Review Cats defeat gallant Pies by 6 points to get into another PF

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

One of Close's worse games imo. If he plays to his normal level we kick another 2-3 goals.

Certainly had moments (I can remember 3) where he looked overwhelmed by the moment. Very unlike him, and he still did a number of useful things on the day. Will be better for the run.

 

[Play it Sam]

One of Close's worse games imo. If he plays to his normal level we kick another 2-3 goals.

Yes the pressure removed any possibility for flair.
Sergeant major Mc Crae did his homework.

 

[DangerHere]

Don't know what you're laughing about, Brisbane or Melbourne compared to the other option.

Just laughing at you, and the Bummers

Happy 18th Anniversary and good luck with your new Coach

“Whatever it takes”, your team should bring that Motto back ( it worked really well last time )

 

[Romeoh1]

One of Close's worse games imo. If he plays to his normal level we kick another 2-3 goals.

Exactly- I saw Dunstall on the couch last night and he said pies were a bit stiff. But I watched the replay and, whilst agreeing it was anyone’s game I don’t see that - they missed a couple they should have got, so did we. Then we had a few blues from the normally accurate Close, and a couple of unlucky bounces for max etc- I came out of the replay thinking, if anything, we could have won by a bit more with an ounce of luck. Not biased of course!

 

[Generalissimo]

The missed advantage call was costly for Collingwood, but then so was the missed HTM on Stanley just before half time for us. Most of the other ones were either Collingwood fans not understanding the insufficient-intent rule (it's a shit rule but was correctly officiated) or thinking that Minivan flopping like a beached fish means he was actually pushed. I could also point to Hawkins getting dead set infringed at a F50 ruck contest-- he was in a headlock-- but since Rohan got the goal anyway it did not end up costing us.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

So I've watched the game again a few times (for alternate radio commentary), I think we went better than most of us assumed during the game.
I saw the opening quarter not as "typical Geelong shitting the bed" but more a full on pressure team bringing heat that we hadn't had for a long time (we did have a pretty soft run in).

I think I was just having a panic attack for the first 15 minutes thinking "f* me not again"

To me three more quarters to get over it

 

[CatToTheFuture]

Don't know what you're laughing about, Brisbane or Melbourne compared to the other option.

A half dead Melbourne or a down on form Brisbane away from home would be difficult but not on the same scale of challenge as the swans at the mcg

 

[Munich]

I honestly think it’ll be a cats vs syd GF

Yup

 

[Romeoh1]

The missed advantage call was costly for Collingwood, but then so was the missed HTM on Stanley just before half time for us. Most of the other ones were either Collingwood fans not understanding the insufficient-intent rule (it's a s**t rule but was correctly officiated) or thinking that Minivan flopping like a beached fish means he was actually pushed. I could also point to Hawkins getting dead set infringed at a F50 ruck contest-- he was in a headlock-- but since Rohan got the goal anyway it did not end up costing us.

They let so much go-for both teams- and the game was better for it.

 

[Hinkley29]

They've also made this change to the votes

Gary Ayres Award (Best Finals Player)​

The AFL Coaches Association Gary Ayres Award is presented in recognition of the player who has been adjudged as the best player throughout the AFL Finals series, as voted by the coaches on a weekly basis throughout the duration of the AFL Finals Series.

Votes are issued after every game of the AFL Finals series by the competing coaches, with each coach providing their 5-4-3-2-1 for the match.

From 2022 any AFL Grand Final votes issued will receive 1.5 times loading.

Any award named after Gary Ayres can **** right off.

Your Pendleburys, selwoods, camerons, neales, Olivers, daicos’s, etc should be embarrassed to accept such an award.

 

[Romeoh1]

So at the game, I agree - there wasn't any pants shitting moments as such. But there was tentativeness. With the ball, we didn't run and create options or run past for the handball.

But yes watching again even the players that had poor games didn't look as bad. It was a good hit out. I was hoping for a big win but in a way that would just have represented an extension of the soft H&A run.

Also the pies played far better than they have in any other game this year.

 

[Hinkley29]

How did Christian miss it?

Shows his 'quality' as a player.....as if the flopping and diving wasn't enough.

Which club did Christian play for?

Richmond fans - am I doing it rite?

 

[Hinkley29]

Just in that ebb between waves. The first wave where everyone is shocked by how good he is off the bat, now the ebb where he is slowly building. The next wave looks to be the one where he steps into elite mid territory.

I am genuinely astonished at how good he is at such a young age.

Just turned 20 last week

 

[Vdubs]

Any award named after Gary Ayres can * right off.

Your Pendleburys, selwoods, camerons, neales, Olivers, daicos’s, etc should be embarrassed to accept such an award.

bit harsh- Ayres never played a poor final, and in fact 2 NS's is not easy.

 

[Hinkley29]

bit harsh- Ayres never played a poor final, and in fact 2 NS's is not easy.

I can’t see past his ignominious stint at Geelong. Sorry

 

[catempire]

I would. I think their coach worries they've played their grand final already - hence the comment about them lying down on the ground. And our coach is on record saying their style is "very, very hard to maintain".

I could be wrong, but I think they'll find it hard to put in another good performance next week, let alone next 2 weeks.

