Webber

More likely I think @La Dee-vina Comedia is that he would go allograft, hope his rehab is optimal, and return to full matchplay at 9 months, which would be start of June (theoretically assuming he had surgery this week). The only reason full return to sport has more recently been pushed to 12 months is not to do with graft strength (it’s fully revascularised by 9 months), but decreased incidence of knee joint irritability. That would ultimately settle, so it’s a minimal long term risk. Optimally, he’d get 3 months footy pre-finals. Will all depend, as it should, on how Jake feels about another go round.

Yeah, haven’t seen one for years, quite simply because they break. Surgeons have therefore gone off them, because they run like spooked sheep from ‘failures’. The Swans player whose name I can’t remember was an exception, but if he followed clinical patterns it would have broken by now. Thus, anyone who gets one, ultimately needs an allograft (own tissue) replacement anyway, meaning another significant knee surgery, increased likelihood of early degeneration in the knee, and so on. The next best, and thus fastest, is a cadaver graft, harvested from donor bodies, but the graft still has to go through a ‘dead’ phase, before enlivening again with its own blood supply, meaning still 6-9 months (as against 9 - 12). The only difference between that and standard allograft (hamstring, quadriceps or patellar tendon) is the absence of issues related to harvesting your own tissue, which isn’t a problem long term anyway. Cadaver grafts are popular in countries with ‘opt out’ organ donor programmes (and meniscal transplants are WAY ahead in those places). Our organ donation policy is ‘opt-in’, which nobody wants to talk about, so cadaver grafting is niche in Australia. Too much info?

Wow!

I know! Surprised how long it took for someone to nail the irony. Well done @Monocology.

Think of it as resting the foot. An abundance of caution. I would remind everyone also that when he came back on the ground on Sunday, he was totally unhindered and kicked 3 more goals. And he left the ground that way at the siren. Relax.

Yep. Posted the following on post-game, and sadly, it’s the reason we should expect the worst- I’ve just learned that Goody said it’s looking like an ACL. This would mean Jake had a positive Lachman’s test, which is close to definitive in the rooms if the knee lets you apply the test effectively (able to relax, not too much swelling yet, or unconscious muscle ‘guarding’). MRI to seal the deal.

Can be either, in truth. There’s no way of knowing based on pain alone, and one personal experience is close to useless balanced across the spectrum of possible experiences of either injury. I’ve just learned that Goody said it’s looking like an ACL. This would mean Jake had a positive Lachman’s test, which is close to definitive if the knee lets you apply the test effectively (able to relax, not too much swelling yet, or unconscious muscle ‘guarding’). The reason for MCL guess is twofold - that the knee collapsed ‘inwards’, and his indicating his inner knee on the bench. I don’t doubt he has some MCL, and over half of ALL ACL ruptures come with MCL concomitance, a bit less so the medial meniscus.

Could be anything, but ACL seems very unlikely given his ease and no apparent swelling. If I HAD to guess, I’d say medial ligament (MCL), gde 1+, which would make him a non-starter for the QF anyway. 🤞🏻 it’s nothin’.

And a prime-cut steak in French is called an ………?

Yeah, nah, not that simple I think.

Noticed this too. Must be on account of the ‘dead rubber’ status for us. Not that we’ll deliberately try to lose, only that our incentive to win just doesn’t exist. Will be very weird to watch. Assuming Tmac gets a run, and possibly Disco, I reckon it’s all about them and their exposed form. Bailey Laurie, too, and of course Fritta. For the rest, just no injuries, please.

It’s a multi-faceted, variably hued glory bonce.

Are you though? (Asking for a friend)

Remember an interview with Burgo in 2021 (maybe 2020), where he said Kozzie was the most exceptional combination of speed and endurance he’d seen over all his elite sport gigs.

It’s par for the course, Jaded. None of us have the vaguest idea what they’ll do at any time. It’s a complete mess. Meanwhile, we’re playing very poorly.

As we’ve become used to, the umpiring is inexplicable. Hawks picking us apart with apparent ease. Will we wake up?

Part of my point is that they’re never all assumed goal kickers at the same time. ANB and Spargs are not ‘small forwards’. Nibbler’s game against North in Tassie was the perfect example of how his role gets confused. He kicked 3 goals, but he was everywhere on the day (as he is every week, an endurance freak), not predominantly up forward. Other weeks he’ll score donuts, yet play his role to a tee as prescribed. As to his landmark, what an extraordinary achievement. 150 games of sheer determination, dedicated team work and on field ethic (and all for a whipping boy!). He’s a special player. Well done Alex Neal Bullen. 👏🏻

Spargs role is not the same as Nibbler. Nibbler plays ‘on-ball’ a lot, to say he’s a regular ‘first hands’ attendee at stoppages (rarely CBA), so will obviously get more possessions. Spargs is never that, he’s next layer out, wider for the release, of which he’s just one of other options. All players spend time in defence, as defined by the back half of the ground, given the high press. Chandler is always the last line, the most attacking line, as per JVR. Spargs will be higher in that press, closer to the defending goal. Different role. There’s no doubt that Spargs possession numbers are his weakness, but I reckon he’s top 5 for ball use in the team. Top 3 probably. Bringing the two together is obviously the goal, and he’s taken his chance to offer just that again. He gets 15 possessions, the team benefits hugely.

Seconded.

Nailed it. And yet, what do we hear from the AFL?……………..(forever waiting)…….

Great pod again guys, so good that it puts me in mind of a quote from that recent font of all wisdom, the current-day, cinema Barbie - “I have no difficulty holding both logic and emotion at the same time, and it does not diminish my powers”.

Well put by Ian Munro, but IMO he doesn’t go hard enough. There will need to be a persistent chorus of outrage (directed at the AFL, not the umps) around the inconsistent and illogical adjudicating of the game to force change.

Hmmmm…..you can’t re-write what’s already out there, Caleb.

Agree. And it’s becoming near impossible not to conclude as such. We know they are media obsessed, of which the wildly uneven venue fixturing is just one example - Collingwood to play at the Cattery anyone? - but everything they do now seems designed to fuel the controversy fire. And during the quiet weeks, something always crops up to stoke it again - protecting the head, sling tackles, the ‘stand’ rule, 50m for dissent and so on, the adjudications of which all sink into the umpiring mud-pile as the season rolls forward. Meanwhile, despite the brilliant structural designs of the draft and salary cap, how they run the competition as a whole merely entrenches a ‘haves and have-nots’ mentality. The big clubs (we all know who they are) vs the minnows. It’s short-term dollar-driven, reflexive, and takes no account of the game’s long term future. The need for fixes across the game are now glaring, but the AFL couldn’t give a rats, as long as the punter is fixated on click-bait, media-fertilised, changes-every-week issues. What to do? A soft revolution is needed, but how?

What a shock!