Are there any excuses for the DRAMATIC fall-offs of Carlton, Collingwood & Essendon? - SEN

No lead is safe I don't reckon we should have the means tested I just let the people vent she a hot start she we I said I'd provide a shoulder but I've just wow it's been uh overwhelming a little bit of negativity just a little bit well when you get three massive clubs have the round that they had awes Carlton and cywood ESS and it's the recipe for a disaster on good morning morning G oh the king's Gambit starts us off uh kingy well what's the per what's the best place to be footy behind at 3/4 time two goals down three4 I reckon that's the sweets but I said on crunch time maybe three goals but somewhere between two and three goals at the many three's too many well apparently not three three that's a no le safe era it one goal maybe one and a half goals sweet spot just enough where you can roll the magnet dice AKA John Longmire with a nothing to lose momentum it's momentum Madness is it that hard to coach against momentum in the modern game well if just the numbers don't lie so up until round 18 this year if you L at 3/4 time you won 88% of games 88% of games up to around 19 sorry so the last three rounds four rounds it is down to 63% so 6 out of 10 win rather than nine out of 10 that that's a big shift and you have to look at the weekend so go through Friday night in Saturday's games the swans trailing by uh 21 points 27 early early in the fourth was they got the first goal hwood all right stand corrected but North melbour led by 13 three4 time Brisbane led by eight Freeman led by four melbour led by three and the the goco Suns I think led by Four Points was the falsest lead you've ever seen so en got in front in the last quarter and were then overpowered as we know they were exactly right so I mean that was a lot closer that game pretty most of the night really didn't I don't think it's straight outside of 12 points either way but um yeah I think that's it's just the psychology of foot isn't it we got to go we got to score versus oh how do we hang on how do we stop particularly when the team charging is the home team at a proper home venue and the crowd can sniff it the crowd can smell it they get on board next thing you know the commentary is all about it too and I don't know maybe just a bit of panic starts to set in I mean for it even to happen to cywood and I know there's Master with some of the decisions but this all goes into it with teams who get run over you things go against you we talk about those decisions later on how about the tumble we it's the psychology of footy isn't it yeah and we don't talk enough about the the gray matter what you how you how you processing what's happening the clarity of some players versus others and we showed some vision of Isaac Heeney last night been able to say okay I can see what's happening here we could win this stoppage what if I drag Chris to the goal square and make him play fullback for a bit would more come with him now he's probably not going to come so all those things going on in real time being able to to take yourself outside of your little role whether it be big be small and have a look at the overarching game okay we need a g we need a goal how can I get us a goal I think it's it's a real it's an asset that not many players have yeah now the Kings Gambit's your domain but I AFL freezes finals ticket prices did note this morning that the afl's Frozen ticker prices for the finals again this year and no wonder they have because there won't be any at the MCG in the first week if we have a they Frozen finals at the MC unbelievable isn't it and it's never happened before why are you worry about this so much I'm not worried about it it's just not it's never happened before don't you find it an extraordinary extraordinary situation I mean outside of Co if the ladder would have stay like this or close to this which it won't mind you but there could be all sorts of scenarios that still make it possible yeah there might only be a Grand Final in Melbourne or a semi-final alongside it so Sydney and jalong would be at the scg Porton Giants would be at the Adelaide oval Brisbane hathor would be at the gab and Freeman the dogs would be at op us as it stands I think jalong will pick up the 4% required over the next two rounds to go past the two teams in front of them yeah well Jack's text in and the cat's getting enough credit we're going to circle back to jalong in a moment this is an incredible football club Jack says who just keep backing up time and time again and then he's just written here one word Midfield so we'll get to jalong in a moment the pressure Pressure on the Dockers index who sits front and center with the pressure index well it has to be front free metal and I know the people say oh you're Bash free metal but this this the likelihood now that they could miss the eight is alarming everyone said oh they're on this trajectory they're a top four team they got this Midfield to dive for best clearance team in the competition you know Tracy's taken all before them 4 I know he wasn't there on the weekend their backline are their back six are so good I know they had without Alex Pearson though without Josh Tracy on the weekend and obviously without Shawn Darcy the Ruckman but they've had to do that from time to time throughout the course of the Year anyway it is alarming and amazing that they could miss the eight I don't know where you sit on this Samy but I I watched this game super closely because I was fascinated to see what Chris Scott would do against freemale and how he would pick them apart because this is what the best coaches do and I don't think the gap between the great coaches and the rest is significant enough I think what Chris Scott does in game he should be getting double what some other coaches get yeah his ability to free up effectively Jeremy Cameron to free up Tom Stewart how do you free up Jeremy Cameron may I show Vision every week I could show half an hour he should be he should keep you awake all week as the opposition go I would love to do a half hour special on Jeremy Cameron for the season and just show