Diamond_Jim

Bit like the back up kickers and punters in NFL not to mention the quarter backs. Imagine spending your life as the ball holder for the kicker/punter. At least Spencer gets a game for Casey. Will be interesting to see how the position evolves. Frankly I would prefer to have 4 back up forwards/backmen on my list than 4 back up ruckmen. List management does not justify the devotion of 10% of your list to one position. If you have a great ruckman... sure it makes a difference but on balance does it matter. I cannot remember Jamar giving us much of an advantage in his later years. They could bring back the third man up on the basis that it helps ease congestion. If that happened the ruck position would almost certainly disappear over time.

well... there go North's chances of the eight .... if they ever had one. they would need to win eight out of 10. While they have a relatively easy run home it isn't that easy. If Richmond beat Sydney tomorrow at the MCG that is almost certainly the end for the Swans. (May drop along and watch that match if there is some winter sunshine.) On that basis we then have five teams who cannot make the 8. The mathematics is becoming interesting to say the least.

The crowd is amazing ..... they had more for Carlton v GWS last week on a cold afternoon. You wouldn't think this is a game between two old Melbourne clubs fighting for their season

A lot of level 3 around the wings is reserved. Generally the unreserved seating is behind the goals. Best advice is get there early and ask the attendants as sometimes it is only the forward section of level 3 that is reserved thus allowing you to sit up the back. Will be interesting to see if level 2 is only half full. The AFL really need to address the absence of patrons in the best seats !!

North's run home is not too bad The only teams they play who are now in the 8 are Essendon, Port and us. St Kilda have a much tougher run with Richmond twice, Port, Eagles , Essendon and us plus a game against the Swans in Sydney . Based on the run home a North loss might be best at this stage.

Only if Spencer dominates at Casey .... he also needs to deliver around the ground. One mark last week in a winning team was not enough to justify a change

why.... he is doing quite nicely Got a goal on the weekend ... could have got 2 or 3

you got your wish... 25 points up Strange betting system

Weideman being named probably means there is a small doubt on Watts. I read nothing into Spencer's selection ......could be part of the Watt's issue Kennedy being named even as an emergency is a wake up call to Kent All will be revealed come 7pm Saturday as the men in red and blue run out onto the mist laden fields of Culloden... I mean Casey !!

yeah... but we are young and raring to go !!!

and they get a 9 day break against our 6...o well ... such is life

Round starts off with the battle of the forwardless teams.. could be interesting but on their home turf I think the Eagles should do it by a small margin... say 14 points

On a slightly different note I see that Josh Kennedy is due to return for West Coast in time for our match next week against them in Perth. As that match is a 50/50 chance for us at best, winning this week is all the more important

big call.... do you have inside info by any chance ... (who did he barrack for as a kid seems to be a popular indicator as well)

Dangerfield and Hawkins have another 3-5 years at least barring injuries. Cats have done a wonderful stadium deal and they are favoured by FTA broadcasters. From a population/fan base they are in a fast growing area. Combine that with their high traditional following. Good drafting will see them remain in the top 6 for the next 4-5 years so we will have to be good to get to their standard let alone dominate them. Essendon is perhaps as easier target but not simple. Let's start by beating North for the fist time in years. Truth is we have a very long way to go before we dominate anyone. (Although we could start the group think that we now dominate Collingwood.)

Could not agree more Adelaide was an anomaly by comparison to the rest of the season. QB was a lucky win against a middle to lower side which given we have had a few unlucky losses I will take Sunday is our real chance to make a statement and then drive through the remaining rounds as an increasing force. Lose and we are just one of many trying to string a few wins together..

Spencer (perhaps understandably) did not exactly set the world alight at Casey last week. "Jake Spencer 1 behind 3 kicks 5 handballs 8 disposals 1 mark 3 tackles 35 hit outs 68 dream team points" If he had more around the ground impact he would be an in but I don't think he adds as much as the present players so no change unless there is some soreness.

