Wiseblood

For what it's worth, I thought Petracca had a better game on the weekend. Kicked one and set up one with a ripper handpass in the first term and did some good things outside of that. I can't argue that he is still fumbly at times and isn't impacting the contest as much as we would all like, but I thought Friday night was a step in the right direction. No chance he gets dropped.

Who didn't want it when it counted? Did someone go to give Viney a handpass and he shook his head at them? Was Nathan Jones sticking himself in a back pocket to get as far away from the ball as possible? Strange comment.

He did jag one goal in the third term, but I agree with the sentiment of your post regardless.

I heard what Goodwin said. He's right, our clearance/stoppage work was terrific. He made no mention of roles, let alone Tyson's, so we don't actually know if that's the role he had. Did he have a run with role? Was he there to give a chop out to other players? Did he rest across half forward? Play on a wing? We don't know the answers, and neither do you. You said he played his role, without knowing if he did or not, and when asked by Vogon you instead turned it in to what it is now. You didn't answer the question, as you often don't, and instead made it very clear that you're just going by what Goodwin said and twisting it as best you can to suit your thoughts, which is what you usually do.

If you don't know what his role was then why did you say he played it...? You're getting worse and worse.

Fair points, Steve. I guess there is a small part of me that hopes Garlett smashes the door down for selection, but I get the feeling he isn't doing that at all (although that's an assumption based on the reports from the games each week).

Spargo's stats (19 touches, 9 tackles) are what you would hope to see from Garlett, especially against average opposition like Coburg. It's why Goody has continued to stick with Spargo each week and the reason Jeffy is left at Casey.

Good to hear that the sentiment in this thread is that our season is far from gone. Thank goodness for some common sense. Imagine if the players returned to Melbourne with the belief the season was already done and dusted? It's madness. It's not as if Port were some bottom 4 side who were struggling. They've now won 5 of their last 6 (with the one loss being by 3 points to the Hawks in Tassie) and are in very good form. We played our brand of footy and dictated terms for most of the night. Poor use inside 50 aside, we had them cooked. If we bring that intensity each week for the second half of the year then we'll play finals. No doubt in mind. I'm not convinced as to what we can do come finals time yet, but we can most certainly still play in them. Our season does not need to be 'saved' at all. It's alive and kicking.

Some of you guys take things too literally. The tweet isn't necessarily comparing us exactly to the Tigers. It simply suggests that there is plenty of the season left and there have been other teams, in similar positions, who in the past have overcome it. Some make finals, some win a few of those finals and, in the Tigers case, they won a flag. Doesn't mean we'll do the same. It means that we can still make some noise if we wish to and have a terrific back end to the season.

Brown gets a light shove in the back and falls forward like he's been smashed by Yokozuna. Disgrace.

To be fair, there have also been numerous games where he has kicked a couple in junk time or just not hit the scoreboard in some of those big games as well. The above are good examples, but they are three from the last 4 years (I'm sure you and I could go back through and find them on both sides, though, so it's a moot point really). I guess my post came from the fact that he gives no reason for inclusion in our side. If he had jagged 4 or 5 today, or supporters said he laid numerous tackles and put on a heap of pressure, then I'd be more inclined to include him. It doesn't sound like he is doing anything of the sort, and therefore doesn't deserve a run in the side. He may still get picked, and I'd hope more than anything he would play well, but everyone pleading for his return are pretty short sighted after the year he has had to date.

Ben Brown, with his stupid hair, ridiculous run up and annoying face, is probably the player I hate most in the AFL at the minute. Simply can't stand the bloke. It's slightly irrational but I can't help it.

1-2 changes, tops. Weideman is in the frame after kicking 7, which Stretch possibly deserves a run after a good month at Casey. We may add another tall defender too, but outside of that, we won't make any other changes.

Maybe, maybe not. Lever not playing was not the issue. What we did forward of the ball was. If you can't see that yourself then I can't help you.

Didn't see any of the game, but it's terrific to see Weideman kick 7. Poor opposition or not, he's still done well to jag that many and puts himself in the frame for an immediate recall. The rest don't exactly get me excited and, if we don't have any injuries, I don't we'll make more than 1 or 2 changes for the St. Kilda game this week.

Why are so many people frothing at the mouth for Garlett? He has shown, time and time again, that he goes missing in big games and when the heat is on. How many big games over the last few years has he not shown up for? His form has been average at best at Casey, and in a hotly contested, hard tackling game like last night, he would have had more chance of not giving us anything than being some sort of match winner. The issue isn't what we're doing when the ball hits the deck, it's the way we create space for each other and the delivery inside 50. Garlett wouldn't have change much of that, and unless he is ripping it up at Casey, I'd continue to look elsewhere.

I don't think we missed him that much last night. It would have been preferable to have him, no doubt about that, but our defense actually played pretty well. Oscar, Jetta and Hibberd did a mountain of work, while Lewis provided the leadership and cool head in most situations as well. The problem was us not converting our chances and Port converting theirs. That's not down to our backline.

Spot on. I laughed when he said the first 50 paid against Oscar was there, and then he saw the subsequent replay and realised it wasn't there and didn't know what to say. He's an idiot.

Bottom line for me is that, if we play that sort of football for the rest of the season, then we play finals. The overall style of play is set up perfectly for finals football and the pressure that comes with it. If we can work on our composure and our use of the ball forward of the centre then we'll be alright. We took it up to a side on their home turf who only a few weeks ago brushed aside the reigning premiers. I'd much rather have won, that goes without saying, but overall it was the right response to a sub par performance on our home deck against the Pies.

Are you sure Lewis even marked it? Apparently the bloke is finished so I'm not sure we are allowed to acknowledge anything good that he does. As a side note, yes, Dixon got him in the contest but it wasn't a 50 - but Oscar did essentially the same things and got pinged, so there was zero consistency on the night.

Couple of years ago? You only signed up in April. Who were you before you became a poster from the Bellarine Peninsula?

Lewis ain't the problem, and he was way better than many others out there last night. DS won't admit it though as, after being wrong in these sort of threads before, he desperately wants to be right.

Do you actually discuss and talk about the club, or just take pot shots at posters? It would be nice to see if you're capable of something other than being that whiny kid in the playground that nobody likes. I don't think I've seen you do anything but have a go at other posters. It's getting boring.

Ah, so you're one of those supporters who focuses on one negative thing but forgets the rest? That's all I need to know.

Hardly. Against the Tigers, for example, he had 22 touches, 9 marks and kicked 2 goals. Fair night for a key forward. He had 24 touches against the Hawks as well. He's had some down games this year, but on the whole it's been a good return for a bloke who missed the majority of 2017. You potting the bloke is pretty [censored] poor to be honest.