DeeSpencer

In our defence handball and run in to the wind is smart but you got to know when to get numbers up and play percentages

Nah, this was a loading week, just overdid the training to make sure we’re good for the September we probably won’t be playing in.

He was playing in the WAFL 2’s 3 weeks ago. And is good for one mark a game so far in the seniors. I’d be shocked if he’s anywhere near an afl game this year. Obviously he has to show a bit to stay on the list and if he does well that’s great but this is a pick aimed for 2026 after 2 full preseasons at the earliest, not round 20

Rugby has been horrendously mismanaged but a lot of their issues come because they just don’t have the cash to invest everywhere. For junior development you need money, for money you need good teams and a broadcast deal, which needs viewers on a network people will pay for and watch. Just like soccer, Rugby has been a victim of Foxtel no longer being the choice for all sports and splitting off to Paramount or Stan for much needed short term dollars. Not sure it means much for afl which already dominates junior participation in Victoria. Rugby has always been a small niche sport. The winner is Rugby League with the Storm junior programs fighting for the same athletes.

No, I disagree entirely. We’ve looked slow and devoid of run with the Tracc, Oliver and Viney trio. They were smacked against Carlton early and for the full game against West Coast, and Sparrow hasn’t filled the void. You don’t move ANB and then have to move Langdon forward and bring in Hunter on the back of ordinary vfl form for the sake of experimenting. Not to mention playing Billings for 10 weeks with diminishing returns. I get the reasons for going with a young key forward that the recruiters believe in, we sure need as many of them as we can get! But I’d expect 2-3 mid or mid/forward reinforcements this offseason.

I'm a little disappointed because I thought Saad would be good fun and had some chance (even if a small one) to come in and give us something by the time finals started. I'm always a little skeptical on key forwards taken outside the first round because the hit rate seems incredibly low and if you are rolling the dice I'd generally prefer a super athletic option because they need less overall skill and have a higher margin for error. That said, this kid does seem to at least have a touch of athleticism and being comfortable using his body against men is a positive too. The other young talls we were linked too looked stiff as a board and didn't seem to use their bodies at all well..

Or no one was good enough given the challenge to relocate a player (even from Preston), acclimatise them to professional standards, teach them our structures and have them perform well enough to demand game time within 12 weeks is - whilst not impossible -really difficult. We didn't use the pick to plug holes anywhere, we used it on the best available long term option. Maybe there's no midfield option better than Laurie, Tholstrup, Billings or Howes/AMW on the back flank and rolling a midfielder up. That's not unreasonable, they are all good VFL players. But I suspect reinforcements will come over the end of year list period. I doubt losing Gus for no replacement after the loss of JJ and Harmes hasn't impacted the midfield options.

They aren’t, which is why Josh plays mostly on the wing and why Nick plays his best footy getting handball receives. But he’s also a freakish runner and accumulator and incredible getting out of traffic when he’s on the move.

The midfield that’s needed Nibbler and Kossie to go on ball to provide some run and speed, has had to move Langdon to half forward to have run there and is suddenly relying on Hunter again doesn’t need reinforcements? I can see the case that no one really stood out, but we’d be silly if we don’t reinforce the midfield and mid/forward depth this offseason.

A little disappointed that we overlooked the chance for immediate help for a project tall who hasn’t really done anything to suggest he’d be an in demand pick in the top 45 of the national draft. But obviously we need more tall forward help and in JT we trust. Skills look nice and seems to understand using his body, height/athleticism (if destined to play back up ruck as well as forward) and output are probably the question marks.

The ladder. Freo’s unlikely comeback might hurt us here

I feel like we didn’t add a guy at least one year? Or didn’t use every spot? Or maybe I’m thinking of 2021 when we didn’t fill our list initially before taking 2 guys mid year. I’ve never got a clear answer on how the MSD impacts the cap, if at all, but I do hope we make a pick!

Because consistent training is needed to keep fitness levels high and to recover. He could go to lighter duties but if a young player can’t train he’s unlikely to perform. If he needs a rest the options are either a proper week off entirely or the sub.

Casey signed Campbell Hustwaite and Leo Connolly for a reason and both have been injured/MIA. So I agree, one more versatile midfield veteran would be great for Casey to help get them over the line in close games. But I don't think they're so light on that you'd make that a priority in the mid season draft. They rolled White, Billings, Laurie, Tholstrup and a bit of Sestan and Brown through the midfield last week against a Sandy midfield stacked with AFL experience and did fine. The priority should be weighing long term players against short term AFL players (in any position). Is there someone who will be a long term player that JT likes? Is there someone who will fill an important spot (even as depth - say back up ruck or key forward) in our best 26 for the rest of the year? Ideally it's both.

His name is literally Saad El Houli (with a different spelling of the surname)!

