Rodney (Balls) Grinter

1 hour ago, Gawndy the Great said:

Just shows how little Salem and Bowey have been doing this year. 

I don't see either of these guys as line breakers, that's just not how they play or their role.  They are more steady as you go defense and ball retention machines that slowly pick their way out of defense.

Rivers is more your Jayden Hunt take on the game and break lines type, but a little bigger and more robust model, which I think is saying something, because Jayden actually matured to play his defensive role quite well from around 2021 onwards and is having a very decient year for WC.

7 minutes ago, layzie said:

I really like City Oval at Box Hill. Good ground 

Agreed.  I use to play juniors on that ground sometimes.

The Mustangs were really good our club, which although it wasn't a rep side per se, but they provided some in-kind support such as occational use of City Oval and we wore their jumper.  Pity they got swallowed up by the Hawks, but it's probably a reasonable outcome for footy in the area given the sucess they've had since, converse to the  realitive lack there of in the VFA era.

The easiest way for the AFL to quash these talks is for the AFL to introduce the draft lottery for the bottom 5 or 6.

At the same time, they should introduce a floating fixture for the double up games, so that it gets decided once more of the season has played out and reduce the chances of having an easy draw from deciding the makeup and positions within top 8.

1 hour ago, BDA said:

We'll finish with a pick between 4-6. JT will find a very good player for us in that range i'm sure.

And one in the low 20s as well.

I'm guessing others have probably had their rant on this as well and while we also had our opertuity to win the game more decisively, the reality was that two good sides cracked in hard, with intensity and it was always likely to come down to the wire.  While I'm happy to write this off being home and away and with us pretty much a lock for at least top 4, therefore the loss not costing us so dearly, if this was a big final, that goal review could have cost either side.

The AFL continuously rants on about tge intergrity of the game and I think this is a big one.  For a multi million dollar competition, I think it's really poor for the AFL to have such poor goal review technology if it's going to be used as a decider of scoring.  Way too many times, that the umpires go to review scores, the cameras simply arn't in the right spot.  It's about time the AFL invest in embedding multiple high speed, high definition camers in and around goals so that there is always a camera that has the right angle to make a clear decision.  It should also do investigations into infra red heat cameras and embedding the ball with telemetry to detect small impacts, which I would think should be totally feasible in this day and age of micro electronics.

While I'm at it, I also don't see why the video umpires can't also remedy clearly wrong or missed decisions like that one that should have been paid to JVR.

It shouldn't have been the determing factor, but:

Review technology useless

On 8/7/2023 at 10:35 AM, spirit of norm smith said:

Couldn’t agree more.  Goes at 100% all the time without hesitation. Also had some nice sidesteps to evade yesterday and kicked in his right foot under pressure.  Love him in the team.  Right in the heat of the kitchen. 

I love his leadship these day.  When he first shared the captaincy with Jones (and Gawn?) I don't think he was quite ready.  If Gawn were to retire tomorrow, I'd name Jack sole captain in a red and blue heartbeat.

Haven't seen one of these threads in a while.  Think that's a great sign of how well the team is going that winning more games than not has become our base expectation.

33 minutes ago, No. 31 said:

Haha ...

Blues supporters are everywhere, maybe even on Demonland 👤🧐

I don't think think the Carlton team that is fielded on Saturday night is necessarily a 'reference point' as it will be missing Walsh, Cerra, McKay  McGovern and Silvagni.

The Blues managed to get over the Saints with a depleted side last week and that was a spirited win, but the Dees are definitely a much tougher challenge for Carlton. Should be a great match, am looking forward to watching it at the 'G on Saturday night ...

You can only beat the team that's in front of you and we only managed to get over North last week and Richmond the week before who got torched by the Bulldogs last week.

I think winning consistently is a better measure and Carlton are there on that at the moment.

9 hours ago, DubDee said:

Back pocket for you Clarry

I thought he'd been named as the medi sub.

5 minutes ago, Skuit said:

I meant to say Gary Moorcroft . . . dammit. 

I raise you a Jordan Lewis and a Bryon Picket!

In his prime I would have taken Ben Cunnington and/Boomer Harvey.

Don't hate either of these guys in the slightest, but:

Harley Reid

Charlie Cameron

20 minutes ago, DubDee said:

why does everyone hate Greene so much? 

dead set gun

Hate it when he plays against us.

25 minutes ago, Skuit said:

Thomas Bugg. Oh, wait. 

 

Bring it on!

So my take is AI thinks Aussie rule fans are some kind of manky half breed of soccer and rugby fans in most cases. 

The Essendon guy looks like some American sports supporter and the MFC supporter a private school boy (which actually isn't a bad take on the streotype).

