fr_ap

Not sure its a little thing and not sure its underrated. It's literally what's held Schache and Weideman back. They don't have an innate understanding of body contact - they don't seek it out, don't understand the push & pull. You can't really develop it either. Hogan had it from day 1 and it allowed him to kick goals immediately on AFL quality defenders. It's the #1 thing I look for in a key forward from day dot, whether they're kicking goals or not. Brown, for all his foibles, actually does have some understanding - I think his mind gets it - but he doesn't have the physical strength or centre of gravity to use it effectively. It's why so many defenders make great forwards, because as a defender if you dont seek or understand body contact, you may as well play a different sport...

What? Schache is one of the softest key forwards I've ever seen. Contested marking at AFL level against the best defenders is not at all his forte. He's not bad in space, a good field kick and set shot - closest to Brown we have. But he will be as ineffective as Brown is at contesting kicks that aren't to advantage (which we do a lot) or bringing the ball to ground, which is what the FD like most from Petty (the goals have been a bonus - he brings others into the play via his contest). All of our remaining options are NQR unfortunately and its not dramatic to suggest Petty's injury could be the difference between a flag or not. Re. Grundy - I feel like I'm on an island with this - but my concern isn't his forward play, or his ruckwork, or even his marking. My concern is our play consistently falls apart when he is involved. He's a dissynergy player - goes backwards when he should go forwards, back into congestion when he shouldnt, and zigs when he should zag. He's unpredictable - like Frost was for so long. I think this is part of the problem with he and Gawn - they're not in sync about who is doing what around the ground which led to a number of defensive lapses against oppo ruckmen earlier in the year. Yes Gawn probably thrives solo in any case - but what you're really seeing is his exemplary game knowledge & reading of the play coming to the fore, with him having the freedom & autonomy to act on it without having to worrying about what Brodie is doing, or what Brodie has been told by someone else. Ultimately Grundy reduces our cohesion, which is so important at the pointy end, and his weeks out of the side now wouldn't have helped. I would not be surprised if he returns and our movement & scoring regains its stagnancy.

McRae's press conference was par for the course. He's always a little twitchy, it's just his way. You're all just looking for cracks way too hard. Pies players were laughing on the bench with 30 seconds to go. This won't hurt them - I'm in zero doubt they're loading, for no other reason than they can afford to. Top spot is theirs. They know they've beaten anyone on their day and can win from 5 goals down consistently. Sorry to burst the bubble, but they're absolutely primed and this loss is doing nothing other than enhancing their priming. Will be beyond surprised if they don't make the grand final.

Careful

Such a good coach Goofy!

In Tasmania they stuff a steak full of Oysters. Odd concept at the best of times, but the name is what really completes it Carpetbag

Agree with this entirely. Duursma has some slightly concerning traits for a player projected to become a top end mid. Not sure he has (or can develop) the physicality required - he's not a natural 'contact' player to me. At his height, he'll always be a bit of a tweener and coaches will be tempted to play him forward which will hamper his development. Think Nik Cox - all the talent in the world, but a little soft, and between body types means hes never developed as a wing, ruck or forward properly.

Real shame we play the last game at the SCG. Hard to win there, very different game profile to the MCG and has the potential to kill a little MCG momentum (if we even have it at that point!)

Thanks for responding on my behalf - said it better than I could have!

You don't get many opportunities to add a potentially game breaking, goal kicking, inside-outside mid with power and explosiveness. The game is built around them - Danger, Dusty, Trac etc. - and this type of player is a pretty consistent factor in getting teams a flag. Certainly has been over the last 10 years. Yes - of course you need a team around them - but Richmond would not have won at least 2 of their 3 flags without Dusty. Potentially all 3. We (probably) don't win 21 without Trac. Happy to go on record that Harley would be worth it. He looks as good a prospect as I've seen in the last 5 years of watching draftees. It's the right time to add a player like him into our midfield. Viney approaching 30 and will be banged up as soon as he hits father time. Trac at his peak, Oliver a year behind. If Reid takes 3 years to get going, it will keep us at the top echelon, and that should be the aim with the current draft hand we have. In terms of alternatives, I have some significant doubts on Duursma at AFL level. I have far more confidence in Watson making the grade, even at his diminutive height. He + Koz could be a small forward combination for the ages. Also like McKercher and think he could end up the best or 2nd best player from this draft. What is clear to me is that this draft falls away below the top 5 or 6, so if we need to use our picks in the teens and/or our F1 to get Reid, or Watson and McKercher together (doubtful), I'll have no issue with it.

I'm on record in another thread saying expected score can be a flawed metric, but worth pointing out we won expected score 95-85 yesterday, implying if anyone missed more shots than expected, it was us. They kicked poorly to start, we kicked poorly to finish. They also took a number of shots from very far out which to some degree our defence was responsible for.

Is there? Why did I think round 24 replaced the week off?

