D Rev

I don't want to be disrespectful, but I don't think Richmond are very good. This may shock a few of you. We want to be building momentum towards the finals, as well as making sure as much of the squad is AFL-ready and at peak fitness at the right time. Given Brayshaws retirement, the injuries and our draw, I think we are going really well at the moment. The evenness of the comp means that depth is needed to cover injuries. I like the idea of giving Fullarton a run, not just to give JVR more time up forward, but to get him "in the system" and give Max a bit of a break. We've given Schache more than enough chances IMO. Very, very happy to be proven wrong. Hunter should be given a go, either to "manage" Windsor or give Billings / Taj / Koltyn a spell. Koz to come in for any of them. Not sure I love Oliver down back - would actually love to see him up forward if he's not in the middle.

4 games in 19 days is crazy. I know the AFL wants to milk us while we are up, but they are sending us straight down. We played terribly and lost to the team that narrowly lost the GF by 4 goals. Hopefully we come back against the Tigers refreshed.

I reckon we make him sit with the Pies fans at the KB game ;)

Thats a really good point. Nowhere near our best but only beaten by last years GFs by 4 goals. Shows how much upside we have.

We looked the better team at both ends of the ground. The midfield was a good battle, we probably won out in the end. The forward line looks so much better with BBB, Kozzie is a weapon wherever he goes, allows Chin and others more space. TMac was streets ahead of Tommo, the backline structured up very, very well.

This is a really good point, I was surprised at how low his stats looked in the game as it didn't talk to his influence. Even the 1%s where he disrupted the other teams ability to move the ball or take possession. Really impressive stuff and allowed us to take back momentum specifically when they were getting a wriggle on in the 3rd. Great problem to have!

I thought Kozzie was incredibly damaging for us and disruptive to the Doggies today. He didn't get a lot of it, but everytime he got near the ball, he impacted the play - almost always in our favor. Do we look to get him more time in the midfield, or is this robbing Peter to pay...someone else. The forward line looked MUCH better today with Chandler, ANB, BBB, JVR, Fritta and whoever was resting. Is this something we can / should do more of?

This is a great point. That one infringement was paid off the ball means that doing this is not OK, and it should be paid everytime.

1. I couldn't disagree more. He has regularly stood up in big games and often won them single handed. Last Round of 2021 is just one example. 2. Goodwin does seem slow to adapt, losing Yze will hurt in this aspect. 3. As per 2. 4. You have to remember that we didnt have our first choice, or even second choice, forwards in. Kozzi and Petty will make a big difference. I've been critical of Schache and continue to be. Nothing personal, he doesn't seem AFL KPP level.

Hodgey would rather drink poison than give us a compliment. Pretty easy to punch down when we are playing poorly.

I used to get a scarf every season with my membership, but don't think it's happened since Covid? Have they changed something, or is there a bunch of scarves somewhere in a cupboard in Jolimont with my name on them?

Or Jordan

I do understand the frustration of going out in straight sets, but I'm still more upset by the years 2007-2017, and so anythin better than that is like the Swiss flag (a big plus). If we kicked straight against the Pies it would have been 18.8, not 8.18 (I think) - which would have won us the game. Poor kicking is poor football. I agree on the point around Stafford in particular, in many ways it feels like the forward line is the forgotten child behind defense and the mids.

Really good post / thread and thanks very much for it. I think it's easy to forget how we got in the position we are today, and the people that helped us along the way. Also easy to forget is the people (and structures) that got in the way. I maintain that Cam Schwab should still be tied to a goal post at the MCG for every fan to have a running shot at. The way he undermined the coaches and tried to make the club all about him still irks me, as does the fact that we had 8+ on the board in 2013 while Hawthorn had 4-5 (and were winning flags). BUT - we've learned from all that now and have the structures and mindset to adapt to the changing game (and league), and build a winning club and team.

Some excellent points on the quality of journalism here. If you look around the league, how many Ruckman would you actually rate? The answer is not that many. The game has changed where a quality ruckman is a very rare commodity and a quality tap ruckman rarer still. Grundy is a better tap ruckman, but not as good as Gawn around the ground and particularly not as good as filling holes in forward or back (which is so important these days). That is some of the real advantages of Max, not only is he a real presence in the midfield and around the ground (applying pressure etc), but he can fill holes and take big grabs all over the ground. Its like having an extra KPP on every line. Do we need a quality back-up ruck to win the flag? We didn't in 2021 and did pretty well without one last year. Im pretty sure Trac even got a hit out in last years finals? What is more important than a 'ruckman' is someone who will apply pressure and cover ground, get to contests etc. Hopefully Fullarton and Schache (I have been very down on him previously) can do a good job of it, as well as T Mac and JVR where required.