Fat Tony

I reject the premise of this thread. The Swans lost the first 6 one year and made it. It looks like 12 wins will be needed this year.

I remember when we brought in Ted Fidge to belt Darren Millane and he got a six week ban. (I loved Ted as a 7 year old because of his name.) I don't think we need to do stuff like that anymore.

The VFL has a bye next week, so giving Bedford a game at Casey makes sense.

I favour a twilight/night grand final. The entertainment and fireworks will be spectacular.

Is it on Apple yet?

Ironically, my mental health improved dramatically when Neeld was given the boot.

If Langdon keeps getting successfully tagged we might need to shift him back for a bit and put Bowey on the wing. Tagging a half back is almost impossible in a zone defence. If that happens, Salem would be needed down back to be the kicker to find a mark and release pressure.

I like the look of Van Rooyen and I think he will be a good player. I have seen him play 10 quarters of footy at VFL level. Have you actually seen him play 58 or just highlights? In five games this season, Van Rooyen has 7 goals and is averaging 9.2 disposals and 4.4 marks per game. So, he is going ok as a forward but not dominating. My argument is that all the best key forwards in the AFL are 198cm+, except for Cameron. I don’t think he is like Fritsch, Cameron or Gunston, who are all quicker, more elusive, better on the ground and more skilful than Van Rooyen. I just don’t think he would ever get the one-on-one opportunities he would need as a forward at AFL level. Our game plan involves kicking it to massive packs until we break into open space when pace is the key. By the way, did you know that Steven May was originally recruited to play as a forward and was named full forward in the 2010 Under 18 All Australian side? Van Rooyen’s VFL Statistics Sandringham 3 goals 2 behinds 11 kicks 1 handball 12 disposals 8 marks 4 tackles 2 hit outs 98 dream team points Williamstown 2 goals 5 kicks 3 handballs 8 disposals 3 marks 1 tackles 46 dream team points Coburg 5 kicks 8 handballs 13 disposals 3 marks 4 hit outs 41 dream team points Richmond 1 goal 1 behinds 3 kicks 2 handballs 5 disposals 2 marks 2 tackles 34 dream team points Box Hill 1 goal 1 behind 7 kicks 2 handballs 9 disposals 6 marks 2 hit outs 52 dream team points

And Woewodin should be back from concussion.

I watched the first half yesterday. Baker looks to be improving. He still makes skill/decision making errors but is looking stronger. It was good to see Laurie find more of the ball. He needs to get 25+ possessions every week at this level to even have a chance at making the AFL. Majak is back in form and looks too good for VFL. I still think Van Rooyen is a defender at AFL level. Our game style is based on kicking down the line to the giants. He could fill out like a Hurley or Weitering but isn't tall enough to be a key forward in this system and isn't nimble enough to be a mid size forward like Fritsch.

I wish we would ice games using more short kicks. I get there is risk of a turnover but I think we should back our skills a bit more. We are conceding too many late goals.

I wonder if Langdon gets a hard tag, we should shift him to half back and play a 7 man defence and push Kossie, ANB, TMac or Fristch to the wing (with just 5 on 5 in our forward line). Or we could subtly switch Bowey or Hunt onto the open wing, which will be a better option when Salem returns. Tagging a half back is more difficult in a team defence and against us it means Lever or May will be loose if they push an extra forward into the stoppages. As much as we won't Langdon to out run his opponent, we also want to have some tactics to counter him getting a hard tag.

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.