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Not sure if it has been mentioned here but I thought ANB was really good.

To be fair to the scorers, it is very difficult to tell Maxy & Spargs apart...

Watched the replay again this morning just to make sure my observation was still on par with how how I felt watching it yesterday 1. Steven May is on his way to a 3rd All Australian off the back of the last 2 games. He's a giant down back. Looks incredibly fit. 2. Jake Bowey is now a seriously good player and opposition clubs will start putting time into him. He reads the play so well off half back and isn't afraid to drift across and take an intercept mark. He'd best 22, and an important one now. 3. I thought ANB work rate was first class. Liked him playing in the midfield and didn't seem so rushed and hesitant as he has been in the past. His ability to put work his opponents through his sheer running power will come in handy as teams start to run out of gas towards the end of the year. 4. Petty looks fit and significantly bigger in size. Got outmarked towards the end by a no name. But i put that down to Samson probably not being on their list of players to watch whilst reviewing for this week's game. I think he just caught Petty off guard. 5. McVee was surprisingly not overawed by manning one of the greatest players we've seen this decade in Dusty. Kept his composure and thought he halved a few contests well. Coaches would have been wrapped with his performance. 6. The Gawn Grundy combo certainly overawed their rucks and defence. I know I've had my concerns with how this combination would work but fair to say it was a success yesterday. Grundy is still on managed minutes due to his huge lay off from injury while Gawn looked imposing and strong up forward. Grundy has a history of smashing Tim English so will be interesting to see how this goes against the dogs. 7. I thought Laurie was disappointing. Saw nothing that says he's close to being AFL ready. Concerning for me. 8. Ben Brown still worries defenders and that was justified when he was getting all those free kicks. He'll still get the 1st or 2nd best defender which then means this could release Gawn/Grundy to have significant impact up forward. 9. Woewodin came on an made an impact straight away. Did not once look overawed and I have no doubt this puts him right in thr frame for an early senior debut. Showed more in 1 quarter then what Laurie did for the 3. Its potentially exciting that we could have a Woewodin running around on the G again. 10. We looked 2 levels above Richmond and this was without Salem, Fritsch Viney which is genuinely exciting and scary. So pumped for the season ahead if we can stay fit.

Contrary to what many on here think, he’s a good footballer with smarts, skill and good vision

Thought we did well when we didn't have ball. The Tiges got nailed multiple times because they couldn't find the outlet. Great pressure game, forcing turnovers and then rebounding. Many of the Tiges best couldn't get enough of the ball. How about Gotchin putting the elbows into Harmes head, when he had him pinned on the ground. Stupid, unnecessary, poor self control, should get cited by the match review. Our spread was good, as was the field kicking, noticed some of our kick outs went to the right. They were making good separation from their opponents, we are fit, fast and smart. Thought Chandler and McVee have done enough to keep their spots. Hibbo is possibly depth, the same as Melky. BBB and TMac still need to find their straps. Hopefully on the big stage. Less spear passes into the forwards today, hope they lift the eyes and find those short kicks. Tracc dominant, loved his on the run goal, in the face of Dusty. Wait till Clarry tries (thought he was half intensity), he will kill it. We seemed to do alright at the stoppages. Brody taking marks forward, May taking them in the backline, beautiful. Wings are taken care of. So many rotating through the on ball mids, I wonder if that will be how we go next time or the coaches were just trying things out. Back-line looked steady, though never really under pressure. Great ball movement off that line. How about the way Kossie moves! Wow, get the ball in his hands MFC players.

He lost a one on one when Dusty pushed him in the back and grabbed his jumper. 4 umpires didn’t see half his torso showing as his jumper was pulled up and away from his body. McVee is a real find and added to Hunter and Grundy who improve our best side, helps improve our depth. Also didn’t see much of Woey given his late appearance on the ground , but he did a couple of nice things. Coming along nicely.

I think the rationale for both JJ and JVR was to give them a full run in the twos and get the miles into the legs by play 90% TOG rather than 50-60% TOG in the firsts. JJ is in the frame for round 1, to me it was testing out Laurie to see how ready he might be if he were to get an opportunity this year. I think he's still a fair way off.

Gerard Healy commented in hte first 1/4 on Goody playing young Judd McVee on Dusty, giving him a tatste of the big time . Did well , lost the odd one-on-one but great test McVee passed well IMO

Perhaps Binny, 2022 was the year we spent loading for 2023

JvR improved as day went on..some impressive "clunks". Schache let himself down when, with less than a goal in it, with the ball in contest in their forward half, he thought he would protest the absence of a free kick to him, rather than compete for the ball. Richmond possession. Casey players: Burgoyne did similar to Schache early in game when he nonchalantly jogged along behind a ball that looked like it might go out. It didn't. Richmond waltz in, grab it and goal. Goonan competed very well. As always, Munro in it all day. Mitch White was missed and is needed back in team. George Grey injured early, little impact but very clever goal late in game. Roan Steele competed quite well, marred by a sloppy return of ball to a Richmond player which resulted in a 50m penalty to tigers and a goal. Team will improve on that performance.

