titan_uranus

59 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Changes for me.

In: May, Howes, Laurie/Billings/Spargo

Out: Lever, Windsor/Lindsay, Sparrow

Petty can come back through the reserves.

I wonder whether we can get away with just May and Howes for Lever and Sparrow.

Play Howes where Rivers has been, play Rivers where Sparrow has been.

Avoids us having to drop Windsor or Lindsay (who maybe need a spell, but otherwise I just want to see them keep playing and learning), and avoids a Spargo/Laurie inclusion.

6 hours ago, Cranky Franky said:

Almost as boring as the Conga line of apologists telling us what a great job he's doing

Can you find me a single post, let alone a “conga line”, of people telling us what a great job Goodwin’s doing?

So that’s May for Lever, surely.

Someone for Sparrow, and then the Petty question to be resolved.

I honestly could not be more happy with his season to date. He’s everything I’d dreamed we see, and more.

Can’t wait to see what he can do off a full pre-season.

11 minutes ago, At the break of Gawn said:

I really can't understand his draft selection if I'm being completely honest. He's not skillful, he's not quick, he's not tall, he's not mercurial, so what were his strengths?

His draft profile says he is a fierce competitor with an enormous work rate. Did Kolt win our 3km time trial in 2024? Because Darcy Wilson did at the Saints.

To me, he seems like another Goody selection where he's valued competitiveness over what's required in the modern game. I thought by the 2023 draft we were done with this mantra but perhaps it only hit home in 2024.

So is Goody only responsible for the unsuccessful picks, and JT responsible for just the successful ones?

22 hours ago, Gibberish said:

Honestly, I'm staggered that there are some amongst us that resent posters bringing up our shortfalls. It's a forum, for discussing our observations and opinions. I get that it may seem repetitive but it is truly representative of what the coach and team has dished up ad nauseam for many seasons.

The irony is that the same posters are willing to turn up and put up with the same deficiencies each game.

Don't like it, don't read it.

As always, it goes both ways.

There are plenty who “resent” anyone who thinks Goodwin should coach in 2026. Or who disagree with the argument that we should have won multiple flags.

I argued earlier in this thread that the gap between the top 6 finishes we had in 2022-23 and top 4 finishes isn’t as huge as people on here now argue. For that I got called a “Goody acolyte”. I never said a word about my view on whether Goodwin is going well right now or not.

Why is it that anyone who isn’t flatly negative is taken to “put up with the same deficiencies” just because they turn up each week?

The nuance is gone. It seems you either have to be outright positive about everything, or outright negative about everything. Post anything that isn’t fully negative and you’re a “happy clapper”.

1 hour ago, Jaded No More said:

There is nobody more deserving than Max, with or without Xerri likely missing a chunk of games thru suspension.

Grundy has been good, but Gawn is currently averaging:

20.4 disposals
5.6 clearances
36 hitouts
9.6 hitouts to advantage
13.7 contested possessions
47% hitout win percentage
2.2 contested marks a game

All of those stats are above average or elite

Grundy averages less disposals, less contested possessions, and far far fewer contested marks (0.5 per game!)

Xerri also averages less disposals, but more clearances at 7.1, but again only 0.5 contested marks per game!

Anyone who makes the argument that Gawn isn't the most complete ruckman in the game, is kidding themselves. And he blows anyone out of the water for consistency and leadership.

It would be daylight robbery if he doesn't get his 8th AA jacket.

Grundy’s been good for the last 6 weeks. But AA selection comes from a season, not half. TDK was going great for the first 6 weeks but has fallen off a cliff.

Xerri and Jackson are the only rucks other than Gawn who have had good form for the whole season, and IMO Gawn’s got both covered. Jackson being in a winning/finals side helps him a lot though.

Like I others I fully expect Spargo to get Sparrow’s spot. But I don’t want it to happen.

I’d prefer Laurie, Culley or even Billings gets a turn, or even Howes in and Rivers up the field more. I just don’t see a world where Spargo meaningfully contributes to any successful 2026 season we have.

Does Petty come back? If so, for who? We gain nothing IMO by dropping Jeffo now. Personally, I’d leave Petty out.

