Pates

Damn I remember that, I remembered thinking to myself “we beat the Saints then we make finals”. Sadly we were still Melbourne, losing to the Roos twice in tight games and Fremantle at home.

If there’s any stragglers interested in making a (likely small) league in SuperCoach let me know, if I get enough interest I’ll make one.

I get the feeling he would be a very friendly guy to chat to and all round good bloke, but he also has a bit of a privilege smell to him that when things go against him he expects the rules of the world to bend to suit him. I get that the media is asking for comments from him but he’s making a choice to speak to them, he could quite easily just have left his comments afterwards to what he said about understanding the position of the AFL wanting to protect players and say he’ll take the time to reflect and learn. Instead he keeps talking, and coming across as if he’s been victimised. His collision broke a former teammate’s nose and concussed him, he needs to shut his gob and take his lumps.

Be interesting to know how much truth there is to that, you want all your coaches supporting the head coach in the direction of the team but you also want a free exchange of ideas and opinions. Especially if there are issues with gameplan and how players are performing. Doesn’t sound like Choco left the tigers under the most mutual of circumstances so it could have been Hardwick didn’t like Chico’s voicing of strong opinions.

If that’s the case then very simple, Harmes out and Viney in.

I wouldn't exactly say the results were on display on the weekend but I'm really glad he's with us and I have no doubt he would've been filthy at some of the poor kicks/misses in front of goal.

I think we haven't seen enough of him to make a definitive call, he needs to start having big games at VFL level and force his way into the line up. I felt he was one of many younger players that suffered from the lack of a genuine second competition last season. I'm really keen to give Hunt another crack this week, particularly as this is a week we need some speed. I'd go with: IN: Viney, Hibberd Out: Harmes, Sparrow Rotate Viney through the guts and HFF, I want to see his attack on the footy force mistakes from the Saints defence.

At least he's managed to see a premiership in that time. Still the count up of days without a finals win is pretty damn hilarious!

I thought one major error we made last year was naming Melksham as captain when Max and Viney were both out. When I'm watching us play May is the guy that to me oozes leadership, he looks angry when he gets beaten and even angrier if he makes a mistake. He sets himself and his teammates a high standard, that is a leader. He's fast become one of my favourite players to watch.

Sucks for Harmes, he's had a pretty poor time of it since his bursting 2018. Part of that is him and part of that is poor positioning IMO. 6 weeks out sucks, I wonder how close they were to subbing him? Good to see Weid progressing, but it's interesting because the word from the club seemed to have Brown ahead of him for a return date in the early stages. Brown 4-6 is not very encouraging.

I found it interesting to watch, no doubt forwards were taking every bit of the advantage but it was great to see Hunt leering at the umpire waiting for the play on call and as soon as he heard it he sprinted hard to smother, so it’s not infallible for the forwards. It was also interesting to see Petracca get calls play on from his kick after the siren, it looks like the arc is going to be given a tighter ruling. Trac and Jack Reiwoldt were on AFL360 last night and it was interesting hearing Jack say, “why can’t the players just stay in a straight line?” I have to admit I’ve always thought the same thing.

A little bit surprising to see Geelong top that to be honest, but Hawkins usually gets at least 2-4 matches a season (sometimes I think a little unfairly).

His best position is inside, and while I love Viney’s attack I think Gus does it cleaner. I can’t work out why we wouldn’t throw him in there for periods against Freo when we were getting smashed in clearances.

I’d have Sparrow out before Jones, Nathan didn’t have a great game but he was serviceable. If Harmes really is out then I’d agree with those ins.

Actually quite surprised the tribunal came down with 3 weeks. I think it’s right because he chose to bump, he didn’t have to engage in that contact so the moment the player came away with a concussion and broken nose he should’ve always been in trouble. But to see them actually do it to a star player is refreshing. Makes Geelong’s start to the year a lot tougher, love it!

Really smelling the star player benefit coming here, particularly as (if true) the prosecution lawyer isn’t putting up much of a fight. So much of this makes a mockery of the system, just puts more evidence into ANB being made into a sacrificial lamb last year. They were all about making a statement then, but when it’s a star player they look for a get out clause.

While I don’t quite share @Dr.D views on things I will totally agree that fans (and the sports media for that matter) are way too quick to put labels such as “star” or even “future star” on young players. Now the best it shouldn’t affect them but for some it takes time, Jack Watts constantly got talked up but the fact of it is that his output over his journey wouldn’t have given him much more than the label of “serviceable” had it not been for his high draft selection. I’m absolutely loving what LJ (and Kozzie for that matter) are showing in bursts, but sometimes we need to temper ourselves and remind ourselves that they are year two players so their form will fluctuate. I’m hopeful they’ll develop into something special but for now I just want them to play a useful role in the team.

6 May 5 Lever 4 Oliver 3 Trac 2 TMac 1 Jetta Loved seeing Lever and May play cracking games, but I will say this; it was not again quality opposition. Let’s see them back it up next week. Clarry was our only clear midfield winner, I think this year he’ll explode. I really liked Spargo’s game, he is a rare beast at the club that actually lowers the eyes. I think he’s going to have some people on here eat their words.

Pretty fair summary I reckon, I think he’s had hits high up and a few later picks that are fringe/depth. I don’t like the idea of heaping pressure onto young blokes saying they’re stars when they clearly have lots to work on. Pickett’s attack on the footy and keeping forward pressure was sensational vs Freo, LJ has flashes of brilliance but yet to put it into a full game. Oliver is definitely the jewel in his crown for us, a surprise by many “experts” but had been a gun from day 1.

Encouraging selfless footy is great, and I'm all for it. But when you're ticking on to the final kicks of the game, the young bloke has taken a ripping mark, and Petracca wasn't actually in a much better position (he actually got called play on from his kick!), I would really have liked someone to give him a pat on the head and say, "well done mate, now kick the goal".

He had no legal option full stop, he was getting to the play late and so whatever action he was doing it was going to cause a free-kick. I don't think there was malic in it but it wasn't a slow-down bracing contact, it was a bump which he chose to enact. The AFL made a ruling years ago that choosing to bump and causing head high contact regardless of it being intentional or malicious was going to earn you weeks on the sidelines, and they have a long history (with us) of punishing the result not the intent. If they are to be consistent then he should be gone to 2-3 weeks. Perhaps his good record gives him the benefit of a week, but to make it clear to the competition that they're taking concussions seriously I think 3 weeks is right.

I really like the look of Jackson, but right now he is only giving us tantilising "flashes". I really want to see him put in a performance that has him involved in the game for the full 4 quarters. He also needed someone to come after he took that big grab and say, "mate, back yourself". I would've preferred to see him take the shot on and miss it, instead of passing to Petracca.

Where was Nibbler's "bad luck"? A tackle, a legal execution of a skill of the game ended with bad luck where the victim hit his head on the ground. No instead the Adelaide medical staff threw Nibbler under the bus. That's disgraceful from Ricciuto and a clear star player bias.

I think Viney will come in, if he played 4 quarters then they probably wanted to get some minutes into him before he came back. Hibberd would be the only other player I'd consider bringing in but the question would be for who? If Viney comes back in then Sparrow would probably be my pick to come out. Hibberd's a bit trickier, I thought Rivers had a poor game but I'd hesitate to drop him so quickly as I really think he is a gem, he just needs a little time. Hunt was disappointing but similarly I'd like to see him given another chance. With the backline functioning well on the weekend, force Hibberd to demand a spot with a dominant performance. IN Viney OUT Sparrow

That's laughable, much in the same way you don't get a premier league game against your name unless you play it, there's no way a sub should get a game against them unless activated. This league really is a farce at times.