how he does what he does and how opposition clubs are never ready for him to do it so you said this was the biggest matchup of the weekend to get right going can't get him it was Luke Ry it was L it was Chapman um he had the had to go with run with roll and they move him to a wing they moved him around so Chris just keeps moving them around a little bit to see what you'll do so if you want to use your halfback flanker on a wing well that's all right up he comes who you going to put it half back so just he just probes the other coach's box okay where's he playing now or he now now he's effectively on ball now he's at a stopage at the halfback flank are we going all the way with him or are we holding well if we all the way with him he's going to beat us back to goal I will hold off him and then they he just he just slips through I mean it was Luke Ryan on occasion it's very difficult to show the vision that answers all um discussion pieces but the bottom line was coaching freed up Cameron in in a 10 goal to n game the ability for jalong to get what they wanted for longer periods was the difference so Dangerfield does what he does at clearance yep hard to stop understand that but the amount of times he was either himself or half guarded not not not arm across not going to let Danger phield get this clearance was like oh no we back our boys well you back them and you you get you get smacked between the eyes so I I just think that that this this coaching of jalong ripped the game from from uh the freem manal Dockers and it's left them now in my opinion with a lot of work to do so they're half a game in answer your question they come back for the to the Dockers they're half a game inside the the8 in six now that run home is the Giants away into Port Adelaide at home so it's a it's a tougher pair of games to finish as you can find across the competition they might have to win both they might have to and what I found was intended quarter time like they're down four goals two to2 goals one they've been out tackled in the first half an hour by jalong 26 to8 now that's a basic measurement but it does speak to desire and intent and to want doesn't it 26 to8 they were out tackled yeah it's I'm not massive on tackle I I I get your point eight tackles is is ridiculous eight but some games are not tackle games are they some games well it was cuz the cats laid 26 of them yeah okay all right some games one team can play with control and it's very difficult to tackle you can't tackle teams to Mark the ball so there's there's a difference of of philosophy in some games so I'm I'm not rusting on the tackle numbers but when you come out of the blocks and kick the first four goals you say well something's something's off here something's not right um and again the thing that really alarms me is is the is the players that are involved so grian Meyers is was another player that fascinates me for jalong they've just got these players that if you get the matchups wrong on those guys or your your approach to that matchup um they have a not not a happy Knack they have a they have an absolute ability to to getting it on the scoreboard and there's a couple of times where Clark just lets Myers go and you think what what are you doing like is is this the plan is so it's hard to for us outside looking in we're skimming over 18 clubs right so we don't we don't profess to be um 100% knowledgeable about every uh aspect of your club right so we're trying to do this in real time on the weekend so all we can judge is what is what we see so why would you allow Myers to go free to a stoppage or to the back of a stoppage or to to to create um it's not freeo bashing it's not it's it's every Club has done this at one point or another through the course of the year and I feel like they're almost not ready for the Jeremy Cameron roll it's amazing how often it happens is he just not blow them up though he's a fitness freak though Jeremy up and back up andap Fitness is not that big he's a fair athlete Jeremy Cameron isn't he do you think that he's I think he's a better Runner and a better worker than the two Defenders that you mentioned for Freeman or there than Chapman and Ryan Ryan's a different player Ryan had a different approach he he held but he's beat him the last couple times so it's not always about having you the track meet but if but the gap between Chapman and and Cameron would wouldn't be significant Phil and jalong by the way we'll feature a little bit later on in the means test as well but Phil's text in uh 14 times in 18 Seasons jalong to qualify top four even without Equalization that is massive with a handicap competition it's ridiculous thank you jalong football Club from good to great just like Frank Costa wanted the sleepers they're up in fourth they're up into fourth jalong quietly almost which is amazing well if they if they were to win it right just just would be would it be one of the great Flags would it be one of the great coaching um performances given this group this group's you know it's it's it's not the best talent that we see out there they lost six of seven midseason six of seven it's a b a run as any so-called Contender is enjoyed and and here they are but thanks to Jason Newcastle who texting during the news because you highlighted this kingy a lot Ben King & Mac Andrew of us saw it in game in the moment and Jay is saying here huge Kudos has to go to Ben King literally a minute PRI of taking that Mark Ben King pulled MC Andrew away from a scuffle to settle him down and get him to focus on the ball great leadership and something I haven't seen much from Ben King spot on you're looking for little signs of growth with the the Suns and their leadership's always been a little bit of a question who who actually is taking control who is demanding higher stands everyone talks about toke Miller and those sorts of things but and and Matt R to a point do they talk about Anderson that way probably not maybe they should but I hadn't seen Ben King go outside of himself to look after another player ever yeah he's been focused on his role which is fine a lot of players are like that um but to see