This is something I have commented on for the past 2-3 years. I have been lucky to be in the rooms and by the interchange a couple of times over this period (not this year) and we really are a lot lighter than sides such as Geelong, Hawthorn & Collingwood. We are very thin through the legs and core. Adelaide also look bigger this season, interesting given their Geelong coaching staff.

Stand next to guys like Bartel, Chapman, Selwood, Corey, Ling, Hunt etc they are built like tree trunks and we are built more like marathon runners.

Now, I am not an expert in the field but it has looked obvious to me that in tight games with lots of stoppages etc we would get pushed off the ball and eventually worn down. We are fit and quick and if we get the ball out wide we will beat anyone. Even guys like Henderson, Hampson, Warnock are extremely thin through the legs.

I know that body size has always been a key focus for Malthouse and it is interesting that when Bomber Thompson turned up at Essendon* he stated that the list was way too lean and recommended that they recruit "The Weapon" from Geelong to bulk the side up and that has been the focus of the last pre season. IMO that is a big reason for their success so far this season.

I personally cannot see us seriously competing until we address this issue.

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#NewBlues beginning 25th August 2015

I guess they've lost weight since they beat Collingwood with all their big mids in...

It's just an issue of confidence and attitude.

I hope they bulk up and have as many soft tissues as Essendon*. Then we could complain about Cordy getting it wrong again. Extra muscle didn't help Colyer attack the ball with both hands against the Giants young team. Still a squib. "The Weapon" did well at Geelong because they had talent.

Compare the stats and you will see there is hardly no difference from team to team...we may be a smidgen lighter for express leg speed.. Ratten possibly got a little rolled as top teams playing kamikaze contested footy in hard running waves..but too early to justify the degree of this stuff up or mis calculation. Teams know ball is clear on the outside we have them dead.

Murph said early season that he had to lose weight at the end of pre-season because he was carrying too much muscle

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That's the thing, I don't think many players are much below their optimum playing weight, it's just we lack overall size. I'd say it's mainly a list issue.

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Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

That would definitely be a part of the reason

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#NewBlues beginning 25th August 2015

Yeah, it's not so much that they are too light against the average team but we are probably trying to cater to our strengths. That's not to say that it's working. Anyway, I'd rather have our injuries than Collingwood's, if that has anything to do with it.

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Just because I'm offended, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

And yet when you consider how hard the contested footy was in the Final against WCEagles, it`s amazing how we could misread this trend.

Its not just a matter of our players being too lean, more so being short\small compared to other teams....

Examples are: Ellard, Joseph, Betts, Garlett, Armfield, Curnow, Murphy, Scotland, simpson, Yarran.

Thats 10 players on our senior list at or under 182cm.....

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Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon, what it means to you.

And we have about 6 players over 182cm - injured and unavailable.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Ask the pharmasist down west for some of the medicine his group is on lately.

geelong went alright carrying too much muscle :S

Have you seen our injury list???
I would love a few soft tissues. At least they come back eventually

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T E A M

Bit of a deflection.

Is it OK to put muscle on players quickly and potentially have them break down as a result?

Isn't that mismanagement of younger bodies?

Even Watson missed a lot of games last year with a hamstring injury. The Bomber isn't a slight mid in anyone's language.

You'd be critical of Carlton if that was happening to Carlton players. Too many Doc Larkins on here who can judge from the stands without seeing the medical reports. Jimmae should be in charge of our conditioning and fitness. I even saw one Carlton supporter blame Ratten for Laidler's knee injury because he had too play on Minson.

First of all Laidler should never have been picking up Minson - yes it was a freak injury where their knees knocked together but the extra weight and force from Minson would have been the major contributing factor to this injury.

Second of all Laidler was rushed back too early and aggravated the problem.

So twice the club has contributed to Laidler's absence from our list of available players.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill