Lets see how competitive we are against the Cats.

Could see us having an off game last week, lets see if we bring back our tackling pressure and sharpen up this week against another good opponent.

We are obviously pretty competitive against the bottom 10 teams but long way off top 8 atm obviously.

If we have everyone playing well we can still play some pretty exciting footy and keep building this year. I think effort and taking our opportunities when they come, I'll be happy if they give 100% each week.

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Corinthians 9:6- 8

Is melbournes draft success a matter of much better development? Look at watts. Nailing a draft means nothing , if it isnt backed up with proper development.

And who recruited those older players? I guess it was sos

Very true. I expect him to endure, and not get caught up in the highs and lows, because that's what this reset is all about: the future of this footy club.

Let's keep looking for green shoots on this journey.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Yes it does at other clubs.
We got it wrong.
Like you, we have been scarred, deeply.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Do you seriously believe the umpires give the Bulldogs more free kicks because the AFL tell them to?

Its because they're coached to be head duckers. Look at Toby McLean play. He's happy to be a head ducking cheat. He falls into the tackler as soon as he sees them. As of 2 weeks ago, the Bulldogs had more frees than anyone else in the AFL. 75% of those frees were for high tackles. Its a shit rule that is there to be exploited. And they are.
Thats why they're winning free kicks. Not because of any AFL directive.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

2 of their first 3 goals came from very doubtful 50 metre penalties against GWS on Sunday.
It makes you want to vomit watching Bulldogs games
AFL wants them top 4 they are masters of the competition manipulation picked it up from the NRL and excelled at it

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

that's why you should watch from the grassy knoll SB.

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

No no, lock it in. Its how it is

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I believe the AFL manipulate results any way they can. Every now and then a Melbourne based team gets thrown a bone. Like the all the MCG games given to the pies in 2010. Not sure about the Dogs at the moment but it does smell like it. The frees they get are crazy. Even invented ones like Casboult throwing the ball back to forcefully to the ump.

Nothing will compare to the run Sydney gets with result manipulation. Written into the tv rights id imagine.

Leave the Melbourne bubble for a while Danny and watch from afar its easier to see.
Ive never really taken to NRL but have picked the last 4 GF winners before the season started. Albeit my pick this year looks way off at the moment. But what i will tell you is the NRL are worried about the rise of GWS and the continued success of Sydney so you can put your house on NSW winning the State of Origin.
The AFL has devised a system where everyone is supposed to get a turn at winning. Its a little bit like the school playground where you all get a ribbon.
The only way to beat this system is to do something out of the ordinary much like Sydney did with Tippet and Buddy .The bombers tried to do a geelong but got caught where geelong didn't.
Gold coast and Melbourne got a sniff of it but managed to back peddle away.
Hawks stitched up Tassie plus dollars and clever recruiting.
If the Blues are ever going to be a successful club again they need to stop playing the AFL system and work outside it in spite of the AFL

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

Its not cheating though is it. It may not be pretty, it may not be what you like to see, but it is not cheating. The question should be asked, why arent all clubs doing it. In this even competition any edge should be exploited.

Its not cheating though is it. It may not be pretty, it may not be what you like to see, but it is not cheating. The question should be asked, why arent all clubs doing it. In this even competition any edge should be exploited.[/quote]
The question that should be asked is that if everyone knows what they are doing why don't the umpires.
Why aren't they calling held or play on you ducked.
The entire football public can see it but the umpires don't.

_________________
If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

Because the interpretation of the rules allows the players to do it. The rules committee under the previous spell of Kevin Bartlett believe its OK to duck, weave and manoeuvre to beat a tackle. The umpires must umpire to the interpretation of the rules set buy the rules committee.
When I played in the dark ages, if you contributed to the tackle, it was play on. That interpretation has gone out the window because fools like Bartlett believe players should be able to duck and be rewarded.
He was a cheat when he played and he feels the need to have the game played to his behest still.

Until the AFL has the balls to stop rewarding players for contributing to the tackle, nothing will change. They believe the head is sacrosanct and this interpretation is a protective measure. I believe the interpretation encourages players to duck or fall into the tackle so its not protective, its a reward for inducing high contact.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

I get that, but what happens when you don't punish a sloppy tackle? Say, a tackle that starts at the shoulder and slides up accidentally?

If you call play-on, then you're at the very least opening up an avenue for cheap hits to the head. Not everyone's going to do that, but there'll be enough for it to become a problem. I think it is OK to duck a tackle, because otherwise you take a weapon away from some of the smaller and lighter blokes in the competition, and that's bad for the game.

Initial and/or forceful contact to the head needs to penalised, but everyone needs to sit down and figure out what is an acceptable form of tackling in those circumstances rather than try and guess intent. The rule has been smoothed out for when players bend over to get the ball, so now it's just a case of ironing out players not taking their own weight once they feel contact.

Essentially:

If the player's legs drop or they duck before contact, they are fair game subject to a correct tackle, but if they drop their weight or duck after contact no penalty will apply to high contact that isn't initiated by a forceful strike or movement by the tackler.

So no one is guessing intent, they're just rewarding or punishing technique. The tackler isn't penalised unless they change their positioning in the tackle or re-tackle recklessly.

The only way that rule can be exploited is if players genuinely put their head in harm's way just to earn a free kick.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

If the tackler doesn't duck his head and its a high tackle, its a free kick. Simple
Why complicate it? If the tackler causes the high contact by poor technique, its a free kick. If the person being tackled ducks or drops his knees to induce high contact, play on.
Anything else is encouraging players to duck their heads which in turn creates high contact. Some AFL coaches are actually coaching their players to draw high contact.



That makes no sense. Smaller or lighter players are no more inclined to duck their heads.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

That player from Brisbane buckled and uppercut his way to something like 6 FF on debut, most for too high. The interpretation is broken.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

I agree Wojee. The rule currently rewards players inducing high contact. How is that protecting the head?

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

The AFL are to blame for this crisis.

Carlton players must be aware of what Christensen and Mathieson will do during the round 11 match.

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Of course smaller players are more inclined to duck their heads. What else are they going to do, raise their arms up above the tackle like cripps? That would work well. I dont see sandilands ducking his head- unless he is going under a bridge.