Red and Blue realist

Coming back into the side I'm sure most would have just asked that he competes hard in the air, and at a minimum brings the ball to ground so our pressure forwards can go to work. We all would love him to come in and clunk huge grabs and kick 6 a week of course, but realistically he's doing what he's needed for. If you watch him attack the ball in the first contest against the dogs, he didn't mark it, but he split the pack open which allowed our ground ball guys to do what they do, the ball spits out the back and Harmes goals in 20 seconds. If you also watch him closely (just watch the goals highlights) he's indirectly involved in around 4 or 5 of our goals, again hitting packs, but also pressuring, blocking and also he did well corralling the macrae kick that resulted in one of Fritta's goals - he also stood up for Fritta after he Cordy was going after him when he gave away a free kick so he could kick his 2nd. Is he a superstar at the moment, no, is he playing his role in the team, that's a big yes. I thought his final against the cats might have been his Maxy style break out game, but I think if he keeps doing everything he is now then that will come.

I get your arguments, but clubs are already complaining about the soft cap being reduced, so there's less coaches and physio's etc. The resources get taking away from existing development programs to integrate the new draft picks into the footy programs, plus they are rarely anywhere near ready for AFL football, so the strength and conditioning staff need to put in extra work with them. So while the $$$ cost might not be huge, it's the opportunity cost that the coaches/staff have with existing players and those in rehab is what they weigh up as well.

Clubs are reluctant as there's a good chance the player won't do much more than top up their VFL list. I think there are only 4 from the MSD 2 year ago who are still on AFL lists, so around a 30% chance that the player will stay on a list and then generally they'll be 'role players'. Clubs probably don't want to be putting extra resources into these guys, when they can do that over the pre-season after the main draft. It sounds very exciting as a supporter and to the media, but it'll be a while before clubs truly embrace the mid season draft, and then they might wait until its a mid season trade period.

They were doing similar against us, plus there were also a few packs where Nankervis pinched Viney while he was stuck under people and Lynch used his elbow into the back of Max's head while he was going for a mark. Cats/Hawks/Lions etc. all did the same in their dominate periods, the unsociable hawks as they were called. I think it can be a frustration thing, when you are used to winning easily and you get challenged or start to loss, the bully boy option is what they turn too.

Do we know if Kobi George elected to stay in our NGA as a 19 year old? He might not get a look in at the MSD but could be worth a look come the national draft if we get him with the discounts?

I think the above point is greatly underestimated by many in the footy world (not just DL), historically the really good teams of late have only had a run of success when their best players have played a significant amount of games together, Geelong had Ablett, Bartell, Enright, Scarlett, Hawkins, etc., the Hawks had Hodge, Lewis, Mitchell, Roughy, Buddy etc., the Tigers had Cotchin, Dusty, Grimes, Vlaustin, Riewolt, Edwards etc. all getting to those 100 games played together before they really clicked and dominated. I know the Hawks might have pinched one a little earlier, and the Tigers have probably brought in more players from outside to complement their list, but in all cases it's been a core of around 8 - 10 very good players who trust each other and instinctively know what the others will do which then make executing a game plan much easier. I think we've now got that, and those guys who've only been on our list for 3-4 years from other clubs, May, Lever, Langdon, Tomo, Brown, Hibberd, Melk etc. all seem to come in and fit with those guys, as compared to trying to change the game plan to suit the recruits. It takes time and all those great recent clubs had speed bumps along the way, Geelong nearly got rid of Thompson, same as Richmond and Hardwick (they went 3-10 in 2014, and then 2-4 in 2015 and then 2-7 in 2016) so the heat was on early season for them before 2017, while the Hawks were ordinary in 2005/06 before pinching the one in 2008 and missed finals in 2009.

In 2016, North had the oldest list (by some margin) and also only played 2 teams who finished top 8 in the first 9 rounds, and 5 of those wins were within 16 points. Arguably we've already played at least 3 teams who will definitely finish top 8, also having played the teams currently sitting 9, 10 & 11 on the ladder, with only the Swans game coming within 2 goals. So we haven't had to fight out the wins as much. Having said that, and I mentioned in the changes thread, we should be giving some consideration to managing some of the younger guys to keep them fresh. Jordan, Pickett, Rivers and Jackson are all under 21and have played only 8, 22, 17 & 14 games each. They are all important to our set up, and also I think we need to have that squad mentality where we've got 28 - 32 players ready to go at AFL standard. Having this means there's less likely to be a major drop off, even though we will drop games during the year.

