Pates

In the finals last year when port lost all the talk was that they needed to get competitors who would fight to win. Who did they get? Some of the biggest front runners in the comp. I’m sure a fair few on here would know I was a Watts fan and a part of me is still sad he’s not at the club for this moment of joy but even I know that he was a downhill skier that mostly only performed well when the team was doing well. He’s not the guy that’ll chase a player down chasing him for 20m. Port made their competitiveness problem worse by their recruiting. We lost to Port because we failed to take our chances and were dogged by some woeful umpiring. Like a few others this year we found way to lose to Port rather than them finding a way to win.

It HAD to be perfect as well because there were eagles players ready to swoop on it. Play of the day from the ball up to the goal.

It’s going to be really interesting to see how the players approach his game. With the monkey off the back will it release the doubt and tension allowing them to play more freely? Or will it go the opposite way where the players take things a little easier worrying about missing out on finals due to an injury? Will they rest on their laurels of finally making the finals or strive to get another scalp? You would hope that a home final (particularly against the cats) would be motivation enough to treat this a huge game and bring finals like pressure. What would really set the cat amongst the pigeons would be if Collingwood were to get the classic Collywobbles against Freo and open the door for a top 4 finish.

I love Jetta but he had a slow start to the year, he wasn’t bad but he wasn’t his usual solid as a rock self. Oliver and Gawn are the only two I had in my head as AA players, Clarry not starting is purely down to runs on he board for other players and them being known in the media as champions.

I’m just so glad that for once the destiny was in our hands and we were good enough to make sure of it without having to rely on other results.

I REALLY want the cats in the first week, I feel like beating them in the finals would exorcise some demons for us

But wait a minute, wasn’t everyone at the start of the year talking about how well Port had recruited?

Look I was one that was suggesting Spargo get dropped, and really he is lucky to hold his place after about 3 weeks of average to poor performances. But fact is he was a part of the team that booked our finals place so I’m happy with him getting another run. But I really hope Goodwin tells any Melbourne listed player playing at Casey that these next two weeks are opportunities for them to make selection really difficult for the first week of finals.

Salem’s little squeeze kick after Jones managed to win that crucial contest had to be millimetre perfect and it was. That released us up the line to get it to Melksham in the square. Salem’s kicking this year has been elite.

True, I’m picturing no change to be honest. MAYBE Spargo dropped but the selection committee have already shown they have great love for him so I think he’ll keep his place.

It’s interesting to consider but should we win this week our form coming into the finals will be as good as anybody’s bar the tigers. Particularly getting wins over 2nd at their home and (should we beat GWS) a top 4 aspirant. Although I think it’s unlikely the Pies could well fall into the trap we’ve done too many times to count, looking too far ahead. I’m glad we’re playing a finals bound side as it’s an opportunity to get a further scalp and more confidence. Playing a lower ranked side can sometimes have you not paying close enough attention to what’s in front of you.

I'm a really strong critic of the AFL's fixturing where it's possible to have played other teams twice before facing one team once. It's wrong. One thing that improved massively on the weekend was our willingness to look for leads in the forward line rather than just popping it into a "dangerous spot". In fact I think most of the times we did that it rebounded up the other end. We had 19 marks inside 50 compared to WC's 8 and we definitely looked more organised going forward. I would love Freo to get the upset of the round and set this game up as fighting for top 4, but realistically it is playing for 5th and a home final. Still lots at stake.

How's Crossy going as a runner? Runners need to point and tell the players what they're doing wrong.

I'm being selfish but I would much prefer a night game because I'm over in London. Really would prefer not having to wake up at like 5-6am for our first final in over a decade!

Reading the Casey review on the MFC website Bugg and Wagner are the only two that popped up for a mentioned but it sounded like a dirty day where finding positives is like finding a needle in a haystack. They only mention that Bugg’s numbers where high and that he “gained yardage” and Wagner’s performance “gutsy” with 8 tackles and 28 disposals. We could, as some have mentioned, give Wagner a promotion to run him in defence and switch Fritch forward again. Or the alternative bring Bugg in for one last shot. Both options for me we drop/rest Spargo. No change is entirely possible, why would you want to change the team that booked us finals?

