Lucifers Hero

Eagles are planning to leave Perth after round 13 and not return for H&A games. So it won't be long after that Freo leave town. Its been mooted that we play Ess in Alice in rnd 14 so we could play Freo in Alice in round 15 or back in Qld. I'm also getting nervous about the Freo game. Only saw half last night's game but that was enough to see they are using the Eagles and Geelong 'possession/control tempo' style. The style was very visible for Freo vs Pies which they won. They used it to beat the Saints who have the same play-on, fast game we do. Each week Freo get better at it. Oddly enough last night they beat the Hawks at their own possession/control tempo, game, a game style that won them a few premierships. After the Geelong game Goodwin said 'we couldn't get the ball off them'. 'Controlled/tempo footy' is kryptonite to our fast play. Hope our opp analysts are putting a lot of time into countering that possession/control that Freo are becoming adept at. Too many teams beat us that way. I've now put Freo in with GWS as future losses. On that basis we need 4 or 5 wins from the other 6 remaining games to make finals. Not feeling as optimistic as I was yesterday...

And have a definite target for pick 3 given they traded away a few decent picks to go that far up the order.

I hope our coaches are watching the Cats vs Saints game. Cats spent the first 5+ minutes playing kick to kick as they did vs us. But the Saints were able to get the ball from them. 'Learnings' there for us.

A clean sweep of the coaches votes again: 10 Christian Petracca (MELB) 8 Clayton Oliver (MELB) 6 Angus Brayshaw (MELB) 4 Jake Lever (MELB) 1 Sam Weideman (MELB) 1 Ed Langdon (MELB) What a midfield! Petracca a long way second to Neale on the leader board with a game in hand. But round 11 not over yet so he could be overtaken.

Will be really disappointed if we don't beat Pies and Bulldogs. Pies have about 5-6 key players out with injury, 2 less days rest than us and returning from an intersate game. Bulldogs are struggling to win away from the closed stadium and the tightening of the HTB rule is not helping their game style. And their fwd line isn't functioning too well. Bont is spending a lot of time there so not sure what gives...is he playing injured perhaps... And if the Richo's appointment is to bear fruit we should beat the Saints! So the only definite L I have is vs GWS.

Yes, I noticed that also. Its made a huge difference to his game; gets the chance to find space and take a run. Similarly positioning for the second possession after the tap has made a big difference for Gus to get on the outside and spread from the contest. It will be huge for us if the midfielders get the 1st and 2nd possession plays sorted out. It will stop 2 or 3 going for the ball at once. It will make it harder for opp mids to scrag them, not knowing who will go for the 1st possession and not know who will take the 2nd possession and spread for a clearance. This 'role clarity' can easily be used in around the ground stoppages. We may finally be resolving the 'numbers' at the contest problem and do what other teams do and keep a player on the outside. I'm sure there is a midfield role for Viney its just a matter of coaches working out who is the best fit for each role.

"ADELAIDE coach Matthew Nicks has backed the Crows' move to target Melbourne's Max Gawn off the ball last week, declaring "we actually didn't know Gawn was injured". it-was-never-our-intention-crows-defend-gawn-tactics If he expects anyone to believe that it adds insult to injury. and 'confesses' "They'd [Demons] done a lot of blocking off ball for him and freeing him up...so we went in with the mindset of not allowing that 'throwing the first punch' (mentality), becoming a physical side off ball so that we weren't dictated to". I didn't see much evidence of us blocking off the ball for Max, in fact I felt we didn't do enough to help him. Crows should be find for deliberately flouting the rules.

Remaining Round 11 Games: Tonight: Cats vs Saints and Dockers vs Hawks Tuesday night: Crows vs Pies Wednesday night: Suns vs Ess We are 9th on the ladder. Have bolded the teams I would like to see lose to max our chances of overtaking them or be further ahead of them to make the 8. The next three weeks are critical as we play Pies, Bulldogs and probably Ess (in Alice, a real Home game). All are 8 - point games and all immensely winnable. Dare I dream that after round 14 we are 8/5 ?? With so many 8-point games and lack of consistency among many teams will 9 wins be enough to make finals? In rounds 15 to 18 we play: Freo, GWS, Saints and Swans. I reckon we can get 9 or 10 wins. Finals here we come?

Remaining Round 11 Games: Tonight: Cats vs Saints and Dockers vs Hawks Tuesday night: Crows vs Pies Wednesday night: Suns vs Ess We are 9th on the ladder. Have bolded the teams I would like to see lose to max our chances of overtaking them or be further ahead of them to make the 8. Then we play Pies, Bulldogs and probably Ess (in Alice, a real Home game). All immensely winnable games. Dare I dream that after round 14 we are 8/5 ??

North failed to kill off our scoring chains but for the most part we played well away from the boundaries limiting chances for throw-ins. And we were first to the ball and played on at all costs. The scoring chains were our coaching and players and less North's deficiencies. Goodwin takes the heat when things don't go well. I'm happy to give him due credit when things go well.

Maybe he doesn't want to play anywhere else. And being Captain/Vice captain has allowed him a 'right' to have a big say.

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