him because Mack was getting distracted there was there was a scuffle went on between Ben long and Kelly but behind the ball they threw it long got angry and threw him to ground it was lucky not to be a free kick was right in front of the Umpire with a minute to go on the clock 5 seconds later M just wants to get involved he's he's looking to punch someone he just he just wants to be physical um and to inject himself into the game gets involved Ben King walks over grabs say man we just need you we need you you can you can see him pleading with him yeah to get his head back in the game next opportunity bang it it was Unreal and I just thought well done to Ben King for doing that it made me think what if they had have played MC Andrew Ford for the year what if he had have spent the whole year as a for he's a natural isn't he well I don't know he's just such a talent he's just a he's so Superior to to most defensive uh players in the competition I mean they've tried to get lukosus to be that player they've tried to get Walter who's you know still very very young to be that player they've tried to have Sam day be that player I wonder if it was just m Andrew all along seven goals in two weeks he makes that forward line look different and I think the Ben King runs off off his enthusiasm for the game and his preparedness to compete um and at any point on the weekend when they could trap Nick Cox in a one-on-one in that first half they made him look second rate yep so that that was that was the beauty of it the difference between having one Bonafide Target and two four goals five marks and the 13 disposals for MC Andrew in the in the Ford 50 they started all that in the game against West Coast over there so the Monday means test we turn our mind to the big issue kingy now last week our big issues sat around essendon under the What on earth was THAT from Essendon? phrasing of well who actually are Esson but this week I mean it's probably more pertinent to ask what on Earth was that from eston at the weekend is is our big issue so can can we balance the discussion I think this version of essendon right now is a lot better than where they've been in the last two to three years okay because a lot of invest supporters would argue and have already this morning argued against that and that everyone's got their opinion on what they see we can all see the same thing and and have a different view on it why do you say that so categorically because I think they're better between the arcs they've got they've got some problems inside the arcs at both ends but I think that the coach can you know given some time some more time I think we'll fix that so I think that the Midfield products pretty good there's some players that that that need to refine the way they defend and that includes the top of the includes Ben maai it means probably another preseason together for those guys to actually address how they are defending as a unit not not individually but as a group and I think their forward 50 problems have been evident I mean Peter W's been a stone their shoe all year so you see what Caddy's been able to do since he's coming another preseason to caddy as a first year player he's just going to get better and better so he'll be a better Target next year so he'll correct that forward 52 a point it won't be solved next year but it'll be on the PA so I think that there's a lot to work with uh with this group but they are assaulted by Matt R the weekend and he his his hunger and thirst for for the contested footy was was beyond anything that SN could match and and I I would be showing that to the snen midfielders today this guy's had 20 contested possessions nine clearances simply because he wanted it more he absolutely was hellbent on beating all of them regardless of who it was if the ball was within 2 to 3 meters there were times where he stood up in the tackle shooked them off got the ball out so that's that's something you can't walk past you have to you have to show that you have to see that and he may be the toughest player in the competition matre I don't know but when you come up against that you have you have to um address that um there still a few things to like I highlighted last night the chase the Chase from Andy McGrath yeah was just a ripper like you can build off these things but I understand the frustration with the essn supporters because they've been you know the ladder the ladder told them that they were better than what they actually are for for a fair part of this year the ladder lies it does lie and we're seeing some different Corrections at different stages so I don't think they were ever that good they'd improved defensively for a point of the year and we thought you know what if they can hold that then they can probably win a final um it's not going to be the case but I still think they've made some inroads this year did you agree with that yeah but I'm more interested in this year is this year and what do they do come October and November so they had the big preseason last year the penny is said to have dropped they all got fit a lot of them went to the US they had the pretty significant top up trade period if you like maai Gresham Goldstein you know Xavier dma comes in who's unfortunately now hurt but the decisions they make around list where the Improvement comes from in the offseason you know a lot is made of Cox re and Perkins how do they get pet a right back what do they do with Dyson he where does the Improvement come from what happens next I'm more interested in um from an essm perspective yeah I think you got to be ruthless with some of their list calls you know they may have to they may have to trade Cox they have to trade Reed you know he just doesn't play for them just it just doesn't work for whatever reason it just hasn't worked it they whilst they got some currency it might be a good time for that Purge you is is is Kelly really the answer what what does he bring to this team does he does he intercept the ball does he does he help you move the footy does he does he can he get a job done oneon-one I mean I think he's a bit of a player without a position but