Pates

I get what you're saying and I'm very much on board with the attitude of "let's focus on making us the best we can be". But I would hope that if/when we get there we remember where we came from and how we were when we were struggling. The Hawks fans and power brokers have forgotten that they were not all that long ago in history in a difficult place, well done to them for coming out the other side and they have created a dynasty on the back of probably the best modern day coach and some excellent teams. But they have also created an arrogance that rivals some of the worst Essendon and Carlton periods, they have an almost insatiable entitlement for being up the top out of that dynasty, and Kennett himself is just as bad (maybe even worse) as Eddie in him constantly changing the narrative to suit his and Hawthorn's position. So yeah, if I had a choice of us being up the top and having to be up there with the Hawks, fine and dandy. But I think Kennett and the Hawks are due for a little humble pie.

It’s interesting that Lewis has said all this, for one I think there was a perception that it was the “softer” maybe younger players leading the call for the cancellation. I think there was also the belief that most of the leadership group was on board with it, and at least a 50/50 split in the larger playing group. Seems like those perceptions were wrong, probably the biggest error was that the players didn’t voice their opinions earlier or the coaching staff not hearing their hesitations about it.

Jeez Kennett makes me want to vomit sometimes, might also have something to do with the disgusting colours of his club. Would love nothing more than to see the Hawks bottom out for a good 4 years, and perhaps little side of being caught in some kind of controversy just to really give people a chance to sink the boots in.

If I had to guess where part of this disconnect has come from it might be 6-6-6. In 2018 when we were winning clearances we had players coming from behind the ball so there was an instinct to look at who was behind to take the extra pause and sum up the leads. Now if we win clearances we blaze away and bomb without looking. Now if that what the instruction is then the forwards need to hold their leads to judge where the ball is coming. Having said that we have even more entries that aren’t from centre bounces that end in the same way, Hibberd and Langdon were our worst offenders against WC.

It's going to be really interesting to see how the players come back. I guess they are still allowed the exercise outside, unless the club has requested they stay on lockdown.

Will it help with some of those shocking winds that come through when kicking for goal?

Although I’m not a fan of the games I’ve seen at Casey should this be the case we should definitely petition to have games at Casey as it would be a genuine opportunity at a home ground advantage. Why should Saints, Blues, and Doggies be the only ones that benefit from it. A by the by, wouldn’t Perth stadium be another ground that would be unavailable? Could there be a return of footy to Subiaco?

Wimbledon’s been cancelled. I imagine TDF will be coming soon as well, would be interesting to see if the US Open tennis follows suit soon. New York is in a lot of trouble right now but perhaps they think there’s time for them to get things ok by then.

Honestly I wouldn't be against the AFL just creating a one time style of premiership, don't call it a premiership flag or any of the usual terminology, perhaps call it the AFL Championships (particularly if they're going to go down a US model play off system). By the way anyone that feels it's a selfish idea of the AFL to be trying to create a way to be able to maximise what little they can get out of the year, it's ultimately going to be beneficial to the competition and the clubs (ie us). So if a best of 3 Grand Final is a way to do that, then so be it.

I'm really annoyed with Foxtel, the only game they've made available on demand for the live recall is the Pies vs Tigers. I would really like to be able to watch it now (anything the pass the time right ?).

For a bit of fun I had a look at Jurrah's highlights on youtube, jeez he really was something special. I can't help but wonder if in a parallel universe there's a version of him who was able to be managed better and given a full AFL career.

Totally agree, I wasn't sure if the people in Ealing would get behind it but I was really pleased to see that they did. All the health care workers must be working to the point of exhaustion so I hope it provided them with good feels to know that people appreciate their efforts. You stay healthy as well mate.

Whereabouts are you in London? I live in Ealing (actually just moved a week before they brought in the tougher measures). I've *touch wood* been able to stay healthy and avoid getting sick but I also know that Ealing is one of the higher rated areas which genuinely makes me worry about going out. That said if you're not far from me and need someone to drop off essentials (beer etc) I'd be happy to help. Like you I thought the AFL would get a couple of rounds out of the way before pausing the season, but it sounds like Australia is making a similar mistake to the UK in that they've got a foot in both camp. Containment, but not restricting movement/non-essential work. Mixed messages stuffed up the UK (London in particular which should have locked down 1-2 weeks ago), I really hope it won't happen in Australia.

It was interesting that one of Kozzie's involvements was a low penetrating kick into the forward line which resulted in a goal. Now the kick wasn't the best in the world but the fact that it had a lower trajectory and more pace on it gave Melksham more chance to do something with it and made it harder on the defenders. I like the look of Langdon and I think he will be a good acquisition for us but he definitely needs to improve his kicks inside 50.

