Whatever you think of the Williams 'incident', one way or another the AFL got it wrong.
There was no free kick paid at the time......so either it deserved a free kick or it didn't. If it deserved a free kick, it didn't get one, so it was wrong. Umpires were wrong. If it DIDN'T deserve a free kick, then how can Henry be fined for it? Tribunal are wrong.
Take it whichever way you like, but there is no scenario where everyone was right, so someone was wrong.
David King wants Williams dropped, not hard enough, poor decision making, being beaten too easily in contests by smaller bodied players ie Stengle and wants coach Voss to validate his call for better defense by making an example of Williams and dropping him to the VFL...not banishing but making a statement. He suggested Binns as a replacement but Im not seeing Binns as a defender at this stage.
Not a good time (player availability wise) to try and make an example of someone....especially given our month of games.
I reckon Vossy definitely would've highlighted what Williams did wrong, but done so behind closed doors. I doubt we'll see another one of them in a hurry.
There’s a bit of a contradiction in your post. A lot of it is about the ‘future’(when it rains, when players return from injury) and what might happen, yet the judgements made on the two-ruck situation were made in the ‘present of 2023’ when there were aspects of both players not up to scratch, and both struggled a bit with injury at stages during the season. Judging in the present is also one of the issues with statistics. They are a measure of the past, (even last weekend’s statistics). A string of good games by a player and those early season statistics can alter dramatically.
We don’t know what will happen in the games to come and a whole lot of variables will come into play. The team we’re playing at ‘present’ may be completely different to the side that takes the field at the end of the year. We may get players back… and/or (perish the thought) we may lose important players. There’s not a lot of point predicting a line-up with a full side to choose from, because that’s a pretty unlikely scenario.
If we do have a full side to choose from, they might as well just give us the cup.
If you have access to a crystal ball that allows us to predict anything other than the now, then let me know.
Otherwise, we can only use previous trends and statistics to give our best guess on what will happen.
For the record i was being a bit broad with my 'full side' comments. I was more referring to a normal injury list of a handful of people.....rather than the umpteen we have now.
The above assertion is just an extension of the media trying to peg Voss on a fixed selection strategy, nobody should be gifted a spot, the MC should not take a formulaic approach. the real world is not like Supercoach.
Week to week MC selections should be based on merit, conditions and the strategy of the day. I hope our MC will be clever enough to analyse and pick the eyes out of the best strategies for each opponent, some weeks we might go tall, some weeks we might go small.
Every week the opposition will try to leverage our deficiencies, if we are predictable it becomes easier for them, like last weekend kicking it on the head of Charlie or BigH who were stuck between 2 or 3 defenders.
Call it what you want, but its simple facts. 30 into 23 doesn't go and someone has to make way.
The players i mentioned will be one of the ones who make way when we get players of the calibre of Saad, McGovern, Cerra.....even Fogarty, Martin, Cuningham, Motlop.....not to mention Docherty, Silvagni next year as well.
That's the thing though Pittonet and Tom 'are' very different ruckmen.
And both would be well within the best 22 at the moment. Would you drop Pittonet or Tom to add 'one of' Cincotta, Binns, Durdin, Owies, Carroll, Cowan, either Hollands etc etc.
Right now, i'd drop Young for Cincotta. Give Kemp the lockdown role and allow Cincotta to cover the intercept role, which adds more run.
When the game starts getting wetter, you'd think about dropping one more tall. We'll wait and see who is out of form at the time. The decision is made easier right now because we don't have Silvagni available, or any other option for 3rd tall.
There was never any doubt about their 'styles of ruck' or that they compliment eachother. The issue was they they were both doing not very much around the ground.....at all. TDK was lacking in ruck area, and performing worse than Silvagni as a forward......but better than Pittonet as a non-ruck option. Pittonet was performing better in the ruck, but not doing enough around the ground.
BOTH of them are not only performing better around the ground, but both are being genuine options around the ground and up forward. Pittonet kicked a goal first game back. TDK kicked 3 last week, and 0.3 this week. I showed stats on pittonets ruck AND around the ground work and how it was the same or better than both rucks combined....and even 2 mids combined in clearances. That kind of form from both of them was nowhere to be seen last year. THAT is what has changed......and thankfully its changed when the cupboard is very bare behind them.
However, Once we start getting players back, if you want to play both rucks in your 22, you are leaving out someone like Kennedy, Cottrell, Hollands (x2), Williams.....etc.
Not sure many doubted him or his ruck ability. You're the one who wanted to leave him out of the side
One of the thing that's really impressive is his use of handball at the moment. He's standing in tackles and dishing it off.
Plenty did and kept saying how useless those stats were and how he does nothing around the ground too.
Can't hear any of that now.
Even i underestimated his abilities.
Its imagine what a player can do when he gets back to full fitness.
My preference is still to play 1 ruck and have another player give a chop out, but that other player needs to be able to hold down another spot on his own merits. Currently, TDK is doing that with the absense of a 3rd tall in Silvagnis mold. The moment TDK drops off up forward is the moment he or Pitto needs to be dropped.