they fall in love with these guys I mean you know meny doesn't do enough in game they've taken a long time to give Brian an opportunity in the Rock he's been pretty good the last couple of weeks but why has it taken this long to give this guy an opportunity um you know you're up and down from stringing you're up and down from Langford like this the the gaps are too big for some of these guys so you know I think that Brad's trying to lift the standards he's trying to do so many things at this footy Club um in such a short period of time and and I'm Brad's harshest critic right so let let's just put that on the table I think you've just got to give it a bit more time an ESS supporter made a mind said to me maybe things were that bad at essin that this is taking longer than everyone on the outside looking in thought but this I I think there's some truth in that I think the truth the absolute answer is somewhere in the middle they're not as good as we'd hope they'd be at this stage but I think they're addressing it the right way all right that's the big issue for this week and what happens next will be fascinating the PFI preliminary final Are the Giants the real deal? Integrity so if jalong have done it quietly into the top four gws have not but like the cats they lost six of eight midar now they are absolutely motoring so to take four points out of the gabber at any stage is not easy particularly when you're being crushed at quarter time so their ability to change the narrative in game under Adam Kingsley is now something that you can't ignore and their scoring power is so ferocious they can take the game away from you quickly and not many teams can say that this year they've got some major weapons with some major weapons to return on a Personnel front so the PFI wraps around the gws Giants can you yeah it's funny you we've looked a lot at the Giants through different stages this year wondered you know what are they going to get to what what are the Giants you know everyone says we give them enormous conf um wraps now saying oh you know maybe they'll building at this point maybe they part of the plan yeah part of the plan you know was it really wasn't it I I don't I don't have the answer to that but what what I do know is that they got a guy forward of the ball that that is just in unbelievable form in Jesse Hogan eight targets again on the weekend three contested marks and what he allows to happen around him uh I think is's a credit to the coaching of this forward group so this forward group it pretty much has revolved around Hogan and green and then the smalls up the field retreating back at speed or charging back at speed so when you look at what they got out of Cadman and um I can never say his name greski oh yeah been able to I could never say his name been able to get been able to get back yeah mg mg and Cadman been able to get back to Andrews and make him have to defend and if he got it wrong hit the scoreboard you to get four goals out of those guys is absolutely terrific and then you still get your three out of Hogan uh Toby green was seriously quiet on the weekend but the thing that really sort of whacked me was they went to um they went to Ping in in that second quarter and asked for him to become a clearance beast and he he mauled the Brisbane Midfield that have been a more than competent clearance team for 5 years nine clearan six inside 50s yeah but it was it was act it was the manner in which he did it was was evident too and this is all this is all without a Ruckman they had luy ke in the rck I mean Kefi come on man key Kei in The Rock Against himself a against the Big O and the Big O got seduced again into grabbing the boy out of the Rock and we said Big O just tap it to the smalls men and get out of the way but he couldn't help himself um so look I take my head off to the coach I think he's he's coaching really well good to Kelly back into that team makes such a difference when Canelo gets back this week the KE with the lids lighting it up like you wouldn't believe they they they again got the job done on locking Neil so all of their planning this what I'm talking about planning into a game we talk about jalong then we're talking about the Giants what did they demand from their players and what did they execute exactly what they put in bullet point form on Wednesday afternoon in their preview meeting they tick it all off six in a row now for the Giants so they're absolutely humming they should have been it should have been a fair margin of quarter time freem man on the western Bulldogs to yeah 11 scoring shots to one so that's what I mean their ability to change the narrative in game has been unbelievable this year so th those players to come back Canelo back soon hopefully Kieran back soon as well for them as well so and ricardi the was managed so bit bitsa at training yeah so hopefully and then um and then there's ricardi when it comes to that Ford 50 mix you speak of as well I wouldn't play Ricard I mean rard probably comes in for I mean mg um and is a better version than mg but I I like their speed I think their speed you got to have you've got to have a weapon that the opposition have real trouble with and Darcy Jones in that that third quarter just turn turn and went two or three times and no one could go with him no that's blinding speed isn't it don't let him turn he's the he's the old saying don't let him turn and face you put a speedometer in that uh in that helmet of his just to see how quick he's going but even his defensive speed was evident um so no it's it's it's a beauty and the other thing I wanted to mention was um Buckley Jack Buckley he was supposed to be in Paris this weekend he had nine intercepts on the weekend and was Unreal so in the end they them saying not even having to have the conversation you're not going right has a massive impact on their season if he wasn't there they don't win on the weekend sakur blur unbeliev I don't know what what that means Max gr's nickname is gr there you go k as in the Despicable Me villain gr I'm just going to go with gr course it is that grw you can have Gru I'm going to have the kid with the