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"We set out that night for the cold in the North I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word I said, where are we goin', he said we'd be back by the fourth I said, that's the best news that I've ever heard The wind it was howlin' and the snow was outrageous We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn" Selected Lyrics from ISIS BOB DYLAN So to start let me paint the scene for you, given I have prequeled the view upon arrival at Casey Fields today. I could be forgiven when I cast my mind back to the Dystopian rain and Apocolyptic scenes that were reminiscent of Sci Fi classic "Bladerunner" It was so dark the illuminations of the scoreboard lights added to the errie backdrop of an enveloping storm coming in from the West. Not only was it as cold as a mother in laws kiss, the scene of witches hats and cones set up and the stark contrast of about a dozen footballs spread randomly but without owners just added to the ridiculousness of the situation. Where the hell were the players?? Had they been zapped of by Kevin Sheedys "Martians" into an entirely new space and time continuum?? Further confusion was added when just before the storm struck the lights of the scoreboard suddenly went of. Rain , Sleet, Hail ensued for about half an hour and then, like the dawn of time the clouds lifted and the sun started to break through and as if waiting for a divine signal the players appeared and started warm ups! Notable absentees None that I could see although Mitch Brown and a few others Tomlinson I think and others were on modified duties ( Remembering that I was outside the ground) masked up) Skills, Drills and Views Wet ground footy was the order of the day and the players were split into two groups, It appeared random and mixed between ones and twos although the core group and forwards were practicing contested footy getting it out into the open overlap and sending the ball to an unmarked and leading T.Mac interesting ly BB was also alone and one out in the drill. The others were practicing contested close in footy and handballing to players in hotly contested match simulations. It appeared to me that close on contested ball then moving it out quickly to a target and creating overlap were the possible instructions. Another drill involved individual one on one contests and again emphasis was on quick , precise execution of skills and laying it of to best option. Other observations The session went for about an hour only and just as quickly as it started within a few minutes all players had disappeared back into the rooms. Player watch We seemed to have almost all at training I didnt see any notable exclusions, I would think Weeds might play again in the twos although watching Melksham, Bowey and Jones they all might be close, BOWEY Tantalisingly so, trained well he reminds me a lot of Caleb Daniel. After watching I could not get a line on selection and even though they would have the main team selected final inclusions might not be made until later. All in all it appeared to be an energetic session, no one appeared to be lethargic or just going through motions it was more like a "down to business" type session. I did not observe any goal kicking practice in the time I was there as an aside. Finally, as you know I have been adverse to taking the tracks outside the ground for fear of slitheras, but today was so gloomy at the start I was expecting to see this posted around the ground. Cheers PF

I don't get the angst about the venue and the travel/disruption. Does the venue really matter? And regarding disruptions we have had a dream run so far this year: 5 i/state trips of 1 hr each, all fifo or overnight. Whereas, Syd and GWS left home at a moments notice to come to Vic, then moved to Qld and there they stay. Adel and Port told to pack for 3 weeks and went to airport then told to go home, then told to get to the airport. They've not been back since. Lions told to come to Vic to play and the next day told the game will be in Qld so they went back. Ess told to pack up and go to Qld and they are still there. Cats, Bulldogs and Saints have been to Perth at least once. Saints played several games in Cairns. Freo have had to play several Home games on the eastern seaboard. Cats and Pies had to endure the silly SA quarantine rules. Its not as if quarantine in Perth is a hardship. Teams quarantine at the Joondalup Resort - not a shabby place. It is the place the AFL has tentatively booked for finals contingency. Players leave the resort to train and play Eagles. In the meantime they can golf, swim etc at the resort. Cats, Bulldogs and Saints have been to Perth at least once. Saints played a few games in Cairns. Goodwin said he expects to play at Metricon. Max has said they expect to spend 8 days in WA for the Eagles game. Not cast in stone but as solid as can be in the everchanging covid environment. Just saw LN's post - every chance we fly from Qld straight to W.A. arriving midnight/1.00 am. Probably better than flying back to Melb then out to Perth the next day.

