rpfc

2 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

But he wasn’t a good player. He barely got 10 touches a game. He never had impact.

This year he’s different. He’s finally being used properly, and has a game style that suits him.

I don’t know one person who would say Tom Sparrow was in our top 5-10 over the past few years.

Yes his situation is different. He is being empowered to play his preferred position. Not shuffled off to a HFF role.

To say he has shown ‘nothing’ before 2026 is just nonsense.

Between 2022-2024 he averaged 16, 17, and 15 touches a game and over 2 clearances a game. This year he is 19 and now 4 clearances with more time in the centre.

King didn’t just put his faith in Sparrow blindly.

As Jordan Lewis said in the after game - I hope he takes the fact that he has shown enough to be an AFL player and get that extension. If this was last year, it would be a different story.

45 minutes ago, Greg Schneider said:

He’s doing a great job where he is, but could Howes replace Culley on a wing? We have a ton of half backs who could fill Howes’ current role, I think he’d thrive there and we’d keep that height down the line that King loves.

I think it’s the ability to be a forward threat more so than height. Fritsch should see more run there.

Howes is establishing himself where Turner did last year. I would really want to see him stay back there. He’s beating his bloke but also coming off and affecting play. Not just leaving that to Lever and Jiath.

3 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Not flippant. He’s done nothing until this year. Observant? Yes.

Oh yes. He just forgot he was a good player until this year. You’re right, you didn’t miss anything.

2026 is pure alchemy of talent and performance.

Because he did ‘nothing’ before this year.

Nothing.

Do people care about words anymore?!

If Fritsch is out of the forward line you can play another tall down there - coz he defends like a tall…

I don’t think it is coincidence that the week Fritsch goes to the wing, Moose comes into the team and the next week we bring in Jefferson.

35 minutes ago, adonski said:

My crystal balls rarely let me down

Jeffo stonx are UP!

When there is only one way to go…

AtG is right - he’s a competitor and for what we need right now before a Xavier Taylor can take his role. He’s also allowing Howes to excel by being able to pick and choose the match ups.

He fits our game style and he doesn’t kill the ball like some May have done.

55 minutes ago, seventyfour said:

I don't see it with CJ.

His most memorable moment last night was when he should've punished dead in front for HTB. We were unbelievably lucky to get away with that one.

Other than that I can't remember his presence. His ball use is poor and he seems to be lost in space way too often.

He reminds me of Sam Frost. He can get games in a lowly slide but the reality is he is warming a spot for someone else. Not a finals player.

Does he have any good qualities? Anything going for him at all?

24 minutes ago, adonski said:

Jeffo will overtake JVR by the end of the year

Not sure why the reluctance of Demonland to see what's in front of them!

The deluded rarely have self-reflection

I don’t pay attention to details of things and thought he was a spud and/or a list clogger.

But now that he’s suddenly and (to my inert mind) inexplicably good now, he better not leave and I would devastated if he was to leave. How dare he leave.

1 hour ago, M_9 said:

I just hope Trelly holds his spot. He just appears to me, more than any other player, someone who relishes being on the big stage. The blustery outer suburbs, playing with many part-time footballers, and hundreds looking on rather than tens of thousands, could hold him back.

If I'm right then rounds 9, 10 and 12 (WC, Hawks, Giants in Alice) may be three forums where LT could display his talent.

I agree. But he needs to take first option more often

Another nong here.

You do him a disservice hailing after a game like that.

He was presenting well at times and got a bit of luck with the umps.

It was the first real step in a long journey. And he now has to work within a Mihocek-JVR paradigm and games won’t be gifted.

Personally, I rate Kentfield higher from what I have seen. But they are all both fledgling.

Drive by on Laurie was undeserved. He has not had a good run of games and had a really promising half last night.

My god picket fence is disrespectful in his screeds. Like a frayed nerve exposed on the internet. My ignore prefs don’t work when posters keep replying to it.

Viney will find a way to contribute, don’t you worry your little heads about that. He may take over the defensive role that Steele is playing and have him get more footy on the outside when his skills are a contrast to previous demon history.

And/or he will play a role in the forward line harassing the backs when we gegenpress.

I just think it’s a waste of your mental energy to care about it. And a exposure of your character to get malignant about him.

Laurie was fine. Latrelle was fine. XT was fine. Jefferson and Heath a shade above that. I do worry about carrying a so many ‘developing’ players but when your senior players lift their games you can absorb and cover for them. Sparrow, Pickett, Sharp, Chandler, Howes, and Turner have levelled up and that is where are improvement has come from. The emerging kids are not consistent but they are rare talents that’s helping us win games (CW6, HL4, Kolt).

So exciting.

Poor Culley. I have seen enough that he can be a player. It just won’t be this year.

