binman

As i posted i don't understand why they have not stuck with him as a forward. He trained all presason before last year as a forward and looked the part. as you say kicked four on aday we couldn't but a gola. And then sat out the season. We are in desperate need of a marking forward and they play him back. Makes no sense. He could have played the role Jackson was asked to tonight and would have had more impact.

I hope you're right. I fear you're not as if they did run out of gas it speaks of a group of players that are not as motivated and driven as i had hoped and expected they would be. I watched the the last quarter of the Gold Coast game. They Suns did not look like they were running out of gas.

A HEALTH WARNING: If you, in any way, do not rate Simon Goodwin as a coach, and/or get annoyed at his tendency to speak in cliches and buzz words ('lots of leanings from this game', the players want to win, credit to the opposition) or even get mildly irritated by his upbeat post game vibe or peculiar smirks when we have played poorly: DO NOT WATCH THE POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE! You have been warned.

Vitriol? WTF?

Agree. But Oliver has got a way to go to get near Cripps as a player. Cripps imposed himself on the game in that last quarter and almost won it for them. That's what the real stars find a way to do. Oliver is not there yet.

As much as i'd like to see OMac back i reckon it would be a mistake to drop smith. Dropping an inexperienced player after the one game, particularly when you have backed him in is bad for everyone i reckon and as rule shouldn't happen. Would do Smiths head in and smash his confidence. Tmac is another thing all together. I'd be dropping him and replacing him with Weid. Tmac is simply not mobile enough at the moment and has the turning circle of the Ruby Princess.

Top post scoop. On the pressure hard not to think that they ran out of gas. if true not a good sign as really there is no excuse not have maintained their aerobic fitness levels

He was terrific at the crows. A big part of his success was big able to focus solely on the the intercept role and not have to be accountable for adirect oppoent. And the reason he was able to play that role and rack up all those sexy intercept stats was the rest of the defence doing their job, in particular Thalia. The system they employed also supported him playing that role - one that involved not being accountable for an opponent. Exactly the role he plays for us . I can't recall the name of the fella but when Lever left he slotted into that role and also looked great. That article (which reads like his manager wrote it) suggest he is heir apparent to Rance. Don't get me wrong i think he is good player, but he is not in Rance's league. And wont ever be, To be fair few are. But that is what we were hoping to get. Of course the knee injury made things hard to assess but he is poor kick and for defender, very poor one on one. These deficiencies are not a function of his knee injury and were apparent at the crows. Saw that tonight. No way Rance lets Cripps take that mark (the one he missed)

Yes and no on the first point. They did not get a single inside 50 in the first 6 mins or so of the first quarter (in a 16 min) and very few after that.There were some good defensive efforts but by in large they were a result o pressure on the blues players kicking inside 50. Totally agree on the second. It is also why i thought it was risky being two new defenders in. But now that they have, if they think they have the right group they need to stick with it for a bit to allow them to gel.

I'm amazed they abandoned the experiment of him up forward, which is were he was going to play last year. I mean he kicked a bag in that practice game he got injured in and looked good. Defenders have to know the game more than he does. Forwards too of course but up forward he can use his leap t fly for marks and the defenders have to try and spoil him. If they succeed the ball hits the deck where kozzie can get it. He is trick match up with his athleticism and his average field kicking skills and decsion making are noy exposed as much

Yep, spot on. Ad to the above our kicking went back to normal. Terrible. And tat was die to the increased blues pressure. Nothing exposes poor technique as much as pressure. Remarkable we won. Te blues fans will be furious they didn't. Some sort of game of footy when both clubs fan are angry.

Agree. They absolutely should drop tmac and put weed in. He was terrible. And of most concern is he looks unfit and over weight. How does one of our supposed leaders and most senior players come back out of shape. And when he did why did they pick him?

Im normally pretty optimistic and quick to see positives from a game we have played poorly in. I might have to give it some time because I have not felt this dispirited after a game for a long time. And we bloody won it. The only four positives I can find now are: Trac: we should try to not lose sight of good he was. He won us that game. Firstly by dominating the first half but most of all kicking our only goal of the second half. A brave kick from outside 50, ignoring the lead of hunt that he normally would have gone for and kicking for goal. That's what we need from him. Also loved the mark he took 30 out and that he kicked it gun barrel straight. He loved that bit too. Rivers: hard to recall a better debut game for our club. Composed and good kicking skills. Showed up every one of his co defenders. Omac: at least this week no one can unfairly blame him. Covid 19: at least i didn't have to waste any money watching that game live.

