I personally agree hes not worth that but that’s how the system works. Why Melbourne got pick 3 for Frawley while Hawks get 19 for Buddy.

Why do we need to adopt a model of lottery picks for bottom placed sides to “remove all the grays areas around the issue of tanking and reduce exploitation” when it is evident that North and West Coast both preferred winning to tanking. The only club you could claim tanked was Geelong, which surprisingly no one seemed to care about and could’ve impacted the finals, yet North is under scrutiny for winning a game of footy.

Pick 2, and eventually probably 3 for McKay is a damn good draft hand. Last year that was Sheezel and Wardlaw. One player does not make a club, and even if Reid is the next Martin, we’ve got LDU anyway, who will likely have 6 brownlow votes in the first two games before getting injured. In fact, before his injury, from the game against Collingwood in 2022 to that point, Champion Data had him as one of the most damaging, impactful players in the league. So we aren’t missing that key damaging midfielder who accumulates clearances and score involvements. He’s young and numbers aren’t unlike Petracca at his age. A few healthy seasons and he’ll be multiple all-australian.

Add in a bloke who kicked 70 goals in a 3 win season with no one else around him to warrant defence, and you’ve got another great of the game looming.

It is no coincidence that our best game of the season came with Ziebell, Hall and McDonald out of the side, who constantly turn the ball over and play poor defence. Fortunately, two of them will never play again, and this will incontrovertibly boost inside 50s and more scoring opportunities. If Ziebell doesn’t receive some B&F votes from Essendon for his efforts to get them the win in the two games against us, I’ll be disappointed.

Tanking is never a respectable option and a winning culture, even if it’s the one final game, is exponentially more impactful for players confidence. Footy is a game of momentum, and entering a season on a 21 losing streak is hardly a confidence booster. North will be alright, a couple more seasons of dwelling near the bottom and the players will begin to be in the ripe age and games played to be a threat come September.

I mean I personally haven’t been charged with assualt multiple times and been caught on camera attempting to expose a women’s breasts without consent (she only gave consent after the incident not prior which is kinda the important thing about consent). But hey you’re right I’m taking a moral high ground. I should reevaluate my belief that not committing assault is better than committing assault. How self righteous of me.

Oh no poor white men, suffered so much. That’s why with his huge amounts of money he was able to buy a tip level lawyer for New York to reduce his charges, which normally carry jail sentences. Poor De Goey. He continually displays behaviour of narcissism and disrespect towards women, but you’re right, him being a white man is causing him suffering.

So children don’t receive repercussions for misbehaving? Is punishment solely supposed to be reserved for breaking laws. I didn’t realise that. Tell me is the AFL tribunal under state or federal law? Because they punish players for breaking rules all the time.

De Goey set a poor example. He did not gain consent prior to the act (unless you contend he and the girl agreed for him to attempt to expose her breasts on camera and her to stop him) so it could easily be sexual harrassment. And again it is about setting a good example to follow by. Idk about you but I personally prefer a world where people don’t do whatever they want and hope the other person likes it after the fact. Not to mention he was in a public place. Did he ask everyone if they were ok with his gestures and exposing breasts? There is a stark difference between consenting adults in privacy and in public. And too often do people, especially women, get sexually harassed because people are so casual about incidents like this.

You know this isn’t the first time he has been embroiled in controversy regarding women. He committed assault overseas not even a year ago and was lucky to get some charges dropped, no doubt due to the influence of better lawyers he was able to afford.

He didn’t break any laws (THIS TIME) but his behaviour erred on sexual harrassment. As an AFL player, he has an onus to be a responsible role model for impressionable youth and this is just the latest example of him failing his duties. Continuing to fail so should result in wider condemnation and more severe sanctions, cause clearly he feels he can get away with what he does continuously, no doubt to being let off by the club and AFL at large so frequently.

What is this inane logic? Of course there’s a stronger response when it’s repeated behaviour. Heck, we even use repeat offences for harsher sentencing in law, you definitely get more annoyed with someone when they do you wrong the same time over and over again and in the AFL tribunal, players who commit the same act multiple times get greater fines and suspensions. That’s how the world has always worked so what’s the purpose of downplaying his act by saying if this was the first time, no one would care as much? This isn’t a mistake or misstep, this is a behavioural pattern of De Goey so this is obviously why people are so much more alarmed than say if someone else had done it.

So you acknowledge that it paints a bad picture but still believe consent is the only part that matters? Firstly, it is highly unlikely he obtained consent before the act, which is what needs to occur. I very much doubt he said “hey can I try and pull your boobs out and then you stop me on video”.

