deejammin'

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:

I hope you’re right if we do rest some guys. Such an even top 12 atm it’d be great to put a gap on the competitors.

Time to start getting into Kane Cornes then. Made up a rumour to the advantage of his old club with absolutely nothing behind it. Deserves to be dragged because of this, [censored].

Found it on YouTube through Fox footy. Both the AFL and MFC app have the weird cut 3.50 version but because you told me it existed I was able to find it. The version on the apps is weird. Even shorter than where channel 7 left it one the broadcast. Oh well.

How did you see Goodwin’s full presser? I can only get the clipped 3.50 version that cuts out early on the AFL app and our MFC version.

I agree if they’re injured. But last year we were 7-0 playing a VFL West Coast side and 8-0 playing the Roos and we didn’t rest sore players, that’s when we should’ve. Right now we’re 4-2, not in very good form and have a chance to play close to our full strength lineup. If players are injured, sure, rest them. But if they’re just a bit sore but capable of playing we need to get our best team on the park, in the right positions and find some form. Let’s get to 5-2 and 6-2 and then think about resting players with niggles, right now I’d like to see us play.

I would be limiting resting players. We actually haven’t had much continuity this season and it would be good to keep changes to a minimum. Petty to go back this week, ideally with May, Lever and Hibberd. Brayshaw to play more mid/wing. In: BBB, Out: JJ (sub), Laurie(plays VFL) Obviously if anyone is injured or sore we rest them, if May in for Turner, if Chandler Laurie in. Grundy stays in, he and Max need to play together. I think BBB has to play, Schache is the other option but he doesn’t have BBB size and presence up forward. BBB’s preseason and his first two weeks were good and he will take McKay off JVR. We also need Fritta and Pickett to get back to their best after a few lean weeks. Most of all our defense needs to get back to its best and our mids need to start winning clearance and contested ball again. Big chance to reset against a team that despite a good coach and a few gun players is absolutely putrid.

A difficult game to watch but a win is a win. Proud of our resilience and great to see us come back to win from a decent deficit, something, as it’s been noted, we haven’t done for almost all of last season and this one. Viney, Chandler, Gawn, Grundy, Langdon, Hunter, Lever all huge. Van Rooyen unbelievable in the last quarter. Trac and Clarry a bit off their best but still very good. There are however, worrying signs. Our backline is a bit off. It’s happened all year that teams get easy uncontested marks to players around 30-60 metres out, even to key forwards, something that just did not happen our premiership year. May looks a bit off, McVee, Rivers and Bowey all do great things but also make big mistakes as young players do. Hibbo is heart and soul and a brilliant lockdown defender but his turnovers hurt us last night. Our defensive structure has broken down much more than in the previous two years, not to mention how vulnerable we are to ground balls. Brayshaw’s best is excellent, his worst very worrying. For this reason I think Petty has to go back, we look so settled with May, Petty and Lever back there and they play better together. It also takes pressure off Hibberd, Bowey, Rivers and Brayshaw to play their best. As Goody says our contest and defense is the heart of our team. Let’s put it back together, I don’t think May, Petty and Lever have played a single game together down back this year, let’s get it settled this week. Our contest is also off, teams have figured out how to stop or intercept our first possession and we tend to setup so aggressively this means they leave the contest with very little pressure. I have faith in Yze and Goody to address this but we need to do it quickly, we are usually an elite contest team but at the moment teams are beating us in there, Gawn back will help but it seems we need to do some work on our setup and pressure around the contest. All in all I believe we’re definitely a top 8 team, hopefully top 4, at our best top 2. We now have three games we should win. Bank them, get the structure and form of key players right and let’s launch an assault from 7-2. Go Dees!

He asked the umpire and then relayed what the ump said. He had no idea. He looked surprised when the ump told him.