I rate Smith. But he was flat out terrible today. Melk can be a good player. But more often than not isn't. Like today. And personally it is that type of player I hate the most. Talent but pick and choose when to use it, with a dose of infuriating arrogance thrown in, type of player. Anb is exactly the opposite. Not the most talented but his level of effort and desire never drops. That is the sort of player I like. Then you get a player like cripps who combine talent, consistency and work rate. The true stars. How many of these do we have? Realistically only gawn and tracc.

He points well. And loved all the advice he was dishing out to goody at quarter time. Such a leader.

100% agree. Been saying for two years he has got to be a bit more selfish and take shots himself, rather than always look to do the team thing and look for the pass (though he does that well) Critical leaders goal

Our kicking skills remain our biggest issue. Terrible

I was talking about this topic with a mate and he said surely Jeff White is on par with Harley in terms of a quality recruit. Have to agree. Early draft pick, came to us early in his career and was star for us. Had forgotten all about him.

Spot on The answer is simple. And it is not reducing interchange any further - coaches will get around that too, probably by slowing the game down even further to allow players to rest on field. Use the coaches rather than try to reign them in. Incentivise scoring with premiership points. For example winning or losing teams teams getting to 100 points (or even 85) get one premiership point. Of course there are variable in terms of weather and possibly venues (eg in Tassie where it is often windy) but so what. It would largely even out over a season and luck always plays a'part in teams fortunes. The coaches will still be defensive but not nearly as much. They will look for ways to maximise the chances of winning but will look for opportunities to snag that extra point. Losing teams also still have an incentive to keep attacking and not put the cue in the rack to save energy for the next game. If nothing else it might stop one of the biggest blights in the game - teams with 3-4 goal lead shutting up shop with 10 minutes to go, chipping it around and playing in slo mo. God awful to watch

Stadiums with 40,000 or less to open Rohan Smith The Prime Minister gave an important update on sporting events this afternoon. He says stadiums with a capacity of 40,000 or less will be able to host certain events but they will only be filled to 25 per cent capacity. That means a stadium capable of seating 40,000 people could sell 10,000 tickets but the caveat is that all tickets must be seated and social distancing rules must be applied. The PM said he is working with venues like the MCG to adopt a similar plan but nothing was announced today.

Kozzie out for breaching Covid 19 regulations? You have got to be [censored] me.

Good post with some good points. On Lever i have to somewhat disagree. Sure he should be physically equipped now to take a genuine big, though he is not that strong in the legs and through the hips like the best key big defenders and will lose his fair share of strength battles. My issue with Lever is not his strength - it is that i reckon he simply poor one on one. When standing right with a direct opponent - the classic one on one wrestling situation - he often gets out read as opposed to out muscled. The opposite is true of Fritter who often beats stronger players one on one because he reads the ball in flight better and is able to position his body to advantage. A natural. Probably a kid who played lots of kick to kick. I actually thought about Lever watching last nights game when Dusty out marked howe. Howe was body on body but Dusty simply read it better rather then beating him with strength. Like Howe Lever is at his best when he get the chance to run at pack and time the leap to mark or spoil. In any case Lever will play as an intercept predominately and will rarely be left on one one with a big.

Funny you should say that. I actually initially typed Peter Moore AND Kelvin Templeton. But after considering it i deleted Kelvin. Was an out and our star - one of the bests forwards i have seen live. But was cruelled by injury and by the time he came to us was slow, big and as you say couldn't kick past his shadow. In terms of raw talent, albeit way past his best, Phil Carmen came to mind. Insanely talented player who was the complete package early in his career (for one or two seasons). Brent Crosswell also came to mind.

You got it exactly right DD re the backline having only the two bigs. Well played. I share your concerns about the forward line. But i think benell will make a big difference in terms of delivery and I like Jones forward for the same reason.

Hunt was a big surprise. But maxy said in last night's zoom session he had been dynamic since they have been back and seemed to hint he would play and do so as a forward. The selections and goody's comments about game style seem to suggest a pretty big tactical shift. Which if true would be pretty amazing (and risky) given they only had 3 weeks back.