titan_uranus

Structures Pressure Effort/Intensity

That's what I meant, head injury. It seems pretty clear to me that the MRP is going to sanction tackles which cause some sort of concussion, no matter how severe the slinging motion is, and will let go tackles that do not cause concussion, even when the slinging motion is clear.

The view of the MRP: Contact between Melbourne's Jack Trengove and the Western Bulldogs' Callan Ward from the third quarter of Friday's match was assessed. Ward had taken possession of the ball when he was wrapped up in a tackle by Trengove. Trengove pivots and takes Ward to the ground. It was the view of the panel that while the action was a slinging motion, the impact on this occasion was below that required to constitute a reportable offence. The majority of the contact to the ground was to Ward's shoulder and there was no significant impact on Ward's head/neck area. The Western Bulldogs' player was immediately able to continue in the game when play proceeded. A medical report from the Western Bulldogs said Ward had sustained no injury and required no treatment after the incident. No further action was taken.' Clearly they have decided that no injury means no suspension. Ridiculous.

No, I don't actually think he can win the Brownlow, Chris Judd will see to that, but if anyone considered Beamer a chance to take it out, that chance is gone. He's copped a reprimand for his bump on Griffen. Match Review Panel: Round 15

He got off. http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/117788/default.aspx

Correct. But the key is 'not' the ball. Trengove only briefly looks at Higgins. That happens all the time. He mainly focuses on the ball. That is allowable. He is also allowed to put his hand out. IMO he wasn't so much blocking as he was looking for contact. That, too, happens all the time. The thing umpires are looking for is when a player's dominant motivation is to stop another player from marking the ball, not marking the ball themselves. To me, Trengove was trying to contest the mark himself. So it shouldn't have been a free kick.

This is such a stupid thing for people to say (you're not the only one who spouts this shite). North Melbourne aside, and there is clearly something up with the way we play North (or more likely, the way they play us), the rest of the Victorian teams have been better than us. That is why we lose to them. Collingwood, Geelong, St Kilda, Bulldogs, Hawthorn have all been top class sides. Carlton has been thereabouts, but better than us, the last few years. We beat Richmond and Essendon because we're as good or better than them. We beat Brisbane, Gold Coast, Port, Fremantle and Adelaide because we are as good or better than them.

Good post. I disagree with the last bit. I fail to see why we should be punishing negligent or reckless tackles, when the very nature of a tackle is to be reckless. For mine, if a tackle hurts the opponent, so be it, provided the tackle was not of a kind that was designed to cause injury, such as a spear tackle. Trengove's tackle style, to me, is not intending to cause injury. On that logic Corey would have been suspended. His was clearly two actions. What should work in Jack's favour is the fact that in the Dangerfield tackle he pinned an arm, and so Dangerfield couldn't protect himself. Here, Ward had both arms free and could have protected himself. Also, Ward didn't get injured, but Dangerfield did.

It's kind of obvious, but there's only one week in which ladder position means anything, and that's Round 24. Until then it doesn't matter where we are on the ladder. If we win the games we're supposed to win (Port x 2, Richmond, Gold Coast), we'll end up on 10.5 wins. That will get us somewhere between 8th (if we're very lucky) and about 12th. That will do IMO.

Gieschen said today that it was a 'perfect tackle' but the MRP could well look at it. That does not make sense. The system is flawed. The rule needs to be shelved, save for extreme circumstances that border upon spear tackles. Clear intent needs to be there. Mere negligence or recklessness should not constitute a reportable offence, for all the reasons we have discussed since the Dangerfield incident.

That's what I was saying, it's too simplistic to say our physical maturity (or lack thereof) is causing our problems. I think there are more issues than just that, such as coaching and leadership, which won't change with physical maturity, and which can be addressed this year despite our midfield still being weaker than most.

