titan_uranus

As has been mentioned, we've finished a round on top of the ladder for the first time since Round 18, 2004. Next up, Sydney at the G: we haven't beaten them there since 2010. We drew in 2011 and have lost 7 straight since then.

You can't say it was unintentional but then argue he should be suspended unless you also think Hawkins and Hipwood should have been suspended. If it's unintentional then the consequence was an accident, as it was with Hawkins and Hipwood and was the core reasoning both got off. But we know consistency and the following of precedents is not the MRO's strong suit.

IMO the path we take will depend on whether Fritsch gets suspended. If he does, I suspect TMac will stay forward. Too much change to the forward line. In that event, Petty comes in for Tomlinson. If he doesn't get suspended, then the question is whether we feel comfortable with TMac in defence. I'm very, very unsure about it. But I can see why they'll want to do it, as it opens a spot for Weideman without having to drop someone. Sparrow should replace Baker. Should never have played Baker today, he was terrible and just isn't improving. Go back to what has been working for us with Brayshaw on the non-Langdon wing predominantly, and get Sparrow into Viney's role whilst Viney's out. Jones probably deserves to return to the 22 but that means someone else has to come out. Could be ANB, who was poor. Could be Melksham, but his 18 pressure acts are probably what the FD wants to see so I'd be surprised.

6.- Fritsch 5 - Jackson 4 - Pickett 3 - Langdon 2 - Salem 1 - Jordon

Appalling first half characterised by the Melbourne of old - lack of workrate and low percentage attempts to move the ball. Happily, we only needed two quarters to outscore them by 8 goals. Undoubtedly, it is a good sign to win games when we're nowhere near our best and today we were nowhere near our best. Tomlinson going down is a disaster for us. I was surprised to see TMac get sent down there and I'm not sure I like it. He's not really a defender anymore and I don't know if May and Lever can trust him like they trust Tomlinson. However, it does allow us to being Weideman back. Melksham's getting a lot of focus again. I personally thought he was poor, again. I know his pressure acts were high and I'm sure that is what the FD are looking at, and will likely mean he's playing his role the way they want. I'll accept that if true, but watching him I can't stand his half-hearted tackle attempts and his inability to get out of tackles. Baker was terrible though. I have no idea why we played him. If we knew Viney was a risk of not playing, it's unfathomable to me that we didn't play Sparrow. Sparrow's done nothing wrong iMO with the chances he's had and is a perfect replacement for Viney, as far as like-for-like goes. I actually liked Brown's game. He clearly wasn't at his best but he gave us so many options all day, he just wasn't sticking those marks. But he did enough to kick two and was a centimetre away from three (if the goal umpire had called it a goal I reckon on a score review it would have stayed a goal). I'm confident that as he keeps playing he gels more with the mids, finds his feet and his hands, and settles in. All of that aside, we're now 7-0, we're a game clear on top, we're two games and 29% clear of 3rd and we're three games and 31% clear of 5th. No matter how disappointed you are with elements of our game today, banking these wins when we're not at our best is huge for us. We're going to drop games, with Viney and Tomlinson out and Fritsch possibly suspended I expect us to drop one of the Sydney-Carlton-Adelaide games, so getting these wins is critical.

I'll watch the replay later but thankfully I didn't spend the game in the Gameday thread. Our percentage was 150% before this game. Today we scored 147% of North's score. Like a cricketer's average, today's percentage drags the overall percentage down.

I'm not watching and I don't want to follow the game via this thread as I've learnt over the years it's always extremely negative. But a quick look at the score and stats tells me all I really need to know. North's only kicked two scores higher than this in their first six games, and it's only half time. They've won both quarters despite having only won six quarters across their first six games. They have the top five possession getters and 8 of the top 11. They're on top in CPs and clearances, they're +21 in uncontested marks, they're +7 in inside 50s, and they've taken 9 marks inside 50 to our 2. This screams workrate. Not winning it inside, not stopping them spreading it outside, therefore not getting it in our forward half. Again, I haven't watched a second of footage, but I'm sure this is Cairns 2020-esque.

Really? Where? If we knew midweek why didn’t we keep Sparrow free? Surely he’s more deserving of a seniors spot than Baker? If not Sparrow then Chandler? We’ve tried hard all year to keep players in similar roles. If our plan is to move Brayshaw or Melksham into Viney’s role, I’m surprised. Sparrow fills Viney’a spot well IMO. Meanwhile the MFCSS is settling in well right now...

It’s hard not to have this concern. Rationally I know the evidence of us in 2021 says we shouldn’t be worried but we’re not far enough removed from the Cairns disasters of last year for me to be relaxed.

Even better!

Wait until we lose a game and then people will say it’s us.

