Webber

Cheers for the shout out @binman, I think 😉. Yes, I was very harsh on the game, but will stand by my assessment of the first half. It was the most awful display of footy in my recent memory - slow, sloppy, mistake-ridden - poor sub-standard VFL stuff, both teams. And Richmond’s defensive strategy doesn’t soften that. Having straw-polled footy-smart non-partisan friends who saw it has universally confirmed as much. I happily admit though, that a big part of my frustration comes down to flawed expectation. The Freo game was a joy to watch for precisely the opposite reasons, so that’s where my head was at. I will offer a complete mea culpa though on the match-winning third quarter, and my failure to admit that this was exceptional footy rather than just a relief from the first two. My bad. Should also have acknowledged the continued miracle season of Jake Bowey (Chin not far behind). I reckon he’s currently the best back half distributer in the AFL. Also to reiterate that Max is simply the best ruck-captain the game’s seen, grinning now, arm in arm with Robbie Flower on that pedestal. I do reckon you’re being generous on the last quarter (taking the red and blue specs off, the Kosi ‘non-goal’ DID in truth deviate off the Tiges defender’s hand). It was back to horrible, marked by the absence of Maxy of course. It’s a truism that you’ll be worse without your best player, but we were verging on uncompetitive at stoppages when he went off. Fullerton vs Nank was comical, and even sadder was the truth that we were all watching, in real time, the end of a player’s AFL aspirations. Overall, I reacted badly, and should have tempered my expectations for the team and game (love the Anzac eve fixture, and am used to us offering a version of our best) before spewing my distaste all over demonland’s notorious post-game distaste banquet. Such is the life of a footy fan I guess.

Top 5 worst games of AFL footy I’ve ever seen. From a Dees perspective, we’re very very ordinary of course, but without the best ruckman the game’s ever seen, I think we might be the worst team in the league. At the moment. Things can improve no doubt. And they will. Hopefully. 71,000 at the G, and they all should feel robbed.

This is unwatchable. If it’s not the worst game of the round, I’ll be shocked. We’ve completely abandoned all of what was good about last week. ALL OF IT!!! And the obvious question is, why?? It’s impossible to understand. What WAS the plan before the game? Maybe this - “Let’s go back to what we were doing the first 5 weeks. Go soft at the contest, slow it down and wait for their defence to set. Don’t move it quickly, or even look like you want to, or play on with a quick run past. And when we do have a chance to go inside 50, kick it to a defensive outnumber, or failing that, kick it to them please.” [censored], it’s just so tragically bad!!!!! Definitely Richmond’s to lose, I don’t expect they will, and they are horrible.

Hard to know if it’s just lack of confidence or uncertainty, but the Casey decision-making across the board is just dumb. They look like a bunch of dumb footballers, but I’ll stay glass half full and go with the former assessment. Apart from that, their tackling, kicking, marking and handballing is horribly inferior. So all the things making good footy. Geez this club is living under dark grey clouds. Where-when will we see the glimmer of light?????

If it hit the ground before crossing the goal line though, it’s not a goal. Thus applies only to balls ‘in flight’. Not sure on that last goal.

It’s one of the interesting things about umpiring. If they feel the vibe of helplessness from a team, and we ARE currently helpless, they stop paying obvious free kicks because they unconsciously interpret potential free kick situations as either incompetence or desperation from the crowd. Mind you, we ARE desperate to get a free kick. I haven’t seen a lack of confidence leading to shocking decision making like this from us for many moons. It’s so hard to watch. I really feel for the guys out there, they’ve just got zero self-belief. Most of how bad they are is above the shoulders.

The positive is if Clarry can start actually holding the ball, we’re a chance.

At the ground. The awful thing is how each of our failures/breakdowns/errors you can see coming a mile off. Like watching a slow motion car crash. The question seems not to be whether we can correct, cos it appears soooo unlikely, but how much worse we’ll get. Currently an opposition’s dream.

Fabulous

Wow. Fair to say none of us saw this coming. That last quarter was the most uncompetitive, dispirited and ‘defeated’ I’ve seen this team play since the dark days. Hard to conclude anything other than that there’s something seriously broken about this group’s psychology. That, or its fragility is something extraordinary. The quality of elite players in this team makes it even more worrying. Either way, this will send shockwaves through the club, and obviously the coaching group are going to be in the firing line.

