No Oppo Supporters 2020 General AFL Discussion

[Wolftone]

Melbourne are a bit of an enigma.

They were making consistent progress up the ladder, building a team around a core of some genuinely very good players.

Their midfield is impressive. Max Gawn has consistently been a best or second best ruckamn in the league for a number of years. Viney, Oliver and Brayshaw looks to be a very strong midfield core for a long time. Jones is getting on, but he is still a consistently good performer and a good leader. Petracca was looking like he could finally achieve his potential this season after a dominant performance in the Marsh Series against Adelaide (38 possessions and 3 goals).

They have some quality key position players in the two McDonalds and Steven May. Weideman is promising as their long term key forward. Still having a fit and firing Hogan would be good, but but at least they shifted him on to Fremantle so his issues aren't their problem any more. Lever and Melksham are both very good mid-sized players in defense and attack respectively. Neville Jetta is one of the best small defenders in the league. They added Langdon and Tomlinson over the off-season, both are immediate improvements to the best 22.

But I look at the rest of the list and there is a whole lot of average players or, if I'm being generous, occasionally pretty good but inconsistently so players, on it. They have had injury and availability issues, particularly with key position players, over the last few years, and there wasn't the quality behind to keep them in contention.

Most teams lose to West Coast in Perth. By itself it isn't enough to say if 2018 or 2019 was the abberation. Maybe both were? 2018 an over performance, 2019 underperformance, the real quality of the list being a team that should be around the finals without necessarily being a proper contender.

Their problems were identified last year.

1. No really good outside mids or receivers if you like

2. A lack of good big men to help McDonald forward.

3. Poor delivery to their forward half

4. Poor goal kicking

5. A lack of accountability, especially two way running

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[Wolftone]

He won’t get his bonus which is a six figure sum. So base goes down by 20% and $0 bonus which is a huge pay cut. Not sure where you get the 80% pay cut for players given the number was originally 20%? That’s when the season was cut to 17 rounds. Now the players have agreed to 50%.

The AFL was insisting on 80%

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[Wolftone]

I could GaF about his bonus. It is irrelevant in the circumstance and NOT a part of a discussion on salary cuts.
It is very typical of his sort to feel entitled to it though.
Player bonuses based on games played, finals etc are void also I'd imagine.
You don't give yourself 20% while requesting everyone else take an 80% (Reported as the request coming from AFL Headquarters. Players have come back with offer of 50%.)
The height of arrogance and typical of the Australian executives really. They're all about the options, bonuses etc without much actual talent to back it up.
WTF has he done for the game except nearly send it broke propping up the Suns and Giants?

Sack him.

Leigh Mathews or someone could do the job in the interim.

I agree with this. He is just a self indulgent twat who believes in his god given right to anything he wants due to being Squatocracy. Looks pissed most of the time. Not saying he is just saying he looks it.

Been one of the worst things to happen to footy. The expansion was totally flawed. GWS had a better structure than Suns but still there were problems like dilution of the talent pool, players wanting to go home, list capacity adjustments, salary cap adjustments. These have all been messy and have effected stability of the playing group at both clubs. Not to mention the go home factor. The other perception, mainly in Melbourne, is 'well they are not REAL clubs are they'.

Then he made that promise to the hoy polloi, he's make it cheaper to go to the footy. Hasn't happened. Got a discount pie about an hour before a game once but full price by 30 minutes to game time when most people arrive. If you are going to make a promise keep it. The changing all the rules and the dreadful interpretation of rules have been endorsed by this guy. The game is worse because of it.

Get someone who's focus is on growing the game at any grassroots level we can find, even in Asia. Get someone who's focus is making the game a better spectacle. Things like fining coaches for flooding. Getting rid of the * nomination and throwing the ball up whether the ducks are there or not. Whistling play up immediately a pack develops or picking out a free like they do at junior level. The play would flow more. We need someone who has an intrinsic understanding of the ordinary footy supporter, the mob in the outer, not a Corporate Box w***er

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[Wolftone]

Melbourne I tipped would disappoint pretty starkly last year (not finishing 2nd last, but I was pretty confident they'd have a pretty solid drop down the ladder) because their leaders for the most part are young/inexperienced and it takes a strong bunch of leaders and a together list to withstand a 2nd year blues kind of syndrome where other teams are now on the lookout for you. Melbourne rose out of nowhere to make a prelim in 2018 which was not dissimilar to the Pies in 2018 rising to make a GF out of nowhere. The difference, imo, is Collingwood's prime list and leaders were far more experienced and prepared to support their young players through being targeted by other clubs as a now good team.

If we have a season this year, I do think Melbourne will improve from last year and quite likely go back to the finals. I don't think they're flag contenders at all, but I think they'll be just that little bit more wise and circumspect and the leaders will be a bit more capable of looking after their teammates rather than focusing on themselves. But they are definitely dicing with danger if this year is a disappointment. Roos had set up a really strong environment of high standards and improvement which may be slipping. I'm not sure about that but another dud year will look very bad for them.