Wow you paraphrase in a way that Damo and Hutchy would be proud of, my full quote was “improvement was always going to happen with all those dominos falling into position.” I think you missed your calling as a Fox News reporter. Of course it doesn’t just happen. There had to be buy in from players and as you pointed out commitment to take things to the next level. But I didn’t realise you were able to see into alternate realities and know FOR A FACT that we were never going to improve with him in the team. Even with Gawn, Clarry, Harmes, Brayshaw etc improving apparently Watts was always going to be the one thing that held us back from playing finals. I’m sad for him, there’s a sentimental part of me that wishes that he was still with us. The one thing I will say is a definite positive is with him no longer playing for us we don’t have to deal with the media obsession over him.

I was the one that started this thread at he beginning of the season so I’m naturally curious about his development. I think we always knew he wasn’t going to be like Hogan making an immediate impact but there have been moments where he shows his potential. I actually didn’t realise he took 4 contested marks on the weekend, that’s a very good returnsnd he could’ve had more (there were a few he got a good piece of and just fumbled at the end). As a high draft pick people are always going to be impatient, but fact of the matter is that we’re in a luxurious position where we can allow him to naturally develop without pressure as opposed to how we’ve treated almost every other high draft pick in the past.

Looking at the scenes I actually don’t think we celebrated that hard, considering everything we’ve been through you would’ve forgiven Jonesy for doing a victory sprint around the ground. It was a big match, it was a tight match, it was relief, but I don’t think we actually celebrated that hard. ?‍♂️

I think there was English somewhere in there. But I actually don’t rate him and don’t have him anywhere near our finals outfit but if we’re looking at players have EARNED a shot at playing this week than he would be one of the few that might fill Spargo’s spot. Spargo was far and away worse against GC and continued his poor form against WC. He SHOULD be dropped going on how everyone else has been dropped/promoted but whether someone else has earned the shot is another story.

He didn’t want to go, his manager made a public plea on his behalf saying he wanted to stay. That is very rare in these situations, I suspect he was given the hard word by the footy department saying if don’t go we won’t play you. Or something to that effect. When a player is put up for trade it’s very rare for the player to dig their heels in as you say. The only one I can remember on our side is Hawthorn were really keen on Ryan Ferguson and tried to trade Brad Sewell to us. Sewell apparently gave it the ok but Fergburger refused to go and the trade fell through. Watts wasn’t wanted, so there was very little option on his part.

I knew there was going to be at least one former player to come out and say this. Couldn’t give a rats, Jones in particular has earned this and in a tight difficult game the relief was so strong and they were feeling what the fans were feeling. The end of 12 years in the wilderness. Unless you’ve experienced it, you can’t know what it feels like.

I guess my point is we’re a better side this year for a lot of reasons. Oliver’s game has gone to a new level, Gawn has had an (touch wood) injury free run, Brayshaw has had an injury free run and shown his true potential, Hogan has had a better year with injuries/health and personal life, Harmes becoming an excellent player. Improvement was always going to happen with all those dominos falling into position. We don’t know how with all those things happening it would’ve affected Watts’s game, most of us came to accept he was a cherry on top player that could show his best when the team was at its best (essentially a front runner). We will never know whether with all those things coming together that Watts might’ve taken a step up in class as well. And remember we are (currently) only a better side by one win (and yes a bucket load of %), there are dozens of factors to consider but I feel it’s an oversimplification to say we are better without him. I think it’s just sad that people (not saying you) feel the need to slag off a guy who a) got traded against his will b) stayed loyal at times when he had every reason to ditch us and c) was IMO treated quite poorly at times by the club and it’s fans.

Well Fritch would be the one to go as he’s the one that we got with his pick. Fritch has been good, and has done an admirable job of filling the Lever hole, I would argue Watts would probably have gone down a similar path with first half of year in forward line and then floating in defence to cover Lever’s absence.

Yep, us missing finals last year was all his fault. ? Ponder this: he was easily our best kick for goal in the team, and we’ve had multiple games decided by poor kicking on goal. I’m not saying necessarily saying we’d be a better team with him, but there are qualities we lost when we traded him. What we gained was a player with more commitment, which I am happy with. At the end of the day Goodwin demands more accountability of his forwards, which Watts wasn’t up to providing.

He played out the game so obviously can’t have been too serious. We play on Sunday so he’s got the full week to recover I’m definitely of the opinion that if there’s a bit of concern we should rest him. We don’t want to be in GWS’s situation and losing players leading into finals.