Macca

Way more concerned about how we perform @West Coast, @Port, @Geelong & vs Bulldogs Split that lot 2 & 2 or go 3 &1 and that's a good/very good result. Go 4 & 0 against those 4 and the 'lid' will be nowhere to be seen Against the others we might have an off day or 2 but 1 off day is somewhat acceptable if we only lose 1 against the big 4. That would give the team a 19 & 3 record (at worst) and a top 2 position on the ladder We can speculate all we like but the club of course needs to look at the next match only ... apart from the scouting done on future games But losing to Collingwood will just never do!

You've got a better memory than me as all I can remember is that he had a very good game ... disposals in the mid 20's in a low scoring games points to him playing further afield though As previously stated, he looks more like an athlete than the traditional FF type. Do what you do, do well?

Weideman is up around half forward occasionally but it seems fleeting and not for a planned amount of time. Soon enough he's back near the goal square Brown tends to lead long (when he is in form) which can sometimes take him beyond the arc They are both played as stay-at-home forwards but I believe that Weideman has a better chance of being an influence further up the ground (but for allotted times, not permanently) I can't see both in the same team though ... it's one or the other but unfortunately Ben Brown can't really state his case properly right now. And I'm a big fan of competition within the ranks

The crux of my argument is the versatility factor rather than directly copying anything from the past ... (back in the day the tall FP, FF & CHF simply swapped roles from time to time in order to confuse the opposition) Smith often played a decoy FF apparently. Whatever works Most recognise that LJ & T-Mac are best suited in a roaming capacity but for whatever reason, Weideman has been pigeon-holed as a stay-at-home decoy type At least Ben Brown gets out beyond the 50 metre arc occasionally but I'm not advocating Brown in and Weideman out anyway (at all) My concern is that we just keep getting more of the same and then go with Brown where a similar thing could happen. Back to square one with the finals looming We could easily end up going into the finals without a settled deep forward but do we need a settled deep forward if all our tall forwards can play a variety of different roles within the forward line? (and further up the ground in a linking capacity) And of course Fritsch needs to fit in with that sort of system as well (along with the crumbers) I see it all as entirely do-able with every forward playing their part ... but if we're to win the big one we can't have a weak link Related: Chris Dawes' role was interesting in that 2010 premiership year won by the pies

The minute Roos put Hogan on the ball many of us were holding our breath but it worked straight off Weideman shouldn't be seen as a one trick pony ... not sure about having 3 permanent talls in the forward (along with LJ) but I like your thinking anyway What I'd like to see is for 10-15 minute allotments, 2 or 3 times a game, we see Weideman as a high half forward and a link to the forwards further afield. LJ or T-Mac could play deep in that time whilst the other playing a roaming role (as they both do now) Gets him into the game, his hands on the ball with a few cheap uncontested marks and then go from there As it stands, whenever he goes for a mark in the role that he plays it's nearly always in a contested situation. And all we hear are the supporters wanting him to 'clunk' marks. Rinse & repeat We want the bloke to develop we need to change things up ... or, leave him in that decoy sort of role for the rest of the season. I wouldn't drop him unless he goes completely missing

Your comments are valued The issue I have with Weideman is more the way he is used. I've always seen him as an athletic 3rd forward type but has he ever played that role? The reality is that he is often in and out of the side being played as a permanent stay-at-home forward (the No.1 or No.2 role) But I'm in a different camp ... he stays because the MC are seemingly asking him to play a role for team purposes. And if that role is being fulfilled in the MC's eyes, well and good. We don't get to see his athleticism enough but the team comes first

The basis of the argument is having versatile players who can play a variety of roles. We've already got T-Mac & LJ playing these roles so why not Weideman? (that question isn't directed at you) The problem I possibly foresee is the MC losing patience with Sam and we go through the same process with Ben Brown (which may or may not work) So we're playing finals (unless we fall off a cliff) so the sooner we get our forward line settled, the better (in my view) Meanwhile, the debate about Weideman's output will go on ad nauseum I'll say it again that we need to get Sam more involved in the game but if the MC are happy with him playing a sort of decoy role, well and good. If so, they need to stick with him

Good point Luther I'm sure it's been done at other times but that Essendon era and the Lions era (which you pointed out) led to the ultimate success However, I reckon we'll just see more of the same with LJ & T-Mac doing the roaming with Sam as the stay-at-home (possibly rotated in and out of the side with Ben Brown ... as time goes on) So, we've got the depleted Pies & the frontrunning Bombers next up. Is there time for some minor experimentation? ha ha

