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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/02/17 in all areas
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13 points
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12 points
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Midfield: Rucks: Gawn took some strong grabs mainly behind the play and one forward, they didn't use him for the long bail out kick. May as well save that for the real stuff. Spencer's work rate was good and his skills ok. Gawny pushed him around at some stoppages. Flippers was a bit of a disaster but looked willing. Inside: Clarry the stand out, only thing I'd like to see more is him straighten and pump it in from stoppages instead of kicking it to the wingman who gets held up. Viney scratchy around the ground but willing. Jones smooth running with the ball and kicking long to players in space. Trenners with plenty of touches. Salem with moments of class. Brayshaw came on in the 2nd half and made an impact inside and out. Outside: Lewis spent time in a number of spots but his kicking to corridor options was the highlight of the game for me. Bugg's work rate was very good. Stretch the same, he links up smoothly. Harmes spent some time on the wing and also provided an option. Forwards Tall - Weed with some moments, Hogan working really hard. Watts hopefully at about 50% but the class was there. Pedda looked solid inside 50 for the 2nd team. Hulett mobile and involved a lot as well, bobbed up for a few goals. Med/Smalls - Tracc with burst, just needs to balance up. Vanders with some hard stuff but scratchy. JKH prolific for the 2nd forward team, really busting to get in to space. DJ's tackling was excellent and good positioning. Garlett missed a couple of chances but he also played a part in good passages with speed and crumbing Backs Tall - Tom kicked well and mopped up around half back. Oscar was solid in the air, just misses kicks when he has to judge depth and movement particularly inside 50. Frost was sharp for the 2nd side and had a few strong runs and lowered the eyes and kicked well. Garland didn't do much wrong. Med/small - Hunt's defensive work and aerial work strong, started by doing too much with the ball but then settled in to some good options. Vince made some precise short kicks and looked decent. Melksham got a lot of the footy and was mostly decent with it, tried to take Oliver on from the mark deep in the backline and probably regretted that choice. Wagner very composed and kicking short sharp kicks.11 points
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Our zoning defence permitted their forwards to be 30m+ in the clear at The Darklands last year. They played us like a guitar. Watching Roo and the others waltz into the 50 with little direct pressure made me blow a phoofa valve and took 10 years off my life in one afternoon.11 points
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A couple more things from this evening. Best play of the night was when Salem strolled through the middle and sent a 65m kick over the Macs and down Weids throat for a goal. Weids had to make body contact with Buggy to take the mark and it hurt Buggy and he's a tough boy. The post-game training drill - I think a Max Rooke initiative - was sensational. It was basically a one-one wrestling drill and then a lead-up. It was so mean. Watching Watts have to battle VDB was gripping and Salem and Vince was intriguing. But the main act was Petracca and Maynard. It was huge. They will all be sore boys tomorrow.9 points
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9 points
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I managed to attend and found most of the play very ordinary with a lot (and i mean a LOT) of turnovers and kicks intercepted. To be fair, i didnt think it was the easiest to see who was who. A blue team player could be wearing a white hat or vv. Lets hope thats all it was. Standouts in no particular order as I noticed them were trengove, salem, lewis, oliver, brayshaw, hunt and jkh. In terms of the new players, dion j seems a good tackler but was a little snap happy, burning teammates to use his apparently elite radar to miss everything a few times. Lewis is a godsend - positions himself very well and receives the ball often at the back of the square where he swivels and switches out wide. Will be a very good addition. As noted Hannan didnt partake in the intraclub but there is something about him, rangey type but good style. Mckenna is neat and might be a player but he still struggles to find it or get involved. T smith - certanly hard at it but hes a bit 'messy' for mine. Not sure that matters, robbo was the same kind of messy, but i will say i can at least understand why he never got picked up. Keilty - I was a fan at casey but he either struggled to get involved today or i didnt notice him. When I did, I generally liked what i saw. Some random other thoughts...viney was absolutely off his game, very quiet and looked like he struggled with the heat. A lot of emotional energy expelled this week for him for sure, but I personally feel it is way too early for co captaincy and very early days that looked true. Sorry. Frost will play many games - pleasingly controlled his kicking and set up quite a bit with his speed. Hunt is somewhat of a revelation but can do too much. Needs to be careful he doesnt get stuck with the hog (sp?) tag as he continually ignores options instead choosing to sidestep and try the getaway. Tommy Bugg was rightfully filthy for a few moments he was ignored. I love Salem. Just does the right thing, 95% of the time. Very similiar to lewis actually. Weid looked alright. We miss kent. Jeffy actually looked in decent nick. Avb is important. Anb is not, fumbly one paced mid who just isnt as refined as the top level requires. Watts very quiet, didnt look like the apparent AA season he is supposed to have according to a few. I like hulett. I dont think anyone has said this but jkh is competing with stretch for the wing spot. Both good link players with neat skills and play to their limitations. not sure we could carry both in same team. Ok that rambled on. Any questions happy to answer8 points
