Review Round 15, 2015 - Brisbane Lions vs Sydney

[Skoob]

This was my first live game of the year and gee I had fun. Really need to go to more games.

Did you end up in "The Cage"?

 

[Bucking Beads]

Did you end up in "The Cage"?

Ha no mate but next game I go it'll be in the GA section.

 

[Skoob]

One thing about Bundy is his haircut always looks like his head flings up.

Reminds me of a thought I had regarding frees. Bundy was denied a couple of high and 'in the back' frees, early. It made me wonder if he has a reputation, and whether the umpires run through things before a game and whether comments like "watch this bloke, he throws his head back" are made. I think that would be rather unfair. Each game, each passage of play, each possession should be judged on its merits. I would hope umpires don't go into a game with a pre-conceived notion of who might or might not deserve a free. I'm sure at a sub-conscious level that would happen, but actually discussing it and deciding such a thing would be unfair, even if a player has a reputation.
For the record, despite Bundy having a bit of a rep for throwing the head, I don't see it as a deliberate attempt to exploit the rules. Any time I've seen him do that, he has actually received high contact, and he may exaggerate the contact or it could be natural. I think if I copped high contact, I would throw my head away from it. It is either there or it isn't.

Adding to other comments that maybe some of our players are doing it more, didn't Rocky himself suggest we should make it more obvious because we seem to miss out on a hell of a lot of frees, where other players have them awarded automatically?

 

[Skoob]

Ha no mate but next game I go it'll be in the GA section.

If you don't mind sitting close to nearly behind the point post, there's usually 1 or 2 seats with us at the front row.

 

[Bucking Beads]

If you don't mind sitting close to nearly behind the point post, there's usually 1 or 2 seats with us at the front row.

I will hold you to that mate. I could be going on my own so finding like minded folk would be good.

 

[John_Proctor]

Just thread through all 10 pages. A lot to get through!

Re:

1. Robbo. Thought he was good. I was right behind 2 of his holding balls and there was just nothing in front of him up the field. Not his fault. Generally for many years I've felt our teams have not been particularly instinctive 'transition' runners when the ball gets turned over we are open to be cut open by the opposing team if they have the ball or don't move quick enough to make Position for our own play when we have the ball. The n Robbo h/b situations were not the only examples in the game.

2. Mcstay. One thing that those saying 'he won't learn it in the neafl' need to consider is that if we had any semblance if kpp depth, even if just our other listed young or average (eg mcguane) available he wouldn't have played every game this year. Yes he looks promising, yes he is averaging a goal a game this season, yes he is capable of kicking 3-4 goals in a game, and can take a solid contested mark each match, BUT we can't keep picking someone who has barely had more than 6-8 posessions, a couple of marks, a tackle a game. Maybe it won't be this week but when freeman is available I'd think mcstay will get given a 'rest'

3. Goodes. I didn't and wouldn't boo him and do think their is a small percentage of racist element to it. Melbourne based fans would be familiar with reasonably regular booing of high profile olayers here. Eg. J brown would get booed by 'home supporters down here reasonably regularly, Carey used to and others. I personally had no problem with the 'war dance' but I dont get the comparison to nfl (or nrl) where touchdowns and tries are often celebrated that way where as in afl high 5's is the norm. I do wonder if another player (say dustin martin) had run over to the sideline slid a finger across his neck and pointed at opposition supporters (in a bogan/bikie 'war dance') what the sanction would have been? The main reason I don't like Goodes is because about 10 years ago he managed to avoid suspension for just about anything he did... In much the same way people are reevaluatin Sam Mitchell after his knee corks and drug sledge over the last month Goodes had a similarly bad run on the field about 10 years ago and got away with it scot free from the authorities but with a bad taste in most fans mouths.

 

[John_Proctor]

4. The Gabba.

First time I'd been. Seemed to me the general admin was quite full but rest of ground was not. Ticket prices seemed to escalatE quickly to me and wonder if a price review is warranted or maybe some more general admin in the toptier...
Obviously a smallish crowd but pretty limited atmosphere when the ball was at the far end (I sat at Main Street behind the goal).
Not that I'm a big 'cheer squad' kind of guy but the fact the club can only get about 10 people in the cheers squad isn't a great sign?
The big screen I could see was tiny and presumably not touched since the ground was upgraded in about 2000. I understand potential expense of full screen rebuild so maybe even just putting a few tv's hanging off the undercroft for the back 10 rows of the lower tier... For comparison Etihad has tv's in the undercroft on the bottom tier and hanging on the roof structure for the top tier.
Also no tv's out on the corridors outside the ground so you lost track of the game when heading out for food/toilet/beer.


Having said all that we get 16800 and people see it as a poor crowd where as our games against, carlton, North, Bulldogs in melbourne this year have drawn about 15-20,000 of which 4000ish are lions fans and those clubs aren't smashed for their shitty turn ups!

 

[The Golfing Lion]

People are free to boo Goodes as I understand people are confronted by Him but frankly I admire him as a footballer but more so for using his profile to push the cause of his people. It is difficult to understand not being indigenous myself and I am conservative in my lean however Goodes has won 2 Bronlows and thus has the spotlight turned on him simply cause he is a great of AFL. He has chosen to be a leader in social change and I reckon it is uncomfortable for him but he just does it anyway. Good on him for making his stance, it was never going to win everyone over but at times people are thrust into a spotlight they can either shy away from or use for a greater good.

 

[John_Proctor]

^ I admire Goodes for his stance on racism, standing up for his people, and using the platform he has to advance it (immeasurably better than fevola using his money to piss away on booze, drugs, women or even others using their profile and money to become property developers or get on the speaker circuit etc)

Can't take away the fact he is a quality footballer, I' likely would have to slot him into a 'team I've seen' from early 90's to now but just haven't always liked the way he's gone about it on field.

 

[PNess]

I can see where you are coming from but to me you are somewhat over-analysing the situation. I think perhaps 1 in a thousand would be booing because they are racists. Those people's actions speak for themselves.

For the rest of us there are plenty of non-race related reasons to boo at the footy. We boo at the umpires, we boo Chris Judd, we boo Elliot Yeo, and yes, at Adam Goodes. Its not because people have a desperate need to feel superior for a few seconds.

Adam is a grown up who gets paid incredibly well to kick a ball. I find his need to dance his war dance and cry and finger point at 14 year old girls makes him somewhat resemble a princess, and therefore I can make fun of him while he is on the football field. It really is theatre, all of it.

Logic barely came into the Goodes booing debate.

I love what the brilliant Trevor Noah says about inadvertent racism - when people jump to assume something is an issue of race is racist in itself.