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Topics - townsendcalling

17
Robert Heatley Stand / VFL Bye
Not a great time for the VFL to have a bye!! We needed to get a game into Fisher, more work into Kemp and Carroll and possibly some limited game time for Charlie and McGovern.  Now it’s all put back another week.😡
18
Blah-Blah Bar / For Podcasters
For the 50 yo+ amongst us who were ‘radio heads’ in the 60s, 70s and 80s, there’s a podcast that may be of interest. ‘Pilots of the Airwaves’ chats to the old jocks of the day about their ‘days in the sun’ and some of their unique experiences. Lee Simon, Ric Melbourne, Greg Evans, Peter Meehan, Liz Sullivan, Denis Scanlan etc etc.(Declared vested interest...through all podcast outlets!!)
19
Blah-Blah Bar / Making Their Mark
Just watched the first 35 mins before heading off to work today.  It will be compelling watching!!

There are 7 episodes, all up and ready to be watched.  It's through Amazon / Prime and if you don't haver an account 'do yourself a favour' and take out a 7 day free trial and O D on it this weekend!!

I'm sure when Amazon contacted the various clubs and players to take part, they had no idea that they would be documenting a genuine piece of AFL history....fell on their feet!!
21
Robert Heatley Stand / Best 22 in 21
Always interesting to see who the scribes believe are our best 22, with all things being equal.

Rebecca Williams (Herald Sun) has put her thoughts on paper.......

BEST 22 FOR NEXT SEASON:

FB: Lachie Plowman, Liam Jones, Caleb Marchbank

HB: Sam Docherty, Jacob Weitering, Adam Saad

C: Marc Murphy, Ed Curnow, Sam Walsh

HF: Jack Martin, Charlie Curnow, Jack Newnes

FF: Zac Fisher, Harry McKay, Eddie Betts

FOLL: Tom De Koning, Patrick Cripps, Zac Williams

IC: Sam Petrevski-Seton, Mitch McGovern, Will Setterfield, Levi Casboult

Interesting the omissions......Silvagni, Dow, O’Brien, Kennedy, Stocker, Kemp, Newman, Pittonet, Cunningham, Williamson, Gibbons, Cotrell.  Also, no room for Lachie Fogarty, Corey Durdin, Luke Parks, Jack Carroll along with Ramsay, Honey and Philp.

Whether you agree with the selected 22 or not, the depth is looking pretty good.

 
22
Blah-Blah Bar / It’s Christmas Day!!!
Just wondering if  the big fella can fit a premiership cup under a tree???  Merry Christmas to all and don’t forget the staple fare on Christmas night after a big day...National Lapoons  Christmas Vacation!! 
24
Blah-Blah Bar / Eddie Nowhere
Been a big week for Eddie, his club totally screwed up the trade period (and their medium recruiting) and he got ‘boned’ by Triple M!!  The most interesting aspect of these 2 incidents is how the spin doctors are rolled in to smooth the waters!

“ Eddie McGuire and Luke Darcy say family tragedies helped inform their decision to walk away from Triple M’s Hot Breakfast show.

Darcy’s father, former VFL footballer David Darcy, passed away on August 1. McGuire’s mother Bridie died two days later.”

Why did it take four days to come up with this?? Because the true stories of crap ratings and the McGuire / Darcy feud came out first!!
25
Blah-Blah Bar / Friday Night Footy Show
I must admit this year I have tuned into the Sunday Footy Show and have quite enjoyed the format and the balance between footy reporting and 'light entertainment.'

However Friday night showed why 'The Footy Show' died in the ar$e to nothing in the finish and was very ordinary viewing. Shane Crawford is not funny and Brownless goes stupid around him. Old gags repeated and repeated over again and the feigning of surprise over heavily rehearsed segment is an insult to the audience.

Front Bar.......tick,   Sunday Footy Show.......tick   the other pathetic attempt....thumbs down!!
26
Blah-Blah Bar / Teenager in the 70’s?
If you were a teenager in the 70s you might be interested in a podcast I came across ‘Pilots of the Airwaves’ where old DJs chat about the ‘good old days‘ of 3DB, 3XY, 3KZ, 3UZ etc. This week it’s Lee Simon talking about XY and Rocktober....(used to be the best month of the year!)
27
Robert Heatley Stand / We Go In And Bat For Cripps
Carlton will again raise Patrick Cripps’ treatment with the umpires this week after footage emerged of him being regularly mauled by North Melbourne midfielders in the victory over the Roos.

Carlton indicated on Monday they have had regular communication with the umpires about Cripps’ treatment, with his lack of free kicks at stoppages to be on the agenda again this week.

The Herald Sun understands the issue of Cripps being stopped from getting to the ball by players with their back to the stoppage is of particular concern.

