Lucifers Hero

Max didn't help our centre clearances/stoppages by putting the ball in front of Sydney's mids or no where near the path of our mids so they were always scrambling/chasing. Not blaming Max for the loss but it was a poor game both playing his role and as a leader.

Yes and the more players a club has OOC (like us) the harder it will be to accommodate their expectations and the more vulnerable we are to losing some we would otherwise keep.

Yeah, that occurred to me too. They are clearing the decks of older, highly paid players so lots of sal cap space to help them poach. We would have close to the most senior players to re-contract. Throw in the likes of Viney, Hibberd, Hannan, OMac and others we may want to keep makes contract renewals are challenging. Its a shame we weren't able to lock in those I've mentioned above that we really wanted before covid struck. At least we locked in Petracca in time! Hooray!!

We have 16 senior players and 6 rookies OOC that we need to accommodate in the reduced sal cap or let go. With player contracts expiring at the end of Oct and Trade Week starting almost immediately after the GF (Oct 24) the club needs to get a move on to re-contract those of the 22 OOC it wants to keep. It seems the lower sal cap will be phased in but clubs like Brisbane/GCS etc who have only a handful of uncontracted senior players are better placed to keep those they want. I fear some or our OOC rising talent: Petty, Jordan, Sparrow, Spargo, Lockhart (still a rookie), Fritsch etc might be cherry picked out. As a semi related note, I read that Jeremy Cameron wants to recoup this year's lost covid income in the next contract. There could be many players in clubs with the same idea. Lots of pressures on clubs to balance the lower sal cap with player expectations.

Quite right! Went back and checked the article in late July: "The Demons were well down the track for a contract extension for Fritsch before the COVID-19 contract freeze hit in March. However with the AFL lifting that pause on new deals last week, talks for an extension for Fritsch have recommenced, with a two-year contract expected for Fritsch". With the mooted lower sal cap one wonders if in the 'recommenced talks' our contract is as attractive as before the covid freeze. Or maybe another club has entered the picture which the earlier post suggests. It could be that the 16 senior players and 6 rookies OOC, we need to accommodate in the reduced sal cap or let go, is holding up announcements.

Well who else in the team can do better?

It would be sickening to see Papley get 6. He celebrates each goal as if they had won the premiership. So hope he doesn't get any.

It has to be Harmes. He is our best shut down player. Even if he gets no stats of his own if he shuts down Papley he will have done his job for the team.

Even 40 - 45,000 may have got him the gig, especially if he let players and officials (from Qld or SA) come in on the pre covid basis: fly in the day before the game and fly out game day/next day. They all live in 'bubbles' so the covid risks to WA are virtually zip. Its worked fine with SA.

The Premier has confirmed GF Eve will be a public holiday. No GF, no GF parade, no fan fare so what do we need a public holiday for (not that we needed one when it was first introduced). Given current circumstances I'm shocked. As if there hasn't been enough business (large and small) lockdowns, school lockdowns etc etc. As if there hasn't been enough damage to the economy. As if we haven't all had enough of our homes and 'leisure' time. Maybe he thinks there won't be many people back at work anyway so he may as well make himself popular. For mine it is irresponsible.

iirc we recruited Petty as a tall defender. He had a few good games as a fwd last year but for mine it wasn't a big enough sample to suggest he plays as a permanent fwd. So he could be our other tall or a very good swingman.

Hawthorn must be hurting financially. Their finances have been underpinned by revenue from Tas government and tens of millions in pokie revenue. Both sources have dried up. They won't be getting much from pokies in the first few months of the next AFL financial year. And who knows if the Tas gov't will continue with their agreement when it expires. A new day of reckoning has arrived for the Hawks on and off the field. Back to join the cellar dwellers for a while.

In tonight's game can't see the Bombers beating Eagles even without Kennedy. That will slam the door shut on any hope Ess have of making finals.

Crows have a good lead over Hawks. Should be further ahead. Lots of points and missed a few easy shots completely.

There seems to be a push to have all finals return to the traditional full quarters ie 20 min+ time on. There doesn't seem to be a good reason not to as their won't be a condensed schedule and minimal travel. I'm certainly for it and think it works in our favour (if we make it) as we are quite fit. I haven't seen any of our players put hands on knees or crouch down looking tired at the end of a game this year.

iirc the AFL were considering nominating several grounds from which the 'Home' club can choose. The ones I recall being mentioned are Gabba, Adelaide Oval and Optus Stadium which cover the teams likely to be in the Top 4 and play later finals. Gabba is a no-brainer. Adelaide Oval works because the government is allowing AFL teams in on a FIFO bases or stay over (as we did for the Adel/North games). The stickler as always is Optus if the WA gov't keeps up its full 14 day quarantine rules. McGowan wants games at Optus but doesn't seem prepared to be flexible. Whether the AFL will be flexible enough to let two teams in the bottom 8 of the ladder and based in SE Qld go to Adelaide Oval or Optus is debatable given the $ cost.

