Little Goffy

The closest I got to being interested in them was 'hmmm, ah, hmmm, nah, nope'. Couple might be of interest when freed of injury curses but even then they don't look like hiddens gems so much as unearthed bronze. There's no readings on the Bennell-o-metre, so to speak. On the bright side for Norf, those delistings aren't going to be ripping the heart out of their 22 or anything. They do certainly have a challenge to manage some kind of competitive level as their current young players and the wave of incoming kids develop. I wonder if they'll continue to throw fat contracts at mid-level players to try to top up in the meantime? It could affect a few of our own list decisions if we can respectfully move on a few of our 'adequate but unreliable' players currently in the bottom third of our best 22.

I wonder what level of interest Essendon would have in keeping the McDonald brothers together? If Daninher goes, they are just about empty of genuine tall forwards, whole Hooker and Hurley are both 30+ and a bit banged up. I'm not talking about some bumper trade value, nor am I writing off the value of either McDonald. Just looking for a respectful player movement to where they'll get more opportunities.

There's a guy at my work who in just the last month has had the misfortune of twice getting a sniffle so mild that normally you wouldn't even crack out the Vicks. Both times he's done the right thing, stayed home, got tested, waited for the result. I would guess he's about $800 out of pocket for doing the right thing and nobody has issued a press release saying what a great guy he is and how he's really hurting. Just sayin'

Perhaps ironically, GWS will be hoping/needing to pass us (and/or the Dogs) on percentage, so will look to beat the Saints by as much as possible, and in the process boosting our chances of making it. The gap between us and the Saints is 5.19%, which works out to about 50 points in this short and low-scoring with everyone lurking around 1000 point for/against. Call it nine goals to make up, combining the amount St Kilda lose by and the amount we smash Essendon by. Or the Dogs lose, we win, obviously. Sorry if I'm just repeating everything already said. I'm finding walking through it out loud a bit therapeutic.

I worry that we're going to be a 'genuine' small defender short and it'll cost us, and I'm not sure Saad is exactly what we need. But certainly a player to be interested in. Both his tackle numbers and his overall consistency are underestimated and speak to a hard working professional, which is always welcome. Other than that, it's all a matter of budget, because I worry that one trade period hype gets involved with Saad being 'elite in his role' that will turn into having to pay for him like he is 'an elite player' which is all very nuanced, as shown by the debate already in this thread.

Yeah, I hope nobody who is distressed by our coughed-up turnover goals problem is also spruiking Hunt for the backline. Unfortunately, and as others have already noted, his 'run 15 kick 40' option is too easily countered and he doesn't actually have great vision to pick out targets the way is necessary to penetrate the midfield and half-forward minefield with being blown up and sent directly back. If he's going to make it in the present form of the game, it'll be somewhere forward of center. He could be an Ed Langdon clone except he doesn't have the key Ed Langdon features of relentless gut running to smart places and the repeat efforts. So it's a bit like saying Matthew Bate could be a Koutafides clone. I'm on the fence as far as keeping him for next year, but can also see that another club may feel he offers something more suited to their mix.

Collingwood failing horribly would also be the most satisfying way to get into finals. Only thing better would be annihilating Essendon and sneaking ahead of the Saints on percentage, ideally by about 0.57%.

Hmm, line up for conspiracy theory tickets here.

Well, they caused us all kinds of trouble by sending their tall forwards on long leads up the wing providing marking target after target, and then still having a tall available close to goal. Could work very well with their little collection of smart zippy types in support, too. I'd especially rate Curnow as a player capable of being a marking target but then instantly becoming a tall midfielder if the ball gets loose. There's some danger in this Blues squad, even if they aren't quite getting it together just now.

Crows will have certainly worked out that pick 1-3 is a toss up for them, so would love to finish the season with a string of wins and climbing out of last place. Carlton adding to the body of evidence that 'blowing it completely' is the theme of 2020.

