DeeSpencer

I wish Tomlinson and Hunt were in this photo too. 3 superstars in their prime. 3 young guns who just got better as the year went on. 1 veteran who timed his run back in to the side right at the right moment. May clearly wasn't 100%, Lever didn't have a great game and Petty was kept away from it too. Credit the Dogs for really working around our talls for 2.5 quarters. But Hibberd and Rivers blanketed their men. Bowey and Salem were filling the gaps to take away the Dogs dangerous runners. And once the mids got back on top this backline found their stride and didn't look like coughing up a score.

I thought Fritsch had some fantastic performances as the undersized FF early in the year without Brown or even with Weid instead. I think it took a while for Brown and Fritsch to find that chemistry that allowed one of them to be the full forward and the other to slot in to a different slot. But they really worked it out in the last 6 weeks or so. It's certainly fair to keep pushing Fritsch to be better defensively and to sometimes hit some ground ball contests with more conviction. But I think he chased harder than he's ever chased in the last month or so, and that Brown/Fritsch combination that often sees them lead to different areas certainly reached its peak tonight.

Was he directly on him a lot? Saw Bowey shake hands with Treloar at the start. Then saw him out body Bailey Smith in a marking contest too. And was sat on by JJ for that hanger obviously. But certainly was on Weightman a lot including a number of crucial contests late. 175cm. Just turned 19. Predominantly played wing and half forward as a junior. Missed the whole year last year from covid. Interrupted VFL season. What a story. His quick hands, reading of the player, ability to compete in the air for a small, so much to like. And he's still just getting a taste and hasn't really had a huge chance to do what he does best which is chop a game up with his kicking.

I love Sparrow. What a booming goal. He's the type of player that wins you flags as a role player. But Cerra is the type of star that wins you flags. Like Petracca, Oliver, Lever, May etc. And we need more skill in our midfield because as fun as it is to crash and bash at some stage hitting some easy targets is probably the way to go! With so few clubs in the race for Cerra we've wisely thrown our hat in the ring. He's a premium player being made available with only 1 suitor. But sometimes you're better off sticking with multiple team first role players than going all in for one more star.

All I wanted is 1 flag. All I really wanted was a group of players who were proud to play for the club and resilient and didn't back down. Physically or mentally. And boy did we get that. The Dogs midfield got on top. They tangled our intercept defenders and had weapons at ground level that would trouble any side. Plus a skilled ball use game to move the ball around. But a teenage ruckman and a collection of hard nosed maniacs in the midfield said not today and all of a sudden the game completely changed. Our players were proud and were incredibly resilient and gave us everything we could ever wish for and more.

We simply don't have the picks or players to offer to get Freo to agree to a deal. They'd rather force him to the PSD than accept a future first rounder and some change. Because for the first time in 57 years we have premiership players that we can't just toss aside.

Pats, Broncos, Saints

I can't believe the Ravens lost to the Raiders. Such a crazy finish. The Raiders defense does look stronger and they'll always be able to do something on offense. Interesting team. Cardinals, Eagles and Saints the big winners from week 1. Time will tell if they are quality teams or not. The Eagles jumping up in the NFC East as the Cowboys (turnover luck) and Washington continue to be lopsided teams would be very NFC East. Packers and Titans the big losers in terms of teams expected to be at the top of their (very weak) divisions.

6 - Gawn 5 - Petracca 4 - Viney 3 - Salem 2 - Oliver 1 - Pickett Apologies to Brown, Spargo, Bowey, Langdon and many others.

Vikings 49ers Ravens

I'll have another go and try to stick with it this year. AFC North: Steelers AFC East: Bills AFC South: Titans AFC West: Chiefs Wildcards: Pats, Chargers, Browns In the mix: Ravens, Dolphins, Broncos NFC North: Packers NFC East: Washington FT NFC South: Bucs NFC West: Rams Wildcards: 49ers, SeaHawks, Saints In the mix: Cowboys, Vikings, Falcons Teams in Bold are the ones I think are genuine superbowl contenders. AFC North and NFC West (both 3 genuine chances) and the AFC South (0 great teams) probably the hardest to pick. MVP: Stafford

Really sucks for Joel, but I think the hope is Hibbo’s had a good freshen up now and can do a job as required. The reality is we don’t have perfect match ups for Cameron, Esava and Rohan no matter who got the nod as the 6th and 7th defender. Especially with Duncan, Touhy and Isaac Smith rotating through the forward flanks and demanding attention. Throw in Max Holmes too who can really motor from contest to contest. Sadly Geelong have moved away from the strategy of loading up with nothing half forward flankers who could be zoned off.