lead I'm with Adam the debate uh for New Vision Clinic sits around well sits around kton with two rounds to play this season in the home and away so my debate or my question to you kingy The state of Carlton does the injury Alibi stand up this year and can you possibly Mount that argument when they were second at Round 20 were thoroughly out played Anyway by Hawthorne yesterday so the debating around a side who could have should have would have haven't they could have three or four all Australians in this side come the end of the season injuries have been huge all year but they were right at the pointy end only 5 minutes ago so the debate sits with Carlton how we view them and where it's gone wrong I think this debate is hysterical and and I I can't understand the logic if you if you play players that are below par that that are slightly banged up which every team has at the moment then you're going to get a reduced output across the course of six to seven or eight weeks players returning from injury are never the same they're out there in terms of the magnets on the board and they're out there to play and they we assess them as 100% right to go but they're not they're not that car have had so many injuries this year they haven't in the last six weeks being able to be the product that you all think they are Caron fans are delusional they really are and and I know they were sitting second when they were reasonably healthy but with without chera cotell Cunningham ding Fantasia Martin sad Boyd now docky and syania been out for the Year guys that are out there kerno is banged up but he's still frontting up and playing you're just not going to be the same product so what what are you expecting from a team that's probably battened down to player 30 on their list already you don't win with player 30 in your team I think part of that fits into the frustration that you that you speak of that this isn't their first rodeo when it comes to player availability in fact it's been an issue for some time now there's acknowledged there is an element of bad luck always in and around that but when you have a spade of soft isssues some of them are training in the middle part of the year as well then that fits into the cartton frustration training in the middle of the year what no that was tearing their hamstrings in training in the middle part of the year was that's own goal that of course we we talked about that and you can talk about those things in isolation but you can't expect to keep up the level of performance that had you sitting second on the table given those circumstances so I think the the criticism of us I heard all the the callers off the top at nine ridiculous how can you be blaming vosy for this you not agree yeah I think it's all part of the one I think it's all part of the frustration I think it all fits into the Melting Pot of why Caron supporters are throwing their hands up in the air saying why why does it keep happening but be realistic okay ker just text in let's stop banging on about injury every team has had them one soldier down one soldier stands up no that's that's that's that's a ridiculous comment there wouldn't have been many weeks this year I don't reckon where it said no change in the from around the last six weeks they've played the most players in the in in 32 players they've played the most in the competition they've only had 13 play all and some of those players that played all are the ones we're talking about that are going in at 80 you don't win with with player 30 31 32 against good sides you just don't so you've got to you've got to temper temper your your expectation is it disappointing that they're here absolutely but I just think this is going to be in in hindsight when you look back you say you know what gez we bang up you know in 2025 this stage next year you be saying we learned some tough lessons last year and you've had some Elite performers Patty Crips has been terrific kerno for the bulk of the year been unbelievable I still think you need more out of your back your backline players some of your stars down there don't do enough for the team they're great for themselves they don't do enough for the team you need you need a better year next year out of mcgaven sard weering got to go absolutely Next Level yeah and I've been hard on that but he might be an Australian Defender this year and Crips could be too he's not an Australian Defender this year he's not he's not okay if they put him in then they got it wrong yeah Jeremy mcgavin's had twice the year that um that weering had and did you mention Adam cherer so this is a guy who was leading the Calton best and fairest for two-thirds of last season who's just never just has not had a run at it at all five hamstrings over the last 12 months so that's what so stop picking the guys that are most likely to be injured at halfway through the second quarter you just can't play Jack Martin you can't play Fantasia you you know you just have the same discussion each time oh he's unlucky isn't he he's unlucky he put a body of work you know what just move him on you you've got to you've got to move past those guyss and at least get some continuity in the team they may not be instead of being an 8 out of 10 player they might be a s and a half out of 10 player but they're there every week so there's a there's a big difference between having a settled lineup that that learn that shared experience of playing together they learn how each other play cohesion such a such a a key piece now in in in obtaining success that you just can't have players coming in out of your team well I'm actually in agreeance with kingy people saying stop banging on about injuries are the biggest factor in what teams don't play to their best that's from Cami churnside Park so you can win 12 games and then make injuries the excuse how did they win 12 this is crap Hawthorne smash them did Smash them yesterday no one's talking about yesterday's game just per se we're just talking about the bigger picture their season every team that has injuries runs a ground every team and and the ladder at the end of the year the injury ladder reads the