Mega Thread Port Forum 'General AFL Talk' Thread Part 16

[70sDinosaur]

Licuria and ?

The other issue with my scenario is what if the team that rests in mass is giving a huge leg up to their opponent that could be another finals bound club?

I hate mass restings, and given the pre finals bye has eliminated this nonsense, I’m all for the bye.

I can see your point but I just happen to disagree.

I think the job of a coach is to do what he thinks will put his team in the best position to win a flag. How those decisions impact on other teams is irrelevant. Coaches of the other teams in these scenarios just have to do the best for their team. Everyone has to play the cards they're dealt, not the cards they wish they had.

Everything we do in life is filled with variables and things beyond our control. I think the introduction of the pre-finals bye was a solution looking for a problem that didn't really exist. I think it comes from an obsessive and irrational desire to control things. A football season is always going to throw up minor anomalies - why can't we just accept them rather than making knee-jerk changes that end up creating more problems than they solve?

 

[Holden Hillbilly]

 

[jdeezy]

Statement: Grand Final general public ticketing

League announces on-sale dates and times for the 2020 Toyota AFL Grand Final

www.afl.com.au

In the first time in more than 20 years the AFL Grand Final will go on-sale to the general public.

The general public on-sale follows a successful club member on-sale today which saw over 2,200 Geelong members secure their tickets and 3,500 Richmond members purchase their seats. Tickets were only on sale to club members who were in Queensland or in states where there is travel allowed into Queensland.

So what you're saying is. We couldn't all gone to a grand final vs Geelong if that's how it fell. Oh well.

This will result in MCG Grand finals for ever and ever

 

[70sDinosaur]

So what you're saying is. We couldn't all gone to a grand final vs Geelong if that's how it fell. Oh well.

This will result in MCG Grand finals for ever and ever

Doesn't matter - there are going to be MCG grand finals for ever and ever anyway, barring further pandemics or the nuking of Melbourne.

 

[Eddie Dingle]

Doesn't matter - there are going to be MCG grand finals for ever and ever anyway, barring further pandemics or the nuking of Melbourne.

Speaking as a resident of Melbourne during a pandemic I say bring on the nuking.

 

[tribey]

I was thinking of you on the weekend. I had no idea a mate of mine is good mates with Russell Crowe (he's clearly not a name dropper) and sits in the box at all the Souths games with him. When I was talking to him he said if you ever want to come watch souths and hang with Russ and me let me know. I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd rather nail my utensil to the nearest tree.

He's in this photo,

View attachment 989285

Is that Phil from Grinspoon or a lookeylikey handegg enthusiast? What an eclectic mix.

 

[finbarr]

View attachment 989888

Is that Phil from Grinspoon or a lookeylikey handegg enthusiast? What an eclectic mix.

The chest pocket looks slightly unnecessary.

 

[JohnHinckleyJr]

Lynch Daniher and Cameron to 3 of the top 4 clubs lol

Free agency a disaster of the AFL's making

Jeremy Cameron wanting to go to Geelong is a disaster for the AFL. Worse, it is a disaster of the AFL’s making.

www.theage.com.au

Yep Nd we are just standing around pulling our dicks

 

[Econopower]

The Rays and Dodgers Are No. 1 Seeds—but This World Series Matchup Is an Anomaly

With an expanded postseason bracket and numerous close calls along the way, the two pennant winners capitalized on a slim chance to turn the World Series into a battle of the favorites

www.theringer.com

This is about American baseball but relevant in the context of the discussion about the fairness of different playoff/finals systems.

Though Tampa Bay and the Dodgers were the number 1 seeds in their Leagues the probability of them playing off in the World Series was just 4% at the start of the playoffs.

Talk about making things tough for the best teams. And in baseball they really earn those top seeds after playing so many games!

 

[sobrave]

Lynch Daniher and Cameron to 3 of the top 4 clubs lol

Free agency a disaster of the AFL's making

Jeremy Cameron wanting to go to Geelong is a disaster for the AFL. Worse, it is a disaster of the AFL’s making.

www.theage.com.au

If Cameron goes to geebong and mysteriously packs on 5kg of muscle in the off season I'll spew.

Lynch to the Tuggers basically won them the flag last year. They don't get through that prelim without him.

So cool when key players can just walk to one of the top clubs for free.

The AFL has gone from a system where you basically had 2-4 years or so to try and win a flag, to being able to artificially always stay at the top and contend because you can get AA calibre players wanting to walk over and win a flag.

* it.

 

[Interstater]

If Cameron goes to geebong and mysteriously packs on 5kg of muscle in the off season I'll spew.

Lynch to the Tuggers basically won them the flag last year. They don't get through that prelim without him.

So cool when key players can just walk to one of the top clubs for free.

The AFL has gone from a system where you basically had 2-4 years or so to try and win a flag, to being able to artificially always stay at the top and contend because you can get AA calibre players wanting to walk over and win a flag.

fu** it.

