binman

Done.

....Ben Gibsin 'oh, one more thing goody. The reds played bloody well. Like a bunch of blokes desperate to get a game in a grand final. For example majak kicked 3 goals. I'll make sure I include one of his goals and say vanders rampaging and hurry and Chandler and weed. The dogs will be rightly worried that our b team is red hot and better than their A team I'm learning about misinformation online, so I reckon that will get in their heads. One last thing. Stop calling me [censored] Gibby. The boys have been laughing at me all season'

And Saturday is going to be wet and cold. [censored] day for a GF.

Is that two UFOs landing?

I like the idea Covid and the fact that tbe GF has to be played in Perth is all part of the Norm Smith curse. The red fox never did things by halves, so a world wide pandemic is def his mo. Win it and the curse is broken. And pre curse normal service resumes - the next dynasty is on our door step. Next year's GF is going to be epic.

The brownlow feels like the proper start of grand final week. For the first time starting to feel nervous.

Perth 28-Day Rainfall Forecast Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 19 Low 20 21 22 23 Low 24 25 26 Med chance of a hangover 27 Med 28 29 Low 30 Oct 1 2 3 4 Low 5 Low 6 Med 7 Low 8 Low 9 Low 10 Med 11 12 13 14 Low 15 16 Low 17 Low

Spoiler alert we won the 1964 GF. Froggy Crompton not only kicked the winning goal (wit the commentator saying how remarkable it was for a back pocket), he also took a saving mark deep in defence only a minute or before the final siren Hassa Mann now being interviewed. Saying our inaccuracy almost cost us. The more things change....

Sorry, ABC radio - i'm listening on AFL extra, one of their digital channels. But i assume it is one the normal radio

Heads up. On ABC radio they are about to replay the 1964 grand final

Perfectly sums up my emotions Steve. No one in my family followed the dees. In fact none in my family, except my grandfather (who had a budding VFL career short circuited by WW2). An none of my friends barracked for the dees. So I spent a good chunk of tbe late 70s and 80s going to tbe footy by myself, or with a mate who barracked for the roos (who I saw quite a lot too). Windy Hill, Moorabool, vic Park, Western oval. And of course the Top of the Ponsford. And then in the 90s I had become great friends with four dees fans and going to the footy became a regular celebration of the dees and friendship- complete with effusive post match drowning of sorrows or enthusiastic and long celebrations. So of course it hurts not to see us and experience the vibe in Melbourne. Personally I have come to terms with that. In large because we are incredibly the lucky the game is not happening at at an empty MCG. One case in WA and SA and noone sees it. Imagine that! Thus team deserve to plsy this game in front of a heaving crowd at a brilliant venue. And they deserve to be part of the buzz that is happening over there. And given all that has happened this last 18 monts, and all the pain and heartbreak, I feel lucky that next Saturday night I can watch us play a proper GF. And I'm going to enjoy with every beat of my red and blue heart. Can't wait.

They missed a trick though. Small forward lock is tackled by another small forward - one who can't get into the team. But might. If a spot for a small forward suddenly became available. Coincidence? You be the judge.

They're training at the right team's ground to get that sorted.

Barich is playing in our scratch match?

Ta. There you go. Confirmation bias at work. That and English is a [censored] ruckman.

Wow. The redback mystery. Love it This two week break between games is working out a treat.

Truish English played more than half the game against the dees in round 19 forward I reckon, so they had to cover him then too. I forget who rucked when he wasn't.

I have not forgotten. Or forgiven

Delete. Quote not edit.

One of the stranger narratives all year from footy media types when talking about our games against other contenders is how we are going to deal with their strengths. It is always acknowledged how great our defensive system is, and of course the individual skill of Gawn, Tracc and Oliver is highlighted. But it's almost as if they think our incredibly effective midfield and forward line systems are second rate compared to other contenders. Pre round 11 it was all about how we are going to deal with the devastating midfield and clearance game of the dogs. How will we combat the four headed forward line monster of (insert one of the Lions, Cats and Dogs here)? Goody must love the fact that our forward line is hardly ever talked about as a threat that needs to be quelled. In the six games we have won since the loss to the dogs in round 19 we have averaged 100.5 points per game. That is padded a bit by the fact we toweled up the Suns and the Crows. But three were against top 4 teams - Cats x 2 and the Lions In the seven games the dogs have played in that same period they have averaged 81.5 points per game. We are far away the most potent team in the AFL in the last two months of football, but yet we have to worry about Naughton? Go figure.

Great get Kiran. I'll make sure to listen He was a gun player, our bets, and I was spewing when he left for the Swans. I have never really forgiven him for abandoning us.

Interesting. Curious that it wasn't noted that both Bruce and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan played in that game. Petty was one on one on Bruce for the whole game. Without Bruce in the team, as bingers noted (and Webber too in another thread), we have the option of playing Petty on Naughton. Or we could go with what Monatgna suggested we ended up doing anyway - letting them have the match up. There are a couple of other points i'd put to Joey if i had the chance. One, Monatgna reckons that ring a rosie stuff happened all game. I don't think that is true. I'm sure May had Naughton for large chunks of the game. Two, I know Monatgna's point was that they were trying to engineer a Lever Naughton match up (and i guess May being exposed on the quicker Hannan). But Lever ended up with 15 intercept possessions and it seems to me Goody would be pretty happy with that that. Hardly an example of quelling Lever's influence. And Naughton only had three marks and 2 goals, albeit it in slippery conditions, and Hannan the one goal so hardly a raging tactical success.

I didn't say I didn't feel for them, particularly the younger players. Standing up for what is right and pushing back on what is evidently and clearly wrong can be hard, particularly in an ultra alpha environment that controls everything and pushing back is not encouraged. And everyone makes mistakes, particularly when you are young. Lord knows i have But the difficulty of doing the right thing does not absolve you for failing to do so. And it certainly does not make you a victim On trust, sure the club abused the players trust. But perhaps a greater breach of trust was the complete failure of the senior players to show any leadership and courage to protect their teammates, particularly the younger players. The MFC has indeed built it's success on trust. But not one way trust - club to players. The players trust each other. Jake Bowey and his young teammates no doubt trust Gawn and the senior players. I would like to think that our senior players would have the courage of their convictions and would stand up to the club if it were trying to force the players to do something that crossed ethical and moral boundaries. Like cheating. And why on earth would you say the the Essendon fans are not victims? They are the only victims.

Not sure why this double posted

Yep, agree on both points. It's funny there hasn't been more talk about the impact of Bruce not being in their side. Even though he has played 20 games to Naughton's 24 he still leads their goal kicking tally with 48 goals, with Naughton on 46 goals. And structurally Bruce was super important. And not just because he was another tall. Naughton is still a run and jump player. But Bruce is strong and played an important role creating opportunities for Naughton by wrestling with defenders. No Bruce means we have more flexibility in how we structure up down back.