same as the AFL Premiership letter it's that's just a fact you can argue it you can be disappointed with the performance you can be disappointed with the effort levels look I watch I watch well the broken tackles yesterday no I I watch I wouldn't play up again for the year his refusal to chase when the players are literally around him I would make a statement say you know what I don't care if we're down to play a 33 on our list this week if you refuse to do what we say are the non-negotiables then you don't you don't pull on the jumper the the selection piece is your major weapon against standards at your footy club and if you accept them still you can challenge them um but you've got to take senior footy off them at some stage Robin aale Heights KY we can't keep saying there's always next year we've been saying that for 10 years we're crying for success we're crying out for a Grand Final enough is enough it can't be bad luck every year for 10 years that's what I'm saying it just fits into the same old Melting Pot of angst amongst the car supporters that again availability is is an issue but that's the debate and the debate is for New Vision clinics New Vision clinics Keyhole laser vision Next Generation technology call 1820 2020 some anger out there with the carton fans I love this one though text machine's lit up what an overreaction from the C supporters they've got West Coast and silder in their next two games which they should win and will push for finals such a toxic fan base and when they win next week they'll be saying we can make finals now I wouldn't have thought any c supporter would have thought they're going into that game with any high level of optimism at All West Coast in Perth mix just said you just listed Martin and Fantasia's big outs and then one minute later you say you can't pick M Martin and Fantasia well they're there and they're on their list and this is my point Mick they'll end up playing these guys and you just don't know whether they're going to complete games complete runs when was the last time Jack Martin played six8 10 weeks in a row uh in the run into last season's finals when he was when he had a but that's probably it that would be it wouldn't it yeah it's been this story all the way along so if they're on your list you play them I mean we we have this discussion all the time so what do you do with the Dawson hipple next year listening if he's there you're going to play him well Sam Mitchell had the same discussion with Jager Amira and who was the other one that left jir and um um that escapes me doesn't matter if he's there you play them if they if they're there they get MIT uh Tom Mitchell exactly Tommy Mitchell I thought jul s Mitchell of course it's Tom Mitchell but if if they're there you play them because they're good players and they're better than the guy that you're looking at the next magnet down to bring in so I I just think it's self-explanatory you can't you can't help bad luck with injury but you can help you can help by getting the list profile correct does Jared take these sort of Liberties have you run this by Jared no does he do this good morning I I want to ask you straightens Who is in the Ray Gun? you up when you hear that who is in the ray gun who is in the ray gun Rachel Ray gun gun of course unless You' been living under a rock you would know that she's taken the break dancing in the Olympic World by storm over the weekend with phal before when instantly viral viral so who is in the ray gun when it comes to a football perspective I it's your segment all right I'll I'll throw this is Luke beverage after the game talking about his uh his star Ruckman Tim English Tim english's performance in the rck opposed to Riley stable was a nice word he went with in the end 20 hits to Advantage for Raley AB Bron 20 I'm not sure I've seing that number 20 to three that might be worth checking if that's a that sounds like an extreme amount that where that sits all time it's a massive so this is a coach who's been a ferocious backup he's played the Sha Grigg role to English ferocious back of his players kingy a ferocious backer and this was almost the I if I should mention this or not this is almost the modern day version of bloody and Pitman big pathetic PTO pathetic Pitman which which is he regrets that comment Malcolm that's a bit harsh 7 goals two to one goal four from stoppage I mean oh there's a few there's a few things at the dogs Buu caras goes in the ray gun as well exposed oh man he looked like a he looked like a a boy against man out there at times and they've tried to they've put lob back so that he doesn't have to take the big buer but they just worked him back to the golf crows crows worked it beautifully though three TOS yeah but foggy Phil Thorp I mean that those two the future's in good hands in that forward 50 can't a final series with buku there I'm sorry it's going to get exposed against the seriously good teams in a in a crunch time game I thought they'd solve this riddle at the Whit noville what do you mean well the back the key back mix I thought they'd Solve the Riddle well against three tall uh big bodied forwards it's very difficult he has to play on one of them it was it was a thorn in their side all day who was in the ray gun there you go did you watch that performance I I loved it I really enjoyed it it was pretty good wasn't surprised you didn't win a medal just before we move through they they got that right I really want to talk about Hawthorne and not only Hawthorn can do no wrong they're getting a lot right at the moment kingy but I reckon I go back to that trade period nine months ago they got that right they brought Jack inovan in Mass mod Ambrosio in for for a song obviously Mario CH Jack Gunston on a bargain and so Char massive with that Mitch Lewis so he's kicked 32 goals so he ginan and Gunston have combined for 77 Majors Massimo de Ambrosio speaking of the all Australian would have to be on One Wing at the moment with Errol Gordon on the other so I just think back to that trade period was shrewd they started the season horribly they've got everything right since then million to one for him