If a restricted free agent from South Australia had to choose between us and the Crows, where do you think they would want to go?
Until the system changes we should take advantage of it.

You could argue we've done better than most out of free agency (and at the same time drafted really well).

2019
No major free agency signings

2018
Luke Dalhaus - Bulldogs to Geelong
Tom Lynch - Gold Coast to Richmond
Scott Lycett

29

Scott Lycett

Age

31

Ht

203cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.6

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

6.3

4star

CL

2.6

4star

HO

19.0

5star

D

11.3

3star

K

5.7

2star

HB

5.7

3star

CL

4.2

5star

HO

24.7

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

3.6

2star

HB

4.6

4star

CL

0.4

3star

HO

5.0

5star

- West Coast to Port

2017
Tom Rockliff

11

Tom Rockliff

Age

34

Ht

185cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

23.9

5star

K

13.2

5star

HB

10.7

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

4.7

5star

CL

4.7

5star

D

20.5

5star

K

10.7

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.5

3star

T

5.3

5star

CL

3.0

4star

D

15.8

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

6.8

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

3.4

5star

CL

2.8

5star

- Brisbane to Port
Steven Motlop

6

Steven Motlop

Age

33

Ht

183cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.6

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

1.1

4star

D

12.0

3star

K

6.4

3star

HB

5.6

3star

M

2.9

3star

T

1.7

3star

G

0.9

4star

D

7.4

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

2.4

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.4

3star

- Geelong to Port

 

[sobrave]

If a restricted free agent from South Australia had to choose between us and the Crows, where do you think they would want to go?
Until the system changes we should take advantage of it.

Well we're about to land our BiG fIsH Orazio!!

 

[Coobk001]

I don't think I've ever disagreed with you before REH, but I'm happy to believe that we were the best team this year (LOL, we even won the most Brownlow votes ). The PF was a true game of inches - make a few better decisions (players and officials) and eliminate a handful of crucial skill errors and we'd be quietly confident at the prospect of knocking off the Cats again instead of crying into our beer. We had 7 games at home, Richmond had 5. In a "normal" season, we have 12, they have 17. No-one calls out that advantage.

I think you're dead right about finals inexperience though, hopefully we use that to our advantage next year. In another thread someone pointed out that Rozee and Wines couldn't get off the bench in the last 7 minutes. That's nuts.

And yeah, it's a no to the extra bye from me too.

If we played that prelim in QLD or in Melbourne we get beaten easily. We held on and were close because it was at home. We were also extremely lucky to get over Geelong, had that not been played here, or had they kicked straight we lose.

We were definitely not the best team this year and were certainly favoured by the situation this year. To deny that is pure ignorance IMO. Yes we had some tough days, but the impact on us was far, far less than it was on the Vic teams.

If I was to rate the best teams this year I'd go:
1. Geelong
2. Richmond
3. Brisbane
4. Port

So for mine the finals balanced out and best teams make the GF anyway. So the bye IMO didn't impact the comps integrity.

 

[Coobk001]

If the general opinion is that disadvantage stems from the amount of travel a team has to do in a season, then I simply don't buy the argument that Vic clubs were significantly disadvantaged this year.

For example, compare Richmond's minor round this year with their minor round in 2019.

In 2019, they had to travel 5 times. This year they played the first five games in their home state of Victoria and then relocated to Queensland, which became their new home for the final 12 games. They played 8 home games in that period and had to travel 4 times.

Port by comparison travelled 10 times in 2019. Then in 2020 they travelled for the first game and played at home in the second game. After that, they relocated to Queensland and played 3 home games there. They returned to SA for the final 12 games, 6 of which were at home and 6 for which they travelled.

To summarise, Port had to travel for a game 7 times in 2020 while Richmond had to travel 4 times. I guess you could say that Richmond were disadvantaged this year because their travel advantage over Port wasn't quite as great as it is in a "normal" year!

Now, maybe some will argue that playing games in a place you've relocated to is an equivalent disadvantage to travelling, but to that argument I say hogwash.

If you are settled in a hub, you are playing games close to home. It might be a temporary home, but it's still home and those games should be counted as home games. They do not impose the additional physical demands of interstate travel before and after the game. I'd also argue that Richmond got more advantage from the hub games than Port did because some of Richmond's game's there were against teams that were travelling there just for the game, whereas all the games Port played there were true neutral contests against other teams that were also located there at the time.

Na, go live away from home for 15 weeks, it never feels quite right. Go use a different gym with inferior facilities to what you usually have, again it just isn't right. Being settled is different to feeling comfortable, normal and happy in your normal every day life in your HOME. Flying is part of the advantage, but the biggest thing has always been playing in a a different location you're not used to or comfortable in, thats what the home ground advantage is. Its not just the flying.

We got to stay in our own homes, have all our players have all their support networks around them, no wives left in another state, they got to use our normal facilities, have all of our equipment at the club available to them whenever, etc. In a game of incredibly small margins, there is absolutely zero doubt that we were favoured by our ability to spend more time home than the Vics.