The Cats had us covered until they started resting their stars at 3/4 time last time we met. It's going to be a huge test. They've definitely improved their side with their changes this week as well. Sounds like our boys had a good first week in the hub, getting some much deserved rest, but it has to be all business from here.

Surely he’s just specifying which car park it is. He could easily say ‘which is further to the west’.

He completely lost it at the umps at one stage in a fashion that really should result in a fine if we're trying to protect umpires and set a good example. Not a huge issue, players from all teams have done it, but that kind of stuff isn't on. Otherwise I thought he was fairly restrained.

Smith came in for Fritsch in the prelim

Spargo played in 2018. Langdon is the other one.

Birchall was in a genuine marking contest, nothing wrong with that. Was a hospital kick from Gus I think. The only positive was Birchall couldn't get his hands on the ball and gave away the free kick

Sounds a bit complicated, I was just planning on borrowing Tony Mokbel's yacht and wig and hoping the winds are favourable. Might stop at Rottnest rathing than sailing all the way up the Swan to Optus just to be on the safe side I guess.

Surprised how much midfield Sparrow played, especially in the first half. Whilst they sent Harmes forward to keep an eye on Rich and Birchall. Was a bold call given how strong the Lions midfield is.

Being completely surrounded by the free way and off ramp isn’t a great plan. Doubt it’s functional. The club has to know the best car park is the one facing Gosch’s. There has to be a reason why is isn’t preferred. - expanding aami stadium? - foundations, pipes etc? - access to the medical centre? - access to the rugby field or public access to aami Theres got to be reasons. How valid they are we clearly don’t know.

Thought Smith was clearly on Cameron for the first 2, but the first one he had to go for the aerial contest. Relies on his team mates to cover the ground ball. 3rd goal not sure. Free kick goal was rubbish, but a more experienced defender doesn’t get sucked in. Allowed Cameron a simple mark to set up the Daniher shot too. Im a Joel fan but he still stops to think which costs him half a yard. That half a yard kills you more than lack of speed.

I feel for Teague in that he didn’t get much support, but every club is dealing with the same soft cap now. So it’s a question of resource allocation. It’s hardly the days of Daniher going solo whilst the big clubs invested millions. I also feel for Teague with the way the last few weeks have unfolded, that speaks for itself. Otherwise, Teague took over Bolton’s defensive structure, put the mature players back in the midfield and went 6-5. He then went 7-10 and 8-14 with no defensive structure and consistently giving up 5 goal runs. Yes they had injuries and some interesting recruiting choices but they seemed to be going backwards. If he’s lost the playing group as well then there’s really little choice but to start over again.

It's far too close to the city and Docklands to really justify it's own small stadium and if it did they'd probably just use North Port anyway. The existing plans only really add a little bit of open space and my guess is the planners want it to be exactly that - open space. Not taken over by an AFL team. The population leading to new members just wouldn't happen. It's going to either be people from other parts of Melbourne or Australia who mostly have teams or overwhelmingly immigrants and students like Docklands who just aren't that interested in Aussie Rules. Clubs grew their fanbases in the post war years when people arrived and had no option but to follow the footy. The people move here now might have a bit of curiosity but they can easily follow their favourite soccer, cricket, basketball or whatever team without leaving home. Gosch's is a great option for us, particularly with the oval expansion. But we have to make sure it gets built on the right car park, not overlooking the Pies!

If the voting is based on week by week performances and value to the side I’d probably go: 5. Georgiades 4. Green 3. McInerney 2. Schoenberg 1. Jackson That’s not to say Jackson has been bad, we’ve just simply had a lot of games where we’ve played 2 rucks and 2 big forwards and limited his minutes and role. If it’s based on upside and best ‘star’ performances then maybe: 5. Georgiades 4. Jackson 3. Green 2. Gulden 1. McInerney If it’s pure upside then you can add Thilthorpe, Perkins, Cox, Jones and others.