Earl Hood

Hey Wrecker why don't you go for a swim up on the once Great Barrier Reef north of Cairns and have a good look at the devastation. Climate Change is happening now, it is not something that may happen according a model after 2030 that you believe has been concocted by a conspiracy of climate scientists. The climate gravy train (worth a few hundred million) versus the trillion dollar vested interests of the fossil fuel industries, who would a logical thinking person back? Well we know it is not you, too busy obsessing over some IPCC conspiracy to look at what is happening in front of your face.

The Toump is looking good tonight but then who wouldn't in a team that is so dominant. Good luck to him though.

Haven't seen the the numbers but would say - Conversion! Heaps of possessions we know that but a lot are rubbish. Also inaccurate goal kicking has cost games.

Reading Plapp you would think Jake M, Billy, ANB and possible Ben Ken are all in the mix for promotion. Stretch or Melch for Salem? Stretch or ANB for Kent? Good to hear Mitch KIng get a wrap for his ruck work too.

Yes we could have won with 100% effort for 4 quarters and with a bit of help from the Umpires. However I always thought that North had the advantage with Goldstien in the ruck, two big backs in Thomson and Tarrant and the option to just kick long to Brown and Waite. Structurally we were stuffed from the beginning with improvised rucks, that then compromises the forward set up with no Hogan etc, etc. I thought we were always going to struggle.

Good to see Donald touring the medieval kingdom of Saudi Arabia and wheeling and dealing with the Princes, while taking into account of their track record on human rights, religious and gender diversity. And he has pointed to the evil empire that is Iran and their sponsorship of terrorism and the need for action against them in alliance with Isreal as well. When we talk terrorists, how many Iranians were on the planes that flew into the Twin Towers? We know how many Saudi citizens were on the planes. Was it 19? And the mastermind was a Saudi associate of the Saudi Royals, Osama. Obviously on 9/11 there was nothing to see here, so best we get any high ranking Saudis out of the US pronto and then later we convince the Coalition of the Willing to destabilise the whole region by blundering into Iraq which then has a knock on effect on Syria, Libya and now Yemen and it all lead importantly to the birth of ISIS and sponsored atrocities in the West.

Demonlanders I am need of advice. I am headed to Sydney this Friday primarily on family business with the good wife. However she has then taken the opportunity to book tickets for the Hawthorn v Sydney game on Friday night and asked me if I wanted to go ( as if I had a choice). I naively responded yes as I have never attended a sporting event at the SCG so this would be a unique experience for me and I would not particularly care who won so could just sit back and soak up the atmosphere. Now she is demanding that I wear Hawthorn colours on the night and has packed a yellow and brown jumper and scarf in my suitcase! I have drawn a line in the sand on this and said I will need to seek guidance from my Demonland advisors before I can make a decision to wear those colours. Your advice on this is most welcome.

Anyone know what is up with Billy S? Not sure why he was dropped and I thought he would dominate at this level.

Que? Too many ...tions and ....treaty's for me to follow. I gather this about some cheap red?

No that was a different incident. This one had me totally flummoxed, taken out front on without the ball and bulldozed over the line while the ball rolled on and Salem didn't get a free but somehow gave one away!

A couple of times, in our forward line, he held onto the ball for ages, I suspect looking to manufacture an outcome to small out numbered forwards and got clobbered. Last year I suspect he had straight forward options that worked or didn't.

To be fair yes Weids needs a break. He can not play number 1 key forward however once we get our structure back with Gawn/Spencer in the middle, Hogan at CHF and Pedo FF with Jack W floating back and forward, there is a place for him, I believe. As he will be picked up by a smaller, number 3 defender.

Weren't we stitched up by the umps in Hobart last year? Lost by 6 points after the umps gifted Goldy 2 or 3 of his 5 goal haul as I remember it. Big Max got pinged in the ruck duels from throw ins no matter if he was in front or behind. I remember Goldy getting a free in front of goal where Maxy was in front in the boundary throwing but somehow held Goldy unfairly. Shafted last year and somewhat the same today I thought.

