Review Round 9, 2025 - North Melbourne vs. Brisbane Lions

[Nathan Barley]

Our man Fages said in his presser that our percentage doesn't come into it now while noting our percentage was not that good... he caveated it with unless there is another draw.

Yea but the rationale doesn’t work. Definitely better than a loss but there’s no way to spin it as, as good as a win

Sure if we were in a position where we are likely to be 2 points and percentage clear above the next best at the end of the season and more than 2 points behind whoever is ahead of us (or we finish top) then it might not have had any more value than a draw

 

[Section 5]

In general, i don't really care who the club chooses as the sub from week to week
That's because you never know who may get injured or who is not playing well
Not to mention the selectors know better than me.

I do have an opinion though just like any selection.
Mostly the sub does a reasonable job when replacing a player.
Playing a numbers game, you choose a midfielder but that's all it is.

Big guys not playing well tend to be kept on the ground mostly because a mid is usually the sub.

The quicker the AFL get rid of the sub the better.

 

[mpal6]

Gardiner if given the right job could've still worked.

Either should've played in defense on someone like Zurhaar or sent to forward line to shut Charlie Comben down. There's nothing wrong in acknowleding someone's having a good game and we try to limit their influence by sending someone to them. With Comben's influence limited, our forwards may have got on top more.

 

[M Malice]

The quicker the AFL get rid of the sub the better.

Yep, got me flummoxed why the AFL didn't go to 5 on the bench this season.

Most clubs would then go with the 4 smaller/medium sized types on the bench and 1 versatile tall.

 

[p4p1]

Yep, got me flummoxed why the AFL didn't go to 5 on the bench this season.

Most clubs would then go with the 4 smaller/medium sized types on the bench and 1 versatile tall.

Does it then open up the same issue with concussions though? Someone goes down with a concussion so we are a rotation down on the bench. The logical next step would be a medical sub for concussions on top of the 5 man bench. Then it becomes just a tactical sub, then it gets pushed to be 6 on the bench etc.

 

[braddsey]

Does it then open up the same issue with concussions though? Someone goes down with a concussion so we are a rotation down on the bench. The logical next step would be a medical sub for concussions on top of the 5 man bench. Then it becomes just a tactical sub, then it gets pushed to be 6 on the bench etc.

at some point the AFL have to draw a line. AFL says "we'll give you 5 on the bench, use them as you will - but if you get a concussion you'll be down a rotation. Live with it."
We already have situations like that anyway, so the whole sub thing is flawed. One player does his ACL in the opening quarter, bring on the sub. Then another player gets concussed, BOOM, you're down a rotation.

Pretty sure all the clubs know this and think it's shit some player sits the pine in a t-shirt waiting for an injury. The only people who don't get it are the AFL.

 

[martinson]

Obviously a draw's not as good as a win but if there are no other draws then at the end of the day it is if our percentage stays below the teams around us on the ladder. Simply because anyone 2 points ahead of us at year's end would've nutted us on percentage anyway. And those 2 points will keep us ahead of anyone otherwise on equal wins had we lost.

I know what Fages was getting at ,he just overlooked the contingencies that apply.

I was happy to get out of it with a draw tbh. They had the momentum and deserved to win. When it's so close you can always sneak something and we almost did .

I'm not brimming with confidence for the next 2 games. Obviously we can go a lot better . I haven't been convinced by our form overall even though the plan is likely to be to peak towards the end of the year. We really got ourselves up for the GC game and had a letdown. I also think North might trouble a lot of sides from heron in.

 

[Lion_LegacyXL]

Obviously a draw's not as good as a win but if there are no other draws then at the end of the day it is if our percentage stays below the teams around us on the ladder. Simply because anyone 2 points ahead of us at year's end would've nutted us on percentage anyway. And those 2 points will keep us ahead of anyone otherwise on equal wins had we lost.

I know what Fages was getting at ,he just overlooked the contingencies that apply.

I was happy to get out of it with a draw tbh. They had the momentum and deserved to win. When it's so close you can always sneak something and we almost did .