Absolutely it should be a sliding scale. Top earners (Dangermouse, Reiwoldt, Buddy, Dusty etc) should be showing leadership in this regard to help out their fellow players that are earning base salaries. Totally understand they're feeling a pinch as well but jeez there are others out there doing it a whole lot tougher.

I think the club should be holding off on it for now, there’s a lot going on in the world and people are still trying to figure things out. Australia isn’t even in lockdown. When it happens, I’m on board and will gladly dip in, but it could be a PR nightmare is they don’t time it right.

That is massive, there will be people out there struggling who will see that membership as a service that can't be honoured and they will feel they need that money back to help their family as they batten down the hatches.

I'm glad May got into the team of the week. A lot of frustrating things came out of this game but our defense looks better, when allowed to maintain their structures. As the commentators said, they would rightfully criticise May if Kennedy had kicked a bag on him so it's only fair that credit is given when he is kept quiet. Viney thoroughly deserves his spot, he cracked in all day and put a lot of his teammates to shame with his intensity.

The players stance is a really interesting one. I totally sympathise with them as a lot of them their playing career is going to be their major life earner so they have to cash in now or risk losing out in the future. But on the other hand the clubs and the AFL can't pay them what they don't have and the simple fact is there is no incoming cash flow. I don't know if there would be an option to defer salaries? But if the players demand to continue with being payed what they are asking they might as well start getting out red pens and striking clubs off the list because they won't survive, and I fear we might be one of them. Well done to Chris Scott as well, fantastic leadership and a great gesture back to the club and the game.

I kind of got the impression the WC players weren't all that concerned when either one of them got the ball. I think Langdon will be good, his outside run looks like it could be quite valuable. Hibberd on the other hand could be in trouble, his kicking was an absolute liability. Got plenty of it, a few years ago if you said he got 20+ possies you would've said he'd be in Brownlow votes, but yesterday he might as well have been wearing a blue and yellow top it was that damaging to us.

Wow, I think my brain just vomited a bit at that thought. Imagine all clubs being owned by international entities like Fenway Sports Group, or ownership under City Football Group who are 86% owned by Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The more I think about this current climate the more I could picture a new league forming, one based on private ownership in a similar style to how premier league clubs are. I fear for the survival of us, the Saints, North, WB, and Brisbane, also both expansion clubs (who were already a money pit). Should things get particularly dire it will be interesting to see where the AFL's loyalty lies, with expansion clubs who have been around for 5min or foundation clubs that have existed for a century.

To be fair is that also due to an increase in testing? (Not a Donald apologist whatsoever) I think the bigger statistic is always going to be the exponential increase in people dying, that's maybe where the idiots at Bondi might actually start taking notice. EDIT I live in the UK and Boris Johnson's plan has been to say to people the moment you notice any symptoms that are consistent with the virus you self isolate rather than get tested. This means getting a gauge on how many cases the UK actually has is a difficult thing to gather.

Positives (here I go!): Viney was BOG for us easily, in everything all day, he did have a few turn overs but he worked hard to retrieve it after any mistakes made. He has responded well to going VC. Bedford and Pickett, both were in the right spots, tackling and working hard. Pickett in particular shamed his senior teammates in two way running and working to make an option. Maybe that last goal was a glimpse of the future. We got enough of the ball, and clearly plenty of opportunities to get looks on goal. There’s something to work with. Negatives (where to begin) Poor kicking on goal, how many times in the last 12 months have we kicked ourselves out of the contest? It’s frustrating and demoralising. Poor disposals in general, I’m not sure if there was a jumper clash at times but there were points we seemed gladly hand the ball over. The few times we started trying to hit up passes in the forward line a lot of them were simply not good enough. There were some serial offenders that made we want to toss my phone at the TV. Effort was not there for certain players. Maybe it’s the effect the @Skuit believes in with no crowd, but to me it’s pure laziness. Oliver was a serial offender in this regard, he genuinely looked like he was jogging on the spot. There was no effort to double back an lead to create space. Given our pre-season doco was all about fitness I hope Burgess is furious. Game plan, Goodwin was all pumped about winning on all levels and how the will recognise the style. At the moment all I see is chaos and poor execution of skills, if our plan is to kick deep than have our forwards stay deep, if we’re hitting up leads then lower the effing eyes. Around the ground I could see a semblance of what I think they want, but all falls apart with certain offenders get on the end of it. Disappointing but not all that surprising start to the year. GWS look good, 0-2 here we come (eventually).

Give it to Spargo, isn’t going to make him any worse! ?