Macca

You're possibly right but we had to something ... our KPF's aren't firing and Max forward wasn't working either So do nothing and it's probably more of the same or do something and maybe we'll get a positive result. Maybe I reckon the MC came to the realisation that our forward line marking strength was negligible and we weren't a dominant force in the ruck either We could have reversed roles (Gawn/Grundy) but we've chosen a different pathway It could be that either Brown or JVR fires then one makes way for Grundy who comes in and competes hard ... and right now, that's a better result than neither of our KPF's firing Not forgetting that Grundy is a proper ruckman

Ha ha! You know, if there was any real proof that the umpires cheat, I'd be up for a small fortune right now Millions of $$$$'s down the gurgler! The Kew residence would be on the market (I'd have to move to Burwood boarding with dc) Come on, come at me! Show me the proof and I'll show you the money Jerry Maguire style

I agree and I reckon we made the right move in giving Brown & JVR a chance to prove themselves as a pair and as individuals But by doing that, there wasn't a spot for Grundy (for now) ... he gets to get a rest from being first ruck in the seniors whilst hopefully playing well as a forward at a lower level It's a bold experiment but it might work If we can somehow sort it all out before the finals, we'll be doing well

So there you go putting words in my mouth again I never said anything of the sort Give it up, you might have most of this site on your side but your logic skills are negligible You'll go to your grave bitter and twisted about the umpiring of our great sport. In a way, I feel sorry for you but it's your own fault Brainwashed from a young age with a chip on your shoulder (about umpires) the size of Mars Have you ever played any competitive sport and if so, did you spend your whole time arguing with officials? Try umpiring the sport yourself and put your money where your mouth is It's people like you who drive intelligent people away from this site with your incessant whinging about umpiring decisions By the way, there's at least 30 prominent posters on this site who have never whinged about umpiring decisions But they are quiet about it as they do not want to engage with people like you Wake up to yourself or better still, pipe down and behave yourself

Clint is a good guy D/stone. He just doesn't like umpires haha And that's the point isn't it? ... we are allowed to have different views and there's nothing wrong with trying to disprove a different view Siding with the umps on this site (or any fan site) is just not the done thing. But why can't it be a thing? I've long felt that the reason we were such a poor side for so long had nothing to do with umpiring decisions ... talent & good coaching wins games of football 350-400+ possessions and you lose? You've had enough of the ball to win when you get it that many times

I agree but my point is that Clarrie not playing has allowed us to move the chess pieces around I'm not for one minute rejoicing in the fact that Oliver is out. Just noting that we've had to adjust and get on with it In real terms we have adjusted in a positive way and kudos to the MC for finding a way to cover his absence Of course when Clarrie returns, we're a better team

Yes we do miss Oliver AF but in his absence, our midfield has been revamped a bit especially with Petracca pushing forward So it's allowed us to move the chess pieces around like say for instance ... an attacking midfielder like Brayshaw is allowed to play his natural game on the ball And we get Kozzie into the game with some midfield minutes Viney steps up as the main man Gawn goes back in as the main ruckman because our midfielders understand his game? So when Clarrie comes back what then? A good problem to have in terms of some players moved elsewhere out of necessity

Just take the good with the bad ... if you want the game umpired perfectly the sport needs to be changed 14 a side, rules against gang tackling, defined rules, greater education, full time umps, etc etc But the above is never going to happen nor do I want it to happen. I just deal with it all my way I'm not the problem here even though I have a completely different point of view I've heard the other side my entire life and have to put up with it And we get our fair share of lucky frees ... 25 - 10 was the free kick count in the Alice ... but we still lost 19-13 in the '21 GF? Were the dogs cheated against?

I blame the game itself ... numerous grey areas and often a lot of congestion (not on Friday night though - an excellent game) And ill-defined rules left, right & centre. There's no other sport like it ... nothing comes close Over the years we've made the game more and more difficult to officiate. It's a harder game to umpire now than it ever was But the umpires are the visible ones making the decisions ... we're not interested in delving into the why's and wherefore's. Just the A-end of the problem So what do we do? We blame the umpires. Which is largely an unintelligent thing to do And I do not love umpires nor do I feel sorry for them ... but I do often wonder why anyone would want to do it

