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,…
This isn’t about Dustin Martin. Obviously, you’ve got some weird issue with him so we won’t discuss that further.
Also, I never called Cerra a mug. I said that he was a good player and that he will undoubtedly be one of their best players? I’m just saying I don’t think he’s an inside midfielder. I expect the Blues to play him more as an inside midfielder this year so we’ll see how he goes.
2022 AFL season preview: Can Vossy take the Blues back to the promised land?
since 2015?? How come it’s 2022 and they’re without a finals appearance?
I would argue the recruiting has been just average at best.
2022 AFL season preview: Can Vossy take the Blues back to the promised land?
Cerra is an inside midfielder who can’t win a clearance then? He averaged the exact amount of clearances as Martin did last year who you are saying played 15% time in the midfield. Martin had a very down year (can’t blame him too be honest).
The year before that he averaged 2.1 clearances a game and only averaged eight contested possessions per game last year. If he is playing as an inside midfielder, he’s not winning enough hard ball.
2022 AFL season preview: Can Vossy take the Blues back to the promised land?
Cerra a better midfielder than Martin? Fair enough then…
I disagree that Cerra is an inside midfielder, but time will tell!
2022 AFL season preview: Can Vossy take the Blues back to the promised land?
Thanks for the feedback. Will just answer with a couple of points.
3) I don’t think Kennedy averaging nineteen disposals is having a break-out year. His numbers weren’t that much higher than what he did in 2018. I agree with a player like Dow needing to become a legitimate AFL player, but it’s hard to have the confidence in him that he is going to do that. Philp and Carroll are still very young and also can’t be relied upon. Hopefully, they do have good careers though.
4) I think indirectly you are agreeing with me here. I concede you have options, but I don’t think any of them are at the level outside of maybe Durdin and Motlop as proper smalls.
5) Plowman is going to be nowhere near a finals team. I understand he always finishes highly in the best and fairest as the club and coaches no doubt love the selfless role he plays. However, he simply isn’t good enough 1v1 and any good medium-sized forward (or even small forward) will beat him.
6) I think Martin’s constant shoulder issues are a worry, and I’m not sure how you can say it’s just down to bad luck that Curnow and Marchbank have barely played in two seasons.
Also agree on how impossible it is to pick a best 22, but I’ve got it pretty close (hopefully).
2022 AFL season preview: Can Vossy take the Blues back to the promised land?
Is anyone expecting big things from Cox this season? I think he could be a star (not completely sold yet) but he will take at least a couple of years before he is a reliable contributor.
Draper is one I should have probably touched more on. As athleticcaly gifted as any player in the competition but he needs to improve a lot on his actual skills. That should be his main focus all season.
2022 AFL season preview: Can Essendon get back to the finals?
I didn’t have Smith in the team purely because I think Essendon should be moving on from the likes of him. He is 28 now and I don’t think his best football is in front of him considering the injuries he has had. I also don’t think he’s the character you necessarily want leading a young team.
2022 AFL season preview: Can Essendon get back to the finals?
I would have Essendon above a few of those teams and I mean, they’re a realistic chance of making finals considering they’re a very even bunch. Luck with injury and Covid as always will play a big part.
2022 AFL season preview: Can Essendon get back to the finals?
So, basically, to unpack your comment – you Just don’t like Melbourne.
“There’s not much too do down there” is a horrible call.
I’ve been to most of the major sporting grounds in Australia and the SCG is the worst in my experience. Soulless and terrible to view the game there.
Each to their own!
'Sport is this city': What the Boxing Day Test means to me
Without being rude, I’m not sure what the point of this comment was haha. I don’t pay much attention to the “per capita” attendance rates, purely because there’s just more people in Victoria and there’s a lot more to do. Not a lot goes on in South Australia bar sport and going to church on Sundays mate!
'Sport is this city': What the Boxing Day Test means to me
Why do they start the draft at 7:30 PM? Everyone is home by 6:30 PM and if they did it this way, it would be easy to complete the draft?
And do you honestly think the AFL has no control over what is shown on TV, articles that are written? They clearly do. When they want something to go away, it does. Why can’t they use this same logic to make things happen?
It would be 1-2 days of trading. Not a whole week like the trade period. They could actually cut the trade period down by a couple of days if draft night trading was introduced which would also appease lots of people.
The AFL is missing a trick when it comes to the footballing off season
Also agree with this. However, that’s why I stated that the AFL need too invest into allowing us to watch these guys in their junior years. Hell, even broadcast some of the under 16 championships if they need. We don’t follow these players because we can’t, or it is very difficult too do.
The AFL is missing a trick when it comes to the footballing off season
Yeah, I agree with this. I mean, surely it can’t be that difficult? It’s not like clubs aren’t going to be talking all the way up until draft night about the trades and if that’s the case you would expect the players to be in the loop too either say yes/no about the move anyway.
The AFL is missing a trick when it comes to the footballing off season
You were right about the Guineas lol!
The Mounting Yard: Australian Guineas Day preview at Flemington
I think they believe in the talent they have at their disposal Paul, which hasn’t been the case for a long time. That’s what I meant by that anyway.
And fair enough re not wanting them to come good. Each to their own mate. May it be a good game!
Blues versus Demons: Who will be daring to dream after Saturday afternoon?
Respectfully disagree. It’s still not like the general public can go out and do whatever they want and I think any households with more than one TV will probably have it on Fox Footy over the course of the weekend!
Blues versus Demons: Who will be daring to dream after Saturday afternoon?
It’s always the way mate! No worries mate, I’ll be back mid-week hopefully and definitely on the weekend!
The Mounting Yard: All Aged Stakes Day at Randwick preview
Sure is mate. Wish I snapped up the $51 earlier in the week!
The Mounting Yard: All Aged Stakes Day at Randwick preview
Was a good day mate! Sorry, I’ve been writing up this weekends previews/doing my uni assessment so haven’t checked here!
And fair point mate. Would give me some more exposure as well!
The Mounting Yard: Midweek racing at Geelong preview
That we did James!
Regarding Cutler, Townsed and Hibberd to address midfield depth – that is completely shocking midfield depth. Townsed has played his best football at AFL level as a forward. His disposal is poor and he just doesn’t find enough of the ball as a midfielder. Cutler played more as a backman than a midfielder and even then has been relatively poor for his whole career. Hibberd is an unknown quantity but still, he was a rookie draft selection.
Fair enough on Heppell, I’m still unsure about him having more impact but we will soon find out.
I don’t understand your Shiel comment. He has never been a good user of the ball, even at the Giants where he played for seven seasons. The reasoning makes no sense as to why he’s going to use the ball better.
Essendon 2020 preview: The Bombers won't be flying upwards in 2020
I was deciding out of him and Cutler. I’d probably change that selection in hindsight.
Essendon 2020 preview: The Bombers won't be flying upwards in 2020
Personally, I don’t.
I don’t think it will matter if he has a leadership role or not. He’s a very good player but I can’t see him getting much better than he is now. It’s hard to improve kicking skills immensely once you are already in the system and the same goes for being a contested ball player.
Essendon 2020 preview: The Bombers won't be flying upwards in 2020
Yeah, I agree with this. I’ll be very surprised if there isn’t at least some big change to the way the midfield/small defenders are required to play.
Adam Simpson is a very good coach so I have full faith in him pulling the right rein.
2022 AFL season preview: Can the Eagles land back in September?