Webber

Why they waited til that quarter to play the ‘How to beat Melbourne’ method, who knows. They aren’t good enough to make it last of course, and don’t have the efficiency, but boy does it show once more how we can lose control of the game when ANY team plays that way. Troubling…..

I’m sitting level 4, and heard the Viney head clash from here. He just shook it off, kicked a bullet to JVR, goal. I know we all know about Jack’s hardness, but FMD he’s hard!

Because much like prostitution and drug use, it’s obviously historically pointless to make it illegal. We HAVE to accept that humans will ALWAYS engage in certain things whether they’re illegal or not. It’s simply juvenile not to accept this. Better that you de-criminalise them, regulate and educate. In the case of boxing and footy, there must be an educated acceptance of the risk, whilst putting things in place to minimise harm (which the JVR suspension will NOT do), and then it comes down to personal choice. Rendering these things illegal is plainly ridiculous, if only for the fact that it doesn’t work, and thus makes ‘illegal’ outcomes worse.

And of course they will go for the spoil, Jaded, because if you take that option away, the game is dead. We all know this, or at least “reasonable” people know this (see what I did there?), which is why the commentariat is outraged, and this will be thrown out. How they let it get this far doesn’t just defy reason, but logic, and in fact sanity.

I think the issue we’re so rightfully angry about is that this WON’T happen. It WOULD fundamentally destroy the game if it was enforced, making this decision a ‘bubble’ precedent. This incident is scapegoating for appearances only. If the AFL, or the tribunal were accountable in any way, they would have to explain why dozens of incidents this coming round alone don’t result in suspensions. They’re in a position of not having to explain or justify anything to anybody. Much like the ongoing umpiring malaise. One complaint from anybody in clubland about any umpiring decision, or a publicly heard negative value judgment on anything to do with umpiring, and the AFL penalises the complainant, with absolutely no obligation to discuss the complaint or judgement. AFL house is simply a collective autocracy.

Monday rant supported @Redleg. I reckon most of the issues stem from increased media attention and proximity in as commercialised a market as we’ve lived through. Which is a mighty double-edged sword. On the plus side, we get a screen spectacle like never before. It’s fantastic. Not like being there of course, but as close to that as possible. The downside is that everything is subject to scrutiny, on and off field. Umpires are hopelessly prone to second-guessing, and adjudicating according to expectations from too many quarters, media/TV particularly. They’ll never be perfect of course, but ludicrously, they still aren’t full-time professionals, so obviously struggle to maintain consistency, within and between themselves, across games and through the season. The corporate-executive nature of the AFL is I think more egregious. It’s too profit oriented, at the expense of almost everything that guarantees satisfaction with and for the future health of the game. As you say, what a ridiculous waste of money on executive process. Imagine what the grass roots clubs around the country would do with a share of that $4 million? Then look at the fixturing. Collingwood and Essendon simply don’t play in Geelong. Other clubs (we seem to be in that camp), play there every year. In a competition that has excellent equalisation measures otherwise, this is just plain wrong. The AFL makes a fantastic profit every year because the game is intrinsically, culturally embedded. We love it for that. The AFL does not however respect or seem to understand that it should be managed and administrated beyond profit through media. Could go on….

The appeal will result in a quashing of ANY penalty, which seems obvious to anyone with half a brain. The bigger question, which many of you have raised, is why was he given a penalty in the first place? Why is there no process of oversight to make sure these ridiculous judgements aren’t made to begin with? The cynic in me thinks it’s deliberate attention seeking…..clickbait driven by controversy. Otherwise it is just amateurish beyond comprehension.

We seriously tried to choke ourselves out of the win. Don’t really know how they got there. A mere shadow of a contender at the moment. You pressure us hard at the stoppage and the contest, and our defensive system becomes very very fragile. Dare I say jittery and slow. Congrats to Noah Anderson, phenomenal. Also Jarrod Witts, based on that he might be the best stoppage ruckman in the league. Gotta feel for Bailey Fritsch, his confidence was utterly shot. A lesson to Kade Chandler, JVR and Dan Turner also. Despite the 4 points, hard to draw anything positive

Getting rolled in the stoppages, and their ripping through the guts on the turnover or from the contest is the standard ‘how to beat Melbourne’ model. If they improve their disposal efficiency, they win. If we defend the run-off from the contest better (haven’t done this well against anyone) and improve stoppage possession/control, we win.

