Gawndy the Great

Long way to go. Got to keep a healthy list first. But they definitely have the hunger - that’s for sure.

How people had the Tigers in Top 4 is beyond me.

It’s only an issue if we bomb it in on the back of slow ball movement when half of their team is in our F50.

So does that mean the game will turn back to our 2021 GF winning game style? I’d be happy with that as we had teams on a string.

I know the positions here dont mean much, but Hunter on HB is interesting. I dont mind it actually as it creates a reason to get Gus off HB and can help setup our transition. Also means JJ gets a run on the wing. Harmes will find it hard to get back in i think. No cover for May if he is a late withdrawal make me think he is fine as id expect Tommo on the emergencies ahead of TMac in the backline.

if it sticks around, it will for sure. No way the Pies can move with speed tonight. Will be a territory battle with surge like ball movement... That is the tigers 1-wood.

Im still a bit iffy on the Pies as well. They look great, but i have a hunch that once their vulnerability is exposed, it'll be a house of cards moment. Not many teams will have the ammunition to do it, but i think the Tigers who apply a lot of ball carrier pressure will at least be able to slow them down on transition. Contest and clearance has been a weakness for the Pies in prior years and Mitchell has been a welcomed addition. Pies will win, but not as much as others think and i reckon we'll see the first signs of vulnerability tonight - just a hunch.

RE: King, i dont think either of them have really had performances to warrant such money. They both seem to be injury prone and tend to go out for long periods of time. I wouldn't waste our picks on them tbh as it would be a bit of a gamble.. yes there is absolutely plenty of upside, but id focus on keeping Kozzy and the two KPF we already have.

Any updates circulating on May yet? Spoke to my physio this morning and he's not surprised (if true), says they are called old man injuries for a reason and referenced that he was good mates with Dawes who happened to suffer from the same issue late in his career.

Suck it Lions.

I’m now convinced the aberration for the Lions was last week. The Doggies aren’t playing that well and yet find themselves in front. OMac is not a great ruckman and is showing tonight. We were down a ruck which clearly robbed us in structure and spirit.

That’s a bit much. I reckon if there was anything at all in it, they wouldn’t risk it. It’s during the week so the scans and doctors would have seen the results before teams were named and would have had Tommo in the extended squad.

I think he’s not quite right. I don’t remember him being this bad at all.

Said it last week , we made the Lions look better than they are.

Should have been a free to Naughton… poor umpiring . I feel filthy saying that.

Doggies will win this. Lions were lucky last week and are the real pretenders.

The names were submitted after training and any potential scan that took place. Why would they drop Tommo if there was a shred of doubt on Mays injury. I call BS

I think the Doggies will get their first W tonight only because of what will happen if they don’t.

Steven May Mk II

Injured?

Im swinging between both possible outcomes quite frequently. On one hand, im expecting quite a significant response from the whole team. I expect hard running and frantic pressure, but on the other hand im also not sure what type of melbourne team is going to show up. Sydney melted in the GF when they were met with similar pressure from the Cats and they just couldnt settle. They'll have some misplaced confidence from the two bruise free wins from this year and the fact they have the wood over us. It just takes a small amount of complacency to get put on your bum. Game plan wise, i think (hope) we'll see something a little different to stifle their ball movement. We have to capitalize when we have the ball and kick 4-5 goals in the first 15 minutes - anything less will keep them in the game for longer. The key is to dent their confidence and get them to lose some dare in ball movement and start playing a little more conservatively. If we can do this (ala Dogs and many other teams in 21) we will be able to really lock the game down defensively and capitalise on turnover and scores from HB. A few key matchups: We have to make McCartin accountable. If JVR plays, you can bet your house that'll try to force that matchup. We need manic forward half pressure from Chandler, ANB and Spargs. Getting anything out of TMAC, BBB and Fritta is a pipe dream so we need to make sure these smaller fellas are instructed to run and tackle hard. Gulden is one of their better kicks and we cannot let him get off the handle on the wing or HF. Similarly the lizard is a reasonable kick off HB and has some pace. We have to have a defensive matchup on both. Lastly is our offesnive ball movement. I dont rate Sydney's back six that highly and are vulnerable to faster ball movement. They can be scored heavily against if you move it quickly against them. So in summary: pressure all over the ground, to force turnover and/or win contest and clerance -> quick ball movement to stop defenders zoning off and isolate our key forwards.

Question is would we / should we put on the table Our two 1st 2023 rounders plus our F1 for pick 1 to take Reid? I’m not sure what type of player he is but is he perhaps the star we’ll need for life after Trac and Oliver? Or should we chase a KPD for life after May? Hard choices.

Jack is the perfect sergeant to marshall the troops but I’m afraid he is no modern day football captain. I think it is probably going to be Angus as he seems to be the player that is able connect with a broader range of players. But getting the leadership group right is probably more important as you cannot rely on one bloke. I think having a group that is represented on all lines and are best 22 is the qualifying criteria. Not 100% sure who’s in the group this year but I feel like the forward line is under represented

I don’t think this is just about the boys being primed and putting on a performance to remember. They definitely need to make up for their performance on Friday but horse will have his team ready for that as well and he’ll do it in a very cunning way ie sit outside the contest and apply 200+ pressure index or something ridiculous. He is a remarkable game day coach. We have to have game plan ms A, B and C and knowing when one isn’t working and when to switch. We also need a plan to disarm Sydney’s strengths put to bed this notion of sticking to our plan only and doing it better than Sydney doing there’s. Yze and Goodwin are just as much on watch as the players this weekend. They have a lot to make up for in the wake of Sunday nights capitulation. it may sound harsh, but that is the standard we need to hold ourselves to in order to be a team to be remembered for the ages.

This rang true with me as well. Leaders have to do the hard stuff and was really surprised at Jacks handling - perhaps he felt terrible as the one who caused the injury. I can understand that but the other leaders were really really poor at getting the team to reset. It took up until lights out to make any real adjustment in endeavour. It’s a rare thing to deal with - granted - and I hear that the footage of Gawn went up on the screen several times, which without context is probably telling everyone it’s an ACL.