M_9

You asked who were Hawthorn's two big forwards. And I answered. I agree that ball movement is paramount, and I've quoted Daniel Hoyne on that topic. The Hawks have a good balance of talls, mid size, and one very dangerous small forward. We have Kosi, occasionally Fritta and occasionally JvR (when he's not rucking). How about we try something different in our forward line? Play MJ and leave JvR forward. Alternatively we could try to improve our delivery into the forward fifty - just like we did last year. And the year before. And the year before that.

Chol (200cm) has booted 5.3 in the Hawks two games. Gunston (193cm) booted 2 last night The Hawks have a mosquito fleet of forwards that we don't have. AJ (193cm) has booted one more goal than Chandler, as well as laying more tackles (5 cf 4). We have ONE small forward. And he ain't playing.

I agree with this and the muted rap on Jefferson's effort on debut. Goodwin and the FD are aware we need to make some radical changes if we are to be a top side. A fit Trac and Clarry will only improve us so much. Same with our back line. And these players are all 4 years older than when we were premiers. Most sides get far better every yeary The Hawks now look nothing like the mob we played early last year. We need two big forwards. We need Fritta to get fair dinkum.

I'd anticipate a crowd of no more than 25k. You should be able to get a GA for $27 (?) but sometimes stadiums pull a swifty and say GA is sold out.

On the Cats: Nigel Austin owns Cotton On who've sponsored Geelong since 2016. Geelong born and bred. His estimated wealth is $2 billion. The Costa Group has sponsored Geelong since 1997. The Group is valued at $1.5 billion. When a football club have backers with that much money it makes things a tad easier, whether it be covering up a player's indiscretion or poaching a star from another club. Circumventing AFL rules is a snip.

I'd be surprised if the presence of MJ doesn't make JvR a better player. An aside: have they played together before? Maybe the NM praccy match. Anyway, not relevent here, but another reason not to have JvR rucking at centre bounces. Keep the two deep forward or thereabouts.

I stand in the concourse near the Victory room. Most entrances to level one are guarded and you need a ticket. Less guards at low ranked teams and more empty seats. If you wander along the concourse you may find an 'opening'.

I think that's your only option if you wish to sit.

I reckon we're on a path of phasing JvR out of ruck duties. One change - Campbell in for AJ. The former played well against Xerri three weeks ago. Makes us very tall so I'm thinking Max and TC may change off bench. Also, a smaller ground will suit Max. He runs between the arcs with JvR doing forward fifty ruck. Won't happen, but I'm still keen to get JvR out of the ruck.

I very much doubt that May will play. Not as bad as Max's larynx injury (a '6-weeker') but I doubt they'll take risks. A player at my local club incurred a similar injury. He was warned a subsequent knock could cause permanent damage to his voice box.

So we're back to JvR doing the back up ruck work? Or maybe TMac and ? takes Darling. Goodwin has said things have to change. I reckon JvR honing his forward craft by staying put is one of those things. TMac is a great defender. Or forward. Tenth in the Bluey last year. But he ain't no ruckman. Neither is Petty. JvR is pretty good in the ruck, but we need him forward. I agree Disco should come in. Not sure who goes out. Should be Fritsch, but that won't happen.

Agree. I've been accused of potting Petty. I wasn't per se, I was potting his performance (in 20 games last year) playing as a forward. It helped that TMac was a more than adequate sub for May.

Patrick Cripps is Carlton's best midfielder. Voss plays him as a back-up ruckman. The football world shakes its collective head. JvR is our best big forward. Goody has been forced to play him as back-up ruckman the past two years. We now have four players on our list (if you include Fullerton and Verrall) who can give Max a chop-out. DL'ers who name a team sans one of those four are asking Goodwin to 'do a Voss'. AJ stays in my team.

Petty played his best game since his his game against the Cats last year. No way he goes forward ever again. Turner should be back. I'd give AJ another go rather than rucking JvR. Howes out for May.

If you took a selfie you'd have a pic of them!

