binman

This is fun

It's a funny one isn't it. I suspect there is some Intel about the place. Maybe the saints are going super hard on the track atm?

No they don't get any more blocks of 2-3 days off. Once the season starts, their only real break from the club where they can do what they want eg veg on the couch, go to noosa, fly home to see family et etc is the four days they just had. That's it. They will get at least one day completely off a week, and occasionally two days. Bur not a proper rest or extended break until after their season has finished. But even on their days off they would likely still do fitness work and certainly won't go interstate or away for a trip. As -coach- said, these are elite level, professional athletes. They don't 'rest' in season. Take the nine day break from the cats game to the giants game in the Alice. We play Thursday night. They might get the Friday off, but then have to train hard on Saturday. Sunday off, and back to the club for more hard training Monday through Friday. Assuming we fly out Saturday (could be Friday I'd they are doing community stuff like previous years), they all get up ultra early, fly to Alice and have a captain's run on traeger Park Saturday arvo. Play Sunday. Fly out Sunday night. Back in their own beds, say 3am monday morning, maybe Monday off, then back on deck for more training Tuesday.

Except they won't be resting. They will be going super hard on the track and in the gym.

Well of course. But if you want to talk semantics, the context needs to be considered. And the context is the AFL industry consider a Monday game, followed by a game on Thursday week (or a Thursday game to a Sunday week game) a nine day break between games. The problem of not considering context is demonstrated in the posts above talking about 10 day breaks. Suddenly we are talking different numbers for the same thing, which creates confusion. Confusion that can be avoided by using the standard industry definition. Another example is that as per their contracts, players have to get a min 4 day break during their bye period. Goody said in his play match presser the players get a four day break, as did say Jack viney. They trained today. Five days from the match on Monday. Do we think Jack viney considers they had a five day break? They had Tues, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday away from the club. A four day break by tbe industry definition - which, to avoid unnecessary confusion, I'd argue we should use.

I take your point about Saturday to Saturday, but the coaches, Selwyn Griffith and players call it a 9 day break, so I'll go with that.

That answers those 2 questions kev - literally only a 4 day break and they can train on weekends. Mcrae said their players are not back on deck till next Monday, meaning their players get six days away from the club, and our only four. The pies don't play till Sunday week, meaning an 11 day break over tbeir bye period to our 9 days.

Not that unlikely I don't reckon. The pies could slip to 3rd or 4th. The lions could finish top or 2nd. And even if the pies play week one at the g, a scenario could unfold like last year, where they have to play interstate.

I'm not saying the gabba is an impediment winning a flag. In fact i of itself, it's a huge advantage because of the unusual conditions weather wise mean the lions will always have a huge home ground advantage - as evidenced by their crazy good record there. That record almost guarantees at least finals every year. So that s a big leg up in terms of their chances of winning a flag. I'm saying the current game plan and list the lions has developed, consciously or unconsciously, is driven by the conditions they play in. It increases their chances of winning at the gabba. But decreases their chances of winning everywhere else (except maybe on small grounds like taxpayer park and docklands). They are way too slow. That lack of pace is not exposed on a slippery night at the gabba because the hames always devolve into lots of stoppages and contests. Lions main scoring source is from stoppages and clearnces. So their game is perfect for night games at the gabba. A good example is their win over the pies up there. But footy now is about scorimg from turnovers and transition. And transition is quick, with wave running. And if turned over, requires pace of those same wave runners to get back in defence. And away from the gabba the lions literraly can't keep up - on offence or defence. Footy back when tbey won their 3 flags was all about the contest. Which suited the lions with their incredible, tough, strong, deep midfield. They haven't adapted since.

That exactly right. And is why talk of a mcg hoodoo is ridiculous (and yes one more ridiculous media narrative to add to the pile). The MCG is not the problem. Their list and game plan is.

I did that once. Well, turns our I was dreaming and just fell out of my hospital bed.

The Gabba is a double edged sword for the lions. They have a phenomenal record up there. It must be the best home record in the AFL, surely. Geelong wouldn't be far behind I guess. Every season they bank good points from their home games. But most games are at night, and it is almost always humid and slippery, so the ball is on the deck and the conditions are tough going. The conditions suit contest to contest, tough footy. And that's basically the lions game plan in a nutshell. Meat and potatoes footy. Works well at the gabba, but not so well elsewhere, particularly at the G, where the extra space and better conditions expose their lack of leg speed. That's the other edge. Build a game plan and list, by design or otherwise, to maximise wins at gabba. Gets them to top 4, so big upside. But if the game plan and list can't deliver a flag they're stuck if they don't change something.

Lions have got a real issue with forward connection.

The fox crew got struck right into fritter at half time, or post match for supposedly staging. I think it was Johnson who had the footage pulled up to make that accusation.

