Opinion Non-Crows AFL 13: Cyclone Season

[MarcusP2]

When Ablett won it playing for Gold coast was that one of the years they got relatively close to finals without making it?

NAh they finished on 8 wins, 4 games out of the 8.

But he was a 1 man army.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I'm not sure where the Power improve this year.

New coach bounce.

Decent midfield, but lack of quality at both ends of the ground.

Doubt they make the old top 8, but the new top 10 may help them.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I could see them improving on last year definitely.

New coach brings some freshness. Zero expectations. A dream start - Kangas, Bombers, Eagles, Tigers, Saints) and a great draw. They have an elite midfield group in Butters, Rozee and JHF.

The Todd Marshall injury is devastating for them - having Georgidias, Marshall and Luko would have been a decent forward line.

That being said - would I be surprised if they completely fell off and finished bottom 3 - probably not.

Marshall is injured again?

Only saw footage yesterday of him training as a defender.

What happened as nothing in news?

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Maybe I confused him with someone else, I thought he was the one prone to concussions.

He is... which is why Carr is moving him to defence.

 

[kirky]

Port finished top 4 for 4 of the last 5 seasons without a GF appearance = total failure.

 

[Pea Nut]

NAh they finished on 8 wins, 4 games out of the 8.

But he was a 1 man army.

Ablett’s season ended in round 16 when he did his shoulder. They were well on the way to playing finals that year until he got hurt. That was a 23 round season and I reckon they only won 1 game the rest of the year after Ablett got hurt.

 

[MarcusP2]

Ablett’s season ended in round 16 when he did his shoulder. They were well on the way to playing finals that year until he got hurt. That was a 23 round season and I reckon they only won 1 game the rest of the year after Ablett got hurt.

I thought that was 2014.

2014 he made AA but didn't win the Brownlow.

 

[Pea Nut]

I thought that was 2014.

2014 he made AA but didn't win the Brownlow.

Yeah that was 2014. Sorry I got confused on the different discussion points.

 

[AFC979810]

Marshall is injured again?

Only saw footage yesterday of him training as a defender.

What happened as nothing in news?

I may be wrong as I can't find anything. I thought I read on X he re injured his achilles. Can't find it again - so most likely not true.

 

[adelaidecrows]

I may be wrong as I can't find anything. I thought I read on X he re injured his achilles. Can't find it again - so most likely not true.

From what I can find he is not injured again just on restricted training with rehab from his Achilles. But yeah he appears to be training as a defender. Id say thats part of preserving his career due to his concussion issues.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

From what I can find he is not injured again just on restricted training with rehab from his Achilles. But yeah he appears to be training as a defender. Id say thats part of preserving his career due to his concussion issues.

No, Marshall isn't injured .....still out training with the Defenders at PORT

 

[StonesThrow]

We've seen it recently with Carlton playing finals with a whole heap of average players in the bottom 10. Voss managed to get the best out of them for a time and they played top 8 football.

I'd argue Hinckley managed this as well with the likes of DBJ, Farrel etc. who are mediocre but have at times been able to produce decent footy.

It's not sustainable and not going to win a flag, but it's possible to climb the ladder.

 

[AFC979810]

We've seen it recently with Carlton playing finals with a whole heap of average players in the bottom 10. Voss managed to get the best out of them for a time and they played top 8 football.

I'd argue Hinckley managed this as well with the likes of DBJ, Farrel etc. who are mediocre but have at times been able to produce decent footy.

It's not sustainable and not going to win a flag, but it's possible to climb the ladder.

Disagree. Plenty of sides have won flags with pretty average players.

Bulldogs in 2016, West Coast in 2018, Collingwood in 2021, Adelaide 97/98.

 

[StonesThrow]

Disagree. Plenty of sides have won flags with pretty average players.

Bulldogs in 2016, West Coast in 2018, Collingwood in 2021, Adelaide 97/98.

Not to the extent of Carlton and Port.

 

[AFC979810]

Not to the extent of Carlton and Port.

Carlton and Port two very different examples.

Port was close to winning a flag in 2020.

Carltons issue wasn't there bottom 6. Their issue was their quality from 7-16. They had 6 stars and then filth.

 

[Doctor B]

Having a proper coaching structure will help them a bit. Player wise, I think JHF has another level or 2 in him and reckon Mitch G has another gear. Overall, I don't think they're much, if any, worse than their 2024 side. Could be anywhere from around 13th to 5th I reckon. Although I haven't looked at their draw or done a ladder predictor.

Georgiadis needs to work on his accuracy.

He was third in 2025 for shots on goal behind Cameron and Gunston.

Mitch kicked 58:42
Thillthorpe kicked 60:29

 

[Viva la Mattner]

Butters has to be a hot favourite to win the Brownlow, even in Port loses he'll pick up a ton of votes. He'll be even more of a favourite if he goes home to a Vic club next year.

Said this earlier
I’m on at $34

• contract year when RFA usually is a huge one
• port has soft draw
• umps love him
• generally polls well

 

[adelaidecrows]

Said this earlier
I’m on at $34

• contract year when RFA usually is a huge one
• port has soft draw
• umps love him
• generally polls well

The problem in a losing season is you get less places in a top 3. At a minimum unless an obscenely close game two places go to the winning team. He also has JHF who is going to at some stage rip the competition apart. I would not be so confident in that aspect.

 

[baldandbroke]

Very random details here, but anyway.

Brendon Gale having a morning coffee with Matthew Knights

Matthew Knights

Age

55

Ht

178cm

Wt

79kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.3

5star

K

12.0

4star

HB

9.3

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

No current season stats available

D

18.4

5star

K

10.8

4star

HB

7.6

5star

M

4.4

4star

T

1.6

4star

at my weekend coffee dive.

While talking about some player’s attributes - a text message came through - they both looked and smiled.

Followed by … BG to MK “Well done mate, good way to start the day”.

 

[cleanhands]

Very random details here, but anyway.

Brendon Gale having a morning coffee with Matthew Knights at my weekend coffee dive.

While talking about some player’s attributes - a text message came through - they both looked and smiled.

Followed by … BG to MK “Well done mate, good way to start the day”.

“Got Lachie Neale loves the Tassie”

 

[Velvet George]

Very random details here, but anyway.

Brendon Gale having a morning coffee with Matthew Knights at my weekend coffee dive.

While talking about some player’s attributes - a text message came through - they both looked and smiled.

Followed by … BG to MK “Well done mate, good way to start the day”.

Maybe they backed a dog at the track?

 

[1970crow]

Very random details here, but anyway.

Brendon Gale having a morning coffee with Matthew Knights at my weekend coffee dive.

While talking about some player’s attributes - a text message came through - they both looked and smiled.

Followed by … BG to MK “Well done mate, good way to start the day”.

Tasmanian coffee, blech.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Very random details here, but anyway.

Brendon Gale having a morning coffee with Matthew Knights at my weekend coffee dive.

While talking about some player’s attributes - a text message came through - they both looked and smiled.

Followed by … BG to MK “Well done mate, good way to start the day”.

Gee, Matty Knights is the very definition of a survivor ....given his chequered footy history

 

[FR0GGY]

Very random details here, but anyway.

Brendon Gale having a morning coffee with Matthew Knights at my weekend coffee dive.

While talking about some player’s attributes - a text message came through - they both looked and smiled.

Followed by … BG to MK “Well done mate, good way to start the day”.

What is knights role down there?

 

[cleanhands]

What is knights role down there?

The usual roll down in Tassie