Rodney (Balls) Grinter

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

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.

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.

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

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

Hate it when he plays against us.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Next weeks game against the Eagles is a really vexed one. If they win another and North don't, it puts North in pole position for Reid. I can imagine there's a remote chance Eagles trade multiple picks for pick 1, because they both need a deep rebuild and should be wary of the go home factor, but I don't see either of those being such a factor for North and think there's Buckley's chance they'll trade Reid for multiple picks. Think we actually need Freo to win next week.

Agree BB, but conversely in 21, we came home with a wet sail and played some brilliant attacking football in the last half dozen or so game and were able to really attack finals brimming with confidence. BTW, I don't think these are mutually exclusive mindsets. I think the emphasis is on playing the way we want to, in order to set ourselves for finals and if we finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th at the end of the home and away, it's somewhat irrelevant as you point out, it's finals when we want to be really hitting our straps. Finishing second might just be a byproduct of getting into the sort of form and game style we want for finals.

Good summary BB. I'm personally quite happy with the selections this week. I'd thought Hibbo may have came in to rest McVee, but since Casey have the bye, Hibbo gets the week off to keep him fresh as I don't think he needs the validation of playing seniors every week and the evidence this season is that his aging body can do with a little extra TLC. Really glad that Joel Smith is getting another crack at a full game. Every time he's been bought on, he has competed brilliantly in the air and generally impacted well. He did get a few full games back when our forward line was struggling, but the fact that we were struggling over all down there, together with the generally wet wether nature of the games made it had for him to really establish what he can do. Now that we have re-established some attacking capability, I think an important aspect (if/when Joel plays forward) is that our contested marking options of Petty, JVR, Melksham and Joel don't all go up at once and spoil each other. Alternatively, I can also see Joel playing in the backline taking the role down there that Petty would have (probably more where Tomlinson and Joel have played in recient weeks) and Joel's form in this role has been quite strong and I feel he gives us both a great intercepting/contested marking option down there and also heaps of dash to rebound out of defense.

Brayshaw's shanks tend to be on the run in front of goal. Comming out of defense, I feel he's generally more reliable, choosing short safer chip kick options, rather than biting off the risky kicks too often.