And a poor image it paints indeed. This isn’t De Goeys first or second offence involving women and it probably won’t be his last given he’s been hardly punished for it. Like it or not, he will be seen as a role model and his behaviours could be emulated by impressionable youth to much more devastating results. We need to recognise the influence this could have and how this behaviour shouldn’t be tolerated, regardless of this specific woman gave consent after the fact.

If this is satire then well done, otherwise a bizarre and indeed confronting hill to die on.

Firstly, De Goey was caught on video. It’s not like Martin where there was speculation and witnesses. We saw incontrovertible evidence of De Goey engaging in these behaviours. Furthermore, this is not his first, nor second offence. This is a behavioural pattern we are seeing unlike any other AFL player in the game right now.

To suggest that his piggish attitude in public is acceptable simply because others do the same behaviour is the reason these acts are still prevalent today. You’d rather condemn the media for frowning upon behaviour that sets an example of disrespect to women and is known to cause harm rather than the act itself? Sure the woman may of consented but it’s not appropriate behaviour and impressionable youth will observe someone as well known as De Goey and potentially emulate said behaviour. I think the media has done a wonderful job taking a strong stance against De Goeys act.

I think Cornes’ haste to critique De Goey for going to Bali was alarming but in the end he was proven right. De Goey yet again proved he doesn’t behave appropriately nor learn from his mistakes. He’s not a child and honestly is lucky he hasn’t seen the other side of a prison cell.

On top of all this, his response was simply ghastly. Rather than own up to his misconduct, he instead attempts to turn himself into the victim. He’s an AFL player, he’s paid to be under the scope of scrutiny and when you act the way he does, scrutiny is what you deserve.

this has not aged well lol

Hawthorn have been awful but I wouldn’t put them below North. Yes North have an abundance of injuries but that doesn’t excuse the rest of the team. Goldstein, Simpkin and Tarrant have been the only consistent players. North haven’t put up a win for the longest in the competition (excluding Adelaide). Things are looking really positive for North in the next few years but this year I don’t see us going very high on the ladder.

Hawthorn on the other hand while poor in several games, have also delivered some strong performances this season and I doubt Clarko will stay this low for too long. Let’s not forget that Hawthorn beat North (even though we almost came back).

absolutely. should be a 50 each time. also hate when players run with the ball after a free kick has been paid against their team and the umpires say nothing.

I really like the idea of backward kicks being considered play on. If the offence aren’t gaining territory then more pressure should be allowed to be applied by the defence. Furthermore, this will reduce the ability for teams to slow the game down in the dying minutes to maintain their lead, as we saw in several games this weekend. Nothing disappoints me more than when in a close game teams are just kicking back and forth to run out the clock. I do think the defence should be held accountable as well for not being as attacking as they could be, but it is incontrovertible that if we made it so backward kicks are play on, that defence will apply significantly more pressure.
Personally, I have no issue with no prior opportunity being a rule. It encourages players to play the game, even if it does increase congestion. Maybe a fix to this is considering it prior opportunity for any player that receives the ball from a teammate’s disposal. This still enables players who are able to intercept but are quickly tackled and players who do pickups from spoils etc to still be rewarded for their good defensive plays. As aforementioned though I have no issue with no prior opportunity*.
I honestly think it is how languid the game is played at rather than congestion that is core issue. The best bits of footy are when players are weaving through congested packs or quickly running the ball forward. Limiting congestion takes away the appeal of these amazing plays. While I do acknowledge the annoyance congested footy can have, in many ways it adds to the intensity of the game. Teams should be punished for slowing down the game with backwards kicks, in lieu of culling players or removing the no prior opportunity rule.
*One aspect that has always bothered me is when a player thinks it is a mark but it is play on, so they don’t attempt to get rid of the ball and they get tackled. Every time the umpires call it a ball up despite there clearly being prior opportunity to dispose of the ball.

I did a little better last week with 5/8 (I tipped Melbourne over Essendon) than my abysmal R2.

I’m tipping Sydney over Bulldogs. I wasn’t impressed with either teams’ victories last week and felt the it was more that the loser’s performed poorly rather than a well done performance by the victors (I didn’t tip either of them last week). After viewing both games last week I did feel Sydney looks like a stronger team and did consider more of a finals contenders at the beginning of the season over Bulldogs so I’ll back them again over the Dogs again.

