RalphiusMaximus

Anyone have a suggestion on how to watch from USA?

23 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I can't see the problem. So we get pick 3 instead of pick 2 (or 4 instead of 3). The history of drafting suggests there's no difference between the likelihood of pick 2 being better than pick 3 (or vice versa). The bigger picture of getting the Suns competitive is a far more compelling issue.

The issue is that the top two players are so far ahead of the next best. There's one and two then daylight. Giving them both to GCS is therefore a much bigger advantage to them and a correspondingly greater loss to the team coming second last.

I would be very upset with the club if we weren't bidding on all of Hill, Martin, Coniglio and Langdon. They can't all be going to Carlton.

On 6/18/2019 at 3:31 PM, Lord Nev said:

I think the majority of Dees fans recognize we have weaknesses in midfield skill, outside run/pace and delivery forward, as well as us being in our 'window' as of now. I get that there's other areas we may debate with each other about, but I feel those things are pretty clear. So how do we improve those areas quickly enough that we can make the most of our chances now? This article raises a hypothetical that I scoffed at at first but have wavered a bit since thinking about it more.

Why trading Angus Brayshaw could fix Melbourne's midfield

"But Brayshaw personifies Melbourne's midfield issues - fantastic in the contest, tough as old boots and able to find the pill, but unreliable by foot. He has committed the 11th most turnovers in the league this year, with his disposal efficiency under implied pressure and physical pressure the second-worst and fourth-worst of the league's top 50 ball-winners."

It goes on to suggest trade scenarios which would see us losing Gus, and possibly a pick, to return Lachie Whitfield.

My questions are these:

- Is Gus 'untouchable' given we have Oliver, Harmes & Viney in the same role? Plus, with Sparrow and Dunkley potentially coming through in the same vein, others as depth etc.

- What do we make of Gus' massive form slump this year? You could argue it coincides with him attending less centre bounces, but there's other aspects to that as well such as his concussion history, his lack of accountability this year and of course, our lack of outside run which sees him being used there. Is he injured this year? Unhappy? Something seems up with him.

- Do we need to make such a big move or do we rely purely on tweaks to game plans, roles and structures in the offseason? I guess that boils down to trust in the footy department to fix things, which I imagine is at a low point given our performance this year.

Thoughts?

I haven't read the rest of this thread. Too long. I'll just answer the OP. 

As far as I'm concerned, Gus is untouchable. The kid came third in the Brownlow on 2/3 of a season last year. The quality is clearly there. He is also the best set shot of our young mids by a mile. 

I think his lack of form is related to both changed roles and the rule changes. As much as I hate our under 10's-style play, he thrived on the extra numbers last year. He is also clearly best utilised in the guts. Trying to push him to the wings or flanks has been a dismal failure.

As for the need to make a move, I think we have a very good list right now being coached very badly. Most of the issues are fixable but would require new direction from the fd.  I do agree that we should continue to regine our list and chase skilled outside runners, but you don't give up a player like Gus if you can avoid it. 

1 hour ago, Pennant St Dee said:

Outside of Demonland scuttle butt where has the Goodwin has lost the players talk come from 

May have missed it but haven't heard it anywhere in the media 

I hadn't heard anything like that. My issue with him is that his gameplan is horrible and he doesn't appear to understand what is going wrong, let alone how to fix it.

We'll crack in at the bounce to create a contest, win our share of the ball, butcher the forward movement and get scored on easily from the intercepts. Not that hard to predict.

One point that the stats don't quite cover is the scores that happen because he's in the contest. Many are not direct assists, but balls falling loose after he crashes through a pack or forces the ball to ground. Simply put, we score when he's around.

13 hours ago, KLV said:

I agree redleg, the fact that we are 17th will go in gold coast’s favour

Recent history shows clearly that priority picks are not the way to help a struggling club. Both Carlton and Melbourne went down that path and got nowhere. The way to help GC is to overhaul their administration and FD so that they are able to function as a professional outfit. Throwing picks at a failing club is not only unfair to other clubs, it's unfair to the kids having their careers ruined by getting sent there.

I support Melbourne...

Let's leave it at that shall we?

While there is very little information provided from a single game, from what he showed there I'd say no to this kid.  He positioned himself well and has good hands, but to me his pace looks average and his size is a huge disadvantage.  I'm a fan of drafting footballers before athletes, but there are limits. 

7 hours ago, D4Life said:

It was showing signs of improvement and TMac got injured, then Weideman also injured. Melksham, JSmith, Garlett, T Smith all out makes it difficult!!

