deejammin'

Great block by BBB to give Jeffo a basically uncontested mark. Need this one.

Class Bailey!!! Great goal to Bill out of a boundary stoppage!

Amazing goal Sestan!!! Our kicking to our forwards is abysmal, always on their heads, never to advantage. Need to lift to get back in this. KFW started ok early but is dropping marks and getting well beaten.

Spargo nearly pulls down another two foot jump speccy!!!

Great goal BBB. Mitch White’s kicking has been way off today. Bizarre.

Goal to Casey. Casey would be super annoyed to be behind, poor kicking and disposal the difference.

Great intercept marking from Adams down back, link work from Laurie and Spargo and a nice kick from Grey to Melksham leads to an easy goal. Although the subs just got another contested mark forward..

We’re peppering the goals but 4 points. Not sure if the breeze is more difficult to our end but they’ve all been tough shots.

Compared to channel 7 at least they call the play, talk about the game and attempt to know the players names. There’s some annoying mannerisms and GC bias but channel 7 is so bad this is luxury in comparison.

Two quick goals from the Suns to level the game. Day and Burgess lively up forward. GC starting to win clearances and their KPF are marking a bringing the ball to ground.

Good first quarter. Despite missing Moose and Dunstan our midfield is on top and winning good clearances. BBB is worrying his defender, got two pitb frees. Great pass to Charlie Spargo late for a goal on the siren. Joel Smith looks super lively forward, should have three goals but didn’t settle on the run and put one behind, one out in the full. Bailey Laurie looks great, composed, quick, uses it well. Woey and Spargs also good. KFW doesn’t win many taps but his athleticism and follow up work is starting to come through, caused a goal with a great follow up tackle and handball. The backline looks composed and settled, we gave up a couple of easy contested marks early, but settled late. Tomlinson doing ok on Day. Deakin Smith looks a player, Howes does some nice things. Buntine a good leader down there. Only negative is after playing a blinder last week Melksham has been caught couple of times trying to do too much.

Disappointing to give away that late goal. Terrible turnover and then lazy inside d50.

Bailey Laurie, White and Spargs doing very well in the middle. KFW starting to look like a footballer. Smith super dangerous as a forward.

In case people aren’t aware you can watch the replay on the AFL app and site anytime, just search VFL replays, you can send the game as a link but sadly I can’t find a way to post the link here as that’s not a option available through my app. It’s not as enjoyable as the seniors one but some good moments, pretty rubbish commentary. Are you sure you watched it? It wasn’t his best game but watch 4.57 quarter 1 when Brown marks with clear separation on a lead and goals around the corner. There are many other examples but 1.24 quarter 4 is yet another example of Brown getting separation on a lead and hitting a target inside 50, those are the ones I remember off the top of my head, there’s plenty more, including Brown winning a good ruck contest in the 3rd quarter and kicking to Jefferson in the square (who sadly fumbles the mark). I’m not one for hyperbole, I said it wasn’t his best game but decoy is a bit rich. He played the role of taking both James Blanck who I consider box hills best key defender and experienced at VFL level and having Grainger-Barass often triple teaming him when we didn’t move the ball quickly. You may think Grainger their best defender who was on TMac and I don’t think he’s bad, but Blanck is much stronger physically and better as a shutdown defender where Grainger is more an interceptor. I don’t think that forward-line will lack pressure as firstly the four won’t be on the ground at the same time often. Max and Ben would alternate allowing the forwardline to always have three of Chandler, Pickett, ANB, Spargo, Trac, Viney and the other mids who have pinch hit forward this year, plenty of pressure there, plus Fritsch’s pressure has generally been better this year. Happy to agree to disagree but I think you are overly harsh on BBB’s game, I thought he played the role well and showed enough of each skill without having a stand out game. There’s also the question of how VFL form actually equates to AFL. The VFL tends to be a more contested, compressed game than AFL due to ground sizes and VFL game plans to limit AFL players influence. Mitch White absolutely excelled at VFL level but there’s no way he comes back into AFL level as the pace of the game would render him less effective than some of the more athletically gifted players who can struggle at VFL level. There’s many players like this. You may be right, it’s possible Browny won’t come in this week but it’s also not as simple as needing dominant 5 goal VFL performances to come back in, playing a strong role at VFL level can be more important than a dominant glamorous performance.

