On 07/02/2026 at 10:09, Fork 'em said:

I was surprised about the embarrassing garbage we served in the Prelim tho'.
Disgraceful.

I wasn’t we looked tired in the last quarter against the Hawks in the qualifying final.

I thought we were also coming off 2 emotional highs.

I predicted a 10 goal loss, the surprise for me was the way it occurred, I expected we’d put up a fight early but get over run as we tired.

The big positive is that we embarked on rebuilding the midfield in the 2023 off season and have continued on that path.

It's as if we saw the departures of Oliver & Petracca coming (and foreseeing the long term injury to Viney)

If we had rested on our laurels and kept faith with the old breed, we'd be in real trouble. The replacement midfield lacks experience but a base of Steele, Kozzie & Rivers gives us something to work with and add-to (along with, down the track, Viney)

However, the other 2 areas of concern is a functioning forward line and to a lesser extent, the backline. But we've recruited players to strengthen both areas

I reckon we'll be ok down back if Lever, Turner, CJ, XT, Petty, Howes, T-Mac (back-up) & Salem can all stay reasonable healthy. If not, we might leak goals

A more mobile forward line will probably see us play only a maximum of 2 bigs in the forward line (Checkers & JVR) ... the rest need to be fleet-of-foot and constantly presenting. A 3rd tall up forward is unlikely

Checkers plays the traditional key forward role but JVR needs to play a more roaming CHF type role (similar to a HHF)

Fritta, Melk, Chandler (HHF) & Latrelle the mainstays with Culley, Kolt, Kozzie & Langford pushing forward as add-ons

And the delivery into the forward line needs to be crisp & precise. But it's a work-in-progress so it's going to take a bit of time to get right

If we can get all 3 areas functioning well (or at least reasonably well) we can win 10 or 11 games

And build from there

As @Bombay Airconditioning mentioned above, there are a lot of middling teams that are quite beatable

We may not be pushing for a top 4 or top 6 spot but neither are the Saints, Blues, Bombers, North, Tigers, Port, Eagles or Pies, in my view

And I'm not convinced that the Crows, Freo, Doggies, Giants or Sydney are genuine premiership threats

We can beat a lot of those teams if we can bring our best and have a good run with injuries

Edited yesterday at 02:371 day by Macca

20 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Alright there, negative Nancy.

Facts.

5 hours ago, Macca said:

A more mobile forward line will probably see us play only a maximum of 2 bigs in the forward line (Checkers & JVR) ... the rest need to be fleet-of-foot and constantly presenting. A 3rd tall up forward is unlikely

Multiple training reports have spoken (surprisingly perhaps, but nonetheless) of the development of Jeffo. What if ...

10 minutes ago, Big Col said:

Multiple training reports have spoken (surprisingly perhaps, but nonetheless) of the development of Jeffo. What if ...

What I can clearly remember was when we played 3 tall forwards in round 1 last season against GWS ... between the 3 (AJ, Jeffo & JVR) they accumulated a total of 10 kicks & 2 marks. Epic fail

GWS waltzed the ball out of their backline on occasions and the match was decided by one kick

If we play Heath as a 2nd ruck we then have the 3rd tall forward covered (if that's at all needed)

In my view, Jeffo will need to bide his time unless Checkers doesn't come up or if he is somehow preferred to JVR (unlikely)

Edited yesterday at 08:311 day by Macca

42 minutes ago, Macca said:

What I can clearly remember was when we played 3 tall forwards in round 1 last season against GWS ... between the 3 (AJ, Jeffo & JVR) they accumulated a total of 10 kicks & 2 marks. Epic fail

GWS waltzed the ball out of their backline on occasions and the match was decided by one kick

If we play Heath as a 2nd ruck we then have the 3rd tall forward covered (if that's at all needed)

In my view, Jeffo will need to bide his time unless Checkers doesn't come up or if he is somehow preferred to JVR (unlikely)

To be fair it was pissing down iirc

1 minute ago, Madz said:

To be fair it was pissing down iirc

I don't remember that but if so, all the more reason for a late change (or 2)

It was a monumental stuff up and set the tone for the next month of losses

Also reckon playing low skilled tall forwards lends itself to long bombs forward from the mids. Take the talls away and the mids need to find more mobile targets

Edited yesterday at 09:241 day by Macca

Anything outside bottom 4 would be a good effort. New coach. New game plan. Old faces moved on. And fox footy calling it "AFLs worst pre season" (referring to injuries).

Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

18 hours ago, Macca said:

We may not be pushing for a top 4 or top 6 spot but neither are the Saints, Blues, Bombers, North, Tigers, Port, Eagles or Pies, in my view

And I'm not convinced that the Crows, Freo, Doggies, Giants or Sydney are genuine premiership threats

We can beat a lot of those teams if we can bring our best and have a good run with injuries

I agree with the sentiments, and the reason I went with wins instead of position is I am not sure how many teams will go super hard to read. I really think Freo and the Dogs have the list (if injury free) to go on a run. Crows I don’t see as premiership material, their defense won’t hold up in finals, Giants have problems at the other end of the ground. I find it hard to see anyone going past Brisbane, and I never back a premier (unless it’s us) to back it up. Sydney I have no idea, feeling is cooked, a couple of big bodies short they are a bit light pack weight wise..

I expect to see some flashes of exciting attacking footy from us this year, but ultimately it's a rebuild year and I don't think we'll be overly competitive. I feel people will be disappointed if they have any greater expectations and think we'll be playing finals. This year is about two keys things;
Pumping games into our young core such as Langford, Windsor, Lindsey, Pickett, Tholstrup, Taylor.
Giving more responsibility to maturing players e.g. Rivers into midfield, leadership role for Turner.

My predictions:

Finishing position: 15th
Best & Fairest: Jack Steele
Best young player: Latrelle Pickett
Leading goal kicker: Bailey Fritsch
Most disposals: Jack Steele
Most marks: Ed Langdon
Most tackles: Jack Steele
Breakout year: Caleb Windsor

If we can keep our defence healthy and intact, that can help us win games

Petty, Lever, Turner, CJ, XT, Salem, Howes, T-Mac, Adams and perhaps even Lindsay the likely candidates

Whilst we're developing, our defence could be a strength, building the team from the backline

What is true, is that we need a big man presence up forward, and down back. We've had it before, but those era's are in the past

I wonder how King sees it all? Is he the type to try the players in different positions? I hope so, as we really don't have a lot to lose by experimenting

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Macca