Stu

Regarding the way Lindsay positions himself for contact, I see that as more a way to dispose of the ball more accurately while getting knocked off balance. He prepares himself for the tackle / bump and ensures his hands are free and his body is aligned so that when the hit comes, his centre of gravity isn't knocked too far off line.

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.

Interestingly, if the top 4 win their games there will be a two game break (1.5 wins to be exact) between 4th and 5th. Either way, if we win we'll either move up the ladder or get that break on 5th to 8th heading into two games that are well spaced apart against teams outside the 8.

What unearthly time of the morning is that?

He also went off just before half time in the Round 9 game versus Hawthorn with a toe injury (he has bad luck with his feet!). He'd had six marks and 2 goals in the first half before getting injured. The commentators were lamenting that he just started to look like he understood where to lead and what to do before going down. He returned to the backline after he came back into the side (although he was subbed in 2-3 games with a range of injuries), and was then moved forward against Richmond in Round 20. I'm confident that if he is given a clean run at 8-10 games as a forward without injury, within a few rounds he'll be performing more consistently. I think he can average 1.5 goals a game and 6-8 marks a game which would be great given our other forward talent.

The Cats will have a season like the many between 2011 and 2022. Scott is a fantastic coach and will move the chess pieces each round to get the needed wins. Their list management is also first class. But their stars are just too old. They’ll be 5-0 after next week but could easily be 6-4 or 5-5 after round 10. Scott will get them 13-15 wins this year but they’ll be shown up in finals. He’s buying time to reinvigorate the team with some free agency pick ups to have another crack. Here’s to hoping they can’t get any before Cameron, Dangerfield, and Hawkins retire.

That was a very professional win. Paced ourselves well considering the 5-day break. Two have played three interstate games against teams who finished 3rd, 8th, and 9th last year after 5 games and sitting 4-1 is fantastic. Another win against the Lions in 7 days and we reach our bye 6-1, with the chance to refresh and hit the middle of the season with momentum!

I would really love to see Jake with a premiership medallion around his neck on the last Saturday in September this year. He could retire knowing he helped will the team to the holy grail with his dedication and persistence.

With a normal 5-day break during the season, teams need to consider the next run of games. Thankfully for us, we have this game, then the Lions 7 days later, followed by a 13-day break into the Tigers game. It means we can be especially light on the track this week and not worry about long term fitness, given the larger break from our bye after round 5. @Bendigo_Demon’s insight about how light todays session was, makes me think the players will look pretty fresh on Thursday come the first bounce.

Winning this game and being 4-1 after three interstate games would be amazing. It leaves just four interstate games (excl. Alice Springs) for the remaining 18 rounds and one of those is against WCE 😊

They showed a stat on "On The Couch" that Port had allowed their opponents to score 50% of the time it went into Ports D50, which is pretty terrible for a team wanting to be Top 4. Luckily they've played the worst team in the league, and another that is likely to be bottom 6 (if not bottom 4) this year. If we get solid Inside 50 numbers, I can see us kicking a score they won't be able to defend.