Lucifers Hero

At the start of the year August games looked like a training run with a good workout in the last round, based on where teams finished in 2021: Freo: 11th Magpies: 19th Blues: 13th Lions: 4th Now they are desperate to take our top 2 or top 4 spot and we will be fighting for a double chance. I had really counted on a win last night. Top 4 would have been almost guaranteed. So deflating to lose and to let them take a chunk of % off us.

Max had a knee to the back early in the game and was on his knees for a while. He has had back issues for a few months. Why then did we play him for 92% of the game and the back up ruckmen Jackson 69% and Weideman 72%. Max had to do it all: ruck, fwd and rarely (by necessity) drop back. I don't think Jackson went down back at all but then he rarely does. Just doesn't make sense to burden a beaten up Max with that workload. Share it around a bit more among the three of them be it ruck, fwd or back.

We missed Lever. Bulldogs would never have scored 110 if he was in the team. We didn't have a ruckman drop back to help defend for nearly the whole game which compounded the impact of Lever's absence.

These comments from last year made me doubt if Grundy has what it takes to give his all for a premiership: “Being a premiership player too. It just feels like a lot of the messaging was ‘your career is only successful if you win a premiership’. “It has never made sense to me. How can you go through 15 years of your life playing at the highest level but not see it as a success? “Being able to have that perspective and balance away from football and to love what you do in finding happiness in the journey. That’s more important than the destination.” brodie-grundy-interview-career "I think as I've gotten older, you want to be able to make it through a career and make it sustainable and most importantly, enjoy it. I am not going to do extra work at the expense of being miserable. For me it is really important to have that balance and to know when to push and do the extra work and to also know when to pull it back. It is a finite balance and it is different for everyone. "I want to be someone that helps facilitate those conversations." https://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/587804/grundy-opens-up-about-footy-and-life-outside-the-game By the way, the interview behind those articles was a year after he signed his mega contract. I understand his view that a successful career is not defined by winning a premiership and totally agree with having interests outside football and not wanting to be miserable. However, I got the impression he was happy to have a successful career ie the journey and not the destination ie a premiership. He was fairly successful (2 x AA, 2 X BnF winner) before his mega contract. Maybe that success and his mega contract are enough for him. He will be 29 early next year and getting to the latter part of his career. His outlook on life is admirable but I want players who want to succeed in getting us more premierships. Otherwise stay away. A BIG, BIG NO from me!

Sydney's poor kicking (4.11) in 2nd and 3rd qtrs has cost them a significant % boost. It may cost them a top 4 spot.

"Fremantle tall Rory Lobb has been reminded he is a contracted player and is wanted next season despite industry sources claiming he is a major chip in the Dockers’ bid to lure Luke Jackson. Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said on Saturday he expected Lobb to be at the club next season". That is the second time in as many weeks Longmuir has pumped up Lobb as a wanted player. Not bluffing anyone saying he is a wanted player. Just trying to max Lobb's trade value and use his contract as leverage. Not sure whether the message is for the bulldogs to pay up more or to us as a key to a LJ trade.

I'm optimistic about Port beating the Cats at Adelaide Oval. A repeat the 2021 QF performance therel will do just fine. Both teams kicked poorly. Result: Port: 12.14.86 d Cats 5.13.43

That too.

His hand will be strapped, he will have a few pain numbing injections and he won't feel a thing when he has his usual quota of handballs.😐

So many threads detour to Sam bashing and the pile on is getting tedious. Ask oneself a question: Is he doing the best he can? If the answer is 'yes' then folks should back off. His best may not be enough for some but it is all that can reasonably be asked.

The article itself says: “They’ve tried and failed on a couple already this year to get them on the hook.” so it would be players from other clubs.

“They’ve tried and failed on a couple already this year.” I wonder who has turned us down?

I'm of the same thinking, in that we may take the afl comp pick, less than he is worth, to get another deal we want done over the line or get it done early. We took less than we wanted for Watts but got the pick for Fritsch. Ditto we converted Hogan for May. Effectively Brown for Preuss etc. Above all we are pragmatic when it comes to trades rather try and extract max value on each trade.

