FEARLESS 2023: Round 7 / Round 8 Reviews – the way forward is to rebuild.
Hi all,
pick your methodology. Not everyone can defy gravity like Geelong…not everyone can offer house and land packages on the Bellarine…like Geelong… so how do we proceed, once we know we’re not in contention anymore?
Hawthorn model 1 – keep adding experienced players to attempt to defy gravity…
Hawthorn model 2 – get rid of all experienced players after realising that model 1 doesn’t work.
Sydney – imitate Geelong for as long as possible, then complain about COLA…and then recruit some young guns…
Richmond – follow Hawthorn model 1…to be fair..they have just won 3 premierships recently so there’s some slack to be granted until Hawthorn model 2 kicks in..
West Coast – win the flag and try to win another one by getting Tim Kelly and then cough up all your draft picks. Keep all your old players, even if on the injured list.
Fremantle – get rid of Ross Lyon, even though he actually proved ok when eventually succumbing to the idea of a rebuild. Recruit a Brayshaw, an old WA family, back home.
North – blame Brad Scott…why would you rebuild two years after backing in yourself to get rid of club legends?
Melbourne – no need for a rebuild, we just won a flag in 2021 and now to win one at the MCG!
Collingwood – blame the old list manager to get rid of surplus $$ and players and then get rid of Bucks and employ Mr Happy as a coach, knowing the Daicos gene pool is active.
GWS – we can’t keep players anyway so we’re always rebuilding.
Gold Coast – shhh! I think we’ve nearly got it working after a decade and $$$ from AFLHQ.
StKilda – employ a knowledgeable midget to coach, having been jilted by Ross Lyon…sack midget, blame Ross Lyon and reemploy 5 years down the track with the players recruited by said midget (before he was set on fire at Mad Monday).
Carlton – cash from the Bank of Mathieson. If that fails, there’s always the Geelong schools, Grammar, College and St.Joeys.
Essendon – employ nice guy/new age coach from well credentialled Tigers? Sack him after he makes the finals. Try to steal Clarko to piss off North and then get North’s old coach (6 Board votes). Stability v Sheedy/Hird ticket (1 vote – K Sheedy)…settle the joint down before Dodorosaurus starts his next recruiting campaign.
Adelaide – bemoan the fact that noone wants to go to Adelaide after a dodgy preseason camp. Pay overs to anyone and then argue for anti-COLA allowance to keep them.
Port – recruit young blokes who want to play and give them good role models and a solid coach…far too sensible! Remind them that stop stop stop rhymes with top top top.
Western Bulldogs – far out dude welcome to Bevo’s world…if blonde flowing locks, headbands and flopping doesn’t do it, then there’s always the APS schools.
Bris-Vegas – Fages is a top bloke and the climate is actually really good all year round. What more do you need, even if Zorko is a nutter! At least Mitch Robinson has retired…
Tasmania…ok who wants to come home?
Cheers FEARLESS
FEARLESS 2023 Round 7…Is the final 8 set? The formline becomes more visible.
Punters by and large thought that St.Kilda would handle Port, given the Saints start to the year. So when the Saints stop stop stopped in the last, the Power had the last laugh and won the 4pts by 7pts. An inspired last qtr by Jason Horne Francis helped Port ignite, despite efforts of Saints Sinclair and Steele. Ken’s men are gaining momentum. SPP, Junior, Chas 2.
Fair to say that Brisbane outscored Fremantle in every qtr, hence a solid 48pt win. Whatever magic Coach Longmuir was able to conjure in 2022 has disappeared even if only temporarily. Brisbane’s forward 50 worked well with Daniher 3 and McCarthy 3 assisted with a handful of mates with 2 each. Andy Brayshaw 30, Young 33 got busy for Freo but Lions too good.
Enter the Toby! Swans hosted the Giants in the battle for the inane marketing tag Cup. The Swans hosted a 4 goal lead into the last, having trailed for most of the 1st 1 /2. Unsung Giant Harry Perryman kicked 2 for the orange tsunami late in the game to bring the Giants within reach but it was only at 31.14 that Toby did what Toby Greene does and kicked the winner!
The Dogs went from strength to strength in their win over the Hawks on Saturday twilight at Marvel. Whilst the Hawks held a 3pt lead at the main break, the Dogs showed their finals credentials with a 7 goal to 2 2nd half to win by 29pts. Hawk Will day continued his good form with 30, but Astronaught took BOG honours with 4 goals and a Jackie Moon headband.
Melbourne kicked 5 goals in 5 minutes to start the MCG game against North. Not that you’d say the game was over at the time in the match but the gulf in class was Grand Canyon-esque. Roos Coach Clarkson has a big job in front of him as everyone knows. What better way to learn from the front row seats against one of the best. Demons by 90pts. Petracca 35,3 goals.
