Ted Lasso

I'd have thought if the Giants were seriously considering James Hird he'd be caretaker so they could get a preview. This to me is about getting into the Clarko race nice and early, and i think there is a live chance he does land at GWS, given their more advanced list, ambassador money and AFL support. I could also see Ross Lyon bobbing up here.

Who do we think offers more as a first choice on baller Viney or Brayshaw? My suspicion is protecting Gus RE: Concussion and keeping him on the park has been part of the decision to get him more on the outside, as well as his obvious quality on the inside and outside.

My gut feel is that Gus is genuinely weighing his options because he does prefer/see himself as an inside midfielder, would like to play with Andy and money is potentially better elsewhere, but he's torn. It's hard to imagine talks on hold has anything to do with team performance.

Probably MFCSS but does anyone else get the feeling if a WCE game was to be postponed it'd happen to fall right when we're due to play them?

Okay, not a good fit for our game plan. good luck young man!

I haven't watched much of Bobby Hill to be totally honest, is he similar to Brad in terms of his endurance running?

I think Brayshaw, Salem and Bowey all play down back with Lever, May and Petty. Rivers potentially goes out at this stage James Jordan, Tom Sparrow or Alex Neal-Bullen take on the wing role.

I have it on good authority that right after the incident May told Z.Jones he was going to do it as well. which is what the words were that were exchanged. geez you'd be sweating going for a mark knowing Steven May was lining you up.

Personally i am not a fan of the fixture structure as is, my preference would be to shorten games, and play every team once at home and away. so 36 games total plus finals. this seems to be the only way to make the season completely fair on every team. the capacity to sign free agents should be present until 7 rounds before finals, as should in season trading. we're a little bit behind the times compared to other major sports globally and while i understand the pull towards tradition, i personally think that this would make the competition more fair. a team like Carlton could really load up in season seeing that they're performing better than expected. or a team that has multiple injuries in one position could sign a player in season to mitigate that

This is the thing i am finding really interesting this season, last season teams would go a bit taller and try and make the 3 intercept kings (i include Petty now) accountable to take away their game, but the resurgent form of Hunt, and Brayshaws toughness down back has meant we just back ourselves even if we get caught 1v1 to win it. and generally we don't anyway because Lever and May lead it so well they know where the ball is going before the forwards do. It's close to a flawless defensive system when Hunt is in good form, our one weakness last season was the electric small forward with leg speed getting goal side, but now Hunt can match them we're pretty covered

few thoughts. 1. I'm not at all surprised by this result, i've watched the Saints closely the last couple of years and they're strong when the game is played on their terms. they have a good plan A but aren't good when the game is an arm wrestle. they'll play finals but can't see much damage being done. 2. Brayshaw and Bowey are so solid down back, Salems return will be very interesting, personally i think Bowey has the skills to play as a half forward, and his ball use inside 50 along with Spargo could be great for us. Salem and Brayshaw would be a great half back combo. 3. it felt like we expected the Saints to really challenge us, so we really set ourselves, went bang, sat them on their bottoms and then went back into cruise control for the rest of the game.

I reckon a couple of big wins would do more good for us than a short rest for a couple of blokes, i reckon we re-enforce the ruthless culture, smack both teams, reach 10-0

That's fixable though, Brisbane were in the same boat not so long ago, winning games really helps with retention. I would imagine the AFL will move heaven and earth to get Clarko to the Suns, if he can convince a couple of quality veterans to go there and retain their out of contract kids, i'd nearly back them to push for finals in 2023

I actually think the Suns have the bones of a really good side.. they probably need a better coach, and 2-3 really good experienced players but i reckon they can be optimistic.

Jarrod Witts is the second best ruckman behind Gawn.

Really good player, I think there is every chance he goes to the Saints, but glad we're in the conversation. If you can slot him in on the wing opposite Langdon and push Brayshaw back into the midfield rotation i think that greatly improves the team

The thing i can see that Neeld and Noble have in common is probably pushing the kids into key roles on the field at the expense of senior players who are still up to the standard. they've had quite a rapid list turn over, which can be disruptive as well, but it's really hard for the kids to build confidence when you've got a JHF coming up against Andy Brayshaw and getting beaten up on for 120 minutes

Can someone explain the nickname "Dogga" to me?

I think Max Gawn has a big say in it. there is no doubt Oliver and Petracca benefit from having the best ruckman of the modern era tapping it to them

Yeah sorry guys! got a bit excited at the local Gin place! haha

Mark Neeld, i think his record speaks for itself, his elite football university is probably why we won the 2022 flag, for some reason.

Between Melbourne and St Kilda there could be some dog awful goal kicking in this game. or neither side will be able to miss

I can't really see him winning the rising star from some young gun midfielders, but i think if the MFC got to pick from that list we'd probably take Bowey.. He's the type of kid that just plays his role really well for 250-300 games and probably doesn't really get the accolades he deserves until towards the end of his career.

I absolutely love the complete absence of arrogance within the footy department, it gives me great confidence we will be there abouts for a while. the club all look driven and willing to sacrifice to drive the club to multiple premierships and long term sustained success! It does also speak to the situation in the soft cap, and why teams chasing a coach like Clarko on huge money may prove to be a big mistake, when a more even range of role players is clearly a better approach.

The only way the Eagles pull this off is if they have a significant list overhaul at seasons end, trading several big name players, getting in a raft of draft picks and LJ being just part of a rapid rebuild strategy, Unfortunately for them in order to get in the number of first round picks required probably means trading some sort of combination of Kelly, Gaff, McGovern, Ryan, Rioli and co