Little Goffy

Yeah, Fritsch was our only designated forward to kick any goals against Sydney. And here's what trouble's me most about that - if he can get them, then they are possible. So why did Brown and Brown, combined, had seven kicks and six marks? Meanwhile, our fleet of crumbers simply weren't getting forward to put enough pressure on to cause the rushed rebound-50s that are so crucial for our intercepting and counter-attacking game.

Seems to me that it isn't our very best players showing signs of complacency, though. I wonder if there's a few lesser lights who are just kind of coasting now - maybe feeling very much like passengers. I don't mean that necessarily in a lazy or irresponsible sense, so much as they are struggling a little with motivation when they know they are 'Player 19th-25th'. The bye is coming at a good time (as always) but I'd like to see us get the system back working properly against Collingwood and get a solid win just so we have a little positive reinforcement.

His final quarter against Sydney was just extraordinary. He finally got a pace ahead of the ruck-tagger that had (wisely) been stalling him all night and took, what, four, five important marks? It is very much like having an extra player, but tonight with the tall defenders depleted and disordered, and the tall forwards entirely failing, it was too much to ask him to be both ruck, extra forward, AND extra intercept defender. Considering he had a couple of 'just very good' games in the first half of the season, his sheer volume of work accumulated this year is extraordinary.

I've shuddered in horror every time I've seen the 'Taylor Walker possible recruit' thread on the main page, so I'm looking for reassurance that there are better options out there. I'm keen to hear people's opinions on possible next key forward options for the Demons. It is clearly the next item on the list management, erm, management list. Respectable veterans slightly younger than our current ones to cover the impending hole? Mid-career club-switch prospects? Young key forwards who aren't getting games but could provide an honest contest? If I can figure out how to add a poll to the post later, I'll take in people's nominations and create a poll. So, who have people got an eye on for this essential part of any 'dynasty creation'?

I lied just a little. But I figured I deserved some time off for 2012-14. Also, my wife is in the age group I selected, and I definitely 'belong to' her. So, in an Obi Wan kind of way, it is true. From a certain point of view.

Out: Flu? In: Oxygen? The Tomlinson-Langdon-Harmes-McDonald additions seem natural and a dramatic difference. Touch wood on May but as others have noted, concussion protocols probably mean no sighting in six days' time. I'm wondering how many weeks left until Salem is back? Would obviously replace Hunt, although I don't mean to be harsh on Hunt as he was just completely out of comfort zone today. Yhere was obviously something wrong with Petracca on the day and it really robbed our midfield and made it possible to tag Oliver and have it mean something. Viney was very good but Dunstan was pretty limited in accumulation as well as effect. Far too often the ruck - Jackson and Gawn - ended up chasing their own hitout instead of being part of any organised onball system. Anyway, it's not so bad. It is bad, though.

Olisik - Literally no posts between march 11 and two hours after our first loss of the season. Gotta love him. But I'll bite for the actual topic. The forward line is an issue. Brown has down days about as often as Weideman has good days - if you average it out that would mean that if both played a full season that would mean we had one good forward out there consistently. Unfortunately today they both had absolute u-bend sludge days and when that combines with the heavy disruption to our tall defenders due to concussion and a wonky ankle, we were always in trouble. Petracca up forward for most of the game and not even reaching contests is also 'of note'.

I can't see us wanting him, so it is allegedly a club in the premiership window, but not the Demons? Very short list.

It'll be fairly tight early, they'll seem a little on top of us but only score a few goals without preventing us from grinding out a couple ourselves. The margin will be small in their favour at 1/4 time. In the second quarter we'll peg it back a little and by half time scores will be basically level. In the third quarter we'll push ahead a bit, peventing them from scoring much while adding three or four of our own. Early in the final quarter the game will open up just a little, both sides will kick goals, but then we'll get a couple on the trot, they'll realise they are beaten and then we'll kick the last three of the game, pushing the margin out to 50 points without anyone even noticing. [picture of a metronome]

This post made me realise that we just beat West Coast by 70+ and it didn't feel like we'd had a particularly good game. I've gone all squiggly-wiggly inside.

Pickett is looking electric early again.

I think the North game is fine - despite their struggles they are still managing to score, rather than going out with 4-goal games and that kind of rubbish. We will still have our defensive effort tested and that's the discipline part that matters. West Coast I'm not worried about because I really think we should be aiming to absolutely shut them down. I know I'm not the only one who will relish any chance to humiliate that arrogant club, nevermind any revenge notions from 2018. The truly alarming thing for West Coast is how many of their goals have come well after the came is decided - not quite junk time but not much different, either. Counting back from round 8 to their win over the 'Pies (ha ha Collingwood), their first half goal tallies have been - 1, 2, 1, 2.

