Gawndy the Great

Don’t underestimate the heat that top of the ladder position brings. Yes the Dons were playing for finals but top team is extra incentive. I can just see us coughing it up tomorrow though. Dogs have some genuine injury concerns now worth Shache and Bruce. We need to plant Gawn down there when we play them next and have Kozzy and Spargs at his feet. It’s the key to beating them.

It’s 11-8 hardly a factor at this stage. Still a quarter go though.

Dogs look quite lazy today. Pressure on the ball carrier goes along way to quell their midfield dominance.

But hang on , nothing happened to Collins with Viney’s elbow and he got two weeks… Selwood hit had a much higher likelihood of serious injury… and yet it’s just a fine.. this is the crap I just cannot put up with.

I was one of those and thank god no one important listens to me the n list management suggestions.

You’d think they hadn’t lost a game in 2 years if you listen to the hype in the media.

We have about 2-3 years left with Brown and TMac at best. Sam is not part of the solution. Need to do what we can to recruit a ready made KPP. Dracting a KPP is equally risky as keeping Weid so I’d only have it as a backup.

I’m pretty sure he’s probably embarrassed given the responses and hence trying to deflect. But if he’s trolling then why wouldn’t we have a zero tolerance policy and ban him as I have zero patience for that type of behaviour.

A simple and respectful no to OP. I don't get why people get so emotional and critical of peoples opinions - no need to get nasty. I get where you are coming from, he lacks too much common-sense, ethics and integrity, which would upset the mental balance of our team. if we could recruit him purely on the basis of his football talent, then I would actually take a look at it as I think he has a good understanding in how to play the CHF hit up role. Probably still in the top 5 in the comp. Set shot kicking is also pretty good.

Saints will take it to em next week. No Danger, Selwood,Toohie, Rohan likely. Cameron and Mith probably come back though.

Greene is so harshly judged by the umps. Clear as day.

Watch him get off.

Upset looming here. BT pathetic but nice again.

That is very much an eye of the beholder statement and whilst I personally agree with you, it would be dangerous for the AFL to hold a similar view and become stagnant. why do you think there is so much done to stamp out congestion or concussion or umpiring these are all very real issues. If the AFL withhold any license for a Tassie team, then you’d expect a big drop in attendance and viewership in that state. Whilst they are not a huge population, it would be enough to put a dent into the AFL revenue streams.

Disrupt or be disrupted. Just because this model works today doesn't mean it will be sustainable and the right model moving into the future. There are countless business examples how leading organisations no longer exist today because they think they were untouchable. The AFL has been gifted the number 1 spot in the country, not by any other reason other than the incompetency of the other codes. I mean just look at all the issues the AFL faces today - poor umpiring, fixturing, Victoria bias, dwindling junior participation, concussion etc. Any half decent leadership in Australian Soccer would have wiped AFL and the other codes off the map. It is only a matter of time until it regroups and mounts another serious challenge - imagine if Australia were to host a World Cup in the next decade or so. If you cannot provide a pathway and community in the major cities , then other codes will and that will give them the springboard to launch into the other cities. As i said, i knew my position would be unpopular, but we need to further nationalise in the best interest of the game.

No doubt this will be a largely an unpopular view, but in the interest of further nationalising the AFL, something has to give out of the Victorian heartland. We just have to many Victorian based clubs in the AFL. In the next 1-2 decades I would love to see a comp that fielded 3 teams in WA & SA ; 2 from QLD and NSW; 1 in Tassie; 1 in NT; 1 in ACT and the rest (5) in VIC. I am not delusional on the likelihood of this happening as it will require the relocation of several Victorian AFL licenses. Sadly this would mean Norf, WB, Saints & MFC at this stage would be the ones that would be most at risk (based on membership numbers alone) to relocate - that is just my opinion. I wouldn't mess with the number of team (18) in the comp, i think this is somewhat set in stone. The Suns issue can be resolved once they break the stalemate of success. All it will take is a few finals appearances and success - GWS has amassed 30K members and a lot of that is recently due to the GF appearance. Dont forget that the GC is the fastest growing city in Australia, so there is definitely no limit on commercial benefits available, which is why the AFL targeted the GC in the first place. I hope the first step is giving Tassie a team. I think Norf are in the driver's seat here. One poster suggested a fixturing option which would see a portion of away games based in Melbourne, that would give something to the local members - but no doubt the relocation will drive most of their supports away from AFL all together - albeit it will only be a temporary.

@david_neitz_is_my_dad what draft pool will you be part of? We need a key forward pronto. ?

Its about throwing a spanner in the works. Our system stacks up - no doubt as we have beaten almost all teams in the top 8. But we cannot remain complacent and settle for our system vs opposition to see who can execute better on game day. This is all about coaching, which in finals, is it will boil down to.

David King?

That is why we need a completely defensive minded contested midfielder in stoppage. JJ has the tank to roam the defensive wing and will work harder then Brayshaw in the spread. Brayshaw has the contested and stoppage craft and now with his improved attitude towards role playing, will be an ideal candidate to play that defensive role in the centre and stoppages - he wont do the stupid things like trying to take on 3 tacklers. He is smart and will help the team transition from in-to-out. If there is a tag involved, then Brayshaw probably stays on the wing and JJ or Harmes come in... nevertheless it would be worth experimenting to see if we could do something a little less predictable come finals.

I genuinely believe this was a good ol stitch up. The AFL handed down orders for Christiansen to pass this straight onto the AFL... possibly as one poster has said, because of the Fritsch incident against Norf or the half a dozen other incidents from other teams that resulted in fines etc. Why we end up being that club... is it luck? i hardly think so - we are easy pickings and probably dont have any relevant authority or Melbourne people in the commission or AFL management. Hopefully Viney's fires right up and comes out swinging (metaphorically unless of course he was Hawkins or Franklin) against the Cats in 3 weeks time.

i think the AFL noticed that our free kick differential against GC wasn't less than -10 so decided to take actions into their own hands.

Just in case people were looking for some facts. Selwood eye gouging If Viney gets weeks and this was in contrast let go, you tell my that doesn't make your blood boil? All I ask for is consistency. Just like umpiring on game-day we are getting absolutely torched. If you want to make a change to the rules for serious misconduct do it in the off season. The fact that it has gone straight to the tribunal, is an absolute setup by the AFL to allow them to side-step any precedent / decision matrix to make an example of yet another MFC player.

Well if you look at my commentary on this thread, you'll know that i never condoned the elbow. i have maintained that this was unnecessary. My view has been that on the acts so far this year that fall into this category (Selwood eye gouging, Mummy dropping knees, swinging elbows Hawkins / Franklin) have been let go with a fine. We have been on the receiving end of too many 'lets make a stand' verdicts and in the spirit of fairness this should be let through. Also the media are glorifying this ridiculously asking for 3-4 weeks + .. Get a grip. Collins pulled him down - Viney has said the same. but no doubt will pay the price purely on the fact that his elbow was placed upon his neck with low-medium force.