bing181

I for one think the season is pretty well dead in terms of finals success. We're too far behind, have a shocking percentage, and while we're starting to show that we're on the right track, we're still going to lose matches. We also have a lot of young/er players, and their progress is never going to be linear. On the other hand, for me what's important now is to a) bed-in the way we want to play and b) finish off the season strongly, whatever that looks like (caveat: no major injuries). If we can achieve both of those, the season will have upside and more importantly, will go a long way to setting us up for 2026.

Bummer. Didn't catch that.

You're selling him short. If you go back to the time he was an assistant at Essendon, there was already commentary around as to how astute he was. Not for nothing that it was Goodwin who was asked to take the reins when Hird stepped down. There's been talk here as to the role Yze played at Melbourne, but once again, not for nothing that assistants like Yze and McQualtor (especially) chose to work under Goodwin in the first place, when they could have had their pick of teams/coaches. And same for players like May, Lever etc., who've come into the club, or even re-signing players like Brayshaw, Viney, Pickett, Oliver etc. It's not just that Goodwin's a good people person, it's that they know that he knows what he's doing. It's interesting in this context to watch that miked-up video from the 21 GF. Goodwin isn't just giving players pep talks and pats on the back, most of what he's saying is tactical.

Great to get the win, important for the whole club from the coaches to the players. Self-belief and belief in your coaches and teammates goes a long way. But something that hasn't been brought up is that it's a win that will be noticed outside the club, especially by players on the move. One win doesn't make us a destination club, but it shows we're not a basket case and there's a lot to like going forward. And on that note, come on down Logan Morris.

What happens when you miss the pointy end of pre-season. That foot infection thing really set him back at an inopportune time. As we've seen with a few players this year and last, once you miss a slab of footy/training just when intensity is ramping up early in the year, it's like trying to get on a moving train as it pulls away from the station.

If Goodwin wasn't responsible for 2021, he's not responsible for 24 or 25 either. Can't have it both ways. Giving no credit for success but all the blame for failure is of course classic confirmation bias.

That last quarter puts to bed the idea that we aren't fit enough and can't run out games. So much of all this is between the ears.

As much as anything, losing Melksham for the 23 finals cost us dear. Not the only factor, but a major one.

Lock thread.

Perhaps because Oliver is a bit lost and it gives him a role.

Not sure how we achieve that without trading out a player or two for good returns. We spent all on Langford and Lindsay.

I doubt he's not "fit" enough. Even with a foot injury you can keep loads up and continue to build or maintain cardio fitness. He's just missed a lot of footy and match practice - no way through that now except to get games into him.

According to the article, keeping Jackson is more of a priority for Freo than getting Kozzie.

According to the article, he was sold the idea of ruck/forward/on-ball time, i.e. do everything. But now it's all about being no.1 ruck. Surprised also that they haven't tried him as a mid when Darcy's rucking.

Something's not right. When you look at his VFL performances from last year he was regularly getting 20+ possessions, laying tackles, etc. though he has never been one to hit the scoreboard often. Could be a wasted year unfortunately, he really needed a full pre-season.

Doesn't quite work like that, and you'd have to presume that he's hitting his targets in terms of overall cardio fitness and running ability. But yes, it's a long way back from a long period on the sidelines. You only have to look at the difference between this year's Bowey vs last year's where he missed a couple of months with the shoulder.

Unfortunately with AJ, aggro is about all we've been getting at AFL level. Hopefully, with a bit more time to grow and develop under his belt he'll be able to turn that around. Fingers crossed.

Which is but one factor in determining form. The players are at the club all week, neither you nor I have any idea what else might be going on that could lead to them being picked or not. But your Tholstrup vs Laurie argument holds little water in any case as they play different positions. If you wanted to do Tholstrup vs Brown or Henderson you might have a point.

Yes we do, and our previous forwards coach was there when we won a premiership, which makes your point somewhat moot. Collingwood's forward coach is an ex mid-fielder. The Lions won the flag last year with someone who had never played AFL and had been their backline coach for 10 years. Adelaide's forward coach is an ex-defender as is the Bulldog's, Hawthorn's a "utility" who spent most of his coaching career coaching backs etc. etc. Across the AFL, forward coaches who spent their playing careers as forwards are the exception rather than the rule. This assumption re forward coaches comes from a misunderstanding of what coaches and assistant coachs actually do and the skillsets required.

Injuries to Petty and Jefferson forced that recall. Though hard to see that in the context of Playing an AFL match isn't giving him a chance to regain form?

No it hasn't. You're seeing what you want to see.

If we're talking about other clubs, Jack Gunston. Only lasted one miserable season with Brisbane.

Not helped by the revolving door of other forwards - not particularly anyone's fault either (injuries to Jeffo and Petty, suspension to Johnson etc.) If we could have a settled forward line for a month with either Turner or Petty alongside JVR, we might all be able to see where this is heading.

Second rounder and something future. No-one's going to be playing hardball here, if players want to leave they generally get to where they want to go. (Wade Derkson excepted).

Winning flags isn't an "opportunity", it's a herculean task where you need everything, every little thing, to go right. Geelong and Swans (in particular) have been "up" or thereabouts for a decade or more, and have 1 flag to show for it (Geelong 2022). This "we should have won 2 or 3 flags" is just entitled self-indulgence. (Though I can tell you in two words why we didn't win in 2023: Angus Brayshaw. We were never coming back from that. It was a hammer blow to the players and club that we still haven't really recovered from.)