Skuit

If I had my way he'd never step foot out of the 50m-arc again. I thought at the start of the season he and Hogan would be viable as rotating roaming CHFs. Three (?) smothered kicks and a couple of serious misdirections from Tommy on the weekend put to bed any misguided notions of that.

I read once that, of course, they produce two sets of 'championship' caps to throw around after the NBA decider. The false winner caps get sent to underprivileged South/Central American communities for charity - where they've since become bizarre alternative reality collector items which fetch obscenely high prices, upsetting the socio-economic equilibrium in these communities. Humans are strange.

You're correct Spirit. That's the proper spelling of a non-existent word.

If there's nothing the public loves more than crucifying a villain it's a redemptive story. It's rooted in our Catholic past of confession and resurrection. This story will end with an all round feel-good factor when Gus and Andrew and Gaff pose for photos together at the annual Brayshaw Christmas repeat sprint before round one next year.

Untackable means you don't have the agility to move off your line. Untackelable means you can't be tackled. AVB was both highly untackable and thus highly tackelable.

So quietly I intended to imply he may a pest or be acting too big for his boots for a footie freshie.* The golf-buddies connection is a weird aspect. My footy career ended when I punched one of my best mates (after a match) and split my knuckle beyond Medicare repair. It's the first and last time I've ever hit anyone - so I'm not sure if that means it's out of character or not. We got over it though. *See earlier secondary disclaimer. No, nothing condones Gaff's act. Yes, I'm prejudiced by wanting him in my team.

Predisclaimer: this comment does not intend to imply anything and nothing should be inferred from it. I got the sense that Gus was pretty close to taking a swing at his own brother during our Freo match-up. Does anyone recall any near-miss jumper punches that were thrown? If anyone thinks I condone Gaff's act, see the first-line caveat.

Vanders looked like a poor man's Tyson out there on the weekend. Which is exactly how he may have been described at times in the past. There's not much more to it. It was an average first game back after a long lay-off. He will need to show improvement - which I personally think he's capable of. But discussing it is almost pointless at this stage. Check back in March next year.

The captain just negged the rare positive thread on here.

You mean like Lyon saying the incident was 100m off the ball?

I'm expecting eight down to seven. So the hope is we knock off West Coast in the first week and they rebound to meet us in the GF. That's seven games - and so then Gaff can make his redemptive debut in the red and blue round 1.

Stop. Q uo ting ,,,,

Not much of a mention for Brayshaw so far but I thought some of his work in the middle was outstanding today. He's evolving in a way I didn't expect. Nimble in traffic. And is also developing a good rapport with Clarry.

There's a pretty good chance we'll be meeting West Coast twice over the next six weeks or so. Would have been a bit awkward with Gaff there. Shame he wont be available until our Anzac clash though.

The AFL has a bit of a problem on its hands with this GCFC experiment.

I'm holding JKH responsible for Nat's cheekbone. WTF was that hospital ball?

So I wandered over to BigFooty and some bloke posted this in the rumours thread: 'The deal is effectively signed off on. Gaff to Melbourne on $1.2M for 5 years with a side trade to WC of a very promising young mid. This trade facilitates a smooth transition. Gaff's manager is in Perth this week to finalise the details with WC. We met Melbourne end of last week. Evidently it is all remarkably amicable.' Passes the first filter of my bs detector as to language/content (though the reported cost is quite something) and fits with my vibe on the subject. But the side-trade of a promising young mid? And I assume we get something decent trade-wise in return for it all to be above board. Any idea/speculation who these parties might be if the post is accurate? Note: the suggested offer from our side and the trade facilitation for a matchable restricted agent doesn't exactly match up, but maybe the figure is off the mark or that is indeed Gaff's worth on the newly inflated market.

I still see the tackles against as an issue. We've been the most tackled team for the past two years but we brought these numbers down a bit earlier in the year. Now we're back on top. Is there a link between the tackle against stats and our parallel post-bye form drop offs and injury counts from this year and last? The team seems fit enough. But across an AFL season, getting slammed into the ground and jumped on more often is going to add up on the body.

Yup. The Darwin game - JV took a mini step back and played a perfect complementary role, the same way Jones has when Jack is in the team. Was just starting to get the balance right.

Pragmatic dream ladder after round 23? Pretty much the automated AFL ladder predictor. Week one: Richmond v Port (Richmond in cruise control without a proper tune-up before yet another bye) GWS v Hawks (goodbye long-term nemesis) Geelong v MFC (at MCG after we've dominated them for the past three matches w/o the W) West Coast v Collingwood (Pies go on the road to WA) Week two: Port v GWS (goodbye scary upstarts) Collingwood v MFC (Pies returning from WA road trip) Week three: Richmond v MFC (our best chance against an underdone Tigers outfit before the big dance) West Coast v Port (see-ya Jack) Grand final West Coast v MFC (glory)

Twitchy aye

I have this suspicion that everyone was already signed up in February. But they're just announcing the news after each of our losses.

Wait - isn't our whole game plan centred on a high zone and extra numbers coming off half back and streaming toward the contest? Not sure how even zones are going to benefit that - although some on here may be happy Goodwin will be forced to concede a structure we've been developing over the past two years.

Nice scooter Nathan. I like your parka Clayton, it really suits you. Jack, are they a new pair of Chelseas? Wonderful.

My precise thoughts exactly Redleg.