Adam The God

Keep the ball off Geelong's interceptors and get them on the outside. Basically play them how they played Port. Port's defensive system doesn't hold up btw and too many of their players don't hold up under pressure. That is the problem. They rely on too few and moments of brilliance, rather than replicatable system. Geelong have a very potent forwardline if you let them get out the back all day. That said, there was no Cameron, Rohan or Dangerfield when we played them. Also, they were already the biggest figjam's in the league, then they went and added Cameron, Smith and Higgins. The most punchable team in the AFL. And speaking of punchable, see Hawkins try and accidentally whack another bloke tonight? He's a dog. For the record, Geelong and Richmond are our biggest threats IMO.

Yeah, I thought there were a few. An important period for cementing the top 2.

You have to wonder if Carlton's review and now Buckley stepping down shows these two clubs are panicking about missing out on Ross Lyon.

Completely agree, mate.

At 25, he's certainly in our age bracket. Depending on cost I'd go there. I'd equally trust Taylor to get us a second or third round gem that could play a similar position, so cost would be important. No more than a second rounder.

I'm not worried about Yze leaving and certainly not leaving us in the lurch halfway through a season that we're 11-1 with the best shot at a premiership in 50+ years. I'm more worried about Collingwood playing out of their skins for Buckley's last game.

Surely that's 'support' though.

And Worsfold of course...

Richo said on radio that Brown's intensity at training has been high and that we try to make training as close to game day intensity as possible. I reckon if Casey aren't able to play, Brown will play anyway.

Interesting. I hadn't heard that, but that will definitely stop us going up.

How impressive is Richo? Fantastic. Sounds like Brown will get another block of games post bye, which I guess most people knew. Interesting to hear Yze is responsible for stoppage and ball movement, as well as "midfield", but that does make some sense.

Yeah, it's all about what the NSW Gov says once restrictions are eased. I reckon they might allow it, because it'll add to the NSW economy, a bunch of Victorians coming up for the game.

I'd consider flying in on the morning and flying out at night, but will we be allowed back and forth? I suppose it depends on what level of restrictions the NSW Gov imposes on Victorian travellers after the end of our lockdown on Thursday night.

I thought Gawn was respectful and non committal about Weideman's form. He said that we definitely want to keep playing three talls. Jackson, McDonald and then one of Weideman or Brown. He then said there'll likely be a bit of back and forth on this particular spot for the rest of the year. I didn't feel like he threw Weideman under the bus, but he does say Sam would prefer to be kicking more goals. I reckon he has this week to keep competing and hit the scoreboard and if he doesn't snag a few goals (2 or 3), I think it'll be Brown in for Weideman after the bye. That doesn't mean that's Weideman's last look in this year, but I think Brown will then get a look in for a stretch post bye.

Don't care if we win this by one point. Just get to the bye 12 and 1. That psychological break on the rest of the top 4 will be massive. I'm hoping the Bulldogs drop a game or two in the next month too.

Well, it's more than just McKay and Weitering. It's McKay and Curnow down one end. Elite. And it's Weitering and Marchbank down the other. Two of the three starting mids are A grade in Cripps and Walsh. This Carlton ship can unfortunately turn very quickly IMV.

He's worth a look if Carlton determine he's not in their plans, but I reckon they might come around on that.

I said to my Blues mate yesterday I reckon Barker will go as he's been there for ages. And what do you know? He announces today he'll resign. I reckon they've spent so much of their cap on half forwards and half backs (Martin, Saad and Williams) and are likely to sink more of that into McKay and Cripps. Weitering is on a long term contract too. They can't sack Teague just yet given what they've done with Martin, Saad and Williams. They need to get some better assistants around him and see if that changes things. Unfortunately, I think it will. Their spine is great. They've got two star mids. They've got some zippy smalls that can play wings like Fisher and SPS, they've got two attacking half backs that can springboard attacks from back to front. I think if they get their coaching set up right and get the defensive mechanisms going, the Blues will be a top 6 team in the next 12 to 18 months.

It's reminding me very much of the way the elite football/soccer teams operate in Europe. To analyse it perhaps crudely, they have the head coach and then the manager. The manager is responsible for the way the team wants to play, personnel and tactics. The head coach is responsible for the fundamentals and getting the players to play to the system laid out by the manager. I just wonder whether we've modelled our coaching set up on this sort of approach. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the FD review last year and the plans they put in place that have (so far) reaped such incredible reward for the playing group and clearly the coaching team.

Yep, me too. I think Sparrow fumbled it 3 times and then he had so much time, he thought he'd have a ping. If I saw that from any of our leaders, I would be deeply disturbed. This has to be part of the reason why Brisbane can downhill ski it in the regular season, but choke in finals series; their leadership. Quite a few have had a go at Zorko for his lack of leadership with the McDonald free kick, but I'm surprised no one's highlighted this very stark and obvious passage.

Agreed. But there will always be those that have a whinge.

How poor was Zorko's pressure in that passage? Just shocking leadership. I don't care if you're gassed. He gave up. A terrible look.

A better kick, I reckon.

Yep, totally. It's almost that reprogramming that you (or maybe it was someone else) was talking about with regards to how McCartney would coach our mids, versus how they're coached now. Oliver's natural game and instinct is to go in and win everything, just like Viney and Harmes, but it's making Clarry's game so much more rounded as he's getting it on the inside and outside, and is able to burst away and use his explosiveness from stoppage. I could be wrong, but Harmes and Viney have tweaked the way they play too. Given our guys are such dominant contested players, the trust can be built easily and it elevates our entire midfield group. Petracca, Oliver, Harmes and Viney are all difficult to tackle. It's a bit of a nightmare for the opposition. If our guys are all switched on, this will be a dominant midfield group for the next 5 or so years.

Agreed.