Fat Tony

Close has kicked 23 goals and is averaging 15 possessions and 4 tackles this season. He is a decent AFL player and would definitely get a game for us. McCreery is playing a Melksham role for the Pies. I wouldn't really compare him to the list. Miers is ordinary but is averaging more goals and possessions than Spargo. Castagna is quick and able to contest in the air. He kicked 26-27 goals every year from 2017-2019 and could have been a 5-goal grand final hero in 2019! ;-) (He was also playing in a forward line that included Riewoldt, Lynch and Dusty.) I just think we need to aim higher. The second small forward spot is one of the areas we should look to upgrade to improve our side.

I think you are very generous on our small forwards (Pickett aside). Spargo has great decision making and short kicking but is a midget who offers nothing overhead and he is slow. His lack of speed is a weakness when we get out on the counterattack. 12 possessions per game and 10 goals for the year is pretty ordinary. Bedford has a good engine and change of pace but is an ordinary kick and also offers nothing overhead. Chandler is a player with a more rounded skillset. He is quick and gets more of the ball than the others at VFL level. But he is also a midget. (Chandler is the only one I am really optimistic on at all.) Laurie has not shown he has the athleticism to be an AFL player and does not find enough of the ball at VFL level. 16 possessions per game and 22 goals in a side that has gone 19-1 when he has played. He was very lucky to get a 2 year contract IMO. Compare these players to the small forwards in all the other finals teams and they are miles off it.

Cmon Demon, put the lions to sleep tonight Wee heeheeheehee weeoh aweem away

We have clearly been more attacking the last two games. It worked beautifully the first time but it has cost us against Sydney with turnovers.

The key change we need to make is to play long and boring around the boundary. The Lions are missing their best ruckman. Minimise the number of bad turnovers and strangle them.

Mitch Brown is probably ahead of Van Rooyen on form.

Weideman could but we lose pressure. My view is we are better off with no weak links. The final series can really expose talls who are liabilities on the deck and don’t apply pressure. Go with Van Rooyen, TMac, Gunston and Fritsch with smalls.

The Cats won a final without Couch, Bairstow and Hocking.

I assume the pain could improve in a week to be ok for a preliminary final also

Sounds like you’re pretty optimistic Petracca will be able to play and be able to move better than he did against the swans.

Melksham stopped himself from converting. Not McCartin. He missed two set shots and fell over on another chance in the last. My initial post was on this topic was not to defend Melksham’s failures but to point out that Ben Brown’s inability to give us more is not because he doesn’t have another key forward up there.

Will he need a painkilling injection? Or would they be reluctant to do that?

Gunston would be a much better fit for us. We need to improve the forward line. Play Max 80% ruck with TMac 20%. Simple.

Melksham’s skill errors were fatal for us but he did a good job keeping Patty McCartin out of the game. McCartin had 4 marks and 6 intercept possessions.

Melksham did a good job keeping Patty McCartin out of the contest last night. And Brown was struggling when TMac was in the side.

McKay will get $1m a year. We are already pushing money back for Petracca and Oliver etc. Tomlinson might be traded but we might have to pay some of his contract.

No chance we can afford McKay

I think our biggest problem is that Ben Brown isn’t a good enough number 1 forward option. He doesn’t take enough contested marks and is a liability defensively and on the ground ball.

100% correct.

The decision to hold back our cards and be a bit bolder with our ball movement in finals was a big coaching error IMO. We were clearly unprepared for the new untested game plan and we gave up two goals with risky corridor kicks last night. The change also meant we were out of position defensively at times. And changes like we made need to be player specific. Gawn should not be going for risky inside kicks.

Our best footy of the last two years (except for our glorious September when our midfield was dominating) was at the start of 2021. If TMac is fit, we would be better off with neither Brown or Weideman.

Really ill disciplined and fumbling tonight. Spargo and Brown were liabilities. (Brown is cooked.) Petracca not fit. Jackson given a lesson. Goodwin made a big error changing the game plan in Round 23 by encouraging kicks into the corridor. Too late to learn it and this cost 2 goals.

Did he impress? He looked pretty coordinated and athletic is some of the vision from last years grand final.

September Demons are the best Demons!

I was an initial sceptic but I think the bye has some merits. Why? 1. The tanking in the last round is something the game wants to avoid. 2. It helps the players and teams to be at their best in finals. 3. I also think that ladder finishing position can be distorted by the vagaries of the draw. So I question if the advantages attached finishing higher are fair anyway.