Young Blood

I mean not everyone. We're the betting favourites I would say mainly because its being played at the MCG. But besides that factor they are more in form, healthier and coming off the easiest win of their season probably. So I would call it closer to even to me.

Our back line really is elite, isn't it? When we start talking about dropping the likes of Rivers after one average (not awful) it really shows the standard we have in our back half. There are no weaknesses. Bowey's decision making and ball use is just pure class. You forget he's only 20 and only going to get better. I would be keeping Hibberd on ice as much as we can leading up to finals. Another random note that I don't think has been talked about enough is that because of our incredible depth down back it's meant one less position Gus has had to fill or help out in. He's been able to be released into Midfield and forward half which really benefits us with winning the ball in the front half.

I do think a lot of the expectation on Kozzy is a bit much at times. Kid just turned 22, playing one of the hardest positions on the ground. I've felt like the rest of the team that defensively he has been good the last month or so. He's just not positioning himself as well at times during games without the ball. With the smaller lineup I really hope we can get out transition game moving off turnovers again to give him some actual space to work one on one. He's actually one player besides Fritsch who can get decent separation from his man-off of leads. I just think far too often the congestion in the forward half due to our ball movement makes it so difficult.

Any lip readers in the building?

That slow motion replay on the weekend after his worse set shot miss, really summed up the issues for him. The ball drop was just so high. He's such a powerful player with terrific strength in his legs/core. I don't understand why he needs to lean back and drop the ball so high to get the power through the ball. The combination is the worst for accuracy as it makes it so hard for the leg to follow through straight. I would love to see him at least within 20/40 metres to do as Bayley does and kick a lower ball almost as a pass to someone in the 8th row. Still follow through but guide the ball more instead of blasting.

Unfortunately the "system" IS to kick deeper to forward packs where the plan is to have no intention to mark but to simply bring the ball to ground to create chaos ideally to find an avenue to score through smalls or create enough pressure for opposition mistakes/turnovers. The third desired outcome is to get a stoppage and set up to lock it in. The issue with this system is that it hasn't worked well all season. Where we were scoring heavily in the first part of the season was off opposition turnovers, moving the ball quickly to a less congested forward line. Since that aspect of our game has fallen off we have ended up with plan b to ignore lateral moves to find space inside forward 50 and simply bomb it in to forwards to spoil. GWS were able to find different angles even in wet weather which is so frustrating to watch. When we have a mark or win the ball on a wing or around our HF I would love us to lower the eyes more, for out mids to get more involved as options moving into forward 50. Just some sort of different looks to make the opposition have to change things. Instead they know our 'by the percentages' method that they can exploit by freeing up their own backs to set up in lines to move the ball quickly and easily out of their back 50 to rebound. We just put so much unnecessary pressure on this back-line and greater team with how we set up in forward half.

Agree to a certain extent. I think we have versatility on the field that allows us to shuffle players depending on whose subbed out. Gus, Harmes, Sparrow, Smith to name just a few can be swung to different positions to allow Spargo to come on as high HF role.

Honestly all the channel 7 callers are awful. Darcy and BT by far the worst. Only one I think is OK is Hamish Mclachlan. He's more natural and doesn't force things like all the others. Side note does anyone else find that Alister Nicholson sounds so much like Jordan Lewis. Fox footy callers are so much better. Whately and Hudson are pros

Does anyone have a good understanding of Port's defensive set up/structure? Does it vary? I only tuned in briefly last night when Port was going full throttle in the third. It seemed coming out of Geelong's defence that Port were going 1 on 1 across the ground to nulify Geelong's ability to possess the ball easily, take the heat out of the game and wrestle back any sort of momentum/control. Not saying we should do the same. God know we wouldn't ever switch out of our zone defensive set up. Was just an interesting tactic at that point of the game to put a stranglehold on the Cats.

On the fritter staging thing. I think most of the Fox footy panel post-game generally thought it was a hard enough hit, which it clearly was. Its also not something Bayley has a history of. Like Dunstall said it would be great to see another angle because I actually think it was a nasty hit to his upper body, blindsided and if the world were in some sort of order should deserve a fine along with the free kick. Stupido.

Probably already planning his four days off of golf. Post game Fox interview when asked what he was doing with his time off was literally responded with "golf, golf and more golf". May have also been where his head was at when he dropped those two marks that were all but his to ice the game but fumbled them in the dying moments. I am joking of course but if we somehow lost that one these would be big talking points. Funny how it all works.

Depends on the player. Salem came straight back into the seniors because he was able to put a block of full training together over a number of weeks. Can't see why Petty couldn't do the same. I think it was last week that I saw he was back to running. Might need one more week after the bye but from memory Goodwin said he would be available for selection. The answer to if he will come straight back in to AFL side is definitely a YES. He is clearly best 22.

Watched the replay for the second time. Its been stated so many times I know but boy our backline is just superb. Across the board no weaknesses, they just find a way every week to impact the game as our most important line. They're not perfect by any means but the way they structure up and support each other all on the same page is elite. Rivers makes mistakes but his ability to stay in the moment and follow up whether its tackling or winning back the ball is terrific. Lever and May had a lot of missed marks they wouldn't have been frustrated by but again the support of others to cover for them at ground level was great. Salem playing his best game in so long was the highlight for me. But McVee playing alongside him as an aggressive ball user adds another element. We might need to nickname them eventually (The Slick Brothers?). Love that Judd has learnt so much under Salem and shows similar traits with his ability to win contests and proactive ball movement. Hibberd got a fair amount of praise his first few years. But since I feel like he's been underrated. Rarely loses a contests, his physicality is so important. I hope they continues to manage him because in big games he just stands up every time. Tomlinson was another that was surprising but the role he's playing is by far his greatest strength taking the second key tall. Played with a confidence we haven't seen since first half of 2021. Will be interesting to see where Bowey comes back in. I think Petty much to others distaste will play forward. Especially with Tomlinson potentially settling back in. Frees Petty up to play deep or lead up forward.

