Bang Bang Bang

Yeah I’d be pretty cheesed off if I was K.Brown right now. Like what more could he have done last week? Winning the game for us wasn’t enough? I hope the communication to him has been clear.

Just a bit out of form and 6 goals in a Granny for the Mighty Dees, he can stay in Cranbourne for mine.

Without Trac it was going to be interesting to see who reaped the benefits of more midfield minutes. Looks like it was Rivers tonight and he was outstanding. Clarry’s form is a huge concern. I think we could all live with the lower disposal count, but the lack of discipline is absolutely killing us at the moment. He was stiff to give away the first 80m penalty in the history of the game it must be said. 8-6 with Lever to come back in, that means no more Tomlinson and Howes giving away bulk scores from panic frees. I’m not ready to write our season off. Most likely we miss the 8 or get eliminated early but there’s plenty of footy left and we’re not in a bad spot ladder wise. There’s only two good sides in it and we know as well as anyone that any team can [censored] the bed in September. Keep the faith.

A relaxing evening spent watching our boys establish their premiership credentials on the hallowed turf. Can only assume positive comments in game day thread and this one. I hope Steven May’s head is ok too. That looked very nasty.

Just my opinions and gradings but here's how I rank our midfielders in 2024 compared to 2021-2023 era. Oliver: Then A+, now C Trac: Then A+, now A Viney: Then B+, now C Langdon: Then B, now C Hunter: Then C, now injured Harmes and Jordon: Then C, now / Windsor: Then /, Now C+ (but will be A grade in time) Obviously a lot of factors go into the drop offs but it's hard to expect to still have a great midfield when literally every player in there has dropped off over time or left the club. ANB and Kosi have helped a little bit in patches, but it is not enough. Thank goodness Max is still A+ because the moment he starts to decline, we're in serious trouble.

Harmes had been rubbish for us since the flag, the revisionism here is a bit much. He's had a couple of good games for the Dogs when it's been going their way, but then so has Billings. No question Billings has been a disappointment. Very low risk trade but at the moment he is wasting a spot in the 23 that could easily go to a younger player. At 28 and decade of disappointment I can't see him turning it around either.

A sensible, but still alarming post. I agree with this 100%. Don't forget the cliff could come for Max at any moment too, similar to the way it has for May. May still looked elite up until about a month ago. Age can catch up to any player quickly. Max is 32. In hindsight we should not have been throwing away our second rounders last year like expired coupons just to upgrade our first rounder slightly, when Tholstrup was probably going to be there at our original pick anyway.

That game was almost worse to watch than the Fremantle one. We might have been half a chance to win if our players could convert simple opportunities, if the Arc was on our side for once, if our players could execute simple handpasses. If we just held on for 15 more seconds before half time. If Collingwood kicked normally from turnovers instead of 9.0 and no-namers like Krueger and Harrison suddenly turning into prime Gunston and Breust in front of goal. It was such an almost game early on that I felt like my sould was literally being sucked out of me. Langdon's poster in the third was the final straw for me. Let's be honest, a forward line featuring Petty and Turner is better suited to 2013 Dees and not a premiership tilt.

I don’t see how Taylor can get the blame? Since 2021: JVR has been a terrific pick for late first round. Jefferson is tracking well despite what the doomers may say. Windsor looks like a great pick too. Woey Jr good for a late pick. He can’t nail them all. If you’re referring to failed trades like Billings, Schache, Grundy and McAdam, then I agree we’ve been poor in that department. Trading up a stack of decent picks to get Tholstrup seems a bit silly too now (nothing against Kolt) . But none of that is JT’s fault.

It’s worth sliding down a spot if it means Essendon lose. Just my humble and bitter opinion.

The season is not quite cooked, in 1998 and 2000 we had some horrible mid season drubbings and still bounced back to win multiple finals. I know it’s clutching at straws to go back 25 years but it has happened. Petty and McAdam can’t play in the same forward line together next week. Drop one, drop both, move Petty back if you must, but not those two together please and thank you. Turner no better either. Salem, Bowey, Woey Jr, Rivers and countless others were all pathetic today but the cupboard is too bare to make meaningful changes in the smalls department. Please no Billings Goody. Win and our season has a pulse. Lose and we are in trouble. Lose badly and I’m just about ready to put a fork in this era. The flag was amazing at least.

Plenty of learnings from that game. Get Billings in for Hunter and all short be sweet for next week because 2021.

The Jackson goal in that quarter, I can’t remember that style of goal happening in the Goodwin era. Witches hats. Used to see it every quarter in the dark days. This is as bad as it gets. I’m sure olisik’s and poita’s fingers are warm.