Ultimately if we didn't believe it was an advantage to be at home, instead of 4am flights, we wouldve stayed in the hub. So to argue that the hub was 'settled' and no impact is a very one-eyed opinion, trying to justify our position while ignoring facts.

 

[Palpatine_Power]

If Cameron goes to geebong and mysteriously packs on 5kg of muscle in the off season I'll spew.

Lynch to the Tuggers basically won them the flag last year. They don't get through that prelim without him.

So cool when key players can just walk to one of the top clubs for free.

The AFL has gone from a system where you basically had 2-4 years or so to try and win a flag, to being able to artificially always stay at the top and contend because you can get AA calibre players wanting to walk over and win a flag.

fu** it.

I've been on and off Twitter this week because of the rampant Port trolling but saw this at the top of my feed and immediately thought the same thing.

But then again, AFL and integrity - lol

 

[Schulzenfest]

Just pay Crouch enough to get the Crows their compo. We've got the money. We won't have to trade for him.

 

[TeeKray]

AFL, the professional sport where almost a majority of players are drafted from their Melbourne private school, drafted to their Melbourne based club and play 90% of their games every year in Melbourne.

Sports like NBA, MLB, F1, Olympic sports, etc, you're on the road constantly, away from home constantly. And I suspect performance is actually improved by forming closer bonds with teammates and by having nothing else to focus on but the task at hand.

The hubs are just another excuse that s**t teams will use for underperformance. The proof is in the pudding - first all Victorian GF since 2011 despite all the non Victorian clubs being at various degrees of advantage.

 

[Memphis]

Just pay Crouch enough to get the Crows their compo. We've got the money. We won't have to trade for him.

I'm not taking Crouch after that nose candy debacle.

 

[bomberclifford]

I'm not taking Crouch after that nose candy debacle.

lol.

You'd lose a third of our list if that was the criteria.

 

[Memphis]

lol.

You'd lose a third of our list if that was the criteria.

More likely half of the list but they're not dumb enough to get caught.

 

[70sDinosaur]

Na, go live away from home for 15 weeks, it never feels quite right. Go use a different gym with inferior facilities to what you usually have, again it just isn't right. Being settled is different to feeling comfortable, normal and happy in your normal every day life in your HOME. Flying is part of the advantage, but the biggest thing has always been playing in a a different location you're not used to or comfortable in, thats what the home ground advantage is. Its not just the flying.

We got to stay in our own homes, have all our players have all their support networks around them, no wives left in another state, they got to use our normal facilities, have all of our equipment at the club available to them whenever, etc. In a game of incredibly small margins, there is absolutely zero doubt that we were favoured by our ability to spend more time home than the Vics.


Ultimately if we didn't believe it was an advantage to be at home, instead of 4am flights, we wouldve stayed in the hub. So to argue that the hub was 'settled' and no impact is a very one-eyed opinion, trying to justify our position while ignoring facts.

I didn't say no impact, I said the disadvantage wasn't significant and I stand by that.

I'm not ignoring facts, I'm simply interpreting them differently from you.

For what it's worth, I have lived away from home for 15 weeks and it wasn't in a Queensland resort - it was in Yeltsin-era Russia in the middle of winter. Certainly a culture shock but ultimately not that big a deal. People really are more adaptable than you seem to be giving them credit for and will quickly adjust and establish new routines in the face of changing circumstances and environments. If we weren't adaptable, we wouldn't have got very far as a species.

If you wish to accept the "bed" narrative being peddled by the Vic-centric media then that is of course your prerogative but I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.

 

[70sDinosaur]

If we played that prelim in QLD or in Melbourne we get beaten easily. We held on and were close because it was at home. We were also extremely lucky to get over Geelong, had that not been played here, or had they kicked straight we lose.

We were definitely not the best team this year and were certainly favoured by the situation this year. To deny that is pure ignorance IMO. Yes we had some tough days, but the impact on us was far, far less than it was on the Vic teams.

If I was to rate the best teams this year I'd go:
1. Geelong
2. Richmond
3. Brisbane
4. Port

So for mine the finals balanced out and best teams make the GF anyway. So the bye IMO didn't impact the comps integrity.

This will be the first ever GF where both competing teams reached the game after having lost a final. I don't think that does much to support your assertion that they were definitely the two best teams or that Port and/or Brisbane were definitely not the best teams.

I think we should just accept that the top four teams this year were pretty evenly matched and leave it at that.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Oh Malcom.

 

[EskimoPAFC]

Living away from home, especially as a professional sportsperson in a high quality resort, is unbelievably easy and probably an advantage if anything.

The hard part would be being away from your family, but that should have no impact whatsoever on your ability to football once you have made the commitment to go to the hub.

Unless all the players' "own beds" are made of gold with magic fairy dust added to the pillows it's an absolute joke that it's even discussed.

 

[chiwigi]

Just pay Crouch enough to get the Crows their compo. We've got the money. We won't have to trade for him.

Nah, offer him a dollar under, let them match!