BDA

He'll be a big loss for sure but i think we can manage in the meantime. Although not the circumstances i would choose the best time to bring a young player in is when the team is winning and confidence is high. This is the perfect time to introduce Petty and get a few games into him. Hopefully he can find his feet against the Hawks and be ready to handle Reiwoldt and Lynch with Tomlinson. Hopefully May is back for Round 8 to match up on Buddy. He is still a terrific player and manhandled Aaron Francis last Thursday. As good as Tomlinson was yesterday on Hawkins I would fear for him against Franklin.

This appointment has been made on merit. Anyone suggesting otherwise has obviously not bothered to do any research. Her accomplishments with respect to delivery of major projects are truly impressive and we are in the very fortunate position that she has been leveraging those connections to get our home base approved. I believe this appointment can only help that process. This is not a token appointment to tick a gender equality box. She is the best person for the job. End of story. Best of luck Kate.

100% agree Deever. His tackling pressure is elite. He nails his tackles. Every time.

I think it’s brilliant that Fritsch has started to deliver on his talent. I listened to Kane Cornes on SEN this morning and he reckons it was a break game for him yesterday. But I think there’s some revisionism going on in this thread. Let’s not start re-writing history. Like many of the players on our list there were justifiable doubts about whether he would make the grade. Fritsch’s name was bandied about as a possible trade option to allow us to pick up a Gunston or similar player. At the time plenty thought it was worth considering, myself included. Thankfully he has come good and any talk of trading him has now been firmly put to bed. But can the hindsight harry’s on this thread please give it a rest.

Presents so well, never shirks contact, great hands. When the radar is working is a very potent weapon. Made a couple of mistakes yesterday. He had Kossie wide open in the goal square at one stage but fluffed the straight forward cross field kick to him under zero pressure. Tends to make these errors when he has time on his hands. Reading what Chocco has done for Langdon I hope he can help Fritsch to settle in those scenarios. Add more composure and execute better and he’ll be A-grade. Can't wait to see how he goes with BB in the team.

Sounds like you’re now on board FD which is great I think you’ve tipped against every round thus far. Do you mind continuing to do so? You’ve developed into a luck charm for us i reckon ?

There is plenty of life left in the old stagers, Jetta and Jones. We'll need to manage their legs during the season i'm sure but on the evidence of yesterday neither of them should be dropped for the Hawthorn game

Very impressed with his game yesterday. Reading the play, marking the ball, beautiful by foot. He's approaching A grade for mine.

Well connected, an impressive CV and perfect for leading the home base project. Everything i've heard is that she's a great operator. I think she be a good president for us.

Melks has to play next week. He wasn;t great today for sure, but there is no point giving someone a run and then dropping them next game. Completely defeats the purpose

For the life of me i cannot understand why people give spargo a hard time. Vice like in the tackle and excellent with ball in hand. Radar was a little off today but he's a fantastic small forward. Delighted he is finally getting the respect he deserves.

Salem has to be in the conversation. He's having an excellent season.

A tad harsh there P2J. Petty for May. Give BB a run if he's fit. He's the only player currently not playing that's a cert to start if fit. I reckon it'll have to TMac that gives way. He's done a good job, much better than i thought he would, but BB has to play. Possibly Hibberd but i reckon it could possibly be Rivers than than Jetta although i'm perfectly happy if Hibberd has to wait a while longer yet to get a spot.

Just got back from the game. Great win and particularly so given I had to endure the worst Geelong [censored] I’ve ever come across sitting in front of me mouthing off for the whole game. An absolute stooge. I’ll have to watch a replay but just a few observations that may not have been mentioned before (I haven’t read through the thread yet) Tomlinson did a great job in the circumstances holding Hawkins to a couple of goals. That bloke is a brute but Tomlinson held his own. Our defensive structures stayed intact despite the loss of May. He’s a huge loss but we should be able to cope reasonably well in his absence I think When Spargo tackles someone they stay tackled Hunt is our most improved player. Defending like I’ve never seen him defend before. Fritsch can go from the sublime to the ridiculous in the space of a minute Viney is a bull. Best game for quite a while. Salem was superb. Never wastes possession and had his direct opponent in his pocket for most of the afternoon. Marked every ball that came near him We brought real intensity to the show. The type of heat that holds up in September. Put the game to bed early in the 4th when I was genuinely apprehensive about where the game was heading. The negative – we don’t put teams away. Conversion must improve because it’ll cost us one day soon. Hopefully the addition of BB will make a big difference here. Go Dees

If North believe in themselves and show a bit of composure the Crows are there for the taking. They are not taking advantage of forward entries and kicks at goal at the moment

Hail, rain, sunshine or snow. In the past we've found ways to lose no matter what the conditions. Maturity and endeavour will see us through today.

My weather app says rain most of the day turning to a mixture of sunshine and showers around game time with the potential for heavy rain again towards the end of the match. Hope you're right though. I think I’m in an exposed seat and don’t fancy a soaking.

Nah. There are shinier things to occupy the media. Sydneys new kids on the block, the doggies silky midfield, Ports over-powering of the tiges, the saints come from the clouds win (remember all the experts who tipped them preseason, they’ll jump straight back on after yesterday) And remember we haven’t beaten anyone yet, we’ve been lucky to play teams when we did, they had injuries, the cats are short of danger and Cameron, they are old and past it anyways etc. etc. A hard fought, meat and potatoes win will do nicely. Keeps the focus off us for another week.

GWS had an added incentive to beat the pies last night. They hold Collingwood's first round pick this year. Pity we couldn't get our hands on it. Imagine the mirth and merriment death riding that pick for the year and based on last nights performance it could well land in the Top 5.

Still gutted for the girls. Goddam fixture stitched us.

The weather has turned so looks like it’ll be a slog. If so, not sure Melks will be able to show his silky skills. Maybe Sparrows grunt is preferable on a day like today? Anways, this decision won’t be the winning or losing of the game. Melks needs a run so lets see if he has shaken off his putrid 2020 form and can be a contributor this year.

Horrible morning out there. I predict a slog for 3 quarters but the superior fitness of the Dees to subdue the tired old cats legs in the last. Dees by 4 goals

I understand the scepticism but I think the Weid can be a very capable second forward. He’s looked very good in spells but when in poor nick offers very little. Hoping he can find his way back to form because I believe our flag winning team will have BB and the Weid as spearheads. Thanks to everyone who provided a running commentary and wrote up some excellent reports. Very much appreciated.

Anzac eve would be a tough first up game for BB. Prefer he gets a run against the Hawks

He's a fantastic player. Would love to see him in the red and blue.