Nasher

Yep. I thought Dunstan was fine, even good, but that’s the pecking order. I thought Smith was okay too other than that one Very Joel Smith moment that we won’t talk about any further.

Out: Dunstan, Smith In: Viney, Lever

Make no mistake, that was an annihilation. Unbelievably frustrating to watch though. Moving on.

7.0

3.12 We’ll finish the game 15.14 😁

That’s rough I think. Intensity is right up - other than the last few minutes the ball was played totally in our half. Just not taking opportunities.

Well I got that wrong. Far out. Game should be out of Richmond’s reach. One of those half time resets would be great thanks Goody.

We won’t be that inefficient going forward in the rest of the game. Scoreboard flatters our opposition a lot. Dunstan fitting right in, really good so far. Indicative of the strength of our list that we can lose Viney and have a replacement just slot right in.

First time I’ve been nervous all year. Let’s go!

Pleased TMac was able to get a few kicks. I’m supportive of him being dropped, but I’m also a fan and hope he is able to keep the heat on Brown and Weid.

While technically true, I’d say that game doesn’t count. Brown was hardly going at that stage, and was actually dropped after it.

I was impressed too, they look polished across the ground. Definitely a top 4 contender in my view.

Oh dear, West Coast. Oh dear.

West Coast/Port game terrible so far. Hard to believe these sides have been strong in recent years, with no significant personnel change (acknowledging West Coast have been massively disrupted this year). Slow ball movement and terrible skills. Should be a nil-all draw.

Tex: We know the way we want to play, and it's starting to come to tuition now. hahahah

Lol. Disgruntled VFL fan?

My son plays in under 10s team and I see very little arguing with the umpires at that age. Basically none. That’s because arguing with the umpire isn’t human nature, it’s human conditioning.

I’m excited now. Excited for Weid as I’ve been a backer, and this will be the first time he’s had the chance to properly operate in tandem with Brown. Looking forward to seeing what Dunstan brings. Hopefully he causes a very hard decision to be made when Viney is back next week.

If that were the case, whichever of TMac or Weideman were the nominal "playing if Jackson isn't" would be on the extended bench with Jackson. In the "field 18 all play" scenario, they're all playing irrespective of if Jackson does, so I ruled that out as an explanation.

Thanks Captain!

Indeed - even in yesterday’s presser, when specifically asked the question whether all three could play in the same forward line, he said “the short answer is we won’t”. There’s no room for TMac back with Smith in, they won’t play him on the wing, but all three are named on the field. Goody is playing funny buggers. One of the three is injured or otherwise unavailable which won’t be revealed until the final teams are out. It’s the only way I can make sense of the selections as they are.

If Useless AFL Stats keep this up, they’ll have to drop the first word of their name.

It’s probably a combination of out of sight, out of mind and wanting avoid making a difficult choice and needing to disappoint someone. Early on I tried to convince myself of a scenario where BBB doesn’t get picked for those exact reasons, but now that the dust has settled it’s clear to me that he’s the best of the three and must come in. Who goes out is down to a coin toss though. Tough choice, glad I’m not the one making it.

The clear options to me are: Drop Hunt for Salem, or put Brayshaw back to the wing and drop Jordon for Salem. I favour the first, but reluctantly. Like the forwards conundrum, it involves dropping a player who has done enough to keep his spot. I really like Brayshaw at half back and I think Jordon has made the wing his own. I feel bad for Hunt, but competition is currently very tight. I don’t see Bowey or Rivers going out either, but it might be a possibility. I can’t see Hibberd being a factor unless injuries start to mount; in my view he is now behind all the players currently in the side as well as Salem. Tomlinson is backup for flag 3 talls. I have no doubt he’ll play here and there throughout the season and do a fine job.

Nobody has said players aren’t allowed to be emotional. That’s a strawman argument. The reason players can’t control their frustration is because they’ve been conditioned that they don’t have to. I’m betting by round 15, players have magically figured the secret and will pull off the impossible (according to you), and won’t be arguing with the umpires at all. There was one moment early in the game that was picked up on the mic. Trac gave away a (soft) free and just said to the umpire, “can you watch it?”, to which the umpire said “I’ll watch it”. I suppose Trac should have just flapped his wings and stomped his foot.