This fixture announcement is amazing for us. It’s a tiny pity that neither game is a home game at the G but the FTA and media exposure from being front and centre for a fortnight is huge for us. QB is the following week. So in the first 12 rounds before the bye we will have had 7 games on FTA. I suspect that will be a record for us. Still prime time opportunities in the rest of the fixture too, particularly with Thursday nights likely to be used in those post-bye rounds. Essendon, Port, the Dogs again, West Coast and Geelong again could all net prime time exposure. (Edit: disappointingly of those five games I’ve mentioned only the Dogs is a home game for us)

I agree, it was a mark and HTB. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving club than Geelong.

This is the right call. Jones might be disappointed but I’m sure he understands. He’s always been a club first person. He isn’t playing well and we have the opportunity to make the 22 better with Brown. Melksham starts this game IMO as our 22nd best player. If he doesn’t play well, Jones is one of a number of players not in the side who are pressing for his spot.

So a win tomorrow will put us a game clear of the Dogs and two games and significant percentage ahead of everyone else (we’re 150%, no one on 5-2 is better than 120%). Tomorrow is lose-lose in many respects but I hope we approach it with the knowledge that a good win helps press that gap over our rivals before our fixture gets nasty.

It's 100% about optics. The election is this weekend. I suspect the government will be concerned about having one rule for Tasmanians and another for an AFL side. If Tasmanians who were in Perth in the relevant period aren't allowed in, I expect North won't be either.

If Collingwood were able to play in front of a crowd yesterday after being in Perth during the red zone period, I can't see any reason for the game to be played in Melbourne without a crowd. If North returns negative tests all round, then we play here in front of a crowd if, but only if, Tasmania says they're not allowed in. If they're allowed in then we go to Tassie and the crowd situation depends on the Tasmanian government. There was no crowd at Optus Stadium because of the Perth lockdown, not because of North.

The issue isn't using kids as the sub, it's ensuring that if they don't get game time one week they do the next. We've been good with that all year, but the answer isn't necessarily to put them in the seniors. Chandler only comes in if he's going to do better than one of our forwards, and right now I don't think that's the case, so he goes to Casey.

As has been said: Kane Cornes' schtick is to say controversial things. It's why he gets paid. He does the Saturday evening video on the AFL website, the Sunday Footy Show, the radio Monday morning and Footy Classified Monday evening. Whatever he says on the Saturday or Sunday, gets discussed further on the Monday, and gives AFL.com/SEN/Channel 9 more stuff to tweet and talk about. At any rate, there's some merit to what he said, which came in the context of praise for us overall. We have made the finals once in the last 15 years and we're pointing to the scoreboard the first time we get to beat the competition's benchmark team. You don't have to agree with him but it's not like what he's saying has no merit. As to David King, I personally consider him to be the most overrated commentator going around. He talks so much utter rubbish. Just so, so much. So who cares what he says about us. He was stupid to go off about how good we were in 2018, so if he wants to keep suggesting we'll fail this year, fine.

Shuey, Ryan, Yeo, Hurn, Kennedy didn’t play and McGovern got injured mid-game. Some of them won’t be back for a while but I wouldn’t write them off just yet.

Why?

Alternatively, they’ve already had their four years up, 2017-20, for three flags and a prelim loss. Brisbane had four: 2001-04, for three flags and a GF loss. Hawthorn had four: 2012-15, for three flags and a GF loss.

Our post-bye fixture really is tough, too. After Essendon and GWS at the G, we have Port (away), Hawthorn, Gold Coast (away), the Dogs, West Coast (away), Adelaide and Geelong (in Geelong). That is a brutal stretch. Again, so important to bank these early season wins and so important to keep it up with this upcoming North-Sydney-Carlton-Adelaide stretch.

Meanwhile 10 of our last 16 games are against current bottom 10. One of those is West Coast in Perth, but the rest are two against Adelaide, return games against GWS and Hawthorn, and games against Gold Coast, Essendon, Carlton, Collingwood and North. Then there's Sydney at the G, and then five massive tests: the Dogs twice, Port in Adelaide, Brisbane in Alice Springs and Geelong in Geelong. Banking these first six wins is so important as it helps us buffer for losses in that group of tough games to come.

Gold Coast, Essendon and Carlton all play football, at times, that is good enough. Essendon's already had three of its six interstate trips, so they barely leave Victoria for the rest of the season. GWS is actually in form, pushing us, winning twice, then pushing the Dogs. Collingwood's best is good but they've got too many injuries. Hard to see them coming back from 1-5. Sydney are a question mark IMO. They don't defend well and are too reliant on kids who are already showing signs of fatigue. They do, however, have an incredibly good list of double-up games: GWS, Gold Coast, Essendon, St Kilda and Fremantle.