poita

I watched back to back under 10 girls and under 11 boys games in the SMJFL on Sunday. There were two serious concussions requiring hospitalisation in these games resulting from tackles that were remarkably similar to the Cameron tackle on Lever. If this is what the AFL is prepared to accept in their game, they need to be prepared for numbers of junior players to decrease significantly in coming years.

Contrast the rationale for clearing Yeo to the justification for suspending Pickett. There is simply no consistency in the rules that are being applied.

https://vfl.aflmstats.com/player/Kyah_Farris-White The kid has had 3 kicks in 11 VFL games. Clearly he is not playing big minutes but, seriously, what are we trying to achieve here?

Hard to know what to make of that effort. We looked dead tired in the fourth quarter against Adelaide, and I was afraid that we would struggle to get up for the Brisbane game. Ideally we would have had a bye, then played Brisbane next Thursday ahead of the Anzac Eve game. Nevertheless, that wasn't to be, and we needed to find a way to get minds and bodies right for last night. On that count we failed dismally. The lack of effort from the midfielders collectively was appalling. Gawn's ruck work was all over the shop, but at least he was prepared to follow up and have a real crack at ground level. We got next to nothing from Petracca and Viney when the game was alive, and Oliver clearly needs a lengthy rest. Sparrow remains a disappointment, although his effort is generally okay, and Rivers was probably the best of a sorry bunch. The reality is that we were beaten in the midfield against Port, probably broke level with an average group against Adelaide and were belted by Brisbane. We have many issues in there, one of which is our lack of depth (as I pointed out prior to the season). Langdon works hard but really doesn't contribute much. Windsor will be a really good player in a year or two, but ran around like a headless chook for most of last night. Billings does some nice things amid a deluge of ordinary ones. I don't want Hunter back in the side, but he'll almost certainly return if he plays well tomorrow. May and Lever were disappointing early, but stood up well after quarter time under constant pressure. McDonald was excellent. McVee had a poor game, and Howes clearly shouldn't be playing at this level (and wouldn't if Bowey and Hore were available). Salem getting injured early was sub-optimal, but his inability to string meaningful stretches of football together makes him a liability for a (supposed) premiership contender. I thought Woewodin battled away okay, but was clearly out of position and out of his depth. Overall to get away with conceding 82 points in those circumstances was a pretty good effort. We didn't make life at all easy for our forwards, but only Chandler could hold his head high. Three goals in three quarters is just abysmal. Tholstrup clearly wasn't ready, but still contributed more than Laurie would have. Van Rooyen has regressed significantly, and Brown and Petty clearly can't play in the same forward line. I have no idea why those three don't run at the football, but instead wait for the ball to be kicked on top of their heads. I'd almost rather we cleared the entire 50m arc out and allowed Fritsch and Chandler to operate in there with space in front of them, while the three talls warm the bench. Hopefully its as simple as resting some tired minds and bodies, and we will be in better shape for Richmond and Geelong. We really need to win both of those games, because Carlton off a five day break will be tough. Our woeful lack of depth and some boneheaded list management decisions are really starting to cause issues, and nothing other than a big clean out at year end will fix this.

The hit was such low impact that it wouldn't have broken tissue paper. There have been multiple cases this year where there has been insufficient force to justify a charge and this is another.

Absolute champion who epitomises all that is great about this group. Congratulations Jack.

We've made some dumb list management decisions in recent years, but this is by far the worst. Mediocre footballers should not be getting three years of contract security under any circumstances.

I've said this before, but how are we giving Farris-White any chance to succeed when he gets minimal game time in unfamiliar positions at a level that is far too strong for him? He is contributing nothing to the team (1 handpass), and gaining no confidence or experience. He needs to be playing significant minutes rucking at a suitable level, and then maybe he can get a gig at Casey when he is ready.

