RalphiusMaximus

Is there a replay available anywhere?

Smith is my smokey for this season. He looked a fair way off last I saw him, but I just love the way he moves. He has that smooth running style where he glides across the ground. I could see him carrying the ball out of HB.

We're an easy double-up game? Plus Collingwood?

Honestly, we've got a pretty good record against Brisbane. I'm calling it a win that we have them twice. There are teams we have a lot more trouble with that could have been doubled up for us. Overall I'm pretty happy with this. It's not super-easy, but we have a pretty good run to start the season and most of the sides that really trouble us we only play once. I think we should do pretty well out of this draw.

I'm ok with this pick. He looks like he has good hands, which is what the Weed always lacked. I'm not seeing him double-grabbing marks he should hold easily. He's agile and can work at ground level and he kicks straight. He looks to have all the tools to succeed. We also have plenty of time to build his body before he needs to be slotted into the senior side. Looks like a good pick.

I wouldn't be trusting any of the coalition in charge. First thing they'd do is sell off assets to make the books look better.

Moniz-Wakefield looks interesting. I've seen him do some very nice things the last few weeks. He needs to be more involved in games, which is not unusual for a young player, but there are flashes. He nearly kicked an Eddie Betts-like goal from the pocket today that would have been insane if he hadn't almost put it out on the full.

Honestly, the last few weeks our forward work has been more reminiscent of 2019-20 where we were looking great around the ground then just belting blind bombs into the forward 50 and hoping someone would make something happen. I suspect that may be a function of opposition pressure on the mids as much as anything, but it's causing our whole attack to break down. Without proper delivery, the forwards have stopped moving and are now sitting back waiting to see where the bomb is going to land. That gives the defence a chance to take the initiative. The good news is that the team turned that around really quickly in 2021 and we dominated, so hopefully with some minor tweaking they can get things sorted out and start scoring again.

Well, that was interesting. From where I sit it looked a lot like they did to us what we do to other sides. They choked our scoring and then they an us into the ground. They worked a lot harder defensively, put pressure on our disposals and got a lot of cheap turnovers out of it. Their defence worked as a unit and dominated our tall forwards. Their midfield depth looked better than ours as well. While Viney and Oliver held up, the rest of the midfield really struggled. Petracca was all but invisible (I hear he was sick?) On the good side of the ledger for us: The usual suspects did what they usually do. Gawn, Oliver, Viney and Brayshaw all get a pass. Jordon held his own I was thrilled for Toby Bedford to get a couple of nice goals (although one of them I'm fairly sure the runner told him off for not passing) Loved seeing Rivers vs Young on the wing contesting for a loose bouncing ball. Young is every bit the gun we thought he'd be, so for Rivers to attack the contest that hard and get the win was a great credit to him.

4.5 - Gawn 4.5 - Viney 4.5 - Oliver 4.5 - Brayshaw 2 - Pickett 1 - Jordon

Fremantle has more or less followed the same pattern we have in building their side. They have dominant mids and backs and an ok forward-line. Their tall backs absolutely destroyed our tall forwards today. Part of that was the pressure from the midfield, but they also did what our own defence often does to other sides. They worked together, tied up the forwards and created space for an intercept mark. With Brown really the only marking threat to worry about it was a simple matter for them to block him out of the contest and let a teammate take the mark.

Both are supremely fit. Eventually they just run the legs off anyone who tries to stop them.

Sparrow - Career best game.

6 - Gawn 5 - Oliver 4 - Gus 3 - Langdon 2 - Sparrow 1 - May

6 - Gus 5 - Oliver 4 - Weid 3 - Langdon 2 - Smith 1 - Harmes

Great little interview from Gus there in the rooms. 20 marks for a defensive winger is a hell of an effort.

It's strange watching a game like that. We kept trying to overhandle the ball as if it were a dry day with perfect conditions, fumbled, missed targets and turned it over, yet even when the bombers took the lead it never looked like we were in trouble. You always knew that they were able to shut that [censored] down and kick away when they needed to .

Bizarre game to watch. The Demons haven't hit top gear yet this season. They just keep the score low and do enough to stay ahead.

I want to see Spargo dropped. He's not necessarily playing badly, but I saw him a number of times play for the free rather than the ball and wind up turning it over. If he keeps doing that he's going to turn into a liability. They need to remind him how to play hard footy. Much as I like Hunt, he also needs to go away and sort out his kicking. It may have been because of the humidity and slippery ball, but he was a disaster by foot. I would really love it if we could bring in Deakyn Smith and give Toby Bedford a start to replace them, but that would probably be a really bad move right now. While I think Bedford taking Spargo's spot is a solid call, Smith is probably a few names down the list. More likely to bring in one of the established defenders. I'm going with Hunt out and replaced by either Lever or Hibberd, and Spargo out, replaced by Bedford.

I had questions aver his ability earlier last year, but was rightfully corrected by those who watch the Casey games. Looking at the few times I've seen him in the seniors, it looks like he has the pace and class, but struggles to adjust to the speed of the game. That's not uncommon with young players when they first make the step up from VFL, so not a damning criticism by any means. I think he needs to get a decent run at the top level to see if he can make the adjustment and find his place in the side. If they can give him a month, we might see him having a real impact.

Well that was interesting. Carlton are clearly still lacking in some class and execution under pressure, but their workrate and contested work was first class. They were the width of a post away from blowing that game right out. Also, good on their fans for singing the song like that when they won. First time in a decade they've won in round one and they deserve to celebrate it.

Looking at the timeline, there's a good chance he was named for Chris Judd.

Good write-up. I would add that Harris looks very willing to crash into bodies. Her goal came after she just bulled her opponent off the ball, and there were several other contests where she crunched into people but didn't wind up with the ball. That might wind up being her biggest contribution, clearing space for Hore and Pearce to work in.

That should have been a thrashing. We kicked the first three goals straight, then lost the targeting somehow and kicked one goal eight over the next quarter and a bit. If Harris hadn't snapped a steadier it might have been an embarrassing loss.

He's also very much a Goodwin type of player. Big on work ethic and effort.