layzie

Do you guys know what Europa streams on? It's probably Stan yeah? PS: Responses to this question 1 post max, otherwise we'll have our butts kicked for talking Soccer in a footy thread 🤪

Excellent comparison. And yes with the 'route one' direct approach you need that target man doing the donkey work, getting knock downs and holding the ball up with back to goal. It's really quite similar and this is why it doesn't surprise me when I hear about some coaches like Clarko looking to the other sports for research.

Then a 'premiership wrought iron gate' which is obviously much harder to open.

The fact that Dunstan didn't get one game in that period baffles me. People were talking all year about how the recruitment of Grundy at least helped to keep Max fresh all year yet we totally rode Viney into the ground. What would we have done if he got injured god forbid? The smaller details count and they add up to the bigger picture. If I really wanted to conspiracy theory it I’d say that the cumulative workload he had over that period of time resulted in the fatigue that muffed his last kick in 2023, obviously I’m not going to reach that far but he got battered around this year.

I listened yesterday morning. I'm rarely able to listen live on Mon night and I didn't see that it was Tuesday so I assumed I was late to the party so that's probably the best thing that's happened to me in these last two weeks. Excellent show guys, I think a lot of our questions were laced with some chili due to the mood we were in but you guys dealt with them exceptionally well. You struck the balance between positivity and complete despair well too and I think a lot of people would have found this a good listen and easy to relate. The 87 prelim feeling was a great comparison which I hadn't thought of, mainly because I was very young at the time. For some reason the reference point I compare this feeling to the most is the end of 2017 when we missed finals. Different scenarios of course but if then there's so many questions, what ifs and promises of being so close but for whatever reason just fluffing it. Binman nails it when he talks about the need for elite or at least very good field kicking skill. The main catchcry is for a KPF which we do need but I’m not convinced it’s all we need. One or two elite kicks of the footy through the middle would open up more possibilities when it comes to moving the ball through there. Another thing Binman noted which I’ve been too annoyed to realise is that most teams are playing the forward half pressure game in these finals. So while I still wonder if the gamestyle is giving us the best chance with the players we have, I do see that this is still a proven method in finals. The difference is that when the forward 50 isn’t open, the Pies, the Lions and Giants have that bit more skill and are able to thread a few more passes into 50 than we are. That and we need to kick a lot straighter. Andy also brought up something that I’ve never heard one person in the media, commentary or expert opinions say. How is a player considered an A-grader if they aren’t an elite or at least very good kick? This to me is a requirement of an A-grader, if you are excellent at winning the ball or make great decisions but have Simon Godfrey level kicking then you are B-grade at best along with names like Parrish, Libba, Mcrae, Steele etc. Great stuff, I really need to stop thinking about it for a bit. Both of these games I've felt progressively worse as the week has gone on for some reason. Thanks anyway though guys.

For some of them they couldn't kick well in the first place. They may have come in to the club and really got to work on honing their routine and aspects of the skill but this may have just papered over some cracks with their base level technique and then once the whips were cracking they reverted to the old habits. Then you look at all the work Mark Williams did with the guys over the off season. They were binning them from everywhere and Max was really focussed on his new routine and more straight line movement and trying to account for his right to left. He wasn’t perfect but his routine looked so much more assured. Fast forward to the halfway mark of the season onwards and he’s back to the running outwards and raking across it, ending up with shanks that don’t stand a chance like we saw on Friday. When we are drafting kids we need to focus a bit more on their base level of technique in kicking, both for goal and field kicking. It’s time to put some value back in to the most basic fundamental skill of the sport.

Valid point. However if that were the case and he chose to sit out for anything less than serious personal reasons then I'd be extremely disappointed in Grundy and his professionalism. Whether or not he's been treated poorly he's still under contract with us and if healthy should be available for selection. Worst case scenario and I'd like to think it's not that one.

Works for me!

Yeah and while Smith had a good last game I'm not pencilling him down for 30 goals in a year.

It's one side of it. Another is the mental aspect. Another is that technique simply stinks.

I don't think I've had enough Scotch this winter.

Whether it was touched or not, I still don't know how they came to the 100% definitive decision to overturn as the ball was going back to the centre.

Nothing is definite and a premiership window can be blown open or slammed shut at any time but we have next to no-one in the 23 y.o to 26 y.o category therefore the tradition window view for now rings true.

I think that's probably fair.

Maybe he actually likes us.

You may very well have unleashed the use of Soccer formations in our game @Binmans PA! I don't mind the concept at all. It's like a bulking of the midfield similar to Collingwood but with with some 'defensive midfielders' who would work back to cover the space and force the intercept advantage. I don't know how easy it would be to implement but it could definitely help us stretch the field.

And intelligence.

Yeah I admire the calculated risk, I'll also admire them if they get us out of this unscathed. You win some you lose some but you keep moving your chess pieces as needed.

I think it's worth asking the question and I hope you don't get panned too much for asking it. On my lunchtime walk just now I was literally thinking this. Making the top 4 is extremely difficult, I feel that now we are accustomed to these successful home and away seasons that we just assume we’ll automatically be back there again next year. The reality set in today that there is absolutely no guarantee of this. There are a heap of teams around us getting better, Carlton have put their name in lights, Bris and Collingwood won’t go away, Dogs and Freo could get it together and Sydney could be back with a bang. Then there’s the potential bolters, I have a real feeling that Adelaide are not only going play finals next year but make a serious play for the top 4. The reality is that teams are improving and a place in the 4 isn’t owned by us. On the other hand it is pretty amazing to me how our game style has managed to hold up in the past two seasons(Home and away). I wouldn’t have been surprised if we’d taken a step back after the flag but you have to say it’s impressive. Gut feel right now (and I preface this by saying right now it could change after trade and draft and when depression has subsided) is that 2 straight sets exits will weigh heavily. I’d say we play finals next year but miss top 4. I get ribbed a bit sometimes for using Soccer comparisons but in 2022 when Liverpool were competing for a domestic title and were in the European Champions League final, they ended up my Man City then dominated the first half of the Champions League Final only to not take their chances and lose to Real Madrid 1-0 who had one shot on target the whole game. This knocked the stuffing out of them and along with some other issues I think it contributed to their nose dive in the EPL last year. I don’t want to be negative but I can see a world where this happens to us, the honeymoon period of 2021 is well and truly over. Alternatively I can see us rebound stronger with a few new inclusions and tweaks to the already successful game plan. Will cross fingers every week for minimal injuries. I'm hopeful, but I will temper my expectations. At the start of 22 and 23 I expected to make a PF bare minimum and was convinced there was another flag in the list, I'm not so sure right now. Then again I also do better when my expectations are tempered, some people can shoot for the moon but it just raises the bar too high and increases the margin for disappointment. I love the game above all and will try to enjoy watching this great side play, anything else is a bonus.

Exactly. I was going to say how can we be bruise free when we were 1st in contested ball and 5th in tackles this year?

Me too, that Grand Final was bliss. Aker magic!

One thing that really peeves me off right now is a free kick deep in the forward line and then a 50 straight after to bring them right out of trouble. The whole thing happens too quickly for comprehension and it's always impossible to explain to someone who doesn't know much about the game.

I actually thought the way our guys reacted was perfect. Everyone kept their head in the game and on our system but our trusty enforcer was able to do a little flag flying. Some can do it while keeping their head in the game like Viney and some can't, no need to start a brawl for all.

All the best Luke with whatever the next chapter is in life. It's all ahead of you 🙂

I really couldn't give a rip right now. We lost the game, still dealing with that. Glad he didn't squeal but not in the mood to laud someone for helping the opposition bend the rules.