive mid. Because that's what he's been recast as these last few weeks. Instead of the see ball, get ball. Play the more defensive role and you'll get footy off the back of that naturally.

40 minutes ago, Adam The God said:

I think some are overplaying the "Viney is a tagger". I'd say you could call it a tag in the first half, but it was gone by the third quarter.

I'd rather reframe his role as the defensive mid. Because that's what he's been recast as these last few weeks. Instead of the see ball, get ball. Play the more defensive role and you'll get footy off the back of that naturally.

Fair enough I see where you're coming from. I think it appears his role is nullify first, then try to hit them back when given the chance. I really liked the way the whole team bought into it though, it wasn't so much a team tag but more of a "don't give him any space".

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

Next political comment gets permanent ban from this website.

I hope i don't get banned for religious comments. Could Max be the next pope?

4 hours ago, RyanD said:

If he wasn't a high draft pick, you wouldn't be saying that. What do you actually see? I don't expect consistency, but I want to see a glimpse. He has no football speed and awareness is very poor. Dropped 2 absolute sitters,

I honestly thought it was a young man who was a bit over excited playing at ‘home’ so to speak, the glimpse is that he tried his heart out and never stopped, will be better.

4 hours ago, Pates said:

He was frustrating, an almost game is exactly it. Each behind he definitely could've (should've) got, he dropped easy chest marks but takes a good grab on the goal line.

I'm on the fence, it's tempting to give him some time at VFL but someone made a good point that his biggest issue isn't getting involved it's getting up to the pace of AFL. Playing at Casey won't help that.

Kolt's speed charts are enormous. He is energetic and a good kick. I think his reaction time and awareness are really poor

3 hours ago, deegirl said:

That first half was rough 😂

I legitimately entertained putting Pies vs Cats on. It’s hard to recall a worse game as a spectacle than that first half.

17 minutes ago, Nasher said:

How is Max

I legitimately entertained putting Pies vs Cats on. It’s hard to recall a worse game as a spectacle than that first half.

I contemplated the same.

Another game I enjoyed. 3 in a row now I am getting used to it.

Had lunch after the game and noticed that even a very good red tastes even better after a win.

A few observations:

• Max is the best Ruck of his generation easily and has to be in the conversation as the best ever. Monumental game. One of many in a wonderful run of 200+.

• Viney again given a role that he executed very well. Nullified and forced Reid’s move out of the middle. He then expanded his role.

• A very even team performance with a spread of quality performances from a number of experienced and inexperienced players.

• We covered Petty’s injury well and generally it was a good game from the coaches.

• Across the board the players look to have more confidence in the ability of their teammates to win the contest and exert pressure.

• Defence played well as a unit and managed to get matchups that they wanted. Caught out a few times, but that happens.

• Midfield did as it liked at bounces and stoppages. Interesting that it was without Oliver there. Will need to watch again to see what happened there. (One of my pet peeves is that after a goal they replay a few different views of the goal and reduce the vision of the center setup to the bottom right only expending it as the ump moves in to bounce the ball. I would love to see who is in there and where they are)

• The forwards did well but could have, once again, made a few of those points goals.

• One of the things the team and coaches referred to a number of times in ‘21, if I recall correctly, was the ability to reset. Either during play or between quarters. I see that happening a bit more from game to game.

• Next round is an early start for me so I will be having breakfast after the game. I hope my coffee tastes excellent.

No matter how good we play, mistakes will be made. I accept that. It does not make it any less frustrating at the time but winning the game wipes a lot of that frustration away. I can reflect on the less good bits of the game in a day or so.

Onward and upward.

7 hours ago, Bang Bang Bang said:

Should also mention Daniel Turner. I’m not sure if he even counts as a young guy anymore and he’s never going to be paid millions of dollars or get AA blazers, but a guy who play to a high level at either end of the ground AND KICK STRAIGHT is worth his weight in gold to this team, and any team going forward. Must be in the 23 for rest of the year.

100% agree. Loved his game last night and is extremely accurate and trustworthy around goals.

Should never have been dropped for Gather Round.

8 hours ago, Pates said:

The Fox Footy commentary team were doing everything to get him suspended, meanwhile Viney cops a fist to the face with eyes not on the ball and they shrug it off. The bias from them is honestly sickening at times. The Waterman free kick with May getting stuck into him was textbook him dropping his knees to initiate contact, but no they just say "not sure what he's complaining about it's a clear free". Guarantee if that's Fritta or Kozzie doing it they call out the drop of the knees.

Also one to note that in the 4th quarter it looked like Reid pushed Viney dangerously into a contest and the best the commentators said was “looks like the umpires are giving Reid a warning”. Didn’t mention what for, didn’t show a replay.

11 minutes ago, TheWiz said:

Also one to note that in the 4th quarter it looked like Reid pushed Viney dangerously into a contest and the best the commentators said was “looks like the umpires are giving Reid a warning”. Didn’t mention what for, didn’t show a replay.

They also didn’t mention at all how petty got into the contest.

I really like how strong goody is being on his position of this. He normally plays a very straight bat, but he’s standing up for players (Melk and petty) as opposed to shying away from a contentious conversation with HQ. Something the strong clubs do.

8 hours ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

It’s the kind of day where the light seems to hesitate, where victories drift past like half-remembered dreams, and the scoreboard whispers things no one quite understands. We stand at the edge of the moment, unsure if we’re walking toward something, or if something quiet is already walking toward us — a ripple in the mirror, waiting for the next wave to arrive.

I read this in Gerrard Whateley's voice.

7 hours ago, Pates said:

I think it's a bit of him being a victim of his own success and standards. The fans know he can (and should) be so much better, but that said the delivery to him was doing no favours in the first half.

I thought he was ok without being good or bad.

I had lost confidence in him, his first month was terrible. The last two weeks he has kicked 2 goals each week. That is a satisfactory result for a forward in today's game. If JVR was kicking 2 a week I would be very happy with him this year. We have lost Petty and potentially Milkshake as forwards for next week's game. Who comes is? How would you know when there is no VFL game to gauge performance.

Not the most impressive win against the lowest team but it's still always tough playing in Perth.

There were moments of great transition footy

Max was a huge component.

And Turner showed some style.

So I'm happy.