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Plenty to like and clearly the improved attacking game style last year was a Goody initiative based on what we saw today and you can expect more of the same this season. Positional moves - Hoges playing futher up the ground with Weid leading from goalsquare, Salem in the middle, Bernie down back again. If you take the view that our best forward six was matched against our best defensive six as it seemed to be, then Harmesy at this stage is missing out. But then the midfield was a complete swap of stars, so don't read too much into that. There were two memorable collisions - the first involved Viney barrelling into Oliver and the second involved Harmes and Vanders. All parties gave as much as they took and it was yet another sign that we have some tough hombres now. My best six, and clearly it depended on what side of the ground you were on a bit, were as follows: Viney - he was part of what I'd say was a weaker 18 and was in everything and absolutely scary. The number of backward steps by some of the Casey boys when he went at them was quite evident. He is a monster - I call him Naim Suleymanoglu. Dion Johnstone - He was everywhere for the weaker team and with Kent out there is a chance he'll get a go in a pre-season game as a high half-forward. He tackles well - but don't they all do that now. But he's really fit for a young bloke - although kicking precision somewhat questionable at times. Billy Stretch - the longer the game went, the better he got. He just makes space and makes himself available all the time and he man's up so quickly. Oliver - the big difference is that he now kicks the ball as well as handballs it. Everybody I take to says the same thing - he's the one that will be special. JKH - As with Billy, he came into it more and more as the match went on. As with Dion, there's Kent's spot available at the moment, so don't write him off just yet. He looks stronger than two years ago - perhaps he just needed to fill out like Hunt. Wagner - Okay yes I know Hunt was more explosive and we all like to put Hunt in our best six because he just attacks like a madman, but Wags accumulated the ball down back and switched with confidence. He played with the weaker back six, but he's another who might just shock a few by being named in the squad for Rd 1.7 points
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7 points
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7 points
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While they're most definitely welcome, I take little from the reports and these shortened games. I remember a few years ago supporters overly excited by Toumpas who kicked 3-4 goals. I walked away thinking he'll never make it. Fwiw, from someone who was there too (not me and take little notice) 3. Jones 2. Gawn 1. Petracca On the latter, thinks he looks ready to bust a game open. Also loved Brayshaw's second half, Frost in the backline, Garland (and he's not a fan), Oliver, JKH, Weideman (build and competitiveness - smart footballer with good handballs), Hunt, Pedersen, Lewis, Salem, Trengove early, Harmes and Melksham. But they walked away knowing that with Petracca, Brayshaw, and Oliver we have incredible young talent not matched by many in the league.6 points
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Split into forwards, mids and defenders atm. Interesting to see Trac in with the forwards Edit: turns out I'm not driving so time for a couple of frothies boys6 points
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Y'all are far too scarred by the last time the club appointed co captains. We are a club of substance now. Our list is infinitely better in terms of quality and quality experience. Our coaching group are arguably one of the best in the league. There is absolutely no comparison to the Melbourne of old and given that, I have no idea way people even raise an eyebrow about this announcement. GWS, Hawthorn St Kilda and Sydney have all had them without a problem. In fact I can't think of a team whereby the co-captaincy has had a negative impact at any club other than ours during our dark period. Jack Viney is unquestionably better prepared, in better form and has a far greater support network around him in comparison to both Grimes and Trengove. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. View this appointment like the succession plan we put in place with Goody/Roos. It's the sameeeeeeee.6 points
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Viney has Jones who is 28 to learn from. Grimes and Trenners were too young but under completely different circumstances.6 points
