Little Goffy

The 'inside bulls who feed it to the users' conception is a trap. The lesson of Terry Wallace's Tigers struck me deep - his 'types' became pigeon holes and the moment any cog in the machine wasn't in its exact place, the whole thing [censored] up. Neither Petracca nor Oliver nor Viney are excellent users outside of the clearance chaos, but we've seen the power that can come even from a 'clumsy' but direct and dominant set of clearances. Also worth noting that our big run to glory rode a wave where Petracca and Oliver both had significantly good form on their disposal efficiency - whether because the team systems worked or because they just had their eye in for that time, I won't say. But, putting it all together - Petracca is a powerful inside midfield extractor who also drives the ball forward effectively, whether or not it looks pretty every time. That is tactically invaluable for any team, and any coach.

So, I got home as they were getting ready to come out from half time, so I take full credit. It's not like I'm a Lions fan, but if this is the cats finally going over the cliff then I am willing to turn a blind eye to those who gave the push. Awwww... aren't the cuts to Scott in the box so saaaaaad. Sad sad saddy sad sad. And next season he won't even have King, who is clearly the brains and charisma of the outfit.

Walked past a pub during lunch and the game was on, so annoyed I can't call Friday done. Is it real that Hore is going at a clearance every second disposal? And 550m gained by early in the 4th for Maeve Chaplin seems like a lot. Does that seem like a lot to you? It seems like a lot to me. To also have half a dozen tackles makes me think we've got something special here.

I dug around a bit and collrctrd a pile of Collingwood supporter opinions on Finlay McRae. Long story short... He's their Bailey Laurie. Not going to unleash a secret monster there, I think.

Just how many proofreaders have we got on hear? [Running diagnostics now]

From Bontempelli's goal, start aging the extended intro version of 'the only thing they fear is you'. Actually I can just about do that and watch the highlights in my head. Pretty sure the last 45 minutes of that game do not conform to conventionsl space-time. Several things feel like they happen over and over, like going back to the chorus.

Well, he was Casey coach, not development coach. I've got no problem with the reassignment, except I'd seen all the recent hype about super-developer Nigel Lappin at Geelong and had thought he might be a chance. Or maybe Lappin is ready for a return to midfield?

Does he get a podcast invite? He's certainly had an interesting career and might have plenty to reflect on.

The odious question is, should Melbourne be targeting Fiddly Merkin?

I love these stories. Just a joy to see the threads of a community weave in and out over the course decades... almost a century in this case! My grandad always claimed he played some kind of reserves grade for the Demons 'between the wars' but he never supplied evidence and nobody actually believed as they nodded.

Is it possible they do indeed drive a Mitsubishi?

Putting these two thoughts together; Brisbane 6, Geelong 6, so just shy of 50% of grand finals this century have included one of these teams. In fact 2025 tips it over the half. Didn't expect that parity of appearances, actually. Brisbane had something like 15 years of struggling in there. I enjoy knowing that overall Chris Scott really has underperformed in finals.

A side note on the McAdam trade, if I recall correctly it was for a future (2024) second round draft pick, and it would already have been known that draft was going to be wildly compromised (first pick for round 2 was pick 29!) and wasn't looking very strong either. In itself I think it was another very low cost trade for a player we had reasonabke hopes for as we tried to find that 'bottom 6 but AFL grade' depth we needed, and the attacking diversity we desperately needed. But when it sits side by side with the Nibbler trade you just have to feel screwed. The only way that works in our favour would be if Nibbler's contract was -massively- back ended, and enabled us to front-end a couple of other contracts which now might make it possible to get a good trade value for them. Regardless, it's not McAdam's fault and there's only upside to him having a great 2026 and pressing on to only retire after our 2028 premiership.

Ist ein fleishenwundin?