Spargo's attempt at goal in the 2nd quarter with about 6 minutes left hit the post. Chandler was pushed in the back in the goal square. Gawn followed up took the advantage and kicked the goal. Commentators were day dreaming at the time so it wasnt clearly broadcast.

Was on Dusty most of the game and kept him quiet which is a giant win. I think they gave him a purely defensive role this week to see how he goes against arguably one of the scariest players you’ll ever find yourself pinned against in a one on one situation. Kept his cool and did a really good job. He might just be our next Jetta/Hibbo!

Chandler worked really hard but I wondered whether he feels he has to start kicking goals so took low percentage shots (two I think) from the 45-50m range. Not sure he should have licence to kick for goal from that range especially when there is a breeze. The ball floats off line or tapers off at the end. At least one of the two was a point. If he doesn't have the distance he should aim for the top of the goal square. He could learn from Spargo who always looks for a closer target when he is that far out. Spargo knows his limitations and plays to his strengths.

Two things I loved today: Players taking time to assess their options, and not always handballing to the open player. Last year teams learnt to roll off their opponent to cover our outnumber. Today several players feigned to handball and then turned to open up the field. It was great to see. Pressuring ball carrier - last year we folded back a lot and let teams run the ball downfield. Today the team made sure to pressure whoever had or was about to take possession. The perfect example being when May made that huge tackle on the wing to halt a rebound by the Tiges. It was the result of 5 other players rolling off their man to pressure the next in line to receive possession. if was so good to see these adjustments 😁

Played an absolute ripper. Reads the fall and bounce of the ball so well and accurately and consistently hits up a player. Back to his best yesterday and in that form a lock in best side.

He was off target today for sure, but his kicking action looks pretty good. The one thing he can do that Kozzie, Spargo, ANB (and if he was still at the club Toby Bedford) can't do is cover the distance from +45 metres out quite easily.

Spargo is playing good football!

Happy to take the 0 points.

richmond got frustrated and got dirty

Just finished watching on replay. My main take away is that Kamdyn McIntosh should just shave his head. C’mon mate, you’re not fooling anyone.

Yes we did!!! PLAYED WIN LOSS FOR AGAINST % POINTS MELBOURNE 2 2 0 226 117 193.16 8 BRISBANE 2 2 0 190 99 191.92 8 ADELAIDE 2 2 2 188 118 159.32 8 WESTERN BULLDOGS 1 1 0 143 85 168.24 4 GWS 1 1 0 122 77 158.44 4 GEELONG 2 1 1 183 144 127.08 4 FREMANTLE 2 1 1 158 138 114.49 4 ESSENDON 2 1 1 80 75 106.67 4 SYDNEY 2 1 1 151 153 98.69 4 COLLINGWOOD 2 1 1 180 184 97.83 4 ST. KILDA 2 1 1 113 137 82.48 4 CARLTON 2 1 1 138 171 80.70 4 RICHMOND 2 1 1 146 194 75.26 4 WEST COAST 2 1 1 136 187 72.73 4 GOLD COAST 2 0 2 75 80 93.75 0 PORT ADELAIDE 2 0 2 137 176 77.84 0 NORTH MELBOURNE 2 0 2 158 218 72.48 0 HAWTHORN 2 0 2 153 244 62.70 0

Just for fun (starting early) went to the Punt Road End to have a squiz at what that bunch thought, which could be divided into three categories, (including those not smart enough to be able to breathe through their noses). 1, The umpires gifted us goals but after a dismal 1st quarter they broke even in the clearances and are on track for a victorious campaign. 2, they are a mile off, Cotchin doesn't work as a forward, Melbourne looks formidable, we are cheating the Salary cap, Melbourne is fit, and our transition is a thing to behold. 3, Melbourne is making the same mistake as 2022, going too hard to soon. Premierships aren't won in the preseason. They all begrudgingly rate us, and our list. They are a bit scared of Grawndy...

The team: R.Baldi, M.Buntine, T.Burgoyne, P.Cross, K.Farris-White, T.Freeman, L.Goonan, G.Grey, M.Hibberd, B.Howes, M.Jefferson, J.Jordan, A.Moniz-Wakefield, J.Munro, J.Schache, O.Sestan, D.Smith, R.Steele, A.Tomlinson, D.Turner, K.Turner, J.van Rooyen, T.Sheridan, R. Valentine, W.Verrell

ANB was back to his 2021 form. Great news! He is so important to us.

Big tick for the Gawn Grundy axis yesterday. Both marking and kicking goals and Maxy a presence all over the ground. They are a real point of difference for us. What odds both are in the AA team this year? Worth a punt i reckon.

Loved the fact we looked for different options in transition. We got one dimensional last year to our detriment. If we are as clinical as we were yesterday, the unpredictability, we will be very hard to stop. A fit maxy helps a heap too

Which makes it all the more pleasing… it means we were performing against a team that was 100% committed, as opposed to just going through the motions in a practice match.

