binman

Matched only by a thread about the permutations and predictions of how we can sneak into the 8.

Agree. Surely the ADF could play a role in that space.

Was thinking exactly the same thing. Trolling gold. All the classic tropes. Even the Nazis get a run. It is actually quite heart-warming to see posters try and help others learn how to handle trolls properly by providing so many opportunities to practice doing so. Meta.

Maybe. But perhaps the reason they took him to Perth was they wanted the squad of players (ie the best 22 plus the 4 players the want as cover key outs) to have the opportunity to train as group, away from prying eyes and practice some new set ups and set plays. The week would also have given them lots of time to meet collectively, in groups with lines coaches and individual to discuss tactics, review video edits, scout opponents etc etc. And of course spend time together as a squad to build chemistry as we make our push towards the summit (sorry, couldn't resist the cliche). Tmac is key member of the team and they would have been keen to have him there. And really what risk did they take? Yes its long time to be sitting in plane, but in reality it is unlikely to have done him any harm. We can cover his loss against the Crows and he two weeks to get right now for the Cats game, having spent spent a week in sunny Perth (up till game day) staying in a five star hotel and resort.

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That's because he played a lock down third tall role. Replaced omac if memory serves Again, that is not the position he has played in the vfl. At least, not in the four games I have watched. He has played the same role as Hunt and rivers in those games.

I'm pretty sure he didn't play on buzza. Perhaps found himself marking him one or two times, but he definitely played the running half back role. Had 19 disposals and seven marks. And was close to best on ground.

Goody wants pace in the team and I think Hibberd is too slow these days Dazzler to play the role Hunt plays. Smith hasn't been playing the third tall. He has been playing the run and carry role at Casey in the games i have seen (which admittedly is only about 4 or 5). Gets high up the ground and gets meters gained. I'd be interested in the views of @KC from Casey about the role Smith has played and how he as gone this year.

I reckon there is a very good chance Smith comes in. They have had the luxury of playing players at Casey (when they get to play that is) in set roles that mirror roles played in the seniors. For example, Daw plays the Max role. In the last couple of VFL games Weed played took the TMac role (albeit with some ruck duties thrown in). Bowser played the Salem role. White the Brown/Weed role. Etc etc. And, all season Smith has been playing the Hunt and Rivers role providing run and carry off half back. It is a really good role for him because it doesn't expose his one one one defensive weakness too much, he has got some serious toe, is super fit, super competitive and tackles for keeps. As bonus his leap and athleticism means he can impact aerial contests and help stop opposition forwards taking marks inside 50. And Goody rates him (as do i, for what its worth). He was fantastic against Werribee - and they didn't take him for Perth for [censored] and giggles So given he has been training and playing Hunts role - and we need someone to cover that role for 4 weeks - he seems the logical inclusion. By the same logic weed comes in for Tmac (one assumes they will want to keep their there tall structure ahead of the finals). And i agree that Captain jack sparrow is the likely out.

A third reason might be better hub/quarantine facilities in Perth

Short honeymoon phase?

He was our for one week just prior to that photo. Landed awkwardly. Now 4-5.

Good thing we are an 8 goal better side.

You're probably right rj, I'm clutching at straws. I feel sick at the thought of the dees plying in a grand final and not being there. One of those straws is that there is still time for crowds at the G to be possible. The GF is 6 and half weeks away. If we get to low - zero cases by Thursday week - which is a good chance i think - then there is 5 weeks to navigate. If there continues to be low - zero cases then say two weeks with no crowds. Then three weeks of building up to say 50% capacity. And reward the club members and give tickets only to them.

The best kicks do this. Weight the ball to their teammates advantage. Up to about the late 90s i reckon this skill was standard for most players in the AFL. Even the average kick. Footy 101. One of my great frustrations of following the dees in the last 20 odd years is how few of our players have had this fundamentall skill.

True. But If say it is two Victorian teams. There is every chance we will be out of lockdown in a week. The gf will still be five weeks after that. So, if we were to remain covid free the border to WA might well reopen. So different scenario to international arrivals.

Agree. But surely there would be huge public support for an injection of $200 million into the state.

