binman

He is an absolute gun. Will go past Max at some point in the not too distant future to become the best ruck in the game.

For years I've sat on the top of the Ponsford. It's only this year that I've been sitting on the wing/hf The wing level one is great when the ball is being played on that wing. And the players are so much closer Can't see jack on the other side. Or Max. And the dees quarter time huddles are right below, which i like.

It certainly wasn't in the 70s or 80s. And the intervening years haven't been that much fun either. Thankfully that has changed and I'm loving watching a unit who are serious contenders.

I've been sitting on the wing at most games. And you don't really get a sense at all of their set up and structures at centre bounces. Or for that matter their zone structure or tbat sort of amoeba that follows the ball (a big swarm of players around the ball and a ring of players 60 odd metres from the ball). Which is why i love sitting up top of the posnsford.

That's your response to a serious question? I guess after we got rolled by the very average giants in round 16 of the 2021 season, managing only 55 points on a perfect day for footy at the g, you stopped watching us, such was your devastation. Spoiler alert. We won the flag that year.

I'm confused. We are happy freo lost. But not happy, coz that makes us rubbish.

Back to the cricket.

So good to watch when on.

Go you good things.

We are 8-4 at the halfway point of the year, sitting third on the ladder, with the second best percentage, only just behind a team who has won three more games than us. And $5.50 equal second favorite to win the flag. We are playing the favourite in front of 90k on Monday and are 2.05 to win the game. And you don't think my positivity is warranted? I'm not sure about you bobby, but i have followed the dees for a long time. A serious question. If you dont think positivity is warranted now, in what scenario would positivity be warranted at this point in the season?

I wasn't referring to you Jaded. All good.

Oh look. Suddenly our performance two weeks ago looks better!

How on earth has this game become evidence of how rubbish we are? I don't go on to game day threads because of that sort of rubbish. And I come on this game day thread to enjoy some nice, freo getting beat clean fun. And still have to read how rubbish we are. Did anyone rabbit on about how we flogged the hawks by near on 10 goals and the lions got beaten by them today? Ipso facto we are better than the lions. Or the fact that we beat a very good tigers team on anzac eve. This is a dees forum isn't it?

Oh jacko!

Only so far as it might get into players head. A ground is a ground. There's all sorts of anomalous statistical quirks in footy. If it was a priority for them to win that game because they thought they needed to win games at the g, they would have won it. They were paddling in that last quarter, which is why the hawks attacked with run all game. Incomparable to their running power they have shown most of the season, including their first half blitz of us in round two. It didn't look like a target match for them. They are no different to us - it's all about September.

The real story for the media. But I'll bet my bottom dollar not for the lions.

Do they (need to win games like that)? We played the hawks about the same stage of the 2021 season. On our home deck. They were no better then than they are now. We had about the same win loss record as the lions did ahead of today's match. Maybe even ladder position. We drew that match. I well recall the gnashing of teeth on here, and plenty of posters declaring we were pretenders not contenders. How could a serious contender only mansge a draw against the hawks yada yada yada. Not beating the hawks didn't seem to harm our chances of winning a flag. For the pies to beat us, they will have to be perfect offensively and effectively stop our mutiple scoring options (AFL #1).

Go tiges.

And that's the better ones.

Against the blues goody had some really unusual forward set ups at centre bounces (for us). I was at the top of the Ponsford, looking down the ground and they really chopped and changed their syarting structure and personnel up forward. One had them all in a straight line goal square to centre circle, with Smith at full forward and nibbler at chf. Another had them spread really wide. With Chandler and nibbler up high and wide. And heaps of space for jvr.

No I'm not at all. Because I don't see this game as some litmus test. And I don't buy into the weekly pretender or contender bull dust. Take the lion's loss. Doesn't change my rating of the lion's chances of winning the flag one iota. I believe goody and Lever when they say it's all about being in our best shape come finals. Not now. If we win, well great. If we lose, unless we get demolished, my confidence in winning the flag will be undiminished. And it's a nonsense that we are 'working through bigger issues than they are with our general connection and forward delivery' How can that possibly be true when we have now had almost exactly the same fixture in terms of difficulty of opponent, have had a much togher fixturr with travel aand breaks (after Monday, the pies will have played 8 of their 13 games at the G), have lost three more games, yet STILL outscored the pies? Maybe it is tbe 'eye test' i have heard footy media trot out (as of their perception trumps the objective fact of the ladder)?

Impact of an increased block of aerobic and power conditioning. Lewis almost let the cat out of the bag right at the end noting how they got out run on the big open spaces of the g in the second half. Or alternatively, the lions, who many said were the best team behind the pies, are pretenders. Beaten by a team we flogged by nearly 10 goals.

Good points, well made. They def have a, deserved, psychological edge with their record in final quarters. And part of that is everyone - fans, media and opposition teams - all think they'll run over teams in the last quarter. We had a similar psychological edge in the first half of last season in terms of opposition teams struggle to penetrate our incredible defence. But once teams started opening us up with fast ball movement, thst aura disappeared. Same thing will happen to the pies one they inevitably lose a couple of close one. But don't get me wrong, I think the pies are a really, really good team. I also think we are too.

Oh please, what a load of rot. The game is two days away and you're already putting caveats on a dees' win. We win by being brillant defensively, but too defensive for your liking and so there is still 'a clear gap in the capabilities of the sides'. Sheesh.

I'll let you do the research.