Yeah, the VFL game was postponed. Both Sparrow and Chandler were doing a heap of sprints after the game on the MCG, while I imagine the other VFL guys would have had a pretty big training run on Saturday. I wonder when they'll be tempted to 'manage' a few of the younger guys, Jordan, Pickett, Rivers and Jackson have all played less than 22 games each, so might be better to have a refresh at some stage rather than tiring and running up some poor performances. Not that any deserve to be dropped, just might need some smart management so they are al performing well all season, and well into the off season. I'd suggest that they could all potentially do with a week or 2 off during the season along with the bye. Both LJ and Kossie were a little down from what they've done for the rest of the season, it could have been the conditions, but we also don't want them burning out.

We've finally lost a last quarter, in fact we lost 3 quarters last night (by a combined 4 points). I wonder when was the last time we lost 3 quarters in a game and still won??

Given the Roosters (NRL) were also in the same cafe, I'm sure our game will still go ahead fine. The NSW gov't and the NRL will do whatever they can to continue on as normal, so it'll look weak on the AFLs part if they don't go ahead as normal. Not saying I agree with any of that, but it's how it will play out.

Thanks GOTO appreciate it!

G'day all, just a quick question, I've changed my membership to being digital (not sure if they send out the cards anymore anyway??) but through the app when I try and access the Mobile Membership area it allows me to see last years fixture (not that's any good), but not that actual membership card. I'm only asking because I'm heading along to the Sporting Globe tonight and as members we get a discount, but they have the scan the membership card. Anyone know how to do that with these digital memberships?

Not sure why people keep saying that Weid and BBB shouldn't be in the same team together, they played the 3 games at Casey before Brown came up, and the team trained the majority of the pre-season (outside of the last few weeks) for them to be in the team together. I'd be putting TMac into the Fritta role (keep moving, chase and try to get that mismatch - although he'd doing it much more on height) and still have BBB and Weid take their biggest backs. Petty then in for Tomo, with all the smalls continuing to do what they do, just got to make sure that Weid, BBB & TMac don't crowd the forward 50, so let them roam and then move back when they have the right match up to exploit. I know Sydney might have Rampe coming back, but otherwise they've only got the 2 tall backs - McCartin and Melican, neither are very experienced. This is the game to try out this set up, and then make the decision on what happens when Fritta is right (I'd be moving Melk out).

Sparrow for Baker - Brayshaw back to the wing, he might not be as quick but his decision making into 50 is so much better than Bakers. I'd actually run with TMac back this week against the Swans, I think long term Petty should come in, but we need to bring Weid in and this offers us the flexibility to do that. Melksham wasn't great, but I don't see him being dropped after that game, plus if Rampe is back he should be an option to disrupt him. If not I'd be happy to see Chandler get a run. So in: Sparrow & Weid Out: Baker & Tomo (with Jones back to med sub)

He's probably just trying to keep a lid on it, if he was seen jumping for joy then the critics would be on top of him saying we've got ahead of ourselves thinking it's easy. To me it just looks like he's taking a much more measured approach to everything at the moment, even his answers in press conferences seem a lot more thoughtful this year. People forget the Harwick, Clarkson, Thompson etc. were the same, until they win a premiership, then they start to joke around or have huge opinions (which are taken as gospel by the media!)

I think Raak is available to any club in the mid season draft, if he elects to go into it, otherwise he remains tied to the doggies academy for the next national draft if he waits. Then he'll fall under the same NGA rules as all other players (top 20 bid and he goes anywhere, outside they can match). Freeman is interesting, he's also doing some player management, so I'd assume he'd be pretty close with some in club land already. he might not want to have another crack at AFL level though, it'd be tough with the injuries he's had. I think we're a chance to maybe bring in one or 2 overage NAB League players, rather than a mature ager, see how they perform in the back half of the season and then we'd get first dibs if they are any good.

