Skuit

Random post: but a feature of this odd, even year has been a lack of stand-out teams - though I haven't seen enough football this year to be certain that it's entirely down to poor quality. What I have watched though has been generally sub-par, (and why I've been on the Dees' bandwagon re. their best being as good or better than anyone's) with very few massive games between two super-strong opponents. Are the AFL's expansion endeavours finally having an true impact? We all suspected that the entry of GC and GWS as the 17th and 18th teams would dilute the competition. They've now been in 5/6 years; the time it takes generally for an AFL player to reach their peak. Is that dilution coming to fruition in terms of the AFL's elite players spread per club? We bemoaned getting stuck behind Hawthorn etc. during this period of expansion and draft concessions, but are we in a huge position to capitalise over the next five years and beyond due to scoring an above fair-share of that elite talent coming through at this particular time?

I'm talking re. the fixture we have for the remainder of this year as to player management. Probably many surprised that we didn't bring in Spencer when we had the chance. Personally, I think this is putting a huge extra burden on our players - one we've managed to overcome on a couple of occasions due to being a pretty-decent team, but not without a residual impact. But from here? Bulldogs have no ruck - do we go again with our set-up? And then send Gawn on a road-trip? Does Pedo go perm forward? Do we have the luxury of resting players on occasion? How do we manage the impact of the Darwin sojourn? Etc. etc.

Rollo - please rejoin the permanent fray - this site is lacking in death-threats somewhat and especially in conspiracy-narrative. Do you think Comrade Neeld may have been in cahoots with the Russkis? If not directly, I think it's telling that when you google 'Mark Neeld', the predictive auto-fill comes up with 'Mark Neeld's daughters' or 'Mark Neeld's family' - clearly a man under serious duress.

I think the staggered bye is ridiculous, but the fixture is the fixture. What would you do to mitigate the impact deeko?

He kicked it a lot more in the bit I watched as well - boot-to-ball move-it-forward Vince-style. Not sure if it was ideal, but many of them in were in very tight situations and I expect it would have been a directive.

It was rhetorical, but Richmond. They got the last five. Carlton we let them peg back the four-to-five goals, and Essendon I've stricken from my memory.

With a young team and a wide-open field, I feel pretty certain that this is an important subject with not just our run to the finals but also our potential to impact deep into them. But what would you do if you're Simon Goodwin? And had the chutzpah? We have (bracket to consider): Bulldogs (six-day break - no genuine oppo ruck). West Coast (consecutive six-day break - lack of ruck, big cross-country travel). Sydney (back-to-back-to-back six-day break coming off big travel - Friday night game under the lights). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . Carlton (eight day break at home). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . .. . . . .. Adelaide (in Darwin, six day break, top team, travel and draining conditions). Port (a similar game set-up but at home - against an interstate ladder contender). Roos (interstate regional travel). GWS (interstate regional travel - against an interstate ladder contender). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Then: An extra day break and a run of three matches at the G' in the lead-up to finals, inc. the Saints, Brisbane and Pies. ?

I'm going to be one of those types who just says no. If we need fresh legs and rotation, Stretch is waiting in the wings (perhaps literally).

This is one of the ways in which I don't feel qualified in discussing Melksham. Same with Tyson. Some players go about their business without getting noticed much, while others are somehow front and centre in what they do. What I did note, in the latter portion of the match I watched, was how crazy influential/important Oliver was - and for all his plaudits this year, I still don't think he gets the recognition he deserves. Small, barely perceptible touches were absolutely crucial in the last.

Haha. I missed that. Was mostly noticing a couple extra unheated but unnecessary shoves in the pack on Dunn by Jones and Viney toward the end. Oscar ran over to hug Lynden? Embarrassing - unless he whispered in his ears, 'cheers for the spot, old chum . . . p ' at the same time.

Our fans showed respect, but our seniors? Dunn was very magnanimous in his comments when he was squeezed from our club, but in the pre-game trash-talk and during the match there was a hint from the like of Jones, Vince and Viney that there may be a little more behind the scenes than what we've accepted - i.e Lynden wasn't getting games last year due to not fitting in with our game-style. It wasn't outright hatred, or concocted rivalry, but it certainly wasn't a Joe Daniher welcome-hug. A sense of no great love lost, which surprised me.

Hasn't been able to cement it with finishing touches but I believe Bugg has been slowly nailing down a spot over the last few weeks. Didn't quite stick them all today but his contested marking has improved dramatically up forward - gets to the right spot, gets enough elevation to get clean hands on the ball in contested marking situations, gets the tick from me. But it's a pretty close three-way between him, Harmes and Hannan, and at least someone will have to come out for Hogan - maybe two if we choose to go with Pedo up forward when both Hoges and Gawn are back (which, unlike others, I don't think is a given in Goodie's intentions). Tim Smith the other likely loser in all of this. Seems a long road back into the seniors for him atm.

