leucopogon

Great post. If we continue with the slow and high entries with this team then either Goody is insane or the playing group collectively have well below average footy IQ.

I think I'm going to be in the minority here, but I think high knees in the marking contest should be deemed a careless act and if resulting in injury to an opponent should be a suspendable offence. If we're serious about protecting the head, what other alternative is there?

Yet another example of the media pile on of disrespect for the MFC. Regardless of what happens this finals series, I hope we absolutely nail this draft/trade period and have a Geelong like decade-long window of premiership contention.

It's the only sane piece of journalism I've read about this incident.

Statistics don't tell the whole story. Jackson was/is a freak and he's only gotten better since he left us. We better use those draft picks wisely.

This is p--s weak from Gill. Really poor. So essentially he's admitting that, currently, the AFL is not doing its best to protect the health and wellbeing of its players on the field. Talk about ammunition for the class action law suit.

Really reckon they should have picked Grundy for this one. Max resting at FF isn't a bad shout at all, he competes hard and would probably nullify their tall interceptors. At his best he can dominate the F50, remember 3rd quarter of the PF 2021? Anyway, not gonna happen now. They've picked a heck of a time to gamble so radically with the forward/ruck setup. Losing Jackson has absolutely put us backwards way worse than I ever anticipated.

Perhaps they are going to do what the On The Couch panel suggested and kick in scrubby chaos ground balls all game (in perfect dry weather footballing conditions). This has the hallmarks of a massive stuff up.

I would prefer Lauren Pearce in the ruck before T-Mac

I swear, Whateley is just a fence-straddling robot...more interested in process, language and appearance than anything of actual substance or import.

Bit harsh on him I reckon DeeSpencer. Sure there were some clangers and poor decisions but, there were equally if not more examples of good reading of the play, clean pickups and some handball work that would make Clarrie Oliver proud. Looks handy to me.

I agree, this idea gives me cold sweats.

If recent trends are followed, penalties will be extreme for incidents occurring during preseason and the first few rounds of the home and away. From that point forward certain perpetrators will be given special treatment to allow the AFL to push whatever agenda they have cooking for the second half of the year. By this stage Brownlow fancies and finals contenders will have emerged. AFL will orchestrate verdicts to showcase their big clubs and big stars to keep interest piqued among the masses and maximise gate, merchandise and, most important of all these days, gambling revenue. By the last third of the season the application of the penalties will be completely inconsistent and will depend entirely on the players and teams involved and what the impact will be on the clubs that the AFL will want to see in finals contention, again to maximise revenues. During finals, anything goes, unless you are a no name, rookie from one of the interstate or smaller Victorian clubs, in which case you will be pilloried and made an example of. If the Maynard incident had occurred in round one this year, he would have been suspended, of this I have absolutely no doubt.

The fact Gus didn't pin point a leading target and just bombed it long inside 50 from a clean centre stoppage exit shows how ineffective the coaching of forward connection is at the moment. Did no forwards offer a lead, meaning the default system of bombing it in prevailed?

Caroline Wilson, Garry Lyon and that fellow from The Roar website are the only ones I saw who didn't toe the company line. Whateley, as usual, wouldn't offer an opinion one way or the other. Everybody else I've heard have now had their cards marked as far as I'm concerned.

It sucks, the whole thing sucks. But if the team can't use this as motivation to galvanise them to come out breathing fire for the remainder of September and blow Carlton and Brisbane off the park for another shot at the Filth, I will be incredibly disappointed.

This x 1,000,000. It was an obvious premeditated charge in disguise of a smother. The commentary on 360 tonight about these actions will almost be impossible to replicate is such [censored]. It will be extremely easy to replicate. Just line up someone running full tilt from a contest with ball in hand and jump at them with your arms up in a token attempt to smother and then turn and brace for impact. Surely it's open season on front on contact to the head now. At least until Kane's end of season review.

As much as a I despise everything about this incident and the aftermath, I can't help but think why the hell didn't Gus just step Maynard once he had jumped in the air, or draw and give to Trac (Maynard's direct opponent)? Alternatively, why didn't Tracc shephard Maynard away from Gus? Watch the vision, Tracc just leaves Maynard and sprints inside 50 once he sees Gus break clear of centre leaving the sniper Maynard to have a free hit at Gus. Lot of what ifs and maybes. I feel so sick about the whole thing and worry that its going to happen again to some poor guy/girl.

Surely we're drafting at least one ready to go player that slots straight in. What a bloody waste of a high pick if we don't.

Just read the Hamis Brayshaw comments. Good on him for calling out the AFL for its Collingwood bias. If only heavier hitters in the industry had the gumption to do the same.

The outcome of this case will surely come into game day planning for players/coaches. When a team gets a a run of momentum or a player is getting off the leash. Just do a Maynard and at the very least he's off for the 20 minute protocols. It would be remiss of them to not do this. After all it's a footy act. Sure it might cost you a free kick, but that's where the punishment for such an act starts and stops.

The precedent that has been set here is that if you turn yourself into a human frisbee and knock out an opponent for 2 minutes your punishment will be: - one or at the most two outraged journos calling for your head - the cold shoulder from a couple of MFC players upon visiting the victim - a rebuke from the victim's mother over the phone - enduring four hours in front of a kangaroo court while biting nails and clutching onto a mini football like a toddler with a security blanket Meanwhile the victim is subbed out of the game, misses the next game and possibly enters early retirement with the prospect of a damaged brain and ongoing mental health issues. Yep seems like a fair and just system.

Why does everyone keep harping on about malice? It has nothing to do with it. You carelessly jump towards a player and turn yourself into a projectile resulting in a severe head injury, you should get rubbed out. If one of our players was to do this, I would be disappointed but fully expectant of due punishment.

Yep, AFL is sending a clear message here that for all wannabe thugs, forget boxing and MMA, footy is the game for you. You get to smash heads from up high just like Randy Macho Man Savage off the top rope. Look out!

Okay Hibbo then.