I don't think they have fixed any of their major problems, no good outside mids with pace & skill, more help for McDonald, or their lack of two way run. To make finals they will need to address all of those. I think we will flog them when or if we play them

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[Wolftone]

Heeney goal of the week and nearly mark of the year

On the Swans website Hayward got goal of the week and Heens mark of the week for the first mark. If he had managed to snag that other one it would be mark of the year. I think Heens can become the New Modra. When I lived in SA I saw Modra play a lot. For a bloke that basically only wanted to play social footy he wasn't too bad. He missed a lot of footy due to breaking team rules like going surfing when he was supposed to be at training and of course injury. If Modra had been serious he would have kicked twice as many goals as he would have played many more games.

I think Heens has as much or more natural talent than Modra, both surf, but Heens is dedicated

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[S120]

I don't think they have fixed any of their major problems, no good outside mids with pace & skill, more help for McDonald, or their lack of two way run. To make finals they will need to address all of those. I think we will flog them when or if we play them

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Two-way run they addressed by picking up Ed Langdon and Adam Tomlinson. That said, I don't rate Tomlinson at all and think he's one of the most overrated players in the league. Langdon is really good though.

They certainly messed up thinking that Weideman was ready to take the mantle from Jesse Hogan of tall forward full time because he played a couple of good finals games.

 

[kickthething]

On the Swans website Hayward got goal of the week and Heens mark of the week for the first mark. If he had managed to snag that other one it would be mark of the year. I think Heens can become the New Modra. When I lived in SA I saw Modra play a lot. For a bloke that basically only wanted to play social footy he wasn't too bad. He missed a lot of footy due to breaking team rules like going surfing when he was supposed to be at training and of course injury. If Modra had been serious he would have kicked twice as many goals as he would have played many more games.

I think Heens has as much or more natural talent than Modra, both surf, but Heens is dedicated

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I liked Haywards goal better, though it took more skill myself...bit more luck in Heeneys.

 

[mikey_san]

I see Gill back-peddled faster than an Italian tank and now says he and his execs will take the same pay-cut as the players.
Weird how both the AFL and NRL (and clubs) seem to have been living within two weeks of bankruptcy - no contingency funds at all.

English football (soccer) players meanwhile only talk of payment deferral. I know there is a lot more money in football, but then there is a heck of a lot more in player payments that are being flushed down the toilet too.

Perhaps AFL players ought to have had income protection insurance.

 

[The King!]

I see Gill back-peddled faster than an Italian tank and now says he and his execs will take the same pay-cut as the players.
Weird how both the AFL and NRL (and clubs) seem to have been living within two weeks of bankruptcy - no contingency funds at all.

English football (soccer) players meanwhile only talk of payment deferral. I know there is a lot more money in football, but then there is a heck of a lot more in player payments that are being flushed down the toilet too.

Perhaps AFL players ought to have had income protection insurance.

players had the contract in their favour that the % couldnt drop, afl shouldnt have signed a crappy deal

 

[bedford]

Looks like the bandwagon mob have left the building !

 

[Membling]

Well... this is like off season

 

[Chaisa]

Not sure where to put it but they were playing a replay of Carlton/WB from 2007 and wow the game looked different back then. Crazy how much tactically it's evolved in just 13 years.

 

[replicant]

Not sure where to put it but they were playing a replay of Carlton/WB from 2007 and wow the game looked different back then. Crazy how much tactically it's evolved in just 13 years.

Yeah, a game from back when Carlton were ****....


... oh hang on!

 

[swanssince2002]

Ah Jason Saddington... a name I haven't heard in a long time. Was a great battler for us.

 

[swanssince2002]

110 - 94 and its not even the end of the 3rd! Geez. No way anyone will allow such easy exits out of the 50 these days...

 

[Punts]

Anyone watch Benny on 7?

 

[mikey_san]

Anyone watch Benny on 7?

This one?

 

[The King!]

 

[bedford]

He is an imbecile and always has been.

 

[The King!]

He is an imbecile and always has been.

I don’t mind GT

 

[bedford]

I don’t mind GT

Had a little bit to do with him at junior footy level , he's a bully.

 

[kickthething]

Regardless of the correctness or otherwise of his statement.....no business has had to deal with such a catastrophic, uncontrollable event like this. Too many hindsighters thinking something like this could be planned for. All was well 4 weeks ago......didn’t hear any rumblings about lack of financial foresight....owning Etihad proved a master stroke in securing finance, not much said about that. GT trying to stay relevant imo.

 

[bedford]

Regardless of the correctness or otherwise of his statement.....no business has had to deal with such a catastrophic, uncontrollable event like this. Too many hindsighters thinking something like this could be planned for. All was well 4 weeks ago......didn’t hear any rumblings about lack of financial foresight....owning Etihad proved a master stroke in securing finance, not much said about that. GT trying to stay relevant imo.

Correct its all about trying to stay relevant , like Caro is

 

[Olian]

Is he talking about Qantas or Virgin?

 

[The King!]

Regardless of the correctness or otherwise of his statement.....no business has had to deal with such a catastrophic, uncontrollable event like this. Too many hindsighters thinking something like this could be planned for. All was well 4 weeks ago......didn’t hear any rumblings about lack of financial foresight....owning Etihad proved a master stroke in securing finance, not much said about that. GT trying to stay relevant imo.

They were struggling day 1