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I like Gus. I really do. There were times in 2015 that I saw him create something out of nothing. Speed, evasiveness, long, pin point kicks to Jeffy or Hoges. I think he has a higher ceiling than most at the club. Don't get me wrong... I see great things in a lot of the kids at our club, but Gus has something that makes me think he will be an absolute champion... Simon Black style... when he's a little bigger, older and wiser. A real footballers footballer, and we are lucky to have him.6 points
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Some observations from Olympic Park. This must be the fittest melbourne side for years. Hogan and Vandenburg look like they have lost kilos. Vandenburg no sign of any ankle problems whatsoever. At the end of the match players went one on one...leading to mark. They had to start this drill wrestling with each other and the make a break to receive the pass. Vandenburg and Watts were going at (wrestling) like madmen...followed by Hunt and someone I couldn't identify....but they could hardly walk after it. The wrestling went on for ages with the coaches yelling...'go on pull him down 'and 'don't let him make a break for it' This wrestling drill to break away was repeated a number of times ..........all after the match game was over...more than two hours into the training session...!...and it was as hot as hell. Wow! No surprise to see Harmes and others battling cramp. Salems kicking was as usual sensational....another who I noticed was deadly accurate...J Lewis.....yes we have two now. Frost looks like a huge unit with pace pace pace....he was a standout. Brayshaw looks deadly...Petracca looks even more like a tank.....Viney looks like he has added another size or two to his chest. Like I mean he is noticeably wider. Gawn outstanding but now it is not unusual, rather expected. Jones is still the captain on field telling them all when their effort was lacking. Melksham was busy but for me is in that small payer category and we have a number of them. The overall impression I got was a severe workout on a hot day that went for more than two hours.....full on .....and they look ready to burst out of he blocks!5 points
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Everyone needs a 'told you he'd be a star' and I'm selecting Dion. Our new Aaron Davey/ Serial pest hybrid. Unless, of course, he's a dud in which case I knew he wouldn't cut the mustard.5 points
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5 points
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I see a number of contingencies in this decision. 1 Rewards Viney for previous leadership initiatives he's undertaken and incentive to strive for higher goals 2. Shares the burden and allows both to still focus on their respective games. 3. Should one of them go down with injury - heaven forbid - the other will - hopefully - still be on the park. 4. An ability to cover media, sponsor and member commitments more broadly. I don't mind this at all.5 points
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As much as its been obvious Viney will one day captain our club I still feel as though Jones should do it solo until the end of his career.. or at least when he says I just want to play and not be captain then hand it over but I don't like both5 points
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5 points
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Comparing us v them is pretty difficult because there's probably more differences than similarities. So if you just study St Kilda's trajectory without us they have a strong case for the 8. If you break down their best 22 you can see they have a really even side. Backline - 7 Talls - Carlisle fills a huge hole. Dempster (Or N Brown), Roberton Smalls - Geary, Savage, Webster, Montagna have played a lot together. That might not be a great backline but it's a reliable 7 without a weakness. Webster's the youngest of the lot and has played 50 games. They'll have to replace Montagna and Dempster but at the moment they play at a high level. Midfield - 8 Inside: Steven is a gun. Ross is underrated. Armitage, Dunstan will now get pressure from handy depth imports in Steele and Stevens. Again, solid. Freeman is a wildcard as well. Outside; Riewoldt on a wing is a beast. Newnes is handy. Ruck - Hickey is an above average ruck, Bruce does enough as a back up. Plus they have some ok depth options Utility - Gilbert is someone they probably have to pension off but he works really hard covering the ground Forward - 7 Talls - McCartin, Bruce, Membrey, with the option of Riewoldt chopping in. That's a strong trio. Smalls - Weller (handy role player), Billings (unfulfilled but still decent), Gresham - very classy. Acres is the player Saints fans rave about who tore us apart last year but otherwise has some good and bad days. So yeah they probably lack star power but they are filled with hard working players. Their backline has good skill and a lot of experience to set up. Their midfield and forward line has a lot of hard workers and hard runners which helps their game style. They main reason why I think they are strong chance for the 8 is their coaching. Richo has been building for 3 years with a similar plan and each year they add to it a bit but mainly they just manage to sustain it for longer and against better opposition. They also do things like kick outs really well which shows to me they have coaches with will executed plans and players who are on board with them. Carlisle is the big trade in but mainly they are a list that's been building with a coach. I think it's fair to expect they progress because so far every season under Richardson has followed a steady trajectory and they seem to be together as a club and not reliant on individuals.5 points
