Roar Guru
Joined March 2014
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Young man from the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, loves his sports.
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R1: Tricky way to kick off the program and It is hard to bet into. PRINCETON AWARD will need luck from back in the…
R1: Hoping the track plays fairly because if it does I think DON CORLEONE will be hard to beat in the opener. I loved…
Another weekend of racing is upon us. Here are my tips for Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes Day at Sandown Park this Saturday, 4 February. Race…
2022 was a case of close, but no cigar, for the Blues. They saw themselves in the top four after nine games, and in…
We've reached another decider: the 2022 grand final between the Sydney Swans and the Geelong Cats. There are plenty of sub-plots to this one.…
The Spring Carnival is coming quickly and The Mounting Yard is back in action! Over the next few weeks, we will be giving out…
Patrick Dangerfield is, without doubt, one of the best players I’ve seen when at his bullocking and speedy best. His resume speaks for itself:…
It’s time for the AFL to take head injuries seriously, because as we have seen with the umpire dissent rule, only severe punishments will…
At the midway point of the season, everyone has formed an opinion of who is the best team in the competition, and who the…
Carlton slipped out of the top four on Sunday after a narrow defeat against the old enemy Collingwood, but they didn’t lose an admirer…
In this article, I will analyse who I consider to be the main contenders for this year’s AFL premiership. I will analyse their strengths,…
This is what I learned from the weekend's footy action. 1. The Blues are good, but top-four talk needs to settle The Carlton faithful are…
North Melbourne are into their third year of a complete rebuild and as you would expect, the last two years have been nasty for…
The West Coast Eagles have gone into each of the last two seasons amongst the premiership favourites, yet have failed dismally considering their lofty…
It’s been a miserable few years for the Carlton faithful. Finishes of 13th, 11th, and 16th are certainly not what any club strives for.…
In the very first edition of my AFL season previews, we’re going to be covering Essendon. In these previews, we will talk about each…
I write this on a sunny Melbourne Friday afternoon. It’s 31 degrees today, the crickets are a couple of hours away and the bustling…
The Ashes move to the mighty Adelaide Oval for the second Test match and arguably, it is the most intriguing clash of the series.…
The AFL draft has been completed for another year. Before I go any further with this piece, I would like to say that I…
The third running of the All Star Mile will take place this Saturday and it will head to the Valley for the first time,…
I understand people having that opinion on the Giants, but we won’t know until the second half of the year and there’s no doubt they have the ability to challenge.
The problem with the Eagles last year was consistency, and I blame the majority of that on hunger. They should have more of that this season and their best football is as good as anyones.
And, if not the doggies, then who?
Geelong 2020 season preview: Like clockwork, finals are on the agenda again at Kardinia Park
The way I look at is this:
Richmond – Very good chance at winning again and I think they are clearly the best team in the league.
GWS – Made the grand final with a host of injuries to some of their best players. Another year older, should have belief now and look hard to beat.
West Coast – Tim Kelly is a huge get for them as their biggest issue was the midfield last year. They’ll have more hunger this year and that bodes well.
Western Bulldogs – There’s always a team that jumps up to the top 4 and they look to be it. Brilliant midfield and all they need is a few players to lift and they’ll find themselves there.
Collingwood and Geelong are very close. Had the Pies pipping them.
Geelong 2020 season preview: Like clockwork, finals are on the agenda again at Kardinia Park
I don’t think there is anything wrong with hack kicking it out. It’s used a lot in the modern game and in most cases is actually a good tactic, especially under bad conditions.
My Criticism of guys like Treloar and Adams is that when they are on their own, they still butcher it a fair bit. I don’t often see the likes of Bont, Macrae, Dangerfield, Selwood, Duncan, Coniglio, Kelly or Whitfield miss easy targets under minimal pressure.
Western Bulldogs season preview: Dogs to come out snarling
Yeah, I agree with most of that. Hill and Jones were brilliant recruits and were exactly what you needed at the time. The midfield depth will probably rely on some of the younger players lifting like Clark and Coffield.
St Kilda season preview: More of the same expected for the Saints
I don’t think he will play many games and that’s why I glossed over him, but I should have had him in the best 22.
St Kilda season preview: More of the same expected for the Saints
Agree here, to be honest – maybe play him off a wing?
Western Bulldogs season preview: Dogs to come out snarling
Don’t you think that McLean gets a game because of his speed? He is pretty quick and I think that’s why he is preferred over Wallis at least. McLean also kicked 14 goals last year and I think he has more scope for improvement than Wallis and Libba do.
Yeah, looking at the side I concede Shache will miss the best 22 in round one. You can’t go overly tall and as you’ve stated before, whichever one of Wallis and Libba get a game, they have the ability to be good for a couple of goals and Schache doesn’t really do much more than that anyway.
Western Bulldogs season preview: Dogs to come out snarling
Not sure what you mean regarding “your top three mids all contain players who can kick out”?
Western Bulldogs season preview: Dogs to come out snarling
Richards – I agree that he has bad awareness but I think out of all the teachable things in football, that’s one of the easiest as it probably just comes with experience as well. He’s a pretty good kick, he’s quick and he can win the ball well. With those attributes in the modern game, he should be able to be at least a solid B grade player in a good side.
Libba and Wallis – I didn’t have either of them in my 22 obviously but I definitely don’t think both can play in the same team. Dunkley is a ton better than both of them and I think McLean serves a better purpose in the side. The most goals Libba has kicked in a season is 14 and Wallis 20. That’s hardly great and they both lack foot speed which is important in the modern game.