That may be the rule. But it’s not the rule if you literally never pay it. I’ve watched close to every game this season (love Kayo!) and I can point to hundreds of examples of this. Watch the highlights of Florent’s kick against Port, there’s two players in that area, there’s countless other examples of players doing that. To the point that players had forgotten this is the rule. This is THE problem if you only pay it once in a hundred times it’s an enormous disadvantage to the one team it happens to. If the AFL wants to enforce that, fine, send out a memo at the start of the season that they will be harsh on this and pay it consistently, the whole time. What they did was cherry pick it once, six rounds and seven games into the season and have a huge impact on the game (reversing a point to a goal). It’s the same as the Coniglio free a few weeks back, if no-one is paying it and you pull it out once and say it’s the rule, but never do it again, no matter how much you justify it it’s a huge disadvantage to the one team who cops it. The narrative coming into this season and last was that they were going to be lighter on the protected area and only pay it when it blatantly effected the ball carrier as the fifty was too big a penalty for indiscretions that didn’t affect the play, same with the stand rule being loosened. This is the complete opposite of that.

At the moment it’s looking likely come round 10 that at best Freo will be 3-7 or 4-6, that’s season over. Particularly given they still would have played only one (St Kilda) of the current top 6 to that point. The question for us is do they then fall apart and give us a great draft pick, I hope so and will be deathriding then. But anyone thinking they are likely finalists is pretty brave, watching them these first 5 weeks they are a very ordinary side playing a very predictable brand of footy. The question now is not whether they make finals, it’s can they turn it around enough to save their coach. Not a fun situation. They’ve also had a pretty good run injury wise, their midfield has been pretty fit, worrying if one of them goes down.

I think we definitely prefer 3 tall forwards, usually two forwards and a resting Grundy/Gawn. I think if we get nice weather we’ll go with BBB, JVR and TMac moving Petty back. However, this week if it is wet as forecast I think BBB stays out and JJ comes into the squad with either Melksham, Laurie or Dunstan as sub. Three tall forwards, three tall backs and a ruck is too top heavy for the wet, assuming Lever gets up of course.

I think Goody was having a little dig at this in his presser, love his expression when he says “ not often we play a curtain raiser”. I love this about Goody, he’s aware we deserve more respect than we get in the AFL, premiership team, finished in the top two two seasons in a row, looking one of the best teams this year also, still consigned to a curtain raiser for pretenders Port. It’s a shame Hibbos out as he’s the perfect build for a role on Stringer. Oh well. If not too wet: Out: Hibberd In: Brown (Petty back) If wet (likely): Out: Hibberd In: JJ, Laurie also in as sub, Petty back, two relatively mobile tall forwards in JVR and TMac in the wet. Kozzie to play more forward with JJ more midfield. This looms as a danger game for me, Essendon have troubled us, even the last two years, when they were rubbish! If we can win this and get to 4-1 with Gawny, Salem, Hibbo, Woey all slowly coming back we’re doing very well. Frightening to think we’ve been missing May, Kozzie, Gawn, Salem, Brown, Fritsch, Viney at different times this season and we could still start 4-1. Go Dees just win!

Drafting Lachie Hunter a master stroke for our free kick count. 🤪🤪🤪

I don’t feel for Jackson, Nathan Jones went on radio last year and outlined this exact scenario and the club told Jackson this was a possibility multiple times. There’s a huge risk when a young player goes to a club on huge coin to be a cherry on top premiership winner. That risk is if things go wrong or your form dips the scrutiny is immediate and immense, probably unfairly so. Tom Boyd, Tom Scully, while they both ultimately pushed their clubs to some success their individual careers never hit the peak they were destined for as the constant pressure and mention of money stifled their love of the game at a young age. This was always a possibility for Jacko and as much as I love him and will always be grateful for his part in our flag he was very aware of this component of the decision and sadly this is just the beginning. It’s rare that one player comes in and completes the puzzle, Dangerfield took a long time to get the flag, Lynch is one of the few that worked for Richmond but even that looked a bust for a bit. I think this is just the beginning for Jacko and Freo, lose to the Suns this week and the blowtorch will turn up to 11 but even if Freo can eek out some wins the bubble has burst. They aren’t a team one or two stars away from top 4, they are a team that had one great season with some aging veterans and role players in career best form who are finding out that sustained success in the AFL is very tough. I do however feel for Jayden Hunt, after all these years he’s back at a bottom team playing his absolute guts out. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy with Hunter and the direction we took, but I do feel for Jayden who was a big part culturally, love and effort wise in terms of helping bring our club to where it is now and it’s sad we couldn’t fit him in.

Super impressive turnaround from Casey. Looked a bit lost in the first quarter but huge since then.

Pretty ordinary from Casey so for. Trying to do to much and not kicking it to our forwards. Frankston beating us at stoppages. Need to lift.