P-man

As an aside, whenever Kane Cornes says you’ve made a fair point, you know you’ve just said something stupid.

I’ll add a caveat that it’s ridiculous we are even discussing this. That being said, you could mount the argument that it’s a positive thing, even from a leadership perspective. As much as I detest Richmond and their recent success, their mantra has been about having fun out on the ground. That is the message you constantly hear from players and coaches. Jack Higgins telling a joke in the pre match huddle sets the tone for them to relax and play their natural game. When the players see the hardest trainer and in most people’s opinion best player in the side sporting a do like that, they are reminded that it’s still a game to be enjoyed.

Everyone who didn’t have Lockhart in their side scored an F on this exam.

Gus often references his mum in interviews and it’s not hard to see why. If there were awards for raising kids she’d be front of the line.

Lyon for me. Off field antics often overshadow the outstanding player he was. Underrated if anything.

The lack of a quality KPF continues to stick out like a sore thumb. But it’s not our biggest issue. The biggest issue, as it was even in 2018, is a lack of players who use the ball well. It’s why I want to see a player like Lockhart in the side every week. He is a rare commodity in this side - a smart and effective user of the footy. .

Can also work in the opposite direction. The mystique of players often grows with time. Some people scoff at the very thought of modern day champs being mentioned in the same sentence as those of yesteryear.

i remember Junior well for the rookie turned club champ who admirably battled through injury throughout his career. I still voted for Chunk. Both are heart and soul and very difficult to split, but when I’m old and grey, which player’s efforts will I reflect upon more? It will undoubtedly be Jones for his heroics during the club’s darkest period of a generation. Not to say that Junior had a cakewalk as captain in 08-09, but [censored] got real during the Neeld years. Jones was the lone ranger of that era. Strength during adversity is hard to look past. Was Junior the better leader? Almost certainly, although such things are difficult to judge from the outside and Jones clearly isn’t short of admirers among the playing group. Jones fell short of AA selection at his peak circa 2014, but he would’ve been worthy. It’s a great pity he got injured prior to round 1 and now the pandemic hitting. He will win back some admirers in a forward role this year if and when the season gets going again. All that said, talking one of them up shouldn’t be interpreted as talking the other one down. As you say, a pity to see them matched up this early.

Whitey hands down. One of my all time favourites.

I watched that too. Beamer on his day was an animal and gets a tough wrap on here a lot of the time.

Ooz vs Wiz will be an interesting match up.

Never liked this “Andy“ fella. Seems a bit shifty.

I’d be amazed but anyone who says he isn’t missed is having a laugh, surely.

Didn’t know what he’d written so went to take a look: “Jack Viney must have a question mark on his future in the modern game. He’s as one-dimensional a player as there is in the AFL, and there are others on the list that perform his main skill of extraction better. He’s been demoted from the captaincy. He’s also treacle-slow and can’t kick. Concerns” Treacle-slow? Can’t kick, sure. But treacle-slow? Something tells me ol Cam bases his opinions on what he hears rather than what he sees. Viney, sorry, “Vin”, is far from treacle-slow.

Joke performance. An embarrassing joke.

Well this is just plain embarrassing now,

Lol well thankfully the season is being suspended.

I’m being a bit facetious obviously (mainly cause I think Howe is a dropkick), but by the two key measures of success in this game, both as a team and as an individual, he’s come up empty handed. I think “last laugh” is going a bit far, but I take your point that his career has elevated since being at Collingwood.

God I hope that story is true.

Yep, he had the last laugh alright. Winning all those premiersh.....oh. Well at least he has been All Australi.....hm. ....how has he had the last laugh again? His wiki page lists his career highlights as: Melbourne leading goalkicker: 2013 Mark of the Year: 2012 22under22 team: 2012 Harold Ball Memorial Trophy: 2011 So basically all his career highlights came while he was at Melbourne. .

Jack did look pretty [censored]. Not to mention embarrassed. Was written all over his body language. But if the pre-season is any indication, a [censored] off Jack Viney with something to prove is bad news for one section only - the opposition.

Essendon by a fair way. I am always taken back when I am chatting with a seemingly decent human who reveals they support Essendon. It’s like them revealing they are a Scientologist, only more shameful.

I watched bits of the first half and their ball movement looked better than it has for a while. I was a bit shocked to see the final scoreline so checked out the Blues board and apparently fitness is a concern with teams running over the top of them in both their pre season games. They have also had a lot of pre season injuries and surgeries. Trying to think why it seems so familiar...

Throw Freo in there as well. Swans, Suns, Crows, Blues, Dockers and Hawks would be my tip for bottom 6, Can raffle the order. In saying that, they are all more than capable of challenging teams on their day. Swans seem to have embraced the “we are in a rebuild” mentality which should lock them in for close to the wooden spoon. Carlton looked truly awful against Freo but were missing a few and will get better throughout the year.

Less said about the first half the better. Skills from both sides were extremely poor, although it did allow Jones to stand out. Keep in mind he only played a half of footy. If he had played a full game I think many would be singing his praises. Jones in the forward half will be a weapon this year. Langford and Tomlinson, wowee. Not only are they aerobic beasts who open up the ground but they look like they are leaders out on the field, Tomlinson especially. Top class recruiting. Acquiring small forward depth seemingly overnight is both unexpected and tasty - Kozzie, Spargo, Bedford and ANB all pushing their case for a spot. From a team perspective, to run out the game with seemingly plenty left in the tank is a huge positive. It’s little wonder people wanted Burgo’s autograph at the family day. We can play a hell of a lot better than that and still won by 5 goals. Much to look forward to.