Rotating 3 bigs within a forward line is nothing new anyway ... Although I didn't see it, Essendon employed that system during the 60's Using 3 of Fordham, Noonan, Blethyn & Fraser at various times to great effect. 2 flags & runners up. Coleman & Clarke were the coaches in that era The coach of Geelong at the time (Peter Pianto) employed the forward press during games (learnt from his soccer background) So a lot of what we see has been done before (albeit in a non professional era) So could Weideman play further out from goal on occasions? Absolutely he could and I reckon he needs to. But if the MC keep him in his current role as a stay-at-home I hope they don't lose patience too quickly As I see it he's doing about as well as he can do given his talent levels

Personally, I'd prefer it if we set Sam up to be the best footballer that he can be but ... I understand the MC having him in a role that best suits the team Just because we've got Ben Brown waiting in the wings doesn't mean that he's the default option. Although it looks that way doesn't it? What I'd like to see is Weideman playing so well that Ben Brown doesn't get a look in And I don't dislike Ben Brown either ... quite the contrary, I believe he's got a lot to offer if he can rediscover his best form

But it's not about what you or I want or like ... I'm already in agreement on what actually works for the team and so does the MC by the looks of it My suggestion of Weideman working his way up the field and getting involved in the game is for Sam's benefit. Otherwise, unless he improves in the role that he currently has, he might find himself out of the team From the point of view of Sam the footballer, he needs more scope to his game. At the moment his game is one dimensional He's doing 'ok' and I've still got him in the team but I'd like him to improve his football

I'd like to see Weideman used differently rather than predominantly deep forward. Multiple leads even if he ends up on the wing sometimes (Jackson, T-Mac and/or Gawn can all drift forward if that happens) He needs to get his hands on the ball and get some cheap uncontested marks. Get him into the play Or perhaps the MC prefer him to play the role that he's got so they can use T-Mac, LJ & Gawn the way they're being used. If that's the case then is his role an issue? You have to be a really talented player to excel in the role that's he got so there's that as well. He doesn't have the ability of a Lynch or Cameron type So my preference aside, I reckon the MC won't be changing things up as I suspect that the they are prepared to persevere with Weideman in the role that he's got

That's a big call considering that the GF is just under 4 months away. What if we come out of lockdown in a week or 2 and not have a reoccurrence? I wouldn't rule anything out despite being gloomy about the general governance. Outbreaks are a ticking time bomb ... anywhere Mistakes have been made but with the poor quarantine adherence, QLD could be next, not Victoria Is Cochrane still dirty that the GF has gone back to its traditional time-slot?

Yes, a bad pun/Freudian slip? Truth is the govenments can commandeer buildings in times of crises. They did so early on in Victoria with the first or 2nd lockdown And for goodness sakes, why are we putting healthy people in the same buildings as Covid cases? Right next door? You couldn't make that stuff up

That's politics for you ... appoint people who side with their views I just can't take any of them seriously We could eventually end up with a change of government in Victoria but what change would we see? We need to stop importing the disease. And in the meantime, get vaccinated and get the quarantine conditions ship-shape Do all that (and more) and we've got a chance

If he had have explained himself a bit better that argument never happens But it's good to see that as a result, some serious debate is eventuating The thread is a super serious one unfortunately. If people want some light relief they should stay away But it could easily extend to a left wing vs right wing argument and we don't need that We've been lucky compared to the rest of the world but the political parties on both sides here in Australia have failed (in my view) See my above post for more detail. A Again, it's just an opinion but there's a good lacing of the truth (unless people truly believe that our quarantine measures in all the States have been perfect) The connection to the footy is that large crowds probably won't be happening in Victoria in the foreseeable future But the hubs won't be necessary if the various States continue to allow the teams to fly in and fly out (for the time being, until the lockdown is lifted)

Well the reason the disease got out of control the first time was the outbreak from the cruise liners berthed in Sydney People with the disease were allowed to simply walk off the boat Then we had the farcical quarantine blunder in Victoria where amongst other broken safeguards, security staff were freely mingling with those who had disease The lockdown in February was caused by a broken quarantine measure up North ... not long after, the disease hit Victoria again And now this latest outbreak came from SA where a person who didn't have the disease was residing in a quarantine hotel right next door to people who did have the disease. Caught the disease and then spread the disease throughout Melbourne The same thing happened in Perth last week but luckily that person remained in quarantine before mingling with the rest of society. The WA Govt got lucky All presided over by various governments from both sides of politics It pays not to take sides Wrecker. Unless you're good at defending the indefensible The Vic Govt are the worst though. I've got no faith that they are going to get it right

