Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Lol. Love your work Andy. Part of me just wants to jump in that DeLorean and dial up till the part on GF day at The MCG, where we are 40 points up and pulling away from our opponent - but then it's all about 'The Journey' Do expect Brisbane will be hard to beat as they are essentially playing for their season at this point, but I'm encourged by what I've seen from us so far this season and think some of our players have got more gears to change up too. Looking for us to keep winning and building in the first half of the season, keeping a fit list well managed and then perfect our game and make our run in earnest in the run home.

Trac: "He doesn't like Collingwood, do you?" - Gold.

Ok, yeah I've had the occational minor issue with Kayo, but on the whole I find it much better than it was paying through the nose for the footy on Foxtel.

I dunno? It just did - am I missing something? I was up in Brisbane and the game had already finished. I wasn't that drunk spilling the red wine everywhere if that's what you're inferring - I'm just naturally a bit ditsy and uncoordinated!!

Big spender - go hard or go home! (Not that I'm a gambling man or endorsing that discusting industry)

Yeah, good call. Now there is a guy that has 'The Edge'.

Respectively, May is like the impenetrable great wall of China - can see him from space...and he keeps the rabbits out.

Had a similar red wine spill the other night at my hotel trying to set myself up at a motel I was staying. Was trying to plug a phone charger in besides the bedside table, forgetting that I'd just put a glass of red on same bedside table - oops. Ended up all over the white bedsheets. After vain attempts to rinse from the sheet, I gave up and just watched the replay of our Adelaide win on my phone's Kayo app.

This Barrosa game has to be a MFC game. Package deals will include a picnic blanket and Charcuterie board, as well as a shuttle from your hotel in a Range Rover.

So asides from the GF being always at the MCG, I feel this is such a faux argument. Yes the Vic teams travel less, but they don't have anything like the home ground advantage of the interstate teams for the most part, because so many games against the other Vic teams just end up being neutral, without a real home ground advantage. Leigh Mathew's is close spot on. Our draw this year got somewhat harder by having to play another away game (and playing it off a 5 day break at that). The only saving grace was that being consecutive, we could do the mini-hub thing and that Adelaide aren't in good form. The only thing I'd change from what Leigh is saying, is that it doesn't make so much sense to have both Adelaide teams play each other as that would likely reduce overall match attendance, by likely having just the one sell out at Adelaide oval between the home state sides rather thàn two. Solution ìn my mind is just to drop the number of actual playing Rds in the season back to what is was before, so there are equal home and away for all teams, so the Adelaide one's still end up with as many as anyone else by seasons end.

Could agree more, accept that I'm really hoping the club does appeal and I think there a reasonable chance we will. Kossies was nothing like Maynard scum's hit. Converged from the side and made minimal contact as opposed to a full on charge that was dangerous from the start. You could sense Goody being [censored] off in his presser that the media were turning their attention and gunning for Kossie to be rubbed out. "Has made alot of changes to his game ... it looked pretty light" I seem to remember his words. Really sick of us being made scape goats like this. They recon Ginivan has been denied free kicks, I think Kossie is being targeted by match review in a social sense. Loosing a player of Kossies quality for important games like the clash against Brisbane - enough is enough. Everyone else appeals for stuff much more, it's about time we stood up for our players and team a bit more in this respects.

Agree - he's been on us right from the start of the season. Was calling out that he thought the of feild turmoil could have the effect of galvanizing the team when everyone else was writing us off and adding to the pile on. It's been quite refreshing really. Also makes me laugh how some of the networks have reported that we've had a purple patch of form to start the season 3W - 1L (now 4W - 1L). Wouldn't so much call that a purple patch when we've done it practically the last 3 seasons in a row prior, I'd just say that we've been performing up to existing standards and expectations for the team.

- don't criticise AFLoverlords

Rivers - pushed in back, in the last

Will miss the first quarter or so of this game travelling on an interstate flight. The last time something similar happened, I switched onto the footy in my hotel in Perth and saw the MFC amazingly in the game on the scoreboard against Geeeelong at Cat park in Gawn's breakout game. We know how that turned out! ...hopefully that's an omen.

Opposition fan's probably never saw him as the thug, but any true MFC supporter saw the skills and talented footballer in Rodney. ...and in an era where thuggery was tolerated and perhaps even celebrated, along with a few others like Danny Huges, he was OUR enforcer laying down the law. It's a different game now, but I do see guys in our team like May & Viney (& previously Hibbo) having a similar presence for us on the feild. Doesn't get measured in any stat, but has a tangible effect on team performance IMHO.

Agree with a lot of that. I think he was doing alot of defensive stuff last year as well. Like ANB, his ability to run both ways and also get on the end of it offensively is close to elite. I think an area that he's actually a bit ahead of ANB is his goal kicking, both snapping out of a pack situation, but particularly his set shot kicking, which I'd almost put him up there as elite for. Generally very reliable accuracy wise and he's also got a great range, being quite capable from 50m and even a bit beyond that. Incidentally, I think this is an area of his game that ANB has also improved as I've noted him reciently being able to take advantage of the stand rule and slot goals from around 50m, where in the past, his range seemed to be more limited to around 40m.

Comparing the Crows to Port, it would be tempting to think the Crows are total rubbish having gone 0-3, as opposed to Ports 3-0 prior to playing us, but looking back at Adelaide's losses, none suggest to me they are anything near Hawthorn levels of ineptitude. Loosing last Rd by 35 points in Perth to a Freo that's flying at the moment isn't a huge loss in my mind. Quite wary of this game, particularly considering how sore Trac and Clarry looked to be in parts of the game last week. Season wise, I feel this is a huge game. Win this one and it starts to solidify our top 4 spot before our bye, loose it and we're back with the pack. We look pretty well focused and are playing with alot of fluency and confidence at the moment, so I have alot of faith in where our team is at, but this is yet another test of are we going to be genuine contenders or also rans this season.

I'm satisfied that there isn't any malice, but I do think he owes other players a duty of care. Don't see how the league can outlaw sling tackles and shoulders that make head high contact, but allow other parts of the body to be used to the same effect. Broken ribs are one thing, but a massive wack with a knee to the head like that Geelong bloke copped is bloody dangerous. Does the AFL need to make a rule for every foreseeable use of the body that makes contact or just put the responsibility back on the player that they execute the way they play properly or get suspended. If there isn't already a sufficiently general rule, they should make one pronto. I like Chol, but having his knees do the damage they have in the past two weeks tells me he doesn't care enough for his fellow competitors and needs to change the way he plays or should spend an extended period on the side lines.

Still two more than your average Collingwood supporter.

Random Port fan -"can't see why Geelong didn't play Esava Ratugolea in the last couple of years. The guy is an absolute beast. Has a huge tank and footy IQ. Definetly worth trading pick 25 and all the cap space we've invested in him"

He must take some pretty short breaths at times too, because some of those things he does are lightening fast, almost reflex stuff. Pretty amazing how skilled AFL footballers are at times these days.

Also thought they were on the end of some pretty iffy ones too, so it balances out really. I don't think that free kick against Rivers gets paid every time. Max's free on three quarter time was a bit marginal, but if you look early in the play, it's there and I'm sure he has plenty of those paid against him too. I did think the umpires were equally bad for both teams at points.

Said himself on an interview after the game last night I think it was that he's now having a bit more confidence in himself to take the game on a bit more, slow down and finish when he's got ball in hand than perhaps he has in the past. Do agree and think he's become a more damaging and dangerous player as a result.

I did love that mark Esava Ratugolea took. Imagine being a fly on the wall of the Port Adelaide supporters forum about that one!