Aye, when I were a lad, we lived in shoebox in middle of road, with nowt but a handful of gravel for dinner. ???

I doubt he wants it. It’s probably just a farewell game before he’s delisted at the end of the season.

Any chance we find out where we're playing before the weekend??

I've gone from obsessively checking infection numbers and related info to refreshing twitter feeds and checking demomnland for any information on where our game in 3 DAYS is going to be played. Please let it be Metricon

Think it is fair enough for Gawn and Goodwin to tell a different story externally (general public) than internally. No use throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Maintain the perception that everything OK. Internally, I think they would be asking some very difficult questions to some of the senior guys (Hibberd, TMac, Brayshaw, Langdon, ANB, etc).

But it doesn’t have to be one or the other, right? It can be both at the same time, ie., atrocious umpiring AND not playing well. Therefore, you can have two reasons and not necessarily one excusing the other. BTW, feel free to tell me to STFU but I think I’m sorta making sense here. ?

We will be playing this game on the Gold Coast, then we will fly direct to Perth and quarantine for 7 days before playing WC at Optus. We need to win both, please!

This is bordering on the ridiculous, AFL site still showing TBC, it is approaching a Carry on satire. Come on Gil get a grip man , make statement, Do, don’t just think, Do.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've just put TBC into Google maps and it's come up with the Templestowe Baptist Church. I would have thought Demons and the Baptist Church might not lead to the best possible outcome.

Not sure you can say Hardtack necessarily shares this view. What he is doing is sharing his age by referencing this Monty Python gem.

Luxury, sheer luxury

Hoping Goodwin has a cunning plan for the rest of the year

Post of the year. Not so much for its content (as entertaining as it is) but for the dedication you showed in attending in the first place. Edit: For those not in Melbourne, Picket's description of the weather today is accurate. I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd bumped into Macbeth and some witches while he was there.

Even if 2 weeks, same view. If it was to do with being there for the birth, sure that takes priority. But it’s not. if the team was bottom 4, and not much to play for, then sure. Opportunities like this year, don’t come around all that often - who knows it may be the best opportunity both players have for a flag.

Double sorry jnrmac, it seems very odd that you call my post rubbish, when I said nothing that contradicted what you said. Surely my mention of hoping for a 'return to form' more than implies I thought we had lost form. I was commenting on supporters' emotions now, not the players performance. As for whether the coaches haven't done anything, I'm in no position to tell. And while the personal hasn't changed in name, they may have changed in other ways that challenges the coaches.

Goody in his press conference said they're pretty much playing at Metricon on Saturday.

They may prefer to do the right thing by their families. Personally, I wouldn't blame them.

Thank Lucifer the ressies are back is all i can say! Just need 6 to 8 players to play a blinder so they can replace some severely out of form players up top!

You. Have. To. Be. Kidding I can barely remember a game umpired so poorly and so inconsistently. And i remember a lot of games where the umpiring has been woeful. It was 11-4 at half time. Our fourth free kick happened on our half back line with 5 seconds to go. So it was essentially 11-3. And as always, it was the frees missed that were significant than the ones given. Sure we lost the game, and that's on us, but there is absolutely no question a big factor in their 21 point lead at half time was the rubbish umpiring. Simply not good enough.

I have a feeling that BBB is going to kick 15 goals in the next 3 weeks. I think it is about to come together for us

players and coaches presenting in media will always sell positivity not negativity they're not demonland posters, after all!

But that would make him 136cm, or a bit under four foot six in the old money. That's much too short to be an AFL player, no matter how good he might be.

We could be breeding another Caleb Daniels in young Bowie, only better.

There are some things that are bigger than a game of football, particularly in the middle of a pandemic when families are under a lot of stress. I would completely understand and respect their choices and would certainly not hold a loss or two against them; in fact, I’d be very surprised if their absence would necessarily lead to a loss in those games.

No losses

? Put on your red socks and dance the blu…never mind.