I'm really looking forward to selection for the cats. They have followed through on the preseason talk of being more flexible in terms of how they manage players (though goody will never being too many in unlike say bevo - values predictability too highly for that) - Flexible both in terms of player management (eg hibbo, salo coming straight back in) and on field strategies like time on the ground and rolling more players through the middle. Is this a target game? If so, they pick their best 23. But if not, maybe they manage some players. So maybe give jvr a spell? Easy to forget he is only nineteen. Or maybe even give Maxy a chance to have a good break, and give brodie a solid run in the ruck in the process, perhaps wth smith giving him a chop out. Petty was listed as a week on Monday - will they bring him in for the cats game? Or wait till the giants game, which would give him another full 9 day break? Could chin do with a spell? Kozzie? Spargo looks to be paddling a hit. Maybe Laurie can come in for him. Or they find a way to give Howes or woey a run? They'll go with the analytics and their their elite coaching skills and knowledge. I'll go with the vibe and suggest some new faces and some different roles will create a buzz and some energy in what could otherwise be a cold mid winter slog on the worst ground in footy. And will increase our chances of winning. Nek minit; no changes.

Stengle is my guess

It funny you should say that, i was gob smacked. I can't recall who it was, or whether was half time or post-match analysis, but it was fox. And as you say they accused Fritter of being a stager. Which is pretty harsh accusation given the implication of being a cheat. Then they showed the video, which to me showed the Pies player (murphy?) bumping Fritter pretty hard, and certainly when he wasn't expecting contact. As you say, absolutely a free very day of the week. Maybe it was Dunstall who then said blocks should be paid, but otherwise they all simply ignored what the video showed - Fritter did not stage for that that free. And so not did not retract their accusation of staging. Yet another example of media narrative not supported by evidence - in this case Fritter is a stager. That was such a stupid free to give away. Completely unnecessary. I would have thought a much more relevant discussion for people supposedly analyzing the game would have been to question the discipline of the Pies or whether they were frustrated about the strategy to have Fritter shadow Moore and were trying to break that tag.

Goody has banged on about our lack of connection EVERY post game talk? What alternate reality is this? One, the only thing he was asked about in relation to our forward line up until after the hawks win is what our best line up looks like. Connection NEVER came up! Why? Because we were a scoring machine, having scored more than 100 points in five of the nine games we had played after demolishing the hawks (when we again broke the ton - with only 2 less scoring shots than against the pies i might add) - including scores of 115, 135, 126, 139! Oh, he was also often asked about, and spoke to, our stunning accuracy (still #AFL 1). Actually now that I think about it, he also spoke about our nuts spread of goal kickers (AFL#1), including our record breaking spread in the hawks game. In his pressers since the port game, in response to ignorant questions about our forward line and supposed connection issues, Goody has pointed out MULTIPLE times that we are the highest scoring team as evidence of good connection and a forward line that is functioning well. And again after the pies win, when asked about accuracy, he couldn't have been more emphatic - it was 'the least of our problems', noting that accuracy had only been a problem in the previous 3 games. By the by, it is worth noting that in those 3 games (port, freo, blues) we still had more than 20 scoring shots, which again makes a lie of any supposed connection issues. In fact the only time I can recall Goody talking about forward connection in anythimg but a postive way was in the presser following the pies game. Having already said scoring is not an issue for us (we had just had 26 scoring shots for petes sake), he was again asked a stupid question about connection and he said something about the new mix of players and young players taking time to build synergy. King is not making it up or pulling it from a rabbits hat? Of course he is. That's my point. When I talk about why it is an issue when the media pushes some stupid false narrative that the objective facts completely contradict, it is because it distorts fans understanding of the game. And the problem is compounded because fans accept and then reinforce the false narrative. And in this example (the connection myth), ignore the objective facts. It is mind boggling.

Nibbker can't play down back? He should stop spending so much time down there then. And Smith can play down back? I think it's fair to say that's not the consensus on demonland.

I like to state the bleeding obvious in 10, 000 word or more.

I don't like much of King's analysis (as i think i might have noted previously - i'll have to check), but he mixes some average analysis with some really good stuff. In particular his use of video is terrific, as per the Rich example. I think that plays to his strengths, which is knowing footy from a playing and/or coaching perspective and being able to articulate key issues (as opposed to analysis using data as a foundation). That's his strength - and he has shown lots of genuinely really interesting footage and he uses it really well to make a point - often about set us, structures or pointedly individual player weaknesses or issues. I love the down the ground footage, and how he uses it, and would love if that is what he focused on.

Other: The final siren.

I reckon they should fo a sweeping review. Of all 37 reviews they've had in the last 10 years.

Very much underrated. He is an excellent kick, and with turnovers being such key scoring source in footy atm a really important skill for defenders. Hibbo and May can both be a bit hit or miss with their kicking. Tomo offsets that a bit. He can also be relied in to take kick outs too because he has good depth on his kicks, and as you say can hit short targets (sounds silly, but it is amazing how many AFL players regularly fail to hit 15 - 20 metre kicks under little pressure).

I thought so too. I was really worried about how he we go on Cox and Cameron, but he was fantastic. He really got on his bike too Fantastic to see how much more agile he is than last season. He hasn't had much love on DL for that mark he took on the member's wing. I thought he had no chance and it was so clever how, one he didn't give a free away and two that he was able to mark it. It was a critical point in the match, stopped a certain Pies forward entry and set one up for us. As i noted before the game, if Petty plays forward on his return, there is a permanent spot for Tomo in defence there for the taking. An on that performance he'll take it.