Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Agreed, but being the elite player that he is, soild for him is good form for your average player and then he still has that potential up side. I think his reliable kicking out of defense is also probably something that it structurally pretty import to our backline, contributing tobthat element of stability.

Yeah, maybe, but from what I understand he also played like a thug, so I'm not sure he'd be of much use in the current circumstances. He'd probably fall in behind the Jono Brown Neanderthal 'can't avoid these incidents in football' brigade. But I agree with everything else in your other post tiers.

It's disappointing in a lot of ways, because he looked red hot when he first came back in mid way through this season and I thought he made a real impact. If he had have kicked that goal on the run against Carlton a few weeks back it would have made huge difference and it was the sort of kick you'd normally to expect him to nail, but I guess everyone is human. I think he's been solid of late, but it could be a real boost to us if he can find that other gear we know he's got over the next few weeks and really tear some games apart.

I'm definitely not against Laurie being given a go as a sub in some of the later games during the season. And yes it's easier in hindsight, but I thought for a final the percentage play was to have Jodan as the sub as Laurie had shown glimpses, but nothing that suggested he could make as solid a contribution for even a quarter in a big game final compared to what Jordan has shown he can deliver in the past. Hopefully this may be a chance for Jordan to solidify his spot in a finals team as I think he's a player we need to try to retain for the future if he hasn't already 100% committed elsewhere that I fear he might have.

I think the player really missing out of this conversation is Toby Bedford. I know hindsight is a great thing, but I always saw him as a talent with abbilty that was close to cracking it and I'm sure would be getting a game this season with us. Conversely, while he's racked up some big stats and maybe even some great games at Casey, I've yet to see Laurie look like making much of an impact at AFL level. Doubt he'll get picked again this year, so I think it will need to be a big off season for him this year and him needing to reinvent himself to find himself a role in the side. If he doesn't, I think he'll suffer the same fate as Baker. In retrospect, I'm actually quite frustrated that Laurie was picked to be the sub last week, as even any of Grundy or Tomlinson or even Schache would have given us a whole lot more output than what Laurie did and if neither are selected in the main team, I hope they are at least sub over Laurie. I think it's pretty much a given Bradshaw will be replaced by Jordan this week as I think we can be pretty confident he'll give a solid/reliable performance even if his best is not as outstanding as some of his peers that have kept him out of the side. Nothing against Laurie personally, it's just my observations of him over the past season when he's been given game time.

Yeah, don't know about that one - is suspending Maynard really going to translate to less bums on seats or eyeballs on TV? If anything the controversy has gained them more media attention. Anyways, I think we are splitting hairs here Sue. The issue is that the AFL are shirking the big picture issue in favour of hoping to make the issue go away in the short term. You think it's dominated by commercial interests, I call it a lack of cougrage, conviction and integrity in the way they have acted with respects to protecting the head in just about all previous instances and scenarios in the past 3 to 4 years.

Honestly, I think the best solution to this is to play AFLW games as curtain raisers and/or straight after the men's games on the main AFL grounds. There's now 18 AFLW games and having them play to the same audiences as the men's would be great. It's a big commitment for people to attend x2 separate competitions when they play at different days/times & venues. Ever since they got rid of the reserves, the pre-game entertainment at AFL games has sucked. Conversely I always loved watching the end of the reserves games and I'm sure I'd likewise enjoy watching the AFLW games, if not more.

Couldn't agree more. Despite all the talk of launching here, it isn't rocket science. I'm sure the AFL are fully aware of all this, they just don't have the courage to take the actions the situation demanded.

Spot on. The AFL are a joke. What's happened here is way worse than Cripps last season. Eddy is a bloody half back flanker. I'd love nothing more than for GWS to win this weekend and then go on to smash Collingwood and knock them out (metaphorically speaking) in a prelim.

Thanks @Mel Bourne, but not a great time to bump the thread 😂

Let's just make it clear - if Collingwood decide to put up an appeal on legal grounds to an AFL tribunal decision that rubs out Maynard for 2 weeks or more, what they are actually signalling to the rest of the league is that "Collingwoods premiership chances and our players are more important than anyone else's getting perminant brain damage". I know Collingwood are one of the 'big clubs', but the AFL should be putting a very hard word on them not to legally appeal the tribunal decision, as should the AFLPA.