Ha ha! Well I work with cash a bit so you'll have to accept the folding stuff deevs But my wallet won't be seeing any action as you'll never be able to provide any proof that the umpires actually cheat haha Anyway, just a bit of fun on a Monday morning! Lighten up and accept the good with the bad I say Games are decided by the 400 odd possessions that a skilled side can provide... along with top level coaching The umpiring decisions just reset the mind ... 'Ok, they've got it so what do we do now? Or, we've got it so what do we do now? I've always thought that the umpiring decisions (by and large) only play a small part in the sport. Good teams win, poor teams lose. A boring evaluation? Maybe, but it's true

I just watched the replay of the May push and if that isn't a free kick to Daniher then pushing in the back will never be paid It was so obvious and why is May complaining? Probably caught up in the heat of the moment but nonetheless, he made an error Not the crime of the century either, he just simply made an error and right in front of the umpire. A brain fade but again, not a hanging offence But we want our tribe to win and the officials (umpires) are seen as untrustworthy and on-the-take. Of course, none if that is true but if a football fan reaches adulthood with a hatred of umpires, they are unlikely to ever change their minds Why? Because they are surrounded by confirmation bias for their entire lives People like me are dismissed out of hand and largely ignored. I become the enemy haha But the umpires are treated as the enemy far more so than opposition teams. Which doesn't make sense if people think about about it and apply some logic

Here's the thing People like you (and there are hundreds of 1000's like you) can choose to spend your entire lives whinging and moaning about how the game is umpired or you can choose not to There's no cheating, that's never happened. The umpires have an impossible task and you all should have realised that by now ... actually, past the age of 12 that realisation should have kicked in I don't have an agenda either, I made my mind up over 5 decades ago But most of the rest of you are so far gone there's no changing your mind You're triggered by all the so-called injustice. And all for what? So you can have a whinge? By and large, the game is umpired quite well I've done this with mates so I'm going to do it here ... I'll give anyone here $10k if they can ever prove (real proof required) that the umpires have ever cheated against your football club Cash! In your hot little hands. It's not a bet, I'll happily hand over the money So hop to it, there's easy money to be made (supposedly) Only quote me if you've got the proof (that the umpires cheat) Trying to change my mind is a fruitless exercise. As it's a fruitless exercise to change your minds But I'm entitled to my opinion even if it does make your blood boil I'm baffled that more people here haven't come to the same conclusion that I did all those years ago ... but what we've got is group thinking on a massive scale "The umpires hate us, they really do. They've always hated us, they are cheats, they really are. Something has to be done!" All nonsense based on caveman instincts - tribe related Try watching the game for a month whilst at the same time ignoring all questionable decisions. Do that and you'll be well on your way to accepting how things are You'll feel liberated, I'll guarantee it Afterwards, you'll wonder why you didn't make the switch a long time ago Watch the game, not how the game is officiated. Unless you do that, you're not actually watching the sport properly In the meantime, there's $10k to be had ... hop to it

So if we assume that we're getting pick 4, 5 or 6, are there half a dozen young prospects in and around that area of the draft that the draft watchers could put forward here? I'm in that group that doesn't follow the fortunes of the prospects We could of course use the pick as part of a bundle or work our way up to pick 2 or 3 or even using the pick for an established player But young prospects?

And if we'd kicked straight against the Pies, the margin would have been comprehensive What came out of that performance (that King conveniently forgets) is how we shut down Collingwood's offense They couldn't get past our 3 or 4 lines of defence coupled with our defensive zones which seemed to confuse them It was the way we beat them that sticks in the memory Easily our best performance since the finals of 2021 ... our issue is that we've dropped games against a few lesser lights that we should have won But against the top 3 ... 2 narrow losses and 2 narrow wins (one if which could have been comprehensive) We're right in amongst it but we need Oliver & Fritsch back and 1 of our 2 KPF's to fire ... if 2 of our KPF'S fire we're winning it all!

We do it too when we can get away with it. Harmes & Viney have been known to scrag and harass when in tagging roles Who was that Demon player who Brereton took to task because of the treatment that Platten was getting? Dean Chiron? We're no angels Was Brayshaw blocking Neale's run on Friday night? Scragging? Good luck to Angus if he got away with it And May did not push Daniher in the side and even if he did (and he didn't) that's transgressing the rules anyway You can't just shove another player out of the way especially when the ball isn't within 5 metres

