Pates

I could not fathom the arrogance of them requesting a home final in advance while being outside the 8. Be in the position FIRST and then request it. I also hate the arrogance of their fans, they’ve been up for so long they’ve forgotten what it means to suffer and what it should mean when you get to be a part of September action. They deserve a long stint down the bottom for their arrogance but it likely won’t happen for a while because they’re a “destination club”.

Congrats Daisy, one of both please! Both Melbourne Premiership captains!

He was the first trade for a long time to make an immediate and permanent impact on the team. He came to us as a bit of a party guy, but nuckled down and became a leader. One of my favourites, I’m gutted for him that he’s missed out on playing finals with us. Best of luck Bernie, I hope you know you’ll always have a home at the Dees.

If Garlett puts in a strong performance this week at Casey, with high pressure and team acts then he could be a big chance to replace Kent. Biggest concern is Kent is stronger in his body while Garlett is more your traditional crummer (and they don’t seem to have the greatest records in finals). That said Garlett has a magic that when he’s on he can be a match winner, sadly only seen once for the seniors this year against Brisbane.

Oh and I’ll add a quick little mention for Spargo. Definitely better this week, two important touches that created goals, one for Tracca, the other for Jonesy. Also seemed to harass with more intensity this week. He’s had a good first year, hopefully the week off will do him some good.

Lol damn autocorrect!

I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure Vanders was best 22, I saw him as being a part of if the best 25 but I have been proven wrong. He has been very important since returning.

Not a bad idea, and it would get rid of the controversy when it does happen of commentators asking, “did he go over the mark?” I noticed Spargo marked the spot when he had his shot for goal, it was just just another thing in his routine that looked rushed. I really hope someone is helping him with that, it wouldn’t surprise me if it assists him in getting better penetration because his body looks so tense as he goes to kick it. But definitely for the spray can for marking the mark, only thing is does the umpire call time off while he does it but it’s still a part of the set shot clock? Because the player kicking for goal could conceivably use the umpire as a shield to play on for a snap.

Yeah fair call, better than average would be a fair assessment. I think there would be things that us armchair experts miss that are crucial to the team.

Biggest thing that killed us both games was our inefficient forward entries, too many long bombs and then inaccurate kicking for goal, particularly when we were dominant. I also think back to QB with the big build up and big crowd, we were overwhelmed and didn’t switch on. Since then we’ve played in front of other hostile crowds and come out strong, we have to make sure we don’t get sucked in by Geelongs experienced players getting in our players heads. I feel like Viney is the wildcard here, without match fitness do we throw him straight into the guts? Maybe have him start outside the centre square to run in with purpose to smash the first Geelong player to grab the footy? Or perhaps start him in the half forward area to feel the game first before throwing him into the centre? Honestly I have dreams of Dangermouse gathering the ball and Jack tackling him hard into the ground (legally of course) and knocking him out like what OMac did to Darling.

Jones hasn’t been great this year as a whole but his last two weeks have been very good. He’s lifted his intensity in the clinches and was instrumental to our last two wins particularly WC. Just my opinion from what I’ve seen though. On Lewis it is quite funny to think just a few weeks ago there were calls on here to get him to his 300 and then drop him never to return. Like Jones his year as a whole has been average with a few good performances but again like Jones the last two weeks he’s been solid as a rock and exactly the experience we need going into the finals.

When he had his first AA year I think a few of us Dees fans were cautious, we’d seen Jamar go AA and then not really come close to those abilities again. I was confident of him coming back after his injuries last year well but I honestly didn’t expect him to be as good as he’s been this year. He’s gone to another level and he could be looked back on in the future as a “great” Rick man of our game. Love ya Maxy!!!

And just a quick pump up to all the Dees fans at the game today. GWS would’ve been lucky to have 1000 there so to get that crowd was fantastic, and hearing on the TV the crowd was LOUD! I can’t begin to describe how much I wanted to be there and how gutted I am at missing the first final.

Their energy in the 3rd and 4th quarter was breathtaking, Gawn twice chased a man hard and while he didn’t catch him made damn sure it wasn’t an unpressured kicked. Today was a coming of age for us, they played like a team that belongs deep in September.

Their 12 fans must be gutted.

That could be the best news to come out of today (aside from a convincing win!). Shoulders can be funny at times, sometimes you get knocked in a spot and it feels incredibly painful but just needs a week or two to recuperate. Tyson doesn’t sound good though, Viney comes Etta in for him but it would’ve been hard to drop Dom on his recent form.

He’s going to be hugely important for us in finals, his last 2 weeks have been on point.

He’s still got a long way to go in his development but he’s playing with great confidence, he’s attacking ball with desperation and that set shot today shows he’s got good kicking in him. I think a lot of it is between the ears with Sam but the last two weeks have been brilliant.

Chook got it, we won’t go too crazy with the changes I would’ve thought unless someone plays an absolute blinder for Casey. Spargo was much better today though someone needs to talk to him about his set shot routine. He doesn’t take a moment to breathe and relax his body.

Positives: we played like a finals team today. Negatives: injuries, bloody injuries. It’s ironic that after all our doomsaying, that we had to beat a top 8 team to make finals that in the end we beat two and arguably threw the game away against the Swans with bad kicking. We are one of the in form teams in the 8, and I can’t wait to see us take on Geelong. Oh a quick shout out to the cats who while being outside the 8 had the arrogance to request a final at the cattery should they finish high enough. How about you get into that position before saying crap like that! Fl0gs!

Just flicked on for the last 5-7min, very impressed with the commitment from all the players as well as the urgency. They know the temperature has already risen.

That's a bit of a bomb to drop without anything else to give, what do you think he injured? Was he visibly in pain or simply leave the track early?

I think a 2 year extension on the current contract wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing in the world. We've improved steadily and our numbers stack up well on the statistics side of things, it's now a matter of everything clicking. I feel like that could be next year and the finals this year will be a launching pad for it.

It is the flaw in our competition that we have 18 teams but only play a handful of teams twice. It's not equitable and teams like the Pies and us get rewarded with a softer draw that makes making finals a little easier for the following year. We're both in the same boat, but they took their chances better and managed to push to get some scrappy wins where we didn't. With their injury list, full credit to them. Fact is we would be one of the rare competitions in the world where this is the case where you do play a home game and an away game against each team. It's because the athletic demands of our game are so much higher that we can't have midweek games like you would with soccer, basketball, baseball etc. The NRL is in the same boat as us but I'd be interested to know if the Rubgy League in the UK makes sure each team plays each other twice. My biggest gripe with the draw (apart from teams like Carlton and the Saints seemingly getting better commercial draws) is the fact that we play some teams twice before playing another team once.

Jeez Freo almost actually did it, realistically it was unlikely for them to get the job done as they've been such a rabble this year (how is Lyon still coaching there?). I like the fact that there is certainty with our match tomorrow, we know where we stand and what our result will mean for without the jeopardy of dropping out. Typical that Geelong get the softest end to the year and back things up with 100+ trouncings of rabble clubs.