to be Australian million to one Massimo yeah they won't they won't Pi like those they won't pick two wingman not I will guarantee guarantee the Australian team will not have two wingmen you you mark my words well that would be a mistake well you write it down now it's it's a preemptive one uh the no FEI Hawks they they don't worry about anything we talked about them being Showtime a couple of weeks ago and and their Ford line just carrying on taking photos celebrations putting on a show it's it's built a um a confidence level that's a good healthy footy arrogance I love healthy footy arrogance and I think you compl your best when you like that so the small forwards are their point of difference they play at a speed that's hard to it's hard to curta it's hard to to clamp um and when they get their overlap handball game going good luck um I love what we've seen the last couple of weeks I still think that their Midfield is is the key to their success whilst their forward lines their point of difference last six weeks their clearance games AFL top four the turnover games AFL top two um there's not there's not a lot missing there they're in really good health which is the opposite s of what we're talking about with Carlton so Mitch Lewis is the only one really of any note that's probably not there at the moment um the defensive numbers are really good so the last six weeks I think they're top three in terms of conceding about 70 points a game and they're the only team averaging 100 points the last six weeks so it's a it's a been a big Improvement they're going to end up with seven players I said last night they're going to have 20 plus goals for the year seven they're so even they're so balanced so they're on 12 wins at the moment in the eight for for for the first time obviously and they've got two highly they're going to finish on 14 wins games to come against Richmond and North Melbourne to close the worst bits for auto flip the smarter way to sell your car online you wanted to talk about goal kicking more generally but uh the Western bulldogs The Bulldogs' goalkicking woes were probably the poster boys for this at the weekend well we we touched on an AFL 3 360 last Wednesday and the 18th for converting shots between 30 and 50 and they're 18th for converting shots in the corridor and it all come home to roost again yesterday Sam Daria I don't know what I don't know where to start with his goal King Brad Johnson's got some work to do there he kicked five points for the day but from 30 to 50 the you should you should go at about you know just on 50% or or a fraction above from 30 to 50 he kicked 04 it it it didn't it wasn't the game it wasn't the reason they lost clearly um because they were out hustled by by the crows who were frantic for the footy and and moved it really well um but they haven't kicked more goals than behind since round 18 the dogs that's a fact I mean 918 there was and B mentioned there seven Rush there which makes it look worse than it is but clearly it's been an issue with that club for for a while well this doesn't count Rush this is just shots of goals you know you you either hit you miss you hear the goals points and then complete misss so it counts it counts a lot so they got to get on top of this before it costs them a final yep the other thing I want my man here Dan's getting stuck into me uh all of a sudden buku k can't play I'm not saying he can't play I'm just saying he's still in the development phase buku commas and he may be physically a different specimen after one more preseason but when you when you are looking at what will hurt you in a final which is two weeks away then I think you have to look at this position because if they play we had this chat in here with Ollie if they if they played freem man the week one of the finals they'd be up against Jackson Amos and Tracy so you're going to have the same discussion the same problem so why wouldn't you address sitting now you you don't have to we we we're not we're not selecting the team we're just having to look at what the issues were from the weekend so we're not having to go with the player and saying he can't play but right now he's not at a stage where he can compete with the Darcy fogies or the Tex Walkers or the Riley fils so why would you why would you roll on with that in the short term yeah maybe James O'Donnell ends up taking his place in the in the run home the worst bits are for autof flip where over 1,000 dealers bid to buy your car online sell easier quicker smarter just quickly they got that wrong had to be North melbour didn't it 13 points up with 2 minutes 2 minutes left I reckon West Coast rolls the Roos it was seven points with 90 seconds left get rolled and my man in Wanger it World under the West Coast for knowing what was required for surging the ball into space and for Oscar Allen doing what he did and all those sorts of things and go and watch the replay 100 times um Adam I think his name was um but the kangaroos all they had to do was was do what was required in that that period and that's to shut the game down seek extra stoppages make sure the ball doesn't leave traffic they had Simpkins kicking the ball off the ground into space you got Harry Shel punching the ball into space just Madness yeah yeah like where's the composure it's frustrating Sam him because as it the composure comes with the experience doesn't it or is a how many experiences can you have well what do you mean Jo Simkins played a lot of footy oh Jo simkin is but then you just mentioned a young fella but John did it twice in the space of 90 seconds when the game was requiring uh another stoppage or some delay they just they just couldn't think their way through it now is is that is that a is that a learned skill from the player is that something they should be coached is that something they should have leared during the offseason that's something I should learned in season it was the West Coast Eagles it wasn't it wasn't Collingwood who had been schooling themselves in this area for 5 years so I I'm really disappointed with that uh that performance all around from the Kangas the open question with