Stretch Johnson

That's one solution when your defence is [censored]. Don't let it go in there.

Bleedin obvious One would think.. Apparently not :$

"We'll smash em. I have no doubt that we will destroy those pretenders and make them eat dirt."

You could have the fastest group ever assembled in AFL history and if they aren't match conditioned and underdone they will get smashed on the transition by a better conditioned unit. Like we were. Its about repeat efforts. Lack of speed isn't the primary issue here. As others have spoken to, a lack of conditioning leads to a whole raft of problems.

If Viney doesn't get up who would you bring in old dee?

I would like to see... Keilty and May. for Hore and Omac. and Viney must be in doubt...maybe Billy comes in.

Our Leadership group was very average Saturday. Makes things very difficult. And no Lewis.

Reports also that shaving rash has been discounted.

I saw the same as most. Not strong enough when placed under physical pressure and on a few occasions when he did have time, he panicked and bombed it. He has a long way to go, he was however working in a defence that was not functioning as it should and there was little opportunity to zone off and pick off pressured kicks into their forward line. That is probably his go. I would like to see a third tall(ish) that also has the agility and strength to play a Riewoldt or Darling. Those types will destroy this bloke at this stage.

I agree with many of the points in the OP but we are horribly under-done and that is currently our biggest issue. I cannot recall another season when so many players have had surgery or get over LTIs. It was always going to be tough to get this list primed by round 1. If we are lucky without too many mishaps we might get there by round 8 to 12 and make a strong run to the finals. As a result Port killed us on the transition and looked sharper than us. They looked fitter and their touch was better. More of a worry was a few less than committed efforts by some of our senior players. Eyes off footy and not playing to the whistle were a couple such sins. And Omac is simply not Afl standard. Marty Hore has a lot of work to do and Spargo for his upside is an incredibly limited footballer. A combination of luck and good management may produce the season we want. But I get the feeling that this may not be our year.

There will be those that will recognise what they see and those without the exposure to be able to do so.

Wish I hadn't watched that. That is not good at all. Hope the kid recognises that he needs to change and he gets the help he need. Nb: Mental health issues dont occur in a vacuum and have vast causes and manifestations. Making assumptions about individuals is fraught.

One match upheld. Misses Port Adelaide.

I think we are going to we might lose a few we might expect to win early in the season. I'm tempering my expectations and will be very happy winning 50% to the half way mark with no injuries. New personnel, the structural changes due to the 666 rule and having key players underdone might see us stall out of the blocks a bit. I also see the form of a few in the lower tier as a bit of a worry. I would love to be wrong.

2, 4 and 5 I would suggest are because we play the game in our half as you alluded to in your reply to 2. Good stats. Probably the only one that would be nice to improve is Stat 1. The remainder are as a result of our ability to hold the ball in our forward half.

Has the annual "dancing with your sister" cliche procession begun yet? If not consider this the first offering.

Dyson's really suck.

Wallets has a point about inconsistency. It's a common thread for young teams. The plus being that that we have raised the performance base sufficiently to a place where a drop off is noticed. Rather than being consistently [censored]. Consistency like most facets of our game has been steadily improving. I am tipping it will continue to improve.

Can someone do the Abe Simpson walk in walk out gif for me?

Peppermint powder? Ffs, can't even commit to being a bad boy with the required intensity.

Oh noes. He can't put weight on either foot. All his toes must be shot.

I think there can be a tendency to exaggerate the contributions of some players for nostalgic reasons. Chopper was a handy senior player at his best and I think that he himself would agree with that assessment.

Whatever Lewis' failings he has the mindset of a winner. Has he imparted that to the team? I am not in the inner sanctum and neither are you anymore. These are the intangibles that outsiders cannot judge. He could yet be a key reason we win a flag.

Unfortunately her psychology expertise may rule me out as a suitor. That and the fact that I am married, balding, middle aged and not that pretty.

To add a bit of balance. I'd like to see threads where objective analysis and discussion can take take place fairly. And that this can be done without rebuke and censorship of those who wish to do so. Without the "bullying" by those who believe mistakenly that they are the propaganda department of the mfc. There should be no ownership of training reports and all reports should be welcomed. There is often some marking of territory that goes on. Football is interesting, part of that is the discussion of all that is good, bad and indifferent.