Little Goffy

Well, one thing that makes sure of - I really really want to thrash Port tomorrow night because the online meltdown of their feral supporters would be like breaking a lava lamp over a cat.

Been a while since people got wound up about re-signing our leading goal-kicker! I think Fritsch is doing okay at present, and I am 100% sure that he is doing a lot of team-first things that reduce his visibility and stats. His form is also 'fluctuating upwards', so to speak. Aaaany moment now he's going to have a ripper, I can feel it in me bones.

It is quite possible that the reason Jones was brought in and that Brayshaw is out there playing limited time in a non-ideal role is part of preparation for the hectic pace likely for the second half of the season. We will surely be giving some players rests at unpredictable times and having the extra couple of possible 'grunts' ready to go will be important. None of it is ideal and there's no mistaking that Brayshaw is fumbly and lacking the alertness that was a feature of his best football, but he may become very important, very soon.

Reminds me of the headline, "France knocked out, Britain through to finals". T'was a close run thing.

Having only been able to listen to the game previously, I actually startled my wife with my exclamation when I was that clip just now. I have spent my whole football watching life being a defender of individual umpires, that they should be treated as anonymous and generally accepted for the inevitable flawed calls, but I am going to remember No. 11, Curtis Deboy. That was not some kind of incidental flawed call, that was inexcusable to the point of raising bias issues.

Well down on some of the things which are supposed to be our strengths, some ridonkulus umpiring, some annoying missed shots, but only two goals in it at half time against the best first-half team this season. I wont say I'm satisfied but I will say I'm full of hope.

Don't discount the fun in a proper downpour being unleashed if that rain band hits the Gold Coast right as the temperature drops in the evening. Throw in just a little bit of backing up on the spot due to the heat island and one lucky push of wind back in from the coast at the right moment... Fwsooosh and only Gawn's eyebrows will be above the water line. Tonight's the night, even the weather is going to be epic (as the kids say these days).

To think, we could have had John Butcher! Water (heavy metal polluted water, but water) under the bridge, but hey, in the end we still got a future captain, champion, and possibly the best player in the competition at present, so it wasn't a total bust of a draft.

Turns out he was happy to let himself go...

Can anyone help me decide - Essendon misery or Adelaide misery? I guess Essendon misery has the practical side of keeping the ladder a little more open, while Adelaide misery is only relevant as a joy in itself. Crows to win. Essendon to spend the rest of the season just outside the 8. Or, to quote in anticipation "They were the best team to not make finals all year, weren't they BT?' and 'You've really got to think they'll be a serious contender next year, wouldn't you reckon Lingy?' etc.

What the world needs right now is a compilation clip of Hawthorn players under Clarkson diving, ducking, pulling and waving their arms around for free kicks, set to the sounds of Clarkson sooking about Papley. Of course, Hawks have form on the 'complaining about Sydney players milking free kicks', because it is well known they were right at the forefront of 'holding Adam Goodes accountable'. Junk club. Rot in a ditch.

I hope Owies has a long and successful career, but also with lots of one-week injuries just so we can see the team sheet "Out: Owies (injured)". I'm sure one day he will make a great forward line alongside Booboo, Ouchi and Prang.

You'd love him to stop that, wouldn't you?

My guess would be that the attack could have broken through for a goal with just one little extra thing going right - If Jackson had been able to tap the ball with his feet to move it forward even a bit, or if Pickett had realised he still had Brayshaw running with him on his right, it could easily have been a goal. And then of course there was the rebound, which came back a bit too easily, I imagine that coaches do sometimes get worked up when they see brilliance not quite come together and then the team system not quite cover the risk. Sometimes. Or maybe he was just really wishing it had gone on for the goal because it would have been goal of the week and made everyone celebrate Pickett and save him from being compared to Weightman!

One of the things I loved about the game against the Hawks was seeing Pickett getting frequently involved and getting to good places in support, whether or not he was rewarded or even got a stat out of it. It shows a little in the 'goal of the week mini-video on the main Demonland page at the moment - he was weaving in and out of the action ready dragging players with him and even closing in on the hot spot as the goal was being kicked. But the moment for me that really shone (and made me feel like we were definitely going to win) was a passage of play I think late in the third quarter where through sheer manic attack and slapping and bundling along Pickett was largely responsible for moving the ball forward about fifty meters despite Hawks outnumbering Demons for the length of the scramble. He must have physically touched the ball five times in ten seconds but statistically wouldn't have had a 'touch' to his name. Sums up why I think we've got a winner in this kid and why I'm going to enjoy watching him for years. Can I make a special request to anyone with editing skills for a mini-video of that ridiculous passage? Might be hard to find because it didn't result in a goal or anything special as an outcome, except Hawthorn once again were knocked back up the ground, out of an attacking position, and left with no options except to kick long to Gawn! It is also the perfect reminder that Pickett's stats are completely ignorable - he's doing his thing and it is definitely not bureaucratic!

