Ollie fan

Riewoldt strikes me as a much better special comments man than most.

Watching Adelaide v Brisbane, I am struck by how much the umpires just don't pay! BTW agree 100% with jnrmac above. But I watch players dropping the ball in tackles all the time - if this was paid regularly for just a week, the whole game would change. Throwing the ball: may as well scrap the need to handball. But also: a free kick is paid with the offender holding the ball in his hands, who then just places it in the ground. What happened to 50m? This has been a trend across the board recently - Rivers does it a lot, and don't get pinged. Whether it is us or them that does it, it deserves a 50m penalty. Not to mention running too far, paying marks on short kicks - the list goes on and on. Simplify the rules and then enforce them!

100% agree. Get rid of the knee-jerk reaction rules (eg rucks nominating to avoid third man up), get rid of grey area rules - so , for example, have no deliberate OOB, or make it out on the full, or last touch, but something that is CLEAR - and completely revamp holding the ball.

Don't agree that he marked it - another split second , and maybe yes, but it was ok not to pay it. And in the first quarter Petty held on to one in the forward pocket for longer- not paid - and the spoil was over the shoulder - not paid. I don't actually complain about either decision. As i have said in another thread, the problem is not the umpires: it's the rules.

I don't like him, but on this I agree with him. Essentially, the fault is not the umpires, it's the rules. They need to be much simpler and clearer. But the AFL keeps fiddling with them, with knee-jerk reactions which are often completely stupid. And the AFL being the AFL, they never ever admit that they have got it wrong. Simplest case: nominating a ruckman, to avoid two ruckmen up. But there are many. Holding the ball needs a complete revamp and simplification.

I think JVR is following a very clear trajectory. He has some good and some bad games, but always tries. He is young but has aggression. I think next year will be the one where he will really emerge, and will end up being a Brereton-style CHF and a champion.

Well, we win a LOT more than we lose, and if the defence is keeping our opponents well below average levels, that paints a pretty good picture.

Should have switched TMac?? McKay and Curnow kicked 3 goals between them. TMac made a couple of mistakes, but how many goals would they have kicked if we had eg Turner on McKay? I am VERY glad they did not make that switch.

I have said on other threads, and truly believe, the last night was an extremely important game for us in a very positive way. We had no right to win it or even get close after the disastrous start. It showed that this year, the character and determination of our team is off the charts, which, in my view, sets us well and truly on the path to a flag.

I have never been so proud of a loss. We had no right to get anywhere near winning. To get so close was a testament to courage, character and determination. I believe this game sets us up for an absolute crack at the flag. To me, it is the most important game we have played this year.

Anyone who bags the team after that should be shot! Unbelievable effort!!

Don't Port have a surprisingly good record at Geelong? Or am i just imagining that?

I want surprised about it at all. They've been like that for years, with the particular stars being Hawkins, Cameron and Danger. None of them has EVER infringed the rules; any free kick against them is plainly wrong. And I have never seen any of them pinged for dissent.

Is because the MCG no longer checks tickets. It's appalling. I don't know what they can be thinking.

They should but they won't

I think Rivers on Cameron is our best match up - will keep up with him for pace and will force Cameron to think a bit defensively.

Next week will be up to our defenders. I truly hope they do well. I can't stand seeing Geelong up the top....

This is such a good game for us - an opportunity for the coaches to really study the weaknesses in these teams. Geelong clearly have a powerful forward line but their rucks and mids are getting thrashed. We need to exploit that. With Carlton, they are doing a great job of getting good attacking clearances from the middle. We need to make sure we have a defensive sweeper at centre bounces - perhaps they could give that role to Sparrow. But it is all on display for us to learn from.

Apparently the coach and the team laughed at the mistakes at half time. After half time we were much better. Why criticise the coaching technique?

I think it is completely obvious that his confidence is shot. Posters say his attitude is like he wants to be in Adelaide. I disagree completely. I believe if he kicks a couple of goals in a row we will then see a completely different player. The question is: should he go to Casey to get those goals?

Thanks for the hint of them being in YouTube which I didn't know. Things us older supporters love about that era: umpires who don't affect the result. Holding the ball paid whenever it is there which makes players look to get the ball out and keeps the play open (Alastair Clarkson has said that if they paid holding the ball, a lot of the present scrums would go). Umpires who can, and do, bounce the ball all over the ground without fanfare and manage to get the ball to bounce high and straight. And in our team: all of it but with special love to the great Robert Flower, and also to Sean Wight who seems to have invented the spoiler/interceptor role 30 years before Jake Lever reinvented it.

In 1990 We either win, or got thrashed. What I mean is, we were either right on our game or right off it. Because of the draw between Collingwood and West Coast, we had an extra unplanned week off and when we eventually played, you could tell from the warm up that we were off our game - and so it transpired. I thought that year was the one that got away.

Completely agree about Warren Dean - he was great but had a crippling knee problem. I am also a believer that we would have won against Carlton - and certainly would have put up a better showing than Hawthorn. The character of that team was amazing. If these games are available anywhere I too would love to know about it.

100% well said