Lucifers Hero

Good pick up DJ. Only 36 hitouts for the game. Typically it is 60 to 80, rarely below 45. With 18 goals + 4 bounces to start each quarter means there were only 14 around the ground ball ups or throw-ins last night. My thoughts on the low numbers: minimum stoppages was part of Goodwin's strategy to neutralise Goldstein's ruck strength. Less chances to dominate. it was clever of Goodwin to give LJ just 69% game time whereas Goldie played 87%. Goldstein looked flushed and sweating on the bench whereas LJ looked as fresh as a daisy. He is a cool kid! Never looked flustered or daunted in any way. few stoppages was a good tactic to wear down a less fit opposition giving them less time to rest. I'm guessing these 3 things were deliberate pre-game strategies by Goodwin and I applaud him for that creativity. On unrelated game tactics I thought Langdon spent a lot of time 'sweeping' near op goals, maybe to allow someone else (Lever) to fill the hole in defence that Max normally would. If my reading of that is correct, again kudos to Goodwin. Overall, it was a good tactical game and a big coaching win for Goodwin. Comprehensively out-coached Shaw.

He had zero stats for the first quarter. Stats aren't the be all, end all. He idles around for parts of the game. In another game (Carlton?) he had no stats for the last quarter. It can happen to anyone but we can't afford a player who does that on a regular basis. He improved after that and had an impact. But overall not sure he did enough to keep his spot. Doubt it is smart to take him into the Pies game after 4 games in the last 2 weeks if fresher players available.

Or play them in NT: Ess vs WCE and Dees vs Freo. And play Dees vs Ess in NT (as Ess play Rich in Darwin in rnd 13). But my mfcss says Ess will get to hub in Darwin and we move between Qld, Darwin and Alice...

Totally agree. But there seems to be considerable doubt as to whether Gus stays in the midfield as an 'outside', clearance mid vs keeping 3 contested bulls in the middle. I was trying to frame the discussion around midfield structure and roles and the point was Brayshaw and Viney play different roles and Gus adds a different look to our midfield structure. So may Brayshaw vs Viney isn't the right question. Whereas Viney and Oliver play similar roles, hence the rhetorical question of Viney vs Oliver. Oliver, hands down every time..

Sure Viney can break away from a contest but he is more prone to force a ball up or HTB than others. There is a consensus we have too many similar mids. Viney, Petracca and Oliver are bulls and or see ball, get ball types. Gus isn't. imv he adds something the others don't. As an outside mid type, his role is different to the other 3. So what gives. Taking the names out of it for a moment imv it comes down to midfield structure, roles and skills. If we want 3 contested bull types competing for the ball it is Oliver, Viney, Petracca. The first priority needs to be maximise the team's ability to win. imv the team will be much better off with roles for 2 inside, contested bulls and 1 outside mid to spread. The roles can mix a bit within games but their primary roles are clearly defined. True, the midfield won't be as 'strong' from a contested bull perspective with a 2 and 1 structure but I think it will be better than a 3 and 0 structure. If people accept that then either Gus stays in the middle or one of the 3 contested bulls are re-trained. Do we have the time luxury to re-train one this season... So the question is which contested bull comes out? The reason people suggest Viney comes out is because Oliver and Petracca are better. That is no slight on Viney. Its just that Oliver and Petracca are exceptional.

Re the Viney vs Brayshaw in the middle. For me it is not who is the better mid (both are) but the game plan we want at centre stoppages. Viney is such a bull; he hunts the ball, takes the first possession from the tap (as does Oliver), but likes to take ops on. We all love that about him. But unlike Petracca he isn't strong enough to fend them off (or he chooses not to). So when Viney takes first possession it is often HTB, another ball up or a turnover (if he can't get on to his left side). No spread or clearance for us. Gus takes the second possession after the tap, gets to the outside for a clean clearance. Its a bit like how we played in 2018 with players at the back of the square for centre bounces. Gus is less of a bull and a bit more of an outside mid. So I would suggest it is Viney, Oliver and Petracca that are most alike with Gus having attributes the others don't have as much. And, it looks to me Viney's style is interfering with Oliver's role (who gets first possession?) as much as keeping Gus out. When Viney is in the middle we rely on one of the wingmen to take the second possession but it takes too long for them to get there and meanwhile one of the op mids has taken possession of there is another stoppage. For a while our clearances haven't matched Max's ruck dominance. imv it is that the mids roles aren't clearly defined or they are not following orders. So is the discussion Viney vs Oliver rather than Viney vs Brayshaw? In a nutshell we spread much better with Gus in there. And in my mind it is Oliver over Viney. Its a real dilemma and at the end of the day it comes down to how we want our centre stoppages/clearances and spread to work. We need to do something to get more value from Max's dominance.