Agree especially the point about lack of height. A large part of our problem today was structural. They have tall backs and forwards and a monster ruckman. We had to manufacture every goal today, working with small running players hoping to link up and spot up a small target forward. At stoppages we had to tackle and handball our way forward to get a clearance. In contrast they always had the option in a tight spot to just kick it high to a marking forward or in clearances they often received a clear tap from Goldy and ran straight into the forward zone. In many respects we battled manfully and executed some brilliant patches of football but we were always manufacturing outcomes, compensating for deficiencies in our team. The forward line is patched up, the Weid is not ready to take the best defender, the other talls are playing ruck so we depend on the Trac and the smalls up forward. Hannan played well, while Jeffy struggled in a game like today with no clear space to run onto the ball as out intercepts were few. And Kent needed to work harder. Where are Stretch and ANB. Until we have the ruckman back and Hogan up forward I believe we will battle to string wins together. Land finally I think Norf will be up there in end as they have an easy run home apparently and lack clear weaknesses.

Expecting a diversionary new war front to open very soon. North Korea, Iran anyone?

It's been a bad week for me too Uncle. A slight accident on the way home yesterday, taking a short cut via Merri Creek.

Just announced on SEN, source is MFC.

These bananas go to waste every year, tonnes of them in Queensland because they are too long, too bent, too straight, too thick or too thin for all you pedantic bananaophiles that inhabit this thread. Just stop and think for a moment about how wasteful your demands are and lift your game!

Done but every time I view the slow motion replay angle from down the ground it looks lie the ball hit both posts on the way through!

Won't be coming in. Based on what info?

It is even better if Hogan is playing and we are looking at swinging him back occasionally and T Mac forward. I proposed this swingman set up in an earlier post and I too heard Dangermouse's comments about the unpredictability. They make some sense. Hogan and TMac play forward differently so that will upset most back lines and they would play back line differently which could be positive for us.

Is he being targeted? Too many coincidences going on in the past few weeks, I think. The VFL/AFL need to get to the bottom of this one.

Agree Skuit, the fact that the forward line can function without him opens up the possibility of swinging T Mac forward during games and Hogan back, they play differently so this would make us less predictable and more versatile with a number of tall swingmen in Watts, TMac and Hogan and throw in Pedo.

No dp he was not running against anyone else. And I don't think they were timing him because the coaches were not set up at the start and finish lines, they were both at the starting point while Trenners took off running forward to no obvious finish point I could see. I could not work out how they could measure speed so I assumed they were concentrating on technique. And I don't think he is quick just trying to work out if he is fast enough to cut it at AFL level so his other strengths can come to the fore.

I got down to today's training session a bit late to find the boys running in four groups around the ground, doing 300/400 meter runs at 3/4 pace, then resting, before going again. I noted Trengove was off with McCarthy doing contested ball work drills with another coach. The running groups then moved to different parts of the ground to do some kicking, hand balling drills across the length of the oval, first with the right foot, then with the left. At this point I noted there was no rehab group doing laps, so none of the injured list players were in attendance and I did not sight Hogan. No Maynard either, still recovering. They broke up into smaller groups where they practiced doing a lot of quick contested ball movement to set up a player who would take a snap at goal. There were 2 groups at my end doing this, a group in the middle doing more centre clearance contested drills and in amongst all this there were selective players and line coaches working on technique Rawlings was doing a lot of body work drills with Frost then Hibberd, not using a ball but just being really physical imitating a big forward trying to out position you. A lot of goal kicking practice, one lot practicing set shots from the boundary using the Stevie J set up, others having shots from 50 on an angle. Neville was doing a defensive drill with Bugg, Hannan and JKH where the ball was kicked high to them and they went body on body trying to mark or knock the ball to a player's advantage nearby. Toward the end Stafford had the ruck division, what's left of it doing centre bounce work, he acting as the opposing ruck with big pad, Cross throwing the ball up inside a marked out centre circle. Keilty, Filopovic and Mitch King taking it in turns jumping against him. I think his main message was for them to take the space under the ball forcing the opposing ruck to have to reach over your shoulders to contact the ball and thus struggle to get an effective tap. King looks to be moving well to me so he may get a shot at some stage before the big boys are back. Trengove was doing individual running drills with 2 coaches, doing 20 meter sprints with ball in hand. They were filming with their phones then showing him the vision, they may have some app that analyses technique. They were emphasising the need for him to stay low on the push off, almost like a sprinter starting from the blocks, replicating in a match when he picks the ball up he has to push off with a lowered centre of gravity. I watched Trenners in the contested centre drill and he looked OK for speed but then that all done in a confined area. i watched Gus in a few drills, he just looks like he is going through the motions, not much energy there at all, I haven't been to training much this year but I thought he was more animated in the past. the session finished early, it was supposed to go through till 12.00 but when I left about 11.00 there only a few still going, Stretch and Kennedy were doing some contested ball drills I think. As I rode off I am sure I went past Saty talking to Neville about something!