deanox

@daisycutter, did you check the rules before saying that? To be a free kick the contact must be "prohibited contact", which means more than 5m away, overly rough or unexpected. "Lateness" has nothing to do with anything, and never has. Once the ball has been disposed of, the player is now like any other on the field, who is subject to contact.

Apparently there has been alot of money spent on research in soccer about the cause and prevention of these types of injuries, and I've read they are starting to implement "preventative exercises" to strengthen appropriate parts and reduce differences between legs which can exacerbate risk (apparently differences in single leg hop distance, amongst other things, can increase susceptibility). Hopefully these strategies are being implemented in AFL too, both preventative and as part of recovery.

I actually think we spent big on a guy who covered our biggest hole. The hole was not personnel but strategic positional. We want to defend up the ground and play the backline as a zone. We know that means defenders will be caught out with fast out the back ball coming at them. We spent the equivalent of pick 5 on the best reader of the play, zone defender and intercept marker in the competition who was also only 21.

When I first saw the footage on the weekend, I was actually very surprised at how Curnow left himself open, which I feel contributed to the issue. He should have braced protected himself from contact, instead it looks like he didn't even realise May was there...

Thanks DeeSpencer, looks like my description was a pretty good lay explanation of those detailed rules!

"As a testament to his standing within the team, Neal-Bullen has been given a leadership position in the forward line, with Misson saying the unofficial title was indicative of his attitude." Can we stop slagging him off now?

This is fantastic news. This was always the rule of Australian football and had been overlooked in recent years. In this case Iagree, because May's bump was designed to stop Curnow being involved in the next part of the play (ie a handball 1-2). The "late" rule applies to a kick where the ball has cleared the area and a) is no longer within 5m or b) because the player is now far enough away from the contest that he couldn't reasonably have expected contact. Long live the bump.

Basically Demonland was set up as an elaborate Turing Test experimental set up.

By my count it was 5-1 their way in the last q too...

5th least time on ground for MFC with the following stats: 22 disposals (4th for MFC) 1 goal 1 behind 12 tackles (BOG) 5 intercept possessions (=3rd for MFC) 30 pressure acts (=1st for MFC) 393 m gained (5th for MFC) 12 contested prisons (5th for MFC) 3 clearances (=6th for MFC) 4 inside 50s (=3rd for MFC) 112 AFL fantasy points (1st for MFC)

Fuch yeah!

17 more points to get over the Chris Sullivan line...

Kent Kingsley is surely a life member of this association.

Of course it is the players. 40 seconds to go and the players don't set up properly, don't get back behind the ball and don't chase their opponents down the center and you want to blame the coach? I can understanding blaming the coach for not moving Frost to Hawkins 1-2 goals earlier, but not for the last 40 seconds.

It's an amazing spin on a 28 game career that averaged 14 disposals and 0.6 goals per game. He was a classic underdog who showed competitiveness in a team that lacked heart and talent, and thus the nostalgic view. I believe he has some talent and potential, and combined with his drive he could become a player and may even make an immediate impact. But anyone who thinks good performance is guaranteed is kidding themselves.

I really hope we're retain him next year. He plays his best footy in the guts and has been squeezed out this year due to numbers. Jones won't be here forever and Viney's foot may need insurance so the is a definite need for someone of his ilk. It is a shame the majority of the players competing for that spot are unable to play other positions. Congrats Dom.

I agree with those things. I liked him too. And was excited for what he could be. But he wasn't an elite talent nor an established AFL player. And with his actual stats, those big marks and goals were remembered were actually not that frequent. He is tough, physical, competitive and had potential, so I hope he can make it back. I just think that we're remembering his output fondly based on nostalgia and our overall terrible performance at the time, and rating current players low because their weaknesses are currently exposed. Will we be happy with 12 possessions from VDB? Because we aren't happy with 15-20 from Pettracca, nor 15 and 2 goals from ANB...

This is nonsensical. "Gaffs defense isn't good enough so get Steven May" as if they play similar positions. Add Lever and Hibberd back into the side and our back 6 are fine. We play a zoning defence that requires all the defenders to leave their man and run up the field to defend/hold up/pressure/spoil the next free player, while the midfield is meant to push back hard to cover the overlap that is created. Our problem is not defenders. The best one on one defender in the competition will lose the majority of contests when one out and unassisted by team mates and OMac is a good zone defender. Our problem is two way running by midfielders who are meant to run back hard to cover space and run back hard with their direct opponent to make sure that don't pop up out the back. Our mids don't cover this kind of ground they only run forwards. We don't need Gaff to defend, we need him to gut run. PS you're not going to get much peace because Omac will be in this side for the next 5-10 years unless he asks to be traded. The quicker you accept that, the easier watching footy will be!

I think the nature of our losses this year indicate demonstrate how valuable Gaff could be. He covers a lot of ground and is regularly in the eagles top runners. That two way effort is something we miss. It was visible in the last play against the cats, it was massive against the saints and has played a part regularly as we watch teams stream past us and we don't follow. Put him in for JKH and we win this week. We need to be all in.

The Geelong player charged direction and braced himself when running into Gawn from behind/side. It was intentional and Gawn didn't see it coming. He may not have intended to knock him over but he did.

But all that is based on either VFL and average AFL form from over 2 years ago in the worst AFL team in history. JKH has better VFL form and similar statistical AFL performance. I'm not saying that VDB won't perform better but he needs time and needs to demand someones spot first. He isn't a walk up start or necessarily an improvement on existing 22.

I don't understand the love for Vanders here. Although I appreciated his effort and attack on the ball in 2015 there is nothing about him that makes him an auto in. When playing he averaged 15 disposals, 4 tackles and half a goal per game. Nothing special, nothing better than JKH or Hannan. He is no more experienced than JKH or Hannan, all with around 30 games. He has never played under Goodwin and hardly trained with them, meaning he won't know our system/ structure/ game plan He may have limited endurance due to his time out of the game. Although we're live him for nostalgia reasons - he tried hard for us when we were horrible - he isn't asuperstar or walk up 22 player, so given he is underdone rushing him in makes no sense.

I thought that about the Nev one until I saw the replay. He was chasing a player who was also not watching the ball. Just because the player chose to turn and prop doesn't mean Nev has to stop running. It is different from when a player is standing or leading towards the ball and you run front on into them to stop the mark.

JKH for Hannan is the only change I expect. JKH has had his second chance and didn't do enough. Maybe I'm being harsh because he missed that shot, but he doesn't get enough of it at AFL level to miss opportunities. Any other changes will be done for structural reasons (ie decide we want that extra tall etc). If Hibberd is fit he comes in for Vince or Smith. IMO it is Bernie because he played Hibberds role, while Smith is playing Levers role. I don't understand the Smith hate tonight I thought he did well. Bernie is playing attacking off HBF. Lots of meters gained, inside 50s and score involvements etc. Smith led the team for intercept posessions, and equal 2nd in contested possessions.

Also Tyson 13 disposals (4th for us) and 3 clearances (= 1st for us), but third least TOG.