binman

The question i'd have if i was lions fan is why in the heck are they still running a 2010 style defensive system. I might also ask why they didn't address their lack of leg speed - which we ruthlessly exploit when up and about (and are even better placed to exploit this season because Kozzie is playing more mid time, so is around the ball more and we have added mcvee and Chadler who are both quick and Hunter, whilst not super quick over the first 5 metres seems to have good cruising speed. Added to that bowser looks even quicker than he was, and the team all look super fit)

Mmm, interesting. I see what you're saying, but whilst of course it's good to have control of the ball (which this year we seemed to have really empahsied short kicks to lead up players to control possession and tempo) philosophically our game plan does not emphasis having the ball in hand. By that i mean we priortise territory over possession. So, for example, if the ball is in motion in the back half, we have possession but there is no free player up the line to kick to, but there is a free player behind the ball (which there almost is) for the bail out kick or handball. more often than not we will risk losing possession by prioritsing territory and booting it 50 metres towards our goal. For the same reason we don't do many cross-ground switches because even though it would ensure we maintain possession we gain no territory (and it gives the oppo defence time to set up) - so if we can't maintain possession by lead up mark down the line, again we kick long down the line to a contest even though that risks losing possession. Which is where pressure is so critical. Pressure helps us to ideally win that contest and if we can't do so, force a stoppage, But if THEY win pressure (as defined by that metric) is critical to our game plan because we ensure (when we are fully up and about) that the oppo kcik is under pressure. We either force a turnover (as happened many times on sat) or they are forced to dump kick and we intercept (as Lever did any number of times) and rebound of half back to create a scoring train. West coast's game plan under Simpson has a huge focus maintaining possession. The dogs game plan under Bevo also had this focus (but has shifted this season - hence much fewer switches against us) and Freo's, if their game against the saints is anything to go by, also does (what was weird against the saints is they didn't run the ball down the ground the way they like to get territory - Lyon might have tried to take this away from them). But the problem with the model of maintaining possession is twofold. One, maintaining possession invites pressure and therefore there an increased risk of turnover (which is often in the back half because that is where the ball is kicked side to side to free players - kicks we allow the oppp to have). And two, it makes scoring much more difficult when playing a team like the dees with an elite zone and all team defence because it allows that defense to get set and our defensive forwards and mids to flood back and create an outnumber. And to state the obvious you can't kick a goal from the back pocket. Bevo has realized their possession style aint gonna cut and have shifted to the territory model. Which is one reason why i'm bullish about their prospects this year.

Mmm, not sure about that. According to burgess, leading into the GF they deliberately didn't tell May, who thought he had a strained hammy, that he had torn it pretty badly (though im sure Webber would say a strain IS a tear)

You never tyre of the puns DS

Is that true?

That is just plain wrong. But it would appear your mind is made up, so won't try and convince you otherwise. And jvr is a completely different type of player. He is more competing with fritter for a spot than tmac.

Taj really unlucky (dislocated finger - out 6 weeks) he would have been a chance to play ahead of Laurie i reckon. At least the injury doesn't impact his fitness levels to much. Terrific that taj is now the ONLY player on the injury list, which is pretty remarkable.

Definition of traveling OK: Smash both teams we played in the preseason Smash a finals contender in round one Have FOUR of our best 10 players missing from the round one win available for selection in round two You'd have to assume they wont take any risks given multiple comments from coaches etc that we will be more conservative with selection this year in terms of not playing anyone with niggles. Personally i'd be really surprised if all four are selected, but if named in the team in all likliehood they'll play and will be good to go.

I thought the same thing. At the Saints praccy match i was on the boundary right near where the dees players came on and off. And up close Max and Grundy looked incedibly fit. Even with their jumpers on you could see how little fat they were carrying. Not wanting to fat shame or anything, but Darcy and Jackson looked barely comparable. Given the amount of running the role demands that is a big issue for freo. As we know if a player starts the season in non optimal shape there is basically no way of ever reaching optimal condition in that season - unless they do something dramatic lie they did with Weed and BB and do a mid season 4-6 week re boot camp (which involves not playing senior footy).

That'd what im going to go with. Go dees.

I just saw this thread title and this (brilliant) song came to mind. Perhaps when Freo come to G, and assuming Luke plays, dees fans can collectively sing Farewell Lukey Jackson to this tune:

So next time i'm yelling collective support for the women's team. i'll yell (in a super creepy, playas voice) : 'Hey ladies......'