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I was a wee bit disappointed by the many examples of poor disposal.Turnovers kill ya. I liked the obvious camaraderie, the serious effort, the emphasis on moving the ball. I really liked the work of Gawn, Lewis, Pederson, JKH, Wagner, Brayshaw, Garland, Garlett, Hogan, Weidemann, Hunt, Melksham, Frost, Salem and Oliver. The Bugger was good too. Noticed the lads yelling at JKH for not looking for options when he blazed away. Because I'm not familiar with the new guy's numbers, I missed the contributions of Keilty and Smith. Pederson looks thin, as does Spencer (Street). Both look fit and ready to go. I still worry about poor kicking from the McDonald lads, as much as I love them. Frost seems a very likely option for a key back role to me.4 points
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My view has nothing to do withViney. I just dont like ( conceptually) the idea of co captains. Id rather one4 points
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Staggers me when people make such strong judgments about the merits of decisions like this. The reality is we have absolutely no idea about the off-field attributes of the players that make them suitable or not for leadership positions. On-field leadership is of course important, but we don't know the majority of what goes on behind closed doors, and only get a glimpse into what the players are like as people and as leaders. If Goodwin and the other coaches think Viney is ready, how on earth could we possibly argue from our positions far removed from the inner sanctum of the club?4 points
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Good to hear Bradshaw performing well. He's a super talent who was restricted a lot last year due to knee injury then concussions. If he gets a good run at it he will definitely help us move up the ladder. He's a natural footballer and is versatile as well. I think he'd give good drive if required to play half back, he's obviously good through the midfield and decent up forward as well. He's one of the most exciting reasons to watch us this year.4 points
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4 points
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can't see the point what will viney do now that he couldn't do as a vice-captain? jonesy will still be the top dog just meaningless tokenism4 points
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If not for missing a string of games through injury Viney would be a back to back best and fairest winner. Talent shouldn't have a huge bearing on leadership, but I think performance is an important factor and I think it's fair to say Viney is our best performed player over the last 2 years. That's worthwhile considering.4 points
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Sydney have done co-captains for years. Had no problems. Clarko turfed Mitchell when he had done nothing wrong and put Hodge in the job. Now he's turfed Hodge and replaced him with a guy who just missed a year with cancer. Ward and Davis work really well together on field and off for GWS. The easy call would've been to keep Jones and skipper and Viney as VC. So Goodwin hasn't done this because it was easy. He's done this because he thinks it's right. Jones has been a great warrior but you can't get extra points because the club has been a basketcase in the past. Otherwise you don't ever raise the standard. He's still captain, as he deserves to be. Sharing the job doesn't have to diminish it.4 points
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Viney will relish being co-captain and will help him go another level. Great result4 points
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4 points
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Why does every topic that is slightly contentious have to turn into a pissing contest Personally I don't like co captains, but congratulations to Jack for achieving what was probably a boyhood dream and he has earned it Lewis in our Leadership Group makes me gooey inside4 points
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Viney capt at 22, everyone says great Grimes capt at 22, everyone says too young Just sayin4 points
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4 points
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Trump's trying to repeal Dodd-Frank. If there was every any evidence that he's in it for himself and his billionaire friends, not the little guy, this is it. But his supporters don't care about evidence. They don't seem to care about Gary Cohn as someone mentioned earlier. Don't get me started on Betsy DeVos. That country, in a word, is [censored].4 points
