damienjr

I stated in my thread that we do have forward connection issues, as we did at this time last year. In that context we are tracking similar to 2021. In terms of pressure, you're saying that you haven't been impressed with our pressure over the last three weeks. Those matches were played at a frantic finals pace. You then assume that because we had three wins in a row coming into the final round last year, we are far better prepared. So, who did we play against? 3 bottom sides, Suns, Eagles and Crows. We almost lost the Eagles game. This year we have played 3 finals teams and won 2 out of 3 with Collingwood just getting over the line against us. I will argue that this is a far better preparation than last year. The clearance stat is meaningless. Last year we lost the clearance count against the Crows and broke even against the Eagles.

Yes, connecting to the forward line is an issue, and it was a problem last year right up until the finals. We are tracking similarly to last year. Due to TMac's absence, we are forced to play only one tall and two mediums in the forward line this year. Goody is experimenting. Melky is playing as a defensive forward and Angus is playing midfield. LJ is spending more time in the ruck and Max is spending more time in the forward half. BBB is there solely to create a contest and to take the opposition's leading back. Trac is also playing more forward than he did last year. Many of these changes have been made in the hope of improving the connection between backs and forwards. Regardless of the results, there has been an improvement over the last few weeks.

You're referring to something entirely different. Please tell me where our kick-out strategy has failed us. There is no proof. How many end-to-end goals are scored from kick-outs each week? There aren't many. If that is your metric for concluding that our kick-out strategy has failed, you may need to look elsewhere for a problem.

Rectified this? That's a bit arrogant. This assumes that you are certain that there is a problem. Wouldn't this show up in repeat opposition i50 entries if there was a problem? On Saturday night, however, this was not the case. Carlton had 48 i50, which was lower than our opponent's 2022 i50 average of 54.4. Another statistic that may refute your conclusions. We used the same strategy for kick-outs last year. In 2021, we finished second to the Bulldogs in i50 Team/Opponent Average Difference (6.8). We are second again this year. This time to Geelong with an even higher figure of 8.6. This strategy clearly benefits us more than our opponents, in my opinion and I assume Goody's as well..

Did Woey play? If so how did he go?

Does anyone know what his contract is with Collingwood? What are currently the dollars to be paid over the next 5 years?

Ugh. I tried to translate but couldn't.

Its lazy commentary.

Didn't James Hird also say this?

Does anyone really know what his contract is? If he is on $800k for 7 years his contract might be front loaded so maybe a significant portion of the contract could have already been paid. So if that is the case his salary might only be averaging say $600k/yr. I would go to Collingwood and offer to fully take over his contract in exchange for their first round pick. Grundy is then off their books. There would be cap space as this money would have been offered to Jackson.

You appear to have good contacts within the club and, understandably, wish to protect them by revealing information in the form of an opinion piece. If that is the case, please accept my gratitude. Your "theories" about loading have been insightful, whether they are your own ideas or information obtained from other sources.

Oh dear. Where are we on the ladder again?

A lot of forward handballing by Casey which is good to see.

Tom Boyd says hi.

True. Tom Boyd played the best game of his career in a grand final.

That's a huge contract for a player that has accumulated only 3 Brownlow Votes in his career.

I get the feeling that the Weid will not be on our list next year.

Maybe not. It depends on what we have allocated for LJ.

Instead of giving the Pies one of our first round picks, we will take on Grundy's contract as well as receive their first round pick in exchange for us paying his full salary and giving the Pies our P35. Grundy would then be completely off their books.

Blake Howes?

Another enjoyable podcast. I listen to you guys each week while walking the dog and hence lost the dog a few times.

Talent is only one aspect of what makes a very good AFL player. Colin Sylvia, Harley Bennell, Jack Watts, and Liam Jurrah were all gifted, but that was about it. De Goey is exactly the same. They turn it on once every 4-5 weeks, and maybe only for a quarter. They dislike doing the difficult things like gut running, tackling, and other pressure acts that coaches love. Every week, Sparrow, Harmes, ANB, and Spargo do all of these things. You are correct that these players lack DeGoey's talent, but I believe I know what type of player Goody would prefer. It doesn't help that he is also a DH.

So, if it wasn't a free agency year and you were our list manager, you'd trade Sparrow / Harmes for DeGoey? You clearly don't understand our gameplan or the important role these guys play every week.

And what was Clarry like 2 years ago? Didn't he have the same issues?

After watching the replay, I'm still baffled by calls for Tom Sparrow to be dropped. He was in everything yesterday, so don't be surprised if he gets coach's votes. Yes, some of his kicks and handballs were misdirected, but no more or less than others. He is a tackling machine which more than makes up for some errand disposals. He's only 22 years old, but he's building a tank that will be elite after another preseason. This kid has the potential to be anything.