I think if Grimes is out then Balta has to play KPD which means Miller needs to stay in and spend some time as second ruck.
Arse on fire tonight
Gibcus isn’t what he was earlier in the season. He looked tired and off the pace recently I reckon. Didn’t set the world on fire in the reserves today either.
nah thats not it need the one where he is placing 3 cups down onto the punt road turf
I can live with his conversion rate if his scoring output increases to numbers like 7.13
every week.
No unforced changes after that win surely. Keep it rolling.
Welcome backBeen too busy to post for weeks, set myself for a big 'last chance saloon' Sunday today...would we look like a finals side; which dearly loved legend could we potentially be seeing for the last time; would the return to the 'G spark some improved footy; would we kick for goal like the Ghost of Chaos yet again; could we usher Shedda into Tiger immortality with a gutsy win against a finals side the way he deserved?
Was feeling pretty flat at half-time. All the mercurial freakshow Brion players doing what they literally never do all at once. On our turf, where they never do that.
Then the game got all 'Richmondy.'
A curious, recently evolved (and well deserved) sporting term whose definition can be both as obvious as simply witnessing it, yet as elusive to capture in words as describing 'terroir', 'momentum' or 'umami.'
Or a degree in Boltonology.
We clawed back clearances, crunched every contest and covered captains. Yes, I did just see KMac playing lock-down medium defender on Motorbike Charlie before we switch to Rioli to make him even more anonymous and yep, OK, there's Miller taking a stint in the ruck. As we owned the 'G. Full ground, full game, business time of year, Tiger brand strangulation. You can't buy a goal here this half. Terroir, momentum, umami. Shades of 2017 with all the pent up, WTF, ripped off events of this recent lead up to finals. Flowing over.
They say great clubs unearth 3-4 good/very good players a year to guarantee their future place as contenders. It's a rare privilege to watch half a dozen absolute champions worthy of being called that in every era, make their way with dignity toward retirement in the next year or two while you also get to see as many obviously quality Tiger Cub debuts of the kind we have this year.
And so, onto the players.
Hard to go past Shai. The words of our recently retired immortal, Lambo, have rung in my ears frequently over recent weeks: 'I never thought I'd see two in my career.' The legendary, game turning deeds of Dusty are the headline story of our recent past, and yet, with the extra 'strings to the bow' overhead pack marking and raw, game breaking pace we've seen from Shai while he's still building to his peak...who could argue that a decade from now he won't be regarded the better, more complete player? Not me. I do know I'll cherish every game they play together between now and then.
Clearly BOG today, somehow blew maybe a dozen opportunities while he created them at will. Not quite 'on'. Phenomenal. Odds-on to play the greatest game of football ever played at some time over the next few years. Bookmark it. Pray for a hundred in a row. Anything is possible.
Lynch is seldom in my best couple, got to put that partly down to bias based on what he is paid for what he delivers, but today, once again, he stood tall when a season was on the line. No right to do what he did so fresh back from injury - 2nd half he fair dinkum humiliated Andrews, yet again. Been in ominous form all year, just have to keep him on the park. Looked like he was coming out of a trance to celebrate with teammates after that longest set shot, just beautiful to watch.
Shouldn't 'other Noah' have been kicking a dozen a week in the VFL? You say to yourself, 'gee, footy's a funny game' a couple of decades back, then in hindsight you laugh at how much you'll overuse that statement year after year, even applied to the footy club you know best. Kid roves, fights and scraps at ground level somewhere up near as well as any midget pest forward we've had, when he's not pulling off a 'watch out Fritsch' medium forward marking coup or flushing set shots from way downtown. Waaaaay downtown. Doing it too often against whoever comes opposition to be a flash in the pan, the kid has a lot to build upon. What a wonderful surprise apparently out of nowhere - a <10 game match-winner who got a belated crack at a senior game mostly through injuries. Huh? Might line up in a final in a few weeks time with 'other Noah' billed pre-game as a 'star in form.' Footy's a funny game.
Sonsie was way more scripted - the kid screams long career, high level contributor and that was clearly evident at VFL level. And billed as a steal in a draft I suspect we'll be celebrating long and hard in years to come. Of all the comparisons, I see a very young Cotch in his playing style. That innate ability to find space, time the tank he has at present to impact contests at will and be a step ahead of the game with positioning and football intelligence - he's such an exciting prospect.
Plenty to like with what Miller's serving up so far this year, between he, Biggie and Gibcus, we've rarely been better placed to cover Grimesy while we need to - at this point I assume there's nobody still debating the merits of bringing The Fist onboard for a bag of CCJ's?
Meatball blessed us with his usual crucial contribution, Cotch had a really good 2nd half which I thought could easily be overlooked, Nank was at his 'whiff of September' workmanlike best, as was Kmac and Shedda was more than serviceable in his milestone, glimpses of peak-career touch at times. Looked like he had a day that was right up there in his special footy moments and it was a joy to see.
Loving Dan Rioli's progress down back, hard to see at this point how he won't evolve to more than fill the massive boots Bach left behind.
Arguably the most pleasing thing was that of maybe a dozen players we'd usually mark down for decent/good games in a win against a finals side, they were below or well below expected output over the four quarters with a lot of scope for improvement.
We really haven't got close to putting together the kind of full game, full side performance we're capable of yet this year, which would be yet another similarity to 2017 at a similar stage. And now we head to Adelaide yet again late in a season with everything on the line, talk about deja vu.
Whatever happens over the next few weeks, be it a finals campaign or another year reflecting on what might have been with a different umpiring fraternity, league administration, injury and fickle luck, I'll walk away fully satisfied about the fact we've given our vets every opportunity to play out their careers with the ultimate success as their goal every week and somehow simultaneously managed to unearth a disproportionate number of seriously good debutants.
Come what may, that's deliciously 'Richmondy.'
