BW511

Massive news. The coaching merry go round in full swing again this year! I don’t like him one bit but will begrudgingly have Tom Lynch, thanks

I think Powell Pepper is similar to a Zorko. They are antagonists but if someone were to go after them physically, they are not pivotal to their team and the game rolls on around them.

I mentioned a few weeks back that if you go after our leaders we are vulnerable. Port did exactly that. Belt up Max and sit someone on Viney. It’s happened before and it will happen again

It’s absolutely absurd that it can be awarded against us on the night and then the MRP ban him post match. AFL is becoming a parody of itself

Is it too late to call up the great man?

The more I think about the way we play, the less I think we maximise our list. Sitting the ball on the head of Max/Grundy/T-Mac/JVR/BBB is not conducive to anything other than injuries over the long term. Likewise, playing the boundary gives our smalls the least amount of room to work in and basically lessens their chance of being effective. ANB, Kozzie, Chin, Spargs are all being asked to do their job in the worst possible circumstances, similarly all the talls The’ve all given it a go over an extended period of time but the novelty surely wears off

All those sides have a mix of inside/out. We have a mix of inside or further inside. JHF is going to be such a damaging player and with Butters & Rozee around him, they have a very good midfield for the next 5 years

Interestingly, I think JVR was amongst a small few that genuinely wanted to impact the contest. Yes, he gave a way a couple of frees but he wanted to be involved.

We may have 2 of the better mids in the comp and 2 of the better rucks but for all their brilliance there are serious flaws in their respective games. Teams used to beat us by bringing big mids in to match Clarry at the drop, now they bank on smaller, skilful types to just run away from us. We lack that balance that Collingwood, Brisbane and Port have around the ball. Trac almost won us the game single handedly but gee, he fumbles and shanks kicks a lot too. He’s like Dangerfield in his way to impact a contest and then completely undo his hard work. In contrast, Butters had a night to remember but he made almost every possession count, same for Rozee. This wasn’t a one off performance from them, they’ve been doing it for weeks. The game has adapted in a short time to counter our 2021 method and I think we might have hung on a little too long.

Can’t expect to win games of footy with 15-20 minutes at this level, especially as we start playing better sides. I hope there are a few blokes feeling guilty for some appalling efforts. We lack a bit of appetite for the contest and have an air of arrogance about us at the moment. Not sure we are where we hope to be at this stage of the year, particularly from a gameplay and cohesion standpoint

Regardless of what happens tonight, the side is not united like we were in 2021. We’ve gone back to being a team of individuals and it’s painful to watch. I’m not convinced that winning post clearance is a method we should adopt (thanks Yze) as we don’t have the footskills going back the other way when we play the top teams

There’s a real hesitation that creeps over the team when teams bring proper heat. We’ve got midfield ‘bulls’ being torched by 75kg whippets, 100kg+ ruckman getting knocked around by flankers and the aerial presence of an emu

Is Hunter the only bloke in the league who takes a handball receive on the chest. He’s the most scared bloke in the AFL

This game is a shining example of why we need quick and skilful mids. Trac, Clarry and Viney would all be 5-10kg heavier than their opposition

Looks a gun

As mentioned earlier in the thread by others, not sure Salem/Rivers/Bowza/McVee in a position really alters the opposition setup. If it’s gaming Hinkley, it’s pretty half hearted

Really hope the 2023 version of Salem is channeling his 2021 form. Was rushed in last year and the whole team paid for it

4 interstate games out of the remaining 14 rounds (13 games) Of which 3 are Adelaide, Sydney and Tassie (short flights) Good result

Real hard one to get a proper read on. He’s under a great deal of pressure coaching and with the allegations weighing on him. Part of me wonders if he expected to turn things around quicker than he has. Doesn’t strike me as the kind of person that would take a step backwards to go forward

100%. JJ would be a regular 25 possession player if he played week in and week out and he’s very, very good defensively. He’s really dependable and consistent, without the flashes that Sparrow or Harmes might have. If it were my team, he’d be the fourth mid behind Clarry, Trac and Viney. Thinking on it more, I wanted someone to get me to finals over the course of the entire year, It’s JJ. If I needed a moment that could change the course of a final in one play, maybe a big tackle or bump from Sparrow or a lucky break from Harmes.

Hunter and Langdon’s involvement is patchy because we are more willing to use the middle of the ground in attack. Their role is to stay as wide as possible to create space between them. Viney has adjusted to start using the first option and keeping things simple, it’s working wonders. Feel like we still haven’t had a game in which we have had the pedal to the metal for 3-4 quarters, if that comes, watch out.

Honestly thought this would be a formality because the AFL could not possibly soften the brand in this manner. I’m stunned

This is almost identical, Fogarty takes his eyes off the ball for a second to assess and goes for the footy. Fogarty is probably worse because he’s going with the flight, JVR was coming from 90 degrees to the ball so a more realistic attempt. Ballard had no injuries at all - albeit assessed after the stretcher Murphy had a broken nose and blood everywhere

I’m confident this does not happen, he loves it

This is the crux of it, Van Rooyen did the right thing to take his eyes off the ball and assess the best way to get near the ball. If he ran at the flight of the ball ala Jonathon Brown or Riewoldt in their famous marks, he would have absolutely murdered him