Dante

Yes they were better than expected, but if Max plays we win by a lot more, as Goody said'They obliterated us around the packs in the first half", that wouldn't have happened.

One of the benefits of the game was the experience it gives to our younger players, playing in a game with finals like atmosphere, the noise was unbelievable and the pressure out on the ground must have been incredible. We've had a few games this year where there have been big crowds but mostly they've been in front of, mainly opposition supporters, Adelaide, Richmond and Essendon, this time I reckon we held our own and we cheered as loud as they booed. Even though the Pies are a middle of the road club we won and should have won by more and we should not underestimate the value that we get having big Max in the side, he not only takes control of the centre, he also slips in for a couple of goals and takes some timely marks in the back line. There is one benefit we've gained from his injury I guess and that's the adaptability we've gained roving to the opposition ruck, we would probably be the best in the comp now. Really love the way we fought back and the way we controlled the game in the last half, we missed out on a few opportunities and a couple of miss kicks cost us goals and a much bigger win. Love the arrogance of the younger brigade who know they are good and don't hold back, love the cool heads of the older players who know how to win close games. Go Dees

Isn't it the start of the snow season, perhaps all the hawks supporters have gone skiiing, downhill by the looks of it.

Exactly, Rohan is one of the most, overrated, least talented players I've seen, he's fast but it stops there. I just cannot understand all the love for him on here and some posters who should know better, are his biggest fans. He's averaged 10 possessions a game over his entire 7.5 seasons and has kicked less than a goal a game, just what does he do, other than miss simple mark's and throw in the occasional tackle. We'd be calling for his blood if he played for us the way he's performed for the Swans. He can run fast but apart from the fact he's run down a few players, he's no better than Blease and I'm amazed he's stayed on the list for so long, in fact I think they were trying to offload him last year. He is a dud. As for Tippett, no thanks, he's tall and that's about it.

Not a great game but we won and kept our % up, so at the end of the year, how we played will be irrelevant. Mind you if we make finals and play like that we won't last long. We play a hard brand of football now, so I think the break has come at the right time and hopefully we will get a couple back shortly after that. Thought Harmes was good and hope he stays in the side, he cops some criticism but he's only 21 and hasn't got a lot of games under his belt. He runs hard he splits packs, he's got a bit of speed and he is tough and doesn't shirk it.

Doesn't the white "away gear" look so much better when you win a few games on it.

The most interesting thing is, just who are the good sides this year? Adelaide were flying and then North and the Dees beat them, GWS were the early favourite but Adelaide creamed them and they just got across the line against Collingwood. Geelong were doing well but have fallen in a hole, just the same as Richmond. Freo started off poorly but have won 5 now and the Saints have been improving each week. The Bullies are scraping home and they look to me like they are just hanging on. Hawthorn need to rebuild and Sydney may have found a bit of form last week. We are playing as well as anyone and I go to the games now knowing we can win, no, expecting to win, sometimes we don't but there's not one game this year that we shouldn't have won. Usually by this time it's started to sort itself out and a couple of the SEN guys said a week or so ago that the top 8 was pretty much settled, wrong. We can finish top four, we don't have a tough draw, but then again, what is a tough draw, who will emerge from the pack to shape the finals. Don't write off Sydney and I think Collingwood are better than their current position indicates. Carlton will win games, I said this after we beat them and they and Essendon will win when not expected Freo are a worry, they are well coached and have come on well since the early games, but they are a little inconsistent. I haven't been as optimistic about the club since we were playing finals in the 90's, we had great sides back then, but now we have a very good side and a good coach and a great development programme

He always looks composed and even if he cops a hit he just shrugs it off and gets on with it, it will be interesting to see how he copes with a tag, which will come soon, I would imagine. I was all for Parish and I'm happy to say I got it wrong.

Pleased to see Cam play so well and I hope he gets another contract, I think he will after the club has seen how dangerous it to only have two genuine rucks. You're right about his intensity, it was good, the one area he has been poor in in the past is drifting in and out of games, the ruck forces him to concentrate for the whole game and it shows. Well done Pedo.

Love Tmac playing forward, he's a good mark and in the forward line he's only got one thing to aim at. Didnt know much about Hibberd before he came across but I do now, he and Salem are two of the best attacking defenders in the game. Gotta love Bern, doing what he does best. Isn't it good that Jones doesn't have to be a one man midfield anymore. North next week, one more problem to cross off the list

He was a ball magnet in the under age competition but it appears that not many were prepared to risk him because he was so small.

Maybe they got a list of members phone numbers from the club?

They sponsor the Women's team and are upgrading to be co sponsor with AHG for the men's team as well.

Yep. Co Principal Sponsor with AHG.

Back of jumper sponsor to be announced and it's iSelect, well done Dees.

I tend to agree with you, Hogan is probably not in a great place and if he is sick then that just compounds the problem. We can win this game without Hogan and if Weed plays, then he has put in his best performance, no excuses, he's an AFL player and has to play accordingly.

