RalphiusMaximus

Didn't they almost fold because they had no funds? Did they overspend on players?

What a crock. The Hoff just hacked at the ball and hoped it didn't go out on the full. Clarry was all control. No comparison.

Dangermouse if earning his pay tonight. That was a hell of a half.

I don't know about a jumper punch, but I'd love to see a knee to the back of the head as someone takes a ride for the big mark.

When I think about this, the thing I always remember is the ump realising he was in the path of a Plugger lead and dropping flat. He didn't have to look around, he just saw the ball coming from the front and knew what was behind him. THAT was great situational awareness. The AFL claim that their umpires today are the best trained they have ever been. They aren't even close.

Once upon a time Umpires were expected to be aware of what was going on around them. I would think that this should be a minimum requirement to umpire a game, given that their entire job is to know what's happening in their immediate area and judge whether it's within the rules.

He must have absolutely freaked when he was told so soon after losing his dad to cancer. Even if they say it's very early and not that big an issue, the timing is shocking.

True.

Interesting that both coaches gave exactly the same votes. He's pretty damn good.

Like the guy who ran in behind him while he was watching the ball in the other direction and threw a flying elbow into the back of his head?

Maybe not the coach calling it, but they do target him.

We need to stop playing him in the VFL. He's too good for that level, but they all know about his concussion issues, so the first thing any opposition coach does is designate someone to clobber him and get him taken off for the rest of the game. Really, who cares if they destroy a kids career as long as they get a better shot at winning a game?

I suspect the difference is that he look for alternatives when he's not there. You see a lot less of the long bomb to the hotspot when he's not in the side. Ideally we'll start playing like this when he IS in the side as well, which will make us look a much better side and probably help his game as well.

I don't agree on The Weed. He didn't get many touches, but he chased, tackled and crashed packs all night. He found ways to get involved. He wasn't amazing by any means, but he did the job we needed him to do.

That was just awesome. Adelaide couldn't get free ball, we just kept pressuring them. Sixth time in the history of the club we've gone over 90 tackles. Jacobs had 74 hitouts but we won the clearances and smashed them in centre clearances 18-6. How you pick the best players out of that I have no idea. Pedersen was huge, Hibberd had 34 Disposals. Viney had 30 and 12 tackles, Oliver 30, 10 tackles and a goal. TMac turned the game when he went forward. Petraccca in the midfield was unstoppable. Vince tagger Sloan almost entirely out of the game. Jetta sat on Betts for all but five minutes, Salem had 31 quality touches... Insane. This was what we've been waiting to see from this side. Controlled ball-use in attack, hard-nosed uncompromising defence and versatility to change things up when we needed to. If we play like that we can beat any side in the league. We just need to see it every week now.

I'm surprised Frost is in there. His first half was pretty dodgy. Lots of fumbles that cost goals.

Not really. We were diabolical for the first half, played one quarter of real football and then broke almost even in the last. If we'd played the whole match like the third quarter we'd have given them another 80+ point flogging, and that's really all the Hawks deserve. They were crap, we were worse.

Yeah, this round is shot. I might get two.

Doggies are going to struggle in the finals if they don't clean up their kicking. They can't keep giving away leads like this and expect to overhaul them week after week.

Paddy Mac today managed two goals and a report in the VFL. Developing nicely.

He is coming back from an injury. Maybe they're just being cautious?

I'm loving this game, even if the Saints are going to win and ruin my tipping. I'm forced (reluctantly) to admit that Scully is a pretty decent player. I'm thrilled that young Minchington is getting game time and having an impact for the Saints. He's never going to be an automatic start, but he's solidified into a genuine B- player who can be trusted to hold his own. Nice reward for a heap of hard work.

I guess living in Frankston you have to take pride in what you can

What I find interesting in that article is not so much the content as the respect. It's very clear that Judd has great respect for Jones as a leader. Hopefully he's also right that Jones can play a slightly less physical game and prolong his career a little.

I would have been hard to watch the whole thing in one sitting. Some of that play was truly painful to watch. Spread out over most of an evening it was bearable.