Rodney (Balls) Grinter

Particularly since the MFC did the right thing and self reported players that breached the rules, without them testing positive.

Is the game plan flawed or is it that the execution of the game plan is flawed or maybe a bit of both? 2018 everyone said we were too much about attack, but leaked goals. Have we over correct in that respect personal wise? Maybe, but then we went to the draft and picked up Kosi and Jackson. We also dominated contested ball, but lacked outside finish - hence Langdon, Tomlinson and to some extent Kosi and Bennell. Until we win the flag, its always a work in progress. The way I see it is that 2020 is a chance for us to get the systems, personal and ballance right going forward. To truely develop something which stacks up, we need to be playing against real opposition, which is one of the reasons I'm so [censored] about us not playing the Bombers today. But that said, there are probably also some advantages to in playing a game against yourself in terms of being able to teach and manipulate the game more, so I just hope we make the best of what we have been left with.

Feel so cheated by this season. We finally get a full uninjured and super fit team team out on the park and then the season turns to total ssshiiit like this around us. It wasn't like I thought we were a certainty for the flag, but was keen that we at least put on a good show, somewhat atoned for last season and got the team back on track. Just really hope that we make the most of this as some kind of development year to set-up in the best was possible for next year, something like what Collingwood did in 2017. Doesn't need to be pretty every week, so long as it is all building to something.

Asterisk - more like a big red line though it.

Essendon's game next week could be in serious doubt though, particularly if another of their players were to test positive to either corona ... or peptides.

I've had that feeling ever since the season was disrupted, shortened games etc. I know other have said a flags a flag, but even if we somehow stumbled over the line and won the premiership, it would feel like a hollow rubbish one.

Ah, yeah, no. Unless you call an intraclub match where your seniors beat your reserves 'a win'. Not a win.

Part of me finds these "what they are saying over at ...." threads cringe worthy, but another part of me finds it somewhat interesting and amusing. The underlined comment is a pretty generous statement I feel. Would be interested in how they are dealing with the pre-game loss of Dyson Heppell. To me I've never really thought of him as being a particularly damaging player, so I'd be surprised if they are having kittens about it. I'd have to qualify that I haven't watched many non MFC games or paid much attention to other teams at all lately, so I'm probably waffling crap. Conversely people from either side could also make the case that Viney isn't particularly damaging, yet on his day he can be and if he were a withdrawal, he would leave something of a hole in our intensity around the ball.

If he doesn't get picked against Essendon, we have a big problem. My take from what could be seen from pre-season games is that Weid did everything that could have been asked/expected of him as an undersized, stand-in ruckman. If he was left our to build confidence in his ability, then kicking 5 goals in a practice match should achieve that. Conversely being left out of the side for a barely performing raw 18 yo would destroy it. I also don't buy him cracking the sads and not wanting to perform unless traded or even telling the club that he wants to be. It's not exactly a sellers market right now as a player and it's hardly like Weid has established much trade value to go by at this point. If he did want somewhere else, then he'd probably be better shutting up about it and showing that he can be a player deserving to be sought after.

I'd have zero problems with Norwood joining and playing in a blue jumper with red V as it would align perfectly with my story of becoming a MFC supporter in the first place. My grandmother's family saw the light and migrated from Adelaide to Melbourne during the great depression and following Norwood in the SANFL, naturally migrated their allegiance over the mighty MFC. A very wise move considering the successful era the club had during the 50s and 60s. If Norwood were to have joined the comp instead od say the Crows wanted to wear the red and blue, I would have been all for it, adopted them as a second team and would have actually celebrated a flag in my lifetime! Another reminder of the link to push Eddie's buttons: https://www.change.org/p/allow-port-adelaide-to-wear-its-black-and-white-prison-bar-guernsey-in-afl-showdowns

Nah, I think they should just wear it whenever they want. In fact, the next time Port plays Collingwood in Victoria, I think they should run out onto the ground in their prison bars jumper, just to make Eddie have a brain hemerage. ...Just a reminder again, below is the link to push Eddie's buttons: https://www.change.org/p/allow-port-adelaide-to-wear-its-black-and-white-prison-bar-guernsey-in-afl-showdowns

Whether it was a legal contract or not, I think the AFL broke their contract with existing clubs when they let Freo change the principles that guide their jumper design which permitted their entry into the competition. Other clubs like the MFC were forced to wear poxy white clash jumpers as a result, whilst Collingwood have never really had to do this. The fact that Edddie has such a contract between Port and/or the AFL is yet another example of Collingwood and the power clubs getting favorable treatment. Eddie can go shove his contact where the sun don't shine as far as I care.

Eddie McMcGuire getting on his high horse again about Port Wearing their black and white 'prison bar's' jumper. https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2020-port-adelaide-prison-bar-jumper-eddie-mcguire-vs-david-koch-threatens-legal-action/news-story/4ffdf921338d0f5e03bd1feeac2f6433 Whilst personally having some affection for the prison bars jumper since I played for a local side that wore it, I think basically anyone who isn't a Collingwood supporter should be getting in behind port and signing their petition below: https://www.change.org/p/allow-port-adelaide-to-wear-its-traditional-prison-bar-guernsey-in-afl-showdowns Would be great to get this petition up to a few hundred thousand or more. Whilst Collingwood may be a big powerful club with lot's of members, there are more people that loath Collingwood than probably any other team and is should be quite possible to mass those numbers against them. Personally, I see this as a bit of an oppertunity to take down one of the power clubs of the competition and show them they can't have it their way an bully the smaller teams around all the time. Personally I have zero sympathy for Eddie and the pies on this jumper issue and hardly think it as if other precedents haven't been set in terms of softening the stance on jumper colours other teams that have reciently entered the comp. When Freo first came in, they were forced to have a jumper with loads of green such that it didn't clash with other teams. They have since been allowed to wear a jumper predominantly deep purple, nearly navey blue, with a white V that is a lot more similar to the mighty MFC's jumper.

