Macca

I agree ... for a bloke who has crazy-good elusive skills, he can't create separation as the ball comes into the forward line He's good enough to lead up and take easy marks but doesn't. Front & centre? I rarely see it. But we've often got 4 of those types and none of them take up the front & square position anywhere near enough times And considering the delivery into our forward line is often directed at packs, front & centre is the place to be. But we are not there. Must be frustrating for the coach As for Smith, Fritsch, JVR & Gawn, none of the 4 fight for the front position anywhere near enough. Basic stuff but we can't execute As a result, the oppisition backmen often take easy marks or spoil the ball towards the boundary line Kicking for goal is problematical as well. Backline terrific, midfield very good (although delivery to the forward line is questionable) but with a dodgy forward line Our mids delivery into the forward line would improve if we had a stack more movement in our forward line Assuming we play finals and if we are to contend, we will need to sort out our forward line structures quick-smart

Not one of our forwards beat their opponent or had any real impact on the game They played from behind all night (that doesn't get tolerated at suburban level) Refused to put their bodies on the line and none of them like body contact We're ok in dry weather but as soon as it gets wet and slippery we hang out the back looking for the cheapie

Our forward line had issues all night culminating in the Cats breaking away in the last quarter Forwards played from behind, our crumbing was non-existent and we kicked poorly at goal And you're saying it worked for 3/4s? No it didn't work otherwise we would have kicked a winning score I don't know what you're are watching but your comments are bizarre and clearly wrong

Ball kicked to Petty and he can't be bothered even competing Soft if you need it lace-out

van Rooyen plays from behind again ... ball rebounds goal to the Cats Haven't adhered to the fundamentals all night

We've got 9 full days off How much rest do the players need? A month?

You don't do the fundamentals, you don't win

Fritsch plays from behind ... gives away a free and a scoring opportunity Does it too often

Pre-match Goodwin talked of a short break!??? They've had 10 days off for crying out loud I don't want to hear that from a coach. It's soft

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!