BW511

I know ANB gives a lot to our game plan with his running but he’s the ultimate ‘almost’ man. Almost has a decent game, almost kicks a goal, almost picks the ball up, almost gets rid of the ball in a tackle, almost takes a mark.

There should be a lot of nervous blokes heading into the review. At least 6 who are horribly scared of body contact I’d love to see one game this year where we hit up targets instead of bombing it on heads. Fritta and Kossie are not taking marks against this backline in the dry, no chance in the wet

Horrible place to come back from injury, cold and wet Geelong at night I’d give Clarry another week as a precaution

100% agree. Being a number 1 draft pick outside of Victoria would be relatively stress free, even if they do eat each other alive in the WA media. The eagles mids might even rediscover some form when an 18yo kids comes in and runs rings around them from day one

I couldn’t care less as these things happen during winter but I was told earlier in the week, not when they lost.

I’ve got a mate that works for CFC, it was a thing

I was worried about him losing some leg speed through last year, very happy to be wrong. He is looking very sharp and confident in his body!

Point of shoulder to the chin, he’s gone

Take the win, onto next week. I hope for all our sake that we can find an extra 5-10% in our skills McVee is the find of the year, he’s a smooth mover, doesn’t ever seem panicked and lands in the right spot all the time

I know it’s tough for the real diehards to hear but I fully understand why we don’t get 40,000 to every game. This is absolutely putrid

Roo is going to be something. Demands the footy and delivers

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