Fat Tony

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.

I think Jackson as a centre bounce midfielder is definitely worth experimenting with. He is big and quick and hard to tackle and has great hands. If he can use these ingredients to become a clearance midfielder and also be a bit more consistent with his marking, he will finish the season as a top 5 player in the game.

Nick Larkey and Tim Membrey would be other comparisons to van Rooyen. I think he could end up as a defender at AFL level like Michael Hurley.

We will obviously be better with Lever and Petty back (and Salem), but I don't see turnovers at half forward as an issue. We are always so well set up behind the ball and usually play the boundary line. The whole game plan is about minimising the chance for them to score if we turn it over. The general clearance is also different than the centre bounce because we can set up with an extra behind the ball. Opposition clubs will usually give us this as they can't match Petracca and Oliver. We will often lose clearances badly because we are outnumbered but not suffer on the scoreboard.

I watched the replay last night and I think we played pretty well and much better than has been . We were excellent in the first quarter and would have been further in front had we not failed to convert from set shot. The Bombers scoring shots were from lucky wobbly kicks inside 50 or 50m penalties. The second half was a bit more concerning only because of the centre clearance. As much of a weapon the centre clearance was for us in the finals last year, we were not a great over the course of the season last year. I would like us to be a bit more conservative in there. I still think the only way we lose at the moment (when our pressure is high) is if we kick poorly for goal and/or we get badly beaten in the centre clearance. Both these things happened on Friday and we still won by 29 points.

Very good summary. Rosman’s athletic profile is exceptional but he fumbled too much yesterday. I think Chandler was better than has been reported. I don’t think he’s far off the AFL. He is better than Spargo and Bedford in the air and a much longer kick. Daw, Dunstan and Melksham were all underwhelming.

Howes looks clean and he has good pace and size. He runs on top of the ground a bit like Kelly from GWS and Gunston. He needs to find more of the ball but what he does do looks pretty classy.

How did Howes slide that far in the draft? Looks like he will be a star!

I think this day in 1990 was one of the greatest wins in my time.