spirit of norm smith

Key messages: 1. we have no respect from other clubs. Nil. Only “one” other captain would rate us to make the finals and that’s probably as their last selection 2- forward line firepower ... nil ... get Brown up and firing and we’d be dangerous imv 3- youngsters ... nil ... (I think we will see Luke Jackson really boom in year 3-4) 4- Gawn, Petracca and Oliver surely would be a chance for the Brownlow. Wines and omeara - these captains were surely having a laugh.

Agree. I’d been pushing Tom Phillips as a target for a while even before end of 2020. He was clearly gettable and we missed out. Mahoney and Goodwin’s claim of making Tomlinson a wing option is ridiculous. He is too slow and static.

He departs with a tracksuit ... fair enough.

Daw is a speculative gamble but worth the punt imv given Weid and Brown out for first 7-8 rounds of the year.

Agree. Joel Smith has spent more weeks injured than active. I thought last year that he might have been traded or delisted. Obviously the coach sees something in him despite his limited games and limited showings to date.

Gold. Absolutely. I’d rather the coach and captain say... “it’s not about words and ifs. It’s about actions and results”. Goodwin is a politician at the moment and not filling me with the confidence that we all deserve.

Agree. We didn’t exactly threaten today

Ummmm. He played a good 5 minute burst v Pies last year and kicked 3 goals ... then went missing for the rest of 2020. Surely hung on to a list spot by a whisker.

I thought we learnt last year when he destroyed us. Without Clarry and JV, our midfield is struggling v Dogs.

It’s a practice match right. Dogs seem intense compared with us. No use tagging the Bont. He’s going to be out with leather poisoning

As expected. Injuries and AFL listed players rested. Dogs have a full list right now. Somehow teams seem to go through the preseason with minimal injuries but others like the Demons have key players out even before round 1 starts.

I don’t mind the article given the modern game of two way running. Our contested footy is our go to Plan A but it has some flaws. 1- our skills let us down and turnovers kill you when your players are in attack mode only to see if killed off by a poor kick or poor decision 2- our pace and run needs another gear. We needed that extra wingman to compliment Langdon once the midfield bulls (Trac, Clarry, Viney, Harmes) win the footy. 3- what happens when the opposition wins the contested footy. The Dogs and Swans matched us last year and we were unable to adjust to defend their 1st possession from the contest. I think it’s that defensive mindset that needed the work over the summer as well. I think our mids are as good as any group in the AFL. It’s the ability to convert that into goals that is the challenge. Is it the ineffective Forward line ?? Or the Midfield delivery and decision making?? Goody needs the solution. We need to have both solved to somehow grab the cup in 2021.

Agree. That’s 8 out of our best 18 (22) ... good to see guys like Sparrow, Jordan and Bedford having a step up.

Agree good to see youngsters get a taste now. I think Bailey Laurie will crack it for a senior debut game later in the year.

Hibberd?? Ready Round 1?? Have they forgotten about Marty Hore already !!!!

Would we play Daw forward or back or as a backup ruck. Surely he would be a “break glass in case of an emergency” pickup !!

@picket fence on fire. Great stuff

Surely it’s “Friday on my mind”... by ... the Easybeats. Ummm I hope we are not !!!

Chatted to both those young men off field when they were going through injury recovery. Both very smart and very professional. It was a shocking curse that they succumbed to injuries and we never saw them become the A graders they had the potential to be.

I think the Dees should have really tried to grab “the Eggman” after he was delisted by the Tigers. He has shown the skill and composure at AFL level. He showed his capabilities again last week. Is it too late to do a “reverse David Williams” and snatch him away from the Tigers.

Exactly. I think we identified the forward firepower as the area of improvement. Sure the midfield skill and pace and delivery needs to get better but our forward line setup and conversion will be our key to where we finish in 2021.

The “experts” rank us about 8th to 12th in most likelihood. Without any bias, that’s probably fair enough. I think we need a fit Ben Brown to make a step up to give us that additional firepower. Our inside 50s are high but conversion over the last 2 years has been severely lacking.

Three spots now available on the list. Given the injury curse so far, we will need more foot soldiers for 2021.

Yes Tom Freeman is definitely a player who has improved year on year. Had a good game imv

We might need more recruits through SSP Supplemental top up program. I’d definitely be looking at Angus Baker (who was training with the Dons) and Will Bravo (who is training with the Hawks).