Macca

More contact would have seen a neutral outcome. Rivers [censored] himself

Hibberd's man takes an easy, unopposed mark in the hot spot. Lucky he didn't goal Story of our night

Rivers was soft in the marking contest and the player calling for the ball has an obligation to win the footy Rivers should have used his body to shield the ball You're the same bloke who argued against forwards playing in front?

What about Rivers p/weak effort after calling for the ball?

BS Rivers called for it and then made a weak attempt at marking

Aussies win after seemingly down and out! So many moments that were major factors too (one being the Stokes declaration) The match had many similarities to Edgbaston in 2005 as well. We got one back! Pat Cummins had some sort of match and in the end he won the match for us!

Yeah my rule of thumb is that in order to gain an advantage the team batting second needs a lead of 80 runs to be in front in the match But it's not a hard and fast rule as there are obviously all sorts of variables at play But right now, it's advantage England in my view. If they make 320+, they'll be favoured to win That said, we'll probably need Smith or Marnus to make a big hundred regardless Lyon holds the key ... if he can run through them, we're a chance

As it turned out Khawaja played exceptionally well with help from the late middle-order Match is now evenly poised but we need lots more runs to gain an advantage

We have to cash in on this wicket. But patience is needed as they've picked 3 quicks who can bowl tight. And Moeen & Root won't give much away either We're still chasing close on 400 but may need 500+ to gain an advantage (batting 4th and all that) Edit: now 3-67 with England well on top

Correct and Bairstow chimed in with a decent score as well. The free scoring kept on all day and may well continue tonight All our batsmen will be eyeing off a big score on this track ... I was a little surprised at Stokes' declaration but time will tell

England looked like they were going to rack up a big score in quick time but now they're in trouble ... just goes to show how 1 wicket changes things (specifically the wicket that fell right on lunchtime) Lyon & Hazlewood both bowling very well

Yep, it's a road but it might turn later on in the match. Regardless, the spinners might get a bit of work anyway Travis Head could be handy with his offies and we've got 3 part-time leggies. The batsmen seem to be handling the quicks ok Edit: And right on cue Scotty Boland grabs a wicket right on lunch. Nice delivery too

We punch way above our weight with regards to membership, crowd numbers etc etc There are a few here who think that we should have Collingwood or Richmond type support after winning 1 flag in 6 decades They are not being realistic as we're 10 years behind and would need to be in contention for 8 of the next 10 years to even go close to catching all the way up We just don't have that many supporters compared to the big clubs And we are not sleeping giants either. Our supporter build will take some time (manic, huge support like the big clubs) That's not to say we don't have good support, we do. Just not in big numbers I reckon the actual membership numbers cloud the thinking ... right across the board, for all the clubs, probably only about 25% - 35% of members attend games Many are happy to just plough their money into the club as a way of feeling connected

As @Kozzie4PM mentioned, it was '88 & '89 AFLTables.com has every result with a lot of the player stats and is a brilliant site ... about the only thing missing are highlights of any any given game One player stat that stands out is Bill Brittingham scoring 2.12 in the '48 drawn grand final against us (we won the replay) To be fair he was an integral part of 3 premierships for the Bombers but that 2 goals 12 behinds would haunt anyone for life. 3.11 and they win

Also, in our last 15 encounters against the Pies in finals, we've won 14 of those matches. 14-1 So if anyone here has any Magpie 'acquaintances', make sure you let them know about that record

That's my pick as well Pure artistry at work (poetry in motion) If that doesn't get you off your feet nothing will! Mouth agape stuff!

Yep and he hasn't played the role of an attacking midfielder for an age ... probably since 2018 Since then he has played various roles and that's the way it is As stated earlier, Brayshaw is a coaches dream and I'm not sure we've got a player on our list who could come close to playing his role with the same skill set and versatility Severely underrated on this site ... many just want to talk about a few errors And again, as stated earlier, all of our players turn it over from time to time so lets get stuck into every other player as well hey? (to be fair)

I'll be taking an active interest in the Women's World Cup. Might get to a game or 3 if work permits Matilda's need to start well ... the other 3 teams in our group are Ireland, Nigeria & Canada From what I can gather, the top 10 teams are as follows ... USA, England, Spain, Germany, Australia France, Sweden, Netherlands, Brazil, Canada Starts July 20th so just over a month away

Brayshaw could play as a pure midfielder but he does a lot of good work in traffic in that area between just behind the middle and deep half back From one side of the ground to the other. It's where we employ the press and he's right in the thick of it ... usually dishing off quick handpasses That's his role and it's vital. In soccer terms he's playing as a defensive midfielder or as a holding midfielder Plus he plays tall so he competes well in the air and also, he reads the play well Now, as for the errors, I'd agree they were terrible but once he settled back into his normal role, he was terrific Another longish post but his role takes a bit of explaining

I'm not sure our MC will be as sure, AF ... we'll need to at least replicate our all over the ground pressure along with our defence being stellar again I reckon they will learn a lot from the game (as losses often do) and they could easily be better prepared next time. Sidebottom, De Goey & Elliott add a lot Of course we were without Oliver, Petty & Bowey so we weren't at full strength either It's more about can we stifle their system again and this time, kick well in front of goal? Because we're going to have to do both next time up As good as we were yesterday, we only won by a kick when we should have put them away earlier If we'd thumped them yesterday, it may have set them back but they'll be thinking they can get us next time As long as we finish the season well, we'll be almost certainly meeting them at some stage during the finals ... can't wait to play them again

Saying Brayshaw is only just in front of Harmes & Jordon is unfair though. And quite laughable He is a miles better player than those 2 and in front of about another 10 players in the team Spargo, ANB, Kozzie, Tomlinson, Smith, JVR, Hibberd, McVee, Chandler & Sparrow are all behind Brayshaw in the pecking order The club seems to think so too as it was only recently that he was signed to a lucrative long term deal Outright 5th in the Demonland award and that's with a heavy bias against the bloke And he'd be doing very well in the B & F It's like he has to play a standout A grade game to get any credit (just 2 weeks ago that happened) Post too long for you? Bad luck

Ball retention is easier said than done I prefer the instant forgive file thinking. And it's how a player plays on an overall basis that matters (game to game) Even the best A grade players make errors and 2 of our best can turn the ball over more than we'd like (Oliver & Petracca) But overall? They are both fantastic

Go back and watch the game again ... you had his errors in your head so it wouldn't have mattered how well he played afterwards I thought he was terrific after a dodgy start So at least I'm acknowledging the errors ... you won't acknowledge his good play (properly) There's the difference. I'm being fair and you aren't being fair

You just don't like what I've got say Read any of binny's posts lately? There's some waffle for you haha

@old55 Would you argree that Brayshaw's disposal levels were A1 after making a couple of errors early in the first quarter? 20 effective disposals? (In traffic)