DeeSpencer

Port is a better match up for them, and probably for us! That said, the first place finish and the belief is surely invaluable

The Bowey dangerous tackle might have been the worst free kick I’ve ever seen. But hey, the umps came through when it mattered

Was silly from Jake but even Lever couldn't work out what he was trying to do. Held him down across the top of the chest/chin with one arm and then attempted some half baked punch to the ribs with the other. I doubt they even come up with a fine for that given how poorly executed it was, but that's surely the most it would be.

Harmes and JJ have been available to play on the wing most of the year yet the coach prefers Gus, even tho Gus has cleaner hands and better ball winning than those guys. Why? Because he agrees with me. I might be wrong saying it's speed off the mark, I meant more lateral speed, but I stick by that. No matter where he plays you see Gus struggle to change direction, where as in a straight line he can run with most opponents. Instead of people yearning for a player that probably won't ever come back we should commend Goodwin and Gus for finding a role that at times works against his game but also maximises a lot of how he plays.

Maybe 'slow of the mark' was the wrong phrase, that's for correcting me. But he definitely takes an eternity to change direction. Priddis and Mitchell promptly retired when the game had gone passed them, allowing the Eagles to put Yeo and Gaff on ball for more burst. Richmond changed the game by injection smaller, faster mids who weren't so worried about winning the ball in to the centre. Tom Mitchell can really move side to side as well, mostly because that's all he does! Agility in order to pressure really is the vital component to most AFL players these days.

What was the incident? Time stamp?

McDonald was super rusty but I'm sure the hope is he builds back up, we can't trust Melksham and we don't really have any other forward options. The only way he'd come out would be if Petracca plays forward more (and maybe Harmes too) and I think we saw that earlier in the year as not always working out. Petracca had a much better second half playing forward tonight but generally we need him on ball. I still prefer JJ than Sparrow as a midfielder, which means Harmes doesn't have to spell on the wing. But Sparrow seems more effective as a half forward. So I'm not sure they change that one. Which really only leaves Smith for Hibberd. I can see why they went Smith tonight. He can match Rohan and Dangerfield for pace and switch on to Cameron at times. Handy when Lever doesn't have a match up. But I think against the Lions it's Hibberd in for Cameron. The only other option might be Rivers on Cameron and Smith or Hibberd on to McCarthy. I don't think you can back Smith in to play on Charlie. If Hibbo gets beat for pace he gets beat for pace, better than getting caught out like Smith will.

Anyone from this century? About as relevant as saying John Nicholls would still be a good ruckman at 189cm these days. Gus is actually pretty quick once he builds pace too. I don’t know if the concussions played a role or if it’s a physical thing but he gets completely burnt off the mark.

Brayshaw is just really slow off the mark. That makes him a complete no go for the centre square, because if he doesn’t win it he’s a liability. He worked in that role in 2018 because we had guys off the back of the square covering. He’s had a solid year on the wing, with some big ups and downs. When the team structure breaks down he gets absolutely caught out. When there’s pressure on and teams bomb long he gobbles up intercepts. In an ideal world he’d be able to sprint up and back, still get the intercepts but actually provide some attack too. And close off his winger rather than allow them to mark the pressure relieving kick from the backline. We just have to be alert to his match up and if there’s games he needs to be moved. He was torched by GWS. The next week against the Power he played more half forward and would swap on ball with Tracc after centre bounces. That’s a role we have to consider using him in. It’s also hardly a surprise that Langdon, Brayshaw and JJ might all be a bit down on output after a huge year. JJ’s had a freshen up. I wish they’d give Langdon a quieter week too. Maybe Gus needs a freshen or it might just be a mental thing with the travel, short break, not a lot to play for against the Crows.

I just hope everyone enjoyed their wildcard weekend last week.

This would be a huge compromise and not something we should do. We’d clearly just be the crammed in poor cousins to Collingwood. The entire point of having the club together is for them to be together. Not training on the other side of a stadium. The access is rubbish. There’s no scope for future development. Where’s the ability to host family days or open trainings? Yet alone the dream of one day getting the same privileges as Richmond and Collingwood to host reserves and women’s games. This stinks

That's baffling from Majak. Unless somehow he thought Cox had the ball and it's a tackle gone all wrong - the slips up as Cox dips down - it makes no sense at all. Not the right week to have damaged someone's larynx

Top sides are expected to be able to carry a few outs. We were still picking our primary depth players, the Crows were just about going with whoever was available. I’m not upset with the performance. Got the job done, move on. But we certainly didn’t play well in the first quarter and we’re in need of a test I think. Everyone complains about the fixture when you have more games against better sides. I actually think it helps the best teams stay at the top. If you play the battlers more weeks than not - as we did for years on end - you’re up against it when the heat comes on. West Coast just gave up a 50 point first quarter to Freo. We played well against them until the lightening delay but they’re cooked and have been for weeks.

We played an Adelaide team without Walker, O’Brien, Milera, B Smith, Brown, Crouch, Talia and down a tall early and we started awfully then didn’t finish them off until very late. I know these type of games are tricky with everyone in self preservation mode but it was still far from the perfect rehearsal. There were large patches of the first 3/4’s were we couldn’t stop their transition game and we couldn’t hold on to the ball either. We haven’t played a proper side for 3 weeks now and only done a real number on 1 of 3. I think we need a true rehearsal against the Cats to sharpen us back up.