Couldn't find any mention of MFC... (great history by the CFC one has to admit) http://cfc-forever.qodo.com.au/a-famous-patch-of-turf/ http://cfc-forever.qodo.com.au/victoria-park-is-born/ http://cfc-forever.qodo.com.au/football-comes-to-victoria-park/ "Victoria Park was first purchased by John Dight in 1838 for 13 pounds and 12 shillings an acre. Dight bought 84 acres bounded by Johnston St and Reilly St, between Hoddle St and the Yarra River, and bequeathed the family name to the land until the 1870s (hence its less than flattering original tag of Dight’s Paddock)" The next bit is straight out of Power without Glory "The land was sold a year after that proclamation for almost 20 times its original purchase price. Its new owner, Edwin Trenerry, had no association with Collingwood or the increasingly popular pastime of Australian Rules. He lived almost 20,000km away in England. The sale was orchestrated by solicitor David Abbott and clerk Frederick Trenerry Brown, the latter a nephew of the new owner. Trenerry’s land would skyrocket in value almost immediately, thanks to some astute business nous from Abbott. Abbott made a proposal to the Collingwood Council for them to take possession of part of the land for use as a community recreation reserve. On face value, it was a noble gesture. However, the offer of 10-and-a-quarter acres carried a catch – the Council had to agree to spend 250 pounds per acre towards ‘the making of the streets around and leading to the reserve’. That sum was precisely the amount Trenerry had paid for the land and it was clear that any such work on making the road around the Paddock would dramatically raise the value of the land."

We need some of our players to have a purple patch as the finals approaches. In our glory days I can recall the Feebey twins coming out of their shells and playing repeated blinders. I will be looking to Salem, Hunt and Petracca to deliver that magic. There is some real potential upside in this team. Darwin presents a real problem as a game on the road played in atrocious humidity. If we are doing well at that stage it will be interesting to see how we manage that game. By the way I voted for 5-6 more wins so I really have no idea.

I think it comes about as a result of the press. Looks great when it happens but of course it happens the other way as well and then we are lamenting our lack of defence. Would be interesting to study defensive zoning against the quick counter attack. For example does the small defender follow the ball carrying player or run to a spot in order to increase the chances of tackling the recipient. Watts in the defensive goal square unattended was an interesting position late in the last quarter. I wonder whether it was a pre-planned tactic.

we will need to have a sustained run of many years to replace the big boys. FTA television is interested in one thing only as it continues its death spiral (see Channel 10) ... ratings and we don't deliver it. The Bulldogs were a fairy tale story and got a few prime time games this year but in truth their crowds have been disappointing. St Kilda v Bulldogs ... the then up and comers against the Premiers drew a crowd of around 35,000. It's going to be a hard road for a team that a few weeks ago played on a non FTA game before 5000 people when on the same weekend Essendon and Richmond drew 90,000. The plus is that it is much easier to get a good seat for most MFC games

Wonderful win but playing like that will not see us win many if any of the next three games. Collingwood are an ok side and played up to near their best yesterday but they are not in the same league as our next three opponents should they come out to play. The midfield needs to lift and dominate the game if we are to avoid our defence being cut to ribbons. Will be interesting

As mentioned Bulldogs don't play a traditional ruckman so unless Gawn is super fit and will give us a definite mid field advantage it may not be wise to race Gawn back. Perhaps a half at Casey and then return against the Eagles the following week. Nice problem to have. On the Kennedy for Bugg equation Bugg did well enough against the Pies and Kennedy did not set the world alight at Casey

correct here is a discussion of the facility by Magpie fans you will see mention of it applying to away games as well. In theory it allowed them to sell reserved seats: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/the-ponsford-stand-why-is-it-so-empty.1072108/ Many of them don't like the position as exampled by this post: "Eddie and the club have to face it, his great "Magpie end" Ponsford stand idea has died a slow death because he rushed into the worst area in the ground. What the club should have done is waited for the rest of the northern stand to be built and take the Olympic stand area as the home and away seating, with the cheer squad then behind the goals at the Southern Stand end. The first year we moved into the Ponsford stand end I had home and away tickets in the Ponsford but they were almost side on to the goals and were very poor seats. I've since moved to M15 for home seats and just buy away seats through the AFL members. The Ponsford stand idea is failing, simple, we need to compact as many of our members as we can in decent seats, and the Olympic Stand would be a way better option. "

And of course.... what is the number of the devil?? 666