I'm not brimming with confidence for the next 2 games. Obviously we can go a lot better . I haven't been convinced by our form overall even though the plan is likely to be to peak towards the end of the year. We really got ourselves up for the GC game and had a letdown. I also think North might trouble a lot of sides from heron in.

Would like to see an injection of fresh legs and pace next week, Think brining in either Doedee or Gallop would be a good move and someone to come in for Berry.

 

[martinson]

Would like to see an injection of fresh legs and pace next week, Think brining in either Doedee or Gallop would be a good move and someone to come in for Berry.

I'd love to give Beecken a run.

 

[braddsey]

Would like to see an injection of fresh legs and pace next week, Think brining in either Doedee or Gallop would be a good move and someone to come in for Berry.

Doedee was “managed” out of the VFL on the weekend, so unlikely this means fresh legs…

 

[martinson]

Doedee was “managed” out of the VFL on the weekend, so unlikely this means fresh legs…

Hopefully we're not too over anxious to get Doedee and Kiddy back.

Give them the time to get full confidence in their body and some match fitness. Neither has had an easy time of it.

 

[beatnik]

Does it then open up the same issue with concussions though? Someone goes down with a concussion so we are a rotation down on the bench. The logical next step would be a medical sub for concussions on top of the 5 man bench. Then it becomes just a tactical sub, then it gets pushed to be 6 on the bench etc.

How about making the sub a concussion sub only? ie if they come in, the player they replace has a mandatory week off

 

[Lion_LegacyXL]

Doedee was “managed” out of the VFL on the weekend, so unlikely this means fresh legs…

That's unfortunate, would be keen to see Ty get selected.

 

[Nathan Barley]

McDonald hasn't been cited

 

[M Malice]

Doedee was “managed” out of the VFL on the weekend, so unlikely this means fresh legs…

Maybe Tom was managed to freshen him up for a senior spot this Sunday, has played 4 solid VFL games now and looked very good in his latest one.

 

[blueiris]

McDonald hasn't been cited

what else is new Long took Levi out in the pre-season and was not cited I love how the media think that's a marking contest when Luke wasn't even going for the football

 

[irish]

I know I'm going to sound like a tool but this one keeps cropping up all the time . So I've decided to speak up in protection of the Australian vernaculars.

It's a wet wig not a wet week. Ever tried to throw a wet wig ?

As to the point you were making Irish I totally agree.

Fair point !

 

[Section 5]

Does it then open up the same issue with concussions though? Someone goes down with a concussion so we are a rotation down on the bench. The logical next step would be a medical sub for concussions on top of the 5 man bench. Then it becomes just a tactical sub, then it gets pushed to be 6 on the bench etc.

I get your point, but the bench numbers have to stop at some stage.
Five would/could be 1 forward 1 defender and 3 midfielders (mid includes wing & ruck).
Not that teams have to stick to that but that's how i see it.
I doubt the AFL are stupid enough to go to 6 on the bench. But then again, it's the AFL.

No different than losing two players now and you are 1 down in rotation. Do we have 2 subs to cover that, no.
Just unlucky and lots of teams probably win being a rotation down anyhow.

Concussion, broken wrist, pulled hammy, it should not matter.
The AFL need to draw the line on trying to protect teams being at a disadvantage of a rotation down.
It is a battle out there every game, so players and coaches just have to roll with the punches they are delt.
To me it is like saying team x has much better players than us so we should have an extra on the field to even things up.

There are too many interchanges now in my opinion.
Teams with one rotation down regularly have less interchanges that the other side with no injuries.
You are also more inclined to keep your better players on the ground longer too being one rotation down.
You just stop replacing players that kick a goal and stints on the bench are slightly longer for the non-stars of the team.

 

[braddsey]

Maybe Tom was managed to freshen him up for a senior spot this Sunday, has played 4 solid VFL games now and looked very good in his latest one.

I’d be very happy for that to be the case.

 

[braddsey]

How about making the sub a concussion sub only? ie if they come in, the player they replace has a mandatory week off

That’s where this mess started… but why is it acceptable to replace a player because of concussion but not an ACL? Then why an ACL but not a hammy? Then why a hammy but not a pulled heart string?

