I think the loose ball was bigger bodies winning the contest at that time. When Ed and Cripps were near it, we won it.

Great boundary reporting?

Never has been.

If he’d been pick 30 in the draft he never would have been made captain.

I like the guy and he’s a good footballer but this club has been doubling down on him for years and he’d be a far better player without the responsibility.

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“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace turns into a circus.”
Turkish Proverb

It was stupid to risk Kreuzer in the last quarter- we’d have been better of with Casboult in the ruck and send Weitering up forward

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

Winston Churchill

Pros:

Even though we'll probably dial it back a little, we'll be more enjoyable to watch this year.
Accuracy.
Break out game from Charlie.
Very, very encouraging games from Garlett and Mullett.
Cripps was incredible.
Simmo, Marchbank, Murph, Wright, Ed were terrific.
Loved Samo's and Fisher's class with the ball.

Cons:

Some of that attacking handball can go horribly wrong. But still, it's a lot better than last preseason when we tried it.
We're really going to miss Docherty's defensive organisation down back.
Injuries to Kennedy and Kreuzer.
Umpiring. Especially the holding the ball decisions. They were incomprehensibly bad.
Pretty disappointing games from Weitering, Casboult, Byrne, SOJ. Thought Kreuzer was pretty average early in the game as well.

Levi 1 touch in the first half, 10 in the 2nd, ended up with 20 hitouts, a few that went to advantage too, and a goal. Seems a better player in the ruck.

Fought all night, clean hands, didn't drop his head when the umps dropped his daks. I thought he was good, too.

Saw him 3 times went for the bump instead of making a tackle, ended with only 1 tackle in the entire game.

Lots to like, but Tiges had a hell of a lot more inside fifties and scoring shots. Any vague chance we had was gone once Krooz got injured.

We just lack a little depth at the moment, with our list injuries cruel you, heading in the right direction though.

Should win next week.

We lost Kennedy for over a half and Kreuzer for close to a half. They had a full team all night.

bad shoulders, can't tackle

Weitering can just glide and caress a player with little effort or desperation evident, it’s dumb founds me how an AFL player can do that, Jones went to ground and missed some important tackles or hits but at least he’s leaving it all on the park. If you’re exhausted and can’t run hard getoff and rest, if you don’t want too than go back to the Northern Blues.

Positives: Curnow, Cripps, Fisher, Simmo, Marchbank all exceptional.
Really good effort playing basically 2 important players down for majority.

Negatives: Weitering obviously, SOS, Casboult as a fwd, injuries and umpires especially in the 2 & 3rd qtrs. No consistencies in the holding the ball calls.

Dow showed signs but think was a bit overwhelmed by the game as a whole. Didn’t see his pace offensively or defensively which I was hoping too.

LAMB TOTAL SPUD HOPE HE NEVER PLAYS AGAIN

shhh I've got a migraine

Apart from the last quarter, a real good AFL spectacle.
We should be proud of the new young Blues circa 18
Calling it as "we" saw it", Umpire interference stopped this game going to the wire.
Tigers ma have won in the end but result wouldv'e been closer.

Could have gone either way.
Impressed with the output from the Blues
We need to recruit to replace Simmo, Murphy, Wight & Kreuzer
We have Kennedy, Lang, Pickett & Willo to come in: perhaps Lobbe or Philps to cover Kreuzer.

If they're Premiers. we are so damn close.
We might knock them off next time.

MANY MANY QUIET PLAYERS...next time

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

This.

Dont get the wrong impression.
I'm hurting bad.
We could've won that.

Shoots, trunks and branches.
...off field are the rootks the team extendes from.
In Bolton I trust

Go Bluebaaggers

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

For me positives
Marchy, both Curnows, Simmo, Fish, Wright, and of course Crippa.
Thought murphy was good early but had a bad second half.
Mullet ok and even though Byrne didn't do so well, he was obviously told to just run and I think he tried and will learn.
Thought Thomas was good.
95 points was good - and if Kennedy had not been injured...who knows.

SOS - not fast enough to get clear, not tall enough to win one-on ones. Not yet there for me. Garlett did some good things but some shockers and there were times when he just didn't appear to tackle but waited for an easy get.
Lamb - not enough and Paddy Dow pushed aside too easily and not yet at the pace but will improve. I did think Casbolt into the runck would at least get him into the game and maybe should have happened earlier just to get him involved. SPS good when he got it but didn't seem to get it much.

Dont like it when the umpires are 'hot' on things - it never lasts and leads to inconsistencies. I also struggled with the various holding the ball/incorrect disposal decisions.

Overall - good effort but I still hate losing. And Jack riewoldt annoys me immensely.

Sums it all up nicely, especially the Reiwoldt part.

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"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.

This shitty debate comes up every year. No, Murphy isn’t going to rack up massive amounts of tackles, he’s not going to be a bull in the contest. That’s not his go. Never has been. He’ll take the hits when it’s his turn, but Murphy’s strength and toughness is in his willingness to gut run when others don’t. The stats were shown a couple times tonight, Murphy covers more ground than just about anyone. He does every week. His leadership is better now than it has ever been. The players respect it and have consistently voted him into the role. Let’s appreciate what we have, a classy player, a player who consistently runs hard, a player that has been loyal when not many others have.

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@cecil_anderson