Here’s what’s apparent after this half. Both teams are bottom 8 standard. North Melbourne are more skilled, more competitive, and more effective at the contest. Inside attacking 50, North Melbourne are far more threatening. Melbourne’s goals are far less less convincing, and their set shot kicking is very poor. But then so is North’s. If North had better defensive organisation, they’d be another 3-4 goals up. As the on-field personnel present, they also appear to have oodles of upside compared with Melbourne.

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤬

As none of you have done so yet, I’ll take the credit. Thanks AFL.

Has the AFL ever made the logical decision at the time it’s most indicated/needed/deserved? They always hang onto it for a while (season or two), before then making the blindly obvious change. Mind-numbingly frustrating.

Poor bugger. Happened right in front of me, and I obviously feared the worst. He’ll need the full 12 months, and a conservative build it will be, but he’ll be back. All 3 ligaments will have ruptured. ACL will be grafted (and done as soon as his swelling is controlled), MCL repaired and same PCL. There may be meniscal damage that they just haven’t bothered reporting, and there WILL be joint surface bruising, which will dictate a large part of the conservative approach. If ever the AFL needed motivation to alter their list supplement policy, it’s now.

Consider our keys not playing, and the horrible wind, that was a very good half. The old guard who are out there are doing their thing….Petty and Lever dominant, AMW very good (he takes Knuckles spot for mine), Jed Adams v good (lovely left foot), Bowey and Howes same. Kozzy, Clarrie and Riv carrying the very undermanned midfield. Langford getting lots, and using well, same XL, fabulous left foot included (great signs that they’re totally comfortable). Taj, Billings, Sparrow and Sharp doing well. Roo, Jeffo and Disco all working hard (wind is killing forward 50 marks) to create options and contests. Oh, and what a relief to have Tom Campbell this year for Max relief, he’s just plug n play competitive, and making Xerri v grumpy.

Clarry just did the most superb candy-sell on the run right in front of me, then dished off a perfect handball. My heart sang. He’s back, baby!

See semitendinosis pic. ‘High’ means closer to the bum, i.e. the ‘origin’, or attachment from the sit bone of the pelvis (Ischial tuberosity). The more tendon involvement (roughly seen as the white tissue), the slower healing, therefore longer rehab and return to play. All full recovery from ANY hamstring tear starts at 3 weeks.

Pedalled down to training yesterday too, and can happily confirm the thoughts and observations of others on here. Looking fit and happy, the boys. Notables for me - Really really pleased to see ‘Charles’ Spargo at full stride-out pace looking great (and super fit bodily). If he’s a season starter, we’re getting an extra back on the list, and I reckon he’ll be driven like no man to make it stick. Jack Viney continues to amaze with his sheer ‘one way’ to play and train - you’d just hate to be matched up with him in competitive drills, but he will ALWAYS set the standard. Kozzy IS mesmeric. Makes me smile that the non-Dees footy world still doesn’t get it. Clarry’s having a great time, back to his best ‘happy hands’ around the stoppage and through traffic. Obviously loving the energy and group intent, to which Nathan Jones is such a brilliant addition - welcome back Chunk. And finally - the 3-headed Demonland pod monster does exist. IRL! Can confirm that no only is @binman a real boy, so too are @george_on_the_outer and @Demonland/Andy. No digital puppetry or A.I. here, no algorithmic airwave deceptions, just flesh and blood assailing a mic or three.

The idea of Windsor off half-back seems totally logical to me. With a bigger tank, and more physical maturity and experience (to defend), why wouldn’t we (like Judd McVee) put him somewhere where he can generate attacking play earlier? Wing is essentially a link role, half back is a generator role, and we need that, with speed. I expect his kilometres covered to increase this season, and halfback will allow that - colour me excited.

True thing Luci, though they tend to be the older ‘proper’ journos who are either marginalised or have been put out pasture by their previous employers.

When it comes to the AFL media, I don’t believe ANYTHING.

Could this be your new ‘Swallow’ binners? Repeat for 1 minute on the hour …… “Lindsay….Lindsay….Lindsay…..Lindsay…..”. Guaranteed cure in 2 to 3 days. 😎

Watched one of his Casey games this year (how many did he play?), and the kid was simply electric - all the skills you can’t teach - whilst seemingly having none of the learned ‘system’ traits. The commentators were beside themselves, so I don’t know how he would’ve have escaped other clubs attention. If he can be taught, and fit in/improve to elite levels, wow!

I remember in his first praccy match (vs Bulldogs at a country venue I can’t remember), he almost took a speccy, ran to the bench soon after and threw up. Immediate thought was that this kid will go until his body, not his mind, just blows up. In a good way.