He was excellent FND, if we were giving votes he’d be top 3 for me.

I know it was just a praccy, but we looked several classes above an apparent “contender” yesterday. Trent Rivers is about to have a huge season.

Not like he doesn't have priors in this exact move.

Yze said in presser that the midfield got tired end of last season so they will be sharing the load through this season - that was a intereating.

His performances have risen and he is 'sought' by teammates for his vision, passing and innovative ball retention. Sparrow and Rivers are producing great contributions, as well. Both are now 'courageous' interceptors, 'beautiful' kicks and surprisingly adept distributors. ANB was impressive against the Tigers, producing nifty intercepts and multiple area tackles to interrupt the flow of ball-handling and distribution amongst the Tigers' best efforts. His ground coverage was extensive, rapid and highly valuable.

This action seems to be Cotchin's modus operandi in so many matches - certainly, many times against the Dees over the past few seasons. He is a strangler, attempting to damage the larynx and trachea of players with that forearm, elbow and full body weight driven vertically into the sensitive frontal neck area when a player is on the ground. Viney did get a reprimand for this action a while ago and learned his lesson - but Cochin never does. It is a seriously dangerous action poorly regulated by umpires from a number of exponents across the 'popular' clubs.

Both are bad. The head was meant to be sacrosanct last year but the MRP turned a blind eye to “name” players. No name players of course are canon fodder for the MRP. Cotchin will get off scot-free

When the players are under increased pressure with the ball in their possession - and they have to move it on, positively to a teammate ASAP / immediately to avoid losing a possession no matter how brief it might have been - Angus is your man. Today, against Richmond, he read the tackles and the set-ups in such moments and nearly always, positioned himself to perfection - particularly in the second half - to achieve or gather the wanton pass/handball/tap and move it on for the team to better effect. Mr Fix-it.

Ben brown is copping a bit and whilst stats wise he may not have had an incredible practice match, one view, for what it’s worth, is that he will take the best or second best tall defender every week….and like today that may just allow our other tall forwards (think Max, TMac, Grundy) to outplay the oppositions third or fourth best tall defender they have….. food for thought 💭 🤷🏼‍♂️

General comment but you can agree or disagree: the inclusion of Pickett, Rivers, Spargo, and to a lesser extent Sparrow into midfield rotations and stoppage structures indicates a natural maturation of those players and of the FD to avoid the sins of last year where we seemingly had depth but no adaptability or flexibility of the roles that the depth players could play.

Insider Tigers told me they want Oliver, Petracca or Sparrow. They also said they would sell us the Punt Rd Oval for any two of them.

Watched the replay when we got home last night went to sleep pretty happy, loved the speed of the game and disposal accuracy at 84% at one stage of the game. Still annoyed by some lose turnovers going forward and a few howlers by the umps but to see Rivers, Sparrow and Bowey take that next step and Chandler, McVee, Laurie and Taj given a run in the ones is very positive. All our stars shone and Grundy and Hunter lived up to the pre-season hype so we are in for one hell of a ride where players will get plenty of opportunities and our stars will be rested adequately to get them to the pointy end of the season in good shape. Now for the Bulldogs at the “G”. Go Dees.!!!!!!!!

A few observations: Ben Brown played a mixed bag. He got a lot of free kicks in Q4 for doing what he does best - long leads and long arms, which meant the defender gave away those free kicks. In other words, he earned those frees by playing the game his way. Also, in the first half I thought rather than playing an ordinary game, he played as a decoy forward which allowed Grundy and Gawn to thrive as forwards if Tom McDonald continues to take all the ruck contests close to goal, we'll lose most of them. However, this might not matter as it allows us to have at least one ruckman a kick behind the play which will make it hard for the opponents to clear the ball I know Petty was outplayed in the last quarter. Until then, though, I thought he was absolutely dominant ANB was outstanding I loved the mixing and matching of the on ballers in the centre square. Whereas 2021 we thrived on consistency, in 2023 we might benefit from the variety I found Chandler to be a disappointment. I expected more from him Hunter has been a great pick up

Richmond could not find a way through defensive coverage and related defensive pressure, plus the extraordinary ground coverage by the Dees' backmen, the midfielders and the opportunistic hunger of the forwards (smaller blokes, in particular). By attempting to get 'dirty' in response, they exposed themselves as 'the not so tough' and mostly, were again brushed aside by the Dees' mix of mobile muscle and brawn. This was an absolute delight to watch at the ground; those who could not attend really missed some enigmatic moments of Dee-resolve. Phabulous!

This threads a cracking read - can't wait to watch the game this afternoon finally! Thanks all for your comments God I'm so excited for the season ❤💙

"Captain Cotch"? Say it ain't so! There's a poster of him at MRP headquarters with the words "Our Hero" under it.

The other thing I will add was how baffling a decision it was to play Laurie ahead of Jordon. Laurie looks a mile off the pace and will need to get Jack Viney strong to make it.

I don't reckon Im going out on a limb here but geez I like the look of Sparrow. He appears to have developed/matured and I'm tipping a monster season from him.