What I'm really looking forward to is more 4-day turnarounds between games. What the game needs, more than anything else, is more off-field powerbroker factors having more influence on the actual sporting contest.

As is often the case, Wilson is not really wrong but you have to wonder why the obvious and inevitable scuffling at one club approaching the end of a mostly disappointing season is worthy of a feature article by the Chief Football Writer?

Number of players and staff in the AFL hub system X frequency of routine testing / number of false positives = false positive rate Let's see, for round number's sake lets say that 1000 people, tested weekly, for a total of 20,000+ tests. So the false positive rate is 20,000+ to Conor McKenna. That the McKenna stuff-up was such a scandal does, indeed, highlight how accurate the test is and is expected to be.

Later down the same page - Due to the urgent nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of SARS-CoV-2 tests have undergone an expedited assessment by the TGA to enable their legal supply in Australia. These expedited assessments are based on the limited clinical and performance data currently available. All SARS-CoV-2 tests currently approved for supply are required to provide updated evidence to support the ongoing safety and performance of the tests to the TGA. Which is to say, medical researchers, unlike yourself, openly acknowledge when data is of a lower standard than the extraordinary expectations they normally operate on, and in the circumstances a number of testing methods have been approved on stringent conditions of continuous performance reporting, and that, to date, the existing approved tests have performed to the standards required. Or, to put it another way for those in the sniper gallery, the tests are performing to the required exceptionally high standard, but because people other than Elegt are in charge of medical research it is still deemed necessary to closely monitor for any issues. This is also why we aren't drinking cow urine or gargling hot vodka to cure the illness.

I just had this ridiculous notion that it could be possible for one of our chief rivals for that spot in the 8 to blow their chance even worse than us, and keep the season alive for one more week. But that would be madness. Not even 2020 can get that stupid.

Y'know, considering what a MASSIVE TOTAL FAILURE OF HUMANITY these last four years have been, it's kind of funny that Goodwin is currently just a fraction behind the likes of Northey and Daniher for win rate. I'm not saying 'Whoopee everything is fine' but it is possible that not everything has gone to crup just yet. The evident coaching problems of lack of creativity on gameday and lack of consistency in player performance are known and must be addressed, but Goodwin is no spud, even if he looks a bit like one when he wrinkles his forehead. And, yeah, there is still the '2020 is the worst year in living memory' factor.

I'm quite sure the AFL will find a way to schedule our final game for the sunday night and then have us play an elimination final on wednesday. After all, limping into finals by some freak occurence and then being utterly splattered while also feeling we were never given a fair run by the system is just perfect Melbourne.

Interesting spin by Richmond, 'we take no responsibility for our players, you're all quite welcome to dump on them individually, there is no larger problem here... again'.

Sick relatives, newborn babies, anxiety attacks, desperate homesickness... But heaven forbid, another month without getting sauced and looking at [censored]. Richmond have proven themselves serial offenders on every level of arrogance. The 'slip ups' generosity we all offer is exhausted and it's clear they've made a choice of what kind of culture they want to have. I'm freshly re-motivated to see us make the finals just for the chance to lay into this overstuffed git-King of a club. Finish eighth, they'll land in fifth. The hunt is on.

If there is one...

Excellent, we'll grab him cheap as a category B rookie.

Doesn't Jeff White also have a Taj coming through? I wonder how many we can collect? (If any)

My thoughts go to Daniel Bell, who last I heard was already struggling with aspects of brain damage from his string of playing concussions when he was barely 30. The long layoffs for Brayshaw might not only have saved him as a player but also saved him a lot of grief as a human being, and the contrast with Bell are a pointer to how far we've come and how important it is to get it right.

Personally, I'm shocked we didn't already have a thread for this.

It's a big step. Was a clear determination during the week after the implosion against the Dogs. Hugely glad that they got the reward and positive reinforcement for working on it. Ahh, it's good to be a demon for a few days at least. Love those learnings, yeah, love those learnings.