BW511

How does Johnson fit in our side with Fritsch? No way we can afford to play both

I’ve barely seen a less athletic looking AFL player than Hunter, he looks like he can barely run 98% of the time. @jnrmac Even under pressure, teams are not panic-kicking in the air, there’s an effort across the league to keep the ball closer to the ground when playing us. 2021 version’s great strength (Lever & May aerially) is one of 2023 version’s biggest weakness (Lever & May on the groundball)

I’d imagine Fagan & Clarko’s lawyers would be salivating right now

Prior to his injury he could not cement a spot, think he’s most similar to the Fritsch role, rather than a KPF

This is the way I see it pan out also. He takes the defensive role and we can give Petty a proper go with JVR and Brodie/Max @Redleg Tom McDonald’s size is not a worry, he just can’t get out of a trot and he can’t turn.

The old bees to honey approach, where have I heard that before?

Petty and Himmelberg would be the deadliest swingman combo in the league. I’m all for it. Himmelberg is a much better option than Riccardi or Georgiades, who are the other two that get spoken about

The thing I like about this is he’s a genuine swingman, can play either end well

I disagree. Every one of those lists goes deeper than ours. More importantly, those lists are working as a group where we have 2 guys stuck trying to do it on their own, maybe 3 with Viney.

Agree, can see the purpose of it and hope it pans out

I think we’ve gone too far with the post stoppage focus. By trying to turn Oliver and Trac into more ‘complete’ players we have taken away their greatest strength. They are phenomenal in 1 on 1 or even 1 on 2 scenarios at winning the ball and then releasing (Clarry) or bursting away (Trac). I saw multiple examples on the weekend where Petracca was standing by himself at general stoppages, it’s an all or nothing play. In the example, he doesn’t need to outmuscle anyone because if the ball doesn’t land in his lap, the damage is already done and he’s chasing tail. I realise this is probably focusing too acutely on one aspect of a greater situation but I’d like to shift the focus back to winning clearances a little more.

He can’t make decisions quick enough. Gets found out with the game speed increases we’ve seen since 2021. The decision to bring him in was odd

Our defence is a concern with Curnow and McKay, both are genuine guns. Their kicking is off for sure but they get plenty of looks. May goes to one, Lever to the other and then we are lost at sea

There was a spot up kick from Bowza in the first quarter where he hit Fritta on the lead. We probably see less than 10 of those kicks in a whole season with our current group. Elite ball use is definitely up there with our biggest problems. I am adamant our defensive game is built the way it is because of our lack of skill

At the time of Jackson leaving, i thought he wasn’t a big loss. Very inconsistent and barely showed up last year knowing he was gone. Watching yesterday’s game, his size and mobility is something we dearly lack. It feels like the whole club is trying too hard at the moment - overthinking everything, overcoaching and overcompensating. I’d love the message next week to be just release the shackles and go and play. We need a circuit breaker

Sounds like the VFL team are employing the same tactic of dumping the ball on the head of our forwards. No 19 year old KPF is going to get anywhere with that setup

Adding to my earlier post, since the flag in 2021, our best players have declined and our lesser lights have not improved. if everyone around us gets better (they have) I think we are about where we deserve to be. Better than some, not as good as the best

I listened to Gus & Gawny’s podcast during the week, which had the Wiz as guest. He was talking about how dangerous they forward group was in his prime - Wiz, Schwartz, Neitta, Cam Bruce, Brad Green. Any of them could easily kick 3-4 and often a couple of them. Not dissimilar to the Brisbane example used. The way we setup is making a difficult task, kicking goals, almost impossible as it’s having to be done amongst 24 players by the time we get it in

Would have had 30 possessions if he could pick the ball up. Trac and ANB have an incredible ability to fumble the ball

My takeaways from today and the last few weeks; We are not a united club this year. There’s a selfishness that’s crept back in and everyone is playing to protect their spot. Problem is no one is actually pulling it off. Whilst we won a flag in 2021 on the back of defence, it’s a very, very taxing style of play. Everyone bemoans our lack of front and centre and the struggles of our small forwards but they are being asked to do too much. It’s simply not sustainable for multiple games and seasons. You need 100% commitment to make this work and teams can only do it for so long. Maybe the generational talent we supposedly hold is not as great as we think. Gawn, Trac and Clarry are all very good but there are flaws in their games that hurt us. If other teams are bringing huge effort to beat us, it’s a nice feather in the cap but we eventually have to counter it. Last one to end the rant, our game plan is so bloody ordinary to watch. I can’t imagine how frustrating it is for the players. We have sucked the enjoyment out of the game in the name of percentages. I really hope the optimists among Demonland are onto something because I am not convinced we have the list to be a threat this year.

Not sure the King brothers last too long with the ball sat on their head all day

True. He would suit us well getting up the ground

I think there’s only three forwards in the game that would be useful to us, Jeremy Cameron, Toby Greene and Rankine. Not sure anyone else has the tricks to work in our stifling setup. *on the assumption we still have Kozzie and Fritta

Great post, succinct and timely! I don’t agree entirely but can appreciate your view. We’ve played 10 games so far and of those we’ve been woeful, serviceable and brilliant. I think we currently operate with far to big a gap between our best and our worst. Our best can match anyone but our best is only fleeting so far in 2023 The way the AFL is being run is causing mass chaos, they are in no man’s land. Are they an entertainment industry, a professional sporting industry or a legal industry. No one knows and I’d wager the amount of people that are genuine fans is dwindling.

I’d be tempted to risk it all for a bit more experimentation over the next few weeks. We have a lot of players out of form and a side that is miles off being cohesive. Oliver out gives us that chance. Can we give Pickett an extended run in the middle to get him into the game more consistently. He’s very much a burst player but he’s not doing the basics and needs a reset. Maybe Laurie comes in to cover his HFF/FP role. I know it’s robbing Peter to pay Paul, as they say, but he’s not kicking goals or tackling at the moment. Riv is in great form at the moment, reward him with some time on the ball. Confidence is a wonderful thing. He’s the only player on our list going better than last year. Is there an opportunity to roll Salem through the middle and see if his skills can help our forward entries - he looks fitter than he has been in years. Do we throw Jordon in for 4 weeks straight and just let him play rather than this ridiculous sub role he gets stuck with. Coming into a game in the 3rd or 4th quarter is never going to improve your game. Could potentially make me look stupid but is there an option to use Grundy as a pinch hitting XL mid in certain parts of the ground (centre square forward) Just bulldoze his way through a stoppage and roll forward. He’s pretty solid with his follow up at ground level