Stu

Did you boo him/her?

This is the reason why the best soccer academies, focus on ball control and skill in until around 12. They play on smaller fields to remove physical advantages more developed kids might have (speed, endurance, etc), so that all kids develop the needed technique and skill. Once they get to 15, the chance for technique and skill improvement is marginal.

Spot on! Macrae knows he's got an aging list and they're doing what they can to squeeze out any success while they have Sidebottom, Pendlebury, De Goey, Howe, Elliot, Mitchell, playing alongside Nick Daicos. I don't think any of them are going to get better, only decline. Once they retire they won't have the quality needed to seriously compete. Daicos (spews in mouth) is a generational player that won't be as effective once those players retire. Membrey is low-risk option for them to offer depth in an area they have very little while they believe they're a chance for another flag.

It's important to remember that our 11 wins this year would land us in 9th to 12th in all other years, assuming the extra game we played this year was a game we won (so a 10-12 finish in a 22 game season). Getting 14th with 11 wins and 98% is genuinely great for us. We had a pretty terrible season that started going awry in December last year. All that considered, we still finished with 11 wins and lost 3 games to GWS, Port, and the Lions by less than a goal in the run home to the finals. @ChaserJ insightfully likened this year to 2019, and I agree. We're extremely lucky to have pick 5 with the amount of wins we had this year. And it's not like we had a great season and failed to do well. A pick swap will likely end well for us, given all of these variables.

Assuming Sydney beat Brisbane, we will need around a 4-5 goal win if we score 90 odd. Less if scores are lower. Definitely possible. Go swans!

In 2023 we won 7 of the last 8 games, with the one loss against the blues by a margin of one goal line decision. Goodwin said last year there was a focus on playing well at the right end of the season (compared to how 2022 went) and he’s said a lot similar this year. Given how well we’ve played since the bye, I’m bullish about our chances over the next 6 weeks. I think we will at a minimum get to host a final.

You may want to tag this post as NSFW for @binman's sake... this type of heavy statistical talk is likely to get him all hot and bothered 😄

Fixed it for you 😂

Keeping Loan-Value Ratio down under 80% time on ground is always recommended [end of mortgage based dad jokes]

Scott said that in early 2022 when the Cats were hot and cold trying to master their more attacking style (as opposed to the possession, kick-mark, style they'd used up to 2021). They were 5-4 after Round 9 - but Scott knew they weren't going to win anything with their 2021 game-plan so he risked missing it all in the pursuit of a style that would give them a chance (rather than the inverse). This season is so close, and many of the jostling teams all play each other over the coming weeks. If we beat WCE and Essendon there's a decent chance we will be 6th, 5th or even 4th at the end of Round 18. The media narrative will swing and we'll be David King's new "Don't sleep on the..[insert team]" talking point.

Can any gamblers offer insight why the Dees have come in so strongly in the last 12 hours? Do the professional punters have some insider info or is it all sentiment? @binman

We must be the same person 😅

Given that we will announce an extended squad tonight, my guess: Out: Turner, JVR In: Brown, McAdam, Verrell, Tholstrup, Salem

“Master McAdam is feeling poorly”

To reiterate how consistent we've been since 2021, Carlton are the only team to have a multiple game (2) winning streak against us. If we win on Thursday, the only losing streaks we have are single games against Sydney, Brisbane, Collingwood, Fremantle, and GWS. Such a contrast to those losing streaks to Hawthorn and North Melbourne during the dark days.