titan_uranus

I'm just noting a few of the moments which did admittedly go in our favour. I forgot the Dixon one going against us. I think the only time the umpires influenced the game was early, paying frees that were there but which don't always get paid against the home side in a hostile environment. Helped us steady.

You'd think the changes will be dictated by fitness more than anything. We will have been planning this out for months. Is Brown able to back up? Can Gawn go again against another pretty decent ruck in O'Brien? Is Lever's knee OK? Is Oliver's finger OK?

We do have to acknowledge the umpiring, too. Sparrow's fourth quarter goal came after two massive throws from Brown and Fritsch. We got a really good run with 50/50% decisions in the first quarter, too. But then again, they got a goal early from a mark that was further out of bounds than the Higgins goal last week, and they got a goal from the Rozee flop that should never have been a free. And they can't blame the umpires for Ratugolea's brain fade.

This is how I felt watching the game too, other than the third quarter which felt like them dominating but us defending brilliantly and holding them back for most of it (until they got those two goals to push it out to 16 points). The third felt like the Collingwood QF a little bit. The rest of the game felt like a much more even game. We did, though, nail difficult shots at key moments (Brown and Gawn late third, Fritsch late are probably the three big ones) and that helps our xScore go up, whilst they missed some easier shots and their xScore dropped.

For three of the quarters I’d agree but it felt like in the third quarter they just got too far on top in the middle and controlled play. We sagged back to defend but it felt to me like the game was on their terms, not ours. The rest of the game felt like we were prepared to give up some territory and so it was more within our control.

6 - ANB 5 - Viney 4 - Gawn 3 - Lever 2 - Chandler 1 - Oliver

Absolutely brilliant win. When they got to 16 points up in the third it felt like we were hanging on by fingernails, with the time they had in their forward half, but we defended so well and when the tide turned we took full toll. -2 CPs, -15 clearancss, -10 tackles despite being -36 disposals and -21 inside 50s. 99.9% chance if Port does that again this year at home they beat whoever they’re playing. For us to win despite that is a testament to the way we’ve changed how we set up and move the ball. On TV it felt like we retained forwards deeper to ensure we had options; it also felt like when we were at our worst we lost that shape forward of the ball. ANB humungous, Brown’s leading and aerial contest work was critical, Viney massive all night and Clarry’s final quarter was stunning. TMac was surprisingly good on Dixon, so much so that we felt comfortable swinging Petty forward. Lever’s intercept game was phenomenal but he and Rivers have to improve their kicking, they both made critical errors. Despite all those shout outs, this was a win that didn’t have Trac, Oliver or Gawn dominating for four quarters. That of itself is massive. (Edit: the stats suggest Gawn was more dominant than I felt while watching. I thought Soldo troubled him at times. But clearly Gawn was good). These sorts of wins, on the road to boot, can really make something of a season.

Is it fair to say the disparity between their players with AFL experience and ours means this has been a promising performance so far?

So Adelaide are 0-3 and have us (home) and Carlton (away) as their next two. 0-5 is not exactly far-fetched. They just re-signed Nicks, too. We'll see if Fremantle are truly the real deal in the next fortnight, with Carlton and then Port (away).

Your constant conspiracy theorising is tiresome. Also, probably not accurate here. How much media was generated by their 0-3 start? It was all over every paper and website. The more they lose, the more attention they get.

It will most likely be a fine. Intentional, body contact and low impact is a fine. Has to be graded medium or above to get a week. For that, either the MRO decides it was genuinely medium force or applies the "potential to cause injury". I'd love it if the MRO did actually grade it medium but I doubt it. Edit: a reminder that the system is broken. Any intentional strike should be a minimum week. If it's enough force to be reportable, then it's a week. It's [censored] moronic that we still have fines for intentional strikes.

If he stays next year then walks as a free agent, and if we get band 1 compensation, then we get the first pick after our own. Which, if we are any good next year, will be mid-teens. North Melbourne got pick 3 because their first pick in the draft was pick 2.

I'll reserve judgment on whether Collingwood are "back" until I see them play someone else. Brisbane right now are no good. I don't think it's hyperbolic to say the wheels could fall right off. If they're this lethargic against North...well...probably not. But then they play us, Geelong, GWS, GC and Adelaide. It's a tough run and on current form they may well be 2-7 at the end of it.

As a general rule I'm not against re-signing players at early opportunities. It's good for player morale (theirs and the wider list) and shows we're a fair and reasonable club to those who we may want to attract in future years. Having said all that, I am personally very much a Laurie sceptic. I do not see enough promise in him to think he has what it takes to be a successful AFL player. I would love to be proven wrong but I wouldn't have thought Laurie is a priority for our list at this point in time.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Lever is either out, or named but a late out. Tomlinson and Petty to cover him and May.

Not quite. He said we're confident in Lever playing. He will train today but I wouldn't be surprised if the position is "he has to get through training". May is doing some running today which is probably a good sign.

Well to be fair, he does have a midfield featuring Butters, Rozee, JHF, Wines, Drew and Boak, and a forward line featuring Dixon, Marshall, Finlayson, Rioli and SPP. If he’s backing those two areas of the ground to be as dominant as they ought to be, and Ratugolea and BZT to help in defence, perhaps it’s not all that bad for him to still want a high press?

What’s straightforward about Brisbane- Collingwood or our game?

I suspect so. With time he’ll get stronger and more of his tackles will stick. His willingness to two-way run is fantastic though.

They’ve got Ratugolea and Zerk-Thatcher as their new key defenders. I don’t rate ZT but he beat Tom Lynch on the weekend. They free Aliir to be like Lever. That might be a reason the FD pick Tomlinson and, if Lever plays, put Petty forward. Make Aliir a bit more honest.

This is a ridiculous take. Even if you have high expectations, being this critical of an 18 year old after his first VFL match ever is completely insane.

I suspect (with no medical knowledge) May misses the next three games pre-bye at a minimum. Tough slate of opponents to have in that stretch - Port, Adelaide and Brisbane are all pretty well stocked with tall forwards.

Chapman and Cox are defenders, Cox was in the AA squad in 2022. They are both better than Pearce, as is Luke Ryan. At full strength they are a strong defence and one which I think most people don’t appreciate.

Not sure about Fremantle's depth. Yesterday was only North but they were missing Chapman, Cox, Darcy, O'Driscoll and O'Meara, plus OMac and Worner who played last week, plus a few others (e.g. Corey Wagner and Ethan Stanley). Perhaps against a better side they wouldn't have won but they're 2-0 with quite a lot of talent to come back. And I wholly disagree that they "need" key defenders. Their best 22 defence is top 4 quality.

A consequence of the injuries being to talls and the lack of a rotation was that TMac played 100% TOG and Brown 96%. I'm fairly confident that wouldn't have been our plan going into the game and so it may result in either/both of them pulling up sorer than we'd have wanted. They may get up for the Port game but may not be able to do that and then do a 5-day break into the Adelaide game.