I wonder if they took offence at Goodwin's comments about not enough protection for Max from them and they 'decided' to show whose boss! It may be a long bow but one has to wonder. The umpiring seemed very one sided. Not just the soft frees but all the ones they didn't pay to us.

I love Max but is he playing 'too nice'? It looks like he just takes it. Maybe he should get into a scuffle every now and them. Even if he gives away a free, I feel he needs to get more physical and let the ops know it isn't on. Or cause a melee, wear a few fines. The umpires won't protect him so Max and his teammates have to do it. In the video only once did a player (good on you Jonesy) stand up for Max. Even JV7 didn't remonstrate when a player ran 100 meters away from the ball to crash into Max. No-one remonstrated with Lynch or Walker when they hit Max in the upper back and back of the head. Players in Max's vicinity need to help him to stop 'faux tough guy-has beens' like Walker and first year pipsqueaks like McHenry targetting him. Max, time to get physical! Stop them pushing you around.

In his pre-game press conf it was pretty clear Goodwin and the club aren't happy. Said it was up to commentators to say whether a 'name' player would have got the same penalty, that it was only the 2nd time a 4 week penalty had been imposed for a tackle (not sure the time frame he referred to) and that we have to cop it. Given the chat around 'sling' tackles there isn't much more the club could say, at least not publicly.

Just saw the match preview article on nfc website: McDonald has been in stellar form in the defensive half, could a return to a tagging role he was so successful in earlier in the year be on the cards? McDonald shut down Dustin Martin and Marcus Bontempelli among several big-bodied midfielders, so Oliver could be the perfect matchup.Oliver was brilliant in the Demons’ win over Adelaide, racking up 34 disposals, 11 clearances and six tackles, so North will no doubt be looking to quell his impact. Oliver is in for a tough day. We will need VdB to ride shotgun for him!

I hope its Tomlinson that helps TMac in the ruck rather than Jacko. Jacko doesn't yet have the body nor the strength to go up against Goldstein or Majak. And I recall a coach saying something like you don't put a thoroughbred in the ruck, which to me is what is. It may have Roos about Goodes after he did his knee playing in the ruck. And the Tomlinson and TMac ruck pair allows Jacko to stay fwd and develop his relationship with Weideman and other fwds. Am rapt we have stopped playing Weideman in different positions and allowing him to settle into FF. If the coaches let him he will own that spot for the next decade. Just hope the umpires are on the looking out for the brutal off the ball tactics North use. Nonetheless, I'm confident we will win.

Many thanks EG. Most points are rubbish or ancient history. I've highlighted the ones that imv have validity. Malthouse doesn't like nor respect us. Nonetheless he was the only commentator that predicted we wouldn't make finals and crash badly in 2019. Whatever drove that prediction he has a better grasp on what it takes to be a premiership contender than many of us care to admit. Would love to make and have some success in finals this year, just to prove him wrong.

A precis of the article, please...

Spill the beans, DJ

Is it possible that we might fly other players to SA on the same flight as North (to abide the AFL covid protocols)...just a thought...

The AFL has extended the official cut off date to Aug 30 so we won't see club figures for 4 - 6 weeks. Here is an early insight: afl-fans-to-the-rescue Key Points: only 1 per cent of members across the competition have requested refunds, albeit with significant numbers pledging their money through to 2021. 5 clubs have membership records: Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Gold Coast, St Kilda and West Coast The Western Bulldogs membership is also up, 12 per cent ahead of 2019 with that club one of several rewarding members' loyalty not only with club merchandise but also an automatic upgrade in 2021. Emphasis is mine On DL we compare our memberships to Carlton, Saints, Bulldogs, North so I created a little table from various sources We are a smidgeon behind North as the smallest Vic club The only reason I can think of for the 24 % decline is our disastrous 2019 and our ordinary start to 2020. Maybe Melbourne members didn't buy into the off season hype. Lord knows how many years it will take to get back to 52,000+. That we have dropped off so much more than our contemporaries must be very worrying for the club. The last time we had 39,000ish members was 2016. Not much to add really... Edit: were we one of the clubs that offered 'club merchandise or an automatic 2021 upgrade?

