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I love cricket so much I once had a dream I was timed out. It was the worst nightmare I've ever had. I also support the Western Bulldogs, which, much like dressing like clowns on the street and scaring people, was weird and depressing for a very long time, briefly became amazing in late 2016 and then swiftly went back to being weird and depressing. I also occasionally tweet about things at @timejmiller.
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Eight weeks is usually the point where the AFL ladder has taken its shape for the season - and thanks to Opening Round, that's…
"I am inevitable" - Thanos, Avengers: Endgame You know that scene at the end of a horror movie where everyone thinks the killer is…
On the scoreboard, it looks like a creditable St Kilda performance. A loss to a Port Adelaide outfit many see as a premiership contender…
It's a festival of footy as Anzac Round dawns, with matches to be played across a whopping five days in 2024's most spread-out 'weekend'…
For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the now-traditional Anzac Day clash at the MCG, there has been one thing conspicuously lacking over…
There's an old saying that you should never argue with an idiot, because they'll drag you down to their level and then beat you…
RIP our tips! A round of upsets has shaken up the ladder, delivered some stinging blows to would-be contenders, and really sorted the wheat…
A little over 12 months ago, Collingwood demolished Port Adelaide on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the MCG in the first of many, many…
Over the next few days, all discussion of Essendon's three-point win over Adelaide will likely centre on the decision, in the final seconds of…
Amid all the hysteria and gnashing of teeth that accompanies any team following a particular galling loss, it's worth remembering at all times that…
After near-perfect tipping scores across the board in Round 4, the going was significantly tougher last weekend - a slew of upsets made 5…
Five rounds are in the can for season 2024, and the ladder is beginning to take shape. Brisbane and Collingwood are on the path…
There's plenty of time left in the 2024 season, so there's a chance we will see a better win than what Adelaide produced to…
It's the seven-minute mark of the final quarter. Essendon lead the Western Bulldogs by 19 points in a match that has, since halfway through…
19 months ago, a banged-up Brisbane came to the MCG as heavy underdogs, faced a formidable Melbourne outfit that stood among the premiership favourites,…
Three of our four experts made it big in Gather Round with a perfect 9/9 - sorry, Dem, but your faith in the Western…
Gather Round was back for the second year - and after a rough start, boy was it a doozy! Four of the weekend's last…
If you're a Fremantle fan - and I'm basing this on the social media reaction to what happened on Saturday afternoon at the Adelaide…
For all the talk and all the acclaim the so-called 'Essendon Edge' has received in the past few weeks - and I firmly fit…
For three and a half quarters on Thursday night, it was the same old Adelaide. Unambitious with ball in hand. Slow in movement. Horrendous…
I wish I could like this comment twice.
Footy Fix: Don't let the comeback fool you, Freo have been worked out
If anything it’s a good sign for Carlton that they’re winning games while playing below their best – but surely no one thinks they can’t get better than their last two games?
Footy Fix: This record stat shows how Blues butchered the Roos - but why did it take a half to try it?
Fair enough – this is a fascinating philosophical discussion on at what distance ‘fast’ is measured!
Footy Fix: Lethal Lions unlock the Pies... but it was easier said than done
One thing Chris Fagan talked about post-game was his defenders in particular pressing up hard to try and cut off the Magpies’ midfield handball chains rather than retreat into defensive 50.
I reckon that caused a lot of the turnovers you speak of – the Pies haven’t come across a team this year prepared to try and make them pay for their aggressive kicking and ball use.
Footy Fix: Lethal Lions unlock the Pies... but it was easier said than done
Charlie Cameron isn’t faster than Quaynor, Charlie Cameron is faster over 10-20 metres on the burst.
I completely get what you’re saying, but… isn’t that basically what faster means?
Footy Fix: Lethal Lions unlock the Pies... but it was easier said than done
I love how in my write up for the expert tips column I talked about home ground advantage being big this year and picked all home teams for Saturday… and then expected Collingwood to buck that trend.
I’m having an absolute mare this year.
Footy Fix: Lethal Lions unlock the Pies... but it was easier said than done
Thanks for the kind words, Kevo.
I wrote a couple of weeks back that the Pies are exactly what footy has needed for a decade – a high-octane, attacking team that forces the opposition to fight fire with fire.
The Lions certainly did that (and was great to hear Chris Fagan talk post-match about having his defence press higher to try and intercept their midfield handball chains rather than retreat). Hopefully more teams have a crack too!
Footy Fix: Lethal Lions unlock the Pies... but it was easier said than done
Don’t argue that his clash with Rioli was ordinary, and can deal with overrated – but you also called him ‘Faicos’ and suggested getting uncontested possessions is easy.
You’ve still got to be smart to get in positions to get those handball receives and use them effectively. If it’s easy, then why has no one been able to stop him from doing it yet?
Footy Fix: Supremely skilled in the sun, tough as nails in the wet - is there anything Fly's Pies can't do?
Agree Realist, thought Cotchin was one of Richmond’s best. Still only the third-best thirtysomething on the ground though!
Footy Fix: Supremely skilled in the sun, tough as nails in the wet - is there anything Fly's Pies can't do?
I tipped Richmond for the top four thinking Taranto and Hopper in midfield would fix the Tigers’ clearance problem and get their forwards more supply.
They’re way better in the clearances now, but if Taranto is just gonna waste them like this with three out of every four good luck being a forward.