That's fair, but port smashed them in expected score last night as well. It's a good metric I agree, but they appear to be so skilful that measuring them against a competition average conversion rate unfairly downplays how good they are. Maybe they're just more skilled than average, and expected score is less relevant? Also agree that our defensive system gives us a shout. I just think with those 3 players I mentioned back in, they'll have too much firepower and we won't be able to go with them. Stranger things have happened though! Oliver is as good as Sidebottom, De Goey and Elliott combined? We all love Clarry but this is just a silly thing to say and it discredits the rest of your post. We beat Collingwood because we played a very good game, put a lot of work into their system and they were missing several gamebreakers from their lineup. They also may have been sick. Who knows. We agree that I would love us to rip them apart in a final. Don't mistake my respect for them as anything more than arms-length admiration for what they're doing. Every other side's supporters were saying in 21 that the Dees were May premiers. Then July premiers. Then August premiers. It doesn't always carry through, but it can. We also had doubters as we didn't have the credit of a prelim season the year before. This Collingwood team have been very good for a long time now. Yes, they win a lot of close games. It's too consistent to be a fluke. It's a trait. Definitely no Daicos badge, but again you have to respect what he's doing. He might be the single best decision maker I've seen since.... Pendlebury. In his 2nd year. He's winning the brownlow and Treloar on a recent podcast basically said he's the best footy player he's ever played against. I hope you're right and they falter badly, but right now you just need to sit back and applaud.

As much as I enjoyed the KB win, it won't have collingwood worried at all. Missing de goey, sidebottom and Elliott, half the team sick and If it went 2 mins longer they win. Those 3 are absolute matchwinners all in their own right, and had they played they would have beaten us. No doubt. Yes, we were missing Oliver, but right now that looks to be the status quo so it's an irrelevant point. They've also since inserted McStay who looked terrific last night and gives them another dimension moving forward as well. There is a sense of destiny and inevitability about them, regardless of what the demon apologists and nay sayers think about their position on the expected score ladder. They're a phenomenal team and right now, they deserve the flag more than anyone else. I'm pretty sure they'll get what they deserve.

Absolutely mate, well said. Couldn't believe it when I logged on and read negativity There's nothing like the fun that comes after a win like that in person. The urinal is fun, the donut stand is fun, the walk to the pub is fun and of course the pub was great. KFC on Bourke St was fun (and delicious, even though I willingly donated 2 of my wings to the happy strangers that asked). Even the Uber home was fun. Those Tesla's are pretty cool. Fun fun fun Sports Im still drunk evidently

Well that turned into quite a night. Home at 330 and like others in this thread now nursing a very sore head. Just a fantastic, rollercoaster game from two very good teams. To Deespencer and a small number of others finding something to complain about - honestly probably reconsider if following footy is good for you. Outside of finals and the ultimate day, last night is pretty much as good as it gets for any supporter. Just enjoy it and worry about our corridor defense in 3 days time!!

Think Judd is probably a reasonably good matchup for Charlie.

I'd probably say no change. Howes was good, but he'll get eaten alive in the contest at AFL level. Needs a bit more development - next year is his year. Thought Spargo did ok and whilst kozzie looked awful round the ball, he had the 3rd most pressure acts and we would desperately miss his speed and tank if he was dropped. Chandler continued his nothing form in the VFL. To be honest, AMW isn't that far behind any of our small forwards. Not sure how his tank is or whether he could play the structure as well as the others, but he's quicker than Chandler and Spargo, can jump higher, combative and seems to get involved in scoring chains. Quite mercurial. He isn't that far away. Harmes was awful I thought. Our midfield depth is a concern - our first bounce against the Lions will be Viney, Sparrow and Jordon in all likelihood. A top end midfield draft pick or two is in need before the era of track and Clarry begins to pass. It's a shame Mitch White never moved into the midfield during his AFL days. He is an absolute warrior and a terrific player, good ball user. He and Munro are critical to Casey's success.

Agreed, I thought he was really good. Have seen him play a few times and a bit ho-hum, but gee whiz today he was near impassable and impeccable with the ball hitting 50m darts Doesn't necessarily look a footballer but seems a good one

Nice to see Jed Adams starting to find his feet. You can start to see the attributes the FD saw.

JVR showing why he's in the VFL. Highmore has had the better of him. Needs to work on a lot - leading patterns, field kicking, general nous. The best way I can describe him is a super competitive, combative forward. But he's not a smart forward - not half as smart as schache for example (who conversely lacks all competitiveness) Chandler equally ineffective at this level. On this showing AMW is almost in front of him...

Expected score tonight was Stk 69 Melb 60 Happy to win but tells a bit of a tale

Look I agree with all that and truthfully we all know it doesn't look too likely....but you've got to enjoy the wins when they come. It's too long a year and too much is down to luck... Very tough to follow if all you can enjoy is a flag

You do realise that the best place for a player like that - who rarely makes mistakes - is defence right? It's a turnover sport and over 75% of them are committed by defenders. He does more for our ability to win in defense than he would up the ground

Last week we won all of that. Oh, but we lost the game. If you're only ever happy with complete dominance and victories, you're not going to be happy very often. Why follow sport at all?