Where do the Crows go from here? Adelaide like so where are they who are they um again this is a bit like the eston conversation for me is where do they go from here that they missed out last season in in highly controversial circumstances there were big hopes this year and they were disappointing and now they're coming on with something of a rush so where are adelay the open question for for 2025 if they didn't get another player in the door if this was just their lot next year where would they finish is there enough development there in their younger players to but then you look at the Midfield yesterday and the numbers so Crouch 30 plus L again High numbers yeah they known products the same old Soldiers I'd love to see them I know I keep banging on about this but have a look at Hing in there have a have a look at something different I genu curtain showed some signs late in game which was good but is he going to be a midfielder for them next year I'm I'm I'm not so sure um so I just want to see someone who's there who's their potential to be a Hayden young may it may not eventuate but the these sort of three four five weeks when your season's over effectively there's no point finding out what mcrs can do I know what mgrs can do so he's going to get footy he's going to win clearances but we the ceilings they know the ceiling with those players in the Midfield and they look like a vanilla mid at the start of the year so if they attract no one then what sort of side are they next year I mean I love foggy and Phil Thorp together as a pairing will only get better and they got some promising young Defenders as well Ry obr still in his prime in the Rock it's a hard question to answer isn't it it's a it's a really hard question to answer it is you think in the offseason they'd be in for Lous as another another quality ball user um at a bare minimum that's an open question anyway so maybe we don't need to provide an answer and they start with ranking in the Midfield next year which he wasn't for the first four to five weeks the the The curiosity of Geelong jalong footy Club the Curiosity I know we spoken about them a bit just quietly going about their business the side that never bottoms out L six or seven mid years just quietly snuck into the top four and they've done it with little Fanfare I think so Patty Dangerfield looks brilliant again he had 11 clearances against Freeman I think six center bounds clearances he slaughtered them he looks dynamic they look Dynamic and they are a danger they are always a danger and Jeremy Cameron at the peak of his poers once again they they're back to being the best the last six weeks without the footy and I'll keep coming back to that with a few things few measures we track if you're if you're hard to play against if you're hard to score against hard to move the ball against you're in every game and and that is and that is the finals Integrity that you need they they set up with that the Prime Focus and then everything else builds from there so their ability you know Dangerfield has a massive infu influence on this Midfield as as we all know he's a top liner we didn't think he'd be able to come back and do this I mean no jawi showed some Vision last night he's had 20 clearances in two weeks like no one expected Patrick to be this and every time he gets it you're just thinking will the hammies remain intact so it's just a fingers crossed scenario of him from here until the end truth be told I had some uh Vision to show on Thursday night on the preview crack of him lunging and going at speed a couple of times last week and I was just going to say didn't he say he wasn't going to do this he can't change he can't change then you see him on the weekend you sort of thought I'm glad I didn't share that Vision cuz he he's done it again who Seedings have you got at four we start at four do we not we start at four and it gets worse from there uh I'm not confident with any of these okay and and if you're tracking these like the boys at the back are hope they're not they have swung wildly the last few weeks hope no one's been listening at four I got the cat cuz I just think they're the the most bankable of the teams that I'm not sure about I think that's a solid enough pick so well coached well drilled in reasonable health and got starf Factor players that perform every week I've only been doing this for a few weeks but I've been waiting to put this team into fourth oh you haven't finally I can because they are now eligible they are Hawthorne they're in the eight and they're in the seatings they are my number four number four four three for me I've gone the Sydney on I'm still maintaining the three a fair way back no well it could have been worse you like what you saw uh well I didn't love it it was okay Warner and Heeney went crazy to get them over the line the switch is being flicked now a switch yes really okay I'm not sure about the switch I'm just think two players said no no we're going to get this we're going to win this game for you okay who got a three gws with some guns to return they are flying we devoted a large portion of the mean test to the the Giants I think they are The Real McCoy H they're are two for me I think they're brilliantly coached um with a with a just an anger there's an anger about this team now that uh that that's palpable I I love their their want to to force their game onto you that'll take them a long way they're at two for me I think Collingwood were playing some really good footy that's why I'm paying a lot of attention to Sydney's performance I think this was the circuit breaker they needed the sign they needed and what they can build on so I've got the swans at two need a little bit of umpire interjection to help them get out of the line I still think Brisbane are the best place team to win it same seriously healthy just need to get themselves back into the four was a loss they didn't need to have but the last three months have been brilliant no they were going for 10 in a row so they remind my number remain my number one seed as well kingy so they will be all up and uh one for sure they'll change again next week