Mega Thread 2025 Media & Miscellaneous Thread

[Tonga Bob]

Back by popular demand. However...

There has been some aggro from publishers of articles in recent months about sites that copypasta their content onto other sites, particularly the paywalled ones, which could lead to fines and whanot for those that do it. Apparently there are copywrite laws for these things. As a result we can no longer have full articles reposted here, so if you come across something then please refrain from nabbing the whole thing and just post the link. Quoting a paragraph or two and linking the source is fine however, just don't get greedy.

Here's the updated site-wide rule: https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/please-read-re-copyright-posting-newspaper-articles.1389553/

Here's an example of what you can do:

"If West Coast was the gold standard for how to operate, then Fremantle's arrival into the AFL in 1995 could be viewed as a series of cautionary tales.

Despite eight wins in that debut season, a series of poor recruiting choices meant they didn't play their first final until 2003."

If they believe that us not making finals until 2003 was solely due to "a series of poor recruiting choices" then I have a bridge to sell them.

Can 'perennial underachievers' Fremantle become WA's biggest footy club?

For 38 years the West Coast Eagles have been WA footy's alpha male, but in the midst of their worst ever on-field run, is the balance of power shifting towards their bitter rivals Fremantle?

www.abc.net.au

Thanks for your understanding.

 

[King Huskii]

I wouldn't say I missed it but that PF final against Sydney was the best atmosphere I have felt at any game.

When the MCG chant went up it was electric.

No team would have beaten us that night.

Unfortunately we peaked 1 game too early.

It was great

Ill never forget

I was 2nd tier 30 meters out

 

[gaskin]

I was ground level. That to this day is the best atmosphere I have ever been a part of. Just electric- especially that second quarter where we just slaughtered Sydney and they couldn't do anything about it.

 

[poshman]

One of my worries for 2025, when it come to winning the premiership, is that we don’t have a clear and obvious top 10 player in the league.
It’s pretty hard to win the flag without one I reckon.
Normally the premiers have at least one out and out superstar that there is no debate about. Neale, Daicos, Cameron, Dusty, Petracca etc from the recent premiers.
We had it with Fyfe for years of course, but the rest of the side was shit for most of his peak.

Hayden Young is the most likely to make it into that range on our list but his interrupted start to 2025 is not ideal. While Serong is a great player, not sure he’s a generational talent. Bolton could be a wildcard if he hits his peak Richmond level of form.

This is a very interesting discussion. Worth talking about. I think of us like the 2007 Cats side that won 3 in 5 years. Ablett won his first AA that year. Our KPD's aren't as strong but I think the talent across the park is there.

If Serrong isn't in the top ten he is just outside it and I think he will improve again by scoring more this year.

Young could be top ten.

Bolton has the high ceiling so could play like that in a finals series or on GF day.

Jackson will take a leap this year and continue to improve over the coming years as well.

Treacy - all signs point to an imposing year and he has the around ground skills to match his pack busting forward play.

Outside of those I think we have a lot who could be considered the next level down. We also have the luxury of seeing younger players improve over the next few years.

We have to put it together yet, however this is the first year in over a decade where I will go into every game thinking we are a good chance of winning no matter the opposition.

 

[Mr Cheese]

Treacy could win the coleman and either Young or Serong could win the Brownlow this year. I wouldn't be too worried about Young. He has done a fair bit of work before being injured.

Serong went up a gear end of last season, and now looks a genuine threat rotating forward. He adds 20 goals a season to his output and he is every inch the generational player. The fact that Young is a strong chance to be better due to his creativity & delivery by foot is mind-boggling.

That Murphy Reid fella looks pretty handy too...

On SM-G988U1 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Stevooo3940]

This is a very interesting discussion. Worth talking about. I think of us like the 2007 Cats side that won 3 in 5 years. Ablett won his first AA that year. Our KPD's aren't as strong but I think the talent across the park is there.

If Serrong isn't in the top ten he is just outside it and I think he will improve again by scoring more this year.

Young could be top ten.

Bolton has the high ceiling so could play like that in a finals series or on GF day.

Jackson will take a leap this year and continue to improve over the coming years as well.

Treacy - all signs point to an imposing year and he has the around ground skills to match his pack busting forward play.

Outside of those I think we have a lot who could be considered the next level down. We also have the luxury of seeing younger players improve over the next few years.

We have to put it together yet, however this is the first year in over a decade where I will go into every game thinking we are a good chance of winning no matter the opposition.

Cats started the year 2-3 that year then it clicked. The only game they lost from there was to Port late in the season to a Dom Casisi snag in the dying moments. I really would enjoy watching us going on a 19-1 run to the flag!

 

[freofandom]

Brayshaw doesn't get a lot of love in these conversations about top players. His defensive work rate gets talked up (ie best two way runner in the AFL) but he is involved in the highest proportion of his team's scores across the AFL. Zach Merrett is #2. The commentators mention it early in the Essendon pre-season game v Geelong. There's a reason he was the AFLPA MVP in 2022. Two way runners are gold. Will not be surprised to see him go to another level this season either.

