AFL Grand Final 2021 Grand Final - Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs - Sat, Sept 25 - 5:15pm AWST / 7:15pm AEST

[Nathan Detroit]

How we all feeling about the time slot for the grand final? I still prefer the normal slot but it’s not a normal year so I’m cool with it for now.

It absolutely flat out stinks for us. 2AM start time. The regular time was 9PM on a Friday. We have a big party with Australian meat pies and lots of drinking. Not these last two years. Not sure it matters to the AFL but it sure hinders our efforts to grow the audience over here.

 

[Mercy Seat]

Just saw that Goodwin got shafted and missed out on a speech on the dais. What a **** up. Minor in the scheme of things, but surely a moment he and the club should have got to enjoy.

 

[TylerDurden]

Just saw that Goodwin got shafted and missed out on a speech on the dais. What a fu** up. Minor in the scheme of things, but surely a moment he and the club should have got to enjoy.

Sponsors even more pissed off.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Daniel played all 4 quarters, Bont didn't.

Strangley enough, Bont had more touches in the last than he did in the second or third. Impact on the game was far greater as well.

 

[Dewnior]

Strangley enough, Bont had more touches in the last than he did in the second or third. Impact on the game was far greater as well.

Junk time touches?

 

[Blackhawk42]

Junk time touches?

Was still trying his guts out. Played with a lot of pride on Saturday the Bont. Love how he goes about it.

 

[The hands of stone]

Just saw that Goodwin got shafted and missed out on a speech on the dais. What a fu** up. Minor in the scheme of things, but surely a moment he and the club should have got to enjoy.

Basil was more focussed on himself

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

What did she say to Petracca?

Something like “you’ve waited so long for this!”.

 

[The hands of stone]

The Dogs proved vulnerable in the back half of the season. That was pretty obvious.

Hindsight is always good

Melbourne basically obliterated everyone in the path from 1/2 time in the game down at Geelong.

Dogs wobbled into finals , were very average against the Bombers for a half , scraped past the Lions ( who Melbourne handled easily )
You can argue Port never really showed up .

Looking at that the result was probably predictable

 

[Rushed_Behind]

Something like “you’ve waited so long for this!”.

 

[Big Hotdog]

Agree, ****ing sickening.

"No I did not order cheese with that!"

 

[Big Hotdog]

Watching the replay on and off today - some of the bulldogs one way running is disgusting. And almost all of them guilty

Bailey Smith had some shocking moments. I know his go to is to receive and run but the old adage to go when it is your turn is not in his thinking.

 

[QuietB]

Bailey Smith had some shocking moments. I know his go to is to receive and run but the old adage to go when it is your turn is not in his thinking.

And to make it worse he threw in a good dose of finger pointing.

 

[Yardie]

Basil was more focussed on himself

Friend of mine apologised to an AFL discord chat on behalf of WA before he started talking.

 

[Boot Studder]

Basil was more focussed on himself

He probably thought of it as the start of his re-election campaign!

 

[KermitJagger]

You know, I thought it was pretty poor form to drop 2 players after a 60 point belting of your opponent in the prelim final. One thing I'll never understand about Beveridge is his inability to back a performing team in, reckon he makes more lineup changes than any coach in the league and that's not particularly something you want to be doing in the top 8.

 

[Stratton24]

You know, I thought it was pretty poor form to drop 2 players after a 60 point belting of your opponent in the prelim final. One thing I'll never understand about Beveridge is his inability to back a performing team in, reckon he makes more lineup changes than any coach in the league and that's not particularly something you want to be doing in the top 8.

you know they had two best 22 players out injured who were fit to return?

 

[KermitJagger]

you know they had two best 22 players out injured who were fit to return?

I am aware of that, but how many weeks off did those players have going into a game where preparation is the most important thing? How much value is Cody Weightman over his replacement? He might as well not have played.

If you're going to mess with the continuity of a team it has to be for a player who is definitely going to make a difference, i.e. Cyril in 2014.

 

[BIGHAWK23]

I am aware of that, but how many weeks off did those players have going into a game where preparation is the most important thing? How much value is Cody Weightman over his replacement? He might as well not have played.

If you're going to mess with the continuity of a team it has to be for a player who is definitely going to make a difference, i.e. Cyril in 2014.

Weightman kicked 4 in the elimination final, and Keath is their best defender

Vandameer was a pressure forward and gardener an undersized tall defender

Keath and Weightman gave them more of a chance to win then the others

 

[KermitJagger]

Weightman kicked 4 in the elimination final, and Keath is their best defender

Vandameer was a pressure forward and gardener an undersized tall defender

Keath and Weightman gave them more of a chance to win then the others

Context matters, Weightman didn't kick 4 goals out of individual brilliance.

Again, continuity is important over quality of player to this degree, especially with such limited preparation. Weightman wasn't that much better value over his replacement to warrant dropping Vandermeer, and these things do have impact on how a team performs on game day. Particularly a team who'd just won their prelim by 10 goals.

This isn't just an issue of this Grand Final either, this is a pretty ongoing Beveridge issue where he will make multiple changes most weeks despite comfortable wins.

 

[BIGHAWK23]

Context matters, Weightman didn't kick 4 goals out of individual brilliance.

Again, continuity is important over quality of player especially with such limited preparation. Weightman wasn't that much better value over his replacement to warrant dropping Vandermeer, and these things do have impact on how a team performs on game day.

This isn't just an issue of this Grand Final either, this is a pretty ongoing Beveridge issue where he will make multiple changes most weeks despite comfortable wins.

Scoring matters, and he kicked 4

You cant look at it in hindsight, Weightmans potential impact on the game outweighs Vandameer, hence why he is picked

Limited prep?, he missed 1 game through Concussion, not like it was a soft tissue

Its hardly an issue, they made a grand final

 

[KermitJagger]

Scoring matters, and he kicked 4

You cant look at it in hindsight, Weightmans potential impact on the game outweighs Vandameer, hence why he is picked

Limited prep?, he missed 1 game through Concussion, not like it was a soft tissue

Its hardly an issue, they made a grand final

Mate - he kicked 4 from very questionable free kicks, and due to the amount of emphasis put on those free kicks by the media it was almost guaranteed who wouldn't be getting any of them called for the rest of the finals series.

But yes you're right, scoring does matter. That said, it's a team game, so you back in the team that won their prelim comfortably. He might have only missed a game but it's disingenuous to say that when that 1 game was three weeks, and in the game he'd played prior he'd barely had any impact before going off.

They might have made a grand final this year but it doesn't make it not an issue. It causes problems in the playing group, to the point where a legend of the club in Scott West made public comments on Facebook about it. I've also heard from others close to the club about how frustrating it is for the playing group, particularly those not amongst Beveridge's favourites.

Anyway, it's all academic at the moment because we don't know how it would have gone if he'd kept the team in place. I just feel it's not a good look.

 

[Brant]

We did

Marathon flight in
The usual hour-long flight from Melbourne took Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs two and a half times as long as it should have for their Covid clash at UTas Stadium.

The fly-in fly-out mission was delayed by an hour and a half sitting in the terminal and on the tarmac, but Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said his boys were not fazed by the delay to the shared flight.

Neither club was told why.

Sweet reporting by that journo!

'Marathon Flight'?
I don't think that word means what you think it means...

Gee, imagine having to fly for 2.5 hours

 

[Off The Couch]

Dare I say that Weightman had the 2008 Tom Harley smile rocking before the game and petty as I am, I wasn’t disappointed that he had a shit game

 

[Pinoy Hawk]

Party time.