I think people are overhyping Collingwood. They’ve been good and got some excellent defence and midfield, but their forward line leaves something to be desired. Besides their wins haven’t been exactly compelling and their draw with Richmond was very ordinary. However, last week GWS was terrible. I honestly felt I was watching them from 2012 again. How they were even still in the game after half time astounds me. GWS did upset them twice last year and this has definitely been a year of upsets but I’m still tipping Collingwood.

I’m not sure how I feel about Port. They’ve won easy games but they do show the signs of great potential. In a couple years time I definitely will be viewing them as premier contenders. They’ve got a great young squad. But at some point they surely will lose. And at some point this experienced and in theory excellent West Coast squad will prevail. I’m at the present moment tipping Port but am strongly considering giving WC the benefit of the doubt.

Richmond should bounce back. They don’t have the fire they used to have but St Kilda has not impressed me at all. I could see this going either way but I’m going to back the reigning premiers. Would love to see St Kilda win though.

I’ve been saying since the start of this season that Carlton is a far better side than Essendon. This is the chance to prove it. I did go against Carlton last week but I think most people would have. They still seem to only be able to play 3 quarters of footy still but those 3 quarters are as good as any team in the league, if not better. Last week I said Essendon needs to prove themselves as a good team which obviously we didn’t get to see. Knowing Carlton they’ll somehow blow themselves up with a terrible quarter of footy and Essendon will win by a goal to prove me wrong but I’m still backing the Blues.

Suns will win. Lions will win. Queensland wins.

Melbourne I feel are a bit underrated. I also agree with Clarko that Geelong are just not that good. But I can’t seem them going 1 for 4, especially after an embarrassing loss. It is also hard to judge how Melbourne will perform after an unexpected bye. Either could win but going Cats.

This is a tough one. After North’s lacklustre goal kicking and intensity (and some questionable umpiring), they lost a game they should’ve won (is there anything more North Melbourne than that?). North going in as the underdogs honestly makes me a little confident that they could win, especially against a side we’ve been a bogey for, even during their dominance. Hawthorn this last fortnight have played 6 amazing quarters (where they went after halftime against the Cats is beyond me). I backed Hawks to be a top 4 contender before this whole season went haywire and they certainly look like they could still pull it off. I will back the Hawks for three reasons. Firstly, backing Clarko is never a bad idea as last week reinforced. Secondly, North only wins when you go against them. Thirdly, I won’t be as upset if North lose cause at least I got my tip.

Past results:
R1: 9
R2: 3
R3: 5

I went from 9/9 in round 1 to 3/9(8) last week. At least North won though.

I’m really struggling with who to tip on Thursday. Richmond without Dusty could be a game changer and Hawthorn will be a familiar ground, but I tipped them last week and we saw what happened. At the moment I’m tipping Hawks but could change. I’m giving Clarko the benefit of the doubt (although I have no idea why he is putting McEvoy in defence).

Friday night will hopefully be a good game given the recent performances we’ve gotten. I’m tipping Giants because well Bulldogs have been rubbish at their best and GWS will be hungry for a win after last week’s upset.

I’m going with North which means they’ll lose because for some reason we love upsets, winning when we shouldn’t and losing easy games. Sydney have performed poorly against two teams I don’t see making the eight (although Essendon is looking more promising that I expected). North also have a lot of young talent, last week 4 players with a combined games of around 60 kicked 7 goals. Goldstein will dominate the ruck and hopefully Cunnington will play better. North has a bad history with Sydney at home but this should be the change.

Collingwood and St Kilda is even harder than Richmond and Hawthorn. I could easily see either team winning but I’m going with Collingwood for their defence and ruck.

BL and WC is another extremely difficult choice but Lions will hold up with the home advantage. Should be a thriller though.

The idea of Carlton even contesting Geelong for the win is laughable.

AD has been woeful and they are falling apart. Even Bulldogs look better. Suns will have yet another strong start to a season and hopefully it continues. I would like to see them make the 8 finally.

I’m going Melbourne. They lost to a superior home team advantaged West Coast and managed to hold onto a lead against Carlton, a team that would be 2-0 if they could play a first quarter. Melbourne is by no means a contender in my eyes but they can play some good footy. Having Gawn in the ruck against Bellchambers increases their chance to win significantly. Essendon to me have been unimpressive, they barely beat two teams that don’t show much potential to be contenders and Melbourne is better than either of their two previous opponents. To their credit I didn’t see them winning against Sydney so they are doing better than my initial expectations, maybe they will surprise me again.