Regardless, it’s shit that a player has to basically sit out the match, or get limited minutes in the final quarter. If they’re listed to play then let them play. One less thing that needs to be policed, everyone is equally advantaged/ disadvantaged.

 

[luthor]

Obviously a draw's not as good as a win but if there are no other draws then at the end of the day it is if our percentage stays below the teams around us on the ladder. Simply because anyone 2 points ahead of us at year's end would've nutted us on percentage anyway. And those 2 points will keep us ahead of anyone otherwise on equal wins had we lost.
.

I was happy to get out of it with a draw tbh. They had the momentum and deserved to win. When it's so close you can always sneak something and we almost did .

It matters not about "deserving" to win

All that matters is the final score.

The final score was a draw.

Speaking of which, that draw was in effect, as good as a win. Unless another genuine contender also plays a draw, we have separated ourselves from the field.

Now I'd like to trot out a few good old hackneyed lines in the context of this result :-

"This is the draw we needed to have"

"Grand Finals aren't drawn in May"

"It was a good performance but we're just taking it one draw at a time"

"Obviously it's a bit disappointing but if we carry this form for the rest of the season, we're confident that more draws will follow"

"We knew that as long as we stuck to our game plan, we'd eventually get the draw"

"It's a tough road to the finals but a few draws at the business end of the season will give us a chance at equal 8th"

" They say a draw is like kissing your sister but have you seen my sister....She's HOT!!!"

 

[braddsey]

Speaking of which, that draw was in effect, as good as a win. Unless another genuine contender also plays a draw, we have separated ourselves from the field.

The draw is only as good as a win as long as we're on top of the ladder. As soon as we drop below first on the ladder, then the draw is making us only the best of the rest. Regardless, on the back of a strong performance from North and a subpar performance from the Lions, I'd rather be the best of the rest, that dependent on our percentage.

 

[LionsMaw]

Embarrassing effort tonight, but I hope mcdonald gets 3 weeks for knocking out Berry that had a huge impact on the game aswell.

Yup. The campaigner put his elbow up. He was aiming for Bez. I was glad to see that he copped a split in the noggin too.

 

[GenericUsername202]

you know what i noticed. Leigh Matthews has been on the fox show "on the couch" twice this season, and both of his appearances has led to us not winning a game. The first was after the collingwood game, and the second was after the north game. guess i'll bet on us not winning the next time i see him advertised on that show, lol.

 

[Section 5]

Coaches votes​

North Melbourne v Brisbane​

10 Tristan Xerri

38

Tristan Xerri

Age

26

Ht

202cm

Wt

99kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

5.5

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

2.5

2star

CL

1.0

3star

HO

2.5

5star

D

5.5

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

2.5

2star

CL

1.0

3star

HO

2.5

5star

D

5.5

2star

K

3.0

1star

HB

2.5

3star

CL

1.0

3star

HO

2.5

5star

NMFC
8 Dayne Zorko

15

Dayne Zorko

Age

36

Ht

175cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.4

5star

K

13.2

5star

HB

8.2

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

6.0

5star

MG

440.5

5star

D

14.0

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

5.0

3star

M

2.0

2star

T

5.0

5star

MG

291.0

4star

D

16.4

4star

K

9.8

4star

HB

6.6

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

6.6

5star

BL
5 Charlie Comben NMFC
3 Jack Payne BL
2 Luke Davies-Uniacke

9

Luke Davies-uniacke

Age

26

Ht

188cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.1

3star

K

6.5

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

2.5

3star

T

2.2

4star

CL

2.0

4star

D

7.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.0

2star

T

1.0

2star

CL

2.0

4star

D

9.8

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.8

4star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.8

4star

CL

1.2

4star

NMFC
2 Josh Dunkley

5

Josh Dunkley

Age

28

Ht

191cm

Wt

87kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.8

5star

K

10.4

4star

HB

11.3

5star

M

4.3

4star

T

5.8

5star

CL

3.2

5star

D

20.7

5star

K

7.0

3star

HB

13.7

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

5.3

5star

CL

2.7

4star

D

14.2

4star

K

7.2

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

4.0

5star

CL

1.4

4star

BL