layzie

I was at ground level of this view and going off the consistency to pay holds and pushes in the game I'd written this one down as a free. They totally whiffed that one I thought.

Here's a positive: Selwyn Griffith. After the struggle to fill Burgo's shoes in 2022 (From what we could see anyway) I thought he really stepped up to the plate this year. We were back to covering the MCG well and for most of the season we finished games very, very strongly as opposed to last season. Whatever he's doing, he's got the balance right and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in 24 with some new faces and hopefully a healthy list. Go Selwyn!

It's been hard to bring this subject up without someone pointing out that we've won the ultimate success but I think there is merit to it. 4 finals in a row on the MCG, 3 of them with horrible inaccuracy in front of goal that cost us in the end. Instead of putting this down to just bad luck and hoping for it to be different next time if would be good to drill down into this and find out why this is happening. Great teams are mentally sound when it counts and they don't kick 17 behinds in finals too often. You could look at things like execution under pressure in the last few minutes as well but I'm not as critical on the Viney and McVee mistakes because that is largely fatigue factor and we've seen those guys stand up time and time again this year. We should have never been in that spot in the first place.

100% I love how in the absence of sniko or heat sensors or whatever they use that we've all just accepted that a finger moving is definitive proof of touching the ball just like a non-moving finger means that there was no touch. Fingers move quite easily, I can hold out my hand right now and move fingers easily without a ball touching it at super speed. I would be practicing to flap all fingers frantically when reaching to touch. It might look silly but they're only going frame by frame so I'd say it plants enough seed of doubt. I'd also be doing exactly what Marchbank did in Rd 22 and plead with the goal umpire the second you whiff it and put the seed of doubt in his/her head too. You won't be branded too much of a cheat because no-one can really tell anyway. Yes there is sarcasm in this post but sportsmanship is dead and the rules and technology are there to be gamed. Who cares how you win just win! 🙃

I dunno. I have been critical in the last 48 hours with aspects of our game but I don't feel like potting individual premiership player's playing styles. I love Kozzie's hunger for a goal and I love Spargo's selflessness to look for someone in a better position. You may well be correct in your assessment for Kozzie going forward but I didn't mind his game on Fri.

This. We are destined for a Grand Final week tribunal headline, destined.

Really great work Joeboy.

Honestly I would have preferred for him to kick the cover off it into the space in the 50 and worse case scenario if it dribbled OOB for deliberate we could have set ourselves defensively while it was still bouncing.

I've warmed to the idea of getting a key defender, not a key forward. Someone who can intercept and play the third tall while we swing Petty forward. Steven May will be 32 by the time next season rolls around, it would be nice if we got someone who could eventually take his place too.

I have no idea but this is my guess: At some point they probably decided to review all goals in the finals whether they were on the screen or not, they've done it behind the scenes and then decided it needed to be pulled back. I didn't like it at the time but I haven't dared to watch it again to tell if it was the right decision or not. A lot of people told me it was.

The Ronald Dale Barassi cup is a no brainer to me if they were going to name it. He's the Vince Lombardi and Tom Brady of our sport all rolled into one.

It's a slight concern isn't it!

Sometimes the cool light of day starts on the following Monday when all the water cooler convos come home to roost.

That's right. So I guess what I'm asking is at when is it acceptable to say the above and when does it become a counter-intuitive exercise? We talked a lot last year about how much Tom McDonald meant to our structure but when we had him back this year he was suddenly useless in a lot of people's eyes. Had Melksham been injured last year I don't think many people would have batted an eye lid. Teams deal with injuries and we've dealt with ours very well.

Big shout out to @WheeloRatings as well. That data is absolute gold and in most cases none of us can access normally even if we wanted to pay for it.

Yep, not gonna win a thing with those two up front. Like safety steel it's time to get real.

Sliding doors? Or doors to doom?

Any life is better than being that person..

We definitely need luck, good luck too not just normal luck. Get down to the store and get bags full of luck. That and a team that takes their chances early, that's literally all we need.

We need a very good forward coach. Best in class.

There's no cool light of day here, both yesterday and today have been pretty warm.

Watched the Kayo mini of yesterday's game. Not only was a thrilled to see the Dubs get up and Jesse play a brilliant game but how great was it to see the Port Adelaide Crows fans crying like the jerks that they are. Looks like it's not your year thundercrackers!

Port also went out in straight sets. Is that a positive?

Scare them the moment they walk through the door and then tell them that they need to be able to perform under pressure just like that in a final.

You better damn believe it. They ride in waves and make our decision making with ball in hand look like kindergarten. Love watching this team, come on dubs go all the way. Brisbane v GWS Grand Final would wipe away about 70% of the hurt this year.