Interestingly, Frosty is out, managed. Hawks have beefed up their defenders and running players. Out: Jonathon Patton (Injured), Liam Shiels (Managed), Michael Hartley (Omitted), Sam Frost (Managed), Will Day (Managed) In: Ben Stratton, James Frawley, Jarman Impey, Mitch Lewis, Shaun Burgoyne Solid and quality albeit some aging 'ins'. Altho Day is a loss. I think Clarkson is saying: 'no way is Adelaide winning their only game for the year on my watch!' That sort of ignominy would be a bridge too far for Clarkson. I think they'll win.

Coaches votes Very similar voting by the coaches this week. 10 Steven May (MELB) 8 Christian Petracca (MELB) 6 Jack Steele (STK) 3 Bradley Hill (STK) 3 Ed Langdon (MELB) Enormously deserved by May Leaderboard: 75 Lachie Neale 62 Christian Petracca 59 Travis Boak 58 Taylor Adams 58 Jack Steele Boak, Adams and Steel all have byes in the next few rounds so Petracca has a good chance of staying outright second. Unlikely that he will catch up with Neale.

I'm not sure if we definitely fly in and out for both the Syd and Freo games. As our Sydney game is at 4.40pm (a time slot set for teams to fly back to hubs on the same day), suggests we do. But as no other team is flying to/from Cairns it doesn't make sense to charter a plane for just us. So hopefully sanity prevails and we stay in Cairns.

To avoid the current top 5 team that misses the top 4, in the first final we need to finish 6th or 7th. 10 wins and a good %'age should do it.

I had us losing to the Giants not because they 'are back' but because we haven't one 4 in a row since Aug/Sept 2018 and even then there was a bye in the middle of those 4. Also, it will be our 4th game in 14 days including 4 consecutive flights. Giants have similar breaks but not the burden of travelling to each game and have a softer draw. Simply put we will be tired. Hopefully not too tired to beat Ess in the last round. Collingwood are already on 8.5 wins. If they beat GCS it will put them on 9.5 without needing to beat Port or Lions. Tbh, I don't really care who makes it as long as we do.

It was on Coffield. I think it was in the 2nd or 3rd qtr. I remember seeing it and thought nothing to worry about. There were dozens of tackles like Charlie's this weekend. But obviously Christian wants to make another statement and of course he hits the Demons.

Spargo has been charged with a 'dangerous tackle' and fined. It seems if someone's head touches the ground they are sanctioned. A crazy situation when compared to the two one week suspensions were reduced to a fine last week by the Tribunal. Charle's tackle was nothing like those sling tackles. Different clubs, different rules. The club should appeal it at the Tribunal. Edit: "Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Conduct, Low Impact and High Contact. The incident was classified as a $2500 sanction as a second offence. The player can accept a $1500 sanction with an early plea". That looks like one of the highest fines handed out this year. That was only the 4th game he has played this year. Can anyone recall the first offence?

I agree as Coll have the draw so 9.5 will most likely get them over the line so very hard for 9 wins to get it done. But who knows. All I know is there is no room for us to falter.

For mine Ess and Blues are mathematically able to make the 8 but that is it. So, I've left them off the chart. The chart still shows the required wins as 9 but realistically I think it could be 10. See below. The only significant game among the top 4 is the Rich/Cats game in rnd 17 which may well determine who misses the top 4. The %'ages are virtually identical for Pies, Saints and Demons. Based on the 'should' wins the battle for 6 - 8 should will likely play out as: Giants 11 wins (I have them beating beat the Saints) Dees 10 wins (I have us losing to the Giants) Pies 9.5 wins Saints 9 Bulldogs 9 wins I think the Giants are safe to be 6th. It leaves the other 4 to fight it out for spots 7/8. To be on the safe side we need 10 wins to avoid a 2017 situation sweating it out for %'age in the last round. We will need to beat Ess in round 18 to get that 10th win otherwise we will be sweating it out for %'age at the end of that round. Giants play Saints in the last round, we play Ess which is a must win so round 18 games are absolutely huge. Well that's all the theory. In the meantime, one week at a time!