'So the data over the last three years is interesting @binman and @M_9. In 2024, 25 percent of games were won by sides with fewer i50s that their opposition. Here's the spooky bit, in 2023 it was 5 percent and in 2022 it was statistically insignificant ~0 percent.' I reckon this data is the reason that the FD will be forced to change our game plan. We may have been close in '22 and '23 but the fact is we lost 4 from 4 finals. 2024 - yes, we had injuries to key players and played others (Petty and rucking JvR) out of position, but we were never close to finals let alone a flag. It appears to me that sides worked us out post our flag. All sides will be better than last year. We could well finish 14th again (7th or 8th is my tip). Things have to change. Moving Petty back, having a fit and firing Trac and Clarry, plus couple of likely recruits, merely takes us back to '22 and '23. We need at least 50 goals from JvR. That ain't going to happen if he's got to ruck, or if the ball enters our fifty high and wide.. I liked Campbell's performance v Xerry, but he's not our future (he's a month older than Max). AJ lacks height for a ruckman but he can jump, and he's not afraid to use his bulk. If he gets reasonable game time he could well boot 20 goals. We need to markedly improve our ball movement - score more goals that emanate from our back half. Getting more turnovers is critical. You can often catch the opposition out of position unlike getting a possession from a clearance. Look at GWS (v Pies) and their tackling and turnovers in their forward fifty. My bet is that we see it again tomorrow (their aggression/desperation). Let's match it.

Not sure you want a bloke who can only play one position as your sub.

I'm not sure about that. Maybe Goody has listened to Daniel Hoyne and we're looking for a Dan Houston sort of player - run and boot it long (and directed) inside the F50.

@WERRIDEE you're asleep at the wheel mate. Where's our team that has the six newbies included? My guess is the 'outs' are Billings, TMac and one of Petty, JvR or ? hasn't come up.

I only had 'half and ear' to the conversation. Whately (?) asked Hoyne about the importance of I50's cf ball movement and Hoyne gave the example of last year's GF where the Swans had only two fewer I50's (49-51) but lost by 10 goals. Whately then asked who you'd draft first - a good mid-fielder (clearance player) or a good half back. I don't think Hoyne gave a definitive answer (both equally important, or have their role). BTW I don't know what 'ball movement ' means, or how you measure it. Scores from transition from your back half?

Daniel Hoyne said on Monday that 4 of the last 5 premierships were won by teams that were top three in ball movement. By that he meant their goals emanated largely from their half back line. The inside 50 count was not a factor. Our 2021 premiership was the exception.

My pick (to miss out) on the back of an ordinary performance v Freo, but I think the FD likes his defensive work.

From the Cat's website '...Last year [2023] with the Geelong Cats Foundation, the Club embarked on the most significant campaign in our history. Our Capital Campaign, Advancing the Way We Play, aims to raise $20m to support our future facilities, people and the broader Geelong region...' The Costa group promptly stumped up $10m. So there you have it. GFC players are people and they're being supported. Nothing to see!

Absolutely no way that you can enforce it. That's why minor leagues gave up on salary caps years ago and adopted the points system. Appears to work very well in my local league (Bellarine). I can see where the AFL is headed if club spending is not reigned in. The Premier League currently has no salary cap (they are trying to set one up). The NBA have no salary cap. The wealthy dominate The AFL need to put strict rules in place. Jack Bowes being paid his $1.6million over 4 years rather than one had he stayed at the Suns. Yeah, OK! Bailey Smith only getting paid the amount on the Club's books. Yeah, sure!

Frank may have passed on but I have little doubt that his legacy as regards the GFC is profound. BTW the Costa group was sold 18 months ago for $1.5 billion. I have lived on the Surfcoast for more than 40 years. The rumours re third party player payments have been rife for years: farms in parent's names, cars and jobs for family members, and so on. Brian Cook was mentored by Frank. He's smart and diligent in his role as CEO, then and now. The best in the business. The AFL will find nothing. Everything is legit.