Accompanied by Banksia integrifolia as the previous day's feature article, I think Daisy will need to adopt it as a lucky flower!

Collingwood at the SCG. I'd been to the Brisbane game in 'westish' Sydney the week before and there was a strange difference in the feeling. Against Brisbane we were down three goals at half time but I didn't really have any alarm bells going off. I felt like the system was going alright and we'd be able to get the game back on our terms. I also recall that was the strangest crowd I'd ever been in - 1/4 capacity rule, but that 1/4 was packed seat-to-seat in 1/4 of the stadium. Seemed complete madness. But against Collingwood the feeling was that we were genuinely failing when moving it forward. The old-fashioned breaking down across half forward. Sam Weideman had a dog of a day and I was up close to see it, which was upsetting because I was and still am on the 'Sam can go alright' wagon. But aside from a brief glimmer in the third - and despite that fact that we almost levelled the scores - we never really looked like we were about to dominate the game.

I'd suggest that Tom Browne's entire basis for the rumor is the joke mention of him on Gus & Gawny, but that would require Tom Browne to have spent 30 minutes actually researching football news, so it is unlikely.

Interesting that the list of players out with Covid includes basically one player from every 'line' on field. Would seem very difficult to contain that, but on the other hand you'd expect to get these 5 or so back next week, and as mentioned many of our players have already had Covid. Confirmed on the Gus & Gawny podast, too! Ramp up the protocols, flatten the curve, all that jazz. Booster shots in the bye round, all set for September. In the meantime, trust in the power of Bowey to get us the win over the Hawks.

We are a lot fitter than we were a few years ago and we are committed to creating options. Fact is, not so long ago if you didn't take the first option then there probably wouldn't be any other good ones come up. Now, if a player isn't sure of that kick then they can look around confident that at any time there will be teammates working to create both a good attacking option and a good escape hatch and defensive outlet. You wouldn't dig up your garden unless you actually thought there was buried treasure. Similarly, now that there is a real prospect of good options being available, our players have built the habit of looking for them. We are a very good, maybe even great, football team.

I have the alarming feeling that right now we ARE pacing ourselves. I think our team has the most precious gift available to a top-performing side; the ability to respond to circumstances and deliver super-intense surges when required, but the rest of the time we maintain full defensive discipline as the standard expected. We are almost literally using the main season as a training problem with live targets! Anything can happen with Covid lurking around ready to knock four or five players out at a moment's notice, but that would be why we have the likes of Dunstan and Smith, who each reminded us last night that they are capable at the level when required and would still be thinking they are a shot at their own premiership medals.

201cm? It's a wonder what a solid diet of bananas can do for a young man.

Whenever I read or hear or have a chat with someone who wants to tell me all about my club, Viney gets a mention as symbolic of the disciplined coverage at stoppages and around the group which makes it so hard to get good quality clearances against us. Let us all take a moment to remember the frustration of just a couple of seasons ago when we would see, far too often and far too easily, opposition mids break away from a stoppage without having to so much as evade. Back then it was 'oh, we didn't win the clearance, so now it is up to the defenders'. It took me a moment to figure out who it was I was being reminded of - Viney being mixed with Petracca and Oliver puts him in a position a bit like James Kelly during the Geelong golden run. A fixture in the best 22, a three time premiership player, an All-Australian, but never the leading light. Mind you, in-form Viney is a step up on Kelly, especially now that his brain understands the limits of his body and he knows he doesn't have to be a hero.

I had just seen the 'nine things we learned' article on the AFL website which talked up the Swans as having the best youngsters. I was expecting this to be a kind of reply to that clearly erroneous point. I'm not quite sated so I'll just say; Sparrow, Pickett, Jordon, Rivers, Jackson, Bowey. Not only are they all quite talented, but they also all stand out for character and commitment. I'd be quite content if you told me that five years from now that would be our best 6. Having new young players who have rapidly embraced the necessary commitment to effort and to team is just gold. Credit to the development coaches.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. As a team we a relying very much on big scoring bursts in just one quarter. I went back and had a look at what our results would be if you removed our best quarter each game. ... Yeah, nah, we still win every game. I really put effort into my MFCSS then, and it still didn't work out.

58k to the Bulldogs game, 45k to the Essendon game, that doesn't seem too bad. It is the easter long weekend, there are a lot of people with serious visiting family/friends backlogs to clear, and lots of people skipped their usual summer holidays because of the Omicron spike. We've also got three more consecutive games at the MCG coming, against opponents that some people may even care about. For me personally, I'm many thousands of kilometers away so definitely the issue is the cost of the Uber.

I agree but please leave poor old George out of it.

I'll be flying over your head (Nha Trang back to Hanoi; le tour de in-laws) about 30mins after the game finishes. Sometimes even a flight delay is favourable, although listening through a mobile in a packed airport waiting area isn't ideal!