Not even if they were fully vaccinated and had to have a clear PCR prior to flying? Not much risk in that scenario i would have thought.

In all seriousness, if the Grand Final is in Perth, i could see McGowan allowing participating club members (except any from NSW) to come to WA. But only if fully vaccinated. And perhaps with a clear PCR test within 24 hours of flying in. So perhaps something like 40% of the capacity for locals, 10% for corporates and 25% for each of the two interstate teams. Given it is very unlikely to be a WA team in the GF he could sell that to people in Perth. The big money WA will earn from a GF is people coming from interstate and spending money on accommodation, restaurants etc etc. Assuming full capacity, a mix like the one i note above, would mean something like 40, 000 interstate visitors. Which would mean a lot of money coming into the state. Lets say on average each visitor spent $5000. That would be $200 million pumped directly into the WA economy over a handful of days. That sort of coin is nothing to sneeze at. I went to the 2018 prelim. Obviously it was a woeful experience. Made more woeful by the insufferable Wet Coke fans and poor fashion. And it was damn hot. Fortunately i was sitting under cover so had protection from the sun. But there was an inexplicable design flaw. I could not see the scoreboard from where i sat, or all the grounds or that matter as the stand above blocked the view. They have TVs hanging from the stand above so you can see replays etc. $1.5 billion to build a state of the art stadium and and you have seats where you cant see the $50 million scoreboard and parts of the ground Leaving that design flaw aside, it is an amazing stadium. And would be a crazy place for a grand final with a full crowd. Particularly if that crowd did not have any peanut Wet Coke fans. If the dees were playing, and they allowed vaccinated visitors from interstate, i'd go in heart beat. That said, i shudder to think how much the flights will be.

Add his on the fulls to his point tally and it would be 22.65. I wonder what tracks set shot percentage is. Terrible technique - including the ridiculous ball spinning Max does. The best set shot routine I have seen in recent years was Watts. Short, slow run up with few moving parts In his first full season I'm sure he had a simpler set shot technique. Shorter run up and kept the ball still. Not unlike Watts method though the punched the ball a bit harder. Was very accurate from inside 40. Tracc should go back to that style. Like his first goal he is so strong he can rely on his power to keep it straight. And punching means he kicks through it properly, whereas he often seems to lean back on it.

I was thinking about this too. Salem is so important to how we transition the ball that most clubs are now putting time into him. All season they have been training bowser as a Salem style quarter back (though, unlike salem, he does the kick out at Casey). Smart move to bring him in now. Coz as you say shut down Salem and we have the option of playing through bowser. Apart from his kicking skills, the other thing he brings is some toe, meaning we have rivers, hunt and him for some strong overlap run and spread. This is important because that sort of overlap is critical to how we generate scores. And in finals speed is super important.

How on earth could anyone pot Ben Brown's game. He was fantastic. Easily in our best 5 players. Not better than my boy Nibbler though

How can i say Viney will go straight back into the midfield on his return? Because that is exactly what will happen. Note i didn't say it should happen. I said it will happen. But for what it's worth, I think it should happen

I fully admit to having a pretty strong confirmation bias against Melksham, particularly in regard to his intensity and pressure But i thought he was terrible in the first half. No tackles, did my head in a couple of times with the stupid corralling he does (rather than attacking the man) and sat off a contest on the half back line, where he simply just had to put his body on the line. I acknowledge that he had a defensive role on Hurn and then McGovern, and did an ok job, but by the shadows of half time i had had enough of him. But then he showed great intensity to stay in the contest and make second and third efforts, in the play that ultimately ended up with the Kozzie free and super important goal. And he carried that intensity into the second half. That's all i want to see. He will always do the brilliant stuff. Just has to keep doing the hard stuff He showed intent, continued to do well on McGovern, set up the harmes goal with smart, quick play and kicked two clever goals himself. The first of those was exactly why Goody needs him in our finals team. Brilliant, super smart kick on his non preferred kick. And coming after a terrific effort to mark it. There is not one other player in our team who i would be confident to kick that goal. I was sure Melksham was going to. With him and Bowey in the team our kicking skills have received a massive boost. Makes us a better team. But please Melk - no more corralling!