Gawndy the Great

Certainly looks like we are. Yes we are 12-3 but boy how many of those games were you truly happy with rather than just saying I’ll definitely take that one because we were playing well. The only games we were truly convincing in we’re against Doggies and Richmond and 1 half against the Lions. Yes all quality opposition - does it say some thing about the mental state of our team when we play top oppositions vs when we are just expected to win?

What irked me most about yesterday was the attitude in Q4 vs Q1-3. I’ve said previously that the team seems to be playing in 2nd gear whether it’s by design I don’t know. At some stage that aggression and confidence needs to be there from the first bounce and blow teams out of the water but I wonder if we are saving this for the finals? The upside is that we can definitely see that it’s in our toolkit.

I noticed this as well but it’s a 5m radius protected zone. They were still within 5 metres though but not by much. the running through the mark protected zone is so inconsistently adjudicated but I’d rather it not be paid unless absolutely obvious.

That for sure but more for a tiring Hibbo. Wouldn’t have let Greene near it today. Still need to think about a good ball user.

Had some time for reflection and recall there was a stat in q2 or 3 where the pressure index of the giants was about 238 - that is hard to play against no matter how good you are. This what we face week in week out at the top. Teams that play us turn up and it shows even if we are slightly off. maybe it’s a good thing if the doggies take top spot so we can have a bit of time off from being hunted.

I’m hitting the slopes and I don’t even ski.

Apparently we have great defensive structure. I’m sure you need to also know how to play when you have the ball as well.

[censored] pathetic this mob.

Going to get a good old belting today. Just not top 2 or top 4 material for that matter. Yes defence is great but we are really poor in attacking. remember the Giants have many starting 22 injuries while we are just about full squad.

I said last week that this game style is not conducive to sustainable winning .

If said many times before the F/S rule is an absolute blight on the draft system. I get the romanticism of it but when it favours teams finishing in the top 4-8 it needs to balanced out - similar to the academies. Not saying to completely eliminate it but there needs to be measures put in place if the FS prospect is in the top 10. It’s ridiculous to think Norf won’t get access to the best player going around. If the Darcy kid turns out to go Pick 1.

Part of me agrees with you - is it the cynical, pessimistic MFC supporter in me or is it the football analyst that can see cracks in our game style and the way we play the game... I really don't know which part of me :). The Doggies, Lions and Cats really can blow teams away and they look magnificent when they are on. We haven't had one of those really convincing wins this year (bar Richmond and probably Lions 2nd half). We just get over the line week after week despite beating all of those teams (bar PA and WC). That is probably why the media aren't really buying into our hype is that we havent really looked convincing. I wonder if we genuinely have another gear to goto, because it feels like we are just waiting for something to click. What i have seen is that our pressure index is probably average to slightly above average week after week. But there have been games / quarters when that goes to elite levels and when we do, it does look quite marvelous. I think this is something that the players and coaching group can control and maybe what we are seeing is actually by design.

Yep exactly - i just dont know how they'd be able to keep all of those players on their list. We will definitely be going [censored]-for-tat with this mob for the next few years. JUH is unproven so i doubt it would command anything more than a top 10 pick (in terms of trade value). I think they'd be after a mature age player (key back) plus a 2nd rounder. I cant see how Petty factors into that mix unless he really has some top ranking performances between now and end of year. I really liked the mix of May, Tomo and Lever so would be unwilling to let go of Tomo for an unproven forward. I reckon the Doggies are in the drivers seat here and could take JUH to any club for a key backman... Imagine what a Darcy Moore would do for that team!

We know the Doggies are spoilt for choice in the midfield department and it seems they will also face similar list challenges in their forward line. With Bruce, Naughton and English already settled and JUH knocking on the door, they have a conundrum in what to do with their tall forward stocks. Is a forward line of English, Naughton, Bruce and JUH with a rotating Bont too tall? I think someone, somewhere will be squeezed out. Bruce/English are probably a lock for FF with English rotating in the ruck and Naughton is an absolute lock as your spearhead CHF. I wonder if JUH is gettable. We should definitely pick up the phone to his management and make a play.

I think my blood pressure would disagree with the use of your word "comfortable". We haven't really comfortably beaten anybody this year. Even against the Hawks it was a close affair until the last quarter. If we could improve our forward 50 game, then we will become quite a feared opposition for many years.

