Adam The God

I have question marks over Gus' disposal (particularly by foot over short distances). I don't remember him hitting a target by foot in the first half. In the second he kept it simple and less fancy and was a lot more effective. He was brilliant in fact.

A real game of two halves. Was terrible in the first half, was excellent in the second half. He's another that likes playing St Kilda. Let's hope he can play most games like his second half. Viney, Oliver and Brayshaw could be deadly. Add Salem back into the team as well and we look very good.

It's also up to Jeffy to adapt to the game style. He was ordinary in those games because he didn't work hard enough to hunt the opposition.

I'd back most of our players in to win one on one's. That's why a guy like Jack Watts would not fit into our system. He rarely wins one on one's. Agree with your second paragraph though DJ, but it also goes to my point about team efficiency. We get back to scoring more efficiently and we become a top 6 team and we really trouble teams like Hawthorn and Richmond. Both of those games saw us with all the early momentum, but an inability to hit the scoreboard in any meaningful way by kicking straight. Tom McDonald's inclusion cannot be underestimated in this respect. He completely straightens us up. He provides structural balance and he rarely misses shots on goal.

It's all about game style though. Hawthorn still tries to control the game by kicking and maintaining posession that way, but we are more about winning the clearances and locking the ball inside our forward 50. Our game style takes a lot of the guess work out of our ball movement and pressure on the kicker isn't such a problem. Getting it out of defensive 50 is easier if we adjust our kicking game from the goal square. Use a combination of short kicks and then switching the ball (which we did a lot better in the dry conditions last week) to clear the defensive zone.

I was looking at some of the key league statistics on the AFL ap last night (yeah, I know a big Satty night) and I was surprised how well we were doing statistically. We struggle in rebound 50s but only because we're so on top for inside 50s. Our tackle stats are good and we average more inside 50 tackles than Richmond, which is surprising. But we're dead last for kicks, which could be a symptom of being excellent in contested possessions and tackles. The area for me that is telling is ironically a statistic that I usually completely disregard, however it is the only explanation here. Our team disposal efficiency is terrible. Use the ball better and we can convert our dominance into wins.

Shiel would be top of my list, even if it doesn't come out of contract until 2019. Would perfectly compliment our midfield and IMO os GWS' best and most important player.

Nah.

I just hope we're at the forefront of it...

I'd play Jeffy and Tyson in that team. I'd look at someone like Spargo or Baker instead of Vince. We will get exposed on the MCG playing Vince and Lewis every week.

Hmmm. I'm quite conservative when it comes to AFL. I wouldn't implement netball-like zones. I reckon the game will sort itself out and evolve to something else, without the AFL's interference.

DJ, I'd ask you though. Have you disliked the press since 2000? It's been tweaked and evolved to an 18 man press in some forms. I think we'll see certain sides take different pathes this year as team's try to defeat the 18 man press.

Every couple years, there are people that complain about the current trends in the game. And then two years later, a new set of trends emerge and surpass the last one. The same will happen here. You have to keep on evolving, otherwise you become too easy to counter. I'm not concerned by the press. I find it exciting. I'm confident Goodwin and his team have a few more tricks up their sleeves for the coming years ahead.

I reckon we might try and trade him to get cap room for Gaff. We'll see.

I reckon they'd welcome another AA level player into their fold with open arms. Hibberd is a half backer, Jetta is a lock down small defender. They're hardly in the mould of generals, but a KPB intercept defender is.

Exactly. And he's a beautiful kick. He'll be fine. A great acquisition. His acquisition will pay dividends.

Be interesting to see how we employ Lever next week. Rance is dominating Hawthorn with his intercepting.

I hope not, because that's the sort of body language that they've tried to erase from Jesse's game. But you could well be right.

Grew into the game today. He struggled in the first half. It looked like nerves, but I'd say it's just about still getting used to the new system he's playing and playing with his new team mates. By the end of the game, he was solid and provided good rebound.

But he did believe in a universal basic income, which the Greens have now adopted. Funny that.

That's neoliberalism. The capitalist system isn't inherently wrong or ugly, but when you think like a neoliberal and act like one, the capitalist system then widens the disparity between the small amount of rich and the vast number of poor. Ah, what am I doing engaging in politics online? At the end of the day, this is a good move for the football club financially and the ethical/moral repercussions are thankfully a fortunate byproduct. What we're then left with is a stronger public image (encouraging membership growth) and an attractive and healthy corporate image, which can be used to seduce corporate sponsorship.

Which may even align itself with State Government co-funding for the new facility, along with our brand receiving an increased positivity in the corporate space.

The move is certainly multi-pronged, but at the core of the strategy is surely this new training/members facility.

The way I read Bartlett and PJ in that press conference is that this is directly related to our new facility.

Yep, this will align with corporate responsibility in many industries. I'd be staggered if this decision was made without taking into account the positive package we can now pitch to potential corporates.