binman

He played well but i dont think omac will be our next skipper

I tend to agree. I mean no doubt there will be back and forth but he has the whip hand. In any case lets' hope it happens. It would be huge for the club. This is a big statement but i don't think there has been a more important signing for the dees. Ever.

Love your work GNF. The haters will post in due course

I'm away (at the snow funnily enough - particularly seeing i have't ben to the snow for 20 years) the weekend of the port game but otherwise i would def go to the event at the Wharf. great value and would be fun to watch the game there

Kent is a terrific kick usually and i love the fact that he has great penetration when he connects. I was sitting in line with the set shot he kicked to the city end and it went gun barrel straight and that kick to Petracca was a gem. My issue with Kent's kicking is when shooting for goals he often rushes the kick and is not balanced as a result, leading to some shocking shanks.

Because has been pointed out a number of times it's not our call. Yes we can low ball them or flat out refuse to offer a trade. But hibberd would then have to go through the process of challenging that and arguing for a breach of contract. And really he is unlikely to want to do that, if for no other reason than i'm sure he has had enough legal drama and stress to last a lifetime.

Again this is a spurious argument. of course if DE is taken in isolation, for one player it can throw up misleading examples, such as with Dawson and as some here on DL have said Grimes. Its usefulness as a stat is aggregating it across the team and comparing sides and setting benchmarks. Clubs also no doubt use it conjunction with other stats not in isolation to provide analysis. For example looking at a combination of DE and score involvements would highlight how effective jack Watts is and reflect his value to the team in a way that looking at those two stats in isolation. Further they would never look at players DE without also looking at the data they have on where disposals occur, in what circumstances and what the outcome of the disposal is. in addition the footy department and coaches also 'use their eyes' both during the game and in the in the incredibly forensic post game analysis where every disposal is analysed. So looking at the DE in isolation is something that only happens on footy forums and by dullards in the media. However even looking at DE in isolation reflects that for all the outliers like Dawson the opposite is never true - that's to say the bets users of the ball (think Watts, Gunston, etc etc) have high DE across their careers.

I have read this argument many times here on dl. You say DE is a flawed measurement and spell out your reasons why. I say that is a flawed argument. It is useful as a comparitive stat when aggregated. Why? Because all clubs now use variants of the hawks template of keepings off. The difference between the best teams and the teams down the ladder is the best teams do the simple things well and consistenltly hit targets - both the easy ones chipping around the balk half, the 20 metre chips to forwards and the high risk ones to the corridor. As evidence that it is a good measure is the best sides have the best de. Again it is one of the key elements of the hawks dominance

Of course stats are useful and taken together are an important tool to understand the game. All coaches rely on them. And all clubs employ people to colelct the and analyse them in and out of games. Whilst individual coaches emphasis the importance particular stats (eg Clarkson being keen on score involvements) all are important. I would argue DE is one of the more important as it so often is the difference between winning and losing. The Hawks have won three flags on the back on their outstanding DE and accuracy at goals. You could see with your eyes that both GC and the dees were poor with their disposal, but the stats supported it. We won the game with our second quarter when our DE was 72% to their 50%. Coincidence? Of course not. As if roos would not have had the DE stats at hand at the quarter time huddle.

Agree buck. I said the same thing to my mate yesterday at the game. It all but cost us the game. Their last three or four goals were all of that variety and we couldn't get one despite the innumerable contested packs in our forward line as a result of our bomb it to the top of the square tactic. And as you say this is why Garlett and players like Kent are in the side.

Until this year. Whilst still no contested marking beast he is really improving in this are. Of his match high ten marks at least 3 were good strong contested grabs, albiet against smaller opponents. I think now he is a permanent forward he seems to have improved his core strgth and he is no getting to the age where he is strong as he is likely to get.

Yep. An extraordinary number of mistakes. Neither side really took full toll of the other team's errors though.

It drives me friggin insane that professional footballers can't kick both sides. Yesterday there were a number examples on both sides of the impact of one sided players. One was bizarre - two in fact. Tyson used his right foot running off the half back line and missed his target with 20 metre kick. What was bizarre was it didn't appear like he had to use his right foot. He could have done the same kick left footed or even better go long to the half forward line as the short kick was to congestion. The other one was Grant from GC. Running at goal he tried to kick a banana goal instead of using his left foot. What was bizzare was it went out of bounds and they called deliberate! ridiculous, Special mention to Hogan and Kent.

I ws in the ponsford and the song wasn't playing through the speakers. Really weird

No. Just no. Hogan is critical for the dees. We simply must keep him. It baffles me how any dees fan could think otherwise.

Could not agree more. It was staggering it wasn't paid. the umpire was right there. Incredible. Not far behind was not paying a free kick to Matt Jones for tripping in the last quarter. Three kicks to half time. Mind boggling. My take on the game? It was woeful but it is amazing how much better it is to have won it and not lose it as i thought was going to be the case at the 27 minute mark. Jack Watts was brilliant in the last quarter and not just because of his match winning mark and goal. There was a contest on the half forward line where he refused to give up and went in for a second, third an fourth effort. Terrific.

Im a fan samael and supect he will remain at the club. Perhaps he will forever hover between the ones and twos but clubs need soldiers who can come into the seniors and be relied on to play their role, adhere to team rules and understand the game plan. Look at the bullies this year. Their back up players have been brilliant and kept them in contention. It is worth noting in this context we have had an amazing run with injuries this season. In most seasons michie would had more opportunties.

Well i was very happy he kicked it. Backed catscat the line of 22.5. Couldnt believe they turned it over and gifted boyd a goal and thought i was cooked with only 38 seconds to go. Top job jimmy

Agree actually. And normally i hate him as a caller. Tonight was the best call i have heard from him. Perhaps it was because he was calling with Cometti and felt, rightfully, he needed to show some respect and tone things down. As a side note Cometti was brilliant tonight and actually much better without Bwooce. In my humble Commeti is the best TV caller i have ever heard. Smart as a whip, has a great voice, funny (in a sharp witted good way) and really knows his footy. But most of all knows how to call football. Will be a huge loss when he retires - not just because of how good he is is but also because there is no one else to fill his spot.

And the key reason for all this practice is so under the greatest pressure, the heat of the moment the drive splits the middle, the serve saves the break, the black gets potted, the hurdle gets cleared and the winning goal gets kicked. Of coures mental strength is critical and match practice us an important element but the champions in any sport can rely on their technique to stand up under pressure. Conversely even small technical issues will be exposed under tge greatest pressure. A great example of this is the 97 masters. Greg norman, a champion by any measure always had a technical flaw of occasionsly blocking his drive. This flaw was exposed under the heat of that ane is why he lost

Exactly. As some have noted golf is the perfect example of the need for repitition and hours and hours of practice drills, relying as it does so fundamentally on technique.

Are you saying he is a weed?

Agree, though funnily enough his kicking was good in the first few games he played. He seems to have made more howlers in the last few.

Myke no lyke

Like Myke. I want to be like Myke. Not