Wells 11

Stoked. he’s SO important to the club and carlton u can just go [censored] off!! I wished he’d signed fr longer tbh but I appreciate coming into FA he’d be looking at a monster contract. gotta get the job done in the next 3 years or our window will be gone. now or never dees!

I reckon the hawks may play Frost on Fritsch ( try saying that quickly) and not cover Jackson so strongly. If that happens he’s going to need to stand up , hold those marks and kick straight to throw the tactical game back our way.

Feel the same about Daw. Just feel he’s going to have some important role to play at some stage. I know you can’t pick and choose full backs for different opposition, but against Lynch or McKay ie the monster forwards, he’d be my go to over Petty.

holy [censored]!

Re comparisons of Dean and Lyon . I used to think the same. He definitely did seem to look and move like Garry at the time ...which was and is still a massive compliment. Losing him was a real blow back then. He was a dominant force in the 87 finals series with only something like 20 games to his name. A cruel blow.

Agreed and you can probably add Brisbane into that mix too. My hope is in the sense I have that this team is still gelling. Kozzi just getting into full flight , Jackson emerging, Brown yet to play and clearance tactics that seem way more refined and flexible. So I agree, right now we’re not looking like a team that can play at the level of the top 4 or 5, but there’s at least a chance we might be by seasons end.

so what your saying is, its a simple process?

I’m all for a more evenly fixtured comp and the 20 team idea would give us just that. The current biased draw sets up all kinds of inequities that I hate! i grew up with 12 teams and 22 rounds , one home one away vs all teams. I still miss the sense of justice in that. Top 12 is daft. Just go for a top 10. Don’t think teams below half way on the ladder should be included in finals. Tassie deserve a gig. not sure where the other team come from. maybe a third from WA or SA? Anyway I seem to be one of the few that likes this whole idea in general.

agreed!

Great write up, and a good read. ? I was watching last weeks geelong v Hawks game, hoping the cats would win fr two reasons. 1./ The style they’re playing is slow and outdated and I don’t think they’ll beat us with it in 2021. I wanted them to win so they would be encouraged not to change it. 2./ Despite their first up loss i feel like they’re still a cocky team who’ve drunk a lot of success. Fair enough if you’re richmond or west coast but they’re not in that sphere anymore. i reckon they’re an team on the cusp of a big fall. Id like them to stay falsely cocky fr one more week and get barrelled by us. I feel a bit insane saying this but im going the dees by a lazy 45 pts plus.

yep. that’s 3 weeks in a row i think we could have won by 10 goals plus. It’s a happy complaint to have fr sure though isn’t it. we’re 3-0 and I still feel they have another whole level they can get to. Its not just our 4 outright guns of gawn, petracca, oliver, May anymore. lever is bk on, Langdon must be close to AA, Salem and hunt have both been a revelation to me so far, Kozzi and i could keep going. plus the contested ball stats and new found leadership from the box. Starting to get genuinely excited but the game on Sunday will reveal a lot re fantasy vs reality fr me .

We've got a genuine star. So excited.

Could be. 3 -0 is a just massive start...and creates something in a club. Its so close, just hanging there like low lying fruit, waiting to be taken. hoping the dees are up to it.

feeling this strange, unfamiliar, sensation of match day confidence. Don’t be concerned fr me though, I’m sure by the time the game starts it will have worn off.

An interesting stat isnt it. For some odd reason I watched Buckley in his post match interview, and he was asked all about this. Mentioned Gawn a couple of times in his response saying dominant rucks are easy for the opposition to nullify or counter. Pointed out the real advantage they were looking for Grundy to give wasnt his hitouts but his precense around the ground. Feel like we're in much same arena w Gawn re players on both sides setting up to read his taps.

Agreed, especially re fritter. he’s soooo tense when he kicks. you can see that a mile away. Needs to find the right relaxation/ tension mix. atm he’s just trying too hard and he’s losing his natural flow. hoping someone is getting in his ear and helping him in this way. but it was the same last year too. he’s out an out elite re marks inside 50... but it may be time to move him further upfield for a stint. or fr stints within quarters. release the pressure valve a bit.

Bullies looked unbelievably good tonight didn’t they?! so clean when it really mattered. We’ve pretty much got the raw materials to compete with these teams i reckon but we feel wasteful and out of tune atm. Hoping we find our real flow and finish.

well, just to counter balance this ...i went with a friend and we had saint fans around all around us who were very friendly and even at times complimentary re kozi. Everyone has there own experience i know but ours was good.

It’s a massive stat isn’t it. considering, as you point out, the clearances were equal. And yes we def do look to be playing a bit differently.

do we def have a home final?

there’s big difference in body shape here. Gawn hasn’t got the weight of Hawkins to do that at stoppages. The amount of times hawkins shoves the rucks in the bk at throw ins and gets away with it astonishes me. The geelong rucking subrule ie it’s in the back unless a. it’s a geelong player at kardinia park or b. it’s hawkins

we beat richmond in the hafey game so i’m still hopeful! So early in the season players will be fully switched on anyway.

Have often thought our crap facilities since we left the g were partly responsible fr a slight % less fitness and cohesion and therefore slumps. slumps costing possible premierships in those years when we were genuinely a good side. I’m not at all convinced we are one this year btw. you might have to predate 64 as a “ doing it easy year” though. we had to beat the hawks in a tight final game to reach the finals that year, which we did with about 60 secs to go. But i could live with doing it tough like that!!

I remember our 2005 start well. From memory Bruce had 9 brownlow votes after 3 games and was the hottest player in the comp. He never came bk to the same level after that spear tackle and I’m not sure we quite found the same spark as a team after that loss either.

I haven’t read this whole thread so apologies if i’m repeating what’s already been stated. One of the biggest, game changing, attributes Gus seemed to possess in 2018 was his ability to work with Max at centre bounces. They were a formidable duo and between them turned games in dominant quarters. I remember thinking we had one of the best combos in the league there. Also, because he’s so comfortable on both sides of his body he is, without being quick, very evasive coming out of the middle. Enough with being tough in the clearance can we please put someone in there with a frikn brain. ie Gus We have now next to NO cohesion at the bounce and regularaly get slaughtered there. Like we never had another set up to follow. I cannot for the life of me understand why they’re not using him in this way.