The real issue are the lack of preventative measures (international flights allowed & shoddy quarantine conditions) Cause & effect but the concentration is on the A-end of the problem. Lockdowns It's like umpiring in footy ... the game is now near impossible to adjudicate and we set up the umpires to fail. We then blame the umpires for not doing their job properly A toxic environment results Agreed (in part) Vaccinations should be the absolute focus ... a huge advertising campaign should be undertaken. Get any number of high profile people telling us to get the jab But in the meantime the immediate aim is to stop the spread of the disease. Lockdowns are necessary as a result of poor governance. Otherwise we could end up like the UK or the USA. Not so much India as they have their unique issues I feel for those who are deeply effected by these lockdowns but what choice do we have?

It's not rocket science ... whilst we're having these outbreaks of the disease we either have lockdowns or the disease will quickly get out of control We could end up like the large majority of countries around the world ... very quickly. Hospitals crammed full of patients on ventilators, tens of thousands contracting the disease and numerous deaths Who wants that? Now I know that looks like the words of a politician or a health expert but the evaluation is based on common sense and logic. And we have a super-large sample size as evidence (the rest of the world) Preventative measures such as limiting overseas flights or much stricter quarantine conditions should be in operation but that is not happening (it should do but that's your clueless politicians on both sides of politics at work) None of us can accurately predict the future with regards to new cases of Covid but the Government in Victoria is not going to lift the lockdown conditions unless a target number is met for a certain length of time (zero?) In the meantime, the footy goes on with crowds elsewhere (out of Victoria) With many countries, sport has been played in front of empty stands for over 12 months We've actually been quite lucky Ironically, the AFL have been on the front foot with regards to their own lockdown measures ... ahead of the Vic Govt. in fact

As is the case with many threads here but this one in particular ... too much whinging and not enough analysis. The woe-is-me crowd abounds Mirrors the game day threads My analysis probably stands out to the feeble-minded as I'm one of the few here making any sort of attempt And I'm certainly no expert, my thoughts are only opinions, not facts And I don't see you offering up anything other than taking people to task for stuff that you don't particularly like Keep sniping away dc ... I suppose you have to be good at something

No that's not it It's the amount of whinging that goes on about the lockdown and those who don't take Covid seriously enough You want good news don't open up this thread but if you do take a look, expect people like me to post in the way I do And then don't make smart alec remarks as your only way of adding to the conversation Try posting up something intelligent for once Have you got anything to say about Covid or do you prefer to cross your fingers, close your eyes and wish it all away Good luck with that

You're private little world has been interrupted by a very deadly disease. Take it seriously So stop complaining about it and get on with it. It's not going away in a hurry so face up to some realities As previously stated, be grateful that you've got footy in any capacity

Yeah but you're hard to please anyway, lets face it. If I had have just had a big moan about Covid would that have made you happy? At your age you should have learnt how to shut out the stuff you don't care for. Use the ignore feature or skim past My posts aren't aimed at people like you anyway, you're too far gone. I can't remember a time when you offered up anything of any substance. Just peurile attempts at humour (and you're not funny) Reality is that my projected outcome over the next few weeks should be looked at as a positive As previously stated, Covid could be spread Australia wide and if that happens you may not get much footy at all So don't be an ingrate

This 'delta' variant of Covid has changed things again. Highly contageous and the tracing of that strain and the other strains has gone skew-whiff as well Until they get on top of the shoddy quarantine conditions we can expect more of the same anyway. Another outbreak is right around the corner even if we hit zero cases But we'll need to get to zero cases and maintain zero for 3 or 4 days (at least) in order to come out of lockdown in my view Fingers crossed we get on top of it all but the overseas models tell us that countries who come out of lockdown too early end up going back into lockdown as the numbers explode again As for the footy crowds in Victoria ... the numbers were already down and I'm reckoning that the numbers would fall even further with people not wanting to take their chances on contracting the disease It could be worse ... shortened games, shortened season, no crowds at all. This time around the teams may not have to hub and with a number of States the teams from Victoria can fly in and fly out. And play in front of crowds of some description

The Frankel filly (Argentia) was most impressive though Gorg. A real blackbooker and will relish greater distances you'd imagine Invincible Caviar got beaten by a good one Had a return to form today ... got 4 wins and 3 x 2nds at Eagle Form doing my own form only. Didn't even look at any of the tipsters choices. Charleise, Nudge & Duais stood out and they all saluted! And in the end went with a few of Gators picks at Rosehill and got a couple of value winners there as well