spirit of norm smith

weak as … 😡 … surely a $5000 fine as a penalty for his arrogance and stupidity Collingwood big man Mason Cox has been reprimanded by the AFL for pushing GWS ruck coach Shane Mumford in a bizarre incident before their opening-round match. After apologising on Monday for making contact with Mumford, Cox will have no further action taken against him after the AFL completed their investigation. Noting Cox’s contrition and the club’s commitment in supporting him to be more aware in the future, the AFL has determined to issue a reprimand to Cox and take no further action,” the league statement read

Let’s get real. Stafford has no strategy, no ideas and no direction for our forward structure. He’s a good guy and one of Goodys love pack. But he’s failed as forward coach and needs to be moved on.

Petty should be back for round 2 v hawks. Be very careful in his return given this injury.

Too late to replace BBB. He’s locked in for one last year on dodgy knees. Then he’s off to see the orthopedic surgeon for a full rebuild.

Fullerton must play this week. This is why he was traded in. Get it done. Give him at least 6-7 weeks partnering with Gawn before we start to make judgement

Lever cost us 3-4 goals with turnovers and under 10s mistake in the goal square to give up an easy goal. May was good. Lever was not.

Ouch. McAdam looked good in training sessions. We need Petty, Pickett and McAdam into our forward structure. Fritsch and JVR (still very raw) cannot be the only target goalkickers. We got blanks from Schache, Chandler, Spargo and ANB.

Blue sky outlook Round zero 2024 1. Blake Howes debut. Whilst drafted as an attacking wing/half forward, Howes played an excellent game as a mid sized defender. He won 1-1 duals, was composed with the footy and marked well under pressure. Howes showed with a big pre season and injury free run, he’s a future player. 👏👏👏 2. Caleb Windsor debut. Our second debutant. Again showed quality with his run and carry. Will add much needed pace to the midfield. 👏👏👏 3. Bailey Fritsch. 4 goals. Mostly accurate except for an early miss. Looked like a forward with movement and desire to kick a goal. 👏👏👏 4. Jack Viney. Beast mode. 30 possessions. 14 contested possessions. 7 tackles. 2 goals. Huge game. Huge heart. 👏👏👏 5. Clarry. After the summer dramas, it was great to see him back on field. 30 possessions. Will get better with fitness base. Hopefully he’s back to enjoying the game. 👏👏👏 And finally. Kozzzzzy is back for round 1. 🤩🤩🤩

Outs. Brayshaw - medical retirement Joel Smith - suspension MFC best 23 B: Lever, May, McVee HB: Bowey, Tomlinson, Rivers C: Langdon, Viney, Hunter HF: McAdam, van Rooyen, Neal-Bullen F: Pickett, Petty, Fritsch FOLL: Gawn, Petracca, Oliver IC: Bowey, Billings, Sparrow, Salem Sub. Woewodin Casey B: Hore, Adams, *Freeman HB: Connelly*, D. Turner, Woewodin C: Windsor, Laurie, Howes HF: Tholstrup, Schache, Chandler F: Moniz-Wakefield, B.Brown, Jefferson FOLL: Fullarton, White*, Steele* IC: Hustwaite *, Verrall, K.Brown,Szybkowski*

Roan Steele. Absolutely would be on a list of players for addition in mid season draft. His improvement is great to see. He is young, smart, fit and loves a goal. Would already be ahead of Chandler, Spargo etc in my eyes.

well said @Whispering_Jack

Why 1. Why is our conversion rate from inside 50 opportunities so low? (Midfield delivery poor or forwards lacking ability) 2. why did Goodwin abandon his Gawn-Grundy experiment so quickly ? (To then jettison Grundy to a competitor) 2. Continued … why didn’t the Dees look for an experienced 2nd string ruckman to backup Gawn when Jackson left? 3. why do players like Spargo, Laurie and Schache get games after constant poor performances? (Surely they all get dropped this week) And no answer sought but 4. Number 29 why? A career ruined by injury and now this ?

Goodwin certainly has pushed the Snooze button in my opinion

Grundy must have been shocked when Goodwin preferred Schache (soft marshmallow) and Tmcd (couldn’t move) in the finals last year. Bizarre. Neither Tmcd or Schache contributed anything as we lost both finals. Goodwin sold Grundy the candy then froze him out very quickly. Yet others like Spargo play one good game in 10 and get picked weekly (even with no preseason). These are the facts. No ill feeling from anyone including Max as Grundy and his manager then obviously sought a move.

Tom Sparrow pressure acts were high because he was constantly beaten to the ball by the Swans opponents. He just lacks pace over 5 metres and is beaten to the footy. He tackled well but we need him to win the contest more.

He played a ripped game for the Blues tonight !!!

End of 24 should see plenty of changes. BRAYSHAW. BBB. MELKSHAM. TMCD. LAURIE. SCHACHE. JSMITH. Thats 7 list spots available in my view. No nice boys to apply. Warriors only.

Agree agree agree. He’s a forward. Not a defender. Good mark. Solid kick. Little 2nd efforts or ground work. Needs protein and daily gym work for next 12 months.

Never ever again. Amartey rag dolled him. He’s got no desire for the contest. Talent is not enough at this level.

Team for round 1 Mcvee may lever Rivers Tomlinson Howes Lingers JV7 Windsor ANB Van Rooyen Billings PICKETT BBB Fritta Gawn Trac Clarry sparrow Fullarton Salem Woewodin Sub. Chandler emerg. Hore ANW Tmcd unavailable Hunter Petty Bowey Melksham Turner McAdam (Brayshaw Jsmith) in BBB FULLARTON PICKETT WOEWODIN outs. Bowey (Inj) Spargo Laurie Schache.

Love our development of young key forwards

Practice your skills. Agreed !! 5 1/2 months to work in execution of skills. Still no movement or forward line craft aside from Fritsch. Midfield bombs into forward 50. At least it’s only round zero 🤣🤣

My TV also doesn’t respond. “Get Spargo off” I was shouting but I didn’t get any response 🤣🤣🤣

Why? Why are we shocked that Gawn is physically targeted. He gets targeted to wear him down. Surprised? Hardly. It’s been happening for more than 6/7 years now !!! So … we brought in Preuss to backup Gawn we had Jackson to backup Gawn we brought in Grundy to backup Gawn now we talk about Schache, Fullerton, Petty, JVR or Tmcd to be backup. Ridiculous!!! None are really true backup ruck and we suffer when Gawn is off. Verrell is at least 12-18 months away from being ready. why? Why didn’t we try to get a mature physical 2nd ruckman who would be happy to play the relief role.

Bowey will be a loss. TMCD AND BBB - can they contribute?? Fullerton and Pickett back v dogs Petty in v hawks mcadam target for round 4. depth is now not a big asset. We get very skinny with youngsters.