layzie

After doing the Optus Stadium tour in the first week of the year I'd actually really love to see a game there. It's really just flight prices that I can't be bothered with otherwise this would be a great time to get over there for sure.

In my opinion Ross is a square peg in a round hole here. Everyone loves a good messiah returning story though. All sorts of talk that he'll be more attacking but philosophies don't change overnight with things like this. All this suggests to me is that he'll be willing to run and break a line an extra 5% per game. Going completely the other way is against his DNA. If he is indeed the guy to mould this list for the next 2 - 3 years then I see this year as almost a write off with plenty of growing pains. Much like 2014 for us under Roos, these guys will be taught the 'defence first' mentality and this will take time. His training methods are also some of the most demanding in the business so I see a lot of players on this list sinking or swimming and plenty of list turnover at season's end. Obviously Max King's injury really shakes things up. He needs that focal point up forward and the others either aren't good enough or not going to impact. Bottom 4 for sure.

Yeah that's not ideal. Hopefully just a knock to the knee

I'm sorry but I don't see how this is a hard thing to achieve, there are an abundance of IT and software options within CRM systems that would do this seamlessly. It's not like they have to manually write down dates that members sign up. However now that I think of it membership has not been for the calendar year in my experience. After we won the flag I tried to buy merchandise with a members discount in early October 2021 and it didn't work. After speaking the club they said I'd need to renew then and there (My usual annual rollover date is approx end of October) to claim the discount. I think it would be worthwhile to at least point this out and membership status in the account details section.

Well I didn't notice for what it's worth!

It does make for a typical current AFL player name doesn't it.

This says a lot, good stuff. I know quite a few people who work in the industry with their heads in the sand.

Honestly had no idea this was a thing, just assumed it all happened at the same time for home and away games.

Of course, I was just re-iterating my point for the general public 🙂 There's a lot of question marks about this forward line and I couldn't agree more on Lobb. He had threats that you still had to prepare for even when not firing. Gonzo mentioned us in 2019 and it does feel very similar in terms of list changes and pinning hopes on speculative key forwards.

Oh for sure, if I leave them a little too long I'll probably just throw them all in for one giant Nutri-bullet experiment!

Just remembered I've got 4 bananas in the fruit bowl that are right at the apex of ripeness, need to see to them quickly.

This is exactly how I'm seeing Laurie at the moment. Not fit enough to play majority midfield, doesn't have the ability to pressure enough as a small forward. He's neither fish nor fowl as it stands. I want him to succeed and was excited when we drafted him, the question is will he find a position?

The post we all wish we thought of first..

Man of the ages. A true leader and worth another donation.

That I agree with. This mid group needs something a bit extra to go the next step and it is probably that Cripps type that will win a ball when it's there to be won in a crucial moment. My original point is that I'd find it hard to see them drop off completely and miss finals by a long shot due to this midfield, it still has a fair bit going for it and also a backline that will keep them in games. I don't see top 4 though.

Yeah I think I've had a similar issue before. It really should have when you are paid up till at least, that site and the app still appear a little clunky at times.

Why is this thread running 'hot' if he hasn't signed?

You reckon they will struggle that much though Binman? 6th in contested ball and 6th in clearances (3rd in stoppage clearances) last year. Fair enough they probably lack at least another strong body in there but these numbers surely suggest they're doing something right?

So the link in the email is wrong? That's helpful

Very early days but there is a chance that I'll be chatting with Adrian Gallagher soon for an interview style project I've been kicking around. There will be plenty of questions regarding Barass as a coach 🙂

He doesn't need to be a world beater in front of goal but if he could just improve his accuracy 5-10% it would make the difference. He's going to miss them and that's fine, but as you said he needs to nail them with a bit more regularity. Especially if this talk of 70% forward is true.

I would have chalked Laurie in for a debut last year but there's something just a little off from the limited stuff I've seen this pre season.

'The Cripps Rule' Everyone involved in that debacle should have been suspended themselves.

Snap!

Kane-o does strike me as a Law of Attraction kind of guy.