There's a lot of push-outs in the sport ... some are seen, some are missed, some are blatant, others not so blatant. Some simply can't be seen easily But the May shove was as blatant as I've seen and May did it right in front of the umpire (and right in front of where I was sitting/standing - Punt Rd end forward pocket) But you're entitled to your opinion, as am I. But you're talking to someone who is primarily on the side of the umpires A rarely seen thing on this site. Strange but true Just an observation ... there are at least 30 prominent posters on this site who have never once complained about any umpiring decision I notice them because they are like-minded

And a well umpired decision ... kudos to the officials

The May shove was right in front of me and it was a blatant push by May Red & Blue goggles aside, if that free is even questioned, then we should never ever get any frees paid against us May shoved Daniher out of the contest Besides which, the umpiring overall was excellent so why is the officiating even being brought up? The game was am excellent example of how good footy can be and also, the game was well umpired

Brown was a legit KPF but his body is starting to give out and JVR is not yet a bona-fide legit KPF Especially when we compare either player to the likes of Hawkins, Cameron et al. The much maligned Daniher is streets ahead Both Brown & JVR have spent periods of time outside of the senior team - this season And both Brown & JVR will be acutely aware that Grundy will be hovering. And that can be a motivating factor Best case scenario would be for both Brown & JVR to strike form with Grundy putting pressure on but again, what are the chances of that happening?

Ha ha! Different game back then but in finals, KPF's who can take a grab are valuable commodities It was only 5 years ago that big Mason destroyed flag favourites Richmond with his towering marks And Brown, T-Mac & Fritsch marked a number of long kicks in the '21 GF It's my guess that the MC are going with Brown & JVR right now to see which one puts his hand up and which one falls by the wayside Meanwhile, Grundy gets some forward line practice in the 2's and is waiting in the wings to replace 1 of the 2 current KPF's The red-herring will be if both Brown & JVR fire. But what's the likelihood of that happening over the next 2 or 3 weeks (both players firing each week)

Well neither Brown or JVR are setting the world on fire right now so they are both close enough to being off the boil as we speak Not sure either player is safely in the team and would any of us be surprised if either player is dropped over the next 1-3 weeks? (on their current form) So if Grundy has been flagged to make a return within the next 3 weeks it stands to reason that Brown or JVR will make way (unless they both start producing - unlikely) Melksham stays and Fritsch will slot in on the other flank once he's fit I reckon that's the plan ... could be wrong but I can't see Grundy playing the rest of the season in the 2's He may not be a natural forward but is he any worse than Brown or JVR with their current form? He'd be a tricky match-up for the opposition with his mobility & rucking ability whilst forward Of course, it's a whole different conversation if our current KPF's were Neitz & Schwarz

The truth is that Brown & JVR aren't any better than Grundy up forward ... not on their current output And from an overall perspective, Grundy is a better player than both the other 2 and is obviously a better ruckman I'm expecting Grundy to come back into the side within 1 to 3 weeks. It won't be any longer than that otherwise we will have an off-season problem John Nicholls averaged a goal a game in his long career but went forward in the '72 GF and booted 6 goals

Rivers has done that a few times nearly always in crunch time or crisis time McVee does it a lot as well but at any time during the game Personally, I like risky footy especially when you've got the talent bank. We're not going to win big without risking turnovers Back when Roos first took over I had no issue with the team limiting the damage as we were not ever a chance of getting anywhere near the finals in 2014 & 2015 Thrashings can kill morale and confidence but when up against another non finals team, you attack So you bide your time whilst improving the list ... and once that happens you press the go button In 2021 we pressed the go button

Brown & JVR stay for now but neither player is assured of a spot over the next 2 months Grundy has a chance to come in sooner or later as he might be our best bet at CHF or HCHF T-Mac is also a chance if he can get his body right and somehow get match fit. Running out of time though. Schache is pure back up by the looks of it So it's 2 out of Brown, JVR & Grundy. But because he can ruck very well I reckon eventually it will be Grundy with Brown or JVR ... probably Brown but he is not moving as freely as needed I can't see Grundy playing at Casey for the remainder of the season but he might have to play a couple/few there for now JVR could play out at HCHF for the next couple just to see if he can play the role ... against the Crows & Tigers at least, it's worth a try. Remembering that we played him a bit further afield against the Blues where he picked up 16 possessions with 7 marks To me he looked at home out at CHF in that game

Doug Bigelow the former Bomber and ABC commentator when describing the great Robbie went with 'Flower Supreme' many moons ago Amongst my circle, the comment stuck And what we saw from Rivers was quintessential Robbie Flower ... exalted company Dash, dare and the driving kick forward. Magnificent