rpfc

...WHEN WE GET THE BALL INTO THE FORWARD LINE, UNFORTUNATELY, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN ENOUGH.

Rd 1 happened after the pre season which included some disappointing losses incl. Essendon's VFL team if I recall correctly.

This argument depends on whether you are talking about Watts as a player, Watts as a pick, and whether you realise that it doesn't matter anymore where he was picked. It just doesn't. He just helped us beat a team we hadn't beaten since 2 years before he arrived at the club - you would have to tie yourself up in metaphorical knots to argue the player on the weekend a 'dud.' And some of the 'hate' was more than 'disappointment,' B59... It was petty, over-the-top vitriol that became a race in 'who can make the most disgraceful statement' about a player, and a Demon no less. He isn't 'out of the woods' yet either - he has to continue with this form to cement himself as a HFF/wing in what, I hope, will be a good team over the next 5 years.

This year has had a few of those games I think - the Richmond game comes to mind.

It is testament to that forward line and how well it functions that we can get near a winning score with so few Inside 50s. Good OP.

Do you think there is someone sitting there deciding what goes and what doesn't? It's an IT limitation od the software of the site - I am sure that there is a list of words they can put in and if those words are attached to anything else - they won't be picked up by the software and be censored. [censored] in a teacup, really...

This was the point I was making last week - that our improvement makes the drop offs that much more infuriating and disappointing. I would love for us to not play poorly - but we are not there yet on this journey. And to be perfectly honest - I am not sure that us being 9 and 8 would really be a good thing - we are still an embarrassment against the best 4 teams in the league. We need to add more talent and skill, and continue to build. Nathan Buckley said when he team was about 8 and 3 that he was not sure he wanted the team to make finals this year and be top 6 because the fixture they would receive in 2016 would be a burden they would not be ready for (the fixture is based around grouping the teams 1-6, 7-12, and 13-18). Now, Nathan Buckley doesn't have to worry about that anymore (lol) but he makes a good, if slightly misguided, point about teams getting ahead of itself. I think we have seen a true indication of this group as it stands - there is still a ways to go for us to be considered a competitive, mid table team.

That thread didn't have much about NevJet...

Vanders apologised after that tackle... F-ing drop him. Sick of these MFC apologists.

Really didn't need that last line. When someone boils down another's argument to an asinine level - you are essentially saying that the people who are on that side of the argument are asinine. So to answer your underlying question - No, jnrmac, I don't think all people who 'boo' people/things are racist.

Our best win came with Hogan out of the side... I am not insinuating that Hogan shouldn't play but logic is as logic does... Win the CP and the UP and give 50+ Inside 50s for a few weeks in a row and we can determine how the forward line is best structured. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening this year.

And I don't even Ed likes doing that commentary - Shaw spoke briefly about it on 3AW after the match and he sounded sick of it.

I like Peter Helliar, and the Project has its moment of grandiose grandstanding but at least they attempt to discuss matters that matter. Most shows we watch don't bother, or those that should spend their time doing whatever it is that 60 Minutes are doing. I don't really know how to describe it - 'faux journalism'? Different strokes, hey?

Let's see whether we can be 7 and 11. NM don't scare me much but they have had the wood over the club for a decade... Jump over that hurdle and that will be the third major win of the year that makes this season a success - that we got something out of this year. (If Richmond do anything this year, I will retroactively make that one of those three - we made them look 'insipid' didn't we, dimma?)

This is where the AFL effed up when it came to giving in to the pressure over our plight - they can't give a PP to another team ever. Or if they ever do - good lord, that team would have had a horror stretch... They have hamstrung themselves now and I don't care if they go 2 and 20 this year and next they are not going to get a PP. They should be better than they are anyway. That midfield needs a coach who is half decent. Evidently, Voss and now Leppa are not that. Get Bolton from the Hawks and they will win 8 games next year easily.

Sith. Absolutes. We are paying that for the structure. Howe has a beautiful mark and is a solid kick - but he can't anchor as 2nd tall and back up ruck.

With all respect to the player that will come and go through that forward line over the next decade - they are just role players floating around a central entity. They may be some of those that played in there today - they may not. I am loathe to be so dismissive of role players but Hogan's arrival means that all we need to do is provide foils, space, and to help him when the footy hits the deck.

He takes so long to release the footy that options leave as he prepares to move it. I don't see it happening for him, his defence is good and he does chase and sheppard and hit the boundary with spoils - but he, unlike Lumumba, contributes to our inertia back there. I think those two are playing similar roles.

Well that was depressing, thanks t_u. We went through the 'depths' of winter for years without a win? I can believe it...

Pedersen has got a great grab and is smart where he runs, he also thinks he is a much better than he is and that causes issues with structure when you have another player that is as good as Pedersen thinks he is himself. If Pedersen can live within what he thinks of himself, then he will play AFL footy. I am comfortable that this is the case.

Enjoyed it, and I am sure it wasn't as offensive as imaginary spears being thrown... And how lovely that some can try for a laugh by saying he was 'doin an aeroplane.' Hope to see more of them, but no imaginary boomerangs, crayfish traps, or nunchucks please - they give my pasty white body the vapours...

Doesn't chase and harass and get to the same spots, and from what I have heard, is harder for Hogan to work with in that forwardline. That forward line, for the next decade, is all about one bloke and what works to get the most out of him.

Spud, flop, not up to it. Vitriolic really, and false. The beauty of grey. Not everything has to be boiled down one way or the other. With the arguments we have had on here and with our friends in the last few days, I thought more would appreciate that.

And that one change was met with such anger and disdain on here too, as if the message to the players was "that's acceptable". I am sure poor coaches think like that, thankfully we have Paul Roos in charge. Grimes screwed up more than I would like and he doesn't look to be a part of the future, but he was good and should remain. Michie doesn't get much time does he? We rely so heavily on our top mids, I can't wait to get Petracca and Salem in there in the next few years...

Just helped us win a game of footy against his old mob for our first win against them for 8 years. He has received little other than backhanded compliments. I am sorry to tell you this - Hogan's Forwardline needs him. He is horribly out of marking touch and confidence, although it is getting a little better, but the way he competes and advances the footy and takes attention from Hogan are a few of the reasons why we won with 44 Inside 50s. I will back him to regain some marking form and that will make him one of the better 2nd targets in the league.