Maldonboy38

This is a significant moment. I was watching some clips from the 1990s of Shwartz and Neitz the other day, lucky to be 20,000 people at the ground let alone 20,000 members. And then the whole "benefits of losing" and Mark Neeld eras.

We are a large, successful, financially stable, long term sponsors-keeping, attractional club with exceptional personnel in the Board and Executive, and great staff & volunteers behind the scenes. We have a dogged, resilient, brilliant coach who the players love, and a team full of talent and marketable personalities. Top 4 - 3 years running.

Best jumper in the game, our home is THE home of the game, we ARE the history of the game. 

I have waited a b****y long time for this and I am going to revel in it, and brag about it. Loving it. 

1 hour ago, Jaded No More said:

On what basis? 

Gawn averages more clearances, more hit outs, more meters gained, more disposals, more contested possessions, more marks and more contested marks. 
So on what basis is Jackson ahead of Gawn? 

I think when Max impacts a game, he absolutely dominates it, and has huge stats in those games when he does. In 2023, after the first 4 rounds, Jackson has been consistently impacting more moments in more games. 

I reckon Taranto is stiff not to be in the squad, and yet deGoey made it in. What the...?

Redman makes it in before May = old boys club. Ridiculous, 

I am also OK with Max not being in the squad, and Jackson in. 

We just beat an in form, well coached, tough, contested ball team in Sydney on their home turf and people are wanting 4 people dropped... 

Goodwin and the selectors under his coaching reign rarely make sweeping changes, and our form of late (including getting ripped of for a win versus the Blues) will mean few changes again. There are considerations like Salem's poor form, Hunter's turnovers, Bowey's patchy form etc... but I don't reckon any of these rate a mention on Goodwin's radar. How will Turner go against the big bodies of Mihocek and McStay?

Week 1 focus is rest and recover hard. Bowey, Fritsch and anyone else with a knock or problem. 

Melksham is unlikely to play, so that will be one change.

Any other changes will be dependant on matching the Pies, and perhaps weather if it is a factor. We beat them on King's Birthday, with the only thing keeping them close being our poor goal kicking (which we have well and truly corrected). 

Our players like ANB, Brayshaw, Langdon, Max, and Sparrow are really important because of their defensive spread (which the Pies hate, relying on players like Daicos x 2, pendlebury and Sidebottom playing wide for the free ball).

I both hate and love the pre-finals bye.

Just now, layzie said:

Way to go Blues, you're useless 

Are you saying this as though it is a bad thing?

Carlton's best is very good, but their worst is horrible. 

Wow, GWS looking really impressive.

4 field umpires. Throw leads to a Giants goal. A non-mark paid to the Blues for another goal. Mind boggling mediocrity from the umpires.

The feral Blues fans are doing my head in. They are like toddlers who are being denied a lolly pop. 

Very tight, pressured, squeezed kind of game with lots of pressured turnovers. Liking Turner. Full team defence looks strong. The SCG is so tiny it makes for a scrap, and most goals will come from mids and small forwards. Tidy our kicking, we win well.

I reckon it is between Bontempelli and Daicos. Dawson from the Crows is a possible smokey. I suppose Neale also has a chance but he had a big potion of the season in unusually average form.

I can't see Trac winning it. He will receive a lot of 1 or 2 votes. He will lose votes to Oliver (early in the season) and Viney (who has been our best player IMO).

Taranto has had a very, very good year but not Brownlow worthy. 

I turned off the Pies v Bombers game before 1/4 time, and watched a B grade movie on Netflix instead. At least watching Gal Gadot strut across the screen was pleasing to the eye, as opposed to that basket case of a football match.

I have to admit though, that the game standard and result gave me delight in 2 ways:

1. The Bombers look pathetic and miss finals again
2. Pies supporters think their game plan will stack up in finals

How good is to be such a stable, successful club!! It is great news and done with little fanfare, but with determination and a mutual regard and respect. Love it. 

I am not a fan of Goodwin's media conference dead bat style, because we fans don't get much to chew on from them. Apart from this I love his style. Matter-of-fact, the players and staff love him, and he is unrelenting in his determination that defence and contested ball win premierships.

I fully understand why this re-signing was done now. With Adelaide missing finals again, the spotlight will be on Nicks whether it is deserved or not. The Crows would have begun a full-on pestering of Goodwin's manager offering everything and more. That risk has been erased.

I couldn't stand his thuggery and pretend tough man c**p when he played, and I didn't like his demeanour as a coach at the Tigers either. And all his jokes about "Mrs Hardwick" only for... you know what lowered him even further. Like many coaches in the past, his dodgy character does not carry over into his football.