Man o man the coincidences are piling up. Not 5 mins ago i sent this message to andy 'a reminder andy we should highlight the fact 28 AFLW players resigned'. Awesome news. I'm sure Geroge will be all over it I have a question for you DIO. I heartily cheered and clapped the AFLW team as they walked past where i was sitting. Was about to yell out something along the lines of go girls, or some such. But i don't like the term girls for women. But i couldn't think of an alternative. I thought about yelling "well done women" but it didn't sound right. And 'well done dees AFLW team' is even worse. So, my question. What is an alternative to girls when yelling support to multiple dees women players? What about heroes?

I'd be very surprised if the big mcv doesn't line up on Cameron. He is surprisingly good one on one, is competitive and has the acceleration over the first 5 metres so to go with Cameron. And i reckon Goody has him penciled in as the defender to take exactly such players - players we have really struggled to conatin since Jett's brilliant 2018 season. Judd played on Higgins and Dusty in the praccy matches. And on the dog's best effort equivalent (ie medium forward) in Hannan against the dogs (ireckon he would have gone to Weightman if he played).

I refuse to answer on the grounds i might be memed. Will answer tonight Spoiler alert - the short answer is no.

Snap. Was literally just thinking the same thing in reference to the q about tmac's relatively quiet game stats wise. Just compare bb ladt year when he had to cover all the donkey work and up and down the ground running tmac does. BB doesn't kick 4 goals without tmac in the side.

Another crazy stat is we only had TWO contested marks for the game (the dogs had 9). On a perfect night for footy, save a bit of a swirly wind. Maxy clunked both (though i thought Sparrow took a nice contested mark on the member's wing) Two contested marks? That has to be some sort of (unwanted) record surely? Perhaps the number of talls in both teams was a factor?

That's an impressively mixed metaphor!

To be fair we only took 2 contested marks, both maxy. I couldn't believe that stat. I had ti check again coz it didn't seem right. The dogs had nine by way of comparison.

Inside at marvel too. Which by the by looked awful. Jackson looked unfit to my eye - too heavy. If true, I'd be furious I I was a freo fan. You can excuse a scratchy debut. But if there is no injury, or similar (eg post season surgery that impacts on preseason preparation) there is no excuse for a boom recruit you've paid through the nose for and who you've gambled your future on (by giving up draft picks) not being in cherry ripe condition round one. Weed on the other hand looked in ripping nick.

After that beautiful feint/baulk on the boundary line (which was almost right below where i was sitting) I said to bloke i was sitting next to at the footy that he the trait of the really good players (albeit an awfully cliched one) - time. Which now that i think about it is probably manifestation of quick thinking and perhaps also a level of calmness.

Should have called him bowser.

Exactly. Smith's head whipped back and that made it look as if hw had been hit in the head. But kozzie is incredibly lucky Smith is clearly really strong through the shoulders and neck. Because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stop his head whiplashing into the ground - which seems to be the cause of many concussions in these sort of incidents.

Never watch the sunday footy show on channel 9. Thought I'd flick it on to see them talk about the dees. Instead I just suffered through 10 mins of some stupid supposedly comedic quiz. A footy show?

Poor act in my opinion. Real potential to do harm. We have to get head shots our of footy. Not because of the legal ramifications. Because we have to make tbe game as safe as you can make such a brutal game (ie it will never really be safe). Paging Webber, but I'm pretty sure the link between repeated head contact and CTE is accepted now. Jordon Lewis was on 360 last wek and they were discussing concussion and showed the hit he received that triggered changes. Sickening. Out cold before he hit the ground. Jordon said he only had two 'serious' concussion ie out cold. One in junior footy and that one. Asked if he worries about the impact, I half expected him to say no. But he said he worries often. All the time. Good on him for his honesty Like Jordan, albeit for different reasons, I worry about what will happen to my brain in the future My mum had dementia and my dad parkinsons, so I have seen the impact of neurological damage. And it scares me ****less that I'll might go down the same path. As far as possible, we don't want the men and women who play for our enjoyment having to have those same fears - there will always be head trauma in our game. All that said, talk of tve current legal stuff and kossie being made an example of because of it, infuriates me. Similarly the idea the 'optic' should be factored in is ridiculous. As is talk it should go to tbe tribunal. The so called decision matrix was introduced to take subjectivity out of it. The decision to weight impact, which I disagree with (lpotential impact should be a bigger factor imo) has been made. Apply the existing framework to kossie, pure and simple. If that means he gets off with a fine, so be it. It really shouldn't be possible to get more than one week if I understand the criteria properly (which I may well not). The time for changes to tbat framework is post season, not during the season triggered by a specific incident - particularly one that isn't a new scenario and/or raises new issues fir consideration. This incident wasn't novel. Not much grey area and not really much to unpack. Meat and potatoes shirt front. Give him his wack and move on.