Dr. Gonzo

You're comparing Joel Smith to Harris Andrews? You've gotta be kidding me.

The other day I took my son to the Demon Shop and he bought the indigenous guernsey. I took him past Goschs and he wanted to get out and watch but after doing two laps (up Punt Rd, U-turn, left on to Swan st and back again) could not find anywhere close to park and get out. So we had to give it a miss. It's not like I'd go there every week but for those who do want to go or drop past occasionally it's close to impossible

I dunno. I'm holding out until next year to see how the club rebounds from this disastrous season. I've been quietly confident that we've been on the right track but I'm starting to waiver. If TMac and Weideman can't step up to the plate and if Goodwin refuses to adjust the game plan I'm sceptical we will turn this around enough to be perennial contenders and challenge for a flag. We desperately need a key forward who can take the game over like Hipwood did yesterday. We need a small forward who can crumb and has goal sense. We need 2x outside mids with pace and skill. We need greater composure and/or a game plan that allows the players to play tempo footy instead of 100mph straight towards goals 100% of the game. We need Lever on the park and Petracca to attack the game like the beast he threatens to be. That's a lot of things we need to find/change/go right if we're to challenge next year.

He was good offensively but how did he go defensively? There was one play in the 3rd quarter where he lost Lincoln McCarthy who took an easy mark deep in the forward line from a centre clearance.

I agree but he still shouldn't have fumbled it. We either handball to our teammates feet or loop it up in the air forcing them to sit and wait and inevitably get crunched in a tackle or dispose under pressure creating the start of a chain of panic disposals that inevitably leads to a turnover. It drives me beserk.

Those excuses are starting to wear thin. Does an interrupted preseason cause tmac to drop a sitter in round 14?

That's true, but it's been more like 3 steps back.

Jetta will be 30yo round 1 2020. How many years does he have left?

Two key plays in the 3rd quarter which helped turn the game. Petracca fumbles a ball 15m out with a player free in the goal square. We throw away a simple goal. Tmac drops a sitter 25m out on the lead uncontested. We throw away another simple goal. Lions then kicked 3 goals in 5 minutes.

Nah that's rubbish. Hipwood was the difference today, if TMac or Weird could play with his presence we win. We lack composure, play on at all costs can work but not if you start moving before even checking to see what's ahead of you. We sell our teammates into trouble and have no options forward of the ball because we don't have the intelligence to hold things up for a couple of seconds here or there.

All he had to do was hold up for a couple of seconds and he had a player inside 50 with a paddock to lead in to. Plays on without looking and turns it over. So frustrating, they just have no composure whatsoever

These umps are [censored] crucifying us

Tmac jumps in the ruck, Brisbane ruck doesn't jump, free kick???

And we never get the "blocked out if a marking contest" frees paid to us. At least 3 so far today.

Already a bunch of BS calls going against us. tmacs mark on the boundary not paid, HTB against the Lions not paid in our backline And another one right then for God knows what

Hunter S Thompson would disagree ?

Which game?

Probably cos they usually play them at Tassie? I reckon games in those conditions are better to watch these days. Gets it back to an older school style of footy, harder to play keepings off, zone etc Look at GWS/Bombers under the roof but a terrible game. Put that on a soggy Windy Hill makes it a much more enthralling contest.

He is everything I wish Spargo was. Great pick up by the Cats.

He's a buffoon and the game has turned to [censored] under his watch. The sooner he's gone and we get someone competent in instead of a dealmaker given the job because of his connections the better off the game will be.

It also opens up the forward 50 and gets defenders moving which makes it easier to pick the gaps.

The forward structure has made it impossible to tell if they've been playing well or not. Tmac has been poor, Petracca has had the yips but other than that it's hard to say they've been that bad considering the structure and the nature of the forward 50 entries. On the weekend we actually tried to switch play a couple of times wheb we had the ball on the forward flank which opened up space for our forwards and led to I50 marks. Usually we just bang it back down the line making it easy to defend.

Congrats, you just explained the internet.

The season will turn on this week's game, it is probably the most critical one to date. Beat the Lions and we are 5-9 with games against Carlton, Saints, WCE and Footscray over the next month. If we can win 3 of those we're 8-10 with 3 big games in a row at the G to follow. I'm not saying we've got much of a chance but if we can manage to roll Brisbane things could get interesting over the next month.

If we go through undefeated we can still sneak in. Toughest games are probably this week and then West Coast in Alice Springs and the Pies at the G.