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I have an idea for the fixture, to even up past injustices, Dees don’t play at Geelong for the next 40 years.

Goody cops a lot of criticism on here for being boring and unimaginative. I thinks he represents the club and players extremely well at all times. Aclass act is our premiership coach.

Looks like Tomlinson will play - and a good thing too.

Ed Langdons 150th game as well.

All you need to know about the state of football journalism #2 So i decided to listen to the SEN Sanderson strategy slot on catch up. First topic for discussion - Brodie Grundy. Whateley played goodies answer to the the first question of the presser, which is about Grundy. Goody notes the hysteria (his word) in the media and that Brodie will be back. Chief hysteric, Whateley, doesn't bother defending the completely reasonable charge of hysteria. And Sanderson basically disregards what he has just heard from the lips of Goody and says Grundy unlikely to return to the ones this season. I mean the senior coach had just said he will be back for pete's sake. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say at least something like, well Goody was adamant he would be back, but i have my doubts? 5 more mins wasted on rubbish - remembering this is a segment supposedly about strategy. They eventually get to the game and it is all about the Lions. Sanderson's take is they got on top becuase they beat us in the contest and clearances. That's it. That's where the analysis largely ends. And then goes on to say how good he thinks the Lions are and that they a real 'smokey' to win the flag (some smokey - they are third fav) No respect for the dees effort to come back from 5 goals to win - the lions went too defensive apparently. No talk about what we did to wrest momentum back - other than we won contested ball. Fair dinkum, this is supposed to pass as analysis?

GRUNDY'S BACK

Fair enough too.

PETTY'S BACK

That presser says all you need to know about the state of football journalism A nine minute presser. Five minutes of which involved questions about Grundy. That despite Goody being crytal clear about the situation in answering the very first question. And despite Goody addressing some of the stupid media talking points, they continued to ask stupid question (the very first question, which was about Grundy, was a good question - the rest were a joke as Goody had already answered them). Goody was finally asked a football question - about the lions second and third quarters. A vague question got a vague response. What i would have loved to hear being asked was what what actually happened - what did the Lions do differently, what did the dees do not so well.

You could hardly blame Adam for looking elsewhere given the way he has been treated this year, but our key defensive depth would be critically low without him. Turner may end up being a decent player, but he doesn't look like a replacement for May or Petty to me. I'm not sure what happens if one of those two is unavailable and Tomlinson is no longer on the list.

When playing only 1 Ruck I guess you have to name a Ruck in the squad just in case.

I’d love to see Bowey forward

Tomorrow when the actual team is named.

Laird Out! Massive.

My take is that the Grundy move is primarily part of our finals strategy: Petty will not play as a tall fwd. we are accepting of 4th on the ladder with the double chance: we don't need to win the rest of the games. we now know the other contenders, their systems, strengths and weaknesses. we have the luxury of testing finals tactics over the coming weeks to defeat those contenders. if my hunch is right Grundy would know and be a willing participant in these finals plans. Am expecting to see different fwd half tactics when Grundy returns to the seniors in readiness for finals. A few fwd half surprises for opps in finals would be fun!!

Sadly they won’t be able to do a video of me telling my parents. Maybe they could do one of me telling my grandchildren.

100%. Ben McKay has played 65 games across 7 seasons and is 26 years old soon. Frawley at the same point in his career had played 139 games and was All Australian, and won a premiership with the Hawks at 26. So more than twice as many games and achieved both individual and team success. McKay is injured more often than not, and when he does get on the park he’s not exactly lighting it up. He’s essentially a less durable and less successful taller version of Tomlinson at this point. If he didn’t share genes with Harry, he probably wouldn’t be on a AFL list anymore. It’s blatant corruption if AFL grants first round compo for him.

You'd have to think that of the players on the extended bench melk rivers and jj are locks. And surely chandler comes in for spargs. Smith as sub Hibbo and brodie cool their jets at cold Coburg.

Sadly, not the state of merely sports-journalism. I’m a big supporter of the ABC, despite it being such a grind watching their increasingly-amateurish journalists struggle. The Age used to be a tolerable read, but that was a while back. Internationally, it’s a complete mess as journalism suffers under the powers of mass consumption paired with minimal financial input (as has happened in my industry-music). While genuine journalists are asking themselves some big questions about the tenability of their vocations, they are being replaced by people who just want to partake in some vague version of “entertainment”. But I always struggle when trying to recall any sports-related interview that gave me something resembling genuine insight, and wasn’t just guarded, predictable musings from the same old script. I think we need to exhume Jack Dyer and Lou Richards and get the coaches answering some of the real questions.

I thought the idea was for him to go forward!

I'm sure someone will tell me why I'm wrong but the above table seems a totally useless statistic to me.

