RalphiusMaximus

Nope. He got caught out underestimating the closing speed of AFL players. Give him another game to see if he can adjust. Those kicks weren't off-target, he just didn't allow for them being intercepted so well. If he can make that adjustment, his kicking can be a weapon. If not, he's done. Might a well find out now as later.

The heart of our contested ball-winning brigade has been torn out with Jones, Viney and probably Tyson gone. Oliver and Petracca can't do the heavy lifting on their own. To me this looks like the ideal time for Trengove to step in and take over as the inside ball-winner. His lack of pace won't be a huge factor for that. Hopefully he still has the quick thinking and skills he displayed when drafted. We could do a lot worse than bringing him in to fill the role.

Trengove

Not 4-6 weeks?

It's very clear that Sydney came in with a plan to target Gawn at every opportunity. It's already been mentioned that he was kneed in the bollocks during a boundary throw-in. On another occasion he was flattened three times trying to get back to the centre to take the bounce after a goal, the final one shaking him enough that he went off for a spell. The umpires did absolutely nothing to curb this behaviour, nor the scragging of our ball-winners around the packs. Once the Swans' midfield saw that they weren't going to get pulled up they went nuts trying to beat the hell out of our mids. There is also the high hit on Mitch Hannan, again not even a free kick paid when he staggered away from the impact and collapsed. I do have to wonder if the umpires' refusal to pull them up early in the game led to the Swans players increasing their level of aggression. Maybe worth the club hitting up AFL house for an explanation?

So tonight is what we call a bad night. It was a night where nothing seemed to go our way, even down to how the ball bounced. Why is it so? First, obviously, the team is stuffed on their fourth match in eighteen days. This didn't help. Next, remember that our game is built around exactly the same philosophy as theirs. The difference is that they've been doing it for more than a decade, while we've been at it for a couple of years. We basically just played against our big brother. We were down five of our best players at the start of the game and lost another halfway through. The umpires were truly disgraceful. They didn't make us lose, but they certainly didn't help and may have contributed to injuries to several of our players by not pulling Sydney into line with their "antisocial" tactics. Honestly, it was a [censored] game to watch. We were miserable for 7/8 of the time we were watching them play, with a brief spurt of domination in the first quarter to give us some small hope of a result. By and large I think we can just call this an aberration and move on. Next week is an opponent not tailor-made to beat us, with a decent break for the players and half a chace of getting a couple of guns back. Also, I would like to add a note of criticism for Oscar. He's improved out of sight recently, but tonight he [censored] me right off when he squibbed and let Franklin have a free mark and goal. Yes, the game was gone by then, but it was his turn to go. He looked at what was coming and decided not to put his body on the line when he was in a position to cross in front of Franklin and get the spoil. Maybe it was the smart call not to risk another injury when the game was already lost, but I think it was pretty poor.

OMac - Squibbed in last White - Tried too much Wagner - Disaster on legs Gawn - Those poor gonads!

They've been using him as a forward a bit at Casey. Could be planning on playing him up front as a defensive forward. With that boot of his he could do some damage.

DAmn, can you tell me the tatts numbers as well. Defence argued that Oliver's sore jaw was the result of running into his back when he came back in to remonstrate after being knocked down. Tribunal felt this was reasonable.

Looking at the remaining games, it's going to be an interesting ride. Home Sydney MCG Away Carlton MCG Home Adelaide Darwin Home Port MCG Away North Tassie Away Giants Canberra Home St Kilda MCG Home Brisbane MCG Away Collingwood MCG There are a lot of games there we should win but historically have shown a tendency drop. Collingwood, The Saints, North and even Carlton and Brisbane are worrying for that reason. Adelaide in Darwin is going to be a stretch and Port the week after. We almost always lose the game after playing in the NT. Sydney this week is a huge test against the form team in the competition. GWS at home should be a loss. I think if everything goes really well we drop 2-3 more games, ending on 14-15 wins. Worst case... I could see us losing any of these on a bad day. Call it two more wins as worst realistic scenario. Midline then would be five more wins as an ok but not great finish to the season. Even then we'd need to win one of Sydney, Adelaide, Port, North or the Giants, all big asks but doable.

I am actually surprised the MRP sent Houli straight to the tribunal. Calling that deliberate is a joke when compared to their stated approach to bumps and jumper punches. Lamb was scragging the [censored] out of him trying to stop him from running on and providing an option. That right there should have been a free kick. Failing to get a free, Houli threw an arm back to try to knock his backpack loose. To call it deliberate the MRP would have to be saying that he lined him up and deliberately hit him in the head. This is just another case of the MRP lacking the courage to apply their own rules. If they adjudicated it properly, it's careless high contact with high impact and three weeks. Given his clean record and an early plea he would only miss two weeks. That's not unreasonable.

Can we please delete this thread before it completely jinxes the team?

Just looked at the ladder. All that effort just to stay in the same spot! That sucks!

TOMMY!!! Insane goal.

Viney has just NAILED Hurn. Beautifully done.

Damn. Pedo missed that chance ot be a hero there. Great mark but couldn't convert the tightish angle.

And the pass! That was awesome from Pedo!

Hibberd's worst play of the year.

Two players run into each other and fall over. West Coast free kick. I think that sums it up.

This was a really good game until the umpires decided to ruin it with their insane one-sided calls. If the AFL had any idea about how to run a professional game they'd suspend the lot of them.

Umpires have stepped up this quarter right when the Weagles needed them.

Am I blind or was Frost tripped there? Worthless biased home-town umpiring.

WTF is Jack Viney on? That first half was insane. We need a lift from the rest of the side though. We're missing targets and letting WC off the hook far too often. We should be well up by now.

FMD, Hawks are in front.

Tom Mitchell. Gets the ball, turns and looks for a zero risk pass sideways or behind. There's a reason nobody is rating his high disposal games. He's worse than Cotchin's worst game ever.