GreatEx wrote:
:lol:
Yeah, that pile driver into the shins was an unbelievable miss by the umpire. Walsh very lucky his season wasn't ended.
bondi wrote:
70 points from stoppage is a blip? Maybe. Maybe not. I see a leak which needs to be plugged. Asking a friend if they can give me any ideas.
Have you got thoughts on that?
I mentioned Young in the Bulldogs thread, but more in a wistful way, thinking he could have been the perfect dual-purpose band-aid if only he had developed the way we wanted. As it stands, I don't trust him enough. So if we're talking insurance, it has to be Pitto. He can still make a nuisance of himself in defensive marking contests even if he doesn't mark or spoil many.
I was listening to Almost Blues Brothers this arvo and they said in the pre-game presser that Vossy had said the Hewett-for-Cotters swap was an attempt to address GWS's speed. If that's true, I agree with the ABB reaction that we should be setting the agenda and letting the Giants worry about us, not the other way around.
70 points from stoppage does feel like a bit of a blip, but it was also a perfect storm of many factors: Briggs figuring out a way to bully TDK, our midfield not working hard enough defensively and/or unable to react sufficiently to the shift in ruck momentum (this is where Hewett comes in), our KPD stud being hobbled making it easier for GWS to get bang for their ruck (see what I did there), and - at least at the start of their run - a too-casual approach when we thought we had them on toast.
I thought Crusader made a good point about ruck stats being the most misunderstood in the game. I don't have the same level of involvement in the game as many on this forum, and watching on TV is a poor substitute for being at the game in many aspects, but I think I've got a decent understanding of what makes a good performance, and I don't think TDK had a good game despite great fantasy scores and being listed in the "Best" by most reports. Briggs destroyed him in Q2 and Q3. Pitto would have helped. Hewett would have helped. Chain mail armour on Weiters's thighs would have helped.
Yes that was said in the presser.
There was another hint in Vossy's pre game presser, or I was reading too much into it, that Pitto understood why he was left out. His response just seemed odd, to me like he wanted one ruck because he had to continue with TDKs given his form, whether for this game or whatever.
I thought TDK did well on the floor, and you may have noticed TDK was still in the midfield group when Kennedy and Harry went up into the ruck, maybe because Voss likes his ground ball work, plays like an extra mid, his reach, something he liked. That's the first time I felt that maybe just maybe one ruck, for now, for ever, who knows from Vossy. I hope I'm wrong, because 2 assets in the ruck, when one should be the contested bull or a CHF seems like over kill at the contest, and tells me something is not right with TDK, or he was out of his depth. I don't know. I'm looking for signs.
TDK did well around the ground, better than he did in the first 5 rounds imo, but he's a ruck, and I expect him to ruck.
I'm sure the Blueboys will hit GWS harder than they did in Q1-2 if we meet them in Finals. I'm hoping it was a blip too. Its certainly not a trend, but it spiked my attention.
Cru is a good observer. Knows the game.
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