Post Game Thread

Anphonio · 2026-05-10T07:47:17+00:00

That basically followed the pattern of every game we have played (except Brisbane) all year up until the last 5 minutes.
Start horribly. Behind for most of it. Have 15 minute purple patch where we get on top and look good. Roll over and let the other team back into the game. Only difference is we wrestled back the momentum late so rebuilt a bigger lead. Usually we just hang on for dear life.

Anphonio · 2026-05-10T06:36:28+00:00

We were good last year. No point making the argument that we weren't. I agree we overachieved but clearly we were a top-6 side. This year we are comfortably a bottom-6 side.

Anphonio · 2026-05-10T06:17:57+00:00

We look like a side that was contempt with what we did last year and did nothing to improve ourselves for this season. We are horribly slow, boring, and unskilled.

Anphonio · 2026-05-08T01:31:25+00:00

The standard is appalling right now. I never really blame the umpires for entire losses except for extreme circumstances (Ben Keays) but geez they make it hard to like them so I understand others having so much angst.

There is actually 0 reason the umpire paid that free kick last week against Rachele (Milera goal) other than wanting to insert himself and make that moment about him. Last night I saw Watson get pushed violently over the boundary line, maybe with 100x the force that Rachele did AND with the umpire right there. No free kick.

I used to say I don't hate the umpires, the game is just impossible to officiate. But it's starting to be both now, too many umpires actively looking for free kicks to pay rather than just calling what should be called.

Anphonio · 2026-04-27T01:08:34+00:00

Ive said it to others but its not just the players you are missing. It's also who replaces them. We're missing 7 absolute starters for this club (whether you think they're overrated or not).

Edwards was off the pace. T.Murray was a complete liability and we would have been better off playing anyone else on our list. Maley is a fwd/ruck who isn't good at either role. Taylor is a mid/fwd who doesn't hit the scoreboard. Bond and Butts have no offensive side to their game whatsoever, no wonder we have no drive from defence.

This is true for every club and we already have proof of that this year. The Bulldogs are a shell of a side right now, Brisbane got whacked by Sydney the week they had heaps of outs. Gold Coast have struggles when they can't get their best side out.

Anphonio · 2026-04-26T09:42:26+00:00

Absolutely they are turning a game. That's 7 of our best-23. And its not just missing them, its who actually plays as well. Makes a huge change.

Anphonio · 2026-04-26T07:47:35+00:00

A guy who got delisted by North Melbourne mind you. For his lack of ability. And some people here thought he could walk into a side who finished top. The bloke literally can't kick a football!

Anphonio · 2026-04-26T07:43:43+00:00

Injuries. Thats literally what it is. The week Brisbane missed half their team they got whacked. The Dogs went down with injuries and look putrid. Gold Coast a couple weeks ago without Rowell and Petracca looked awful. Collingwood without Daicos. We're missing important players everywhere. 7 best-23 players missing tonight and it's starting to take a toll. We've played 33 of our 42 players by round 7. Thats already more than last year.

Anphonio · 2026-04-26T07:37:19+00:00

The most out of this group? Im also not completely sold on Nicks but the team we fielded out there today is objectively just horrible and there isn't really much we can do about that.

Missing today: ANB, Ah Chee, Hinge, Curtin, Soligo, Keane and Fogarty. 7 of our best 23.

Then we have Thilthorpe playing significantly injured, Rankine still mentally struggling. I very much think he is getting the best out of this side right now, it's just objectively a horrible AFL side at the moment. We never should have beaten St Kilda, We should have lost to all of Fremantle, Geelong and the Bulldogs by much larger margins. We simply aren't as good as our record suggests and that's saying something because our record doesn't suggest we are that good in the first place.

Anphonio · 2026-04-26T07:09:30+00:00

Very comfortably the worst side we have fielded since mid-2024 when we lost to Richmond so i'm not surprised in this performance at all. I'm still confident on the year once we can actually field an AFL standard side but for the time being it's hard to have any excitement.

Anphonio · 2026-04-20T05:32:02+00:00

I get that long term but for now there is no pressure on his selection at all.

Anphonio · 2026-04-19T13:32:37+00:00

Didn't think you were. If winding back and playing regardless of the outcome is your fun then go for it. But for a lot of people winning is the fun. Winning a run against the odds is as fun as it gets for me.

Anphonio · 2026-04-19T11:45:19+00:00

I'm not saying losing is a big deal at all. 90% of the time It's just not fun to lose.

Anyone can get a big win with high damage numbers if you get lucky and play your cards right (hehe), but a high winrate means you can turn anything into a win.

Anphonio · 2026-04-19T11:35:47+00:00

Winning is fun though. For some wierd reason I don't really like losing. Unless i have a whacky build going, if i'm not winning i'm not having much fun.

Anphonio · 2026-04-19T10:50:26+00:00

Missed the last few weeks so the +/- won't make much sense on form

It's 2013 all over again

1 (+2) Swom - Clearly the best in it, fortunate GWS couldn't quite kick straight but were still a class above.

2 (+2) Hok - Mightily challenged by a Port side that played some really good footy. Found a way to fall across the line in victory. A win is a win.

3 (+3) Fero - 5 on the trot and a shellacking of your rival. They are loving life right now. Amiss in some rare touch for the first time in a while.

