Diamond_Jim

Do we share Gosch's paddock?

The blueprint for how to beat us and why they have been successful on the last three occasions. I call it the Z system

We've now hit the mainstream media https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/kysaiah-pickett-to-be-given-time-to-weigh-up-future-20230130-p5cglx.html Melbourne are confident they have created the perfect environment to convince livewire forward Kysaiah Pickett to extend his time at the Demons beyond this season, but they will not be rushing him to decide on his future.

Tend to agree but perhaps making PF is the pass with making GF the expectation. Forward structure is the big unknown

As I said in my post I have no idea but it's clear that the Jackson strategy failed. They've had a year to think up a better one. At the start of the Jackson saga most said Freo didn't have the "trade resources" but turned out they did. The problem is that if you offer a player mega dollars no other club than the offering club is likely to compete. That leaves you with the choice of taking what is offered or forcing the player into the PSD. One strategy is to get other clubs interested in the player. If needed offer to pay part of the salary for a few years. Assuming you can attract interest from elsewhere and thus scaring off the "attacking club" the player is more likely to stay. Not perfect by any means but it's a strategy.

Yep wonder when interest moves to concern and then to worry. From there it's despair before angry acceptance. From a trade aspect I have no idea what the correct tactics are but I hope we have a better plan than we did for Jackson. Have great sympathy for our list/salary cap management staff. The general rule is that players are well paid until say 25 years of age at which time they get the big deal. We were unlucky that Jackson got the mega deal offer at 21. Looking like Kozzie will get a similar offer. A perfect storm when for the first time in decades we have 5 plus very good/elite players in the over 25 brigade

Some good points there. Perhaps the role could be shared between Dunstan and Sparrow via the sub mechanism. I'm still a believer in picking a team having regard to conditions (wet, dry, heat etc) and the strengths/weaknesses of the opposition. Obviously Goodwin has another view

Everything you need to know about the new sub rule and more. Interesting that clubs basically admitted they were breaching the old rule. So much for medical ethics. https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/back-to-the-future-how-the-afl-s-new-substitute-rule-may-work-in-2023-20230125-p5cfbp.html Wonder who will be our sub. Under the medical sub rules I favoured Joel Smith as he provided cover if a key tall went down. If the main driver is now going to be fresh legs I'm not sure. Chandler jumps out but one would assume if he performs well in that role he would get a full game rather quickly. Assuming we are having a decent season I wouldn't mind seeing AMW and Woewodin exposed to AFL as the sub

yep just did the same but nothing jumped out from the last 20 posts or so that can be seen on the profile

mmmmmmm they got rid of a practice game so they could play the Harry Potter round in Adelaide and now clubs are adding a scratch match

If only.. both Colingwood and Adelaide beat us with quick ball movement in 2021 and it simply got worse in 2022 as more teams adopted that tactic against us last year. It is increasingly the new game style for many teams (see Hawthorn) so we need to work it out

We all know why we failed in the forward line last year but I'm interested in knowing what we might do to stop the kamikaze run on sides like Collingwood who seemed to take our defence apart even after we had the jinxed lead of around 26 points. Is the answer simply fix the forward line and kick more goals? I hope they have the analysis team working hard on what type of players and plays were used to cut our defence open. I have some gut feelings as to how it was done (attacking from our defensive pocket forward entries) but I'd love to see some serious analysis. And .. please... let's thrash the Pies this year.

Don't think we've had a game at Coburg since they remodelled the outer side of the ground. It certainly was a lovely venue not to mention convenient

If it is you'll need to get there early. The grandstand was conveniently condemned allowing them to knock it down. Not sure if that has been done but at best it will be a construction site with no seats. Not much space in the rest of the ground. Maximum capacity probably under 3k. You could lobby for Windy Hill perhaps .... A bit of 70's character left in that ground still Casey is a llllong way.. I agree

A lot of people made mistakes with the hubs. Harvey was not the lone ranger. A VFL list is not an AFL list anyway. Good luck to him if he wants to take his life in this direction

Of course the baseball training camps are in drop dead weather venues such as Florida. I would envisage a set up like a mock beach or similar with player interaction/hosting etc but as you say could be hard to do at Gosch's. Would make a nice Christmas present for footy tragics perhaps

A magnificent day weather wise for training... A few snakes basking on the warm tracks perhaps On a separate note one wonders how long it will be until some bright spark at the AFL (we can make money out of anything) comes up with a plan for charging fees to attend training. Going to "spring training" in baseball is big business.

Wonder why with skills of the modern player that both sides are not the "attacking side"

After our great 2021 season I rewatched every game. The kick to the forward pocket was a big element in 2021. It disappeared in the finals and the winning margins exploded even allowing for some inaccurate kicking in the first two finals. Perhaps we became too predictable in 2022

Having been involved in negotiations for a fair while your premise makes sense. I used to call it the "grieving period" in the sense that participants needed to replace their anger with a sense of compromise. Unfortunately we are taught to "maintain the rage." On the other hand compromise leads to a maintenance of the status quo which is perhaps more harmful in many instances. Now back to the subject... Palace Dees tell us more about the backgammon app you beat. I would have thought it's a mathematical equation like checkers

Interesting... mainly used to measure their own players which makes sense as they could access the data. Its use in recruitment is fascinating

With ChatGPT (the latest open source AI educational app) causing rumblings in educational circles you have to wonder how long until AI enters sport. My guess is that it is probably already used to some degree in NFL to predict the success probability of particular plays. Could it have application in Australian rules to predict trends in say centre bounces. I don't know if AI can interpret video yet but imagine if it could. For those who follow these things, humans lost the ability to beat computers at chess in around 2006 and even now you can download programs to your phone that will beat any human.

nor did Freo

Bowey for Hibberd Interesting... not impossible Petty obviously needs to be included. I'd question Melksham as the sub baring in mind that there is no longer a medical requirement for substitution. The old mantra when there was a similar sub rule was young fresh legs for the last quarter. Chandler fits that description but you already have him in the side. Not sure ANB is a lock. Given only one official practice match and no VFL games until Round 3 the intra club scratch matches assume some significance in determining the make up of the team. Going to be an interesting battle for 4-5 spots

If nothing is heard by Round 3 it's going to be one of those...will he/wont he seasons. How's Port's salary cap looking? Will they offer the magical million. His "normal" worth is probably circa $600k but Freo showed us that clubs are willing to offer big money if they think a player is "gettable".