Bang Bang Bang

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.

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.