Regarding Cordy and Young, I just gave the spot to Cordy because he seems to be a permanent fixture in the team. The lack of a good second key defender could hinder the Bulldogs if one or both of them don’t improve this season.
Western Bulldogs season preview: Dogs to come out snarling
Do you not think the Carlton midfield is slow?
Maybe it was a bad use of the statistic, however, there is a big difference than when West Coast moves the ball quickly and get it into a forward line of Kennedy and Darling, compared to when Carlton get it into McKay and Curnow.
It’s obvious watching Carlton that they struggle to spread from the contest.
Carlton Blues season preview: Cool your finals hopes
Respectfully disagree there, Peter.
Collingwood has an aging Pendlebury and Sidebottom as their best midfielders and then a host of guys with pretty average foot skills, as IAP mentioned, such as Treloar and Adams.
I’m a Tigers man myself and although we have a midfield that gets the job done, it’s the weakest part of our team. Dusty (clearly the best player in the game) holds it together, while Prestia, Cotchin and Graham are good players.
I think the best three midfields are Giants, Dogs and Cats.
Western Bulldogs season preview: Dogs to come out snarling
How have I selectively used stats that verify my argument? Isn’t that what everyone would do when pointing out a weakness in a team?
I haven’t been stubborn about criticism either, look above and you will see that I haven’t.
Carlton Blues season preview: Cool your finals hopes
That’s a fair enough view if you are taking the half glass full approach Macca, which I’m sure most Carlton supporters are.
As I said, I’m not completely writing him off or anything, but I think he needs to improve dramatically coming into his third season.
Carlton Blues season preview: Cool your finals hopes
I don’t pay any attention to Champion data and I did watch it. It’s still been put up on the Carlton website as a fluff piece regarding a player that simply isn’t good at AFL level.
How am I wrong?
Carlton Blues season preview: Cool your finals hopes
We are going off a news article put up by the Carlton website? I highly doubt they are going to say their own players are no good
Carlton Blues season preview: Cool your finals hopes
Regarding Dow – I still think he had a bad season. Most of my mates are avid Blues fans so I watch them most weekends. I understand he was a second-year player and there is a stack of improvement potentially to come, but his decision making and poor foot skills were the most concerning part of his game. I don’t question his ball-winning ability at all.
Carlton Blues season preview: Cool your finals hopes
Levi Casboult isn’t good defensive depth. Play him against the likes of Riewoldt, Lynch, Kennedy, Darling, Cameron, and Brown and he will get beaten with ease if the delivery into the forward line is okay. You’re backing up my claim of the Blues having no defensive depth by bringing his name up into the discussion.
Cunningham doesn’t look fast when he is playing so I don’t think it’s obvious, but I should have looked into how fast some players were admittedly. Do you think the Blues will play him predominantly in the midfield?
I didn’t mention O’Brien and Dow because I don’t think they’ll be in the side and you can’t talk about each player. Dow was terrible last season and I don’t think he improved too much when the rest of the team did in the second half of the season. O’Brien could play senior games but I doubt he plays in the first few rounds providing everyone is fit. The only player he could replace is Jack Newnes.
Carlton Blues season preview: Cool your finals hopes
I understand what you are saying regarding my use of the entire season’s stats, but I think it is important to have a larger sample size.
Most caretaker coaches have honeymoon periods with a playing group and I don’t think it would be realistic to think that Carlton will play all season this year as they did in the second half of 2019.
I agree regarding the competition being closer outside of the top four also. There will be at least eight teams having a chance to play finals late in the season, but I think the likes of Sydney, Essendon, Hawthorn, and Geelong have more experience and that’s what will get them into September.
Carlton Blues season preview: Cool your finals hopes
Doesn’t that tell you that more than just the coach is the problem?
LoGuidice, Pratt, Silvagni and Judd are huge issues at that football club.
The fish rots at the head at Ikon Park
Fair call there for the most part James.
I tend to disagree that Dow, in particular, is still looking like a good prospect. He just can’t kick the footy. Blues supporters would be hoping it’s decision making that is letting him down because if it isn’t, they’ve wasted another top-five pick. Weitering looks scared when I watch him at the moment. It’ll be very interesting to see how they go under a new coach.
Regarding his GWS years – I’d argue anyone could have done that with the selections he had. He still got a few horribly wrong (Jonathon O’rourke at number two, Lachie Plowman at number three, Kristian Jaksch at number twelve, Tom Boyd at number one).
The fish rots at the head at Ikon Park
I don’t get why you keep saying people love potting Carlton all the time? I couldn’t care less to be honest about Carlton, I actually don’t mind them as a club. I’ll call it as I see it though, and will never apologize for that.
Also, I don’t think anyone is saying you are wrong for thinking you have improved. People just have differing opinions. I’ll ask you the same question I asked Macca, do you think Carlton are the worst team in the competition?
Brendon Bolton and Stephen Silvagni are dead men walking at Carlton
Clearly they haven’t read my “biggest Losers” thread from a few weeks ago Dingo, where I specifically pointed out Melbourne.
Brendon Bolton and Stephen Silvagni are dead men walking at Carlton
You’re clearly unhappy to hear some truths spoken about the blues, so I’ll stop there.
I did my research.
Brendon Bolton and Stephen Silvagni are dead men walking at Carlton
Them two will help the team but is it enough to improve them as much as others are going to improve like Hawthorn, Sydney and potentially Melbourne and St Kilda?
What was Heppell’s excuse for the year before that?
Essendon 2020 preview: The Bombers won't be flying upwards in 2020