After the decent standard of umpiring in the Alice match I reluctantly theorised that perhaps female umpires might go about it with a fraction less ego. Same for the special commentary? She's the exact antithesis to the general complaints in the Ling thread. Though I have noticed Daisy's accent gets a bit more boganish on occasion next to the more boorish callers . . .

Because every game pretty much feels the same this season with a few slightly different final-quarter outcomes - may as well merge the the threads into a giant Post-March Discussion. (Rhetorical: is there a match yet where we haven't been down by exactly four-to-five goals at some stage? ).

A bit disappointing that this club once again needs some form of external motivation to fire up, but I am still glad that they dug deep for my milestone 2000th post. I'll let Jack and Oscar chair me off. Or across the head. Whichever they see fit.

Don't get too excited JV7. Whenever we have the chance to break into the top-5 by beating a team below us on ladder by 30 goals we seem to fluff it. Just can't handle the pressure of expectation. Mental fragility still defines this club. Will never change.

It leaves me with a heavy heart that I'm not sure I will ever shake. Does anyone know if he dropped by to watch our Alice match?

Feels like we haven't had a really big one for a while. Watts has been threatening some massive grabs the past two seasons but takes his eyes off it at the point of contact (ball not man). Jeff was getting up a bit in his first year with us but doesn't fly anymore. Hannan looks a likely sort and Hunt could pull off a ripper. Harmes has courage in the air. Joel Smith?

That was his other one-hander. The one I'm referring to was at CHF - leapt for the ball, it got past him a bit, and he stuck out a hand and took it as clean as you like. Edit: Found it in this package. (His 5th game).

Get it done Dees.

Cheers Ash. A great reminder of Robbo's aerial talents (Jeremy Who?). Robbo always reminded me of a kid playing 'classic catches' into the pool - leapt early and threw his body in all directions to exaggerate the effect. But kept his eye on the ball. Missing: Liam Jurrah's one-handed grab in the air in the middle of a couple Cats. Always sticks in the mind. Took a couple seconds to work out what had happened. Freakish talent. Great work.

It's an annoying cliche but don't get too caught up in whether it's appropriate. Jane and Tarzan refer to characters from a work of fiction. That fiction may be dated in terms of gender representation (although hardly uncommon still with regard to Hollywood) but it's different from saying so and so plays like a girl etc. Personally, I find the term 'soft' to describe players as lacking in class.

Cheers for one of the funnier things I've read in a long while. Jack Watts is going to go and intimidate the newbie!? Even his wildest apologists wouldn't make a case for this ever being a possibility. But my god, it would be entertaining to watch it unfold and see the response. I'll become a monarchist on the spot if it does. Long live the Queen!

thankyoumuchlystevetheman. Stat Heaven. And an unusually reflective AFL.com article. Firstly: Intercept Possessions? If Tmac intercepts in defense and passes off to O-Brother Where Art Thou is that an intercept-possession stat for Oscar? Spoils? Is there a 'spoils lost' stat for flying in a pack or crossing for coverage and allowing your direct, grounded opponent to score? It won't come up in the one-on-one column . . . or anywhere else. Both Macs have been highly guilty of this this year (with Goody's encouragement). Omac could pick up 8.8 spoils this way yet leak four goals for failed attempts and still be considered elite in this category without a losing corresponding stat. Of note: Tmac is pretty much nowhere to be seen. Is he just average at everything? Lynden still one of the top one-on-one defenders. Yet jettisoned. Just another confirmation of where our priorities are at. But top-five in meters gained? Do kick-outs get recorded? Maybe a bit of reach? Talia for e.g. has five one-on-ones per match. He wins 49% (2 and a half contests) of those and loses 16.5ish (one and a bit), with the other 35% split. Across ten games that's 50 one-on-one contests for the season with 24.5 won, 8.25 lost and 17.25 split. A couple of those go the other way and the percentages change quite dramatically. Surprised not to see Kade Simpson in any of the stats. But haven't watched much Blues this year at all. Has he dropped off dramatically, or is it an issue with stats being assessed after a position is determined? (note: Kade here is being used as a synecdoche for my point). Alex Rance is a dick. Out. .

From: Bugg, Melksham, Harmes, JKH, OMac, Spencer, Wagner Some talk on here previously of whether Spencer should actually come back in and I kind of understand it. Is it better knowing you're going to lose the taps than it going back to a 50/50 thing? That said: Spencer can cover as a tall forward and Pedo is capable in defense. So, with Collingwood relatively small up front, Spence in for Omac gives a little extra flexibility. Salem for Wagner. More flexibility again. And JKH coming in would be ridiculous. In: Spencer, Salem Out: Omac, Wagner