Adam The God

Well, it does, the faster you move it, the faster you score. What it doesn't take care of is accuracy.

The idea that Kalani was ever playing anywhere but Melbourne was fanciful.

I don't like writing negatively about younger players. I think it's really harsh and not very sensible given most players take time to come on. Liable for egg on the face. That said, the highlighted bit above is why I think inevitably in another down season for the club as a whole, we are seeing Kolt scrutinised. Last year, the natural comparison to Kolt was Windsor, who had a terrific break out season. You could immediately tell Windsor would be a ten year wingman. We trusted his blue chipness so much that we moved him after one season into a really important half back role. Whether we should persist with that is for another post. This year, Kolt is compared with Lindsay and Langford, two guys that pretty much from their first full games have shown elite traits. Their impact at times has been significant too. This is why, fairly or unfairly, the spotlight is on Kolt. I don't see any elite traits, but this has to be tempered by the injury interruptions and other factors.

Champion Data have said it's the most important stat in footy. So it definitely carries some importance. But Daniel Hoyne has also said "there is no right or wrong, but it is all about the return that you are getting on the scoreboard from that method that you choose to implement". So despite that, last year's premiers Brisbane were the fastest team in the comp last year. Ball movement is about how quickly you move it from D50 to A50. So yes, it doesn't automatically mean goals but as this Fox Sports article notes (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2025-speed-of-ball-statistic-explained-every-team-ranked-from-fastest-to-slowest-afl-ball-movement-stats-champion-data-numbers-latest-news/news-story/8e4894d20931117b3a3311bf98ba3a51), "in general, the quicker you go, the more likely you are to score - every team scores more moving the ball quicker". The important thing to note is "score" versus "kick goals". We don't have enough good finishers. Aside from Kozzy and Melksham, who can also be wildly inaccurate (see this season), we have too many mids and KPFs who cannot finish their work inside 50. It's not a game style or ball moment problem, it's an accuracy problem. It's why Fritta's inaccuracy this year been super costly, because we don't have enough solid kicks inside.

As @Jaded No More wrote in another thread, if I were CEO, I'd be getting the best suited head of footy above Goody I could. That would be my first move. That new head of footy has some huge decisions to make about list management, line coaches and even the senior coaching position. I'd also be calling up Monash and trying to eek put an MOU vis a vis a Caulfield partnership with their sports science school.

How many times have we talked about execution. That's been the constant theme for 8 or 9 years. I and others wanted Viney to play as a pressure forward in 2020 because his ball use was a killer in midfield. In 2021 I also lamented our goalkicking. I said if we didn't kick straight we wouldn't win the flag. We had an incredible finals series where we kicked mostly straight. The way you're framing these things is like no one has ever said them. Our ability to execute has constantly been a Demonland trope for as long as I can remember...

Where's the facepalm reaction when you need it? What twaddle.

Posters, myself included, talk about mental fatigue, but it's one of many factors, just as learning a new zonal system. I noted on AFL360 while I was in the pub that we're the number ball movement team in the competition. It's a marked shift in the way we play. IMV, not enough emphasis is placed on this shift in the way we're trying to play. This also explains teething issues, but I've outlined my position now on the rest of the season.

We've reverted game style and as we saw with 2019-2020, it can take time to click. Our zone last week was all over the place, for most of the game, which suggests we're having teething issuss with that. The wingers often get caught no man's land (ie Langford and Lindsay). No doubt you'll disagree, Picket.

And let's be honest, our admin and board is an utter shambles. But who stridently defends the guy that has overseen it all collapse in Brad Green? SWYL. I find the idea that you'd sack Goodwin after '23 ludicrous too. No other club would do this. If Brisbane had done this with Fagan after three straight sets exits (one with a huge home ground advantage), he wouldn't be a premiership coach. I'm in complete agreement that how we finish this season matters a lot to Goody's future. If we fall in a hole and win only 2 or 3 games, we need to look at change in 2026 irrespective of his remaining year. But if we see some further progress, he should coach out his contract, with finals the savour for him.

Some of this is fair, but your centrepiece of mental fatigue doesn't really hold given the amount of best 22 changes over the last 4 years. It's practically half the best 22, and it's the old players that are the ones butchering it and struggling to come to terms with the new way the team is trying to play. It's more likely, as you imply, a multitude of factors at play, which @binman has always stressed.

Dangerfield is a marginally better kick (per DE), but the big difference between the two players is Trac's TOG is quite a bit higher. In order to get more out of Trac, maybe we need to play him more in bursts like they do Dangerfield. I'd be trading Clarry before Trac though...

Bergman is a good player, but fancy him earning more (potentially) than Kozzy. Chalk and cheese IMV.

He was one of many parts that turned the ship.

I know it's been a bad 24 months but [censored] this thread is a shocker.

The Suns can't defend either. Fancy Melksham having 11 shots at goal. And most of them were from directly in front 15m out.

Trac is easily our worst kick, but Jefferson is uncompetitive.

Suns were good, but that quarter was a disgrace to the jumper.

It'd be a huge step down, but if Tim Lamb moves on, I'd be okay with Josh taking up the mantel again.

If we still had PJ as a CEO or had had a competent CEO it wouldn't have mattered. Pert failed to capitalise on the bonanza of a flag. If the commercial team had held a fundraiser before the start of 2022, they'd have probably raised whatever we need for Caulfield... You have to live your values a bit. As the club said at the time, gaming is not our core business, and whilst gaming was imperative in the past, we need to grow our football-related income. Pert had a golden opportunity to do that and sat on his hands. We need to look at ways to grow the business and not also contribute to destroying lives through gaming. It's not woke, it's corporate responsibility.

The Hawks have done the undersized thing at both ends. I think Collingwood have shown the way in terms of undersized set ups at both ends of the ground. If you have speed of ball movement or are slinging back into a relatively empty 50, their pace by foot and handball game is certainly difficult to contain, despite having shorter players. it doesn't mean we have to play this way mind you. Because we have shown we can contain the Collingwood game.

But it doesn't matter who you have defending, if the midfield pressure isn't on, any defensive unit will get scored on. So I think it's a respectable gamble. Collingwood have more run than us with Crisp, Maynard and Quaynor to our Bowey, McVee and Salem. We'd be more comparable if Rivers stayed at half back, probably at the expense of Salem or ultimately Lever.

Yep, that's fair, although TMac was a premiership forward, but I get you.

I am excited to see how they go. Collingwood used an undersized defensive back 7 in 2022-2023, but it allowed them to be good at ground level and ping quickly off half back. Salo is the next one in the gun I reckon. If he had a bit more speed, he'd be perfect back there. That said, his leadership and experience will probably be needed if Lever is on thin ice generally and May is edging towards the cliff. With this last block of games, I hope they give the back 6-7 some continuity together. Likewise, we need to find a forward mix soon enough, instead chopping and changing. I think mostly because JVR has had such a poor year as a forward, it's thrown out our forward mix. Blake has really good endurance, but he's also a nice, neat kick. Good luck again, Blake.

Lever is out. Who is the other?