I've been annoying my wife to hell with complaints about how Gawn is so often winning hitouts but the communication with the rest of the clearance team usnt quite happening. A decisively won hitout will drop just a pace or two too far ahead or a fraction of a second behind and the mid coming through has to reach or twist or stall for just a moment - still getting the ball, still getting the hitout to advantage stat, even still getting the clearance, but it just isn't quite as decisive. Seems another one if those things you have to play together to really improve, and I'm hopeful that we'll soon see a bit more of the bonus game changing double-goals that defined 2018 (goal, centre bounce, goal). It would also give Oliver that little extra moment to steady and deliver a clean kick or handball. Not necessarily brilliant but the proverbial 'high percentage option' that keeps the ball moving effectively. That's plenty when your work is done in a pack all day.

In case it hasn't been noted by anyone else... Sam Weideman is currently No.2 behind only Charlie Dixon for contested marks per game. AND Sam Wiedeman is currently number one in the AFL for marks inside 50 per game. AND Sam Weideman is also equal first for goals per game. On a non-Sam note, Fritsch is 3rd for marks inside 50 per game, but his aren't as noticeable because his job seems to be to provide the wide lead and then assess - kick it to someone in a better spot (which is does pretty well) or take the shot. Everyone should take regular moments to remind themselves of that role when they see Fritta's poor-looking accuracy - he's typically taking the shots from 45 out on the boundary.

Wow. How many people with decision-making power must have interacted with that along the way without stopping and thinking 'hang on a minute?' I'm going to scratch my nails down the window and say 'At least now it is being reported like it is a problem'. And relating it to the topic - "She's not an elderly lady with dementia, she's just an ***" "He's not a skillful half-forward completing an amazing comeback nobody thought possible, he's just an ***" Hopefully when Harley is a crabby 86 and has dementia, it'll be different.

Fun Fact. Essendon have four wins. Three of them are against; Kangaroos (17th) Swans (16th) and Freo (14th) and next week they play Adelaide (18th). Meanwhile, Hawthorn, at 13th, is the lowest ranked team we've played against and next week we have Brisbane. Our destinies are somewhat woven together because of the missed game, but it should be fun watching Essendon slide as the season goes ahead while we have a whole bunch of difficult teams we wont need to see again until finals. Definitely looking forward the re-match, too.

And then back in again, if it is Frost rebouding! Records could be broken! Meanwhile, truly superb weather up here in Sydney. Just a few wispy high clouds and a sky that is the palest blue that it gets. Soft sun, not too hot and no real chill either. The proverbial perfect day for football. The tactic which has brought Melbourne undone repearedly this season is opposition teams calmly, patiently chipping the ball around to work their way up the ground and take the heat out of out intense play-on style. Hawthorn have been trying to use that tactic all season but it hasn't been up to scratch for them. If we're wise enough, alert enough and disciplined enough to keep closing in on them to exploit the little mistakes then we will get multiple goals from those turnovers and the effect of the 'chip chip' will be to actually increase pressure and panic on them, rather than decrease it. About six hours from now we should be knocking on the door to the eight with positive percentage, a game in hand and rediscovered momentum. And that warm glow reserved for knowing you've just broken Hawthorn's season for the second time in three years!

That last half-dozen games in 2014... sigh. Looked like a break-out from a young dynamic mid capable on the inside and the outside, laying tackles, getting clearances, marking around the ground, kicking goals - he was providing us with a complete, well-rounded midfielder. Something which even now we don't quite have one of. Tyson's end of season surge followed by stagnation makes me irrationally nervous about Fristch doing the same after his amazing finish to last season. Touching wood and all that.

Y'know, it just occurred to me that Luke Jackson might be the player to finally complete the magic puzzle that I've always wanted to see - a player who gets at least one of every single stat in a single game. I've kept an eye on the likes of Franklin and Naitanui over the years but I don't think either ever did it all in one game.

Scorebored ? flattering North... Meanwhile, anyone else getting a bit of an Akermanis-ish vibe about Rankine? He's got the game, the body shape, the dumb hair, and the wet trouser commentators!

Well, Gawn is ten days older than May, so really the best thing would have been to trade Gawn and that way we could have had both Kings.

Essendon's percentage dropping by more 15 and going back down under 100, and likely dropping out of the eight, is always a welcome part of any round of football. It's a note on the sheet abotu how long scoring this season has been, too. Our percentage may look pretty rough at 87% but that is still only a 40 point margin. Geelong's spot on the ladder is largely the product of their one good smashing... of Hawthorn. Looking forward to us taking out turn!