I agree about Gus' trade value which is why I think we would not match. Yes, we would lose a comp pick for an inbound FA but are there any we would be looking at/want? De Goey aside? Mc Stay looks bound for Coll.

Buckley can be a real FIGJAM sometimes. As something totally irrelevant I notice his sons are named Ayce and Jett. Nice names in a way but phonetically they are words used to describe elite sports people...

If we win the premiership it will be pick 19 assuming the AFL deem the comp pick to be a first round pick. Whatever pick we get will drop 2-3 spots after a North pp and F/S pick(s). What pick do you think we get for Gus in a trade, freo aside?

Barrett doesn't have a clue. The easy way to stop a double by freo is to match their offer for Brayshaw and force a trade. As it is, they are struggling for currency for Jackson. Could only do Jackson and Brayshaw if they trade a very good player out, to us or to another team, to get a suitable draft pick for Gus. Not to mention their salary cap. Having said that does anyone think we will get better than the afl compensation pick (a late first round pick) for Gus in a trade, with any team? I'm inclined to think not so we will not match an RFA offer.

That would only work if Sparrow left, which isn't likely. Just not sure we need another inside mid. Can think of other list priorities.

Why would we go after an inside mid when Brayshaw can't get a game there. Bruhn will help our sal cap but we have a bunch of players competing for that spot and a few more yet to debut.

Thanks. I got the team wrong but the situation was he went there for more midfield time isn't played as a midfielder. All the more reason for Gus to be wary of going there.

Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper, Bobby Hill and Tanner Bruhn have all been floated as candidates to leave the Giants, but salary cap issues and a willingness from the club to “reset” amid a mini-rebuild should reportedly see all four leave. Richmond and Collingwood are among the Victorian clubs have shown interest in Taranto, while Adelaide, Richmond and Geelong have been linked to Hopper. Small forward Hill requested a trade to Essendon last year but is most likely to join the Magpies, while Bruhn is looking at a move back to Victoria, with the Cats thought to be keen on the Geelong Falcons product. gws-giants-exodus The price they pay for giving million dollar contracts to a handful of players most of whom are not pulling their weight. It is a mystery why GWS keep drafting midfielders when they don't have room for them in the side or cap space a few years later. They try to play them in other positions, the kids don't like it and go home. Rinse and repeat! Meanwhile they are deficient in key positions.

The most underwhelming reaction to being drafted, ever:

Ess midfielders are physically relatively small. Gus is the 'bigger body' type they need. Last year when Shiel was injured Parish moved into and 'starred' in the midfield, collected coaches and brownlow votes and was suddenly 'elite'. This year he and Merritt play hand-ball-in-circles, wrack up possessions and they lose. Since Parish has been out injured they go more direct to goal and won nearly every match. Some shaking up will happen in their midfield. But Gus should be careful what he wishes for and look to Jeremy Howe. Howe wanted to play fwd and quickly ended up in the backline where he was at Melbourne. Gus is not in our midfield because he is more flexible than the others we have. So he may well find he is promised midfield time but because those there are not versatile, or they would be played elsewhere now, he may find himself back on a wing or worse in the backline again. Caldwell went to Carlton for more midfield time. Quickly went to the HBF. AFL is littered with players made promises at courting clubs only to find 'circumstances change' and they end up playing in a different position to that promised. Message for Gus: Beware the Siren Song!

Perhaps. But that suggests Jackson might play one off against the other and I wouldn't have thought he was the type. One would hope that if he chooses a club he isn't going to nickle and dime them but go there for the right reasons.

The whole contract thing seems odd. If Jackson wants to go to Freo they don't need to offer such big $ or term. They could do 4 or 5 years on a more moderate package. He isn't likely to go anywhere else when it expires. Then renew another 3 or 4 years on big or bigger $ depending on how he goes.