Go the Biff

Nah, I think that guy DV8ed somewhere

probably wise - I like many others were burnt by the fleeting comet that was Darren Cuthbertson's career

As a forward Howe was very one dimensional. See ball and launch. That's pretty much it. When you're that predictable a defender can take measures to counteract it. Blocking, unbalancing him in his run-up, jumping in front of him. It didn't always work but most defenders had him figured out well enough to diminish his impact as a forward. He was never great on the ground as a forward. While its a small sample, Fritsch has shown that he assesses each contest & then decides what he needs to do. Sometimes he flies for the mark, sometimes flies to spoil (that spoil down to front & square Spargo was deliberate & brilliant), sometimes he stays down behind the pack, other times he tries to get to the front. The kid has footy smarts and is multi-dimensional. When he improves his strength and tank he will be very hard to match up on. At Melbourne Howe was developing into a very good half back. At Collingwood he has become consistently a very, very good half back. There's a bit of irony here. I believe that Fritsch will end up playing exactly the role that Howe went to Collingwood to play. And that ain;t half back

Disagree with this. Garlett has been in the game for 10 years and over that period has been one of the most consistent small forwards around. Including his time at Carlton. His 2014 was a complete bomb but I was informed by someone at the the Blues that this was mainly due to off-field family issues. Then Malthouse had his fire sale. No doubt his form was off for 2 weeks. Perhaps form, desire, our crap forward setup & entries - who knows. Conditions perhaps ? When he was young I recall him being good in the wet (I always feared him when we played Carlton) but recently he's been the worst wet tracker since Let's Elope I hope he finds touch real quick. With the forward line we could have, I would love to see Charlie and Jeffy creating havoc amongst it Lies, damned lies & statistics. Nonetheless, here are some Garlett stats. Make of 'em what you will Year Games Goals Avge Gls Tackles Avge Tackles 2009 10 12 1.2 23 2.3 2010 20 39 2.0 73 3.7 2011 24 48 2.0 96 4.0 2012 22 29 1.3 72 3.3 2013 22 43 2.0 76 3.5 2014 9 12 1.3 23 2.6 2015 22 40 1.8 90 4.1 2016 17 29 1.7 54 3.2 2017 21 42 2.0 74 3.5 2018 5 9 1.8 15 3.0 172 303 1.8 596 3.5

As I said in another thread, against Geelong he took one good mark and got a free kick in the first quarter and then pretty much disappeared. Worse than that (and why I think he's been dropped) was that he didn't bring the ball to ground from contests and was outmarked on several occasions. Outmarked by half back flankers such as Tom Stewart and Kolo Jazz Knee. Against Brizzy he touched the ball 6 times but his four kicks seem to have made an impact on you. The Weed hardly starred on Tuesday but I don't recall him being outmarked in contests and I believe that's one of the key requirements the FD have for that position. Pedo has some good attributes - good hands, a willingness to put his body on the line and I think he is one of the better kicks at the club. I doubt anyone undersells Pedo's manful contributions last year but that was last year and it was playing as a ruckman. As a key forward he just doesn't deliver often enough, both week to week and within games

Barely. He touched the pill 6 times. Took one mark. Against Geelong he took one mark (a very strong mark at that) and received a free kick, both on the first quarter. After which he pretty much vanished. And you think people were shocked when he was dropped ?

He is seriously strong Dusty and his fend off works better than others who try it because he seizes the initiative and attacks the tackler. I'd like to see, rather than trying to grab his arm, tacklers block / deflect his fend off arm from inside to out which would open up his ribs nicely. Wax on, wax off.

Figured your thoughts on our energy sapping game style might slot in nicely here

Calling @Clint Bizkit

Same here. Some posters are rightfully bemoaning the fact that we didn't switch the play. Problem is we had no runners to switch to. We need a couple of "wide receivers" to pinch an American term. Blokes who know their job is to run and present. To be a release option outside the contest and smart enough not to get sucked into the skirmishes. Jones was doing this to an extent in the third quarter. I once hoped Billy 15 would do this but in the past 12 months, he's looked like a bloke who is terrified he's going to make a mistake - and consequently does. I'd like to think that Hannan could adapt to this role. Also agree would prefer to see Fritta on the flank but he has to be managed. He's looked gassed about 5 times in each game he's played. But he can use the footy. I've some hope for ANB as I've seen him play decent footy. But his disposal by hand and foot is horrid. It's not only skill it's application. You should respect each possession you get and he doesn't. He's just careless and if he can't fix that I see no future for him outside of running marathons Harmes I have no hope for. Fumbles, poor user of the pill, runs to dumb spots, goes the hero mark too often and regularly gets pinged trying to break tackles. Someone should tell him that it takes more than bad tatts to become Dusty. He gives me the [censored]

Especially when you are chasing opposition backsides most of the night. I put the last quarter less down to white flagging it than just being knackered

All good - my sense of humour has been shunted a bit tonight. FWIW the article is a pretty good read.

There's an article written by the Storm's Christian Welch on The Players' Voice which gives some details of that camp. No learning of games plans on it

Josh Mahoney's response - SEN

First bloke to clock someone wins the Andy Goodwin medal

A very relaxed Jesse Hogan on the Triple M Rush Hour with JB & Brownless. He's on from about the 32.45 minute mark

Detention and 1500 lines would seem appropriate

The recipients liked them so that's the main thing. The Demon shop is a blessing for the unimaginative father

Both of my daughters (and my sister) got Demons pjs a couple of Christmases ago. Not retro but they love them

There's a chance I'll be off air for a while so I'll nominate the Pats to win now.

Vikings 20 @ Eagles 17 Jags 10 @ Pats 24

Interested in knowing what your thoughts would be on implementing a conference style system & schedule in AFL. @Macca as well & anyone else who wants to drop in their opinion

Agree with above Falcons 21 @ Eagles 10 Titans 10 @ Pats 31 Jags 14 @ Steelers 20 Saints 31 @ Vikings 23

Jags Chiefs Falcons Saints

Thanks for running this again Macca. The beauty of this comp is that it seems so simple - yeah pick 3 away winners - but it's not quite that easy to pick up points. I think 2 or 3 times this season I lost points in games decided in OT so the comp certainly keeps you interested. And I think I got my tips in every round so that's a PB for me ! Congrats Clintosaurus - too good & a great score Bring on the playoffs