Macca

As great as Max was today we still need to manage his game time and not overwork him And playing interstate is where the opportunity to give him some decent help works best Coach King being a ex top-notch ruckman will have a good idea on what to do Heath comes in if it's one of those games where we want to lessen the work-load with Max But it might be a bit early in the season so probably 'No Change'

We still kicked long a little bit today but they were often rapid, low trajectory kicks to 1 on 1's or to space for our players to run on to (not to packs) The rushed kick forward was nowhere to be seen Overall, we were very efficient as compared to the opposition, who had 60 extra possessions It was refreshing to see our players sprinting to position to receive the ball by hand or foot Our teamwork was as good as we've seen it for quite some time We didn't have too many non-contributors. A few had off-days but that's going to happen

The concern that the Saints (with a game under their belts) might run over us, didn't come to fruition In fact, we ran the game out well and we were clearly the better side on the day We need to defend the corridor better but the whole game plan is a work in progress with this new way of playing 20 marks in the forward line was a standout feature along with 9 goals from our 2 key forwards. Suddenly, our forward line is no longer dysfunctional The use of Sharp off the bench was a masterstroke as was the tagging of Nas by Kolt Well done coach King, you had a real good day King-ball!

There's been a few here not liking the new, helter skelter style of footy we're witnessing but they'll soon get used to it But it's nothing new, footy was primarily played like this, prior to 2005 Could be a generational thing or more so, what we get used to And you're right about the teamwork, the extra handpass or players sprinting to position was a sight to behold 2nd efforts, a functioning forward line and no boundary hugging were also standout features More of that please and there's no reason that we can't reproduce that style on a weekly basis

People here were questioning what Kolt's role going forward might be Tagger? Looks like it after today's performance As for Sharp? He can be a real weapon in the Ricky Jackson mould. A perfect injection of speed off the bench. The extra interchange allows that to happen

And as a tagger Kolt got it 17 times at 77% DE and set up a few goals Restricting Nas to 18 possessions was quite noteworthy. 2 clangers each but the match contained 107 turnovers Backed into a few packs today as well. I thought he played a fine game

Ultra important win! Great game to watch too. Can't take your eyes of it

Sharp coming of age! Really important role today

We've found some legs! Sharpie!!

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I love it And it's not like basketball at all You're just accustomed to congested footy - which is (or was) utter Shiitt (and unwatchable) Messy & ugly

It's a shoot out!

Goodbye congestion & goodbye stoppages Welcome back, 80's footy A bit nerve-racking watching open footy and lots of goals again but that's part of it I reckon fitness decides this match as there's not much between the 2 teams We're competing well, just need a bit of luck

Is there even one person who agrees with the round 0 concept? (Where not all the teams play) Supporters like to be able to measure & compare, it's what we do It's such a no-brainer to kick things off with 9 matches. There's no real alternate argument (of any standing) The Saints definitely have an advantage as running out the game last week got the cobwebs out Where as we'll be feeling it half-way through the 3rd quarter or at least, in the last quarter There's a difference between fitness & match fitness

I've got the Roosters/Rabbitohs match on the laptop And the Players Championship comes on at 10.30 (Golf)

So far this round on what we've seen of the 4 teams, 3 are quite beatable and hold no fears The Hawks? We might need them to have an off night as their team play is very good

I don't miss the congestion and endless stoppages one tiny bit, Earl The issue with the game tonight is that Essendon are out of their depth. Bombing it indiscriminately whilst the Hawks are playing team football, always looking for a teammate Subsequently the game was over 20 minutes into the 2nd quarter.

Or ... Prefer in something easier Not here No

Or to help out their club financially

IF we're going to play a more enterprising style along with greater corridor use, we need to get our half backs, wingmen & half forwards in synch For Salem, Lindsay & Fritsch the boundary line needs to be on their right hand side when facing our goals/forward line For CJ, Langdon & Melksham, the boundary line needs to be on their left hand side when facing the goals/forward line As an example, kicking across one's body can result in blind spots & interceptions Previously, as a boundary hugging teams (with long bombs) we were best suited with an opposite set-up Changing styles for experienced players can be difficult but it's needed

And there's a fair chance that all 4 players that you mentioned will be playing lots of games too T-Mac & Melk are 'spares' but injuries happen as does good form or poor form. Needed for depth The interesting group are the 22-23 yo's as to whether they can establish themselves as bona-fide AFL standard players. All up, there's about 7 or 8 unprovens in that category I'm way less concerned with the youngsters ... time/patience But it's the senior players who will govern our W/L record. Again, there's close on 20 experienced types on the list

Well, like it or not King will be rebuilding the team/club Maybe not in the more traditional sense but more so in getting the team & club back on the straight & narrow If the players all buy-in, it will make his job a lot easier. He's got the job ahead of him, but we need the buy-in

Of the 26 named players, 15 are experienced types, 6 are in that unproven/midrange* area (aged 22 & 23 with not a lot of top-notch AFL games under their belts) Along with 5 youngsters The Senior players need to stand up and lead the way 3 or 4 of the 6 midrange players need to establish themselves The youngsters need to keep progressing *I've categorised Turner as an experienced player but have JVR in the midrange area You can do the exercise yourself but you will come up with similar numbers So we don't lack for experience but we do need the younger players pushing through

Yep, although I'm not sure we'll want to measure ourselves against those 2 teams. 6-8 wins max for the Blues and maybe 4 or 5 wins for the Tiges Above that is the 9-12 win bracket which would be an excellent result for a team on the semi-rebuild (like we are) In other words, we still need to have reasonable expectations otherwise losing starts becoming a habit. A lot rests with our experienced players

Unimpressive win for the Blues and the Tigers lost through inexperience (Lynch kicking 2.7 didn't help)