Dr. Gonzo

We are paying $1.005 on Sportsbet to make the finals FWIW

I disagree - not everyone holds out for more money and if the extra dollars spent on Brayshaw means we can't hold on to someone like Kozzie or Petty when they are up for renewal then it is putting himself before the club which is a recipe for failure.

That's disappointing especially considering the investment the club made in him for little return while he battled his concussion issues. Oliver and Petracca seem to have taken unders to keep the list together, if another player then holds out for more money it can upset the applecart as they'd be thinking "I should've just taken more." Edit - and as much as I love him and his role in the team, no, he is not on the same level as Oliver and Petracca even if he were playing in the middle.

If that was us you'd say its only 2.

Careful or you'll be labelled a Pollyanna 😉

If I bumped this thread from same time last year no one would be able to tell which was 2021 and which was 2022. I encourage people to skim through to get an idea of where we were at same time last year and how quickly things can change once we got momentum heading to September.

Not as much as we laugh at them

I can understand why - I mean if you were able to go back home on equivalent or more money, close to family/friends etc to a strong team then why wouldn't you? Especially after already winning a flag? The AFL should change the contract rules so club's get 4 years out of their draftees because as it stands 2 years is ridiculous for an 18yo who won't come into his prime until he's 24/25.

Thank you for pointing this out, saved me the trouble. I just shake my head at some of the drivel posted on here.

What if they plan on playing him as a mid?

Just to throw even more conjecture in I was wondering whether Selwyn Griffiths has gone even harder than Burgess did last year? I remember hearing reports on here about comments from players that the running sessions were even harder (in preseason I think) so perhaps that's continued through the season. Will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next 4 weeks. I nervously expect an uptick in performance starting Friday against Freo but while my head is telling me yeah it makes sense my stomach is in a knot of doubt.

We did last year

I think you've misunderstood - the fact they were 5-5 while we were 10-0 meant we could go harder earlier while they had to ensure they still racked up enough wins to qualify for finals so could only add in those opportunistic sessions on longer breaks between games. Similar to Geelong who were 6-4 after round 10.

If you're talking about the Gawn one then no. They changed the rule a couple of years back, grabbing it out of the ruck is no longer automatic prior opportunity. The umpire just made the rule up on the spot.

I see those issues with us as well but I'm giving the team the opportunity to succeed first before writing them off. I think they've earnt that over the past two seasons.

Umm, the thread is literally titled "Numbers - we are just making them up"

That could change in the next 4 weeks

If he's blocked you - he won't see this 😂

Who is winning it then? Geelong who just scraped past Port? Brisbane who lost to Essendon a couple of weeks back? Freo who drew with Richmond last night? Collingwood who just scraped past North and Adelaide in successive weeks? Carlton who still look a year away and have fallen at most challenges they've faced this year? Sydney who have been flakey and up and down all year? There are no dominant teams this year. Yeah we haven't performed to the level you'd hope and have been inconsistent across games but we still have the star power to turn it on in September. Obviously this is not to say we will but we will give ourselves a crack. To say we are just making up the numbers is insulting.

Thanks mate now I'm getting the midnight munchies 🤣

I agree but 13 marks inside 50 may have contributed to that. That seems pretty high for us so less chances for our small forwards to apply that pressure on the ground ball. Still would like to see some tackles inside 50 though obviously.

I thought Salem was ok tonight. Was under pressure most times he disposed of it but tended to find a teammate or put it to our advantage.

I'll give it to you, you've stuck to your guns and said we may lose this one but we will be primed next week against Freo. If we run all over them and regain some form you can let everyone know how right you were. I hope you are but I have some doubts.

Was that the one shortly before half time? Would've put us 27 points up instead they take it down the other end and kick a goal so we only had a 15 point lead at half time

He's just too selfless for his own good 🤣