I also think they played as well as they could with that list. Almost everything went right, even the bounce of the ball on several occasions. I thought Sydney got through Week 1 as the #1 team on performance. Pies will need to go to another level beyond their performance against us and I don’t see how it happens.

 

[catempire]

The missed advantage call was costly for Collingwood, but then so was the missed HTM on Stanley just before half time for us. Most of the other ones were either Collingwood fans not understanding the insufficient-intent rule (it's a s**t rule but was correctly officiated) or thinking that Minivan flopping like a beached fish means he was actually pushed. I could also point to Hawkins getting dead set infringed at a F50 ruck contest-- he was in a headlock-- but since Rohan got the goal anyway it did not end up costing us.

The way advantage is paid in AFL is a disgrace. It completely misses the point of advantage rules which should more aptly be called a “no DISadvantage” rule. If you belt the ball forward and are infringed afterwards and it is a DISadvantage to bring it back, then advantage should apply. That’s the point: you shouldn’t be able to have someone infringe against you and disadvantage you.

The case in point was line ball under the AFL interpretation. You see it paid and not paid in different cases. Garbage rule.

 

[kickazz]

That missed advantage call is interesting - I recon I saw SDK actually stop and not contest and then point up the field as if it were clear to him that play had stopped. Perhaps the whistle went that much earlier than we realised or something, I don't know. Still, would prefer the players to keep going just in case.

 

[Vdubs]

I can’t see past his ignominious stint at Geelong. Sorry

Even that is dramatised a bit. He took us to a GF and tried to change what was at that time, a losing culture.

 

[Strange Cat]

Even that is dramatised a bit. He took us to a GF and tried to change what was at that time, a losing culture.

He destroyed the career of Gaz I can’t him forgive for that and that’s before touching on a lot of other things

 

[barmy44]

The way advantage is paid in AFL is a disgrace. It completely misses the point of advantage rules which should more aptly be called a “no DISadvantage” rule. If you belt the ball forward and are infringed afterwards and it is a DISadvantage to bring it back, then advantage should apply. That’s the point: you shouldn’t be able to have someone infringe against you and disadvantage you.

The case in point was line ball under the AFL interpretation. You see it paid and not paid in different cases. Garbage rule.

Yeah, it's terrible.

The way it is adjudicated in the English PL is much better - referee spots a foul, raises their arm and points to make it known they've seen it, and then they watch the play unfold. There's a fair bit of leeway for the resulting attack to break down, and if it does within that period the whistle is blown and the ball comes back. That length of time is somewhat arbitrary, but it otherwise works well.

I'm not sure how well that would translate to our game - obviously the upside would take some time to adjust to, as in seeing infringements and signalling them but not whistling.

There's potentially other issues...

Safety, given Aussie Rules is more of a collision sport. Some guy feels a high tackle and stops, only for play to continue while advantage is assessed and they get flattened totally unprepared for it

And the complication of 50 metre penalties - a free kick is seen but not whistled, and the defender knocks the ball out ruining the advantage and in theory giving away a 50. You'd probably have instances of a lot of grey areas where playing to prevent the advantage also technically gives away a 50... and players doing so on the basis "I didn't hear the whistle so assumed advantage was on".

There is a lot more grey in umpiring Aussie Rules that makes officiating certain things difficult - prior opportunity, insufficient intent, advantage etc.

So I don't think it's as simple as the EPL approach. The current method is probably the only truly workable one.

 

[kickazz]

The worst advantage rule application IMO is when it is genuinely 50-50 as to which team the free could be for, so all the players stop to look at the umpire. All the players that is except the lucky dude who pisses off with the ball without any pressure being applied to him.

 

[barmy44]

The worst advantage rule application IMO is when it is genuinely 50-50 as to which team the free could be for, so all the players stop to look at the umpire. All the players that is except the lucky dude who pisses off with the ball without any pressure being applied to him.

Yeah, totally... in the other football, it's always obvious who has been fouled and while the ball continues, so does play.

In our football, the free kick that advantage can be taken from could be for any number of infringements and to any number of players - ruck contests would cause the biggest issues in this sense, probably.

Is it the ruck blocked from the ball, the ruck blocking, one of the 10 players around the ball being held, etc.

 

[JohnZ]

That missed advantage call is interesting - I recon I saw SDK actually stop and not contest and then point up the field as if it were clear to him that play had stopped. Perhaps the whistle went that much earlier than we realised or something, I don't know. Still, would prefer the players to keep going just in case.

SDK 100% knew it was a deadball. He's the last bloke on the field to give up and he didn't even try to get close to the ball. If it was a live ball (and it was a shit kick) he intercepts that. Pies fans think they've been robbed of a certain goal, but either way they don't kick a goal there.

 

[JohnZ]

The worst advantage rule application IMO is when it is genuinely 50-50 as to which team the free could be for, so all the players stop to look at the umpire. All the players that is except the lucky dude who pisses off with the ball without any pressure being applied to him.

It's why the rule should be,

1. umpire pays advantage (by saying it and signalling it with his/her hand),
2. let's the play run and if no advantage then
3. blow the whistle, reset the play

Every other sport has managed to figure this out, but instead we now have players being tackled after the whistle is blown as a tactic to stop players taking advantage.