BW511

I think Freo have bulked him up too much to play ruck, need to be very careful of going down the Nic Nat path

With 8 weeks until the Grand Final, loading now makes more sense for outright performance than the Bye round. The problem is how teams manage winning games as well. Collingwood could have done some extra work at the bye week or leading into it and going again now with a good buffer at the top of the ladder. Loading and tapering is (hopefully) a linear process. It’s not something you do once and you’re done. Otherwise a preseason would only be 4-6 weeks long. Ideally you are building up, backing off (recovering/tapering) building up higher again, backing off and so on. In any other sport, the taper would begin the week of your event/tournament, possibly a fortnight before depending on discipline, because that form post-tapering doesn’t last forever. Definitely not for 8 entire weeks until a Grand Final

He’s certainly doing himself no harm with that performance.

Seeing the pies shell shocked like this has been much more satisfying than I expected. Hope the blues can bring it for another 2 quarters

This. Who thought this would work

The other thing is the top end kids have been recognised from a long way out from their draft year, so they have been in elite programs for many years (rep/state/national teams/vfl) He’s been influential at VFL level already so he can cope with the bigger bodies and speed without a problem. Theres probably 4-5 blokes in the 23 he could replace tomorrow so on immediate impact it’s worth it alone, without even talking 3,4 and 5 years down the track.

Seems this is a case of Liam’s availability not being strong enough to overcome his deficiencies - which could be work ethic, professionalism,skill, character etc

I’ve always been against the idea of going all in on 1 kid but I’m coming round to the idea. He can play anywhere and influence games which is very, very rare. Using Gus as an example, he is recognised for his versatility. Reid would likely be an upgrade on him across the entire ground. More damaging than Gus from the middle, more damaging from HB and certainly more damaging up forward. Not to mention foot skills and athleticism that Gus could only dream of - I realise Gus is a very good footballer but he’s not Harley Reid. In short, go all in for Reid

We look a little exposed for leg speed here, getting wrapped up a lot

This significantly dents Brisbane’s premiership hopes. He’s helped transform their side. They need him far more than the pies need Daicos

How many inside bulls would it cost to buy a Rozee?

100%

I’d much rather Smith on a wing than Hunter but that ship has sailed. Not sure Langdon is doing a great deal at the moment either

His marketing value far exceeds his football value, No from me. Apparently upset because he’s being played out of his preferred position. He’d have no hope in our stringent system

I’m guilty of turning the TV off with 8 mins to go and 24 points down, Brisbane were doing it comfortably. What a win! Loved Riv, Max was enormous, Melksham’s last quarter was huge but that grab on the wing 1v3 was the stuff of legend. Brisbane should have won that contest and the game from there

Agree. What’s the story behind the rest of the year? Even more fascinating is that he was sick and had extremely high TOG

This may have been answered already but last year I believe they were talking 35km’s a week as the norm and then upped it from there. They may go up between 5-10% but that’s probably higher end

I’d happily argue Wanganeen, Steele and Marshall were all better than Brayshaw. Wanganeen is exactly the type of player we have been screaming out for for 5 years

I appreciate your patriotism, @binman, just think the wider footballing community doesn’t place as much emphasis on flags as you might. Collingwood, as a business, do not need to do any more than they are right now. Every function sells out instantly, their merch flies off the shelf, fans fill stadiums and in turn the clubs coffers. Furthermore, despite the fact we may be about to come good and are still very much in the hunt, a casual football fan is not going to tune into Melbourne and St Kilda tonight. I can guarantee you there were plenty of casual eyes on Collingwood and the Bulldogs last night.

If you are talking from a fans perspective, he’s achieved so much. Their membership and crowd numbers would be through the roof. They are in every game until the final siren. When on song they play brilliant, spectator friendly football. Their game is based around a 19 year old kid, so they have plenty to be excited about for the future too. In 7 years time, Nick Daicos will be 26. I think they’ll be just fine

I just want to watch an enjoyable game, there’s a reason Pies fans are turning up by the boatload to watch their club. It doesn’t have to be all out attack but wouldn’t mind seeing us give a handball receive every now and then

If Holmes jumped off the Cats now, I would be all over him. Can play inside or out, elite runner and the perfect alternative to the bang and crash of Clarry/Trac/Viney. I see Georgiades as a marginally more physical version of Fritta, with a little less natural goal kicking ability. I don't see how he fits or makes us better. I actually watched the VFL game on TV before ours on the weekend. Ginnivan is a no for me, he's a little one dimensional (offense only)

The talk of putting Trac forward more permanently is a bit desperate imo. The only way it works is if the ball gets kicked on his head in a genuine one on one. Which is very, very difficult in modern footy and even more so with our game plan. He’s not beating anyone in the air so it’s either outmuscle, create a spill and win on the deck or a flukey one in a stoppage with an actual defender rather than someone who’s also trying to win the footy

These stats are really interesting from the point of view of our team structure/gameplan. We’ve built a structure to be a contested ball team, forward of the ball. Yet we are one of the worst in the comp at our preferred style

So you think every single player in the side is ignoring the coach and blazing away? That’s harder to imagine