The heart beats true

That was the second straight game at the G with all the atmosphere of a pop-up library. Was over at quarter time again. Hawthorn supporters are generally pretty thick. They started going bananas when they kicked 3 in a row to start the 3rd. It was fun to remind them to tell the team to get to the ground 90 minutes earlier - when the game actually started. Went for dinner after at San Telmo. Best restaurant in Melbourne I reckon.

Yeah, I agree. Something about it is very strange.

He signed a new 2 year contract at the end of last year, after not showing up fit for the preceding 5 preseasons. He’s a huge part of the problem.

West Coast are legitimately entering Fitzroy territory. What the hell is going on there? They have an obscene amount of resources. You can’t just wipe out 3 seasons of footy because of ‘injuries’. It’s bizarre.

Scott in the coaches box…

Looking forward to Hardwick announcing that not only did they ‘know how to beat’ the Cats, but this time they actually did it.

Geelong look very average tonight.

Surprised to see Oli Henry playing. Thought the trip down the highway would be much too far from home for him.

It’s a terrible product. Only works half the time.

I see nothing in Taranto or Hopper. They both look too slow.

Remember when umpire dissent was a rule? That was a fun 6 weeks.

Cats don’t have anyone at the fall of the ball in their defence. Hope Koz is watching.

TMac would be raging.

Are you legitimately not allowed to bring a blow up mattress? Are there rules about what constitutes ‘sleeping rough’?

I’m one of those whose firmly of the belief that Petty is currently a better option forward. He competes in the air and on the ground, and now is the time to really experiment and get a good look at it. The alternatives aren’t bashing down the door, and it allows us to still play with the structure we want - 2 big marking players forward, Fritta, and Koz. Then we hope to get a mismatch on the 3rd target - be it Gawn or JVR, to take a grab or bring it to ground. We can’t win games 70 to 50 anymore. Turnover game styles are capable of easily scoring 100 points now, so we need to get our forward craft right, and trust our backline to continue to hold up as best it can. Also, don’t whinge about our lack of coaching creativity if you want to keep players where they were in 2022. If nothing changes, nothing changes.

And… Carlton win their appeal.

It’s very interesting how vocal the media are about how wrong this is. I suspect it’s not over. The media dictated it should be looked at, then said we should go to the tribunal, and now are up in arms. It keeps the AFL in the headlines. Sadly we are all just pawns to content.

It’s only because of the stretcher. Even the Suns tried to get him off. What a joke.

Rubbish result for the game

What a loser.

Hard to argue ‘high impact’ when the player is already training and cleared to fly to Perth and play less than 6 days after the incident. Out of curiosity, under the laws is there a level above high impact?

The On The Couch footage was really supportive of our case. He’s within millimetres of punching the ball clear. It’s also worth noting that in a very hot game not one player retaliated, or even said anything to JVR until the play stopped. The players thought it was a football action.

The problem is that the umpires are too scared to make the call. We are told each goal gets checked anyway - so call it as you see it, and then let the reviewer go to work. I’d love to know the stats on how many reviews get overturned. I doubt it’s a high enough percentage to warrant the current overuse. Tin hat time again - it’s all about making sure the TV audience on free to air don’t miss anything. I’d say the system was designed to work as I’ve outlined above - but doesn’t because of concerns advertising would be playing on the overturn, and the TV audience would feel like they’ve missed crucial game play.

If course it’s a top hat. The rest don’t pair with a cape. I’m going for a shiny Sherlock Holmes vibe.

You wouldn’t laugh if you saw my tin hat. You’d be impressed by its sartorial elegance, and how I pair it with my tin cape.