deanox

They are lovely numbers. I think Richmond comfort and familiarity with their own game plan, compared to our players learning, means they shade us at the moment. But over the next few years this could be alot of fun.

Why do they bother with a 22 round season?

Good points. I suppose I draw the line on "football act". Cameron's elbow was horrible and brutal but he was within the rules to attempt to mark or spoil (and contract associated with those acts is consensual), and despite how clumsy, negligent, reckless etc. he was, I think anyone would be hard pressed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to elbow him like that. Gaff threw a punch. Off the ball. Punches are never part of the game (unless an attempted spoil, which this wasn't). A push may be consensual in this case given the players were jostling to make position (and that "may" is enough to ensure charges couldn't be laid for that act) but the punch was deliberate. He looked at him and swung with a closed first. He may not have deliberately hit him that hard, or deliberately hit him in the head, but the decision to punch was intentional. The punch was against the rules and not part of expected play, which imo would make it non-consensual. Does that explain my position?

I wonder when (if) we a) last beat all teams at least once in the same season and b) last won our most recent match against all teams.

Great point about Victoria v WA! But the legal contact associated with football is consensual, punching isn't: "In Western Australia, an assault may occur by, for example, striking, touching, moving, or applying force of any kind to another person, either directly or indirectly, without the person’s consent."

Agreed RE what warrants and what doesn't warrant. The issue is it will be used for accidents, that won't warrant. Also if the poster red carded can't be replaced it will be 21 v 21, including the interchange, but 17 v 18 on the field. Statistically, you are better off giving away a red card to save a certain goal than letting the goal get scored, as long as it isn't in the first 15 minutes (or something close to that). I don't think this is manageable in AFL. Our game doesn't allow us to play one less forward and count attack, because there is no offside rule. (I can't think of an international sport with a send off rule where there aren't some form of player positional/movement restrictions). How would this play out if they enforced minimum players in the zone at stoppages?

Exactly. This isn't a crude spoiling attempt or a mistimed bump executed at 30km per hour. We're aren't talking body on body bumping or pushing. We are talking about deliberate strikes, irrespective of to the body or head, that are designed to hurt, intimidate, incapacitate and have no other relation to the game. Hawkins on Fritsch. Rance on Watts. Steele on Oliver. None of these acts were football related and if they are accepted, it isn't surprising that occasionally one of these goes horribly wrong. These guys are peak physical specimens, taught to play on instinct and aggression, making split second decisions rather than pausing to assess consequences. It is a fine line between a pec bruise and a broken jaw. The problem is the act not the outcome. And the act should be punished regardless of how bad the impact is.

I think getting out of WC and starting fresh is probably good for him. But maybe not into the Melbourne media fishbowl. Personally I'd have him at Melbourne still. But I'd want to seriously consider his mental health in the fall out of this incident.

I'll defend Bugg here. He doesn't have a bad record. As far as I am aware, last year is the only time he has ever been suspended. I can't find any info about any other suspensions. Only fines (for making contact with an injured Nick Reiwoldt, and for "saluting" the richmond cheer squad). A lot of players have been suspended for hitting him though. He gets a bad go from the media. He might be annoying but he has never over stepped the aggression line on the field before, and he wasn't looking at Mills when he hit him in retaliation to bring hit from behind. https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/an-extensive-rap-sheet-from-gws-giant-agitator-to-melbourne-enforcer/news-story/4bb65be2b05db80227ef6907c5bf4d95

Out of interest, what was the context of these words? Can you provide a link?

I'm not sure I agree because he was facing him. I don't believe you don't understand the difference between this and a jumper punch. When the two players are both actively involved in the tussel, the minor, low impact events dont require external attention. When someone is unexpectedly struck to the face off the ball doing damage that requires hospital and surgery, that can be looked at without damaging football. The rules of victoria apply on the football field and outside a night club. The rules of Saudi Arabia do not apply. A tackle is legal, it went bad. A punch is not legal anywhere. Not vicious???

That's ridiculous. Intentionally assaulting someone 50 m away from the ball is not "the nature of contact sport". An overly aggressive hip and shoulder while contesting the game falls in that category.

Worse than Buggs effort.

I reckon we're abetter chance against WCE in two weeks than the Swans. Optus stadium is longer and narrower than the G, and we've played grounds of those dimensions well the last two years but struggled at the G. WCE have been out of form and coasting a bit. NicNat and Gaff are big outs for WCE, particular because they give us a dominate ruck and take away Gaffs strength (hard 2 way running) which had the potential to exploit us out the back on transition. On the other hand, Sydney have been out of form and have only played one game at the G this year. Franklin may be a worry because we don't have a suitable defender for him. I think we'll try to mitigate his effectiveness by controlling the game so he only gets the ball too far upfield. Both games are winnable and I'll break us both right now.

I don't think VDB is competing with JKH. They play very different roles and Idon't think VDB has the tank to fill that role. Ipersonally see him competing with Truck, Melk, Kent, and to a lesser extent Fritsch and Spargo. Harmes too until he found his feet in the midfield. That being said, most of the time you pick your best 22.

How can you pay that against Lewis but not against GC 2 seconds later?

Disappointed. Not that we didn't score more, but we got lazy in our structure/ defensive transition, and too cute with disposal. I don't care about the margin, but expect us to execute in the areas that have let us down when under pressure.

That's our 4th highest 1st quarter score, and third largest margin quarter time margin ever.

Thought he was under more pressure than he was and expected nobody contact. Dropped it when he braced for contact that didn't come.

Was that paid against Jones for time wasting for kicking it away?

If some supporters expect a big win, they get called arrogant and that they are taking the opposition too lightly, and are told that attitude is what is wrong with the club. If some supporters are concerned we're could lose, or are satisfied with any win or a good effort, they are told that attitude is what is wrong with the club. Basically, this is what is willing with the club.

Yeah, like Jones!

But our defense is better this year than last, conceding less points per game. And we concede less i50s against per game than any other team, so your assessment of "easy to score against" has a massive astrix against it that makes it a pointless statement in isolation. How about "to truly compete for the flag we still need to reduce the periods of time when our midfield switches off and allows the opposition easy transition forward. That will reduce their goal scoring opportunities even further, putting our defensive game amongst the competitions best rather than just middle of the road."?

Basically all the negative stats are readily explained by the positive stats and mean nothing. What would be interesting is the differences in these types of stats from 2 batches of games. Batch 1: Collingwood, Richmond and Hawthorn. Batch 2: Everything else. What stats change from our averages in the only three games we lost by more than 10 points?

My concern is taking in both Hunt and VDB into agame we must win. Take it lightly and we'll do "old Melbourne" and neither of these players have played much football lately. In the case of Hunt in particular, we have struggled to get a settled back 6 this year and I'm loath to disrupt it again.