Bang Bang Bang

Wow I knew our season was metaphorically over but I didn’t realize how [censored] the mathematical chances were too. Even if we won all 3 games (haha!), we would need either Carlton or GWS to lose all three of theirs, and even then there’s Hawthorn, Collingwood and Essendon with more points and better % who could slide in ahead. It’s not happening folks. Surely Jefferson comes in, and Max, Windsor and May get shelved for the year.

Oh damn I stopped reading BigFooty years ago because of that shock jock and his sycophants. Now he’s joined the building here, FFS.

Season done. In hindsight it started nosediving the moment we lost to West Coast. Before that we had the great win over the Dogs, the business trip, and the Fritsch miracle against Geelong. Just goes to show how quickly it can turn to [censored]. Technically BT is right, we have three winnable games left and 13 wins could get you in. But I don’t see too much benefit in getting flogged in the finals, in fact it could be detrimental long term. Call me deluded but I reckon we’ll be good again 2025. May and Max should get their fitness back, Trac will be back, Clarry will almost certainly be back (you know what I mean), and we will have a good draft pick or two to go with Windsor and others who have showed plenty. 2026 and beyond is what worries me as I reckon May and Max will only go around again once more, and by then Trac and Clarry will be pushing 30.

Maybe I’m missing something with Laurie but I feel like in four years he’s never really been given a proper go at it. I thought he was decent last week but nope. If he’s not up to it, fine, but then why did they sign him up long term before the year began. Puzzling development IMO.

[censored] season 2024 is the gift that keeps on giving. Season on the line going into the last quarter and they dish that up. GWS kicked more goals (4) than we had touches after 5 minutes. Pathetic really. With 8 minutes left, Green kicked it OOF about 60 from our goal. We wasted about a minute switching the ball and then lost it out of bounds in the same spot, but on the other side of the ground. The [censored] was that? And with 3 minutes left, we let them chip it around with ease. About a minute or minute and a half burnt. That extra time would have been handy at the end. I dunno, I’m proud of the effort, but it is frustrating to see us bottling another season. It didn’t even take a page for someone to say Laurie isn’t AFL standard , but I thought he showed a bit.

Two first rounders for Houston would be crazy IMO. No doubting his quality as a player but realistically we’d only be getting 2-3 quality seasons out of him before he declines. We also need a bit of rejuvenation on the list with Gawn, May, Lever, Salem and even Trac and Clarry starting to get on the older side of things. I don’t think we should be chips in for a flag anymore, that ship has sailed. If Houston was 24 and playing the way he is I’d have no qualms with it, but that kind of bounty shouldn’t be wasted on a 28 year old ,unless it was prime Dusty or GAJ. For comparison we traded a single first rounder, pick 6, for Steven May who was younger and a better player than Houston. In a more important position too. And even THAT was borderline overs, luckily May has been awesome for us.

Gee whiz, Jeffo gets ill and then has one bad game and the wolves are back out again. He’s tracking fine all things considered, not sure why Demonland has such hostility towards him. I would give Billings a full game, yes he’s not the future but 18 touches and a goal in 1.5 quarters is about as good as he could have possibly done as sub, and that should be rewarded. Maybe K.Brown comes in after his huge effort over the weekend. Gawn in obviously. That’s about it. I’m certain Goody will back his regulars in. Very confident we win this one.

Freo are such a bogey side, I have no idea why we are so easy to play against for them, but it [censored] me. Amiss, Walters and Treacy killed us yet again. Pathetic effort really. In terms of the season, I don’t think it’s catastrophic to go down by 50 but it reinforced to me that we’re making up the numbers at best. Worst game I’ve ever seen Lever play. On a positive note I absolutely love the way Windsor goes about it. He gets it. With Trac and Clarry starting to get a bit older, it won’t be long before he’s our best player.

One of the more bizarre pieces of news I’ve seen pop after a bad loss but I’m happy with that, he is still a gun defender and May only has one year left. I don’t see Jed Adams being ready to take over.

Man Freo are such a bogey side. Walters is about 100 years old but giving us a hiding as he always does. Josh “Wayne Carey” Treacy is back again, he was there in Alice Springs too. Jackson kicking goals he never would have slotted for us. Serong, Brayshaw and Young looking like the 2006 Eagles. Drives me crazy. Lever, Clarry and the rest of our ‘leaders’ bar May have made it pretty [censored] easy for them though.

At the game today, that Windsor goal was out-[censored]-rageous skill in those conditions, I doubt the TV replays will do it justice. Some other thoughts: Melksham has made such a difference that I'm starting to think his ACL might have cost us a flag. Disco Turner is kicking for my life no doubt about it. McVee is unbeatable. It was great to see Jake Lever so invested and celebrating appropriately on the siren. May is as stiff as a board but still playing great. And finally, 22 is an actual disgrace. I generally don't like to mention them but he deserves a special mention. Some of his decision making defied logic.

Very pleased with that performance. You can grumble on about West Coast being as 'easy' an opponent as it gets, but for me a team that boasts the likes of Oscar Allen, Waterman, Darling, Cripps, Liam Ryan and Darling in attack, Harley Reid, Tim Kelly and Yeo in the middle, and McGovern and Barrass down back shouldn't be underestimated. Winning on the back of youngsters is always exciting. Windsor was magnificent, JVR completely dominant and Tholstrup is just sooooo antagonistic but has the talent and heart to back it up. McVee would get double the hype if he was picked earlier. We've made some horrendous decisions in trade week since the flag, but JT keeps batting his draft picks out of the park. Meanwhile Rivers' briliant form is probably the only positive to take from Trac's injury and Kosi finally landed a speccie! Won at selection! Ballsy as it gets to play Melksham off no prep but I thought the Milkshake was magnificent and we are a way better side with him in it. Goody pulled the trigger and it worked. I personally think this season is all set up for a Bradbury flag from someone. I don't think it will be us, but why can't it be us?

I'm not a Goodwin basher, he got us a flag and generally speaking has turned us in to a good H&A team in his tenure. But he needs to be MUCH better with his use of the sub. I doubt K.Brown could have saved the game for us two weeks in a row, but we were clearly getting steamrolled in the last and he waited until there was about 4 minutes left? Why not inject the fresh legs earlier? Did he not take some learnings away from last year's final?

Well that was [censored] torture. Very proud of Viney, Clarry and Kosi tonight. Petty the less said the better. Was really hoping we'd win that after Cam "Jack Watts" Raynor took a mark and carried on like Wayne Carey in the 90s, then went back to doing [censored] all as usual. What a joke of a player.

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.