Adam The God

Maybe.

I like this. Many thought it wasn't outdated, just that it hadn't clicked or wouldn't. Many pundits on here talked about our changing game style, even the media did. We have all season though... Agree with this.

You're missing the fact that if we go on a run, we take wins off the top 8 who we play...

Yep, I've been saying we need to draft one or two more elite ball users, but you're right, perhaps free agency is the pathway to those players. The problem we have, I think, is I expect us to land LJ, so it's likely we'll have to give two future firsts and won't be able to trade into the first round this year. Does Simmena have the capacity to play straight away next year? Because his ball use sounds like it's right in the sweetspot for us. If Simmena can hold down a wing spot in 2026, Windsor can stay back, Langdon can keep playing the Nibbler role with Chandler/Spargo, and we can start rotating Lindsay and Langford more regularly through the midfield. Likewise, I think we need another dynamic small to complement Kozzy. Could this be Prassad in 2027?

The last 6 weeks is a top 4 profile. Let's give it another 6 weeks, and if our profile keeps tracking like this by the end of Round 17, we'll be playing finals, and could do some real damage.

Let's hope we get our way, @old55 😉

Some people just like to whinge, Dazzle.

It was our goal kicking conversion that let us down in the first half (6.11). But in the second half, we kicked an incredible 13.6 to overshoot our expected score by 11 points. If anything, that's coaching and messaging at half time. Don't drop your head, keep going. As I've said elsewhere, a large chunk of modern day AFL coaching is being a psychologist and getting your communication right. Goody is a master at it. This thread will always be a thing as some supporters don't like Goody. Even when we were the highest scoring side in the comp, supporters complained that we couldn't defend. When we were the best defensive side in the comp, supporters complained we weren't also somehow playing champagne attacking footy. You actually can't do both. Something has to give if you're to score more in the highly evolved modern zoning game. FWIW, I think our current balance is the best we've ever achieved (outside of 2021) between contest and defence, and our offence. And as Trac said post game, our bigger scores are coming off the back of defence. Just as they did in 2021.

Don't get me wrong, he was great. Just not as influential.

I wouldn't be making moves now just to fit him in. And I wouldn't be moving Bowey. He's having his best season, let him continue to have a huge influence on games from the back half. Those half forwards like Spargo and Chandler are needed to cover huge ground. Sestan does not have the tank for this role. I suspect this is the bigger reason he was shifted at Casey. His skill set suits the back half.

Yeah, Lingers is probably up there this year too. TMac bleeding votes now, but he was up there IMV too.

I disagree. Their list is still evolving, but they have two superb half backs in Wanganeen-Milera and Sinclair. They have the run of Hill and Wilson, and some dangerous smalls and mid sized forwards. They also have King, just he's injured. Their list is actually well positioned for the modern game IMO. Lyon just struggles to get consistency out of the group. Maybe this will come with more experience. @Pennant St Dee nailed it. This is a danger game if we're not on.

Bowser is definitely top 3 or 4 in the BnF, but we was definitely less influential this week, in part due to the JJ tag, but he did have 9 disposals in the second quarter. Outside of that, he was more quiet than he has been.

Definitely less long down the line (although we seem happy to revert to this against certain opposition- see Brisbane last week), and morenuse of angles, and aiming to have more shots closer to goal from marks inside 50, rather than repeated chaotic snap shots. But the latter also happens as the game of AFL is imperfect and rhe best teams can turn chaotic entries or turnovers into scores too. Collingwood are excellent at turning dirty entries into goals.

Superb post mate, but just wanted to add something further. As the game wore on, we definitely let Sydney have two and sometimes even three kicks from the kick out. We wouldn't allow them to get over centre wing, but we allowed them to chip to here. We then set up down the line and in the corridor and dared them to hit the kick into the corridor. They mostly went long down the line and we'd often win ground ball or neutralise their ground ball win. This is a vaguely similar tactic that we used against Collingwood in 2023 in the KB game and again, a similar move to the one we employed against Hawthorn recently. As @binman has said of the Hawthorn game, we allowed the first handball, but sweated the second, and meant that often the press would start across half forward. Against Collingwood, we allowed the first kick and then allowed them to run into our press, and strangled them from there, exploiting their overly aggressive press and commitment of numbers forward of the ball. Both strategies hope to turn the ball over by the centre of the ground, sometimes boundary side of the wings, and then slingshot back inside a relatively empty forward line, as the opposition commits numbers to half way. And that press or gamble that Collingwood (and Hawthorn) do has always left them more vulnerable, and they rely on 1v1 wins or break evens from Moore, Maynard, Quaynor and co to neutralise fast turnovers against. So the key is either lots of forward movement from our forwards when we cause the turnover or lowering the eyes and hitting up shorts, or even better kicking it over the last defender towards the square. I think in the recent past we would have been happy to take the shot from anywhere inside 50, but now we tend to get it deeper and within (to my eye), 30-35m of goal. This entry doesn't have to be central, best if it is, but you can see we have a lot of shots tucked into the boundary line. Melksham often leads here, for example. He's generally an excellent finisher from either pocket, so IMV, he'd be our go to forward. And the beauty of him often taking the best interceptor, is it drags that defender out of the central leading channel and brings other forwards into play with the space it creates.

Mills has a history of this stuff. He definitely meant to hurt IMV.

Sure, I just don't think that's our plan.

It depends if Adams is up to the level this year.

Watching Mo last night, I actually thought they'd make a great sprint off.

Oliver is a much better player than Jack. If he plays like he did yesterday for 23 weeks in a season he'll be A+ again. Jack isn't as damaging IMV. But we're lucky to have both of them and will fit them in. Jack in the forward half for mine.

Great post. Sparrow deserves huge kudos for his last 6 or so weeks.

The comments weren't directed at Jeffo, they were directed at Goody. Of course.

He's a beautiful, long kick. He obviously thought it was out of his range, but I'm not so sure. We've seen him flush them from there before.

This is a Chaplin forwardline. This is exactly the sort of spread we regularly had in 2018, and we're now starting to get a really unpredictable spread. This makes us harder to play against, and as Trac hinted, it's all off the back of defence and manic pressure.

I maintain this may not be the case by the end of 2025. May's pace is becoming an issue, as it is for TMac.