Adam The God

Agreed, mate. Goody is probably feeling a little unlucky too. Our conversion under Roosy was usually what kept us in games. Now poor conversion is costing us games. I'd rather be in the latter category, obviously.

I agree Frost was better than OMac and I'm also an OMac believer, but I do concur with rjay in that we have massive defensive problems. There were times in the first 3 weeks where our zone actually worked perfectly, not all the time, but there were distinct passages where it was functioning to its intended purpose. But against Freo it was all over the place. I suspect they're really missing the presence of a Lewis back there, but TMac and Frost need some continuity together. Frost was rusty, I'm hoping he's less so this week. Agreed, although I wouldn't be surprised to see us give Weideman a rest for Pedersen. The Richmond backline is ordinary and if we have Watts and Hogan always inside 50, with Pedersen rotating between the forward half and the second ruck position, it may well be too much for Richmond to handle. I think the Pedersen in is unlikely given Goody's determination to play Watts as second fiddle in the ruck. I think this is the excuse he'll roll out every time they are pumped this year. They're simply not that good as a football team. Or it achieved its purpose...

I reckon by that point they'll be flying. They are usually tuning up their beast at that point of the season in the lead up to finals. Pity we can't get the Sydney's and Freo's when they're ordinary.

If we're to beat Richmond, we'll need to match their tackling pressure. If we do, we'll easily account for them. However, Stretch, Kent, Vince, McDonald, Frost, Hannan and Weideman/Hogan will need to have more than 4 tackles between them! That is not intent to win the game. Kent (1 tackle), Hannan (0 tackles), Weideman (0 tackles) and even Stretch (1 tackle) will not hold the ball in our forwardline with that pathetic output.

I'd be filthy if I was PJ. I go along every week anyway, so it doesn't hurt me, but in terms of my football club, the diminished eyeballs on this game is a massive, massive problem. I'd be mighty [censored] off at Channel 7. My Kitchen Rules? Jesus. When will reality TV rubbish end? (I know, don't tell me - when the Offsets are back and we can make proper Australian television again)

I hate people like that. Okay, so the footy might be expensive, but if you can afford it when you're up and about, you can afford it when you're at the foot of the ladder too. Yes, it's entertainment and not everyone has it in them, but in my experience, these people are the people who are the most arrogant when things are going well.

I liked C&B, but who knows.

Half of them used to be Melbourne supporters, didn't they? In my experience a lot of them were and defected during the 80s and 90s. Will be very interesting to see their crowd numbers this year.

Quickly becoming one of my least favourite posters. Congratulations.

Oliver was certainly on the wing, inexplicably, at the second last centre bounce. There's no doubt in my mind he should have been in the guts at that centre stoppage.

He still loses his feet too often and isn't a great one-on-one mark, but he did take a beauty on the weekend and has improved this area of his game. I want to see him tackle the hips, instead of the jumper, but other than the toughness question, I think he's had a great start to the season. It's interesting, because he doesn't have to kick his 40 goals this year to be a really important player. That'd be nice, but his ball use and ability at ground level in the ruck make him just as damaging.

That should read leadership though. Would you suggest there is another problem that the leadership question is distracting from?

Our compo for Frawley was pick 3. We got pick 2 for finishing where we did.

Their zone and midfield pressure stifled the supply to Kennedy that day. Frawley was a good player though.

The question should probably be did they overrate the guys they currently have on their list? Surely, O'Meara and Mitchell were never going to compensate for the loss in experience of Mitchell and Lewis. You've gotta say Clarkson's either misread it massively or his arrogance got the better of him. Neither scenario looks upon him favourably, but I doubt he'll be at the Hawks much longer. I hope he doesn't make his way to Collingwood.

And get a bag of chips for them, surely? They might get something for Poppy, Breust, Sicily, Rioli and Smith, but they can't expect too much. Rioli is almost 28 and Smith is almost 29. They might have to package them to get a first rounder this year, but they really have no room for error with their recruiting over the next few years. It makes me very happy to say they're in for some pain. Desperately got to use this time to convert the missus.

They were talking up an Adelaide v Geelong game. Adelaide would absolutely murder Geelong right now.

How is Cam Mooney? This is a new era for Geelong. Haha, I hope Geelong are as arrogant and as blind as he is. They've beaten the wooden spooner today.

Can't wait to play Geelong again. We have some unfinished business. They have so many downhill skiers. Just don't rate them. This is more about Hawthorn, than it is about Geelong.

You assume wrong. My comments are directed at seemingly outlawing a lot of the contact in the game, but then you can have two guys that get their sternums broken, but potentially legally.

Interesting to hear one of the commentators say before that Geelong were dominated by us last week, but their accurate kicking kept them in it.

It seems strange that they're over protective of the players in some instances and then in others they have a complete blind spot.

I worry about our kids being exposed to poor leadership. This is why we need to get Lewis and other decent leaders in there, so that they can actually learn off someone. Jones is a trier and I love him for sticking with us in tough times, but he isn't a leader. I also worry that if we go after a star recruit, we put out our salary cap and risk losing a star kid or two in the future (ie. Oliver, Petracca, Salem or Brayshaw). It's a tough balance and it'll be interesting to see the list strategy in the next 2-3 years. It will be make or break for this list and their chances of premiership success. You realise how much success actually comes down to luck as well in these situations.

Have Hawthorn given up their first rounder next year as well as this year's?

I think we could still see a run of wins this year too. Had managed to win the Geelong and Freo games, I would have had more faith. I'm a little worried now that those two losses could cost us come the end of the year in such a tight competition. Clearly, going by Roosy's comments on Triple M, he fears the same.