The heart beats true

It’s going to be an up and down season. We finished 14th 2 years in a row, and then lost our best midfielder, our fullback, and our 2 best lockdown defenders. The good news is that unlike last year I feel like the club is actually ahead of the curve. We know where we are at, and it’s going to be hard work to get there, but we’ve already done a lot of the hard decision making. We need to continue to get the next layer of talent exposed at the level, and we also need to really put pressure on our 2nd tier talent to step up and be more accountable. I don’t have much time for folks coming for Lindsey or Langford. They are being played out of position so they can see the level. I do think we are very entitled to expect more from Rivers and Sparrow. Once you’re over that 100 game mark you need to be having a lot more impact on games if you want to be a midfielder. I like Riv, but I reckon he’s a half back flanker.

They are just being asked to do more than most players at their level, and often being played out of position to expose them to the level without overexposing the team. They’ll all be good players in 2 years time.

Much better effort around the ball that quarter. It’s good for our boys to fight back. We really miss Viney when we need a bit of grunt in game. It can’t be all up to Max, or waiting until quarter time for the coach. This year is about developing and understanding what we do well, and learning from where we need to improve. The younger boys on ball need to learn it’s up to them to wrestle the momentum back.

I’m really proud of this effort

This is better fight.

Great stuff Sharpie

It’s about how we respond now. It will be instructive.

It was mostly pretty forgettable - which is how it should be. It didn’t add much at the ground, but it also wasn’t so loud as to be overwhelming. Watching footy on the TV, and seeing other teams do it, made me realise it’s even harder to hear on TV. Sharpies pick has the greatest impact, because it has built in sing along. It made me think someone really needs to pick The Angels ‘Am I Ever Going To See Your Face Again’. It would be an overnight viral sensation for the game.

This Hawthorn forward line would be a nightmare to play in. 5 of them trying to kick goal of the year, and Gunstan the only one doing the right thing.

Surely the AFL Doctor will step in. That was a very clear head knock.

That was a fun day at the G. Good to see a fair bit of support. I thought it was an interesting game because at times I felt like we actually didn’t just run and gun. Windsor seems to be one of the players that calls the tempo of the game. I lost count of how many times I saw him shaking his hands at players to tell them to slow it down. Even in the last Gawn went long down the line once and it resulted in a St Kilda goal (because Ross wanted them to slingshot), but then he did it again and Culley took a huge contested grab that resulted in a goal. I don’t think it’s purely as simple as a change in game plan, because at times the plan wasn’t purely different, but the personal certainly was. We have a real forward line with Roo, Checkers, Fritsch, Culley and the Picketts. It’s exciting to see what comes next. It’s not always going to be perfect, but it will be informative of where we want to go, and I think the clubs better for a fresh start.

If you hate the pregame nonsense there’s a simple solution. Get yourself a reserve seat. I rock up 2 minutes before the bounce. Happy days.

Yep

Just looks it up and there’s been ONE game since 2016 that didn’t feature either one of Petracca, Oliver and Viney. Round 24, 2024. It’s going to look very different. Go Dees!

Adelaide look out on their feet. It’s almost like they haven’t played a game of footy for 5 months against a team who played last week.