He is an outstanding coach. When he finally had the list he wanted, he shifted the attitude, and formed a game plan around their strengths. He left on good terms with nothing more to give the Tiges. 

He is a great fit for the Suns. It might not click in 2024, but look out 2025. They have a great list.

7 minutes ago, Kozzie4PM said:

Why don't you just look at the stats?

I did a bit later. But at the time I was happy to go with a gut feel. 

Exchange TMac for Schache and leave him as the sub. He can play both ends of the ground so can do whatever role is required.

I prefer to leave Fritsch out of a dead rubber, but if they want some match time in his legs, exchange for Laurie. 

I usually like the disposal efficiency and angle changing kicks that Bowey brings, but he has been down on form for a few weeks and is making errors that lead to opposition goals. Exchange him for Hibberd.

I only got to see the last half due to other commitments, but the game went fairly much to script I would have thought. The Hawks are no easy beats, and they took it right up to us.

Our stoppage and clearnace work looked a but shaky (this is an opinion, I haven't looked at the stats) 

Lever, Melksham, Rivers and Viney looked like standouts. 

I think all but one of Bowey's disposals were turnovers or goals - he is a bit of a worry. 

Our ability to defend from anywhere on the ground is a thing of beauty. Brayshaw, Hunter, ANB getting back to help out time and time again keeps us in every game we play. 

JVR - chills.

Top 4, and looking as strong or better than the other 3.

Mitchell is showing all the signs of being a very astute coach, and this will not be an easy game. But I see a very tight first half, Dees slip ahead in the 3rd quarter, then continue the increase in the 4th quarter to win by 25 - 30 points.

Our full ground defensive set up will thwart their running midfield, and our mid sized and small forwards will be too much for their defence.

And we MUST NOT let Sicily play his won game. Smith to play on him, make him accountable in the air and on the ground. 

For his own sake, Grundy needs to look elsewhere, and the Dees cannot afford to pay a salary of that size for a VFL player. I feel genuinely sad for the bloke and wish it could have worked out better.

From what I have seen of him at Casey, Will Verrall shows some real potential. Aggressive, and follows up at ground level. Doesn't get a lot of it, but a genuine work in progress. 

I slept in, had 4 hours in the garden, followed by 4 hours to myself to do nothing but flick between Demonland and the live footy, fish 'n chips for dinner, and now a nice Heathcote region shiraz.

Feeling good.

And I got to watch some Bomber v Giants and see the final score.

The English language in all its beauty does not hold enough words to describe the jubilation of seeing the Bombers annihilated. I hate them more than Greta Thunberg hates petrol cars, plastic bags and rational thinking. 

Long may they suffer and rot.

And now I am feeling very, very good.

I usually like analysing the game, looking for what is causing teams to rise and/or fall. But I am going for a 'big call'. The Dees would be nearly unstoppable if we had Jesse Hogan still with us. I still love watching him. His work rate and forward craft today v the Bombers has been a tutorial in forward play. 

Gold Coast onballers and half backs going hard at it, tackling pressure etc... only for absolute stupidity from Chol, Casboult, Ellis and Lukosius with dud skills and decision making. To balance things out, the Blues mids and half backs also doing all the hard work, but their forwards have been taking goal kicking tips from Star Wars storm troopers.

In season 2023, the reality is that the real contenders make it a top 5, not top 4. And this throws all kinds of spanners into finals calculations.

The 5th team - Carlton - are playing finals-type footy, are winning close games, are confident and their power forwards can dominate. Those in positions 6 - 8 are fairly irrelevant in terms of the GF. Any of this top 5 can beat each other, and with the exception of Carlton in recent weeks, the other 4 teams have shown enough weaknesses to demonstrate they are beatable. The Blues are the big variable because they can still make top 4.

It comes down to belief and application moment by moment on game day. The Dees and Pies have 1 thing in common above the others, and that is they believe they can win from anywhere, regardless of being behind or momentum being with the other team they play. 

Dusty was able to focus on footy and play so well because of Cotchin and the broader Tigers culture. If he goes to the Gold Coast, he won't last a season before going way, way astray. One of the best players I have seen - genuine match winner and the best field kick bar none. But his time has come. 

Our needs are for a power forward and some speed. Riccardi would be nice, not sure where we get speed from. 

With one more pre-season, I can see him starting 22, or at least in our best 25. Great signing - well done Taj, and well done Dees.