Stiff Arm

They were in quarantine at home, as per their red zone permit, according to numerous media sites. 2 new COVID cases in Vic

Thise rules were for all of NSW. Sydney has been a red zone for considerably longer than that.

As sure as night follows day, Jim. I was at a small gathering over the weekend, mostly people I didn't know. The woman next to me mentioned her husband works in the transport industry and just got back from Sydney. I asked why she wasn't at home isolating with him. The reply was that they were exempt from isolating and testing because he works in the transport industry, as if that is some sort of COVID barrier! Go figure. I got tested the next morning, of course.

112 cases in NSW today. Removalist driver travelled from NSW through Vic making several stops whilst infectious with Delta strain. Watch this space... ?

Good God, that reminds me of MFC supporters pre-Roos, only more angry and humorous at the same time! Nice get Bimbo!

Seems he will go inside top 20. Bugger. Given the first round can go beyond top 20, its strange the AFL's rationale to pick that number as the cut off for academy. And yet F/S's can be matched anywhere because of 'tradition'. Go figure. I'd rather see the AFL put a stop to clubs dumping future high picks knowing there is a player of the ilk of Nick Daicos coming up. IMO its not far off draft tampering What is the point of nurturing an academy player if they develop into a top 20 pick and the club can't even have a crack? Crazy AFL logic once again. Of course it was put in place the year we might've benefited, of course...

Just need Sydney to beat the Bulldogs for us to resume the position

Fantastic team pressure tonight. Well done on the team lifting the intensity

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Oliver well held that quarter

Need to answer that quickly

Really want to see Oliver kick 2 or 3 goals in 2nd half. Nothing better than an A grade mid who hits the scoreboard

Petty having a blinder. Oliver is everywhere. Lever getting pushed under ball too easily Must keep up the pressure Big 3rd quarter coming

Some great intercept marking by our backs

Oliver held without. Play on!

Port's final goal assisted by a clear throw under tackling pressure. Nice goal umpires. We have certainly turned up the pressure this week. Keep it up and they will continue to cough it up.

Sure, but they were both very good wins. While we weren't playing at our peak, its worth remembering that had we nailed a couple of [censored] house shots at goal vs GWS we would've won. Similar had the umpires not made 2 horrendous decisions in the last 2 mins vs Crows. 'Coulda, shoulda, woulda', and not making excuses, but goes to show the game can turn on a few small improvements. We definitely need to work on our effectiveness out of the centre.

I'd say the last 3 games. We were poor against the Crows for sure, but we were at our peak against Bullies and Lions the following weeks. We can turn this around. Your last sentence is very true. We have a good midfield that other clubs have developed strategies to minimise our clearance outcomes. I have no doubt Goodwin, Ooze and Choco will be going hard at this. Ben Brown is an excellent inclusion. Increase clearances, lower the eyes into the 50 and kick straighter. Please god kick straighter!

Because the VFL has been on again, off again and sometimes farcically one sided, and training and intra clubs might be a better indicator of his readiness. He has come straight back in from injury in the past and made an impact. Eg, around finals time in 2018, iirc. Just speculating, Kent...

It will be hard to move Dew.... I like the idea of Pies and Clarko. Misery deserves company

With all due respect, I think supporters and the media wind themselves up over things like the ladder. Drop one place down and suddenly its doom and gloom. Too much emotion, which is perfectly understandable I'd reckon the FD and players are focussing on one week at a time, quite literally. Get some good recovery and training during the week, do the homework on the oppo, strategise, get Chocco into the minds of those players out of form, etc.

BBB in. Kozzie has a couple of young guys knocking on his door. Please, not Melk, please.

Can't have everyone up every week, but it would be fair to say we have numerous important players going missing each week for significant lengths of the game. Eg. Clarrie: 9 disp to half time, Viney for most of the game, Brayshaw 7 to 3/4 time

And yet 4 weeks ago we beat Brisbane and Bulldogs reasonably well. Not sure about flaky, but we are certainly in a form slump, 1 win from last 3 games. The positive is that we are 12/3 and we know our deficiencies are midfield clearances and a forward line lacking key targets. Address this before finals and we are NOT pretenders

Our mid clearances and key forwards were exposed this week. 3 wins from last 6 games, and not great vs Collingwood or Essendon. Need to turn this form slump around. This won't stand up in September