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The hype for them is real. They missed Finals in 2016 only by %. They came within a few points of beating numerous top 4 teams and were unlucky not to have won some of those games due to poor umpiring. They have good young talent, aren't too reliant on older players anymore, and have a really strong forward line in the making. I think they'll be top 8 this year, possibly around 6th. I'm guessing/hoping we can squeeze into the bottom of the 8 this year and make the leap to top 4 next year. Until we can beat them, and consistently beat other teams below us (eg. Essendon, Carlton this year) then they deserve more expectation and hype than us. I think we'll surpass them in a year or two and have a better shot at a flag, but they're a better team than us based on form at the moment.4 points
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The saints are a strong chance to play finals, if they have the young talent to cover the loss of senior guys over the next few years remains to be seen but I can understand the hype for 20174 points
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I fail to see any positive to having co-captains. the players and LG need one person to look to lead them. Jones for 2 more years, then Viney solo at age 24. no need to heap pressure on viney at 22, he already put enough pressure on himself to succeed.3 points
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Have to agree with you Poita. Am a huge fan of Viney and Jones, but I can't see any reason why Viney couldn't have been named Vice Captain. It still elevates Viney above the remainder of the leadership group, and it identifies him as the captain in waiting. You have to wonder whether the playing group actually voted Viney in as the captain, but the club and coach have vetoed the choice unless done as co-captains with Jones. I Feel for Jones...3 points
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3 points
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Jack Viney has been a leader since he arrived at the Club. His professionalism and intensity at training, his aggression and never say die attitude on the field plus his ability to listen and evolve his game to the point last year he was recognised as our best player at a mere 70 games. Plus he'd have won the bluey in 2015 if not for injuries. The kid's a champ on the rise and deserves the promotion. Jones too deserves to retain the Captaincy, so a good decision all around.3 points
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Jack - I know you're salty, but Jones was barely in the leadership group when yourself and Trengove were given the role of co-captains. This is totally different. We have more accomplished leaders at the club who can support Viney - Jones has done it for years, as has Bernie and Jordan Lewis. That's not a knock on your good self, and thanks for your contributions to the club, but this is much, much different and you know it. Just sayin'.3 points
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Also, there were a heap of posters last year who were complaining about Jones' lack of leadership skills. Now they'll probably complain about the dual captaincy role as well. Some are never happy.3 points
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3 points
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3 points
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Yes Mooney it took me 3 weeks to recover my voice after shouting instructions in vain all afternoon We were dissected by a game plan and did FA to counter it. Those who suggested it was a part of Roos'training plan are on the money3 points
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The reason for the hype is that they're building a ripper list that will be top 4 as early this year. If they can overcome their interstate hoodoo and go 3-3, they will finish top 4. Unlike the Dees, they actually use their home-ground to advantage winning 9 of their last 12 at Etihad, meanwhile we can't even beat rubbish sides like Carlton and Essendon on our home turf. To add insult, the Saints won 3 from 3 at the G. Unlike us, they can actually beat the sides below them when they're heavy favourites. We on the other hand lose to sides that either have 11 of their best players suspended or face a team on an 11 game losing steak that had packed up for the year. As much I don't like it, they will play finals before us I fear.3 points
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Absolutely. Still horribly underrated around these parts. To be fair, he has probably earned his spot ahead of Gus and even Oliver at this stage. He was the more consistent of the three last year and, while I don't mean to sell Oliver or Gus short, Stretch had a terrific second half to the year. It's a great conundrum to have, though.3 points
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Welcome Billy. I'll be really interested to see how Goodwin plans for this. It's a fascinating first duel for him. His defensive set up was badly exposed on both occasions last year, so it'll be be telling what tinkers and tweaks he's made. The closer we get to the season proper, the more exited I am that we're playing first up at Etihad - a ground I despise. It's the perfect test to see where we're at and our credentials for September. Have we shed the soft underbelly or do we remain mentally susceptible? We'll know a lot by the end of Round 1. Which is great. Little room for [censored] teasing. As for the Saints, they've actually got some pretty impressive KP stocks nowadays, but their midfield going forward remains a liability. One or two do a lot of heavy lifting in the engine room and make the rest look a lot better than they are.3 points
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