Calm down, I wasn't trying to patronise you (also, you of all people should recognise the irony of that bracketed statement). I just think it's far too simple to say that once we bulk up, our problems will go away. Or even that the physical maturity issue is the biggest one we have. Also, would it not be fair to say that our rollercoaster form is potentially a by-product of the bad coaching? That is, better coaching may be able to get our players to play more consistently? I think that's fair.

6 - Trengove 5 - Watts 4 - McKenzie 3 - Petterd 2 - Jones 1 - Frawley (not his first quarter though) Strauss was not that good last night.

I love how people think Dunn, Bate and/or Warnock are solutions. They aren't. They won't fix anything. Bennell and Morton have to go. We can't carry passengers like them. They don't work hard enough, they don't impact on the game enough, they are soft as butter and I don't like them (that last point is crucial of course). MacDonald is an automatic inclusion if fit. His pre-injury form was fine. Tapscott also comes back. By Darwin he should be fit enough. Maybe Bartram for Strauss too. Strauss hasn't convinced me yet. Not sure. In: MacDonald, Tapscott Out: Bennell, Morton

Good Watts Trengove Petterd's mark Bad Jamar Strauss Jurrah Ugly Green and his leadership cronies Bennell Morton Umpiring

An absolute shocker. Deserved to be subbed off much earlier than he was. He is truly over-rated by many. His best is not that good, and his worst is as bad as anyone we've had on our list in the last 4 years. He doesn't run hard enough, doesn't get enough of the ball, looks disinterested at times, and can be soft. I don't like him, I'm not convinced by him, and I want him out.

It's true, our best last night was as good, if not better, than theirs. Problem is, we just cannot perform at our best when under pressure and/or trailing in a match. Save for the Brisbane game, when we have fallen behind this year, the contest has ended. We cannot seem to work our way back into games once the other side gets going.

That's how I see it. Can't fault his work rate or work off the ball, or any of that. But his kicking is atrocious. Really abysmal stuff. He misses almost every target he aims for. Can't dispose of it under pressure. Also can't kick 50, which isn't great for a half forward. But worst thing is, he doesn't recognise this limitation and continually tries to make the distance, inevitably resulting in kicks that drop just short enough to be rushed. Needs to address his disposal. Quickly.

What a load of carp. So now there's a free for looking at the other player, is there? Trengove stands his ground, and looks fleetingly behind him to see where Higgins is. He doesn't block him. He makes an attempt to mark, but Higgins flies over him. That is not a shepherd. Not even close. The Rivers decision baffled me too. Was a clear push in the back, was definitely not holding the ball, and the abuse 50 seemed to come very, very quickly.

Couldn't disagree more. I love that he hasn't changed his game. I love that he's willing to smash an opposition player into the turf to win the ball.

You're kidding aren't you? Sure, let's get stronger and more experienced. But how in hell is that going to mask poor coaching, no leadership, and mental fragility? It will keep us in contests, sure, and it will help us make more contests, but it won't fix the bigger issues.

Watts did the same thing, multiple times. At one stage ran from centre half forward to centre half back to yell at someone (Bennell I think it may have been) to man up or zone off. Bennell lazily wandered over to where he was meant to go. Watts then ran hard to make the next contest. Showed me two things: one, that Bennell is crap. Two, that Watts will be a leader, if not captain, of this club, soon.

Mental. When we're in front we feel like we're awesome, we feel confident, and we blow teams away. When we're behind we receive no leadership, we feel like we're being swamped, pressured and blown apart, and we drop our heads. Cause is a combination of terrible leadership, poor coaching, and a few players who just can't get themselves going when we're not 5 goals up (I'm looking at Bennell, Morton and Jurrah here; Green and Sylvia fall under the 'insipid leaders' category).

Far too simplistic (and incorrect) to say 'get in the gym'. Clearly it's a factor. But there was more at play last night. Lack of effort was one. Lack of hunger was another. They wanted it more. They worked harder. Jamar getting out-rucked didn't help us at all.

Already has. Digby Morrell. Played for Carlton.