Alex Neal-Bullen has pled guilty to rough conduct, but the case is being made the incident should be deemed 'high' impact rather than 'severe'. Crikey, the Adelaide medical report doesn't help at all! "Immediate treatment for concussion, Hamill will miss likely 7 days of training and will miss at least one game. Hamill "will not play for at minimum two weeks" according to the club doctor". It must be the same lot of docs that condemned Jack T a few years back for the Danger tackle. Played the next week!

We had a crushing win over North in rnd 3, 2018 at the G. They will really work us over. Even if they lose they will make sure we will be sore and sorry making it harder to win games in this compressed schedule to increase the value of their demon draft pick. Still expecting to win. They have no game plan.

Yes, there will be 18 rounds. 8 rounds to go. I agree we won't play an 'extra' game, per se, it is the 'catch up' game for our 'bye' months ago. My issue is the 'catch up' game is said to be during rounds 14 -16. By my calcs that is a game every 4.2 days. A gruelling schedule. Am I missing something... By the end of rnd 16 all teams have played 15 games.

The way I read it, our ess game is during round 14-16. ie 4 games over 2 to 3 weeks. At best a game every 4.2 days.

That is awful for us. Compressed rnd 14 - 16 means 3 games in about 2 weeks. But we will have to play an extra game with Ess in that time. 4 games in 2 weeks without...just don't see it. Nah, not on. Not fair on the players. And, potentially a game at Alice during that time. Ess were lucky to get their NT game in a rnd 13 ie a 'normal' week. All the more reason we circumspect with selections and not burn-out players.

Of the North games I've seen they are playing 'trench warfare'. Zero game plan. No intention to win. Play to hurt. Throw in that 4-5 of their best players are out injured and if Majak doesn't play, they don't have much of a fwd line or ruck support. Expect them to double down on the 'trench warfare'. Forget playing 'our way'. They will drag us down into the trenches for arm-to-arm combat. In terms of selections this week. given that we have a game 6 days later we should: not confirm speculation on who has an injury; a mistake with Gawn as it allowed Crows to target that shoulder. rest someone with and injury; not worth the risk to make it worse. look at resting players with recent high game time especially mid-fielders. I note that Petracca has played (most recent first) 92%, 90%, 95%, 91%, 89% in the last 6 games; the most recent on short breaks. He is a strong lad but gee I'd hate to seem him worked into the ground. I want us to win and I think we will but player welfare is important, especially as the AFL is likely to condense rounds 13 to 15. Its one thing for Burgess and co to condition players for a condensed season but 7 rounds compacted into 4 weeks is gruelling. Throw in a future trip to Alice and no bye like other clubs get and I think we have to be more circumspect in team selections. Edit: AFL to condense rnds 14-16 and we play Ess during that time! All the more reason to select fresh, fit players now and avoid players burn out.

My first reaction is Boooooooooo to finals at 'Boo Stadium' because of the obvious advantage it gives WCE. But then Tigers, Hawks and Pies have had that advantage with little travel and 'Home' finals at the G for eons. I just hope that Eagles get eliminated early in the finals series so we don't have to listen to their supporters and watch the biased umpiring. And that the AFL negotiate a deal that if finals are in WA that they make adjustments to quarantine rules so that opp fans can attend.

Not by the coaches. Scored 6 in the AFLCA votes. Split 4/2. Thankfully the coaches don't look at Player Ratings or stats. They look at Impact and playing their role.

Clean sweep of the Coaches votes: 10 Oliver 7 Viney 6 May 3 Petracca 2 Weideman 2 Salem No surprises. Rapt for Sam for the recognition. It was a mature game. Petracca 2nd on the Leader Board with a game in hand. They may as well give the Brownlow to Neale now. But in terms of other podium finishes we are at the stage where our players will start taking votes from each other. My guess on vote split: 5/5 Oliver 4/3 Vine 4/2 May 3 Petracca 2 or 1/1 Weideman/Salem Salem's votes might surprise some who were quite critical of his game.