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Thom Roker is under embargo from Roar editors
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Alex Sexton has played 158 games for the Gold Coast Suns, plus a healthy number of NEAFL/VFL games, but having spent four months in…
The much-maligned Gold Coast Suns have given a strong indication that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2022
Dear Rory, I have been a big fan of yours from the very beginning, including your junior days when you chose to become part…
The 2021 version of the Suns took about two quarters before it started looking a little less shiny and filled with hope, as Matt…
Geelong’s season wasn’t without its ups and downs, but at halftime of the final game of the home-and-away season they must have thought they…
Fremantle had the kind of year that promised a lot and then fizzled at the end, as injuries crippled their late-season run, although silver…
More than the usual number of teams rose and fell in the 2021 season, but nobody predicted that Essendon would make the finals. They…
Collingwood endured a torrid season everywhere from the board room to the playing field, the coaches box and recruitment department, with people exiting the…
Carlton’s year began as always with a loss to the Tigers, followed by a loss to the Magpies. And the knives for David Teague…
AFL list sizes have been changing drastically for the duration of the national era, with almost annual tinkering of rules and at times sweeping…
The Brisbane Lions went deep into finals once more without taking that extra step fans were hoping for when the club acquired Joe Daniher…
Last month’s national draft was the first opportunity for 2003-born prospects to be drafted to an AFL club, followed by the pre-season draft and…
The Adelaide Crows kick off this year’s trade and draft review series. I will look at all the players who came to the club…
Every season after the drama of the draft and its over-hyped build-up, clubs quietly make their last moves as final list lodgement approaches at…
The fairytale stories of long undrafted WAFL players Tim Kelly and Marlion Pickett being plucked out of South Freo and thrust into the AFL…
North Melbourne snaffled Hugh Greenwood after the Suns delisted him with the intent of re-drafting him. These are the seven stages of coping with…
The 2021 AFL National Draft is just around the corner (finally), but are you up to speed with exactly what to expect and when…
The Gold Coast Suns have made some list changes, ending Irishman Luke Towey’s flirtation with the Sherrin and putting four-club veteran Jacob Townsend into…
Essendon's favourite son David Zaharakis retired this year following a 13-season, 226-game career that included an Anzac Day Medal plus a Bombers Best and…
As Subiaco celebrated its third premiership in four seasons, there was no doubt which player would be named Simpson Medalist for best afield for…
Nah, I wouldn’t say that. I think Port have known they would need to rebuild while competing. The pieces are in place, Josh Sinn is going to fit in fine. Dixon back in the line up gives the forward line a dynamism. The goal kicking will sharpen up. I thought the Port boys looked slow at times, but there is some speed in the team. The Suns may have just been attacking the slower players, or just torching the defence by outnumbering really well. Ken will spin the magnets.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
There’s recency bias and there’s nostalgia. You can compare eras all you want, but the fitness and professionalism of the modern athlete would run absolute rings around those blokes. Talent was something the big clubs could buy in those days too, and Carlton cheated with the worst of them for the longest after the cap was introduced.
It is a tired argument that the preseason is meaningless and one that none here came up with on their own. It comes from coaches who actively made the preseason comp defunct by fielding B-grade teams and not treating games seriously in order to prepare for round 1 with their own time table.
This is 2022, where clubs play 1 practice match with extended lists and 1 practice match under in-season rules with 23 man squads. The games just concluded were far from meaningless hit outs for the coaches and in the Suns vs Port game there were two very strong teams playing in the first half and there was one team clearly on top.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
What, just like Richmond kicked two goals when the Suns kicked two goals at the end of their game? Or GWS? The fact is the Suns had 7 games decided by less than 2 goals, but only won 2. Of course, winning all 7 would be preposterous, but the fact that they put themselves in that position is the encouraging factor.
Where will they get the goals from is the question. Chol 3, Corbett 2, Davies 2, Sharp 2, Rankine 1 (plus 2 assists), Sexton 1 gave the indication that goals aren’t going to be as hard to come by as they were with undersized rucks and forwards. The defence opened up when Collins went off the field in the third quarter and didn’t return, whereas while he was on the unit repelled forward entries.
Witts and Lukosius didn’t even play, Sexton was on managed minutes and Rankine was thrown into the midfield late on or he might have had some junktime goals too. Day, Jeffrey and Hollands are other options to score goals. There’s no King, but there’s more options.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
1981 was Parkin’s first year at Carlton. Already a premiership coach at Hawthorn. I fail to see how a bunch of semi-pro blokes working day jobs and playing in a suburban competition has anything to do with the 2022 AFL preseason practice matches 3 weeks before the season begins.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
Don’t engage him. Port played 30 vs 25 and came home with more run. Their fringe players showed some fight, but Dew kept the Suns engine room working hard, with the exception of some players on managed time and then the 2 youngsters who had played in the morning ran around ineffectively for 10 minutes.
The only stats this stooge is quoting are from the article I wrote and the box score. Port sent their best and came up wanting.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
How would you characterise the Cats vs Tigers game? I watched the first half and thought both sides were a bit rough, but there wasn’t really much between them. Then I read later that Richmond won, but the game finished with VFL players. Well this was a 38 point halftime lead, 8.6.54 to 1.10.16, then out to a 43 point lead after 3 minutes and the intensity went out of the game. The third quarter was 2.2 to 2.3, then in the final quarter Port used all of their fresh players and halved the deficit with fresh legs.
