John Crow Batty

Good to see Kozzie get into the action more often and pick up an equal career high 20 touches which is almost double his average as well as a couple of neat goals.

Both my grandfathers fought in WWI. One was highly decorated, badly wounded and later married my grandmother whose first husband was killed in the war. The other was a colourful character whose exploits during the war are best not mentioned. An uncle fought in Stalingrad who managed to get out alive. Another uncle was killed in WWII

Arguably his weakest 4 quarter effort for the club in memory. Then again it’s hard to tackle with one hand but he rarely got into contests. Should have been rested.

Wayne Gordon coming from Collingwood played in 1980 and 81 for us. Tragically he got cancer, had to retire and passed away in 1983 aged 29.

David Rodan, Tomas Bugg, Joel MacDonald and Alistair Clarkson. Now better known for post playing activities. Shaun Smith. Mark of the century but in hindsight a bad taste in mouth for other reasons. Jordan Lewis. Helped us get out of the doldrums.

I like to track JVR’s progress with Tom Hawkins. TH debuted a year younger but their stat comparison for their first two seasons are quite interesting. Both similar specimens at comparable age and development. Games, TH-19, JVR-26. Disposals-TH-196, JVR-227. Goals, TH-25, JVR-36. Contested marks, TH-23, JVR-22. Tackles, TH-24, JVR-57. There is a significant divergence in contested marks and tackles but these numbers reflects more how the game was played then and now. I can understand why the club has given JVR a long contract extension. His upside is huge.

Omitting context is an effective tactic to shape the narrative and result they want.

Many players who are not established stars sign extensions when running hot then their form drops. JVR not so hot at the moment. Hoping he goes against the grain and fires up big time.

The game was mostly an aberration for us. Clear from after the Adelaide game we were shagged out. We will be better after the bye but long term resilience is a worrying issue as demonstrated by the past two finals campaigns and this early hiccup does not inspire confidence.

Don’t mind the Gather Round concept but I would prefer it to be the first round of the season to minimise disruptions for clubs.

Awful, bloody awful punch out by Jackson back towards centre half forward for Carlton to get the hacked touched kick away. Should have gone for the boundary side. Horrible game by him.

The Edge of Reality

All is not lost, they can always bring Weid back into the side.

Dwelling in the esoteric here but Robbo has always reminded me of the loud drunken slob journalist GURU BRAMIN from the crazy 60’s comedy film THE LOVED ONE. The perfect real life channeling fiction portrayal.