The AFL has made it pretty clear that whatever the action, it's principal has about taking reasonable care to protect the head. Does there need to be a rule or explicit precedent to every 'football action' that if carelessly executed makes significant contact to the head? This point seemed to be lost almost completely on Buckley and Brown.

I actually do think Roo was stiff in so far as the contact was both on the more incidental side, I actually don't think it was intentional (i.e. I think he was instinctively putting his arm out to protect himself/His space or for ballance and McStay also happened to be down low) and McStay also wasn't evaluated as having received concussion. But given the borderline case and stance that the AFL's stance on protecting the head, I don't think it's worth arguing the toss with the AFL and the MGC have supported this stance by the AFL. Conversely Maynard did KO the guy - to me that's automatically easily degree higher consequence than JVR . If the tribunal uphold the suspension, which I'm almost sure they will, I think Collingwood need to think long and hard about going the legal option and I think it is a very poor reflection on them as a club if they do.

Listening to Buckley and Brown talk about this and making excuese for Maynard on 'On The Couch' last night made me just question their intellect (as if I hadn't already). I generally like them as comentators and think they offer a more reasoned ballanced and insightful viewpoint than alot, but last night they lost me. In particular Buckley described the contact to Maynard as "incidental" . If blokes getting knocked out is incidental, I don't know where we go to from here. I suspect it was a mistaken word selection and he ment accidental, but that's an asides. The point well made by hoast Garry Lyon is that we've accepted there is a responsibility of the player to have a duty of care during the football actions of tackling and bumping, then why not the same for smothering? But Buckley and Brown seemed to take the dumb stance that this was an unavoidable 'football incident' inherent to the game, which I think is wrong.

You do know who you're talking about here yeah? Do you fancy eating through a straw like my old mate Terry?

More games and more brains.

My tips would be (in order) Jack, Maysy or Clarry. There will be way more spite than the duck dinner game next time we play Collingwood. Will be rip the head off the Magpie time.

Seriously? PO

Amazing how well co-ordinated players can be when trying to win or do something with the ball, the turn into such clumsy oaths when there isn't any incentive to control their actions. Similarly, I think Tommy Hawkins got away with a reckless act when he threw his arms out everywhere and broke Steven May's face a few years back. ...Melbourne player, no story to answer here.

Spot on Macca. This "he lost control once he chose to jump" [censored] is just that. He was fully in control when he charged at the player with the ball, with no regard for where his momentum would take him. When he jumped he gave away further control and care for his opponent. That he then chose to protect himself at the expense of his opponent further demonstrates his disregard and recklessness. Football action my backside. The only football action in all this is Angus kicking the ball. If you want to stop players doing that part, take your bat an ball and go home, because we won't have a sport.

How could Goodwin possibly be fined for what he said? All he did was said look at the facts and that he'd been knocked out. Can't get too much more vanilla than that. The tone that he delivered it with and gravity of the situation really packed the punch. The fact that it took Goodwin to deliver this and not others in the AFL and the media is a disgrace.

The way he stood up in our 2021 season when he returned from injury was a huge part of our rock solid defense and of us winning the flag. Love the Pig Hibbo. A most worthy bearer of the No.14 and I think whoever next receives the jumper will have big shoes to fill.

This was Saturday morning I heard him batting against Maynard. Perhaps he'd had more time to reflect on his previous spur of the moment comments.

The same legal jargon peddlers that will no doubt also be getting their cut when players start making claims on the league for duty of care. They are such overpaid leeches on our society at times.

One thing I will say for Goodwin is that he rarely defends or makes excuses for one of our players that is in the firing line of the MRO for head high contact. We copped Kossies 2 match suspension for a similar incident to Maynards on the chin so to speak and the the only time that comes to mind that we have appealed reciently was for the JVR spoil, which as a massive level less severe. I do also like Goodies response post match against Collingwood, when he forcefully told the press to look at the facts of what had been the outcome with Guss. You could tell this one is very personal to him and the way he stood up to the press and stood up for what had been done to one of our own makes me proud of him as our coach. Conversely the way Maynard was immediately post match making excuses for himself trying to paint it as a football incident makes me sick.