BOWEY to debut. GREAT!

Hibberd?

Is this a joke? 1 week away from family for 2 must win games, to get a spot in the top 4! Yes, I am aware of the strain from new-borns, but it’s 1 week, not 6 months. the world has become soft!

LET'S DANCE

Freudian slip

The problem with analysing free kick counts is the erroneous but often held assumption that the free kick count should be even, or close to even, at the end of each game. An inferior side is going to be caught holding the ball more, or will infringe in marking contests more. When you're more under pressure you'll tend to grab a jumper. So on and so forth. An overly aggressive side may choose to give away free kicks to help pump up their "aggression" (Richmond may well do this, given they're so far in the negative for frees this year). So it follows that the free kick count does not need to be even to indicate "fair' umpiring. I felt on Saturday that the Dogs got the rub of the green - key 50/50 contests that could have gone either way would go the Dogs' way, but not ours. And the holding the ball call against Brayshaw late in the second was a momentum changer IMO. But that doesn't mean I think there is an umpiring conspiracy.

Really like the Duggan call, gone very under the radar as still out of contract, exactly what we need in our midfield and he might lack opportunity in that Eagles midfield as Shuey, Kelly, Yeo, Gaff, Sheed all still have plenty of footy left in them. I believe Duggan still has a lot of untapped potential as an inside or outside mid who has just lacked opportunity. I actually believe our biggest need aside from a lockdown small defender to replace Hibbo (Maynard perfect target) is a quality inside mid. If you look at our midfield in comparison to the other top 4 teams it can fall away very quickly after Clarry and Trac. Saying that as well I reckon Trac is so dangerous when 1 out up forward and should be spending more stints deep forward 1v1, and he does do a lot of hack kicks out of the midfield. Here are the inside midfields of the other top 4 teams: Western Bulldogs: Bont, Macrae, Libba, Dunkley, Treloar, Bailey Smith Geelong: Dangerfield, Guthrie, Duncan, Selwood, Menegola, Parfitt Brisbane: Neale, Lyons, Zorko, McCluggage, Bailey, Dev Rob (not high quality yet but really like him) Melbourne: Oliver, Petracca, Viney, Harmes, Jordon, Brayshaw The bulldogs are a bit of an anomaly with how ridiculously good their midfield is but if you look past the first two names of our midfield in comparison with the other teams I believe there is a stark difference. Our midfield can become too reliant sometimes on Clarry and Trac and worst case scenario if one of them ever got injured we would be in serious strife. We ain't gonna have the cash to chase the big names like J.Kelly so here are a few cheaper mids that might be available. Adam Cerra - I believe whoever lands Cerra is going to significantly overpay for him, I personally don't see the insane hype he gets from the media sometimes, yeah his kicking looks sexy sometimes but I have my doubts he will ever reach those elite disposal numbers plus we won't have the assets to pluck him out of Freo which will be required which is a top 10 pick (which I think is way overs). Matt Crouch - All signs point to him heading home to Victoria. Not a sexy player as he is known to be low-impact-per-possession but hard to argue with an average of over 30 disposals per game every year since 2017 (taking out last year with shortened quarters). His kicking and lack of versatility aren't great, I see him as a similar player to Jarryd Lyons. Bit of an injury risk too with him sitting out this year with a groin injury. However these factors mean he isn't going to cost a bucketload of cash, he is a free agent so doesn't cost anything at the trade table and is still just 26, I think he would add really good depth to the midfield. Charlie Constable and Quinton Narkle - Both have lacked opportunity in the Geelong midfield and have a lot of untapped potential. I have my doubts as to whether Narkle has enough of a defensive side to his game and ball-winning ability to make it as a quality midfielder. Constable has been tearing up the VFL, 191cm strong mid again in the Lyons mold who also has a nice defensive side to his game. Averaged 21.4 touches in his debut but since lacked opportunity in his preferred role. Narkle is the better kick but Constable possesses a strong set of hands where either can be up forward too. Both will cost nothing, low risk, high upside. Patrick Lipinski - Very similar player to Narkle, with the same strengths and weaknesses I mentioned. Diinterested with defensive side of the game at times is why he can't hold a spot in the dogs side but a good ball user who can also play across half forward but best position is inside mid. Brayden Fiorini - In a rich vein of form at the moment after getting his inside mid opportunity. Can rack up touches with ease but ball use is iffy at times and small frame can lead to him being exposed defensively sometimes. Gold Coast has a lot of high draft picks to fit into their midfield there may be better opportunity elsewhere however is under contract until 2023. Luke Dunstan - Had a good year but is a bit vanilla. Similar player to Matt Crouch but Crouch does it with better production. Also a free agent but a pass for mine there are better options. Liam Duggan - mentioned above, originally drafted as an inside midfielder he has a really nice blend of inside/outside to his game. Tough as nails and a really nice ball user who is accountable defensively as well. Similar player to Cerra, I believe he could be even better than Cerra provided the opportunity to thrive as an inside mid. As mentioned OOC, from Vic, and still just 24. Few others to mention who I believe are unrealistic targets, Cam Guthrie is surprisingly still OOC and a free agent at that but just can't see him leaving Geelong. Tom Mitchell might be up for grabs but Hawks will be looking for a top 10 pick which we won't have. One more which is a bit off topic is I reckon a Steele Sidebottom for Weideman swap with a few other assets moving in there is a deal makes a lot of sense for both parties. I also believe in time Laurie can develop into a damaging high-impact midfielder in the Shane Edwards mold, as could Kozzy in a mid Walters mold. Those 2 will predominately still be small forwards though, just can provide valuable POD to run through there. In time Rivers could become an elite pure midfielder as he has that inside/outside blend which he showed great production as a pure mid in his under 18 year, but he doesn't have the tank yet to do it, in time though that's a move I'd make and Bowey can take his spot at half back. Goody will never do mid Salem and I'm okay with that as he is elevated himself to a very good-elite half back this year which im happy not to mess with that. I think Jordon and Sparrow's potential is capped as role players which is okay but when you come up against the top 4 midfields as mentioned is that enough to get you over the line? That might be a bit harsh on Jordon as his production has been capped by opportunity and time-on-ground but I think you'd want to see another step-up in his development next year.

