RalphiusMaximus

Bravo.

I could be mistaken, but I think he had something like 9 disposals in the last, as well as a goal (or two if you discount the goal umpire) and ended with 9 marks. That's a hell of an effort for the lad. Edit: Just tracked it down. At 3/4 time he had 3 disposals and three marks to his name (according to prostats.com.au). By full time he had 13 disposals, 8 marks and a goal. Very big last quarter.

So did we just see another howler from a goal ump? I would swear that Watts' shot was across the line when it was marked, but the TV folks didn't give us a side-on view so I can't be sure. It looked to me like the player had his feet on the line and was reaching forward to take the ball, so I don't see how it could have not been a goal.

I agree he was soft for three quarters, but his last almost made up for it. I'd also like to find out how many assists he had this game. He set up a lot of shots on goal with his passing. Did anyone else think that snap on goal was across the line when it was marked?

Great second half from a few players. Dunn kept us in the game when we were looking shaky, Scully ran them off their legs, Jurrah got his mojo back and Watts had a really good last quarter after a pretty average first three. I think most of our players pulled their weight today. Great effort.

How can you possibly say that without knowing the whole situation? Are we talking someone he went out with for a couple of months or the girl he'd been with since he was 16 and was planning to marry? Obviously, vastly different in terms of impact. How about how and why did the breakup occur? Presumably it wasn't a mutual decision, a hug and lets have coffee some time. There are plenty of people who go entirely off the rails over a breakup. You may recall a trial recently about a guy who drowned his kids? Obviously we don't know the entire situation (unless there's a friend of his around here who'd like to share?), but to dismiss it like that is just plain ignorant.

OP specifies right now, and the way they play ATM I would go for Ablett. It's not just that he is a great player, but I think more of him as a person. He's much more the sort I'd want around the club than Judd.

Stef's had a really tough year. If the rumours are true he's had his share of problems off field to go with several injuries on it. However, towards the beginning of the year he did some absolutely breathtaking things on the field. He is well worth the time to see if he can get himself back into shape and develop into a seriously good player for the MFC. Personally I hope he has time over the summer to get his body and mind back together. If he can do that we might see some of that potential shining through next year. I'm certainly not going to be jumping off this bandwagon just yet.

No doubt this is a big danger game for us. Points in our favour are that Jamar is going to kill them in the ruck, we have a great backline that should be able to contain Riewoldt and we have some very good defensive forwards who can hurt their ability to create from the half back line. However, their midfield has been looking really good lately and they should be able to go with us for pace, so it won't be another Swans game. If they can gain the upper hand through the midfield they could get enough good delivery into the forward line to hurt us, and also cause our delivery to fall off to the point where their sub-standard defence becomes competitive.

We play them the same way we did Collingwood. They are also reliant on generating run from the backline, and we shut them down by making their running backs accountable and not giving them the space to run when they have the ball. The same will work against the Tigers, and we have the personnel to do it. Dunn and Aussie are the obvious choices for the shut down roles in our forward line and both are very dangerous once we have the ball.

As has been mentioned, three Richmond players? Not a chance in hell. Newman is nowhere near it, and Deledio may be having the best season of his life, but it's still not good enough. Harbrow will be in that spot and Frawley would be miles ahead of Newman. Riewoldt is a shoe-in. Again Green has been put in at half forward ahead of Steve Johnson. It's just not going to happen. History tells us that the AA selectors don't take two rucks. Sadly, this leaves Jamar out in the cold. Last year there was a big push to get Clark into the side as second ruck and instead they decided to go with another running player. Given that this is a team that will never play together, they can ignore balance issues and give the nod to big names and personal favorites who might not make it if they needed to actually compete. I'm pretty sure that the only Demon with a chance this year is Frawley in a back pocket or half back flank.

I think Stevie J has pipped Green for the forward spot. Frawley would be a very good chance although there have been some very good defenders this year. Jamar should get the second ruck spot if one is chosen, but traditionally they only take Sandilands and put an extra midfielder on the bench.

I could just see Sylvia winning after being ineligible due to a suspension.

I did notice that one. Interesting take on things from a journo who isn't paying attention.

I mentioned in the gameday thread that his efficiency was huge on the weekend. I was actually really surprised when I saw that. It's an area he has obviously worked really hard at. Even at the start of the year in the pre-season games he was missing easy passes under no pressure, so it's great that he's improving. If I never again see him miss a 30m pass across the face of goal I'll be a very happy man.

Oddly enough, I was thinking something similar. Not that I'm terribly interested in the love-life of a footballer (unless I happen to take up football, in which case I will be quite interested in my own love life which will then be that of a footballer), but looking at the benefit some other clubs have derived from the father-son rule, I would love to see us reap the rewards down the track for the strong list we have built. It would be amazing to see another team with the names Green, Bruce, McDonald, Davey and Sylvia running out. Give it 20-25 years and we could well see just that.

You're either very brave or very stupid. We'll go with brave shall we? Green to kick 6 or more goals. Reiwoldt to kick 2. Newman reported. I'd love the trifecta here.

Here 'tis I am once again astonished by the comment on Aussie. "...didn’t have a great influence on the game." WTF? In a tight game like that his tackling in the last few minutes was pivotal. I would have thought the coaching staff would be singing his praises.

So does anyone think we'll drop a game vs. Richmond for Col's 100th? I have a good feeling about this one.

Well, we are actually frighteningly close to the 8 as things stand. While I generally assume that I'm right in pretty much everything, in this case I'd be thrilled to be proven wrong. Even so, I think we'll miss out, although I concede it could get very close.

Better to ask if anyone isn't.

I think he backs himself on set shots but isn't confident on the run. I'm sure this will change as he gains in experience and plays more as a full-time forward. Interesting to look at the disposal efficiency of our players. Dunn at 100% for his 10 touches. Watts got 78%. Pretty impressive performance. Bartram was 88% too, so I guess we can lay off his disposal skills for now.

I was at the intraclub practice match at the start of the year and was amazed to see him line up on Jurrah. At the time I needed to dig out a team list to figure out who the guy was. However, it was clear that the club had plans for him from that moment. To play him on Jurrah was telling everyone how highly rated he is by the coaching panel and he's showed us this year that it is more than justified.

There are a few really nice cheesecake recipes with chocolate in them.

I was ready to show Bartram the door this time last year. I am more that happy to say I was totally wrong. He's reinvented himself as a hard and reliable small defender and is having a great season. Well done to the lad.