titan_uranus

In all likelihood, we finish 4th - Brisbane's unlikely to drop any more than 1 more game than us and could hold their percentage over us, and whilst Port might collapse, I doubt it, and they have to drop 3 more games than us for us to catch them.

If you just want to see us make top 4, you are barracking for Brisbane this weekend. If we beat Adelaide and Brisbane beats Geelong, then we'll be 4th on 12-6, and the side in 5th will be either St Kilda (they play North), the winner of Essendon v Bulldogs, or GWS (they play GC) - those three sides should get to 10-8 and 5th will go to whoever has the highest percentage. Incredibly, that's currently St Kilda, IMO not even a top 10 side in the league but riding off the early-season wins that on current form they'd get nowhere near. But the point will be that those sides, and Geelong, will need to out-do us by 3 wins across the final 5 weeks. That means if we go just 2-3 (from Richmond, North, Carlton, Hawthorn, Sydney), someone has to go 5-0 to pass us. If we go 3-2, we can't then be passed by anyone. In short, a win this week plus a Brisbane win over Geelong gets us very close to confirmed top 4. If you think we can pass Brisbane, then you want a Geelong win. If we win, we'd then level with Brisbane at 12-6 and be 5% or less off their percentage. Given they have Collingwood in their run home, there's still a chance we pass them.

St Kilda and the Dogs are slowly sliding into nothingness and opening the door for Carlton, GWS and potentially Richmond to try to steal their spots. Adelaide has had a golden chance the past two weeks to solidify their top 8 (or even top 6) spot but have now put themselves in a terrible position.

I’ll have to watch the replay but I think the umpire paid the free (which was blatant IMO). Weird thing to say given we don’t have any other top 8 sides left on our run home.

Presumably someone else will play a more exciting game and get the nomination but [censored] me this guy is incredible.

Agree with the sentiment here. The way they dominated the middle two quarters shows us that we have areas to work on. But that can wait. It must wait. Moments like this just need to be relished. Soak in the win for a few days, ignore tactics and changes and weaknesses. We all want ultimate glory but we have to celebrate the H&A wins. It’s what makes being a sports fan worth it.

I’m not going to comment on the umpires themselves but 100% agree re Trac. He was being held at every stoppage, blatantly. Credit to JJ for helping him out with blocks and to Trac himself for working through it.

Too early to think about this rationally but I do support the Tomlinson for Petty move. Even if he’s fit to play, he shouldn’t be right now. Thought to be given to Spargo and Brown but that can come later.

6 - Petracca 5 - Gawn 4 - Melksham 3 - Viney 2 - Rivers 1 - McVee

I’m with @praha. One of the best wins I’ve seen live. Up there with the 2018 finals. The confidence we must take from that. We were thoroughly outplayed for large chunks of the middle two quarters against a top 3 side but to continue ti believe and to fight so hard to wrestle the game back is huge. Melksham getting deserved credit bur please can we all just reflect on how unbelievably good Petracca is. 26 touches, 4 goals, 7 clearances, all whilst Brisbane mercilessly held and scragged him all night. If he can be this good more forward than mid in a side without Clarry…just imagine when Clarry returns… IMO it was no coincidence that their second quarter run started when Trac and Viney were stuck on the bench for ages. Along with Gawn, they were just outstanding tonight. Rivers to the midfield. Please. More of it. We need more mids. Brisbane got on top through the middle in part because we just can’t go with that many mids given the current make up of our side. The stunning win will distract from a few major issues - our inability to stop their transition from back half to scores was concerning, as was our reversion to long bombs to the heads of stationary forwards. But when we move the ball even 20% quicker we look so much better. Hopefully this is the kickstart of belief, confidence and form we need to run through into September.

Don’t you think this will be a target game for them, too?

GWS says hi. But I agree. In Round 2 they scored 5-odd goals from stoppage, many early, and that was the game. When we have beaten them in 2021-22 we dominated the middle and prevented their dangerous forwards from being involved through lack of supply. No Dunkley helps offset no Oliver but they replace Dunkley with Lyons whereas ostensibly Woewodin has Oliver’s spot. So we are on the back foot a bit there. If we bring midfield heat, I’m confident, but only slightly. This is going to be really tough IMO.

Dogs’ next 3 are Essendon, GWS, Richmond. Are they in danger of missing the 8?

Edit: wrong thread Interesting result for Fremantle. Competition might start to worry about Sydney?

What word? And why suss? It’s a complex hamstring. What is suss about that?

Confirmed dropped: “We have been transparent that we are continuing to look for ways to be more effective in front of the ball,” GM of AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson says. “We really like the impact that Brodie is having in the ruck, but think he would benefit from more time as a forward. “To provide him with this opportunity, he will spend some time in the VFL and focus on refining his forward craft. “To Brodie’s credit, he is completely aligned and on board with this plan. This is a testament to Brodie’s character and the type of person he is.”

I don’t agree, for reasons I’ve previously written. But you can of course tell me to get stuffed. I said I wanted more - I got it. I’m more than happy to acknowledge that. It’s undeniably exciting to think about what we might see on-field if our fitness levels peak in the way the club hopes they will.

Round 19 Dees v Crows surely in the list too!

@binman @A F - this is what I've been crying out for. I have wanted to see someone from the club say something to support your theories that we added training volume through the middle of the year. Here it is. Interestingly though, this reads to me as though Yze is suggesting we didn't do this last year.

I suspect we are taking an opportunity to rest Grundy and to play a slightly more mobile side against Brisbane on the G. This IMO doesn’t necessarily signal the end of the two ruck strategy. However, if we beat Brisbane, it’s going to create an awkward situation trying to get Brodie back in. Whatever the reason or outcome, those who have bagged Goodwin for “playing favourites” or “being stubborn” or for not rotating players in 2022 should be happy with this and should support it.

Thanks @RyanD. A question for you: is it normal/common for someone like Oliver to run within days of an injury like this? Or at least, is it something you could imagine occurring depending on initial scans/symptoms etc?

Whatever you think of Brown, you might be interested to know that his 2023 season averages in most metrics are higher than Schache's career averages (disposals, marks, goals, score involvements). Ben Brown and Josh Schache AFL Stats Comparison (footywire.com)

Others have already mentioned this but I genuinely have no idea what you are trying to argue here. Are you upset that we didn’t belt the Suns because they’ve been belted by other clubs recently? Just a reminder: 1. Brisbane lost to Hawthorn 2. Collingwood struggled against West Coast 3. St Kilda nearly lost to West Coast 4. Essendon is the only side to lose to Fremantle in the last 5 weeks 5. Geelong drew with Sydney who are currently bottom 4 6. Port have a relatively low percentage for a side on a 13-game win streak. 7. The Dogs lost to Gold Coast. 8. Off the top of my head we have 5 wins by 50+ points. I genuinely don’t get why you think this is any sort of issue for us. Clearly our issue isn’t beating bad sides. It’s beating good ones.

It’s stupid that he hasn’t been nominated but it’s because nominations go to stand out performances and Judd’s been stunningly consistent without necessarily destroying a game. He deserves one before the year is out. Hopefully he can snag one.

Mate he was running around with a lacerated kidney that night. His 2023 form before that game has been strong. Whether or not he gets back in depends on our current backline’s ongoing form but IMO he’s far from “cooked”.