The Taciturn Demon

Totally agree. Bowey comfortably in my top three B&F at the moment, not far from Gawn at number one.

I reckon this is a great call. Big and solid enough to win one-on-ones. A good enough kick to hit the forty-fives we're now so keen on at half back.

I'm stunned that they've won four games. Absolute disaster of a list.

Yep. Starting at centre half forward and getting involved up the ground.

Yeah, Sestan's kicking in pretty tricky conditions, was really noticeable.

I think you may be right. Or there may be nothing to glean from it at all. I always thought it was unfair on Roos.

I notice Goodwin called the team "they" throughout his press conference. Paul Roos was lambasted for this.

Oh geeze. That happened two weeks ago as well! Is he a nervous spewer or has he had a weirdly long stomach illness?

They got sloppier as the game went on (I think our pressure was excellent), but they had a decent first half, as you said, and in the third they built some momentum. I thought we did well to wrest back control after a good ten to fifteen minutes of not having it our way.

I have to admit, a couple of the things he said in press conferences eight or nine weeks ago sounded like ludicrous delusion to me. Not now. I also think he deserves a huge amount of credit for never stooping to Sheedy-esque sooking and smokescreening, even when things looked really bleak. He's not a great public speaker, but he has a certain graciousness that few of his contemporaries stick to. (Hardwick may be a genius of a coach, but some of his press conference stuff is shrivel-into-a-ball cringeworthy.)

Oh. You want to make fun of my typo? Let's dance.

And Salem. Goodwin mentioned him in the press conference, which was good to hear. Right back to his very best form.

Apparently they were according to the cockatoo expert sitting next to me. Never seen that before at the footy.

Tholstrup barely sighted. Laurie was good. No idea where he'd play if he returned to the AFL - in a Spargo role? Sestan was better - same question with him. Seems to be doing Bowie-style work off half back.

Summed it up well. This has come as a complete surprise to me, mainly because the North game seemed like a major milestone on a serious descent. It was an absolute disaster any way you looked at it (I actually think they're building quite a nice list, but they're still a long way off making finals). The Essendon game was almost as bad. Goodwin said in a press conference six or seven weeks ago that things can change quickly. I didn't believe it; I thought the best we could hope for was to grind out four or five dirty wins against mediocre teams and maybe sneak an upset or two. This, though, has been a complete shift. Anyway, what a thread from @Adam The God! There were definitely good signs in the Hawthorn game, but this still a ballsy declaration. Finals still seems a long shot to me, but I still reckon we have a really shallow list, so I didn't think we'd make the eight at the start of the season, anyway. I'd love to make finals and see what we can do with far lower expectations than in 22 and 23, but if we don't, establishing a new way of playing, getting games into Lindsay, Langford, Windsor and Tuner (as a permanent defender), washing away some of the stench associated with the 'culture' problems... I think this could end up being a good platform to build something on in 2026 and beyond. Imagine if we could find a way of keeping Kozzie!

In my day, it were Nathan Carroll and Brad Miller trying to keep margin below 15... ...goals! Aye. Goals.

I often think this forum is intellectually stimulating ... and then someone mentions Champion Data.

I'd be a bit disappointed if Turner was squeezed out of the backline. I realise swingmen are valuable, but he looks like an out-and-out defender to me.

Code Sport still absolutely baffles me as a concept. And when you see stuff like this, which is identical to Herald Sun [censored], you have to question how it's still going.

They're un-learning to an extent. Goodwin talked about a sophsiticated version of "just kick it" several times during press conferences in 2021.

I think this may be what happened. The goal was lovely, but Goodwin was still thinking about the very ordinary decision from earlier. (I think "body language" analysis is mostly [censored], but Goodwin dosn't look his usual encouraging self and Chandler looks chastened.) If Goodwin is trying to change the way we deliver inside 50, that kind of slamming it on the boot would be infuriating at any time, and certainly in Round 10.

He'd be no fun at all to play on as a defender.

Extremely keen to see this.

Didn't see this coming at all. Honestly thought we would struggle to beat any above average, let alone very good, teams this season. And at about 20 minutes into the first quarter I thought we were in huge trouble - as in ten-goal loss trouble. Brisbane seemed to be finding players forward of centre with ridiculous ease. The most pleasing thing for me, which I think Goodwin hinted at in the press conference, is that we saw a problem and adjusted - those easy marks dried up. They still got us several times with the 'slingshot' from half back, but it wasn't devastating. Also pleasing to dominate a team as good as that in the last quarter, albeit still having problems with accuracy. Loved Turner, Lindsay and Langford's games. Bowey's scorching hot form continues, as well, which is delightful to watch.

He was extremely good. Exceptional game.