Adam The God

And more injuries. 2021 was arguably the greatest, most dominant season for an AFL club in the modern era. We didn't lose by more than 4 goals and could have won all those 4 losses. People expecting us to replicate that A+++ season are kidding themselves. Yet... despite the constant injuries, a poorly functioning forwardline and a lack of continuity in our defensive set up (how we win games), we're second on the ladder with destiny in our hands. I expect we'll see a response in the next month. I expect we'll finish in the top 4, but I've been wrong before.

Reckon we might have just cost ourselves top 4 tonight. Certainly top 2 seems unlikely now. Our leaders were sorely lacking when we needed them to stand up in the last quarter, show poise and get the job done.

Nah.

Acres is a turnover merchant that St Kilda were happy to let go...

It's a pity it doesn't sound like a repeat of the 2015 draft that had Weitering, Curnow, the McKays and Hipwood.

Yep, if we can get another young tall to compliment JVR that might work really nicely given TMac and Brown probably have 2-3 years left. JVR and the new kid can develop at VFL level until they push out the two senior guys. But we want elite talent here. Top 10 talent.

Be funny if they lost Darcy to us after all this. :P

That's a strong team mate. We might be a little iffy kicking for goal, but we should be able to contested possession the ball over the goal line.

The Josh Mahoney connection. Interesting. If Rutten falls, I wonder if Mahoney goes too? Maybe their fates are tied together. Can't imagine what they could offer Gus given their midfield is already pretty crammed.

What do you mean 3rd week in a row? Against Geelong we played Brown, Jackson, Fritsch, Bedford, Spargo, ANB and Harmes. Against Port we brought in Melksham. And this week we've dropped Bedford and kept Melksham. By forward set up you mean Brown and the resting ruck?

Yep, I'd be playing Petty forward this year too. Long term he'll be a star back, but we have Tomlinson and Turner as cover. TMac is still 6-8 weeks away, so I'd say he's just about done for the season. When that becomes known, I reckon we'll ultimately go with Petty. JVR comes in next year and Petty goes back again. It would also explain why Smith is training forward, as we'll be fully stocked with KPDs, but short in the forwardline.

I wasn't suggesting it was intentional. That's the problem really. The lack of self awareness. Anyway, I loved Jeff as a player and I don't know the intricacies of the situation, so I'll leave it there.

Gee, I hope I don't pressure my son like this...

RE the discussion around being gaslit and the pivot to loading - loading has an impact on everything, so of course it's the "pivot". If you don't like it, that's your prerogative, but doesn't make it any less fundamental. I'd argue to claim you're being gaslit and essentially to stop pivoting to the argument, you're suppressing debate. It's not like Binman and many others on Demonland never discuss the flaws in our game from week to week, but that the loading regime can explain many of the ebbs and flows in our game, and in any team's game. It's just every team does loading differently.

That's the remake, but both were made in the 40s.

We really need an eye roll emoji mods.

Jeepers you post some nonsense. Can we trade you out of East Bentleigh?

Given we're premiers and there are quite a few top Vic boys at Freo, pretty much all their A graders are Victorians, we'd be a decent destination if any guys were thinking of heading back to Victoria in the next few years.

What, you mean like Cerra to Melbourne last year? If they don't have the draft capital and they want to maintain the players we ask for, it won't get done. That said, I'm happy either way it plays out. I trust our FD to get a good deal for our club.

No doubt it was a continuation of the reloading phase. Couldn't get out of first gear for the whole match, but that's why I'm more suspect on our Bulldogs fixture. I think we'll beat Port. It depends if we go for the next heavy loading block during the 9 day break or off the back of the Port game. Given the conditions we'll likely face in the NT, it'll be interesting to see.

I don't have a problem with it at all. It puts the onus on the players. Talls need to take the contested mark or bring it to ground and the smalls need to win the ground ball or lock it in. We get it outside our D50 immediately. We go short occasionally too if teams give us that and then we still go slow. It's about maintaining structural integrity as well as predictability and as George says, playing the percentages. As these situations on defensive wing are congested it plays into our hands. Either our frontal pressure draws a quick hack kick forward that our defenders intercept with our 1+ behind the footy (which plays into our slingshot and has the opposition out of position) or we get a mark or we move the ball forward via chaining by hands, take territory with a quick kick or slap forward to centre wing and then re-set and break even or win at the contest. But few sides are going to win games when they lose clearance to quite the extent we did against Geelong, particularly on the narrower ground that makes finding space for an interceptor trickier. In short, I'm quite happy putting the onus on our players to break even in these situations or win it and get it forward. Clearing the ball 70m out of your D50 reduces pressure on our backs and allows us to set up. The other aspect to having a predictable game plan is exhaustion. Having predictable, simple set ups allow better decision-making under duress.

He's got his second or third chance at Adelaide.

Wouldn't be the first time a business has sprouted empty rhetoric about supporting women, LGBTI people or Indigenous Australians and then acted in complete contradiction to the supposed values it champions. I'd much prefer we chase a Larky, Ben King or a younger guy that won't have a corrosive impact on our culture, make a mockery of our off field values and be around for the next 8 or so years.

Our best irreplaceable players have re-signed.

Yep, King did extend after his recent injury. Pie in the sky stuff probably, but spitballing.