Great news, the other beauty of the 5 year deal (without knowing all the $ involved) is the assumption that he might have taken a little less for a longer contract, which then helps retain Oliver, Trac etc. I know Lever extended his contract earlier this year with a similar thing in mind, shows a great mindset from the guys that they want to not only play here, but have their mates stick around as well because we can then afford them!

Because he applied for last years draft and didn't get taken, I think he could nominate for the mid season draft and would then be eligible for any club. If he waits then I think he can still be linked with the Dogs in the national draft at the end of the year. I suspect a lot of clubs will be using the mid season draft to get kids who've developed a bit more this year, those normal late bloomers who couldn't play last year, so there might be a bit of a drain on talent in the national draft. Might also be less mature age, ready made players brought in than the previous msd.

The Adelaide game won't be, the 4:40pm time slot never is.

It was interesting to see what the Hawks did early last week, whenever they got the ball in the defensive 50, they seemed to just bang it long out. However, unlike other teams who look to have a set game plan, or try to do this with precision, they just went to wherever Max wasn't, and tried to then either force it forward through a chaos ball approach or force a stoppage. This seemed to put our guys off a little, because the ball was never kicked far enough to bring Lever/Tomo into the equation, but also just over those defending around 60-75 meters out, so our guys either had to run onto the ball, or run back to get it, rather than getting the chance to intercept mark. Of course the longer the game went the less effective this was going to be, and that we adjusted to stand back/forward a little, but I saw it being interesting.

I see on the website the pics of the guys in the weights room, Fritta still has a lot of strapping and tapping on his hand, I know he's still got a few days, but I wouldn't risk him unless they are 100% sure he's right. No point having someone out there trying to protect an injury, especially one who has to run back with the flight and has marking as a big weapon.

He wasn't used much as a back up ruck, only once in his career has he had more than 10 hitouts, while the last game LJ had 22 (along with 17 touches and 5 inside 50s - both things than BBB has rarely done at all in his career). LJ gives Max much more than just backup, he gives him the freedom to move forward or back when required. BBB as backup ruck does nothing more than give Max a short rest. BBB is of course the better forward, but any ruck work he does should be confined to the fwd 50, so Max can sit 60-75 meters out and go the intercept mark.

Yeah, I agree, but it shows the willingness of both TMac (he has 10 Fwd50 tackles) and LJ (5 - which would put him at the top of the list at the Tigers) to stay in the game. Something I hope both Weid and BBB are shown when they come in. Don't let the great work the small pressure guys are doing go to waste, letting the opposition get the easy kick out through their big defenders dropping back, make them always earn it. That then hopefully either locks it in or creates a contested ball/turnover situation so the ball comes straight back in even if it does get out. I've put it in the changes thread, for inside 50 tackles we've got Tmax & Kozzie (both with 10), Spargo (8), ANB & Jordon (7), Viney (6) and LJ & Fritta (5), while Richmond who've been the standout pressure team over the last 4 years only have 5 guys who have 5 inside 50 tackles, but that's it. M Brown also laid 3 on the weekend, so the talls have been willing to help out.

On this point LH, he might be 4th at the club, but he's equal 12th across the whole league, it's amazing that one club can have so many guys at the top end of fwd 50 tackles (Jordon also has the same amount as ANB, and Viney is only 1 less). He had a shocker of a first quarter against the Hawks but was good after that, however, the whole team didn't play well in the first quarter, and I think this due to the way Hawthorn played. As soon as they got the ball in the defensive 50, they bombed it as long as they could out of there, and away from Maxy, which is unlike the way other teams have been trying to play (more precise). This seemed to disrupt our usual pressure game, at least for a while, but was clearly unsustainable all game. Once the game returned to normal, so did ANB and the other small pressure forwards.

Thanks Skuit, overlooked that. I love that we've ran out games so well, the Burgess method he put in place last year has clearly continued on. We were hurt much worse than other teams last year with the shorten quarters IMO. I'm wondering if we have a much larger percentage of goals against us close to goal, say within 15 meters, compared to the competition. Just thinking that our defense is doing so well that teams might be bombing long and hoping for the chaos ball to get over the line, so the goal/behind percentage might even out over time. Anyone know where those stats can be found?