Who gets dropped for May? I suspect it’ll be TMac but it probably should be Lever. The story that will generate may well dissuade us.

Does Howes get in? If so, for Sparrow? If not, for who? And who then gets Sparrow’s spot? I’d love to see us either reward Billings or give Laurie or Culley a shot, but I’m fully expecting Spargo or Sharp to come back, and I’m not really excited by that.

We were always on a hiding to nothing this week. A loss would have obviously been disastrous but a win leads to what we’ve seen already - “it was only North”, “nothing to be excited about” etc. Of course, all week we had people saying we’d lose, the $4.20 on North was stupid, we’d struggle to win again all year, so there must be a fair number of people who, whether they admit it or not, must have been pleasantly surprised today.

Feels like Lindsay and Windsor are limping to the line. I want them playing each week if possible but if they can’t impact due to fitness, there’s no point.

Langford though - no such concerns. What a gem.

I found it super interesting that the only players to get centre bounces today were the rucks, Pickett, Trac, Clarry and Viney. It feels like after the disaster of the GC first quarter we’ve given up on trying much, if anything, new in there.

We just have to persevere with JVR and Jeffo now. They have to keep playing together and learning to work together. Chopping and changing gets us nowhere.

And on Xerri I reckon it’s a suspension for sure, but the standard 3 weeks off the table and not more. It was careless but those elevating it to a Gaff/Hall act are way off IMO.

1 minute ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Good signs with some of our up and coming young players.

Mentha - great game, hit the scoreboard, ran hard and carried the footy when needed. Give him a full preseason working hard in the off season alongside Kozzie and I have no doubt he can play senior footy next year.

Kentfield - This guy is a brute. When he took that pack mark he literally left three Werribee players on the ground in pain. The huge upside with him is that he hasnt completed a AFL pre season to date. There is something definitely to work with here. Crazy that he's still only 19. I see a bit of Josh Treacy about him.

Culley - Liked his work, spent time inside and out and he was pretty classy and had poise as well.

Howes - Last time he plays VFL this year. He was a clear BOG.

Adams - Ready for AFL action. Just give him a chance Goody.

Verrall - He plays much better when hes the main number 1 ruckman. My only issues with him is he doesn't take marks around the ground. I think for him to step up, this is something he needs to do more around the ground. Other then that he was good tonight.

Who does Adams replace? TMac/May, or Lever?

I'm a bit worried about Howes being in the same camp as Laurie - too good for VFL, but not quite good enough for AFL. But unlike others, every time he goes back to Casey he seems to step up and play well.

I know he's not the future but is there any more Billings can do to get a recall?

Best part about watching Casey for the rest of the year is watching Kentfield to see if he can keep this upward trajectory going.

6 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

They’re extremely young and they’ve had a much better season than anyone expected. A win is a win when you’re in a rebuild.

Credit to Yze.

They have, indeed, won just one fewer game than us to this point of the season.

In a year where some thought they might not win a game and some thought we might play finals.

FWIW though, that game was horrendous. They were terrible but won because Essendon were, somehow, worse.

49 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Only ones in consecutive years playing AND only ones playing all finals at their home ground

Theirs were 2 years apart. 3 of 4 at their home ground. And the year in between they lost a prelim at home. How much different are they, really?

Again, if we had that record the same detractors would be making the same arguments.

1 hour ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Is not that much worse?

We may be the only team in the modern era to have two straight sets out of the finals (top 4 teams only considered).

Mind you, those 4 finals were played at the MCG. So we were playing at our home ground.

Not the only one. Brisbane too - they went out straight sets in 2019 and 2021.

And I maintain that “final 4” or “final 6” are both “competing for the flag”. And that if we had made prelims and lost them, you would be running the exact same argument now - “two failed prelims”.

10 hours ago, Harvey Wallbanger said:

You're not counting 2011?

Rightly or wrongly, I always view the 2011 flag as the culmination of the Bomber Thompson era of 2007-11.

The Danger/Cameron/Stewart era doesn’t go back to 2011 but even from 2016 when Danger joined them, the same general point remains - one flag from 10 seasons (if they don’t win it this year).

