Wells 11

Lions looked tired and slow. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy they lost but I reckon this plays into the loading argument. They’re a way better side than that performance and guaranteed come Sept they will be a very very good side.

Say anything worth repeating?

But exactly why would ash johnson wanna leave the pies right now…on the threshold of a golden era?

worth going just to see that!

Question that’s come up a lot on DL over the last few days. Why is kozzie not getting any of the centre bounces?

yep re squandered. It def hurts more doesn’t it when we can see a few teams that have genuinely passed us. Although, against that, you could say it wasn’t a lack of application in 22 but more like we pushed too hard. Not resting injured players… pushing for perfection as admitted. We didn’t relax we just didn’t quite play the right hand. Honest mistake if you like. Also, even at peak, I wonder if we would have gotten past geelong. Bearing Geelong in mind though, you never know if can’t somehow do a mini, top end rebuild and come bk in a year or two. We still have a great core of top end talent.

I didn’t watch the game but 19 possessions is actually good. Means he’s in the game and probably playing a bit further up? If fit (enough) he’s a big in. Aside from all else he kicks straight. Can be a critical aspect of momentum. Jesus… yesterday watching Harmes, Spargo, Brayshaw, Pickett, JVR and Grundy kick the game away from us just about killed me.

As Im calming down after the game a few things stand out. It was a tough, hard fought contest against a good team hitting their straps now. It’s not a crime to lose to a likely finalist on a winning streak, but it’s still a game we should have won. 1./ Basic errors in tight games kill you. spargo spoils fritsch mark at 30 metres, harmes does the same to Jvr. Both players also miss sitters from 30 during the game. Grundy running in to goal unpressured from 35 misses. Errors will always happen but we made way too many. 2./ simple but true… bad kicking costs you in tight games . They kicked straight we didn’t. Picket 2x OOF to go with his 2 goals but there was many culprits. Not just bad kicking at goal either, our kicking all over the ground was riddled with poor choices. Trac def a culprit. 3./ Lever is way down on form. Got to good places to impose himself but dropped marks he would normally take including the one that led to the sealer. 4./ An intangible. It felt, at the ground, we just didn’t have a lot of spark. They are consistently tough and we should all appreciate that. But there just doesn’t seem to be much excitement between them or anyone to light that fuse. 5./ We’re a good to very good side in 23. Top 4-6. But we’re no longer a great one. BBB and Tmac are pretty much done now and they were both a big part of our flag year. Sadly I think We may have to adjust to the truth of where we actually sit in 23.

It’s an interesting point. At the game I felt a bit the same… something is definitely flat in the group.

It was painful to watch all day wasn’t it, Spargo from 30, harnes from 35, kozzie 2x oof , jvr and brayshaw crouch goals in a tight last qtr. it’s the gane right there.

I love the Narrm concept and that we led the league with this… but we have a [censored] record with that as our name. Have Narrm won a game yet? MFCSS rising … this is big game.

yep. i’ll boo him if he kicks a goal… but I won’t be at it all day.

wow! thats big news if true. Congrats to him and his proud dad Shane. Tbh though I haven't really taken him in that much. At a glance he doesn't seem to overly quick or have any one wood I can easily see. Anyone want to bring me more fully up to date on what he may bring? Big tank? hard at the ball?

Port were missing talls on a wet night. They were probably better without them...so I disagree re "key" We were down Sparrow and Petty...perhaps Brown ( unsure of his status now) We also has Oliver injured in the game and Pertracca at half rat power for the whole game. Plus Fritta on altered training now for months. So...we've def had our fair share of injuries and suspensions in 23. Come Sat we'll be down Oliver and Hunter and unsure of what Trac can do. these are pretty big outs.

The rules are very clear imo. Essentially, if you get hit in the head and lie down afterwards for more than 10 secs it’ll be a suspension. Forget about causes and actions. This will be true … for a short time. Until later in the season when it’s ignored. Or until a big player from a big team gets reported for same. or if it’s a finals game. cmon redleg what is there to not understand?

Not so. it’s true that if we lose then top 2 will be over and top 4 way more difficult. But a fit Oliver is THE primary goal here… not just for this year either. when fit and firing we can match it with everyone ( except sadly maybe not the pies) Oliver fullly healthy should be the only thinking here ….not getting him up fr a game we likely lose anyway.

In many ways, particularly when u look at a series of truly terrible decisions we were unlucky to lose. which is irritating. But… looking at that game we shouldn’t have even been close. I can live with that loss. Dees falling will be the story …if that what we are doing… not bad umpiring. That’s what you get when you’ve been up for a while. I’ll pay that price. :-)

Yep 😰 ....better than it used to be ...but still definitely certifiable.

Thank you for clearing that up for me...it had lived as a question mark in some dark MFCSS part of my mind!

It’s so out of the blue that I gotta wonder if he jumped or was pushed? Something tells me there’s a fair bit more to this story than meets the eye.

Really showed us up didn’t they. And to add to that in the first half of the last quarter they had 11 straight fwd 50 entries. 11 straight! So, there’s the game on the line and we’re fully slaughtered.

yep. The game has changed re the type of midfielders that will win flags. Yes you’ve still got to be tough but speed and foot skills are bk in town and open the game to speed. Port have 3 of the new prototype in Butters , JHF and rozee. Pies have 2.5 in pendlebury and Daicos. Lions have 2 in Raynor and Ashcroft these are the new breed of elite. We just don’t have that type . I would have thougt in the wet our mix prob should have had an edge but clearly didn’t. Perhaps that includes strategy as well? seems we too easily get picked apart now out of stoppage . But in general we’re missing speed and elite footskills and there’s no one coming through with those attributes. JJ, Harmes and Dunstan are all v good players but they’re not gonna change our dynamic. Woewodin looks a bit similar. Howes? maybe worth a look. Hunter adds nothing , Brayshaw has gone backwards…sparrow is just another of OUR prototype. Seems we’re just wavy too full of good to v good plodders. Will consistently beat up on younger bodied teams and lose to the top 4-5 teams. We’ve slipped a long way. Yes Oliver and Trac and Max are elite and champions of the game but we won’t win a flag now without more and different in our arsenal. I’m seeing a 4-6 th finish. A PF is as high as I see us going. Hate to say it but we’re just not winning a flag in 23. The only upside is 2x good first round picks and more time into JVR.

I think there’s actually 5 legitimate top four sides this year. As ridiculous as that sounds lol. lions, cats, pies, dees and power. So this is one of those 8 point games we def don’t want to drop. Big game!

I’d love to see the KB game be a 1v2 encounter. Hopefully we keep winning up to the game. Might be the biggest attendance in a H&A game in my 50 plus years of following the Dees. Could be 95k which is virtually a GF crowd.