Footy Fix: Supremely skilled in the sun, tough as nails in the wet - is there anything Fly's Pies can't do?
Daicos would be wasted getting the hard ball – he’s too good a user on the outside. Be like getting a Ferrari to plow a field.
Also – the kid’s barely turned 20. How many 20-year olds in the history of the game have been contested beasts?
Footy Fix: Supremely skilled in the sun, tough as nails in the wet - is there anything Fly's Pies can't do?
Richmond winning in ’17 nearly broke Melbourne. I’m not sure our society can cope with a Collingwood flag.
Footy Fix: Supremely skilled in the sun, tough as nails in the wet - is there anything Fly's Pies can't do?
Thanks for the kind words Peter!
Pies in the wet are an interesting business. Beating Freo last year was a definite ‘they’re real’ kind of win, and then even scraping past Adelaide later that year was impressive in its own way.
It shouldn’t work for them – but if there’s one thing the Pies have done under McRae, it’s find a way.
Footy Fix: Supremely skilled in the sun, tough as nails in the wet - is there anything Fly's Pies can't do?
Certainly true that the Pies will need to make sure they don’t fade away come season’s end… but then again, I don’t agree that there’s such a thing as ‘peaking too early’.
If you bank wins and play great footy early in the season, you set up your year to be able to ride out the bumps and the form slumps. I’d be shocked if the Magpies can keep this style going all year long, but they’re developing a nice little buffer to afford a down month and still keep on track for top four.
Footy Fix: Supremely skilled in the sun, tough as nails in the wet - is there anything Fly's Pies can't do?
Angela this is far too sensible a take for the comments section of a sports website…
Footy Fix: Supremely skilled in the sun, tough as nails in the wet - is there anything Fly's Pies can't do?
I mean if you’re after some Jeremy Cameron praise, I did that on Thursday!
Also had a bit to say on the Suns last week but you’re right, they’ve got problems still.
Six Points: Bevo has a month to save himself, and the rule tweak needed to prevent another 'Sirengate'
There’s an overreaction element to everything these days, sure; but isn’t that how all sports work, that when problems appear they’re rectified so it doesn’t happen again?
Case in point, the 2019 cricket World Cup final and that farcical boundary countback rule has now been changed and it’ll probably never be needed. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a change worth making.
Six Points: Bevo has a month to save himself, and the rule tweak needed to prevent another 'Sirengate'
On the umpire whistle point, that’s true of the central umpire, but aren’t the rules that the ball is only deemed out of bounds when the boundary umpire blows his whistle?
It’s that grey area around when the ball is out and going all Zapruder on when the ball crossed the line and when the siren sounded that I’d like to get rid of. Same as kicking for goal on the run – if the ball is still in play when the siren sounds, free kicks generated from them should also still be live.
Six Points: Bevo has a month to save himself, and the rule tweak needed to prevent another 'Sirengate'
I agree with a lot of this – but it’s not so much an overreaction to two bad losses as it is getting destroyed in the same way they were throughout 2022 – the way the coach said they worked on extensively throughout the off-season.
If the Dogs come out and knock over Brisbane, or put up a good fight and then beat Richmond or Port, then there’s enough there to justify keeping Beveridge through to the end of the season and seeing what happens. But more ugly performances like Saturday night’s can’t be tolerated.
Six Points: Bevo has a month to save himself, and the rule tweak needed to prevent another 'Sirengate'
Florence was half right. The ‘run fast for your mother and fast for your father’ part would probably be too much effort for the Dogs.
Six Points: Bevo has a month to save himself, and the rule tweak needed to prevent another 'Sirengate'
Oh yeah, there’s no option other than Grundy – Tom McDonald battled hard but couldn’t cope with McInerney.
Probably the only way is for the Dees’ midfielders to radically change their set-up, particularly at centre bounces. In the past they’ve been able to be very aggressive with their running patterns because Gawn was around and they could expect to at least draw the ruck contest. They might have to be more defensively minded if Gawn is out for too long.
Footy Fix: What's the point of Brodie Grundy if Gawn-less Dees get smashed like that?
Often times good disposal is an indicator of a lack of pressure on the ball carrier.
From a personal POV I thought the Lions’ ball use was made to look better by the fact they won virtually every ground-ball contest inside their 50 until the power outage. Long bombs forward always look smart when you get the next possession.
Footy Fix: What's the point of Brodie Grundy if Gawn-less Dees get smashed like that?
Was telling just how vulnerable Melbourne looked down the line when Brisbane kicked long once Gawn went down. Teams will often take one look further afield, see Gawn and/or May in the way, and either try and bite off a short kick that leads to a turnover or get tackled while indecisive.
One thing I didn’t mention in the article was the big loss of Kozzie Pickett – Dees really struggled to lock the ball inside 50 all night and their tackle numbers in the arc plummeted.
Footy Fix: What's the point of Brodie Grundy if Gawn-less Dees get smashed like that?
I’d love to see those ‘hitouts to disadvantage’ figures. Reckon Grundy taps get sharked by the opposition mids more than most other rucks.
Footy Fix: What's the point of Brodie Grundy if Gawn-less Dees get smashed like that?
I really like Sturt and also can’t fathom why Jye Amiss was ever out of the side. Was also impressed with Luke Jackson’s game – looked a legitimate forward target and I think an 80-20 ruck split with Darcy is a good balance.
Footy Fix: Don't let the comeback fool you, Freo have been worked out