Yeah I watched it. I didn’t think he was terrible, he led up and down the ground and did some good things. He also did some of the grunt work in the middle of packs without much individual success in a way that freed Smith, Jefferson, Melksham, TMac up. He’s not on fire, it’s certainly not the performance he’d want to put in to be assured of a place in the team, but I think if he played that same role in a way that took the first defender (Collins) and freed JVR, Max and Fritsch up in the way the other three were for Casey we’d look pretty good. It’s also partly my own bias that I’d like to see the BBB, JVR, Max, Fritta combo as I think it’s the most dynamic and has the most different strengths while I really want to see Petty back with Lever and May. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just Petty in forward for Schache, but I’m interested in seeing the Brown JVR combo in particular and thought BBB played a sacrificial role this weekend at Casey that could translate to the seniors. In terms of the Casey game, Melksham was excellent but he plays the Fritsch role and I don’t think you can have two of those, especially against GC’s somewhat mobile tall defense. J Smith was very lively but I think he needs some time to play a few games, especially given how much time he has spent back the last few seasons. Tommy looked more hit and miss to me than Brown, his work up the ground late in game was good, but early on he kept getting swamped and caught and not taking his marks. Brown was workmanlike in a way that brought the other forwards into it and took Box Hill’s best defender all day, didn’t set the world on fire but structurally was important and bullocked and worked hard all game.

Looked like a corky in the upper right leg to me.

There is more than one way to skin a cat and in terms of resting players this is a good example. Not a single player played 100% game time on the weekend, we started multiple quarters with Gawn, Trac and other key players on the bench. Last year we were 10-0 but our game plan was labour intensive, we got a lead early but didn’t have the fitness to ice games early in the last to put teams away and rest players, many teams got right back at us in the last, see Hawthorn, Essendon etc. Do what we did to the Roos against GC and our best players will get the best of both worlds, keep form, touch and the speed of the game and play 70% game time with plenty of rest with the hopeful option to rest one with the sub. For me it’s: Out: Schache(injured), Hibberd (rested), Jordon(sub) In: Petty (back), BBB, Spargo, (Jordon or Melksham to sub)

There was no indecision. He was always going. We have a football industry where culture dictates you can’t declare your intentions in-season so any player leaving must “stuff their club around”, there’s no other way.

Ironically the introduction of a Tassie club could be the thing that finally does what Jeff Kennett has been banging on about for years and kill a Victorian club. The irony being Hawthorn rely on Tassie for their funding and without it, it could be them, after decades of Jeff suggesting it will be us. Logically though North Melbourne will be in huge trouble when they lose their Tassie money. Lowest membership in Victoria, famously low attendances and always struggle financially. This will be interesting.

Absolutely fair enough. I think my generosity of spirit is enhanced by Freo’s capitulation this year, we spent draft capital on Jackson, but I think we’ll get that back in spades at a time where we’re a very good team. If Freo were up the top competing with us I’d not be applauding him, but given they could very easily be bottom 4 by the time we play them I think I’ll be able to manage it, perhaps a bit sarcastically.

I think Kozzie has been struggling post suspension because he has doubt in his mind about how hard he can bump/tackle. His game has always been built on putting on pressure, hitting bodies and tackling hard and since being suspended for an incident where he didn’t even hurt anyone I think he is overthinking the pressure side of his game and it’s making him less instinctive. Hopefully he gets back to his best this week.

FWIW I won’t be booing Jackson, I’ll be applauding him. He helped win us a flag, first in 57 years, once a premiership player always a premiership player. I will be continuing to barrack hard for Freo to finish as low as possible and if Jacko contributes to that but not playing his best, or being played in his best role, fine. But I could never boo him, watching that third quarter of the GF again and again has brought me so much joy and he’s a huge part of it, no matter where he plays now.

Kane Cornes can GAGF his entire career is clickbait, he never owns up to his many, many mistakes and his bias towards Port Adelaide is some of the worst of any commentator in the league, to the point it effects his stories (see Kozzie to PA story last year). As others have said Jackson has ten years to do what Grundy is doing and we didn’t get Grundy FOR Jackson, we got draft picks, which are hopefully getting higher and higher due to Freo’s current woes. If anyone got checkmated by Grundy to Melbourne it was Collingwood, although they’re doing fine, I’m glad we got Grundy and yes the impetus for us getting him was Jacko leaving but this is rubbish from Cornes, that I doubt he believes. He’s the worst.

I watched the game. We didn’t set the world on fire but we weren’t terrible either. I agree with the comment we were too tall up forward and KFW is very raw. Brown was ok, TMac is way off. Dunstan and Harmes good but Harmesy can butcher the ball. Disco ok but I don’t get those who want him in the AFL, needs more time to develop. Howes and Woey down on their early season form. Schache and Laurie were missed. All in all our VFL squad have lost two games in two years, not time to panic just yet.

I had the same problem, try this: