deanox

Nothing to do with the tv audience. It's all to do with the stadium audience. It is the way the game has always been played and it doesn't need to change.

Also RN i believe there is a difference between UPs and UP differentials. Would like to see those numbers.

Because a) that rule is at the discretion of the AFL, so not a sure thing, and the team sanction could be anything if applied. b) Given AFL teams play with 22 players, and these two were clearly not part off a team doping exercise it seems a team sanction is not warranted. c) They did not play, they tested positive in the off season. What type of sanction would you give them? Loss of premiership points for the fans they didn't play? Loss of prize money from the NAB cup they didn't play in? Team sanctions are there to ban systematic doping teams or strip results from teams where multiple players were using banned substances which may have given them an advantage. Not to punish a club where players acted individually.

If he becomes a solid member of our 22 for the next 10 years i will be stoked. Because at the start of the year I must about I didn't expect him to. It is one less mid we will need to find in the off season. If Petracca and Trengove can step in as well we will be placed well to really step up as a team next year.

I found the issue is that our payers were getting sucked into the ball. That meant that the handball (right option) often went to a player who was so close they didn't have extra space this the 2nd or 3rd handball was needed. The right decision was made but the players weren't positioning correctly.

Why is that holding the man? If he didn't grab, he can bump to stop him taking possession.

This is such a [censored] stadium.

Best part is some saints supporters in front of me bought reserve tickets for level 3.

We may have improved but I still think we are a bottom 4, or at best a bottom 6 team this year. And i don't think that's a bad thing. Who are we better than? Carlton, GCS, Brisbane makes us notion 4. Throw saints and Essendon and we're bottom 6. I don't think we are genuinely better than anyone else. But that's a massive improvement from bottom 2 over the past 5 years. Next year, with a bit more depth we will go past a few more and finish in the top 10.

After a significant groin injury, where he had done nothing for a number of weeks, he needs to gain fitness playing reduced time.

You know that it is two sides near the bottom of the ladder when they are ringing up Ben Holland for an interview as part of the prematch build up. Melbourne look to end 2,864 day Etihad Stadium drought

Could not possibly promote Dawes if King has been the dominate forward. Edit: just want to make it clear that I haven't seen the game, Dawes could have had 25 touches and 6 goal assists in which case he'd get the promotion.

Fantastic for King. I really want him to make it. Has he rucked as well or just played full time forward? Other than the 4 goals has he had much involvement?

Thanks for the updates KC and all.

I think he meant "They lost, do you think they were missing King, who has been performing well?"

Really need Dawes to take marks and kick goals at this level.

Look, I thought that too, but you could do that by talking to him in your office. And without publicly starting that Jamar, despite playing better than Spencer, is clearly your third ruck now. Surely that's a bit insulting to him.

Surprised Spencer was named. The reports I read suggested Jamar was the dominant ruck at Casey. Can anyone confirm? If true that is a pretty big sign. Edit: occurred to me that Spencer may be held over as an emergency to allow King to play as the ruck/forward at Casey. long shot, but would be tough to play all 3 in one team.

RN love your post and the reference, good addition to the discussion. But the blue text misses what I was trying to say before. The ability to bullock thriving packs and find a way out with the ball is NOT a contested possession. If done right is results in an uncontested possession, as you bullock through then fire out a handball to an outside runner going past. Perhaps more important is "hard ball get"? The overall contested possession count from team to team does not vary wildly. For the season, Collingwood is leaking with an average of 147 CPs per game, ahead of Geelong at 127 per game. Melbourne is roughly at the average with 136 per game. Take our the best team for CPs (Collingwood 147) and the bottom 3 teams (Geelong 127, GWS and Brisbane 128) and the remaining 14 team are spread between 134 and 144. Hardly a big difference. There is also only rough correlation between the CP ladder and the actual ladder, with a number of teams well out of position. Uncontested possessions however, vary wildly between teams. Hawthorn average 261, GC 189. The main thing I see if that, of course CP are important. They are how you win the ball and the possession. But even if a team wins in CP, if they lose the UP, they are constantly handing it back to the opposition, so unless they are dominating every stoppage and contested ball situation by a bigger margin than the numbers above suggest they are in trouble.

We struggled to bring him into the game. Amazing how this week, when we actually match the opposition through the midfield and with i50's, that we struggle to convert these to shots on goal.

Thanks KC, appreciate the feedback on the players and the game.

Sounds like there is a couple of goals in the wind? Hopefully we are close enough at 3/4 time to make use of it.

Thanks KC!

I disagree that Jamar is clearly our best ruckman, unless the only thing you are considering in that rating is the hit out count. In the last 3 weeks I reckon I've seen Spencer do more positive things around the ground than I've seen Jamar do in the past 12 months. Spencer takes the game on, isn't afraid to kick the ball when he has it, and tackles, blocks and harasses at stoppages. If Jamar did that he would be clearly our best ruck.

Thanks RJay. As I said, I really haven't seen much of him so the info on aerobic capacity is appreciated. While i agree that "blanket statements" are no good, i do think it is reasonable to expect (and sorted by history) that tall skinny players take longer to develop. Even if it is just that they don't grow into their frame until age 22. I'm sure if Roos thinks he is worth persisting with we will keep him on.