Once again, the umpires are embarrassing the game. Shocking inconsistencies.

Good point. They’d have to play home games in Alice Springs I guess for that reason (maybe March-April games in Darwin). Their summer season might work well for players looking to be picked up for AFL team.

Increase to 20 with a team from NT. Just as much a footy heartland as Tasmania. Will obviously need to be bank-rolled by the AFL, but this should be their responsibility as much as anything profit-based. Then form 2 conferences of 10 teams, whence each team plays home and away within their conference (18 games per team per conference) ending in a final four each conference. That’s 180 total games per year across the two conferences, compared to 176 as currently stands. Then come up with some funky way to hybridise the finals by mixing the conferences, e.g. 1 v 4 from opposing conferences, 2 v 3, etc (same as current). Pop in a couple of staggered bye-rounds for all teams - perfect chance to pause and reset for injury and fatigue, and reinstate State of Origin. Done properly. That’s all I got. More games, but a less relentless season to ease cumulative loads on players, and the fascinating intrigue of how the best from each conference will match against each other. Just dunno quite how you create the conferences. The obvious one is Victorian teams one conference, rest of Australia the other (meaning only they have the burden of travel of course = a problem). Would also spice up the interstate rivalry (in a nice way!). All equalisation measures remain. Ok, bring the dismissals….

Of course, everyone’s beatable, they’re just the hardest to beat. If it stays that way through September, the flag is theirs.

I’ve been watching footy all my 5 decades, and this is the best last quarter team I’ve ever seen. By a galaxy. They are also currently the best team in the AFL, it’s unarguable. And I hate it.

Yep. Game over now.

Exactly right. If you spend enough time in forward 50, with scoreboard relief (what Adelaide haven’t achieved enough), they start taking higher risks, but vigilance and trying to meet their pressure is everything. This quarter will be fascinating. Only 3 straight kicks down, knowing they’ve won 9 games of 11 coming from behind in the last quarter. Adelaide know this too!

Collingwood’s belief in desperation blended with outright attacking speed is phenomenal. It’s just frightening for opposing teams when they bring it, and the belief gets stronger. I hate to say it, really HATE it, but they are irresistible at their best.

It’s amazing how expert you are at blustering a narrative that opposes what’s otherwise widely understood. Lachie Hunter has NEVER been a line-breaker in the way everyone understands it - by straight-line foot speed. Of course he’s a creative playmaker by brain speed. That however is a different ability. He is also an EXCEPTIONALLY efficient user by the metric of hitting targets and not turning the ball over. However, you believe there’s another version - your “real” version. Not sure why you think contrary hyperbole helps your arguments, because it actually does the opposite.

He never broke the lines, was always an accumulator on connection and smart play-maker. Still is. Most of those 6 kicks last night WERE effective. And the sun still rises in the east.

Some weird stuff on here, like ‘if Chandler keeps playing like that, he’s a lock’. He’s been outstanding in every game this year. A remarkable little unit, beautiful skills, gutsy, great mark….who knew?! If he’s not a ‘lock’ now, he never will be. And he is not a Spargo replacement. They played together before Spargs was concussed. Spargo will not be relegated to Casey. He’s best 22. Also the odd concern that JVR and Schache only kicked 2 goals between them. We kicked 22 goals, have the best percentage in the league, and the highest ‘points for’. Great win, particularly off the 5 day break. The team’s beginning to hum I reckon, and who isn’t loving the evolution of Max and Brodie?

Not sure there’s another player on our list who has made so much out of his available talents. Extraordinary worker well-rewarded, and having a great season. Love watching him go about it.

Great pod as usual boys. Enjoyed the new intros, suitably daggy but in the best way! I reckon that unless Tmac and BBB start maximising contests up forward, allowing the smalls to do their best work, Harry Petty stays forward. He’ll have a 3-5 goal game soon (he’s very close), and the discussion will change. Disco Turner will be the next addition to the tall defender team.

Sidebottom for mine.

I reckon Jake Stringer was that kid in the school playground who absolutely hogged the ball and didn’t understand why everybody else thought that was a problem.

Yep. Last night was laughably, distressingly bad. And the AFL continue to do way too little about it. An extra umpire isn’t the answer. Full-time professional umpires, paid accordingly, selected for decision-making clarity and ability to adjudicate impartially under pressure, then further educated and experienced as only full-time employees can be, then we might get somewhere.