JJJ

Was at the game yesterday. Not sure how old he is but he is small!

I thought Lindsay may’ve taken the subs vest early. He looked knackered in the 2nd term. 1 more game to go and he can get a rest. Don’t like resting kids unless they are hopelessly out of form, which he isn’t.

So we agree then. Disco stays back. Excellent. Draft for talent, trade for need. There has to be some uncut diamond out there wanting a crack at senior footy. Without doing any research, you’d have to think GC, Brisbane or Freo would have some young key forwards that are looking at options.

Umpiring was at best, a debacle. Even a few neutrals nearby were completely confused by some of the decisions today. Trying to explain the rules to a non AFL follower today was not easy. I thought we did a lot right but failed again with our connection to the forward half. The same thing that we’ve struggled with for 3 years. What I also found disappointing at times was the safe, kick it long down the line type of play. We have zero swagger and dare. There were so many times that we could’ve tried a switch or gone shorter but opted for the good old fashioned down the line kick. The Collingwood players could see it unfolding. Re Turner, I appreciate our requirement for a key forward. We’ve needed one since Jesse was booted. We got BBB as a rental for a couple of seasons but nobody has really stepped forward. No pun intended. My question is, do we compromise Disco’s development as a key back when he could turn out as our Tom Stewart? Ask anyone involved with Geelong and they will tell you, outside of Selwood, Stewart has been the most important player down there. We’ve invested top 20 draft picks in forwards, let them play. Let’s see what we have and how to complement them come 2025 trade week. Prior to that, drop Petty. Bring in TMac to play forward as the younger guys will clearly need the support. Make Petty compete with May and Lever for a spot down back. In the next 4 games, we should prioritise system and experience. Play younger players in roles they might graduate to next year. Roll the dice and see if we can move the ball in a way that helps our forwards. 2025 is over. The sooner the coaches let go of finals aspirations the better.

Standard.

Is that an offical diagnosis of Donald’s mental capacity? I thought maybe dementia. Damn it! Just realised I can no longer travel to the US with the above on the interwebs.

TDS… I am almost afraid to google. Is it an acronym for our half back line? Trent (Rivers) Daniel (Turner) Steven (May)

The best ability is availability. Especially when you’re a mature age recruit who has already missed games due to suspension.

He only has to start on him and cut off his supply from stoppage. Our defensive schemes are designed to pick up players in transition

I would love them to release Windsor up the ground a bit. Viney to come in and perform a shutdown role on a Daicos?

We were dead in the water at 0-5. Dead. I’ve enjoyed the wins but at no stage did I feel we were a chance to make September. You have to bank winnable games if you’re serious about playing finals after the season we had in 24.

Petty is so poor at drawing the footy. It’s a hugely underrated part of being a forward. I’ve said it many times on here, he’s an excellent 3rd man up type pack marker. He was borderline elite at it in 2021. Teams realised this and took his run and made him more accountable. Now we are trying to turn him into a forward (again) as he has size and a massive catch radius. He shows little nous or craft but due to a complete lack of options, we persist. Not to mention his goal kicking and awful ruckwork. 🤮 As much as I hate to say this, as I love the fella, but maybe Petty needs to go back in place of Lever? Lever may need to reinvent himself. Not sure what to. A defensive forward? Any thought of moving Disco forward again should be a sackable offence. He’s a much better back man than forward. Disco is so good that he could help extend May’s career down there. Allowing May to take lesser forwards and zoning off. May’s voice and kicking are still required.

Bad kicking is bad football. So yes, the goal kicking played a major part of the loss. But we weren’t ‘on’ from the get go. It looked bad early on. Why were we not prepared and ready to go? If the players were ready for the style of game how come they didn’t respond? If it’s on the players as some suggest, then why did the Board and Footy Dept state finals were a pass mark for this group? None of this makes sense to me.

Not to speak for someone else but I think the overall head to head is irrelevant. Lyon got Goody cold today. The players weren’t up for it and we didn’t do much/anything to respond to Lyon’s plan. To look at the result as anything other than a spanking across the board is doing the Saints and their coaches a disservice.

The lack of pressure was just so incredibly frustrating to watch on TV. I had people at the ground messaging me how poorly we responded to StKilda’s setup. They were transitioning at speed and with little pressure from us. Every time the Saints got the ball at half back we looked out positioned already. I’m on record for thinking Goody isn’t the guy for us so no point beating that drum, BUT when is the last time we’ve being challenged like we were today and the coaches have changed something to help us win the game? Lyon had a plan and the Saints delivered.

So did our players apparently. We were not prepared to get in a fight today. No intensity. The last quarter was appalling.

Not sure why people are having a crack at Healy’s commentary. He clearly thinks we are the better side and should win. Like us, I think he’s found our uneven effort after working so hard over the last month confounding. I agree with him.

If Johnson played for another team I’d hate him for his fake toughness.

Not based off today’s commentary. We are awful. Effort should never be in question. But it is with us this season.

This. Our defenders back themselves to close space but they can’t do anything with zero pressure in the forward line and midfield

It’s work rate and discipline. We are asleep at the wheel

I opened this thread thinking that maybe he’d announced that this would be his last year. It won’t be if he stays healthy and continues to play the way he has.

Spargo broken scapula. I broke my right scap in a bike stack. It’s super hard to brake as it’s covered in muscle. Must’ve been a big whack.

Never go full Elon

I’ll admit, I can get lippy at the footy when provoked. And I am really good at it. As such I’ve had run ins with: Adelaide: we played them on the Goldy. The people in front of me said that I clapped too loudly. Called me Vic Pric. So I leaned forward and clapped louder and started talking about how good Formula One is and how Victoria is the home of footy. They left. Carlton: 2000 QF. Carlton Cheer squad gave it to a group of us all day. We constantly gave it back but were way outnumbered. All in good fun until we were physically threatened by a group of 10 blokes. They ended up getting removed by the police after their own fans dobbed them in. Collingwood: Hit over the head with an umbrella by an elderly toothless (seriously) Collingwood supporter when I was 12. I was literally just sitting on my seat when she did it. Plenty of other stories about those muppets. Essendon: Windy Hill….. every time. Fremantle: The Wonna game. Trailing by 51 points but still cheering. Was told to be quiet by a couple of Freo Execs. “Know when you’re beaten mate”…. They were so arrogant. That was a great day! West Coast: 2018 Prelim. Attended a club function at the ground so left pretty late. Was accosted by 4 WCE fans who were hammered outside the ground. Trying to pick a fight calling me all sorts of names. North Melbourne: We were getting belted by the Kangas but I didn’t give up cheering when we did something good. Was told I was “drunk and stupid”. I corrected them and told them I was “drunk and handsome”. Started chanting Gold Coast whenever they kicked a goal. They left. Geelong: they were pretty good actually but the Hawkins breakout game was pretty bad. Constantly abused and told to go home. Had food thrown at us. At the end of the game a small amount of their supporters said that they wished the club all the best for supporters like me/us. I was at 187 and got a few pats on the back which was nice. I’m not a fighter and never started any of the above. But I don’t like being backed into a corner or have opposition supporters act in a aggressive or demanding way towards our club and supporters. And I don’t swear.