Yes we have defensive system which is great and allowed us to strangle and absorb pressure. That is what won us the game again. No doubt. However if we are off just one percent , we’ll we have seen what happens there. If you saw the Dons stoppage and contest setups a lot of their players were outside and allowed them to walk out of the contest too easily. You need to torch sides that take such an aggressive setup yet we did not. Do that against a potent forward line like the Eagles, Port or Geelong and no system will save you. Happy with 12-2 but we have a really tough draw coming up and need to start finding some good form to take into finals.

We are not playing well. We can’t keep winning like this..

TMac is definately a better fit, but i would struggle to see how we would let him go ahead of Weid. He would have to request the trade, which he may very well do. Weid is not worth pick 3 for sure, hence why we would have to sweeten the deal. 2 players for Pick 3 + 2nd or 3rd rounder is probably a more worthwhile discussion. Something like: Weid + Brayshaw for Pick 3 + 2nd Rounder, Or Weid + Melksham for Pick 3 + 3rd rounder Or Weid + ANB for Pick 3 and 3rd rounder With the question marks still on BBB, i just cannot see how we would even entertain letting TMac go... This may well change between now and end of season though.

Tom Morris reporting that Suns eager to find a partner in crime for Ben King. They have pick 3 on offer and also 2 top of second round picks. Weid is definitely not worth pick 3 but given they are after experience, who could make way with Weid to get Pick 3 plus one of their 2nd round picks in exchange. The Suns need legitimate experience so someone who could impart good training standards and still have a few years of football left in them. I've scanned the list and there really isnt much we can offer them. Doubtful that Jones and/or Jetta would attract any attention. Hard to see anyone wanting to leave as well given our progression. But if I was forced to put up some options that fit the Suns needs I would look at one of Hibbo, Brayshaw, Harmes or Melksham. We could then use both of our 2nd round picks to bring in Maynard and still have pick 3 to either take to the draft or cash in on another high profile trade.

i am not an astute football analyst but genuinely wonder what potential Sam has? What other footballer playing right now should Sam model himself on? He has raw footy talent - ill give him that. He has a good kicking technique (clearly affected by his confidence at times), which is probably why we took him at pick 9. Is he more of a Hawkins/Walker (lead & physical/contested marking); Cameron/Hogan/Hipwood (mobile, lead and endurance); Dixon (pure contested marking); Are his leading patterns off? Why is he continually found under the ball ? (is this body positioning on the defender, not reading the play etc)?

Whilst the narrative has been around Weid not living up to what we all wanted him to be, It is clear that he is at least better than the form he is showing right now. Confidence and resilience are traits that should be paired together. It is easy to get confidence when you are playing well and everything is working out, but being resilient (or having the grit) when things are tough is often part of ones character that is overlooked and is much more than training hard and doing a good pre-season.

Seriously can that happen with Bolton wanting a new contract? Unless he’s part of the deal?

Danger Mr Robinson Danger. This mob have one of the quickest ball movement and transition in the comp. it is also our weakness because it doesn’t allow us to setup defensively. We will need to be switched on to take the 4 points here or prepare yourselves for another disappointing outing.

This would explain a lot of why he is never anywhere near the ball on the field... perhaps he is option number 3 or 4 behind Tmac, Fritsch and possibly even Kozzy and Spargo.

I would love nothing more than for Weid to find form and/or develop into a player that can kick bags of goals and prove all of us wrong. I get the delicacies of social media and not writing off young men but this is a fan's site and we should all feel comfortable in posting our beliefs and opinions. If we are way off the mark or over zealous in our views, I have no problems in being called out for it - we live by the sword and die by the sword ?. My view on Weid is that in his 6 seasons of AFL and almost 50 games of footy there have been very few indications that he has the skill, belief or attitude to make it - i can only go by what i see on the tele so cannot say which one is at the heart of it. For comparative purposes (i know how all you DL's love stats and comparisons) you only have to look at Eric Hipwood who was picked up in the same draft, 5 selections after Sam. The key stats are that he has played more than double the games and kicked more than triple the goals (should have been much more had he learned how to kick straight). I don't think Eric is anything super special. He is a good, tall, mobile forward but you could see in his first 1-2 seasons that he had the goods to cut it at AFL level and is worth almost 2 goals per game. We refer to Sam's finals form as the potential he has, which has been the carrot being dangled before us all that has/had all of us accepting of Hogan's departure as nothing to be too concerned about. Give him a solid 5 game block in the VFL and if he is kicking 4-5 games consistently and Brown is not impactful, then i'd give him one more crack. I do hope for the team, that we are not in this situation though.