A.F.L Thread

[Jono]

Wtf happened? I couldn't be arsed watching, watched Doggies/Lions instead.

 

[Matt79]

Hawthorn were pretty ****, apart from Hodge, and we were full of win, would be the short version.

 

[benchmark00]

Hawthorn won't do anything with only one fit ruckman, will need to be up by ten goals going into the last quarter every week if they want to scrape home.

 

[Matt79]

They were struggling a long time before that tonight. Look, digs at stfu aside, obviously they are missing a few pretty handy players in Franklin, Sewell, etc, but that wasn't the performance of a team that can challenge for the flag tonight.

 

[Jono]

If you saw the Dogs you'd think the same. They are pretending atm.

All about Saints vs. Cats again, with a Collingwood prelim loss as usual. Isn't that right Matt?

 

[Matt79]

Not sure we'll make it to the prelim this year, unless Davis, Didak and Cloak lift. Cloak had some encouraging signs tonight, but ffs learn to kick for goal. Matty Lloyd was doing special comments tonight - Eddie should through him some $$$ to come down once a week and help the forwards out on their set-shots, because they're a cluster at the moment.

There is plenty to like however. Harry O is a gun - he'll take a power-forward one week, and then do something like tonight where he plays on Cyril Rioli and schools him for most of the night.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Willing to trade David Hale for a ham sandwich ONO.

Who's this bloke?

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

What a time to be alive.

 

[superkingdave]

About time we had more North supporters around. wb

 

[Storer]

Not sure we'll make it to the prelim this year, unless Davis, Didak and Cloak lift. Cloak had some encouraging signs tonight, but ffs learn to kick for goal. Matty Lloyd was doing special comments tonight - Eddie should through him some $$$ to come down once a week and help the forwards out on their set-shots, because they're a cluster at the moment.

There is plenty to like however. Harry O is a gun - he'll take a power-forward one week, and then do something like tonight where he plays on Cyril Rioli and schools him for most of the night.

Cloke = tradebait, imo.

 

[Matt79]

Who'd want him? As Packer said, "you only get one Alan Bond in life", and I fear in Tarrant, we had our one irrational Fremantle trading for a ****e forward...

 

[Jono]

Who did you get for Tarrant? Medhurst?

Tarrant is doing damn well at Freo IMO.

 

[Matt79]

Pick 8 in the draft and Medders as the steak-knives thrown in as a sweetener. The player we picked up with that pick 8 (Ben Reid) hasn't really kicked on in the manner we hoped, but that doesn't affect the deal itself. Freo used to make trade week fun.

 

[pasag]

Yikes, close first half then Geelong kick 11 goals to 1 in the third and it's not over yet

 

[vic_orthdox]

Willing to trade David Hale for a ham sandwich ONO.

You can have J. Pod when he's 32.

 

[wfdu_ben91]

muhahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha!! What's the average margin in 2010 dip****?? Your Hawks got flogged tonight, and if we could kick straight, it would have been 100 points rather than just 11 goals.

If both teams had've kicked straight then the margin would've still been the same. Roughead missed several easy opportunities.

Willing to trade David Hale for a ham sandwich ONO.

How about Simon Taylor?

The losses of Williams, Campbell and Croad have dented our setup massively. If we still had Williams then we could play Roughead down back and give Franklin a spell in the ruck. I like that Carl Peterson as a footballer though.

 

[Jono]

Williams?

Essendon were ******** to pick him up.

 

[Matt79]

I don't know - Williams for Lovett has turned out to be a pretty smart trade. Certainly better than they had any right to expect to get for him.

 

[vic_orthdox]

I don't know - Williams for Lovett has turned out to be a pretty smart trade. Certainly better than they had any right to expect to get for him.

In hindsight, yeah, but that's only because of what has since happened to Lovett.

I don't think that, if they had've still had Williams, Hawthorn could have had a functioning forward line based around him; with Roughead in the backs and Franklin in the ruck. First of all, Franklin is too valuable to put in the ruck, but even so; as Scott Lucas was saying today, its very hard for hit up forwards to be too successful today because of the zones. You need the bigger forwards, because the most effective way is long kicks over the back of the zone, and that's not what suited Williams.

 

[benchmark00]

Yeah, ridiculous to suggest Franklin would or should go in the ruck. You don't put a thoroughbread in a work horses position.

The point about forwards not being effective is interesting. I think the lead up forward is crucial in todays footy, not to kick goals but to create space behind them for when the kick penetrates the zone. Sydney, and in particular McGlynn is probably the best exponent of it this year. The zone will shift and slide in front of the leading forward so then players can run into the hole created at the back.