rpfc

Glad that’s over. Was enraged for 4 seconds…

2024 isn’t 2023. The fact remains that Max needs to make a decision- he can swallow his pride and play FF for the next 4 years and progressively build up to 70% forward and Grundy has a place at the MFC and Max extends his career by a couple years…. Or he can continue to look lost, overbearing, out of position, and not make a fist of being a forward. That may need to coincide with handing over the captaincy to CP5 but if he wants this to work he is going to have to be comfortable going missing for a quarter here and there because that is what playing forward means sometimes - you see it twice in 20 mins and the best plays are the ones you create with your own movement away from where the ball goes. Natural mids and rucks really struggle to get their head around that.

I am aware of what they were trying to do by recruiting Grundy; they were trying to make him ruck for 60% of the game and turn Gawn into something that he may never be; a ruck with an idea how to play in the forward line. I am content with what the next few makes will hold for BG and for Melbourne. I am just not going to live in the fairyland that is thinking there is ‘nothing’ there or that this ‘was always the plan’ or that, laughably, it’s just a ruse to get him a couple of weeks off. We are providing the content at this stage. Don’t see a point in getting upset about it.

Because it’s news about the club. What are we so afraid of? If it’s [censored] it’s [censored], but we have a highly prized recruit playing VFL 6 weeks out from finals to build ‘forward craft’. It is going to generate stories like the one Andy has linked to.

Again, would you retire if you were a chance to play in this team? Unless of course we are delisting and just eating the salary

Hopefully, Woey gets re-signed soon so we can drop him…

Or we need the list spot

I don’t think coca plants grow out Geelong way…

Such an even season…

Those are appropriate odds; all winnable but sport is spasmodic.

They said this week, the comment in the post from Katrina was that ‘it was always expected BG would need VFL time’ and it just isn’t the case. The fact remains that BG had famous issues with being effective forward and here we are asking for something we might not get.

They were probably gassed in addition to not being very good. Their bodies are probably not as seasoned as older teams are but I haven’t done enough analysis of where they are at in terms of the 22 and years in the system. And of course I understand the aerobic programs that teams run throughout the year - I just don’t think in a comparative league that it has the implications on performance like you do. All teams lift their training intensity around the bye weeks or longer breaks. Even when Ainslie up here was ever present in the NEAFL - we used to schedule aerobic blocks in bye weeks to try to get up to where Sydney and Brisbane were. So it is real, but maybe the fatigue of a long season on young legs is determinative? Depends on the team. Look at the Dees atm - we are working through forward connection issues that have led to dropping a back up ruck, brining in our number 1 tall, bringing in Melksham, and encouraging run and dare that is sputtering. I know you see that differently to me in terms of a diagnosis of our issues but it probably just be a matter of degrees.

I don’t remember the FD saying he would need VFL games to hone his forward craft. And I don’t think they are saying it’s Grundy’s fault - they are laying blame at the FD which is a fair critique at this stage. It’s all immaterial - I want to win finals - if that is with BG playing FF and rucking 20 mins - great! If it isn’t, I don’t give a damn.

A little bit when GWS swamped them. I just don’t think the Crows are that good. Their talent is young or very old and that fluctuates in my view. That’s mainly what i attribute the sloppiness too - not a good team yet.

I thought this 8-10 week loading program was about getting top4 teams to peak in finals - why would Burgo do that for the Crows? Sorry, B, but I literally laughed. Someone needs to replace don Quixote’s windmills for loading programs…

I’m not immediately against the idea. The impact on the NBA has been profound. More teams interested in the season for longer and less teams tanking their last couple of weeks of games. I am not sure about how we would do it - 7 v 10 is not the equation in the NBA. 7th gets two chances to play finals, not one; it’s 7v8 and 9v10 then the loser of the first meets the winner of the second to see who gets the last spot in the finals. If we are about to have 19 teams then I can see this being needed to keep teams interested longer.

Or the finals. How about we just own the decision to drop him - we just don’t know what will happen from here this season?

Pretty dark analysis there, mate…

The first person?!! The first…

2024 won’t be 2023. And as Max ages, how he goes forward, not the other way around, will determine the partnership and his time left in the game.

Webber, I appreciate that you need time away but F C S. The best player we have ever had was yelling at the high performance bloke his hammy was that bad. And you were living it up in rural France without suitable wifi? WE NEEDED YOU.

He’s a smart bloke. To some degree - there are cheat sheet pointers BUT and it is a big BUT - you need consistent roles to structure your game around (ie BBB). I often say to flanks and pockets, which are effectively the same role nowadays with the running up the ground to come back at the 50, that you have to tether yourself to the predicted targets; where is the CHF? Can I lead into and out of his space and draw a man and can I then get to his feet or beyond? With Brodie, I would honestly say to him, you are the next target, you are deeper than BBB and you can set his movement as your weathervane - when he leads, you move up - if he is ignored you are the longer target, and when BBB is honoured - stop, prop, and move back and then do a V lead or an ankle breaker lead and use the space you just created. Those cues can provide a bit of a clift notes for him to be effective in a deeper role. I would not bother with him at CHF, he would only gum up the works up there - he can’t be the fulcrum ever I don’t think.

This is not about him taking contested marks and kicking the odd goal - this is about him leading to the right spots, exploiting spaces, being in the right places to contest and bring the ball down - that is the forward craft we have missed recently. It is selfless moving and leading, and mids and rucks struggle because they want to be where the ball either is or will be rather than move to where the ball may not go just to open up the ground for teammates. Its not easy to learn and it takes discipline to be consistent.

Same. Unless BBB just can’t get into a trot.

@deanox AF touches on a bit of why we haven’t tried the two towers on each arc idea - it would work in specific situations but at stoppages it creates an issue around where the outnumber is. If Grundy is at HB and Gawn at the stoppage - where is Grundy’s direct opponent? At the footy? Ahead of Grundy? Creating loose player behind the footy can be powerful against dumb teams - but dangerous against good teams. And @A F - it has been fantastic to see Sparrow and Gus do what they have done, and really helpful if CO13 gets targeted in the finals. I am really keen to see what these three natural forwards can do in September if we move it quick - Petracca, Fritsch, and Pickett. And not to belabour the point - I would trust BBB to lead his player out of their way more than Grundy and JVR.