That's the right perspective. It really shouldn't bother me the lack of respect we received. After all I should be inured to it having posted on dl for so long. But if i was honest, it really does bother. I spent my entire adolescence, and much of my adult life passionately supporting a team that, forget respected, has been openly ridiculed. And i'm jack of it. I have a theory. Footy media is dominated by ex footballers who played in the 80s and 90s. Lyon, Russell, Dunstall, Brereton, ling, Taylor, King, Montagna etc etc. A common thread is the teams they played for did not respect the dees (with the obvious exception of Lyon- who I maintain has spent way more time running us down than he ever has pumping us up). I watched a clip of the last two mins of the game ad called by the mmm team. I'll find it and put here. It is shot of inside their box. The next box over is the sen box. Derwayne Russell is in the box, I assume calling the game. He looks like he is at a funeral foe the whole 2 mins. And doesn't appear to register an emotion hen jakey body marked and then goaled. No doubt I'm reading too much into it, but for me it summed up the antipathy the footy media has towards us.

If I’m Sydney I’m keeping the draft pick and taking Ratagolia as a free agent.

I love they don’t rate us. That permeates the AFL and the public. We’re going to stick it right up em

Averaging 43.5 marks a game...impressive. Expect him to rocket up the rankings.

The way Goodwin has handled this one has been quite exemplary.

Haven't watched the presser - but it sounds more like grumpy goody than laconic goody. I like grumpy goody.

Can’t say I blame him. His did what was asked of him in terms of going and playing well in the twos- got an opportunity to play in the first team and did all that could be asked of him but instead of being rewarded for a good performance he was sent back to the twos even when Petty was playing injured. He’s a good depth player and we might regret it if we let him go. I think we might hold him to his contract. With JJ also rumoured to be looking around, Tmac, BBB, Melksham and Pig all close to the end it would be hard to find replacements for everyone.

Unfortunately for him, perfect fit. Let’s use their 2nd round compensation for him. He is playing better than McKay.

Because of his decorated coaching career? His successor took the same list from bottom 4 to top 4 in a single season.

Bairstow... Bairstow... Nup; can't place him. But I reckon Tommo, or Smitho, or Hibbo will go to him. Dees by an innings and 25 points.

Hammy aside Clayton has been infamous for being beaten up in season. They regularly joked on Gus and Gawny about Clarry barely being able to get his hands above his head with sore shoulders. If he comes back in 3 weeks cherry ripe I think we could see something remarkable. A fresh superstar mid moving freely and chomping at the bit in a top four side, look out!

I'd rather play Coll at the G or Port in Port than Bris at the Gabba.

I can confirm this. I was born in Adelaide and last night I was looking for my phone for a good 2 minutes while holding it.

Yes the hysteria on here by our very own supporters is actually quiet bizarre. Amazing how some get so easily sucked in by people simply giving their opinions.

Surely they could’ve waited until July actually finishes and say last 24 games in July.

The knock on him is what he does with the footy. Averaging 27.3 disposals.

fixed it for you he has: nothing to do with the mfc coaches nothing to do with the mfc players nothing to do with mfc board he's no more an expert than anyone on this message board - in fact, i would speculate that we watch the mfc games a lot more closely and with just as analytical eye as figjam as we are emotionally invested in the club and he's just another talking head on the tv

The other complicating factor for tomo next year is disco Turner, who may well be ahead of tomo too.

Look, I love Bowie. He’s been an inarguable legend and made a lot of his supporters very happy over the years. But he is very prone to massive dips in form. In fact it’s fair to say that the thirty years between “Absolute Beginners” and “Blackstar” were, from both an artistic and AFL perspective, a real walk through the desert.

Ideally, a keeper, but he can't be blamed for thinking about a move. At 29 he needs to make the most of the time he has.

Worst keeper since Jonny Bairstow.

Posted to trigger @Jaded No More 🤪

And of course that one was against us

It takes some good fortune to win the flag. We have a competitive team, but things need to line up and it's possible from year to year that this doesn't happen. I think we are well placed at this time, this year. There's every chance we finish 4th and get an early crack at Collingwood in the QF, a win would clear a path to the flag, all at the MCG. If we can avoid further injuries to star players and get Oliver and Fritsch back before finals, then our squad will be in good shape with a lot of depth and flexibility across all lines - forced by the injuries that we have had. I think we've got at least 30 players who would not be out of place on the premiership dais and that is a big number. I think the opportunity is aligning, whether we are good enough to seize it will be the question. We're up against some formidable opponents in Collingwood, Port, Brisbane and Geelong who all have strong claims.

I rarely respond to anyone who wishes to rebuke or disagree with me, however ‘Bobby’, (who is a regular negative responder) your stupid comments about my apparent preconceived opinions require a response. I almost always forward my weekly reviews of the game within an hour of the final siren.. living close to the G affords me this opportunity… I don’t wait for ages to ‘get the feel of the room’ to ensure I get positive responses As such, I rarely avail myself of statistical lists, which some others regard as the ultimate assessment. I have no biases against or for any players (apart from Dom Tyson ) and my responses are based purely and solely on gut feel and observations. I do not claim to be an expert or infallible, and I can accept it when my opinions are dismissed, however they are only my personal opinions , as indicated by the masthead each week , and as such I’m entitled to write whatever I wish. Everyone has the choice to agree or disagree with my musings, but rather than make spurious comments about my analyses, others are quite welcome to put me on ‘block’ or offer 3 worded alternatives. Hopefully most D’Landers enjoy or are entertained by my weekly offerings, and I will continue to post them, win , lose , or draw.