Cripps did not get a free kick when tackled to the ground by Jed Anderson at a stoppage, which resulted in a melee that saw him fined $750 for wrestling.

But Carlton was as aggrieved by tactics highlighted by Fox Footy’s David King on Sunday which showed North Melbourne players defending Cripps with their back to the ball.

On several occasions Cripps was effectively tackled by those players with their hands around him as they faced away from stoppages.

Yet Cripps gave away free kicks to the one he was awarded, having been given 15 free kicks for the year and having given away 17.

Carlton champion Mark Maclure told the Herald Sun on Monday if the umpires paid more genuine holding free kicks at stoppages it would help rid the game of the congestion that currently plagues the code.


But he said Carlton’s midfielders also had to give Cripps more protection, which would highlight to umpires his manhandling.


"I am not happy about it. The umpires seem to let it go. What was the umpire doing? At ball ups and boundary throw-ins everyone has their arms around each other.

“We have so many stoppages in 90 minutes of football and so many of them are because the umpires won’t pay a free kick.

“Diesel Williams would have punched his opponent. He would have belted them and the umpire would have said nothing because they would have deserved it but Cripps can’t do that because he would be out for two weeks.

“I think the AFL have a major problem running their game. Why does it take Clarko (Alastair Clarkson) to change the rules with one complaint? Why do we need two ruckmento amble up and we call them out instead of throwing the thing in?


“If two people from one team go up it’s a free kick. How hard is it? We need to simplify the rules for the umpires.”

Carlton coach David Teague admitted it was a challenge that Cripps had been facing for many years.

“Look, you want your ball-winners to be able to go hunt the ball and the opposition are coming out to try to stop him,” he said.

“It’s a challenge. It’s not new this year. Patrick’s been facing that for a while and I love the way he approaches it.

“He keeps hunting the ball and attacking and taking the game on. So to his credit he keeps competing for us and that’s what we need.”

This also needs 'supporter support' #givecrippsafairgo should be plastered by supporters all over social media. Get it out there!!!
28
Robert Heatley Stand / Off to Perth!
I bet Sammo, Crippa, Martin, Fish and The Gov will be keen to put on a show in Perth!  We have a large following in the West and I would think any 'non aligned' supporters would be on our side against the likes of Hawthorn etc
30
Robert Heatley Stand / Next Flag: Carlton or St Kilda?
The Fox Footy Verdict:

JONATHAN BROWN:
I would have to say Carlton. I think St Kilda will go better this year from a ladder point of view but I think the top-end of Carlton looks a lot brighter for the future. When you’re looking at winning premierships you are looking at the top-end talent that you’ve got on your list and I have to say Carlton wins that battle. I think they’ve done a pretty good job with their rebuild. They’ve gone down the path of recruiting key position players and key position players take time to develop but it’s important because if you can build that spine it gives you good longevity. If they can get Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow going, I think their key defenders are pretty strong. It’s just can they support Patrick Cripps with enough support in the midfield? But their bones to me allows them to go higher than St Kilda. I think Carlton will start to hit their sweet-spot from 2022 onwards.

MATTHEW PAVLICH:
I think Carlton’s younger players and the talent they’ve got through the draft the last few years is superior to St Kilda. So I think longer-term Carlton is better off. But given what the Saints’ strategy has been the last couple of years getting in the likes of Dan Hannebery, Brad Hill, Zak Jones, Dougal Howard and Paddy Ryder, I think their list is a bit more robust to have a go at challenging now. So I think they’re closer than Carlton right now. If you look at the Richmond model a couple of years ago where they brought in the likes of Dion Prestia, Toby Nankervis and Josh Caddy, people at the time were questioning whether it was the right move to go the experienced players. Only the Saints’ hierarchy know if they’ve done the right thing getting these players in. On the surface it’s a bold move going to all these older experienced players and trying to make it work, but I can understand what they’re trying to do.

GERARD HEALY:
The Blues. They’re taking the slow path and the constant build and they’ve still got a really good trade hand coming up in the next couple of years. They’ve got some serious magnets in place. They need to keep working big time on their midfield, including ruck stocks. But I think they will be rewarded in time for their patience. It’s fair to say it will be exciting to see what the Saints’ approach does and you’d expect them to have a significant lift over the next year or two. But the concern is they’ve got one pick in the top-50 in the next two years. So the only way they’re going to now bolster their chances is through free agency. If they can pull a trick or two there then they may jump up and give themselves a chance. But the one thing they would want to avoid is getting stuck in that middle clump of teams, one or two legs away from being a genuine contender. They’ve recruited for now but they’re going to have to pull a couple of masterstrokes to find another level once this level has played out.