Except we are losing games that we should win, we are keeping our opposition to low disposal counts but they are still kicking enough goals to beat us. We generally win the inside 50 count, but lose games to opposition who take better advantage of their I50, maybe that's because our forwards are poor, or maybe it's because our defence is poor. There are countless variables but the only irrefutable fact is we are losing when we should win and that's because the opposition score more than we do.

I don't know that but here is a sample. Hawthorn I50 = 48 scored 24 times Richmond I50 = 57 scored 28 times Geelong I50 = 46 scored 20 goals it's the ease in which other teams seem to score goals against us.

If the defenders give away goals every second or third time the opposition goes inside 50, I reckon that's leaking like a sieve, don't you? Our midfield and forwards keep the ball out of the backline as much as possible, but it must be disheartening to see a goal kicked so often when it does go in there.

That doesn't tell the whole story, it's more to do with opposition inside 50's and our own inside 50's, I'm not sure where you'd get the details of this but I'd hazard a guess that we have a lot more inside 50's than our opponents, in most games, yet they score more often than we do. Here are some statistics that show how we are able to restrict our opponents capacity to get their hands on the ball but they seem to be able to score so much easier than we do. Statistical Rankings High Rankings Low Rankings Ranked 3rd in Kicks Per Game Ranked 5th in Handballs Per Game Ranked 2nd in Disposals Per Game Ranked 4th in least Opponent Kicks Per Game Ranked 1st in least Opponent Handballs Per Game Ranked 1st in least Opponent Disposals Per Game Ranked 1st in Team to Opponent Kicks Per Game Diff. Ranked 1st in Team to Opponent Handballs Per Game Diff. Ranked 1st in Team to Opponent Disposals Per Game Diff. Ranked 5th in Team to Opponent Marks Per Game Diff. Ranked 18th in Hitouts Per Game Ranked 16th in least Opponent Hitouts Per Game Ranked 18th in Team to Opponent Hitouts Per Game Diff.

Our backline leaks like a sieve and we need to recruit a top line defender/backline general to stop the flow of goals against us that the current crop seem incapable of doing. It is too common to see out of form players kick big scores against us like Hawkins. JackR, Roughy, McCarthy and even O'Brien, who had kicked 3 goals in 6 games kicks 2 against us. Daniher had 9 shots at goal in the first half and the game would have been over at half time if he'd kicked straight. There is a fundamental flaw in our game plan that allows the opposition to score so easily and it is easy, yet we bomb the ball in to our forward line and they seem to have a player drop back and mark, so often, unopposed We also have to look at those players that are permanently scarred and just turn it up when we play against certain sides that have had the wood on us for years.

They need someone to replace Vickery and Paddy may just be the dud to do the job.

Everyone seems to think that Darcy Moore will be a star, so I've got a comparison between he and Weed when they were the same age, there's not a lot in it at this stage. Player Statistics Comparison Sam Weideman Name Darcy Moore Melbourne Demons Team Collingwood Magpies Forward Position Forward 7 Career Games 32 Eastern Ranges Origin Oakleigh Chargers June 26, 1997 Date of Birth January 25, 1996 Turned 19 in 2016 Age Turned 19 in 2015 195cm Height 201cm 94kg Weight 98kg 2015 National Draft Last Drafted In 2014 National Draft Round 1, Pick #9 Last Draft Position Round 1, Pick #9 Melbourne Demons Last Drafted By Collingwood Magpies 2016 Stats for Season 2015 3 Games 9 2.7 Kicks Per Game 5.4 5.7 Handballs Per Game 3.6 8.3 Disposals Per Game 9.0 3.0 Marks Per Game 3.2 1.0 Goals Per Game 1.0 0 Behinds Per Game 0.3 0 Tackles Per Game 1.8 0 Hitouts Per Game 2.6 0 Inside 50s Per Game 1.4 0 Goal Assists Per Game 0.2 0.3 Frees For Per Game 1.1 0.3 Frees Against Per Game 0.7 4.0 Contested Possessions Per Game 5.0 4.3 Uncontested Possessions Per Game 4.2 6.7 Effective Disposals Per Game 6.3 80.7% Disposal Efficiency % Per Game 70% 0.7 Clangers Per Game 1.4 0.7 Contested Marks Per Game 1.0 1.0 Marks Inside 50 Per Game 1.2 0 Clearances Per Game 0.6 0 Rebound 50s Per Game 0.1 0.3 One Percenters Per Game 1.8 0 Bounces Per Game 0.1 78.7 Time On Ground % Per Game 80.2 33.7 AFL Fantasy Score Per Game 48.2 40.3 Supercoach Score Per Game 53.9

What, you don't think he's had enough criticism over his career? It's become some sort of sport in itself, let's find some fault in Jack, no matter how well he plays or what he acheives on the ground. See if you can pick out an incident or two where he hasn't put in to your standards and then run with it, that's better than saying good game Jack, 4 goals a number of possessions and several goal assists. Jack is not naturally a bash and crash player, he's a natural footballer but hasn't had the hard edge that some CHF's have had because he doesn't have the body shape of a Carey or Brown. He's playing ruck and that's got him more involved in the game, so he doesn't drift in and out like he once may have and he's certainly playing a harder brand of football than he used to, but that just doesn't seem enough for some.

He did.