grazman

Unbelievable ride in difficult conditions- such a wonderful effort.

The benefits of hindsight Ted. There were question marks on Charlie's attitude (subsequently caught drink driving in his rookie year and far more time on the sidelines than he should have had with his knee because he wouldn't commit to his rehab properly). He was always a talent, but it wasn't clear whether he'd be a tall mid or a shorter KPP. Carlton took the gamble and it's paid off, but it hasn't delivered a premiership yet and he'd want a better finals series this year or the comparisons with Gary Rohan will come. When you looked at Weid as a package you could understand why he was so attractive as a KPF prospect, he just couldn't get the last bit of the puzzle to fit.

The Captain of Vic Country Toby Travaglia looked very good today. SA Welsh and McKay were also solid.

Was Howes playing today?

It was unusual seeing him without strapping on his shoulders. I can't remember when he didn't have his shoulder strapped. I wonder why now - it seems like a big risk.

Good exposure playing as a bottom ager in the national championships. Well done to the kid, obviously going to be a hot prospect.

IIRC Kelvin also gave some of his salary back to the club because he felty guilty about not being able to perform consistently

Previously used as a wingman. Hunter is listed at 183 and Lingers at 182 - Billings might be more than depth if he can find some form.

Alternatively, it might say something about how he rates Richmond's list.

Except that he made a conscious decision to run full tilt at an opposition player and should have reasonably foreseen he would make forceful contact with that player as a result. The end result is the shoulder connected with the head. He got it wrong - plain and simple.

So Grundy and 4 draft picks (4, 5, 24 & 34) for the #1 pick? I can't see that happening. The scenario is also contingent on Grundy nominating the Swans and from all accounts it looks like he will nominate Port.

I assume being a Collingwood player it was a bottle of yellowtail?

Initially I thought it was a football action, but in retrospect you have to consider that Maynard runs flat out a player in an attempt to smother the ball, but then turns his body to collect him in a classic shirt-front action. Given his actions a) is it reasonably foreseeable that Maynard would make forceful contact with Gus and b) did he have a duty of care to avoid that? Yes, definitely on the first question and the second is what the tribunal must decide. Given the history of the player, the history of his extended family and the issues surrounding contact sports in general I'd be staggered if the AFL didn't use this as an opportunity to signal that they are taking the issue of concussion seriously. People can say it is "unfair" and inconsistent, (not prime considerations generally for tribunal rulings) but the AFL constantly 'stage manage' tribunal decisions (sorry to disappoint anyone that thinks the tribunal is independent in its decision-making), just this time it isn't about ensuring players can win Brownlow's or play in GFs, but ensuring that the general footy public understand that it is doing something about an issue it is currently facing litigation actions in.

Well it will be interesting watch to see if Tex has learnt anything. Will he give Shane the same farewell from the Croms as he gave Rick Lever?

I looked at Shane Valenti and immediately picked Woey... had no idea they looked so similar.

I agree, but it looks likely to happen, - it wouldn't surprise me though if North were prepared to trade the compo pick. How badly do we or the Hawks want Duursma?

Love Banksy as you can probably tell 😄

Is it a given the WTC is in England? I really don't like the idea of England playing at home for the WTC and influencing the sort of pitch that they would prefer to play on - better all round if it's played at a neutral venue for all sides concerned. Looking forward to the World Cup, it's the only limited over cricket I could be bothered watching.

Yep and Punter as a former Australian captain was livid with the field placings and inability to bowl to a plan. I think the leadership has been spooked by the English approach. There's an inflexibility in their thinking to adjust their approach. I think they handed the initiative to the Poms and it's a bit sickening to see that. It's test cricket you have to be aggressive and try to seize the initiative, not just shrug your shoulders and scratch your head. After the first innings why open the bowling with Starc again when the ball isn't swinging? Why bowl the very same first ball of the innings to Crawley that you did in the first test to let him smash you through covers? If he'd told us exactly where he wanted you to pitch the ball to him we couldn't have accommodated him any better. We appear to be slow learners. I can understand that delivery in Australia with a brand new Kookaburra when it only swings in the first 10 overs, but the Duke ball in England hasn't swung at all until after the first hour of play. I would have given him a bouncer and see if he's brave enough to try to hook the first ball of the innings - at least do something different, something they may not be expecting. Anyway there's no devils in the pitch that I could see, but let's see how brave our batsmen are.

Sure, but doubtful that Mooen Ali will bowl and if the weather improves enough (could do both day 3 & 4) under blue sky their quicks aren't as threatening - if it keeps going to script we should be batting again before the pitch has had a chance to deteriorate too much (there's some advantage to batting with overhead cloud cover).

100% agree Macca, I was being facetious - I should have put moral winner in inverted commas 😉 The game is now evenly poised similar to the first two tests - in those games the bazball tactics have cost England victory. Day 3 will be fascinating to see if England press the pedal to the metal in a bid to get poll position or spear into the barrier. Hopefully the English weather is as kind to us as it was to the home side on Day 2. The other important point is that our bowlers weren't required to bowl more than about 14 overs each in the first innings (although Starc looks a bit banged up). Because England score their runs (and lose their wickets) so quickly - even after five and half tests in seven weeks the quicks should be relatively fresh for one last push in the second dig; which may not have been the case if they were bowling 30+ overs an innings.

I think they will. They will want to post a good score to show that we deserved to retain the Ashes even if Bazball was the moral winner... snap!

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/draft/afl-draft-2023-harley-reid-will-west-coast-eagles-trade-no1-pick-gold-coast-suns-jed-walter-ethan-read-north-melborne-priority-pick-ryley-sanders/news-story/8de2da2c372325224c5f722fecf374b5 North Melbourne, as flagged by interim coach Brett Ratten, is also in the process of applying for a priority draft pick this year, given they’ve won just 11 of their past 78 games. The Roos last year received one future second and one future third-round pick – which they had to trade – as part of an assistance package. Ultimately, they used those picks to acquire Griffin Logue and Darcy Tucker from Fremantle. But the more likely outcome, according to draft sources spoken to by foxfooty.com.au, is the AFL will allow North to pre-list star Tasmanian midfield prospect Rylely Sanders who the Kangaroos are hoping will be added to their Next Generation Academy after he recently received his certificate of Aboriginality. Sanders ranked eighth in foxfooty.com.au’s draft power rankingsreleased earlier this week and is widely considered a prospect worthy of a top-10 selection. I can't see North getting a PP if they can pre-list Sanders (which I think will happen) and given the compromises with the GC NGA prospects, I think the secret herbs and spices compensation pick for losing McKay might be more like end of first round rather than directly after their first pick. I wouldn't be looking to previous AFL decisions as a precedent - AFL HQ have never been consistent in how they decide these things.

Rain is our friend this time. Even if we resume the ball will get wet in the outfield which will make it hard for all bowlers, but particularly the spinners. They had to change the ball at least once yesterday. The weather forecast for today in Manchester is no better than yesterday.

jinxed it! 😄