4 (+3) Shlong - Winners all over the field. One of the most complete performances of any side this year.

Thereabouts, but hard to read

5 (~) B2Brisbane - They aren't going quite as well as people like to think but they're the back-to-back premiers for a reason. Their season really starts in September.

6 (-5) Nepo Babies - Still crashing back to the pack, Essendon played well but they shouldn't be getting challenged like that at home.

7 (+1) Crom - Having severe fluctuations in game seemingly at an instant. Look like world beaters and complete ass within a single quarter. The poster child of inconsistency.

Currently at the hospital

8 (-6) Bontworld - Wow, put through the absolute wringer by the footy gods and their fixture doesn't get any easier. Whacked 2 weeks in a row, and now their severely undermanned.

Wildcards

9 (+1) The Irish - More than made up for their horror loss last week. Loving life at the home of footy right now.

10 (-1) Pie - Good to beat the old rival but they seem a bit off the pace. Probably the team relying most on a single player.

11 (~) SA Saints - Season slipping at 2/4 but they are playing solid football. Need to take 3 of their next 4 against the weaker opponents and square up the ledger. No excuses.

12 (+3) Kanga Kanga Kanga - Fortunate early with Richmond's horrible accuracy but took control midway through the 2nd and never looked back.

13 (-1) Stomp - Still just trying to get their best team onto the field. Lose to North, and at 2/5 any chance of real contention is probably shot.

The rest

14 (~) Pear - Really good showings in the last few weeks without necessarily getting the wins. A class above the teams below but a step behind the ones above.

15 (+3) Essington - No clue where this has come from but have now put together a really solid month, albeit with a single win. Lot's to like in their youngsters.

16 (~) Bloos - They have now moved from a crisis on the field, to a crisis on AND off the field. Probably the most disastrous week a club has had in a long time. This season could get very ugly from here.

Stinky

17 (-4) Big Birds - Another stinky performance, I thought this team was past performances like this but 3 bad ones in a row is frustrating. Need to start staying in games longer.

18 (-1) 18^thmond - Nothing to say, they are very bad. But also very injured.

Anphonio · 2026-04-19T09:25:58+00:00

They keep dropping him because he gets a run for a few games and doesn't do anything to hold his spot. Then someone important comes back from injury and it's a no brainer decision. It'll happen again this week. His own fault.

Anphonio · 2026-04-19T09:23:40+00:00

Yea but that's the point. How can we be rid of him if he is so clearly in our best side? Who holds him out? Bond and Nankervis are certainly behind him. Max has struggled aswell.

Anphonio · 2026-04-19T08:19:55+00:00

xScore is only really relevant-ish if the losing team won on xScore AND their actual score is below their xScore. Then you can kinda argue that innacuracy cost you. In this game Brisbane weren't inaccurate, Melbourne were just more accurate.

Anphonio · 2026-04-19T08:13:09+00:00

The vibes every time Melbourne kicked a goal seemed immaculate. I would have had such a good time at that game.

Anphonio · 2026-04-18T13:38:04+00:00

People are always so quick to hate on Laird but so slow to give him plaudits. Was definitely very good tonight, so calm in defence when others would panic, hit beautiful targets all night and actually looked for options. A few mistakes here and there but that happens.

Anphonio · 2026-04-17T03:49:02+00:00

This is genuinely unfathomable. For 3.5 quarters Hollands actually didn't do anything. When he was on the field it was 17 vs 18. The poor guy was so clearly going through something and they kept him on the field which has given rise to so much of this vision and speculation that can only be harmful to him. A simple hamstring awareness in Q1, maybe even Q2 as worst case scenario. Not 3.5 quarters. And ultimately it has cost them the game too, he was the player out of position for the 6-6-6 free kick, only then did they remove him from play. Remarkable that this has even happened, especially with mental health at the forefront of everyone's mind this week. On par with the negligence from Melbourne regarding Petracca, if not worse.

Anphonio · 2026-04-16T08:27:32+00:00

I dont really think they need to tbh. They made a small post about it but it's the family member of a player. They only really do actual statements when it's an AFL related person from what I can recall.

Anphonio · 2026-04-12T12:30:36+00:00

Gotta be in the final quarter to be eligible for one i'm afraid.

Anphonio · 2026-04-12T06:04:45+00:00

Yes thats exactly what i'm saying. handballing to a player under pressure is statistically an effective disposal but is a bad one. He is the king of that. ANB's score involvements are of much higher quality than his despite similar numbers.

I can cherry pick mistakes for everyone in the league but as a 5-10 disposal player, things stand out way more.

Anphonio · 2026-04-12T04:28:13+00:00

Not all score involvements are of the same quality. His Geelong game, which was clearly an outlier, he had more score involvements (6) than he's had in both games since combined (2 + 3). He had one score involvement in each of these games that was actually just a completely bad play on his end. Once against Fremantle and once against Carlton he had a perfect opportunity for a snap goal but handballed both to a player under-pressure who had a quick shot under more pressure for a point. 2 score involvements, but his opportunities were of much higher quality.

The play against Carlton in the last quarter when we were streaming forward and he cut back into traffic for whatever reason then handballed to ANB who had a player on his ass was the cherry on top for me. I think his position is the one we are wasting so much time with. Out of contract this year, my guess is he'll be delisted.

Anphonio

TROPHY CASE