binman

Al jokes aside, I would be surprised if they're running out of gas - unless, like us last season, they have injuries that are not known about. But agree, they play a very taxing game - physically and psychologically. This game reminds me of the lions suns game. The suns came to play. The lions didn't. And it is very hard to turn that energy around. As I said about the lions it's a worry for contenders to not to come into a game fully switched on tgis late in the campaign. As ramanaskas noted on abc this morning, flag winners historically win their last 4 and come into the finals in red hot form. Lions lode to suns. Port a good chance of losing 5 zip. Pies lose last week and 5 goals down 5 mins into the second against the 16th placed side. Mmm, of the contenders, who does that leave?

At this rate they may not even win this years minor premiership! (To be clear for all the pie worshippers - and you know who you are - that was a joke).

Gary Lyon - let's see how this GREAT side responds. For the love of God, they are not a great side.

All good points, well made. My thinking abour spargo coming back in as much about what I think goody will do, rather than my own assessment of him. My gut feel is he has been at vfl level to work on his tank and get it to the level it needs to be to play the role tmac says is 'by far the hardest in football'.

The bont is easily in my top 10 players I have seen in my lifetime.

Of course we wanted more. But for a club that is still in the development phase giving up your first and second rounder for one player - even if you finish top 8 as they surely would have expected - creates challenges in terms of bringing in multiple quality young players though the draft. Or use them to target a need to trade - for example a really good inside mid that they so badly need.

Put it on a stamp already? There's stamps with pictures of hangers on them? Probably the only way maxy gets on a stamp then - as the player getting his head jumped on!

Geez, give a fella some authority and he goes all hard core, my way of or the highway, rules are there to be followed.

Sure. All players have clangers. Bowey, arguably our best kick, missed a 20 metre kick under no pressure over the head of a teammate all by himself last week, gifting a shot on goal from 40.

Steven may for one.

Yes. But, personally I'm not a huge fan of the 'if player x comes in, who comes out' game. And even less a fan of the more aggro variant 'you can't just say player x comes in without saying who comes out'. For one thing, statistically I'd be guessing more often than not a best 22 player has to miss any given game thru injury. And if we are talking finals, we'll that is 6 weeks away. So anything can happen on that front. And secondly, it doesn't nessarily have to be a like for like swap. Roles can be juggled, particularly in modern footy where you don't have a back or forward six - you have a back 7 or 8 and and forward 7 or 8. Thirdly, even if a direct swap it will be for a role not a generic position eg forward for forward. Case in point, Spargo. Spargo, who I firmly believe will come back in by finals, is not in competition for say chandlers spot as even though they ate both small forward,spargs is really only nominally a forward and they play very different roles. Spargo's role is the high half forward role, which involves running up and down the ground all game and providing defensive cover, an outlet option on transion and the last kick inside 50. Whereas Chandler's best role is as pure crumbing, small forward that kicks goal. Of course, like all players he works up and down the ground, but nowhere near to the extent of chandler (and even less again than nibbla). We don't want Chandler gassed all the time, we want him explosive and ready to pounce. Same goes for koz. Spargs and nibbla can do the 16-17km per game donkey work that frees up our goal scorers to go to work - a point I have heard tracc make on several occasions.

100% agree with all of the above. A comment on this comment: "The result gave the appearance of a team waving the white flag - they looked out of it both physically and mentally' I watched the game (up to half time stopped after that) and caught the first couple of minutes of the fox half time analysis. Of the top, Garry Lyon mentions the break and coming off a tough game against us. I thought great, good on him for providing context for their performance. Then says, paraphrasing, you could see the tigers didn't think they were going to play finals and played accordingly. The implication was exactly what you suggest some might think WJ. I mean what the? I'd be furious if I was a tigers fan. I hate to say it of an dees champion, but Lyon is a peanut.

He did indeed. Shows his character, courage, passion and toughness. It might come down to match ups, but it's hard not to think goody will go with hibbo in the finals precisely because of those attributes. I get the very strong sense they are managing hibbo to ensure he is in great nick and is at his explosive best week one of the finals.

As hoyne said on sen mutiple times (and I've said, written and screamed aprox 1.32 million times) our issue in rounds 11-16 wasn't the mythical 'connection' issue every media person, and let's be honest many dl posters, were banging on about Pundits also banged on about 'efficiency'. That's closer to the mark, but needlessly semantically confusing - efficiency has mutiple meanings and connotations depending on the context. For six weeks all goody was asked about was our supposed connection and efficiency issues. Poor bugger's head was exploding. The bizarre thing is there is probably no other scoring 'issue' for which the cause can so easily be identified, and to boot from the most fundamental, oldest stat of all - the scoreline: 39.63 And if the footy 'analysts' did feel a need to do their job properly they might add another two completely obvious causal factors - three of thoe games were in horrendous conditions (a point goody and richo repeatedly made - and were ignored of course) and fatigue. It is all like some weird gaslighting experiment. The footy media spend most of the time making stupid, shallow, one data point, analysis that doesn't capture nuance and makes things too black and white simple. Then something as black and white as this comes along and they make it ridiculously, needlessy obtuse and get it completely wrong. All just for fodder for their drama, click bait machine. Gippsland Dee's post above nails it in 15 words. But that doesn't help fill air time or support some ridiculous narrative.

I might well be imagining it, but I thought Judd played on dusty the first time we played the tigers, and did ok.

Nibbler more accurate than fritter. #nibblamyths

Tigers stimulating themselves and happy to fist.

Tracc and Reid waxing mid/forward. With the Ruinatior and Jefferson prowling inside 50 with koz at their feet. Yes please.

Demontasker....

Ridiculous. The tigers still had a chance of making the finals. 30 mins ago.

Takes a lot out of teams trying to go with the dees. And in the tigers case tonight, a five day break compounds that (short breaks really do have a massive impact - which makes our early season form even more impressive given how many we had of them)

Doesn't change the fact freo paid way overs, particularly given it might end up result in Darcy leaving, but not in their worst nightmares would have they expected to be giving up early first and second rounders.

Yeah, nah

He was completely gassed in the last quarter. Maybe they know he couldn't back up and would be a liability in terms of not being able to cover ground. With the way the tigers are playing- up and down the ground, fast transition and ball in motion they can't afford to plonk dusty in the goal square and be down a runner. Same goes for cotchin

Digesting now.......