Could be, but how many of us expected a flag at the start of the season? Seems to me that expectations rose high due to being unexpectedly near the top of the ladder for so long and that has unreasonably increased the negativity some feel now. Let's hope that whatever happens from now is either a surprise return to form and a flag, or failing that, that we have something solid to build on for next year.

There's being positive and then there's gaslighting How about being honest. "We're out of form. All is not lost, we can fix this stuff and we're onto it." See, I didn't even mention learnings.

I think we are looking in the wrong place for that

Felt the same way. But after the hawks draw I started thinking that on paper we should have beaten them and the giants. Ok we dropped against pies and crows was bad luck. But we certainly had it in our reach to finish top four and give anyone a run for their money. Dream run injury wise. So if we cant this year i cant see next year either. You dont get many chances in afl and i feel now the hawks game was just the last one we have missed. Like last year when we switched off two easy games in a row to miss finals we have lost top four and i fear we will lose interstate. I guess there is still a glummer of hope but it seems smaller and smaller each round. I wish the club as well as the players would just stop talking at times like this and win lose or draw just play footy. Nothing but an absolute belting of gc will suffice. Nothing. Its at the point now where i feel clubs are excited to play us. Tmac has gone missing at the wrong time and was a huge part of our early record. Kozzie was the same. Luke Jackson needs to be dropped but i dont think weid is a replacement. Spargo needs to get his hands on the ball. Vineys nothing like he used to be and we seem better without him. Rivers....see Tmac.

Will it though? Darwin to Perth roughly 4 hours, the same as Darwin to Melb. Could see Darwin to Melb, then Melb to Perth being an issue - but cutting a leg out by going straight from Darwin to Perth for quarantine could actually work for us.