Charlie Curnow took on West Coast in Perth on Saturday night and won by 13pts. 9 goals a big effort for Charlie as his teammates turned up the heat on the Eagles by 108pts. Not a great deal has gone right for Eagles coach Simmo this year, but when the 6 highest stat winners are all Carlton players well…something’s NQR. Acres, Newman 34 each, Eagles Tim Kelly 27.
Geelong looked like they had swapped a hoop on its jumper for some bluegrass on the jumper they wore against Essendon for Farmers match..probably another Sheedy marketing genius masterstroke! Didn’t matter much, Tomahawk gave BZ-T a bath like his own infant son. BS No moves! Tomahawk 8..in keeping with theme, Weed kicked 5 for the Dons. Cats by 28pts.
A tale of two teams as Richmond hosted the Gold Coast at Dimmer’s fave Marvel (Melways Map 42!)…had the Tigers era ended? Were the Suns assuming legit status as a footy club? As if wayward kicking didn’t help the Tigers,,,2.9 at the half. If anything, 2nd half momentum saw the Suns shine bright under the roof. Ben King 4, Noah Anderson 32. Suns won by 24pts
Safe to say that the Crows had Collingwood’s measure for most of the twilight game in Adelaide. Leading for 95% of the game can bring you to that conclusion. Safe to say though the Pies carry the Houdini gene better than any other AFL team. So when Steele Sidecrack kicked a point that finally put the Pies in front…was anyone that surprised? Pies by 1pt.
FEARLESS 2023 Round 8 – the wheat gets slowly sorted from the charf
Carlton hosted Brisbane in a season defining game as to who were the genuine top 4 teams and who were not. And sure enough, Carlton found out that it wasn’t yet top 4 but Brisbane was, at one stage trailing by 42pts before kicking a few late ones after the damage had been done. Bailey and Cameron 4 each. Cerra and Dunkley 33 each. Lions superior by 26pts.
The Eagles flew into Melbourne to tackle the Tigers at a wet MCG, having been shellacked the previous week by the Blues. A competitive first half pleased Eagles coach Simmo, trailing by 9pts at the half. A 10 goal to 4 2nd half by the Tigers led by Shai Bolton, 31, 3 goals iced the game for the Tigers by 46pts. Jones, Kelly, Sheed serviceable Eagles. Allen 4.
Adelaide travelled to cloudy Corio Bay to tackle the reigning Premiers who had rediscovered their mojo. Whilst never out of it, the improved Crows found it hard to keep pace with the Cats, despite the efforts of Dawson 29 and Tex 3. The Cats led from qtr time onwards and yet found the Crows hard to shake. A case of persistence without much success. Cameron 3.
The improved Gold Coast Suns took on Melbourne at Heritage Bank Stadium and led by ball magnet Noah Anderson, 37stats, the Suns nearly pulled off an upset. Whilst the Dees led for most, the Suns managed to get to within 5pts at the final siren. Oliver and Petracca performed their double act, nicely countered by Rosas 4 goals and the improving MacPherson, 30 stats.
GWS skipper Toby Greene was a late out as GWS confronted its poor recent record at Manuka in the ACT. GWS’ Tom Green justified in his own stand/marquee with 38 disposals and 3 goals. Bont and the Astronaut set the tone for the Dogs as did Napoleon Dynamite English in the ruck. Giants came home late, but Naughtons 2 late goals sealed Dogs 21pt win.
The Starlight Dockers (supporting the Starlight Foundation) welcomed Hawthorn onto Optus Stadium, only to turn around and give them a 69pt belting. Maybe The Dockers had turned the corner in 2023! A 31pt Freo lead at the half built on qtr time lead and set up the big win. Luke Jackson a key for Freo with 24stats and 2 goals as did Andy Brayshaw with 2 goals, 34.
The Bombers failed to capitalize on Port’s wayward forward 50 entries, allowing the Power to escape with a 5pt win at the Adelaide Oval. 10 more scoring shots should’ve effected a Port win. Parish and Merrett led the Bomber resistance well, but Port’s new guard of Rozee, Butters and Houston had no problems racking up 25+ stats. Junior Port’s chief culprit 2.3
The Swans at the MCG were the latest grist for the mill of the Collingwood juggernaut as it steamrolled towards finals. An 8pt Swans lead at the main break was the catalyst for the Pies to get cracking with a 7 goal to 1 2nd half, led by the skipper Moore and his bedraggled mane. Brody Mihocek 5, proved the difference as the only multiple goalkicker. Pies home by 29pts.
How does a coach start again after a 90pt shellacking against another potential finalist? Clarko’s Roos went defensive against the Saints in the 1st half much to a mixed reaction from the punters and media. Aided by a wayward Saints attack, Roos kept up pressure for 4 qtrs and, despite losing by 30pts, managed to claw back some credibility. 8.16 ouch! Ziebell 36
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