 

[Deveraux]

Brayshaw doesn't get a lot of love in these conversations about top players. His defensive work rate gets talked up (ie best two way runner in the AFL) but he is involved in the highest proportion of his team's scores across the AFL. Zach Merrett is #2. The commentators mention it early in the Essendon pre-season game v Geelong. There's a reason he was the AFLPA MVP in 2022. Two way runners are gold. Will not be surprised to see him go to another level this season either.

His brother seems to think he is going to explode this season, but could be some bias there too heh.

 

[ilikepotatoes]

Brayshaw doesn't get a lot of love in these conversations about top players. His defensive work rate gets talked up (ie best two way runner in the AFL) but he is involved in the highest proportion of his team's scores across the AFL. Zach Merrett is #2. The commentators mention it early in the Essendon pre-season game v Geelong. There's a reason he was the AFLPA MVP in 2022. Two way runners are gold. Will not be surprised to see him go to another level this season either.

I think that's more a knock on our team than anything else.

 

[SPEEDWAGON]

This is a very interesting discussion. Worth talking about. I think of us like the 2007 Cats side that won 3 in 5 years. Ablett won his first AA that year. Our KPD's aren't as strong but I think the talent across the park is there.

If Serrong isn't in the top ten he is just outside it and I think he will improve again by scoring more this year.

Young could be top ten.

Bolton has the high ceiling so could play like that in a finals series or on GF day.

Jackson will take a leap this year and continue to improve over the coming years as well.

Treacy - all signs point to an imposing year and he has the around ground skills to match his pack busting forward play.

Outside of those I think we have a lot who could be considered the next level down. We also have the luxury of seeing younger players improve over the next few years.

We have to put it together yet, however this is the first year in over a decade where I will go into every game thinking we are a good chance of winning no matter the opposition.

after buddy left

hawks best were

hodge
mitchell
roughead
rioli

i dont think they were top 10 afl, 10-30 players

 

[freofandom]

I think that's more a knock on our team than anything else.

Not really because overall he was still top 5 (avg) for score involvements (4th amongst midfielders). I suspect most people would be very surprised by that. The justified knock on his game is him hitting the scoreboard himself. All the other mids at the top of SIs all do but none of them are in the same defensive ballpark as Andy. If he started to hit the scoreboard more he'd have the most rounded game of any midfielder in recent memory.

 

[BREATHLESS_987]

Everything Serong has shown since the end of last year screams Brownlow top 3 this year, which would rightly seal him in the top 10. Unfortunately for him, we're all kinda banking on his teammates stealing votes from him. Fortunately for us, that's exactly what he would want too.

 

[mightymouse75]

One of my worries for 2025, when it come to winning the premiership, is that we don’t have a clear and obvious top 10 player in the league.
It’s pretty hard to win the flag without one I reckon.
Normally the premiers have at least one out and out superstar that there is no debate about. Neale, Daicos, Cameron, Dusty, Petracca etc from the recent premiers.
We had it with Fyfe for years of course, but the rest of the side was shit for most of his peak.

Hayden Young is the most likely to make it into that range on our list but his interrupted start to 2025 is not ideal. While Serong is a great player, not sure he’s a generational talent. Bolton could be a wildcard if he hits his peak Richmond level of form.

Serong brings a little more every year. I can see him getting better.
Young, yes. Just needs to stay fit.
Bolton in a strong team again will get back to his best.
Treacey was their last year.
Jackson once Darcey is back has plenty of scope to find his potential still.

2 of these guys hit the top 10 & the cup is in the bag.

 

[CapitalA]

I think that's more a knock on our team than anything else.

I have no idea how you came to that conclusion from that post.

 

[Bud]

What did Jamarra do the Lobb

 

[King Huskii]

What did Jamarra do the Lobb

Huh

 

[Joao]

What did Jamarra do the Lobb

Refused to record a tasteful tiktok video with him...


Seriously though, there is a JUH thread in the rumours board with some ideas.

 

[s_wd6]

What did Jamarra do the Lobb

Shot him (completely justified)

 

[ignoramus]

Brayshaw doesn't get a lot of love in these conversations about top players. His defensive work rate gets talked up (ie best two way runner in the AFL) but he is involved in the highest proportion of his team's scores across the AFL. Zach Merrett is #2. The commentators mention it early in the Essendon pre-season game v Geelong. There's a reason he was the AFLPA MVP in 2022. Two way runners are gold. Will not be surprised to see him go to another level this season either.

Cannot like this post enough. Find it gobsmacking how regularly Andy is passed over in these discussions in favour of his immediate coworkers, on account of the supposedly flashier / more impactful aspects of Serong's and Young's respective games.