Just now, kurtneverdied said:

They all have re-invented themselves to remain competitive and a chance of a flag most seasons. We after the flag went backwards a bit, then backwards a lot with no real sign in sight of reversal because we don't adapt and change like those you mentioned.

That’s not what I’m debating.

We were “a chance for a flag” in 22-23 but these days those seasons get cast away as failures by those who succumb to the “we should have won multiple flags” rhetoric.

And at any rate, for all the reinventing and competing they’ve done, my previous post remains true. If Geelong doesn’t win it this year, that’ll be 1 flag in 14 seasons of them being “competitive” under Scott. I’m not criticising them, I’m merely making the point that flags are hard to win.

Hey @Clintosaurus Gold Coast got about 5 free kicks in the last 5 minutes. I assume this is because the Collingwood conspiracy took a break tonight?

Noah Anderson is so [censored] good.

Watch this game and tell me again how good our midfield is. An absolute mile off what Gold Coast have.

45 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

We haven't even made Prelim though. It's all well and good to say flags are hard to win but we should have been at least competing for them by making the final 4.

We were competing for them. We made the final 6 instead of the final 4. It’s worse, but not that much worse.

If we’d lost consecutive prelims in 22-23, this board would be saying the exact same thing about Goody: “won a flag then couldn’t even win a single prelim”.

@seventyfour is right. Winning flags is hard. It’s frankly insane how many people on here roll out the whole “we should have won multiple flags” line. At the end of this year, at least three of the following will be true:

1. Collingwood will have won 1 flag from 4 seasons under McRae, despite having a stack of talent and a dream fixture

2. Brisbane will have won 1 flag from 7 seasons of finals, despite their incredibly talented list

3. Geelong will have won 1 flag in the last 14 years under Chris Scott, despite being in the Danger/Cameron/Stewart era

4. the Dogs will have won 0 flags in 9 years despite having a list and midfield depth to die for

7 hours ago, DubDee said:

He is very reliable. One of our few

He is not very damaging or quick but with an efficiency over 90% his kicks land.

the constant criticism of Salem is baffling to me. He is not our best player but he is solid and the least of our problems. With the issues we have such as the forward line and midfield it is bizarre that Salem gets singled out

Playing his role he shouldn’t be mid-table for metres gained.

I actually think he’s one of our bigger problems. IMO he’s just coasting through games, not influencing anywhere near the level we need from a half back who should be able to kick.

6 minutes ago, layzie said:

If anyone says that a certain coach is 'great to have a beer with' as their main strength then I'm out.

The game has never been more demanding on senior coaches and you need to be a high football IQ literally dreaming of tactics and gameplans at night. The 'good bloke' coach sucks and doesn't win flags, Bob Davis as great a man as he was wouldn't last two seconds today. I would prefer to have a rocket scientist who lives in the basement studying tape all day than the guy who stays with the guys at the pub for another few rounds.

And I'm not saying that Goodwin is like the above or is soft. Up until the flag I've mostly thought he was reasonably balanced eg firm in his believe of what he was trying to achieve with his system/culture while still maintaining good rapport with players.

This year however, all we've heard of is the rapport and connection side of things and players loving and supporting him despite repeatedly coming out in first quarters putting up meek efforts.

Chris Fagan is far closer to the “great to have a beer with” style than the “scientist in the basement”.

And indeed, I’d suggest that a common link between the best current/recent coaches (McRae, Fagan, Longmire, Hardwick, Scott) is their ability to balance their connection with players with their professional approach to tactics/selection, without ever becoming a “scientist in the basement” who prioritises robotic/cold interactions.

26 minutes ago, Doug Reemer said:

Wrong.

They have to name who’s omitted on the Thursday for a Sunday game.

I’m fairly confident this isn’t right.

9 hours ago, deegirl said:

Anyone dreading next week when Carlton break their losing run?

Doesn’t help us that they’ll have a 9 day break compared to our 6 (this sort of fixturing is surely avoidable and has to stop).

But yes, next week has a Carlton win written all over it.