BW511

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

I read (maybe on here) that he heard a crack in his neck, that’s what the concern was

Just shows that we are still very much a defensively minded team. There’s people who are a lot more qualified than me to decide on strategy but it’s bold to be happy to give up the ball in the hope you win it back. Works beautifully if teams kick it in the air to May/Lever/Petty. Not so great when they can find targets 20-30m in front of them

Even with the replays, it looked like a general play type incident that warrants a free kick and a few choice words, nothing more. I think he will get 3 because of the stretcher but I am not convinced it even warranted one.

It’s definitely part of a broader strategy to win the ball back post clearance. Interesting shift in mindset as the ‘bulls’ we rely on become less important through this stretch of the year. Im not convinced Viney would think it’s keeping them fresher, he had some huge body contact on multiple occasions last night I know people don’t like talking about the opposition but watching Rowell and Anderson work together was a treat, they are a very good pair. Anderson in particular was everywhere

What about the down the field free kick in our goal square which caused the scuffle at 3/4 time? They didn’t show Ben King running from behind play to belt someone in the ribs. Just said cameras didn’t catch the incident.

To be fair, Anderson was the best player on the ground by some margin. He went very close to dragging them over the line on his own

Feel like the clearance losses are not by accident, I remember Hawthorn were big on this. Problem is we still don’t have great field kicks getting their hands on the footy for the next possession. Going from Melbourne’s colder week to warmer and greasy conditions made for a very difficult affair. Suns are better than I thought they would be and Anderson had an absolutely incredible day. Was Humphrey the player JT was super keen on? He looks the goods

I’ve always thought Sexton from GC was good at AFL level, if only a little patchy. He’d be too good at this level

Terrific work, Andy. Maysie is very well spoken but also not afraid of the truth.

I’d like to know how intimidated you are, Andy? I’m not sure whether he’d actually answer honestly but I’d like to know how he feels about 1 on 1 defending of years gone by versus the modern zoning. Is it difficult to wrap your head around the fact that your direct opponent could kick goals that have very little to do with your own efforts?

Big test for these boys!

The sub rule is just ridiculous for players pushing for selection. Laurie had 5 mins of footy for the week and then he’ll probably get dropped to get ‘match conditioning’ Absolutely bizarre setup

Was a very clean hit, just split the middle of the wrong bloke. Sparrow is tough

Clarry and Trac are still only mid 20’s, we need to complement them rather than find another version of them. Imagine how good Nick Daicos would be for us being fed by Clarry, Trac and Max

I’ve watched a few highlights of Reid and admit he’s very good. His recent game in the Gather Round was apparently superb against bigger SANFL bodies. He looks to be quite good aerially which is a huge bonus for a mid. But.. There’s something about the fend offs that bothers me, I hate it when anyone does it and a young guy that’s built his game around it just doesn’t excite me. Tackling has never been better and most AFL players are still strong enough to get a handball away in a tackle. For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t want to risk 3 picks on one player however I can see the appeal from an immediate impact perspective

Does that count kick ins?

This was my favourite part of the entire game! F#%* Off and let me kick a goal

If it’s a confidence thing, he could not be lower. I think he’s either carrying an injury or worried about a re-injury, I reckon he’s only able to go at 85%. He’s been poor 1 on 1 and he’s not hitting anything at full steam (opponents/contests or the ball). Even his kicking looks restrained

Daicos could literally walk away from Brayshaw