Swooper1987

He picked his moment beautifully last night. I don't see the Schwarz comparison. Schwarter had tremendous agility pre knee. Some of his blind turns (1994 finals) were out of this world for a guy of his size. A thumping kick, great field kick, and a clean one grab mark. JVR strikes me more as a young Dermie. In the early stages of his career he was very much a cameo player - a great 15 or 20 minutes here and there but absolutely loved the big occasion. He debuted in the 1982 finals but it wasn't until the 1985 season when he started to play really consistent footy. He hit bodies hard even as a youngster and like JVR was marginally undersized compared to opponents but played a bit taller. JVR loves the physical aspect of the game, he doesn't waste the opportunities he gets and he impacts at important times.

Was at the game last night and haven't seen a replay yet. In terms of overall influence on the result, Gawn and Viney were the difference all the game and JVR was the match winner. Chandler is coming along very nicely, ANB played the sort of game that really suits his strengths, Hibberd did well controlling what looked like our biggest danger in the first quarter and Lever was poised. I'll agree with the ANZAC medal judges and go: 6. Viney 5. Gawn 4. Chandler 3.Lever 2. Hibberd 1. Petracca

Except win us the round 23 game at Geelong to give us the minor premiership, kick 5 in a prelim, lead us to a flag, etc etc.

Sounded from Goodwin's presser that Gawn is playing this week. He is a quick healer, although I guess he has technically already missed 4 given he only lasted 5 minutes into the Brisbane game. Yesterday showed how important he is to our defence. Grundy does some things very well, but defending isn't one of them. Hopefully Lever is right to go too. Beware the wounded Tiger.

Bombers are playing a faultless game really. Collectively we are terrible. None of the names have fired a shot. Good quarter by Petty.

Our big men need to play like big men. Grundy is great below his knees but not giving us enough defensively in the air; same goes for the other talls forward and back. Credit to Essendon, they have a strong plan and they are executing it well.

Petracca 5/4 Oliver 5/3 Grundy 4/2 Kelly 3/2 McDonald 1/1 I thought Fritsch and Rivers were both great yesterday. Tracc had a wonderful second half but I'm not sure he was best on over the whole game.

He hasn't been the best player in the comp in the first three rounds. Who knows what the next 19 games might hold. Lever would be leading our B&F right now.

4-6 weeks is standard for a mid range medial. Max is a pretty quick healer usually.

6. Gawn 5. Pickett 4. Lever 3. Petracca 2. Rivers 1. Oliver Gawn really played a complete game. He was a threat offensively and defensively to the Bulldogs all night. His capacity to push back and either fill a hole or play genuine one-on- one meant that we could cover May's absence. Watching him live at the ground is a real lesson in what it takes to be a genuinely elite big man at this level. English is a good ruckman who played a solid game but he got schooled by Max in work rate and effort, as well as craft.

Two Demons in the top 10 for what it's worth. TOP TEN: 1. Dustin Martin 2. Lance Franklin 3. Patrick Dangerfield 4. Marcus Bontempelli 5. Max Gawn 6. Patrick Cripps 7. Scott Pendlebury 8. Nat Fyfe 9. Christian Petracca 10. Jack Riewoldt

They don't have a great record with their champion ruckman do they? Len Thompson, Peter Moore and now Grundy all left the club in somewhat acrimonious circumstances. Monkhorst and Manson (not quite in the same league but both premiership players) also finished their careers at other clubs.

Absolute robbery! But love it.

Pleased with the trade. I liked watching Jackson play but I never rated him as a ruckman. He's not tall enough and the opposition had him largely worked out this year. His tap work is worse than poor, and as long as his backside points to the ground he'll never be a better ruckman than Darcy. He desperately needs to improve his marking technique and if he plans on making his name as a Blicavs type player he needs a much bigger tank, and a lot more game sense. His late third quarter GF effort is greatly appreciated and it's churlish to hold any hard feelings given that he more than paid his dues by helping us win a flag. I hope for his sake he doesn't get overwhelmed by the Perth fish bowl. We have a great opportunity to further improve our list over the next two drafts now and capitalise on the incredible talent we have in our ranks.

I rate him. 2018 Sutton Medal, 2016 Premiership player. Turns 28 in December, played 173 games and a lot of those have been excellent, including a couple of games over 40 disposals. Seems to play well against us. As has been pointed out by others he's strong defensively and offensively. He'd be an asset.

My absolute favourite day at the footy. That last two months of 1987 was absolutely remarkable.

So after 16 rounds Max Gawn is one vote better than Alex Neal-Bullen. WTF?

Gawn and May both missed multiple games. Oliver missed one. I still think Clarry gets it just from Petracca, Brayshaw and Viney and then either Gawn or May.

Selwood would be a great addition.

His shots on goal look horrible from time to time but he did kick 13 goals 14 behinds for the season. So beyond woeful is a stretch. Petracca on the other hand, went at 19 goals 31 behinds (and a substantial out on the full as well); Nibbler at 9 goals and 17 behinds and Charlie Spargo 10 goals and 12 behinds. Interestingly, that is the first time in Charlie's career he's kicked more behinds than goals in a season. Luke Jackson kicked 11 goals 12 behinds. I'd say Max's accuracy, whilst it could be improved upon , is certainly a damn site better than some of the blokes who are actually paid to kick them.

Phil is from Robinvale. He was actually really good mates with Jamie Siddons who is my wife's cousin. Leon is originally from NSW I believe. Not sure of any family connection there. A bit of background on Phil's experiences. https://www.sunraysiadaily.com.au/football/3050896/racist-taunt-almost-dashed-career-of-a-sunraysia-footy-great

Phil Egan, former Richmond and Melbourne player, was commissioned to write the report for Hawthorn. He was tasked only with gaining the perspectives of the former indigenous players at the club and then offering recommendations for further consideration. Its author, former Richmond player Phil Egan, commended the bravery of First Nations players who shared their experiences and described the review’s contents as “unprecedented”. “The report noted a range of recommendations for the club to address in relation to creating a culturally safe environment for all,” Egan told The Age. “These include further and immediate investigation of the findings; reparation and compensation for the affected families if the allegations are validated; and policy and structural changes to ensure cultural safety is embedded within the club.” Egan, an Indigenous man who played 125 games for the Tigers during the 1980s and endured his own experiences with racism in the game, said he felt privileged to have been tasked with the review because of its sensitive nature, and that Hawthorn deserved credit for commissioning it.

He did. After he was discriminated out of Carlton when the trainers refused to rub him down because of the colour of his skin, among other things.

Horrible stuff. Just appalling if substantiated.

We beat them twice in 3 games, 3 times for the season and our closest final was a 6 goal victory. It was the most comprehensive premiership since 2007. Gastro or not, they were never beating us that night.