Rab D Nesbitt

You're welcome DJ. There would still be some finer points to iron out I'm sure but it would be a great advertisement for the NT and no tennis court to tempt Bucks within 1,200km.

After the two games in Adelaide we could commandeer The Ghan up to Alice and play Collingwood, Fremantle and Essendon. The first two can fly in from Perth together and the Bombers can get the same train down from Darwin. If Gold Coast are also penciled in to play in the top end against someone they could get the same train down and play Collingwood. Essendon and the Pies could each be based at one of the drug and alcohol free communities in the area to keep them out of trouble.

You'd think Vanders would be a straight swap for Jones. T-Mac would make way for Harley, trading height for mobility and speed up front. I wonder if it might also be a good week to rest Clarry and bring Gus inside for this game and replace young Sparrow with Tomlinson on the wing.

At this stage of his life he'd probably prefer something a little less challenging, like finding a two state solution to the Israel / Palestine problem.

Geez. Last night was up there with some of the most disappointing games we've played over the years. To me it felt like one of those season defining losses that makes it hard to come back from and made me wonder if the next nine weeks will now take on the look of a slowly deflating balloon. Christ I hope not.

In a microcosm of what's playing out around the country a very small group of selfish and gormless individuals are jeopardising the efforts and sacrifices being made by the greater population. The AFL did a lot of sabre rattling about the consequences of breaking the rules put in place to safeguard this years competition which have turned out to be little more than a damp squib in reality. I don't expect this case will play out any differently.

I wonder by this reverting to our home game it means they are still hopeful of shoehorning in North home games in Tassie at the [censored] end of the season. Also, as the designated home side now why can’t we nominate to play in Qld ? Particularly if the AFL are making us return there between both SA games !

Listening to some of the recordings from that time makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Brings it all back.

Didn’t do them any good in the long run considering they no longer exist. They were a club that operated on a shoestring but consistently punched above their weight.

Unless anyone is too sore to get up for Thursday I'd be looking at minimal changes for this one. Harley seems to be playing within himself right now (understandably) so perhaps it's an opportunity to bring in Nibbler for his pressure acts and good engine as a replacement for this week. I still think a side needs 10 wins to be guaranteed of a place in the final eight and not have to rely on percentage tipping them in. There's also that drawn game that makes things messy. This makes the Port game a high stakes clash in that sense so I'm expecting us to go with our strongest side. If our best isn't good enough then we could still go 6 - 3 in our last nine games and make sure we totally rinse Adelaide, North, Freo and Sydney to get our % up. Collingwood aside all the other games are just potential banana skins at worst based on our most recent form. Lots to play for yet.

Trac made a mighty effort to break through the Brisbane line to give us that opportunity and I feel if we'd just been able to corral them into their own half in that final minute of play we may well have had one more bite of the cherry. Still, it was our really poor kicking in front of goal that cost us this one TC.

Well that was frustrating. They were a lot cleaner when the ball hit the turf until we started to click in the last quarter and really started to smash into the contests. Fritta not handing the ball back really stuffed us at the end after Trac did so well to set up that one final chance. All those missed sitters in front of goal really cost us too. Viney was fantastic again and his kicking to a target has improved out of sight.

Geez. Even the umpires couldn't get North over the line. What a bog ordinary outfit they are.

It's the pre and post game rituals I miss. Stomping Ground at opening time for mussels, frites and a pint of something really dark. Tamura sake and jazz bar on Gertrude St if it's a later game on a Saturday. They have a lovely sweet potato amber ale. After the game it's over to The Tippler on Wellington Parade until the crowds have gone. The scarf doesn't go on until I head to the ground.

I guess they don't want to lose that physical presence from the team. I thought they may have gone with T-Mac and moved him between the forward line and the wing like we did quite a bit back in 2018. It looks like nobody will be gifted a game this season.

As long as there are good enough gym facilities up there for us that could be a winner Pates. With the draw being turned on it's head anyway who's to say they couldn't both now be our home games.

Ah, you're right D11. I just saw that we were named first in the schedule on one of the posts above and automatically thought we were the home side.

Geez. That's a 'mare of a schedule. Adelaide and North designated our home games but at their home grounds ?? What a stitch up. I thought the Queensland sides were told that they would be playing in Tasmania as it's probably the only time they'd have to leave their own state for the rest of the season ?

I know. Scary. And his replacement when he retired was Curtly Ambrose.

Whilst still living down in Canterbury in Kent (UK) I volunteered as a listener with The Samaritans for three years. Some interesting things I remember from that time were that only around 10% of the callers / visitors were people genuinely suffering from suicidal thoughts or depression. Many were prank callers if you can believe it. Also, I found that the people who had made the decision themselves to call us usually fared far better that those that had been prompted by family or friends to do so. Maybe because they were in a headspace where they knew they needed help and were comfortable enough to seek it. Psychotherapy can also be a game changer in regards to depression but again the results I think can be much better when the person seeking help understands that they will be the one doing most of the work and not the person they're paying to listen to them. For anyone at their lowest ebb during this time complete openness can be really helpful but also be when someone can be at their most vulnerable to any sort of mild criticism. Coming out the other end though can be character building though as it can really help people understand the steps and triggers that led them to those low points and also make it far easier to articulate to themselves and others what they are feeling. Particularly for males I think that is a great tool to have in our mental health kit. Long term depression can be as painful and debilitating as any physical illness and I came to the view that in most cases someone would have to be at the very end of their mental and emotional endurance to actually take their own life and that it's certainly not a cowardly act. Anyway, that's my two bobs worth on the subject.

Party pooper ?

I'm a bit conflicted about tonights game. Although it might be good for us if the Saints tripped up the thought of Adelaide having a 0-17 season does warm the heart.

I'm looking forward to the day when our midfield of Gawn, Oliver, Petracca, Viney and Brayshaw is as ominous as Garner, Marshall, Holding, Roberts and Croft.

We've been building towards this kind of display. Can't wait until we do it against a good side. Next week hopefully.

Ha! Nothing, I promise LH. Although I'm finding it does take more and more to get the same hit these days. Once I've plateaued I find a quality dark ale helps take the edge off things. It's all about finding the right balance.