Thought it chatactised the mood of West Coast and North fans pretty well. 

The Port one is a bit off - should have put them behind prison bars, but that should also go for the Collingwood.  Sun's guy should have been sniffing a line of coke, meth pipe for the West Coast guy and where's the peptides for the Essondon fan?

Don't see where the Geelong guy has put their handbag?

1 hour ago, Engorged Onion said:

No females?

Please don't let AI do the female teams as Barbie dolls AI thingy.

57 minutes ago, Stiff Arm said:

The Richmond guy identifies as a cat

Yeah, and follows a team who's emblem is some weird Alien thingy.

Check out the embedded video from 4 or 5 weeks ago that hasn't aged well at all:

*  Loyd questioning and throwing doubt on the capasity of our forwards to kick enough goals

* Carro being Carro and throwing around rumors of cultural issues that are potentially holding the club back premiership hangover style as evidenced by the May Vs Melky punch up last year; Mark Williams might be gone next year due to soft cap issues and demand elsewhere etc.

The main one on the pannel that actually stood in the corner of the MFC and somewhat backed us in was Kane Corns on the basis of our talent profile and strong defensive game.

7 hours ago, Elwood 3184 said:

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was a true #1 (I would suggest that Cadman was a specific requirement of the Giants and that Ashcroft and a couple of the other mid sized players like Sheezel, Wardlaw were rated ahead of him). It took JUH until late in his second season before he started taking off and look where he’s at in his third. We’re doing well if Jefferson follows that path but in any event, he is calling out for patience and there’s no need to rush him in early.

Maybe I've been living under a rock with respects to other teams in the comp, but thanks for clarifying the identity of this mysterious JUH that features throughout this thread.

12 hours ago, Bates Mate said:

IMHO he will be at least the year after next, very light frame. Takes a good mark at the highest point. Decent kick and skills but yet to impose himself on any game I've seen. I do worry about his level of attack on the contest, but that may come as he gets more confidence in his body. Been a more traditional inside 50 forward in his junior days and this year from what I've seen

Surely given all those attributes we missed to perfect opportunity to debut our prized first round pick on the monarch's birthday game against Collingwood? 😜

It's a very long shot, I know, but I wouldn't totally give up hope of T Mac or BBB comming good and playing some kind of role for us up forward.  I think most would have written Melksham off impacting the way he has this season, so you just never know.

Still personally I think it's much more likely that we fill the void through one or a combination of Trac, Fritta and Grundy/Gawn or perhaps all three.  I do often hear Max speak of how rucks and talls come into their own in finals as fatigue sets in, so I really suspect there's a well established plan that Grundy comes back in the next few weeks and supports in the ruck and forward.  From early season form, I also don't think it's beyond Grundy to contribute meaningfully on the scoreboard.

25 minutes ago, In Harmes Way said:

Have you seen May’s kicking for goal?

From my recollection it can be pretty decient.  He is usually trying to snag them on the edge of his distance from outside 50.  The the time I remember we played him for any time as a true forward was against Freo in 2020 up in Darwin, where he kicked a few quick fire goals and nearly won us the game.

Still I can't see Goodwin wanting to unsettle both ends of the ground at once, so I suspect May stays back, except perhaps in a break glass type situation if we are well down in a final, but even then, I think Goodies record is that he's hesitant and generally too slow to give something like this a try until it's too late.

6 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

The deathride continues. 
Jackson spudded it up in the last. 

Far from being the match winner, I thought Jackson was really fumbbly below his knees and in front of goals for Freo in that last quarter.  Nothing like that clean confident handling that featured in the bang bang bang.

Not that I've watched his every game, but I get the sense that he's gone backwards this season, compared to how he played for us.

4 hours ago, layzie said:

Nah it's not the same, different.

Agreed Layzie.

Speaking purely as an outsider supporter, I think 2021 we'd been one of the two sides the rest of the competition had chased for the season, but because of our record and long recient history of a lack of sucess, the football world was looking at us and asking "But can they stand up and hold their nerve in big finals?".  As a supporter I was sort of asking the same question, but at the same time feeling "this year is different, it's the most consistently good I've ever seen them play - surely our time has come".

This time around, I don't feel like we've had quite as good a run of form over the season, but I feel the group is more in control, confident and firm in their belief that we can go all the way, now that the monkey is off our back.  I do also feel we have the talent, the system, are capable of rising to the occation to beat anyone come the pointy end and have put our sleeves into the top 4 position required to have a great crack at it.  So long as Clarry comes back and fires and we don't cop and other huge injuries, I'm quietly optermisic about that elusive premiership at the G.