Our continued reliance on directionless bombs into the 50 make it difficult. 

Quote

I like coming in here. I don’t like changing too much. I’ve got my gym and my pool here, and the club rooms.

I’ve got my own thing that works for me and I just like sticking to that – it makes it easy.

Pretty sure he wouldn't be up for a drastic change like that. 

Source.

5 hours ago, daisycutter said:

and it's whack not wack ?

On 6/28/2019 at 8:59 AM, Matt Demon said:

We've got no hope, forget about it.

What's your beef with Kobe? 

I think he's worth the punt.  If the club takes an ultra-conservative approach to his management and takes a couple of years to rebuild his body and make sure he's absolutely right for AFL that will still give us half a dozen years of service from a really good quality ball-user.  There's no point worrying about his lack of output this year given where he's coming from.  It's going to take time to get him sorted out and playing the way we need him to.  If he makes it then it's a huge win for the club.  If he doesn't then it's not a massive loss given he was steak knives in the May deal. 

Walters gets off. 

I think the mindset needs to change a bit for supporters.  We've kind of been conditioned to look for top picks over the last decade or so.  The club fed us the line back when we drafted Watts, Scully, Trengove et al that we were looking for the best talent from the draft to rebuild.  Roos went in with a definite strategy of getting multiple first round picks over a number of years to build the core of the side.  They've done that now.  What we have now in terms of top-end talent is what we're taking forward.  Like the other top sides there are going to be some trades, top-ups and free agents, but the core is set.  If we're going to get to the top it's through improvement in the players we have and adjustments to the gameplan.  Realistically, we're probably two or three years away from seriously challenging.  Once the core players hit their mid-late 20's though, we'll be a powerhouse. 

If he's really only 190 then I'd pass unless he shoots up this year.  Too small for a KPD and while he's a good kick he doesn't seem to have a lot of pace to him to play as a flanker.  Also, you have to watch the guys who have big bodies in the juniors.  They often struggle to adjust to playing in an environment where they aren't the biggest strongest guy on the park. 

33 minutes ago, Nelo said:

 Staging is equal to cheating. 

We still haven't seen anyone suspended for staging. The rule is there but the umps and the AFL are afraid to pull the trigger on it. 

Pretty happy with the game all things considered.  The tweaks to the gameplan are good.  I loved seeing us using the short pass to a leading player to advance the ball rather than just bombing it down the line for a stoppage.  It did cost us a few goals due to poor skills, but that will improve as the players get used to it.  I also loved seeing how quickly we switched the ball when we got it right.  One play in particular where we'd bombed into the 50 twice only to have the ball come straight back out, Jones used his head, hit a quick pass to CHB which then went out the other side and resulted in an uncontested mark in the f50.  We only got a point, but the play was beautifully executed. 

I love the look of May.  He's a wrecking ball in the contest and has a beautiful kick.  His presence and leadership in the backline is already having an impact.  If we can get games into Lever as well I think we'll see some drastic improvement there. 

Frost as well.  He's loving playing as the third tall.  He gets to use his pace and leap to intercept and run away from people.  His kicking is a bit of a problem at times, but he just set up so much play today. 

I am still bothered by our i50s though.  We were better today, but still scored from less than 30% of our entries.  That lack of efficiency is still our biggest issue.  Hopefully Rawlings can figure it out. 

Just now, praha said:

Mathematically. 

A mathematical chance is still a chance.  ?

Just now, rjay said:

Dumb and all as it was...

It was better than the first game against Port where we stood by and watched Max cop it from them without a whimper.

At least we had some passion in the game and Jones was supporting a teammate.

If I had my choice I would take this.

Especially since we won  ?

3 hours ago, beelzebub said:

the short answer is the AFL over-steps everywhere and everything.  It's so being stuffing up everything that was once iconic about OUR game it has forgotten it was only mandated to manage the game on behalf of the clubs,not dictate to all and sundry.

The hypocrisy of the AFL knows no bounds

Sums it up nicely.  +1 

38 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

How’s the bruises on Fantasia’s arm from Stratton pinching him? Bizarre from Stratton. 

Saw that at Casey when Jurrah was FF.  His opponent was trying to get a rise out of him.  Jurrah just ignored everything he tried.  You could see him think it over, then reach out and pinch his arm just to see if he got anything.  Jurrah didn't even twitch, so he gave up. 

Is Parish sill behind Oliver?