Mel Bourne

I love your confidence but mine is shot. Our forward line is sub-standard. And with one of them getting rubbed out tonight, and with the selections we have on offer, it is only about get worse.

McDonald - needed more involvement. That’s putting it lightly.

Was right behind the goals, right next to the horrific assortment of homo-sapiens (at best) in the Collingwood cheers squad, so got to watch our “forward line” up close. My takeaway was that we are not going anywhere further this season if that’s what our best “forward line” is. Fritsch was unable to present to any would-be deliverers. Absolutely out-muscled or out-positioned when it mattered. That kick for goal in the last quarter will, and absolutely should, haunt him. JVR had stage fright. Can accept this. He’s young. Tmac was a waste of a jumper. Would have even preferred Schache out there, let alone Grundy. But I can see what will happen. He’ll play next week and kick three, then should we be fortunate enough to win, will play again in the prelim and will go missing. That’s been his pattern for a while now. He’s been a great player for us, but I hope he has the grace to understand it’s time to call it. Pickett. He’s not a bad player if you have zero expectations of him. Unfortunately he’s been touted as something much more than that, so just continues to disappoint. Viney will be angry at himself for his game tonight, which means I don’t have to be. Trac was needed much earlier in the game, as was Clarry. First quarters from both of them were sub-standard. Also Clarry should be banned from set shots. Joel Smith needs to play forward next week. Defenders can get by without him. Salem has really disappointed since returning. Looks like half the player he was, and Langdon similarly seems to have really dropped off. Some have said our selections were poor, but the cupboard is bare. If there is a sliver of hope it’s going to need to come from Oliver and Trac who just didn’t do their jobs properly tonight. Max took a a quarter to get going, but I’ll go easy on him because he continually has to do the work of two men each game. Incredible moments from him throughout, though his brain fade in the last quarter was costly. Mason Cox is a detestable priq, as is Maynard.

Max. where is YOUR composure, skip?

Ours to win if we just showed composure. But there is none of that out there tonight.

Regardless of the result tonight, this feeling is what it’s all about. And not a feeling that was awarded to us for many, many years. Heading in soon to sit squashed between two strangers and hoping to f&@k that they’re Dees supporters.

Fair to say you’re living up to your nomenclature then, TU? Agreed, anybody here underestimating the Pies has rocks in their head. The noise their crowd emanates is, while on a day-to-day level completely indecipherable, very much a weapon at footy games, and they will be rabid in a finals atmosphere. We need to bring the noise. And the team/coaches need to do whatever they can to diffuse the tactic of negating Max. This is where I think the game will be decided.

Congratulations Joel Smith! A baby girl and a damn fine excuse for missing training. Make her immediately proud!!

Love that this just pops up in the heat of the team-selection talk!

Moore, Murphy and McReery coming in one would assume.

John Noble omitted for the pies. Hasn’t missed a game since Rd 6, 2020. 83 games in a row then dropped for the first final. Brutal.

In the words of Iggy Pop “gimme danger”. But it’s been more common over the last few years, as digital consoles have made it easier. I was moved to have a look at some of the previous performances and as well as PK, Sting, Vance Joy and the The Living End all played live. A couple of their songs used “track” - a phantom keyboard or string part here and there, but that would be the case with their usual live shows too. As for Kiss, they’ll certainly have some modern augmentation, as they’ve been leaning on it more and more in recent years. The oscillation between “game chat” and “KISS chat” on this thread has been very funny. It’s helped the nerves!

Incorrect.

Right? There’s only so much emotional territory Mike Brady can cover.

Thankfully they have about a dozen other genres they could select from!

This is a powerful analysis @binman! And yes, there is a clear chasm betwixt Mr. Loaf and KISS on many fronts. As I mentioned, I saw them on that 2019 tour. And the show was….let’s just say their fans loved it. But as a full-time musician living in this country, I am once again hyper-disgusted by the choice, as I was with Sting, Lionel Ritchie, Robbie Williams (who for some vague reason will always remind me of former Geelong mayor, Darren Lyons) and any other overseas act. Not withstanding, the obvious reasons why (that we should be elevating local talent), but also because there is something very difficult to stomach about watching an overseas entertainer do their thing at an event that they have no understanding of, or even a vague relationship with at all. As for KISS, I could also go into the reasons why the AFL should not be putting any money into Gene Simmons’ bank account whatsoever - the guy is a colossal a$$hole - but let’s not. Given Robbie Williams was paid over $1m to play last year, one can assume the AFL is sending even more into an overseas bank account this year, and really, to what end? There are dozens and dozens of brilliant acts in this country who would happily do the gig for 1/20th of that fee, and far better represent what the entire day is all about. And the AFL can spend the leftover cash on a new score review system.

No worries! Fingers crossed for a Kiss car-crash!

Not all the performances are on the ground. The “Meatloaf Stage” is above the car entrance, and that’s a dedicated live stage. But there is the option to set up live for the ground performances. The stages are set up for live use and just wheeled on, plugged in, then wheeled off. Soundcheck is done the day before. Paul Kelly and the band did the ground a couple of years ago, all live.

Not exactly, they’ve been using a bit of “enhancement” for a while now. Was just addressing what you were saying about the performances in general. Basically they give you the option, and some choose to go down the more cowardly path.

I played at the Anzac Day game this year. Was all live.

Had to happen. There’s no way either could go against Max alone, all night. Hope the yank has windscreen wipers on those goggles.

https://youtu.be/jmDLevYZUvU?si=1UbnYNdw1ANoif37 Gizz could just blast this one!

Had a decent back-half of the season, and weirdly polled higher in the coaches votes than any other ruck in the comp. But on the AFL Reddit sub, his name certainly had the most question marks behind it.

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard need to do a GF. King Stingray would be great too. No Kings Of Leon, though. And for the love of god, keep David King away from the stage.

I saw Kiss last year (got a free ticket and only went to honour the memory of me when I was six). I can tell you from experience that this band really needs a lot of explosions and a very dark arena to pull the whole thing off. Going by the weather trends this year, I have a feeling the GF will be a warm one. Get ready for lots of high-definition close-ups of some 70+ year-old dudes with black and white streaks melting down their faces, and with nary an explosion to hide behind. Could be “Meatloaf:The Sequel”. (Mind you, I get a real thrill out of watching disastrous live performances, and thoroughly enjoyed Meatloaf’s set that year)