Big opportunity for Trent Rivers to get his body right and play some footy…

Just now, Nasher said:

I hoped with Heath in the side again that King and team would look for opportunities to ease Gawn’s workload, and so it happened. Responsible player management.

Yes, and Gawn to the Fox boundary rider after the game intimated his ego has been a problem with sharing that workload.

Gawn can eke out another ‘extra’ couple years if he can bring Heath on a journey with him.

Otherwise the rucks like balta will batter him into retirement prematurely.

Heath with 26 hit outs. When was the last time Gawn played and had less hit outs? Would have to be Spencer era?? 2016??

1 hour ago, Adam The God said:

I think there is a balance, which I'm sure you'd concede mate.

Steele was never cooked, he just wasn't viewed as needed for St Kilda's midfield.

I don't think Collingwood viewed Mihocek as cooked either. But they weren't prepared to offer him 3 years. That may end up being one year too many for us, but it got him across and that's the main thing, because for 2026-2027, he is a deadset lock for us.

TMac struggles 1v1, but is still decent on a lead against the slower, bigger players.

I agree with your overall thesis that you can't just throw the kids to the wolves (to use another cliche), but I reckon CJ has enough experience to come in and play mid-sized, Turner to Lynch.

I know it's a risk, but I'd be hoping we can get a look at our future (present) defence this week. It's likely we'll need to target a trade for a KPB, ala Lever, May at the end of this year if Adams doesn't make it.

2026 is a development year though. Lynch may wind back the clock against Turner, but he's just as likely against TMac too.

I'd bring in Lindsay for Heath as well. More run.

It is a balance. And my point is less about TMac and more about those that want to literally draw lines through names.

And Lindsay is a good example of the benefits of that balance - he is battling groin soreness - in years past we would have had to [censored] the kid as we would only have more speculative kids behind him. But we don’t have to do that. We can push Langdon back or bring in CJ and eventually Salem returns.

The lessons from the dismissal of James McDonald have not been learned by some.

2 hours ago, old dee said:

The top 10 is a joke, it is next to impossible to win a flag from 7th or 8th let alone 9 and 10. There is of course a major reason why, the teams are not good enough if you finish 8 through 5th its because teams above are better and 9th and 10 are significantly poorer. As usual with the afl it is about the money. A small upside is that the season is not over in August for the teams in 9th and 10th or possibly 11th.

If you don't finish 4th through 1st you are just making up the numbers.

Yeah, but they still have to play the games

Funny things happen

2 hours ago, BLWNBA said:

The "where are the (insert group) now" posts have to be some of the most painful content to read. It's bad enough when it seeps into the post-match thread, we hardly need a whole thread dedicated to it.

Found one!

9 minutes ago, dees189227 said:

We're not going to do what we did against essendon are we, we've learnt from that & we will not drop this.

Just reassure me

55 minutes ago, demon3165 said:

What month is trade period again....

There’ll be one in July soon I reckon

2 minutes ago, Waverley said:

He might as well have season out, no value in playing this bloke, no value at all

Same with Mihocek.

I’ve been on a sailboat for two months and am just getting on top of the news. Utterly unaware of anything that has happened on the footy field.

Now back to Mihocek - what a waste of $1.5m over 2 years. He’s 32?!!

There’s no value in playing this bloke

No value at all

Unless we are winning of course then there is inherent value in anyone who can help us win games especially with a young team over a long season.

But other than that.

Again, I have been incommunicado for 2 months as I said.

Don’t get me started on Jack Steele

17 minutes ago, sisso said:

we ended up doing No Nut November instead

45 minutes ago, poita said:

It has been great to see Latrelle looking more composed and comfortable with ball in hand over the past few weeks. That extra time to make a good decision is making a world of difference to his effectiveness.

His defensive work, or lack thereof, is a massive concern for me. I watched him very closely at the ground on Sunday and he is completely disinterested in being accountable for an opponent, even when he pushes up the ground.

When Latrelle does have an opportunity to apply pressure, he is happy to hang a couple of metres back, rather than making a tackle. Four of six games to date with zero tackles is not good enough for his role. I know they are not the same player, but Kozzie had 16 tackles in his first 6 games, Latrelle has 4.

I suspect he would be refining his game at Casey by now if we had better depth in that position.

He should have more tackles, but he had as many ‘pressure acts’ as Chandler on the weekend. We probably are playing him early but that’s because we are not a great team.

But in terms of what he does when we don’t have it - they are obviously playing a deep ‘Demon Web’ across centre wing back to the D50 to get the long kick and then close hands to give time for forwards to get up the ground, and spread from that contest to then kick goals through counter attack. In that plan, a forward doesn’t ’defend an opponent’ they guard space and then collapse on footy in contest. So I disregard that criticism wholly and with prejudice.