The Suns played 25 vs Port’s 30 players, hence the lack of analysis of the final parts of the game where GC started to tire while the Power kept rotating their possibles and resting their probables. The Suns did bring on a couple of guys who backed up from the earlier VFL game, but again they were tired players. In the final quarter, GC benched Markov, Holman and Collins, which opened the door for Port to square up a bit more, but the game was over and the junktime goals were just that.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
Get back in your lane!
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
Sigh. First there was the bloke who talked about losing 5 practice matches in 1981, and now you’re cherrypicking stats to suit your narrative. The Suns played 15 away games last year and 7 at home for a 7 win 15 loss season. If they had scored 2 extra goals in their 5 losses by less than 12 points they’d have made the top 8. Far from low scoring, they were literally 10 goals from finals. And they did it without a decent ruckman for 20 games. Football is a cruel game. Teams can be garbage, then champions.
The Demons came fifth in 2018 and lost in a prelim, then they came 17th the following year. During the Covid shortened season they were the ultimate mediocre team, but last year they went from those mixed results to lead the competition pretty much from start to finish. Have a look at how the Demons list was built and compare it to the Suns. Quite a lot of similarities. Even Carlton can’t stay crap forever.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
With Charlie Cameron, Mitch Robinson, Callum Ah Chee, Keidean Coleman and Nakia Cockatoo, plus the emergence of Blake Coleman to come, the Lions have more indigenous players in the best 22 than any other team I can think of.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
You’re backsliding, numberdog.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
A product of spraying low percentage shots at goal. Plenty of snaps from tight angles and shots from 40m+.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
Sam Hayes is a fifth year player, not “3 years in the system”.
Alex Davies seems to be taller than his listed 191cm. Last year he said he was 192cm, but you could see his height is visibly taller. People compare him to Scott Pendlebury because they both played basketball, I’m seeing a combination of Marcus Bontempelli, Paddy Cripps and Nate Fyfe.
While Moyle was a revelation, if it comes to who faces Nic Nat and Bailey Williams in Round 1, the Chol and Casboult are in line behind Witts ahead of Moyle, yet all 3 could find themselves selected again to share the load. Something tells me Casboult should get the role on Kennedy.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
100%
However, it has been 6 months since the Suns last played and they limped home in August missing 10 best 23 players and a tonne of experience. Most of those guys are back and some new faces in the talls department was a sight for sore eyes.
What I probably should have touched on more was the clear room for improvement the team has, which is pretty exciting given how well they gelled and what they were willing to risk to try to break the game open.
Hopefully, the deathriding critics will be silenced for a week until the Cats game, which is going to be played in proper match conditions with 23 players and 2022 rules with full quarters.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
No doubt, but given the garbage being pedalled in the media, this is exactly how the team needed to establish their 2022 identity.
Port have been a bogey side for the Suns. Hinkley just seems to get them playing a brand we can’t match. Weirdly, the Suns did what the Power normally do, getting out to a match-winning lead and then parking the bus.
Your team plays Port for 4 points in 3 weeks. What did you like about Friday’s games? I’m watching and thinking the Lions could bring the house down at the Gabba in prime time on a Saturday night and Port won’t have the answers.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
Port have to integrate some of their younger players a little better. It is the kind of in-season mini-rebuild that a 10 year coach like Hinkley needs to do to remain in the flag window. Maybe he has to sacrifice ladder position to tinker with his line-up and game plan, then come home strongly? Geelong are probably in the same boat.
Plenty of SA players in the Suns to cheer for.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics
Big losses in the pre-season don’t matter, but they are hardly ideal.
Unless something extraordinary happens, the Eagles are done for the year.
The truth is the Suns are arrow up and Eagles are arrow down.
The Dockers are looking to be moving upwards too.
Hawthorn and North are going to fight it out for the spoon
Under Simmo it’s going to have to be a fast reload for 2023 or he’s gone.
Right now the Eagles injury list is just horrific.
The consolation is that you’ll find out what you’ve got in your depth players pretty quickly…
An open letter to Rory Thompson
The Suns had 3 born and bred Cairns boys in their team yesterday and have 2 PNG boys on their list.
An open letter to Rory Thompson
Kayo Freebies, actually. You watch them without paying for a subscription.
An open letter to Rory Thompson
Port Adelaide’s side was their best available and they were handily beaten. Add Witts and Lukosius to this Suns mix against Geelong next game and we’ll see how meaningless these games are.
The Suns matched Port in the middle, stifled them in attack and was able to score on a flawed Port defence. The Suns were harder too, with Darcy Macpherson putting Trent McKenzie into the interchange bench and Lachie Weller steered Mitch Georgiades into the fence. Port had 3 injuries, but the Suns were cherry ripe.
Port were trying to win the game, make no mistake. They just couldn’t. Perhaps they are struggling after playing deep into November 2020 and then deep into September 2021, while the Suns have had 6 months since their last game of footy and a more comprehensive preseason.
An open letter to Rory Thompson
Confirmed: Rory Thompson played in the reserves practice game and came through unscathed.
An open letter to Rory Thompson
Will the Eagles have enough players to field a team in Round 1?
An open letter to Rory Thompson
A lot of those missed shots have been under pressure snaps, long pings in hope and wind affected footy. The Suns have played the ground better, won the midfield battle, defended well and found ways to score goals.
An open letter to Rory Thompson
I did not know that. He is very outspoken about indigenous issues. Pretty sure he counts.
'Force to be reckoned with': Suns unveil new game plan that will embarrass their critics