Skuit

'Smuller' (as a shortening of Scott Muller): Kent bowl. Kent throw. Kentfield.

While I'm looking forward to the pair building up their zen connection in the years to come. What a champ Kozzie is in trying to bring other players into the game.

We played against the Henley Greeks.

I played for the Rams as a kid. A pretty solid footy name in hindsight. Edit: I think it was related to sheep, but we were also called the Ramblers.

Your handle is a perfect nickname should we draft him in.

I spend a bit of time in Holland. The country has some bizarre soccer team names, like the Go Ahead Eagles and the mighty ZSGOWMS. The 'Demons' might seem a bit odd to some outsiders. Someone recently mentioned the Vultures, while today I stumbled across Wayback playing in the Port Lincoln football league. Question: what are the more curious footy club names in your neck of the woods?

Fly my pretties. People complain that the game is now boring and congested, then complain when players go for spectacular grabs - the same ones I show Aussie Rules newbies to catch their interest. People tend to complain, I suppose. Kozzie will take the greatest mark in the history of football at some stage, but probably when he is a bit older and slower. Like those Tiktok kids throwing ping-pong balls in cups, will it be diminished knowing he has made a thousand unrealistic attempts before? I doubt it. If Liam Ryan pulled in that one-hander last week, the footage would have gone around the world and been replayed a million times for generations to come. Kids would be screaming 'Ryan' in the schoolyard for the next 30 years anytime they got off the ground. The speccy will probably be banned at some stage, before footy then ends up being played on AI simulators. Enjoy the high-flying humans while you can. It's one of the unique elements which make our beloved game so special.

Locals can do it in eight.

I have no idea of the stats, but there are probably less than ten players still running around from the mid-season draft a couple years back. One is on our list and looks promising, but hampered by some injury issues. Another of our former picks will possibly get picked up again this year, who we had to let go in a squeeze.

The first quarter against Adelaide circa 2018 stands out as perfect footy conditions and we romped the Crows. Keep Clarry shaded and all is grand.

Not sure they even have lights that work at Traeger. But in short: the match is played in one of the driest deserts in the world, just shy of the Tropic of Capricorn. I'm also not sure the latitude of Cockburn.

Cue the annual clarification on what the actual conditions are like in Alice at this time of year. Perhaps a local can step in?

I've chewed through so many hats this season re. TMac. I've playfully ribbed him for most of his career, mixed in with moments of celebration and genuinely harsher criticism. I would have never predicted his current guise as a reborn footballer though. Thought he was shot. More than a decade into his career and he's learned to play within his limitations, but also to pull the trigger at the right time. Hats off to Tomald: I will eat them all. But there is a dilemma brewing. Tomlinson also looked good, and had the third spot nailed down prior to his knee injury in our premiership year, replaced by Petty, who slotted in perfectly. What happens when Lever comes back?

But Corey Ellison is. I've never seen him play, but I recall some excitement on here. Is he a chance for us perhaps?

Some further reading: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-13/unpacking-the-mysteries-of-afl-centre-bounces/103700434

Do they make the designated sub sit on the sidelines for three quarters of the captain's run?

If he chooses to stay in Queensland as a personal preference, fair enough. But if he is swayed by some sort of outside cap sweeteners that would be highly aggravating. Either we need to make sure the AFL auditors are all over it, or get involved in the same game and not play by the strict rules as is our style if they choose to turn a blind eye. I recall we were once paying for the university fees of a player's girlfriend? With sponsorship ties, etc. there are so many ways to work around the cap. We should call in PwC.

Yes, correlation doesn't equal causation (still, we should definitely engage in a cleansing ceremony in the case of an at least psychosomatic curse), but that doesn't mean you outright ditch the data. Better practice would be to examine any co-attendent explanations for the coincidence, such as the loading theory, which doesn't seem like it would be the case this year based on our fixture. But we also wear different uniforms during Indigenous round, and some players are likely to have a higher media burden. Which is the same for all clubs, so shouldn't especially impact ours. We also won games with the jumper change prior to the name one. Without looking at the results however, our jumpers have graduated to a lighter shade over time and gotten a bit busier. It's a '360' game - being able to instinctively pick out the movement of teammates from a chaotic background is as an important factor. I also doubt this is the issue, but it's an attempt at explanation.

The draft was less than 18 months ago, with a bunch of those players still under the age of 20 showing plenty of promise.

We are one game out of the top 4 with half a game and % to the two teams in between, which we haven't played yet, along with at least three further games against those ahead of us. They also play each other a bunch of times. Destiny is still well and truly in our hands.

That's fair. Fans can criticise without solutions. That is the job of our recruitment team, and they have their jobs because they have more experience and expertise than most on here. I also don't think they are beyond criticism.

Pretty big game coming up for you. Will you cope?

But so many people with criticism and no solutions. What would you do if you were JT Jesus?

I think the failed bid to recruit Issac Smith for the second wing has created one cascade, in our drafting. The failure to lure a KPF is another cascade, which has impacted our drafting. We are not stupid to our needs and have been trying.

What is the solution?