JJ's been far cleaner by hand, his quick hands have been the best part of his game. I agree that he's slow to use the ball from kick/mark situations, but that's only a few times a game. But the biggest difference between them is JJ has now proven himself to be useful enough of a wing but I don't think Sparrow has. Unless the coaches want to rotate Harmes through the wing I think JJ remains the more likely option to stay in the side.

The pros: Tough, hard at it, improving tackler and really runs hard. But the cons are his kicking leaves a lot to be desired and he just doesn't have a whole lot of game sense. Plus he fumbles. You just can't fumble at AFL level. He's going to be a really nice combination of size, power and endurance when he's at his physical peak over the next few years, whether he can improve his skills and game sense to be more than depth I'm not so sure.

I've always been a Smith fan and I still think if he got continuity he'd be a player, it's just the longer he goes without any continuity the less likely it is he'll A) stay healthy and B) have it all click. He's also now in the position of either playing full back or as a lock down back pocket, neither of which really suit him, when the best role for him is probably the spot that Hunt has played this year using his pace and aerial ability to fill in gaps between the lines. He doesn't read the play as well as Lever and doesn't hold enough marks, but I maintain he does read the player better than people give him credit for and he has the great athletic traits. As always he made a few mistakes today - every player does. Luckily not too many of them were fatal. He also had 7 intercept possessions, only one off our team high. Given how inexperienced our defensive depth players will likely be next year I'm fine with giving Smith one more chance when he knows the system.

Out: Smith, Melksham, Sparrow In: May, McDonald, Viney Gus had a stinker, as he’s tended to do against quick sides that take the game on. But if they didn’t drop him weeks ago - eg post the Giants game - I doubt they will now. What they should do is look at Gus to half back or half forward at various times if he just isn’t getting the job done against quick wingers. Can use JJ, Harmes or Bowey on the wing instead.

Had that one beautiful kick inside 50 that was probably for Sparrow and sharked by Jackson but otherwise a lot of his kicks were more in to space and safe rather than pulling the trigger. I'm not complaining about that, it's absolutely the right thing to do in your second game but I reckon he's just getting warmed up when it comes to kicking. The quick hands jump off the screen and he's looked very willing in the contest for a small bloke, it's great to see.

I like that the club has suggested something proactive and possible rather than the campaign parts of the AFL have pushed for attempting to remove anonymity from the internet. That's attempting to put the toothpaste back in the tube. I know they shouldn't have to but all players need to have turned off the ability to receive messages or notifications from anyone apart from those they follow. Anyone wishing to contact them can do so via the club or their managers.

Maybe he was more than solid. I thought he was about 7/10. Did some very nice things but they were just the examples of some of his lesser moments. He played on a kid in his first real season too. My expectations on what a player does is different if they played on May or if they played on Petty for instance. Even without Tommy Mc they kept his game time relatively low for a key forward and kept him fresh. If he keep playing at the 7/10 standard I’ll be happy enough, I just think those suggesting he’s been better than that or has another great are missing the reality of the situation. He looks a fair way off the mark physically and is battling his hardest to play his role. I doubt that changes until he gets a good preseason in.

We go too defensive with flooding numbers back and bombing long. We have to learn how to take more short kicks to kill time, then if there’s nothing on go long. Even in the wet it’s possible to hit a few short chips. Then when we’ve got the ball forward we have to defend as we normally do which is getting pressure on and either locking it in or forcing the opposition to bomb and backing our defenders. The ball goes to where the numbers are. That’s a truism for any ball sport. We flood back, the ball gets locked in our backline, we invite pressure and scores. More short kicks, more run and carry, slightly more aggressive numbers set up = better control of the game.

One of the coaches! One of the coaches also couldn’t find a vote for Nibbler so I’m not sure how much we should worry about that

Find the footage of him stuck in first gear when Jordon laced it out to him and tell me that’s still true. He had a number of very good moments. Including one lovely goal and one solid mark and goal. Got a gift for his other goal, and should’ve probably got more from the umps but he hasn’t bought his umps with him from North. Missed 2 chances entirely. Took an important contested mark late. Then turned it over by not making the distance down the line. Overall he was solid and he’s putting in the effort to adapt to the game plan and play his role. But he’s still just fighting to stay up to the pace of the game. And has moments where he’s just completely off it. My criticism is with anyone suggesting he played really well or is on the verge of breaking out. There’s nothing to suggest that so far.

Depends on the role: Wing/on ball - Vanders Half forward/touch of wing - Jones Sub - Jones (just). Vanders had some rough moments in the 2nd quarter adjusting to the tempo of the game but he was ok in the second half. His size and straight line speed are still assets, both in defending and attacking in straight lines. Unfortunately the wheels have copped horrendous damage over the years and the steering is a struggle. Also at least one of those free kicks were rubbish. Can't be rewarding guys for sliding in to opponents and getting high free kicks with no contact initiated by the defending player. That's play on.