Oliver playing like a regular C grade midfielder this year instead of the contested beast he once was has hurt us the most. Viney is 30 so only natural for him to be slowing down. Trac is playing too much of a hybrid role to impact in there. Kosi has been good. Definitely need more depth. I like Windsor but there’s no question the failed Harley Reid trade would have helped us immensely.

Worst half of footy since the 2020 Cairns game against Sydney. If you want to count that game. Maybe the worst since the 2018 prelim. Sadly this team ain’t it. Oliver is doing well just to be playing, but his lack of preparation is starting to show. Just a player at the moment, no star. Petracca can’t do it all. Viney is getting on. Windsor needs a rest. Then we have Petty and Turner as our “twin towers”. lol. Disappointing because all it takes is Sydney to be a little bit off one night in September and it’s anyone else’s flag this year. But we are playing like porridge too often. Brisbane was a disaster, West Coast did it too easy, and now this?!? We should only really be 4 goals down though. Nice mark Amiss lol. [censored] off 22 and friends.

Good win. Nothing to get overly excited about (unless you’re Steven May) but a game that was completely dominated by us and never really in doubt. Saints are rubbish but you only need to be off by about 5% to get a hiding from other teams this year. The gap between 2nd and 16th on any given day is as small as I can remember. Individual comments: Gawn not slowing down one iota, getting better if anything. Tomlinson great (but gives away a lot of needless frees), Tmac a revelation. Hunter is a million times better than Billings. Midfield looks much better with Kosi and ANB getting meaningful minutes. Also good to get to 100 without any real influence from Petty, McAdam and just a cameo from Fritsch. 7-4 is a good spot to be. It’s anyone’s flag this year.

Agree with those votes. West Coast have some top shelf players who played incredibly well on the day and our players were way off. I do find it a bit weird that Reid and Waterman can play like deadset the best 2 players in the competition, Darling, Kelly and McGovern can wind back the clock and Liam Ryan can rediscover his mojo ALL ON THE SAME NIGHT that Gawn, May, Petracca and co suddenly look like suburban footballers. That's footy I guess, and why "8 goal win minimum" style comments in the pregame threads rarely age well.

We don’t know that for sure. He’s barely had an extended opportunity. At worst he’s rubbish, like Billings is anyway, and at best he might find himself like Taj has done.

I think we need to hedge our bets a little. It’s possible 2021 is all we’re gonna get, or it’s possible we might still be in the flag race. It’s hard to say at 6-4 in May. So I would be in favor of cutting clear deadwood like Billings who won’t get a kick in September anyway, for someone like Laurie or Sestan. Woey Jr was one I thought might not be up to it but he’s starting to flourish with opportunity. Ben Brown is another who needs to go, but the cupboard is a little bare. Absolutely not to Jeffo coming in lol, I have faith in him but it’s too soon. Tomlinson one and done for Lever. Otherwise I think Goody has to roll with the same guys and hope we can peak later in the year or pinch one in an open year.

The wrist slashing is predictable. Was a poor performance by us but a team with McGovern, Kelly, Ryan, Waterman and Darling all playing out of their skins is going to trouble a lot of teams. Then you’ve got Judd 2.0 in Harley Reid. Eagles were too good for us today. Still 6-4 and in the pack. I don’t think it’s our year but it’s as wide open as ever. Clear out the deadwood like Billings and Ben Brown for younger players and regenerate the list while still pushing for finals. Woey Jr showed plenty today.

Great to witness the potential downfall of Geelong. I didn't mind them in that 2007-2011 window but then they just never went away. Got an arrogant coach, cheating captain who ducked for his entire career, and, well, I don't know what it is about Dangerfield either, but I can't stand him! Was hoping they wouldn't get that flag in 2022, but they did (well deserved too)... now they can hopefully bugger off... finally! They will probably go on a 15 game winning streak now.

When May touched Curnow’s goal and they brought out the Nokia 3310 camera for the score review I knew it wasn’t going to be our night.

Salty Chris Scott is one of the main reasons I enjoy beating the Cats. He thinks his players were off but also thinks his players were the best on the ground. Make up your mind Chris! He takes losses worse than some Demonlanders and it's glorious to watch. (I know, I know, we don't know for sure how he voted. But I think it's a pretty safe bet).

Happy to get the 4 points but if we play like that against Geelong they’ll beat us by 5+ goals!

Easily the best defender I've seen play for us (started in 1994). He's a freak. Looked like he was slowing down a bit in 2023 but was then player of the finals for us and is dominating this year with cracked ribs and damage to his vertebrae for most of it. Hope he plays well into his 30s even if we have to rest him often (a la Hibberd last season). Despite some occasional off-field hiccups, he's also one of my favourites to listen to in the media. Just tells it the way it is with no cliches. Well done Steven!