His SI's, both in absolute and relative numbers, easily belie the "impact" assessment. And I reckon that if he doesn't show many of the flashy elements, it's often because he's successfully avoided letting himself get put in positions that call for it. His spatial awareness at the CBA is so good. The number of times you see him running through and out of traffic in a straight line — no shimmy necessary — or being able to pivot his entire upper body left to right looking for the best handball option — no blind overhead handballs required — because he's already on the path that gives him the most time and space to do the most damage...

 

[go_the_dockers]

What did Jamarra do the Lobb

He lived with Lobb last year. Not sure, but apparently he lost the trust of 3 people

The coach, the captain and Lobb.

 

[jerms]

Well, Scott Cummings is just a touch bullish on Treacy:

Coleman Medallist power ranks his top 10 AFL players ahead of Opening Round

See the updated list ahead of Opening Round.

www.sen.com.au

10. Jeremy Cameron (Geelong)
Final 2024 ranking: unranked
“Jeremy Cameron comes in at number 10.
“He holds a lot of keys for Geelong.”
9. Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
Final 2024 ranking: unranked
8. Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)
Final 2024 ranking: unranked
“Without Zak Butters (for the first part of the year), Connor Rozee is going to have an enormous amount of work to do, so he’s at eight.”
7. Caleb Serong (Fremantle)
Final 2024 ranking: 10
“I was a bit iffy on Caleb Serong last year about his ability to really change the game.
“But every indication over the off-season is that he's going to become a more attacking midfielder.
“He wants to hit the scoreboard, and that was the one knock that I had on him.
“I think Caleb is going to be really influential.”
6. Chad Warner (Sydney)
Final 2024 ranking: 5
5. Tom De Koning (Carlton)
Final 2024 ranking: unranked
“I’ve got Tom De Koning in at number five, I’m so excited about watching this bloke go about it this year.
“I think his confidence is growing.”
4. Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
Final 2024 ranking: unranked
“This is my smokey for the Brownlow, number four is Clayton Oliver.
“I think he's going to explode this year.”
3. Josh Treacy (Fremantle)
Final 2024 ranking: 9
“Josh Treacy, my man, has gone straight to number three.”
2. Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
Final 2024 ranking: 1
1. Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
Final 2024 ranking: 2
“The best player in the competition is Nick Daicos.
“That’s including everyone who is injured as well.”

 

[ilikepotatoes]

I have no idea how you came to that conclusion from that post.

Over the past ten years, the only premiership-winning teams with players in the top 20 for SI% that season were:

• Melbourne (Petracca)
• Richmond x3 (Martin each time, and Pickett on debut, so he doesn’t really count)
• Geelong (with key forwards Cameron and Hawkins)

Looking at last year’s stats, it’s concerning to me that Brayshaw, Serong, and Young all ranked in the top 20. It shows that we are over reliant on the performance of a few players and clearances to score, and that we over possess the ball in the midfield.

If the team performed better as a whole, we’d probably see Brayshaw’s SI% drop by about 5%, simply because the rest of the team would be contributing more to scoring, or we’d be playing more direct footy, meaning he wouldn’t need to be as involved in as many scoring chains as he currently is.

 

[Big Animal]

Max Gawn's back agrees on Treacy.

 

[King Huskii]

I want Freo to win a premiership for this lady. What an absolute legend!

 

[fnerd]

Brayshaw doesn't get a lot of love in these conversations about top players. His defensive work rate gets talked up (ie best two way runner in the AFL) but he is involved in the highest proportion of his team's scores across the AFL. Zach Merrett is #2. The commentators mention it early in the Essendon pre-season game v Geelong. There's a reason he was the AFLPA MVP in 2022. Two way runners are gold. Will not be surprised to see him go to another level this season either.

 

[freofandom]

Over the past ten years, the only premiership-winning teams with players in the top 20 for SI% that season were:

• Melbourne (Petracca)
• Richmond x3 (Martin each time, and Pickett on debut, so he doesn’t really count)
• Geelong (with key forwards Cameron and Hawkins)

Looking at last year’s stats, it’s concerning to me that Brayshaw, Serong, and Young all ranked in the top 20. It shows that we are over reliant on the performance of a few players and clearances to score, and that we over possess the ball in the midfield.

If the team performed better as a whole, we’d probably see Brayshaw’s SI% drop by about 5%, simply because the rest of the team would be contributing more to scoring, or we’d be playing more direct footy, meaning he wouldn’t need to be as involved in as many scoring chains as he currently is.

I've seen some peak data manipulation to fit a narrative but this one may take the cake

Brisbane had Neale in top 20 last season btw (#19), Daniher was #16 and McCluggage was #21. Sydney (runners up) had 3 players in the top 8. There are far too many other variables impacting this to claim some correlation either way. The original premise was that Brayshaw is a good player. I think there are fairly clear indicators that the best players have high SIs.