I couldn't believe that people were talking up our depth coming into this season, and this miserable Casey performance highlights this. Other than Tomlinson, who is a proven AFL player, there is nothing to get excited about with that group. Our kicking is woeful, handpasses are poor and overused, we are undersized through the middle and in key positions, and there is no great desire to tackle or provide physical pressure. If we can't find some big bodied midfielders to replace Dunstan and Munro, it is going to be an extremely long and miserable season for Casey.

Five changes for round 1 is a clear admission that we royally stuffed up the opening round team. Hopefully we never see Laurie, Schache and Spargo again. Chandler very lucky as well, but I have no idea what Tomlinson did wrong.

Two or three draft picks does not constitute huge list changes, which is exactly the problem. We have 10 players on our list that aren't AFL standard, and most of them have been around for at least 3 years. We're a serious injury to Gawn or May away from a bottom 6 finish.

Badly beaten by a Sydney midfield missing Mills, Parker and Adams. Sparrow and Rivers provided nothing. Salem good in first half, then disappeared. Oliver plenty of touches, but no impact. Viney good and Petracca okay in parts, but that performance from a full strength midfield group was concerning. We're not getting 23 games from all of these guys. What happens when we lose a couple to injury?

Terrible performance for most of the night. We looked like a side that wanted to be anywhere else. Our bottom 5-6 players are simply not AFL standard - Schache, Chandler, Spargo, Laurie. Billings shouldn't have been sub, but was extremely poor. If we can't put 22 decent players on the field each week, we won't be playing finals. Windsor and Howes showed a bit early, but did very little after half time. We'll keep playing them though, because our depth is so bad that we simply have to. Gawn should be ashamed of his performance, being monstered by his understudy. Nevertheless if we had recruited a legitimate second ruck, we could have given him some support. Luckily for Max he will probably only cop this for 22 more games, unless he breaks down beforehand. Viney, Fritsch and maybe Petracca did their jobs, but the rest were really poor. Goodwin had a woeful evening as well.

ESPN's list: https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/39425665/afl-top-50-best-afl-players-season-2024 1. TOBY GREENE (GWS) 2. MARCUS BONTEMPELLI (WESTERN BULLDOGS) 3. CHARLIE CURNOW (CARLTON) 4. CHRISTIAN PETRACCA (MELBOURNE) 5. JEREMY CAMERON (GEELONG) 6. LACHIE NEALE (BRISBANE) 7. NICK DAICOS (COLLINGWOOD) 8. PATRICK CRIPPS (CARLTON) 9. CLAYTON OLIVER (MELBOURNE) 10. JAMES SICILY (HAWTHORN) 11. JORDAN DE GOEY (COLLINGWOOD) 12. ZAK BUTTERS (PORT ADELAIDE) 13. SAM TAYLOR (GWS) 14. DUSTIN MARTIN (RICHMOND) 15. TOM GREEN (GWS) 16. SHAI BOLTON (RICHMOND) 17. SAM WALSH (CARLTON) 18. TOM LIBERATORE (WESTERN BULLDOGS) 19. ERROL GULDEN (SYDNEY) 20. CONNOR ROZEE (PORT ADELAIDE) 21. TAYLOR WALKER (ADELAIDE) 22. CHARLIE CAMERON (BRISBANE) 23. TOM LYNCH (RICHMOND) 24. TOM STEWART (GEELONG) 25. NOAH ANDERSON (GOLD COAST) 26. CALEB SERONG (FREMANTLE) 27. DARCY MOORE (COLLINGWOOD) 28. NICK LARKEY (NORTH MELBOURNE) 29. JORDAN DAWSON (ADELAIDE) 30. MAX GAWN (MELBOURNE) 31. RORY LAIRD (ADELAIDE) 32. STEVEN MAY (MELBOURNE) 33. LUKE DAVIES-UNIACKE (NORTH MELBOURNE) 34. JOE DANIHER (BRISBANE) 35. PATRICK DANGERFIELD (GEELONG) 36. ZACH MERRETT (ESSENDON) 37. TOUK MILLER (GOLD COAST) 38. HARRIS ANDREWS (BRISBANE) 39. ROWAN MARSHALL (ST KILDA) 40. DARCY PARISH (ESSENDON) 41. JACK SINCLAIR (ST KILDA) 42. TOM HAWKINS (GEELONG) 43. TIM ENGLISH (WESTERN BULLDOGS) 44. CHAD WARNER (SYDNEY) 45. OSCAR ALLEN (WEST COAST) 46. STEPHEN CONIGLIO (GWS) 47. ANDREW BRAYSHAW (FREMANTLE) 48. JACOB WEITERING (CARLTON) 49. DAN HOUSTON (PORT ADELAIDE) 50. MAX KING (ST KILDA)

