rpfc

Kids get dropped. Some of you act like playing VFL is akin to punishment. Langford is going to be a gun but he is vying for minutes in the strongest area of our team. Even Rivers is struggling to get midfield minutes and he is beyond ready for that role.

This is what I have been saying for a year and a bit now - we are falling into a trap with how we press high and get 65 Inside 50s and win contests back into that packed milleu of a forward 50 that has no space and little chance for good shots on goal. We moved away from it more last year and that was promising and what I saw on the weekend was good progress to that affect. @binman mentioned the less I50s and we also looked to progress of HB quickly from turnover and meaningfully (ie corridor and with kicking) at this stage that is just anecdotal but it is something we just have to do and get better at. Especially with our poor forward line talent - they need quick movement to give them the best chance. As a possible indicator, metres gained from the back half; 600 from Salem and over 300 each from Windsor, Rivers, Bowey, TMac!, Lindsay, and Petty. That’s all well above what they have previously produced (save for Rivers where it’s about average). That’s a promising sign that we can move the ball from our defence. You would want less from TMac and Petty but the fact that I don’t remember too much indiscriminate bombing from either is a good thing. It is starting to mean we have an open ground to work with and we are taking advantage of that.

Quite. To my 5 year old up here in Canberra - football is about Demons and Max Gawn playing other colours and that is that.

Yeah we all did. But when you win by 13 goals it can look somewhat diminished when one kicks 6 goals. However, he had 4 goals in when a GF was to be won and that is something that no one can take from him.

The only thing contesting that is basic math and reality. Look, Fritsch kicked 4 in a GF when the heat was on and helped us win - he is one of the best kicks in the game. But his baked in poor efforts and lazy defensive intent is beginning to overshadow because he is not winning footy in dangerous positions and regularly flubs up any ball he gets that isn’t on a platter. While we are where we are - Bayley is not in the untouchable class. In an era where we have promised our best player higher standards and accountability - he better pull his finger out quickly or we will Invest in talent that has THAT baked in.

I didn’t think 23k was bad at all… and posted that. but if you want to get angry at things that don’t matter, good for you

On a site where we regularly call players spuds and list cloggers, and other supporters filth and scum I think we can unclutch our pearls from our grip on being called pathetic.

I was wrong, happy to say it this early. I thought he was slight but he looks the goods.

I am happy to get stuck into us when we don’t show up. 5k dees supporters rocked up when they normally don’t and instead of eating ourselves alive we should note the progress and move on.

I think we are the goods. I have been wrong before - but we were cleaner than we should have been and we had a plan moving forward. My only worry is commitment to that plan. When we shared with hands and went quick we looked damaging. I would want to see more positive movement from talls and Fritsch but they were either terrible, down, a first gamer that was a competitor for 4 quarters, or a first gamer who was a broken watch - in the right twice… 73 points against that team in those conditions is a fair effort with the above.

Yeah, worked a lot better. But, again, we don’t have many natural forwards. Especially when Fritsch doesn’t exist as a player. When we didn’t move it into the middle and quickly, it stood out - that’s a good sign to me and we just have to commit - and when CP5 has a 1-1 in the 50 he gets the ball from wherever - no hesitation - but we hesitated… He is our match winner - feed him.

Don’t have time to read all this - kid about to take phone for flight home. We are good, we are trying to be more exciting - Petracca immense and the new boys good especially X Lindsay ( mea culpa) Fritsch horrible. But looking forward to the year!

I was there and considering the virgin lounge has been full of F1 fans we weren’t even on the card for sports fans in the city. 23k was good and we are way too quiet - that’s my main gripe - we are so nervous and quiet.

Well your outie likes to buy the footy record and says ‘dammit’ everytime anything happens ever…

Grow up

I think it is an irony that in the Luke Jackson thread, the word sobriquet appears… And it is interesting that the average footballers perspicacious nature explodes when they move home to WA and realise they don’t want to be there.

WHY is Josh Carr?!

Turner ill makes sense. He is ahead of Jefferson obviously. Can the Billings hate end? It’s so unbecoming. He is depth. He is not going to affect the result in any meaningful way - if we lose, you will know that our best players didn’t do what they needed to do.

Fritsch is a star forward. Just excellent forward craft and feel for where the ball will be. His lack of defensive intensity is baked into all of that. He is what he is. A forward that kicks 4 goals in a GF while it’s ‘hot’ is a star. If he moves up the ground slightly - he will immediately becoming the best kick into the forward line in the league IMO. Will it be a case of robbing one apostle to pay another? I think it will work so well that some teams will try to tag him out of existence and how we then go forward then will be that much more challenging. But looking forward to it.

Fair point. Does anyone know if he’s happy?

Once again ‘star’ is used so liberally it betrays the meaning of the light in the night sky that has travelled so far that by the time the light has reached the Earth it may have already extinguished…

Everyone is happy. So many happy people…

And we will be turned around and beaten. Dont over commit, use that great backline of ours and win 1-1s in a more open ground that allows slower ball movement and then turn it over and go.

Yes, and the game today is built around counter attacking brutally from a congested backline with a series of 1-1s and using running power to turn those 1-1s into 3-1s in seconds.

I can name a poster who used to do that for real…