BigFez

I have no idea what they'll do re. Tomlinson. I've been firmly in the keep TMac forward camp, but I do remember he was in All Australian conversations as a defender once upon a time, so he can definitely defend. The knock on him was his decision making and disposal coming out of the backline. Now we have May, and Salem is in career best form as the distributor, the Tomlinson role could suit him to a tee. Allows us to get Wedeman in, just means Petty would be stiff. And can Wied play the TMac role as good as TMac? Not sure about that until we see it. Think we have been better with Brayshaw on the wing, as much as I'd like him to be back in the guts. He has grown into the role and is important structurally. I think bringing Sparrow in, pushing Brayshaw back to the wing and leaving Baker out is the best option to cover Viney. The other option of TMac to the wing, Weideman forward, Brayshaw to stay in the guts, Petty in for Tommo and Baker out, might also be worth a look. Hopefully Brown is better for the run, I was watching him closely off the ball on Sunday and he could not get a millimetre of separation on his opponent. Some of our clean centre clearances and quick rebounds were a full forward's dream, but he really struggled to get a step on McKay. Hopefully just rusty. I shall watch on with interest.

Agree, it was just a surprise to me that they are coming up against a side 7-0 and were very confident of a win. I guess being a Demon supporter and spending a bit of time on this forum, that sort of confidence was very alien to me.

I saw Praha's comment just after I posted mine and did have a chuckle. They barely discuss the opposition and give good analysis of their own side but there is not one single mention of the possibility of losing this one, the only posters who mention the outcome have them winning. I'd love to have their confidence.

You reckon Richmond supporters are over confident you should visit the Swans board.

I thought this was massive overs too. I got them at $4.33 for 1-39. We struggled against North and they rolled the cats who were coming off a 100 point thumping of the Eagles.

Blundstone Arena - 160m - 124m MCG - 161m - 138m

Petty was out on the ground with a trainer and later Burgo after the game doing his kms for not playing, so he was a travelling emergency. Looked to be moving absolutely fine. I know this because after the game they blew the siren a second time which meant you cold go out onto the ground for a kick. I'm not entirely sure that the club staff or ground security were fully aware of this because they had to hasten to stop people going inside the forward 50 arcs where Petty was up one end and the North sub was at the other. I was in a foot race with a security guard because I wanted to hit Petty up on the lead a couple of times with my son's AusKick footy. If I didn't have my backpack on I reckon I could have laced him out at least once but it slowed me down too much and the 50 was secured by the time I got there.

I'm glad our really bad games are still wins these days.

Not sure what’s been said here and elsewhere so apologies if this had been covered a million times but I spoke to Burgo after the game and Tomlinson ACL unfortunately.

Gee those feet of his have given him some grief. Hopefully nothing major, super important player.

Weather update.

You would not be able to get a kite airborne in Hobart at the moment. Hopefully it stays that way.

How Josh Bruce kicked 10 in a game of AFL being played for premiership points has me stuffed.

I'll take more notice, but instances that would have been a free last year or even last week seem, in my mind anyway, to be play on tonight. Could be imagining things.

Very lenient on incorrect disposal tonight I've noticed.

Western Australia will be declared low risk by Tasmania from 5pm today.

Yep much more likely to be W/SW 30-40km/h. No doubt every bit of that wind will find its way into Blundstone Arena though.

You wouldn't get a better day in May down here for footy.

Some rubbish on there, but also found this gem which I found pretty useful. "I'm the same in regards to hating their fans and everything about their club. The fans and players ability to get ahead of themselves. And Goodwin is a very bland operator who hasn't had an original idea in his life. But they have a very well balanced lineup IMO. They have the best ruck in the game in Gawn and and very good midfield. Petracca is a beast. Oliver very good. They appear more selfless. Luke Jackson looks a real talent, he is the perfect backup ruck/forward, the type you want Mabs to be. Pickett did nothing against us but is exciting. Salem a very good user. Speed with Hunt/Langdon. Fritsch is so punchable but is a very good medium forward option. Ben Brown will get a game and add a different dimension with the new rules in play. If he is fit he should do well. Compare them with the side of 2018 that made the prelim: OUT - Jetta - will be in their best 22 when fit Oscar McDonald - dud Jordan Lewis - was finished at the time Joel Smith - dud Mitch Hannan - dud James Harmes - battler Aaron Vandenburg - dud Dom Tyson - dud Sam Weideman - big dud IN - Jayden Hunt - getting better with more experience much better composure this year. May - A grade full back serious improvement on O Mac Lever - punchable but smart 3rd tall defender. Upgrade on Lewis/Smith Tomlinson - not convinced he is any good, but better than Joel Smith Langdon - improver with speed and a better option than Harmes Jackson - a real talent, massive upgrade on Weideman Fritsch - a challenging matchup and upgrade on Vandenburg Pickett - shows real promise, upgrade on Hannan James Jordan? Trent Rivers? Their midfield group of Gawn/Petracca/Oliver/Viney/Brayshaw have another 2 seasons under their belt and have all improved. Gawn is a serious footballer now not a part-time clown. As much as I despise them they will be a big challenge for any side if they can keep their best side on the park and if Brown gets fit. A much better balanced side than the Bulldogs IMO."

I can see this game being moved. Premier Gutwein is second only to McGowan in terms of slamming the moat shut when there's a whiff of COVID in the air. He would cop a fair bit of backlash and accusations of hypocrisy and favouritism if he allows a football team that has just been to Perth into the state when there'd be families who've had loved ones had to cancel their trips over here for the same reason. There's an election coming up and he wouldn't want to put himself in the news for any of the wrong reasons. I'll watch on with interest. Also, just because we've lost here doesn't make Bellerive Oval a dump. The fact it is a venue that hosts AFL and international cricket matches and it doesn't have a car park makes it a dump. Surface is looking good at the moment though as is the weather.

Someone on the Richmond board called Salem a spud. "How does a spud like Salem get 39 touches" was the quote. I might make it my life's work to find that poster and challenge them to a duel.

Christian Salem - The Perfect Game. Watched the game with a bunch of Tigers supporters who didn't know anything about him. They sure do now. As good of a game as I've seen anyone play in a Melbourne jumper.

They certainly have short memories, but going into their forum to argue with them is akin to bashing your head against a brick wall. They look at us with disdain, and rightly so, and 3 flags in four years is going to beat any argument a Melbourne supporter is ever going to come up with. While I admire their success, because I remember them being the laughing stock for years, I've about had enough of them and am eagerly awaiting the end of their dynasty. The only question is how long can they keep talking about these flags? i think the 2013-15 Hawks only gave up mentioning theirs last year.

Gee I hope May plays. No disrespect to Petty, I think he'll be a fine key defender, but I reckon May's inclusion takes this game from 30/70 to closer to 50/50 . Richmond's tall forwards are a handful, bringing in one of the comp's best big defenders is huge IMO. I believe we have the talent to challenge the top teams like the Tiges, just hoping we can hold our nerve in the big moments. Richmond are such a good team, they will keep cool heads knowing they have been there and done that.0 Hopefully the knew-found maturity and belief in our system can get us over the line. PS don't you love how the media jump on us when we're winning then all of a sudden this translates to "Demons supporters have blown the lid off"? Very annoying, when the vast majority of Dees supporters will keep the lid on until the final siren of the GF if we were to make it.