P-man

Not gonna lie. Bennell would make these lineups look a lot sexier.

If the Suns’ recruiters are doing their job they will be talking to one or both of Trengove and Stretch.

He’s an intriguing player. For all the criticism he receives for not living up to the initial hype, he continues to produce stats that both surprise and point to his continued development. I’m keen to see what level he can go to next year.

For sure. But if you’re gonna do it, at least go through some of his high possession games. Hell. Ask a Freo fan which were his best games/moments. Anyway, minor gripe.

Yeah sure. I just don’t consider joe the goose goals as “highlights”. It seems like these highlights packages are basically every goal a player has ever kicked and the odd mark and tackle thrown in for good measure.

Seriously, why are 75% of the highlights the goals he’s kicked. We’re acquiring him for his run and carry. I have no want or need to watch him kicking a goal that my grandmother could kick from half a metre out. I wanna watch him darting down the wing and hitting up teammates on the [censored]. Stuff like this annoys me. There is more to the game than kicking goals ffs. Maybe I am just becoming a grumpy old man.

Regarding criticism of the fans for not being passionate enough, I’d be interested to know what Kornes thinks “tearing the place down” actually entails. Protesting outside the club? We don’t even have a club house to protest outside of. Contacting the club? Does Kornes somehow think the supporters haven’t done this? And how would he know how many have or haven’t done this? Cancelling membership? Is that “tearing the place down”? Anyone doing that could just as easily be accused of having a lack of passion or dedication. Phoning up talkback? I dare say plenty of Melbourne supporters have vented over the airwaves this year. It just seems to be an empty criticism based on cliches about fanbases rather than anything real.

I don’t disagree with all of that, but if you are trying to suggest our skill execution this year was the same as it was last year, I can’t agree. There was clearly a drop in confidence and team cohesion. That isn’t to say that list improvements don’t need to be made, but a healthy list with a bit more confidence in themselves and one another will go a long away.

Well, that’s what he said. In fairness, the end to end ball movement last season was at times good to watch. It wasn’t all chaos balls and bombing in hope. You don’t make a prelim final by turning over the ball repeatedly.

I’m not sure which part you find hard to believe. I’m just reporting what was said at the time. Dixon had no reason to lie about it. To me it just highlights the difference between this season and last. The training reports this year were far from glowing.

Boo hoo. Moving on.

I remember someone in the media, I think it might have been Ben Dixon, attended a training session in 2018 and commented that if you wanted to watch a team move the ball with precision, go watch Melbourne train. So basically the exact opposite of what you’re describing. So between 2018 and 2019, confidence levels and/or understanding of what they’re meant to be doing has dropped significantly. It’s not as though they’ve forgotten how to kick in the space of one season. Let’s hope they can rectify it quickly. A good start to the season is crucial. Both for the team and for Goodwin if he wants to keep his job beyond 2020. And on topic, a goal kicking coach is clearly overdue, although it would be foolish to think it will be a miracle cure.

I remember this well. Three weeks was a farcical penalty. He was/is a nuggety little bastard. When I met him (while drunk off my [censored]) I was struck by just how solid he is. Pretty amusing seeing him fling someone of Danger's size like a ragdoll.

He was killing it in the SANFL this year. Racking up numbers for fun. Suns could do a lot worse than Trenners. Just sayin. All the best to him if this is the end. Demon for life.

Regardless of the weight behind them (no, that isn't a "Trac is too fat" reference), the rumblings around him leaving/wanting to leave are...unsettling. Interviews like this suggest he's not going anywhere. At least not next season. Hopefully his trajectory continues on the same path. At 23 his potential is still huge.

I get that feeling when I see the Brandon Ellis thread bumped.

It’s not as though he hasn’t shown glimpses. For whatever reason we haven’t seen enough of them. Seems a ripping kid who you’d like to see do well. A move up north could be the making of him. He’d set a training standard for other draftees to follow and perhaps a leadership role will help his professionalism translate onto the field.

Has Tom Browne ever been right about any trade story he’s broken? Genuine question.

I’m sick to death of overlooking the Dustin Martins, Jack Darlings and Sydney Stacks of the AFL because they aren’t cleanskin choirboys. He’s one player who’ll take up one spot on the list. He’s not going to bring down a club’s “culture”. Ridiculous. The only real consideration is his calf. If the club (Burgess) trusts the information that his latest surgery is a turning point, which it supposedly is, then this is a no brainer. If he fires next season it will be to the regret of every other club who didn’t have a crack at him. I hope we’re not one of them.

That seriously warms the heart. Pies were all looking forward to next week like this week was a given. Guess again. Now to go one more and cause the tears to flow at Punt Road.

Hahahaha yes! YES!!!

Cracker of a game but geeze the Cats are coughing this up.

I’m all aboard the Cats train tonight. Then a couple of showers after the game.

Love your work Ron. You knew you’d cop a whack for this one and you did it anyway. Kudos. The idea doesn’t make me want to punch kittens like it does others, but there was a definite statement made in letting Watts go so an about face is hard to envisage. Will never happen while Goodwin is coach. I only see it possibly happening at the very end of his career and under a new coach but still highly unlikely. Quality pot stirring though.

Dusty made a big difference and Lions were wasteful going forward, but they still won pretty much every stat - CP, clearance, inside 50s, scoring shots etc. It should’ve been much closer than it was on the scoreboard. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back next year without Hodge running the show out of the back half.