BW511

I can absolutely see the merit of it from a purely competitive position but contest and defence is the least sexy thing in AFL. A very large portion of this board is died on supporters lamenting our boring and negative style.

I doubt the Pies care about that. They have been ‘too old’ for years and it’s not stopped them yet We are in danger of becoming very St Kilda like

I think the Pies could bottom out and quickly skip back past us. They never have trouble attracting players and will forever be a destination club. If we go full rebuild mode, it could well be the death of the club. With an aging supporter base and a gameplan that is not attractive for the next generation, things could get very dark, very quickly. To win games now and in the foreseeable future, we are more reliant than ever on Trac/Gawn/May being fit and heavily involved. By the end of 2027 I doubt we have any of those three playing, without even considering Clarry & Pickett.

Trac looked noticeably white in the face and quite unhappy all day. I’m no doctor but he wasn’t a picture of health

Today was a classic example of one team wanting to win more - North were running harder, tackling harder (sticking them) and more disciplined. They didn’t exactly shoot the lights out with any part of the game but they came with a much larger appetite for the battle

He’s now going by Chol’s Royce, from the Hawks fans

Perfect chance to give Gawny reduced minutes at the least.

@binman, I’m sure you’ve heard this but there is plenty of good insight into the way the game is shifting, tactically.

It would be fun to see him steamroll a few blokes on a lead, in a way that our current forwards don’t. I would say the end is coming quite quickly for May, so playing him up forward will only speed up that process.

I agree entirely. I think I’ve mentioned it a few times over the years - we have to work far too hard to create a scoring opportunity and when we get the chance, we are absolutely cooked.

Our forward line game plan is still based on defence first. Koz might be the only one who gets a license to do as he pleases. It’s very hard to be defensively minded and create opportunistic crumbing goals

Watching on TV, I remember it happening and definitely thought it was crude. Not surprised he was cited

If we had someone to negate Finn Callaghan in the last quarter (all quarters) I think the result plays out differently. His size and running power will overwhelm a lot of teams this year. It’s not always pretty but he definitely sparks action

The rain helped us immensely, we likely lose by 5-6 goals if it was yesterday’s weather. Loved seeing XL’s incredible composure on debut, the new faces being involved and T-Mac having a ripper. There was plenty of positives but we continue to have a host of players who just do not contribute at all

I believe 23k in that weather, versus GWS, should be considered a win. The Grand Prix had 130k and that’s an enormous, global sport.

Just dropped by to say XL looks like he’s played 100 games already, he’s very good

Absolutely amazing. No one would have expected this, huge for their kids, who all had a red hot go

He’s become a very good player. Would welcome him in with open arms

The speed with which the ball is moving is definitely making me nervous.

I think a reserves/U19’s/development squad that plays prior to senior home games would get people invested again. Also gives up and coming players a chance to get into senior systems earlier

A defensive back pocket with his skill set is much harder to find than a long-kicking HBF

Sorry, if the choice was between trading McVee or Rivers, I’d keep McVee. This was in response to someone suggesting a trade of McVee

I’d send Rivers off and keep knuckles, Judd is much more valuable in my eyes.

Change of personal circumstances is curious?

What’s interesting is Melbourne were at the forefront of training hard and often (Burgo) Every other club is playing catch up. At the moment they are going down the ‘start earlier, start harder’ route across the board. This mantra will mature and things will settle but for now, being match fit in February is not winning anyone a flag