We really don't. We are defensively sound and short on forward half and midfield talent but we are taking the game on far more than the last 2 years and there's times that it's working very well. This is the modern AFL, no team is letting the other side score 15 goals out of goodwill. I don't care about the advertisers. Geelong parked their backline and freed up Tom Stewart as they always do. We were exceptionally drilled to stop their counter ball movement. Sure it was a chore for neutrals but with every Geelong supporter groaning in the crowd about how poor they were playing my enjoyment multiplied. They haven't won a game since. Essendon are 2nd on the ladder after not winning a final in yonks. Of course they'll get a heap of prime time games. No one has had more prime time games since 2021 than us. We've played in just about every third Thursday game! I'm pretty sure we've been the most watched TV side in that period of time. And I couldn't care less about that or Essendon. Expanding the club comes primarily from winning. Our list isn't as good as 2021 and we lack dynamic mids and key forwards. The backline this year has adjusted. You can say it took too long to adjust but no one was hoping for more than some tweaks in 2022 and I was right at the front of asking for adjustments last year but they weren't going to change too much when they were positioned to finish top 4 and a genuine chance to knock off Collingwood. Goodwin's in the coaching business. There's plenty of people in the AFL, MFC and tv networks to dress it up as entertainment. At no stage in his coaching career has Goody prioritised slow ball movement. Every training session I've ever seen he's pushing move the ball. Forward and fast. The team fell in to some bad habits going boundary too often but the plan was never to chip it around not score. Embarrassing the club last week? They lost to a pretty good home Eagles team that were right at the top of their game and set themselves for a win. It was a disappointing performance but one of the main issues was playing too risky with the ball and some of the new players bought in for their supposed attacking prowess (Billings, Howes) failed. We need to continue to evolve the playing list and game plan with a focus on more dynamic attacking footy to get back to 2021, but the last thing we should do is put spectacle before team performance. Many of the Daniher years were fun and we had some success but we almost never were a match for the proper big boy teams of various years because so often we weren't a serious defensive and contest based team. I'd like to see us break teams open in the first half and score 100 consistently but I'd be just as happy to win games with a more defensive brand if we bring back some physical aggression and add a more menacing side to our game than we have had the last year or so.

You might not have watched the second half but did you check the scores? And did you even watch the first half? It was awfully scrappy but we weren't a team just living in the scrap, we were actually proactive about moving the ball. I certainly hope we can find a more fluent gear soon but our players have been trying to open games up. We don't have high quality kicks in our midfield, we don't have any truly elite forwards or even 1 above average tall forward. We aren't designed to produce champagne football.

Not nominated. He's been dominating at Casey for years, if he wanted to push to re-enter the AFL system he'd have likely done it by now. His body didn't stand up when he played AFL.

Nice snag, if he's half as good as Saad or Houli he'll be a player

Having watched the replay: AMW had some great contest wins and used the ball better, with great run. Casey did get open at the back a bit, so not sure who were the defenders in the wrong. Sesto had some top moments, but probably not enough of them. Does a couple of special things tho. Loved Kolt’s game, his quick hands as well as his willingness to hold the ball and dish to advantage looked really good. He looked a cut above. Jeffo’s intent at the contest has been the big change in his game. I still think he’s a long way from AFL footy but he’s fighting for front position and jumping at the footy.

No, a player not in the contest doesn’t get a chance to be pulled back. King was definitely over and particularly cutting off the angle for the next kick is a dead giveaway.

It wasn’t a stand rule free kick, it was a cribbing the mark free kick. It was paid against King for taking the position both over and diagonally across the mark when not in the contest. If you’re in the contest the umpire will usually pull you back and set the mark. In an uncontested situation like this the onus is on the defensive player to not blatantly push their luck.

Not in the contest and stepped well over the mark and on an angle to cut off the kicking lane. Was a hot one but they should pay them more often, it’s blatantly gaining an advantage

We could have 1000 inside 50’s and I’d still be impressed by any of forwards having more than 1 kick. He needs to put the screamers away unless he’s in prime position, but with just the 2 talls (and only 1 in the last quarter) jumping at the ball will be a huge part of his game. He’s playing deep forward and getting deep forward to open space for the mids and half forwards to run in to which is our plan - for better or worse. Which means low possessions. Personally I’m loving a deep forward willing to attack the ball in the air and especially willing to chase and tackle. Such a refreshing change to having all our deep targets go to the Fritsches Hat. He does need to do more but I didn’t sense we were down a man at any stage yesterday.

So we saw BBB play last week and he didn't, and Sestan is - as you say, 9cm shorter - and an average VFL player with no tank, so no, he would not offer more of a contest. Petty's lost all the confidence he had when he first went forward, and even when he first played this year. So if he is injured we need to play someone else. But if he's right to go there really isn't a better option.