Forgive me I'm sure its been posted on here somewhere. But there's a terrific interview Max did with Whateley on SEN this week (search youtube) where Max mentions that the team wouldn't really be chasing the level of form shown in the last 7 odd games of 2021, simply because it was fairly unstoppable football at the highest level and it seems unrealistic to reach that height of play again. But he followed up by mentioning we didn't need to play that extremely high level to win a flag. Its an interesting perspective and one I think @binman has probably brushed on in different ways. This team has a lot of belief. When we played poorly against Port and home we still found a way to almost snatch the game. When Fremantle found ways to break down our defence (again with us not at our best) we were still in it to win had we kicked straight down the stretch. I think the reality this season is this team isn't going to be pretty like the 2021 team. Teams last year worked out our method (one being the forward handball out of stoppages) and have greatly reduced our ability to score in quick succession like 2021. We have found different avenues to score while maintaining a top four defense. There's been a big focus this season on swinging back momentum in games. The team doesn't panic when the opposition get a run on. They are absorbing that pressure much better and grinding out games knowing they have a fitness level and method that can put them in a winnable position in last quarters. I think we might be able to win ugly on the weekend. But even if we don't to me it doesn't change the fact this team is building for the back end of the season.

I agree. As much as we would all love to know the philosophy, I'm perfectly fine with other clubs not knowing as well.

Amazing content guys. So keen to hear what Troy has to say as a catalist for a lot of our success the past few years. Q: He mentioned in a postgame interview how poised and calm Judd McVee was with ball in hand and how he seems to glide across the ground. Is there a player that Judd reminds him of with his skill set and ability to impact the contest? He might not be able to answer my next question as its more tactical perhaps. Q: With kick-ins this year there seems to have been some adjustments made. Are kick-in situations something that is practiced? Secondly, are kick-in tactics (or schemes) varied depending on how opposition teams set up defensively or is it simply a set play system we use every week? I imagine it also depends on who is kicking it in at the time.

My bigger question is less about the forwards and more the defense. With Hibbo out who plays on Curnow? Is May's back up for the task? I dare say Tomlinson will be a tad slow chasing him around the forward half.

Certainly smaller when you compare us to them. But not that unusual. Have a look at Collingwoods forwards size for comparison. Plus you have to remember we're rolling two 200cm rucks through there regularly.

Many factors why BBB hasn't broken into the side: - Fitness possibly still an issue. Might be on lighter loads until later in the year. - His ability to get any separation from his man (which was always his no.1 strength) has been greatly reduced. No longer presents like he used to due to lack of pace and not much of a contested mark. - Really struggles to do much when the ball hits the deck, especially in most likely wet conditions on Friday - Lack of forward pressure. I would say this is the main one. We're getting burnt off opposition winning and releasing the ball too easily out of their back half. He's been a liability there for a while. So I think its worth giving Smith a try

I'll be in the minority here but I actually wouldn't mind seeing Schache play. I feel one of the main reasons Tmac came in for Petty is that he can provide the versatility Petty has to be swung back when needed. I know he didn't set the world on fire against North but I thought he did enough in that game and has showed enough consistency at Casey to be considered again. I think Goodwin will stick with Tmac to try to keep some continuity down forward for the time being. But I just think Schache gives you more and a different look. Tmac is so stiff in the contest and unable to get any separation from his opponent now. As Binman has mentioned its probable that he's simply there to bring the ball to ground in heavily contested marking situations to get our small forwards involved but I would love to see another/better leading option moving into space besides Frisch and I think Schache could provide this. Add something more dynamic. Note of course this could be Smith but I'm not sure about his forward craft/experience yet to structure up well. Anyway just a casual thought. In: Schache (or Smith), Out: McDonald Harmes to swap with JJ as sub

Jesus now we're going to talk about list changes? Can we at least wait until round 20 or something? I guess halfway point assessment isn't such a bad thing but I really don't think its the list thats the issue at the moment from a talent standpoint. Obviously, we need forwards and younger talent for our ageing players but that will all happen in due course. I'll be sticking to structure and game plan threads and check in at the end of the year with a full season to assess.

So we can agree it depends on perspective. Lets just see how we go the next three games and reassess again at the bye. Still too hard for mine to see if we can consistently stack up well against the best sides.

I get what you're saying but my simple minded asterix is that the dogs were so bloody poor in that round 1 game. Really awful with some of the simple unforced turnovers/errors and lack of structure. I do believe the media choose to ignore a lot of the strong points you make but its understandable to a degree as the dogs I've watched closely compared to that round one game are like chalk and cheese. I concur, Media pundits will always pick and choose which facts to highlight and ignore to suit their narrative. Its a joke really.

Why so sir?

Big game this weekend for JJ. Would love to see him in around the stoppages winning contested ball. I imagine Gus will be needed filling gaps on wing and back line so I think its a terrific opportunity for JJ and Sparrow to stand up.