And a Victorian would have known the word you were after is “known” ?

Hopefully he can do something about it the next time we play then because his ruck craft has been terrible.

I think he's blowing smoke up our collective orifice

The looseness at defensive 50 stoppages is a clear problem, but allow me a wall-of-text post to elaborate on my personal alarm bell. If you don't want to go through the whole thing the short version our kicking has hit the fan (and the fan is not a teammate). Petracca, Oliver, Gawn, Langdon, Neal-Bullen, Brayshaw, Jordon and Jackson have all had MAJOR drops in their kicking efficiency. Petracca is the key example. Crucial going into attack and a barometer for the team. No prizes for guessing which of the following games we won: Round 19 vs Dogs: 18 kicks at 22% efficiency Round 18 vs Hawthorn: 10 kicks at 20% efficiency Round 17 vs Port: 22 kicks at 72% efficiency Round 16 vs GWS: 18 kicks at 44% efficiency. Clayton Oliver also has a very poor kicking game about one in four times he plays. When both Oliver and Petracca have off kicking days we're bound to be in trouble - as very noticably happened in both the Bulldogs in Round 19 (37%) and the Round 16 GWS (40%) games. Max Gawn, who incidentally is now the most frequently 'kicking' ruckman in the history of the game, was going okay at about 60% efficiency overall up to round 12, but since then his best has been 54% and he's had three games in the 30s. Ed Langdon's kicking also dropped below 50% efficiency for the Collingwood, Hawthorn and Bulldogs games, compared to his usual 65-75%. Alex Neal-Bullen only averages 55% kicking efficiency this season anyway, but that is built on some real shockers; again, didn't crack 40% in the Bulldogs, Hawthorn and Adelaide games. Angus Brayshaw has a normalish midfielder average of just over 60% for the season but in the last two rounds, again, 42% and 43%. James Jordon is one of our more reliable midfield kicks except for the occasional shocking day out but here it is again, the last couple of weeks - 45% vs Hawthorn and then against the Dogs just 3 kicks total, with zero considered 'efficient'. Luke Jackson... well, he's just stopped kicking it at all. His five total kicks for the last three games combined is less than his average per game prior to that.

I think Frankston is back in along with another 2,327 teams from the rest of Australia.

Are we not? A Queenslander would have know the word you were after is “they’re”.

I totally get what both of you are saying, and trust me when I say if it was up to me, they'd be in jail. However, if we start punishing people who break every rule severely, there is the very real risk that people who know they've done the wrong thing won't come forward to get tested and won't be fully honest with contact tracers. Those consequences are far more wide reaching than punishing individuals. So while I get how infuriating it is, and while I think anyone who knowingly and unlawfully puts the lives of others at risk by breaking clear rules should be put in jail for 14 days (and made to work in a Covid ward without PPE if they protest lockdowns and vaccinations), the government is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They don't want to deter people from telling the truth, even if that truth is ugly. Imagine if the family from Hume didn't disclose their movements. That is an entire chain of mystery cases that could turn into 100s of new infections. I rather they sit in the knowledge that their stupidity and selfishness infected their extended family/relatives, than cause a longer lockdown for the rest of us. We are lucky to live in a country where compliance is generally very high. There will always be absolute [censored] heads who ruin it for everyone else. But overall I think most people do their best to do the right thing in very difficult circumstances (lockdowns are exhausting!) and we need to support and encourage that as much as possible.

Well it ain't the brand that is going to win a flag Max!

It is the same reason why we played finals and didn't play finals in 2019/20, one player we need to fire isn't at the moment and the start of the year he was. He makes us dangerous up forward and when full of confidence doesn't miss goals, when he plays well so do we are we are a different side. I have notice over the past 6-8 weeks we seems to spend a lot of time complaining to the umpires. To simplify our problems, we need T McDonald firing, he doesn't fire we struggle. Backline is strong, mids can't kick but get enough of the ball forward we need Tom working with Ben kicking his 2-3 goals a week