Verrall honestly just needs to barrel into Grundy a few times in the first quarter and he will have done his job - any possessions are a bonus. Schache clearly doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to be a ruckman, and I hate the idea of throwing JVR in the ruck against players 15kgs and 15cms bigger than him - we're just going to destroy him.

That is truly moronic if true. The bigger issue is probably that we didn't bother having any train on players over summer and didn't look past the first round of the draft, so we have no idea what's out there.

At they very least they should be able to give some updates as to the progress of players on the injury list. Once again it seems as though (a) this club doesn't care about its members or (b) the club is staffed by amateurs.

We knew in October that Oliver and Brayshaw were both massive risks coming into this season, and yet we allowed all of Jordon, Harmes and Dunstan to depart for nothing. Now we are left with the only midfield options being Petracca, Oliver and Viney (all admittedly guns, although Oliver is still a clear risk), plus Sparrow who has clearly plateaued since 2021. We're completely stuffed if any of those four misses games this year. I'm sure the rose-coloured glasses brigade can list another 10 players who can roll through the midfield if required, but the reality is that most of these either (a) take quality players from other areas (Pickett, Rivers, Salem, Neal-Bullen) or (b) are well off AFL standard at this time (Laurie, Woewodin, Tholstrup). The reality is that the cupboard is completely empty when it comes to midfield depth. It's bad enough that we have no ruck depth and are struggling to find a fit key forward, but to neglect the midfield so badly in recent years is almost criminal. We haven't drafted a genuine onballer with a top 20 pick since Oliver 8 years ago. Yet Taylor and Lamb are happy to load up on multiple small-medium sized forwards year after year. The way our list has been managed since the 2021 grand final is just appalling.

We love you and will deeply miss you Gus. This off season can go and get forked.

I had us down to finish around 6th until 2-3 weeks ago. Our injury list, lack of depth in key positions and the ongoing off field dramas have dented my confidence, and I now think we'll miss finals. I also don't think that would be the worst thing in the world. A year to reset, clean up the list and work out whether some of our fringe players can actually play could be the best thing for us long term. T

I really hope that we don't gift games to Langdon and Hunter again this year. If the likes of Brown, Windsor and Woewodin outperform Langdon and Hunter during the pre season games, they absolutely should be selected for the Sydney game.

An obvious tick for our AFLW program, but presumably losing a senior assistant coach leaves a significant hole to be filled. Hopefully we can find a quality person to come in and support the group, because it is clear that things went well off script in the last month of last season. https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1076473/dogs-appoint-former-dees-assistant-tamara-hyett-as-aflw-coach

With Richmond playing there should be a decent crowd, so expect a fair walk if you arrive after the start time. This will be interesting. I'm guessing many of our top players will do their work early and be showered and dressed before the end of the match. Will they stick around, or sneak out the back? No. Expect to stand at the back of the hill, particularly if you arrive late. Limited seating is usually taken by players, staff, families, etc.

Bad luck for anyone in the Seymour region (or anyone else for that matter) who might be hoping for some news regarding the community camp. Are people just meant to guess what is going on?

I see the two Sydney teams are playing games in the VFLW competition this year. Who the hell is funding the costs for sending teams to and from Sydney, and who is compensating part time, amateur footballers for time away from work and study? Imagine if this money was put towards supporting local football clubs.