Huge respect for Ricciuto the player. But wow what a muppet of a football administrator. His public comments on these matters reek of sore looser in much the same was as Tex Walker's dummy spit after some of these players like Lever left. Wouldn't take much for him to use a bit of diplomacy and just play a straight bat to some of these questions and assertions, along the lines of "We were comfortable and stand by the decisions we made regarding the particular circumstances of each player" and then just leave it at that. A wise local footy coach I knew had a wise philosophy of not paying out on any players that left the club, because if they departed on good terms, they may often come back at some stage. I think it works slightly differently in the AFL, but I can't see many players being attracted to a club with senior officials that carry on like that. I read that poor old Ricciuto also had a bit of a public spat with Crows club legend Andrew McCleod who is also currently employed by the Crow over public critisisms that McLeod had made about cultural problems with the club. All this airing if dirty laundry just doesn't really reflect well on the Crows as all - perhaps they have taken the new mantle as basket case cub of the AFL?

I don't think it's an absurd or stupid comparison at all and you are missing the point I'm trying to make, which is that both Gawn and Trac have provided a number of years of good/great service since having knee reconstructions (several in Gawn's case), so it's not like a club should steer totally clear of any player that has had a knee reconstruction in the past. To be honest, I wasn't a supporter of the Lever trade. Having not really paid any particular attention to Lever at Adelaide, I was fairly neutral on it at the time. There were plenty on this forum who were a huge rap for him though and suggested it was an absolute coupe that the MFC landed him. 2019 was a stinker all around and I think it is fair to state that both Lever and May haven't really provided value for money returns just yet, but I still think there is plenty of oppertunity for both these players to make really solid contributions to the team that could justify the coin we spent on them.

Having watched the game again on replay last night, my assessment is that post quarter time our ball movement out of the back half slaughtered us. A few main culprits that I recall: * Steven May's kick-ins were atrocious * Langdon pushed up the ground well to receive, but turned it straight back over with his kicking * Smith just hack kicks it or kicks to a pack. I have rarely seen him reliability find targets in all the games he has played. * No one seemed to target big Max at the kick-ins. Add to the above that from the second quarter onwards and really pressed up and positioned well behind their forward 50 arc and we just kept turning it back over to them between half back/wing and playing the game in their forward half. Also seemed to be a lack of half forwards pushing up to provide an outlet option all too often. All of this should be quite fixable and I don't think May is going to have the shocking game he did kick-in wise too often. The few guys I thought did bring the ball out of defense well were Salem and Rivers, but no real surprises there. Our multiple uncoordinated flying for spectacular marks by May and Smith as well as the well documented spoiling of one another all made for an incredibly dysfunctional backline. I f it wasn't for big Max's usual great positioning and marking behind the ball, we would have been completely stuffed.

On that basis you would want Gawn and Trac either right? Having knees are not the career ending injury they once were. Particularly since Lever had played a fair few trouble free seasons at the Crows, I think the club are/were taking a pretty fair bet on that basis.

I like those matchups.

Agree. I seem to recall many here on Demonland doing cartwheels at the time we first signed him. How quickly some turn on these guys after a bit of misfortune injury and/or form wise. Still pleanty of time for him to get back to his best.

Seriously think the AFL should increase the game time back to what it was. I actually think shorter games has hurt us more than a lot of sides with the additional fittness we built over the preseason. In the preseason games we really started to get on top in second halves as our enhanced fitness kicked in. Have heard arguments that the integrity of the game / season would be damaged if the change was made after the first two Rds had already been played. However, that integrity was already damaged when the switch to shorter games was made in the first place.

Don't discount the correlation with the ability to stand out and/or attract the affection of umpires and getting brownlow votes. Just refer to Max Gawn (was it 2018?) that year he took out just about every players, coaches and media award and yet failed to bring home the Brownlow.

Kind of makes a mockery of suspending Kosi for visiting a few friends at a house.

... a better hair cut and more brains.

Totally get the athletic upside associated with Smith, but I've rarely seen a game from him in defense where he has looked like he belonged there. Doesn't seem to know or play his role well and makes poor decisions. Oscar may never be a champion, but I think he is also better than people give him credit for and plays a team game. Will be interested to see how this all plays out, because part of me also wants to see Smith given the oppertunity to settle, find his feet and show us what he can do as well. It's that balancing act between winning on the day/team balance and providing the stability in which players can develop without fear of being dropped the moment they are bought in. I get the feeling that Goodwin and our match committee lean heavily towards the stability side of things and Smith will retain his spot in the side.

Agree that it's hardly a new concept, but I think taking playing positions from the feild and/or even the bench is a more noticeable/radical change for the AFL to have to sell to the football public than just tinkering by restricting 10 or 20 less rotations and shortening quarters by 2 - 5mins or whatever they have tended to do at any one time. If they were to bite the bullet and restrict feild numbers, the improvement in the game style would sell it to the football public pretty quickly and easily I think.