Webber

Had the no. 33 on my back, before GH retired and I switched to no. 2 (obviously). Great player. Didn’t see many wins back then though!

He was played forward in pre-season 2019 I think (could be wrong year) before succumbing to his annual months long injury, and was our best goal scorer. It’s the only time I’ve seen him play forward, and he played precisely as you say. Used his athleticism to advantage, à la Naughton.

All the AFL have to say is “if we let Buddy off, then we’re officially sanctioning deliberate slaps/fists to the head as ok”. Doesn’t seem possible, if only on account of the precedent it sets. On the other hand, the AFL obviously thinks precedents have about a 6 day lifespan.

Hunt was in front of him…..ridiculous free-kick. ‘Play on’ every day. If the marking duels were adjudicated around the ground like they are in forward 50, free-kicks would be quadrupled.

Kid’s a gun. Reminds me of Jeremy McGovern. Big call, but I’m going with it. Looks slow but isn’t, reads the play beautifully, uses the body well, and disposes better than his height suggests.

No chance I would have thought, but gee the boy is good. Beautiful reader of the flight, backs himself, terrific marking hands and thoughtful disposal. I presume he was playing the loose intercept defender (impossible to tell on the livestream, KC thoughts?) because he seemed impassable down there. Needless to say, Tommo several levels above the whole thing. Straight in, and as Goody said, he just needed to play football, that is get minutes. Is one of the elite endurance athletes at the club, so he’ll be cherry ripe.

Time to give the Weid a potential reinvention and resurrection down back I reckon. A la Liam Jones, Paddy McCartin, James Sicily, and too many others to mention. It would also fit nicely into my (admittedly only briefly tested) theory that Harry Petty, as good as he is defensively, is our next power forward! 😳 Thoughts? (I’m ducking my head already).

If it’s not a musculoskeletal injury, it will always come down to the player. It literally comes down to how they ‘feel’. On the injury front generally, and I’ve said it before (endlessly), players unavailable week to week is the single most reliable determinant of season outcome across the AFL. This will be the story of our season’s second half. Get back or close to best 22, and we reset and march on. Have a rolling 4-5 out weekly (or more), and we’re going to really struggle, sad to say. It’s the truth nobody (particularly the media, and coaches) really want to talk about. As such, with May obviously out, player returns for next week’s game will be crucial.

That almost never happens. Sad to say, but injuries, or games missed through injury, are objectively the biggest factor in games won, and they are random and fluid throughout the season. We may get close to a fully fit list, like last year, or we may get a horror run with injuries from here. For example, Gawn, Oliver and Petracca could all get 6-8 week injuries in the same game. Unlikely of course, but that would end us for 2022. There’s no way to know what’s around the corner, but one thing’s for sure - it WILL be the key determinant of our success or otherwise, as for all clubs.

I know, I was using the general ‘you’. Sorry for any confusion.

He had a horror, a shocker, just not sure why you need to literally make stuff up to make that point.

I watched him too, and that quote above is pure nonsense.

So many thoughts. Not only was that a wake up call to the team, we supporters, and the media, it’s a huge reality check. That second half was nigh on uncompetitive. Common impartial sense tells me Premiership aspirants don’t give up 12 goals to 1 in a half of footy. Is it a complete aberration, or are there genuine premiership-killing problems ? We’ll find out, maybe even next week, but I can’t remember seeing a capitulation like that for a long time, and in my gut, it feels like there might be trouble ahead. I’m glad they don’t have to carry the unbeaten tag any more, but the way they shed it genuinely asks enormous questions.

I’m not. Faves and whipping boys are a week to week proposition on here!

Quite simply, if you believe in a truly national competition for our only truly national game, you want a team in Tasmania and Northern Territory. I love this game, it’s unique characteristics and how the code both reflects and is born of our culture. As such, commercial considerations of those 2 new teams become irrelevant when bankrolled by a financial behemoth like the AFL. Which they should be, as they should be subsided by their state/territory governments, for obvious reasons. Concerns about 20 team talent spread and fixturing issues aren’t relevant either when the game grows at the grass roots (admittedly along with umpiring, currently too neglected by the AFL), and new fixturing models can obviously be invented. I just can’t see any long term downside, emphasis long term.

In fairness, this is the only objective measure of outcome for any reportable/suspendable ‘offence’. Of course it ignores intent, misfortune, and any manner of other factors that might have influenced that outcome. Adjudicators I think have become so gun-shy in using instinct to judge any on-field act, because they are legally subjective, that they lean further toward the objectively irrefutable. Hence, Chandler’s act lead to a concussion. Incontestable. Ryan’s act lead to a moment’s discomfort for Bowey, who played out the game. Incontestable. The resulting penalties are often nonsensical when held up for comparison, but I’m not sure they care.

Surely not, Andy! 😉. As to injury reportage from the club, I’d be more suspicious of the term ‘awareness’, as in hamstring awareness. Makes me giggle every time, one of those pointless footy euphemisms that’s meant to calm concern, but is obviously uncomfortable tightness or just pain. Also loved your podcast’s Clarry love and comparative stats, appreciation of Tom Sparrow (ps to binman, I reckon he’s actually one of the fastest over 30m at the club) and @binman’s sooo well deserved David King takedown. Oh, and the Adem Yze interview was a winner. Easily the best Dees podcast out there!

Great stuff again boys. Just not sure where your ideas on Ed Langdon’s injury status comes from @george_on_the_outer. No rib fracture, no lung damage, confirmed by the club. He is also listed as ‘test’. This means if he trains without hindrance, he’ll play. They would have no reason to obfuscate on this.

Feels to me like some are trying to explain our 161.7%, to next best (Lions) on 143% (ignoring that we are also unbeaten), as somehow contrary to this team’s ‘actual’ ability. I don’t get it. Footy is defence as much as attack. When it comes to finals, defence even more so. Points and percentage should tell them everything they need to know. Media will media, and doubters will doubt, but it’s become a pitifully weak contention that the Dees are somehow underperforming.

This. We mostly refer to bruising as soft tissue damage, but bruising of bone, in this case ribs, is effectively damage to the bone surface. Can be pretty close to rib fracture pain but mostly recovers a lot more quickly. I’m tipping Lingers will be fit for the weekend now that he’s been cleared of lung damage.

Nope. Not even close to the truth. As to the mechanism of the tackle, Langdon was planted flat on his back. No chance of self-protection, particularly as he was lifted, and thus at the complete mercy of the tackler. It was unnecessarily dangerous, childish ‘netball’ allusions or not.

Thomas drove Langdon (who was off his feet) with deliberate, unnecessary force into the ground. No question that it was dangerous, as the outcome proved. And yes, I’ve reversed the teams in my head…same decision. Duty of care meant he would have slowed/pulled his force before the ground contact.

For those who like podcasts, and movies, the actor who plays Roy Kent, Brett Goldstein, has a good one called ‘Films To Be Buried With” - interesting guests, lots of chat about life etc, through the movies we’ve watched.

Unless the AFL have some brilliant, rapid plan to create more equitable seasons year on year, this 10-game nonsense is half-baked. By definition.