Fat Tony

As an opposition, the real key is beating Melbourne is centre clearances, which is harder said than done. This is our main vulnerability due to the 6-6-6 rule. I would hard tag Oliver at the clearances and then put a defensive runner on Petracca post clearance to try and stop him kicking goals. With ball movement, the key is to have players behind the ball and introduce more randomness. I would attack from the backline on the Langdon wing or down the corridor. The ideas is to force us to counter attack on the fast plays on the Brayshaw/Jordon wing (which reduces the damage of the turnovers). I would encourage the use of torps or mongrels into a congested forward 50 or when Max is down the line. Slow the game down (with numbers behind the ball) if ahead on the scoreboard and speed it up (by kicking more torps down the middle) if behind.

He is on 197 games.

Baker was good. I’m not really a huge fan generally but he was clean and showed his pace. Laurie had a good last quarter and did some classy passages of play but he doesn’t look to have have enough AFL qualities. I will be very surprised if he makes it. He is not quick and small, so he would need to be elite in terms of skill and become very strong. He doesn’t do enough to show he is able to go to the next level. Rosman could make it but needs to improve his hands. He’s not clean enough but is athletic enough. TMac played very well. Van Rooyen was quiet and should be switched into the backline. Melksham was decent. Tomlinson was ok but is way behind Petty and even Smith. Chandler was ok but missed a sitter. Moniz-Wakefield shows some speed and promise.

Hopefully Lever and Viney come in. And hopefully we don’t forget how much we HATE Hawthorn.

I’m still dirty about losing to Carlton in the preseason.

You are right that the kick outs go to the left side. But it seems to me that our fast breaks are generally on Langdon's side. Maybe it is more about the way we defend and our zone entices the opposition to take the Brayshaw wing, so if there is a turnover we can switch to Langdon's side. Maybe it is a misconception and we just get more value from the Langdon fast breaks.

Are the 18 on the field locked in? Brown, TMac and Weideman all there.

Langdon is one of our most important players. While I think Bowey could be used at a pinch in the open side wing role if Langdon gets injured, in reality Langdon is nearly irreplaceable. I would argue the fact that we have only really been able to recruit one true winger of AFL standard has meant we have become more deliberate in our ball movement. Brayshaw and Jordon have done a great job as defensive wingers but our whole system with ball in hand has been created to protect their deficiencies (lack of speed) and maximise the marking ability of Gawn and Jackson. While another true winger would make us more dynamic, I think the tactic of playing one 'fast' side and one 'slow' side has been revolutionary and not fully understood.

For the AFL, having 9 umpires on the field and only 3 being able to pay free kicks is stupid. So Eddie's idea to spread the umpires and allow them to all pay free kicks makes sense. How often do players throw the ball when facing towards the boundary line? While I don't completely agree with Eddie's proposed rule changes, I think the principle of the rules having less room for interpretation. I hate the way that the deliberate out of bounds and behinds rules are today - it leads to hometown bias as we suffered in the Adelaide game last year. And so I liked the hands in the back interpretation for push in the back because it was clear cut. I also agree that bouncing the ball in the centre is also unnecessary and does not add anything really to the game.

The Blues won in 1995 with veterans Madden, Kernahan, Williams, Bradley, Dean and Spalding but also needed the injection of youth in Koutoufides, Christou, Camporeale and Ratten. Our list profile is obviously much better than the Dockers, but it is possible for ships to align and to win it with a mix of veterans and young rising stars.

Bedford might break the record for most games in a season this year. The sub can't play at Casey this week as the VFL is before the AFL but can play two games next week.

Hope your hat tastes good Andy. Hawkins got off.

Why did TMac take so many ruck contests?

Maybe down at Kardinia Park. Geelong is a marginal seat after all.

Hibberd was dropped against Brisbane.

Emergencies are Smith, Chandler, Bedford and Dunstan. Tomlinson not in the squad.

Assuming Smith recovers from Covid well, I would bring him back at Tomlinson's expense. I think Smith offers more than Tomlinson now and also think he has scope to become a really good player by September if we give him enough games. Plus GWS has a fairly small forward line and Hogan is the only player that Tomlinson could play on. Brown will come back for Weideman, who will also be stiff. TMac is better on the deck and gives our team more balance. Petty has only had one game in the VFL and could do with another run.

I like Chandler best of this lot. He is tough and capable in the air and a decent long kick. Bedford has a good tank but isn't clean enough. I know he has not had much of a run at it but Laurie has shown very little in his VFL appearances and lacks athleticism. While Spargo is a very clever and tough player, small forward is one of the few positions on the ground where we can find an upgrade.

He’s getting better but he’s still got another level with his marking. The main improvement has been his timing is now consistently good. If he can improve his hands/catching, he’ll be unstoppable.

We might have been a bit sub par in offence last night but I don’t think any side would have got within 3 goals of us. The defensive effort was incredible.

I hope you are right about the result tonight. I still think it will be a tough game and I don't think Port's form line is as bad as has been reported. The stats on the Port vs Hawthorn game showed Port winning inside 50 easily and they had +1 on shots on goal. Hawthorn also kicked 13 straight from set shots which made a big difference. Hawthorn have been able to walk in a lot of goals this year and Port's defence has been breaking down, leaking goals out the back. Hopefully we can do the same again tonight.

Port were stiff with injuries against Brisbane and they were superior in general play against Hawthorn and Adelaide but inefficient. This won't be an easy game. That said, we will win by a margin if we are at our best.

I got tickets.

Someone has to come out for Lever though and Tomlinson is the likely one out. And Petty is back in the VFL this week, so TMac to defence would only be a stop gap anyway.