JTR

Avoid Demonland

I didn't realise it was an argument about Petracca v OMac? My point was that OMac is a lot better kick than most give him credit for. That's it, full stop. Again, the comparison to Petracca was yours. If you're not happy with that one given their relative playing positions, then compare him to pretty much any other defender in the game, KPP or otherwise. Stacks up against all of them too.

You used Petracca as the comparison... ? There are a lot of knocks on OMac, but kicking is not one of them. Jason Johanissen (if you want a comparison with a defender) was rated as one of the best kicks last season, and he is 72.1 for career kicking efficiency. Still less than OMacs 74.4

Just FYI.... for career kicking efficiency Petracca - 57.7 OMac - 74.4 https://www.afl.com.au/stats/stats-pro#/Compare?playerIds=CD_I298210,CD_I992472&comparisonTab=h2h

Chaplin said that tonight. No knocks at all on his running, but they need him to be better at the contest.

Just a couple of points from the current Zoom session with Troy Chaplin.. - Game day coach Matthew Egan has remained in Melbourne with the non hub players. - Those not in the 22 this weekend will be participating in a joint training session with Swans players. - Staying in the same hotel as the Lions

Playing both Bennell & AVB is a little risky imo, considering they are managing their games time. AVB has only averaged around 65%, and in only game Bennell has played it was 50%. That was one of the big positives for Tomlinson - once he's out on the park he hardly comes off.

... and then all the same people who have decided we are nuts for not playing him, will do a full 180 and start complaining about how we always get it wrong with selection. Lots of people were pretty happy to see Smith and AVB in the side initially. Now we hear they are cooked and should never have been selected. Even see some calls for perennial whipping boy OMac to come back! ?

Ross has been reading Demonland... ? FWIW, he (who has been at our last 2 games) doesn't think it's a technical problem and thinks it's all about decision making and not taking the easy option. We are also going at manic speed the entire time (or in the "Red Zone" as other Lyon said) and playing with no composure. Stat from weekend...

I still blame the mids and their decision making. You see plenty of examples each week where the forwards get into a good position, but are not identified.

I'm not sold on him either, mainly because of this. He went to Fremantle when they already had the cattle and when they were at their prime. In first 4 years he took them to 4 straight finals series, but along the way neglected the development of the younger players to make the success sustainable. Year 5 they dropped off a cliff and finished 16th. At that point they had 8 or 9 players at 32+ years old, of which many were still amongst the best they had Year 6 & 7 they finished 14th and year 8 he was sacked, after finishing 13th. Same thing happened at St Kilda where he ground the old crew in the ground and had no younger players coming through behind them. Once the Riewoldts, Goddards, Hayes and co. were gone they also dropped off a cliff, culminating in a spoon a couple of seasons after Lyon left. So yeah. Whilst he is seemingly quite good at grinding every last drop out of the players he has as quickly as possible, there doesn't seem to be much of a long term vision. I crave success for our current crop (who IMO are a top 8 side, at least on paper) as much as anyone, but I wouldn't want that to be an the expense of the long term development, and find myself back here in 5 or 6 years time reading all the same things. All that aside - game style. Yuck!

Preuss is injured so he wont be going. So in taking 33, does that mean the end of any sort of match practice till the full squad is back together? We'll effectively be be splitting our scratch match team in half with the 7 or so non-injured players staying in Melbourne and the other 7 that are in the hub, but not named in the 22 + 4 emergencies.

I was rolling my eyes at Dermott pre match when he suggested we have a couple of stat padders in the middle. Watching Oliver... ?

Look at this... Viney with the ball kicking inside 50. Left to right he has Hunt running to space, McDonald on his own with no one near him and Langdon on his own with no one near him. Where does it go? Long bomb to Fritsch in a 1v3 That not a problem with the forward structure. It's just taking the wrong option when going inside 50. Much as I like Viney, he is one of the worst offenders.

Endeavour and intensity looks much better than last couple of weeks. Probably taking it on a bit TOO much at times, but I'd rather see that than playing exclusively around the boundaries. Tidy up execution and we'll be looking good

Has it been said anywhere yet whether we will be taking the full squad of players vs a smaller group, similar to what Port have done? Mahoney mentioned on Friday that there arguments for and against each strategy and that they'd be making the call yesterday.

What was the "Tommy Hafey debacle" ? And who is the "fat bloke" who played a good game in the NAB cup? ?

I'm probably an outlier, but I don't mind Sunday games for this very reason. Sunday lets me retain that (misguided?) hope/excitement all weekend, whereas a Thursday loss would leave me [censored] off and not wanting to watch any of the other games.

100% we were woeful, as we were against the Blues. There certainly wasn't the same sort of venom in here after that win though. I guess I just find it interesting how much the narrative can change based on literally one kick. We win yesterday and people would still be expressing disappointment at the way we are going (and rightfully so), but they'd also be talking about some of the better aspects such as us managing to find a way to win despite playing so poorly and being controlled for most of the game. And the overall tone of the "3 word analysis" would be very different too - which was my initial point. Look no further than the one after the Carlton game, despite playing not much better.

Yeah this isn't a good place to be after a loss. It's almost always the same and I keep telling myself to not even come here for a few days to avoid the worst of the toxicity, but I cant help it. Equally, the over the top gushing after a decent victory is just as ridiculous, and at times laughable when then it's the same people that have massive melts after a loss. This would be a lot more enjoyable place to be if there was a bit more balance rather than the constant swinging from one extreme to another.

This entire thread would have been completely different for starters. That's how fickle this place can be sometimes.

FWIW, something else Mahoney said last night is that Jones is struggling to run out games and get his regular km in. Achilles niggle.

Yeah it was. All of Mahoneys ones so far have been pretty interesting. Pretty sure they record the sessions as I remember that being said after the Richardson one. Maybe they post them on the club website somewhere?

Really? He's played 3 games, had 25 calf injuries and not run pain free in 5 years (until now), and you are surprised they are cautiously easing him back into a full workload?

Email comes around once per week from which you can register for the session/s you want to attend. Then on the day of you get another email with a link to the meeting. Agree with binman in that they have been really good. Next ones are Plapp on Tuesday and Mahoney next Friday. Mahoney is the regular one each Friday but others that have been on so far are Gawn, Viney, Matthews & Richardson. Edit - questions you want asked can be pre-submitted or asked during session.