Then its a matter of who you think is best and why.
....and thats the part people cant agree on because different people weigh up different areas differently.
Hmm, maybe, but in particular I'm not so sure the comments in the heat of the moment aren't genuine.
As for having a "soft spot for Carlton", I'll assert it's his and the AFL's purse that is where a strong Carlton gives them a thrill!
I think you're jumping at shadows again or maybe your tin foil hat is too tight.
I'd love to have Dunstall commentate every game as he favours us more than anyone else. He even called out Huddo who used 'we' when talking about the Cats....he is a Geelong supporter in case you didn't know. Kingy was on our side as well. Moons has an unashamed Cats bias, but still saw we got robbed on a few occasions.
Once the second half of the season comes, with players back, heading to a peak I believe we handle anyone. If we want it badly enough this year we can certainly win it. It seems we do.
If its one thing Vossy knows its that once you get to finals, everything that comes before means nothing.
The way Leigh Matthews used to get his side cheery ripe for finals and dominate despite never finishing top. 2001 - 2004 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd - Flag, flag, flag, runners up.
The positive is we did near everything wrong, defensively terrible, never really switched on properly, little focus on our basics, half the side out and lost by just 13pts.
The negative is we did near everything wrong, defensively terrible, never really switched on properly, little focus on our basics and if that doesn't improve then getting blokes back won't help as it should. Pressure rating spent much of the day in the 160s, only going over 200 when we were a few goals behind.
Last week was similar until mid-way through the 3rd qtr where every changed once we were 20pts down. Pressure rating went from the 150s straight to 240 and stayed there changing the game. Maybe we thought we could get away with it again and didn't.
I followed the pressure ratings the last 2 weeks and it rose massively once we fell behind. Once we raised it both GWS and Geelong had issues with it. Yesterday, not long enough.
Thinking after that presser from Voss that defensively we will be way better next week. Won't be 118 to 105 again.
We've played 2 of the best teams in the league the last 2 weeks. Played terrible for majority of the last 8 quarters, with half a side not available and come out of it with a 1-1 record and plenty of upside.
Dunstall publicly stated on one of the footy shows, just last season or the season before, that despite following the Blues as a kid he now hates Carlton.
Even so, love or hate us, his comments about the rub of the umpiring can't be challenged because it's just too obvious. It was so obvious it must be almost embarrassing to some AFL officials.
Like or loath that stuff, opposition club's can't allow it to continue, they have to find a way to bring the Handbagger tactics into focus.
....and he has also stated that he has a soft spot for Carlton during the same time frame.
On his footy show 'bounce' which is most likely where you heard him say that, he plays a character as much as anything else. Kinda like Sam Newman. When he is more himself, you can see his true feelings come out.
If anyone had any doubts about Pittonets ruck ability after yesterdays efforts then they don't understand football.
Lets play a game of Pittonet vs .....
Hitouts Pittonet - 28 vs Blicavs + Stanley - 28
Hitouts to advantage Pittonet - 7 vs Blicavs + Stanley - 4
Possessions Pittonet - 19 vs Blicavs + Stanley - 19
Clearances Pittonet - 11 vs Blicavs + Stanley - 5 vs Bruhn + Miers = 11 (Geelongs highest 2 clearances winners on the ground yesterday)
TOG Pittonet - 66% vs Blicavs (83%) - Stanley (80%)
Pittonet only played 2/3's of the game, but output the combined tally of both cats rucks (or best mids), so anything we got from TDK was a bonus. Unfortunately TDK wasn't as good as he was last week, 0.3 instead of 3.0 the biggest difference, but was good enough as a forward target to keep persisting with him as a ruck/forward.
Having watched the replay this morning, even the commentators were astounded by how much the Handbagger Dad's Army get away with, even Dunstall who normally thinks us getting a raw deal is good was inspired to something, before trying to explain it way with an excuse of being kind to the Handbaggers.
Dunstall only gives us a raw deal when we don't try. He used to barrack for the blues and very much has a soft spot for us now. If he is critical, you can guarantee we are on here as well. He actually loves the club.
Nothing in the rule changes can stop the asymmetry, the problem is not a rule the problem is that some teams basically badger and batter officials until things fall their way.
A great example is happening today, rather than the AFL media focussing on Handbaggers continually infringing off the ball, the Handbagger mafia is at play beating up a storm about Williams staging for a free? The AFL media has largely ignored the act of holding 20m off the footy, it's a smokescreen by the Handbaggers, who are desperate to escape a focus on their off the ball activities.
Fans forget, when the Handbaggers do the fast break, it leaves opponents loose all over the ground, if the opposition force a turnover they are left vulnerable, so they get away with it by nefarious off the ball tactics that stop opponents finding or closing space.
We have more AFL umpires out on the ground than every before, how can it be they don't see the illegal holds and shepherds that allow the Handbagger Dad's Army to remain competitive?
You consistently seem to miss the point of removing the rule. It doesn't fix every decision in the game. It doesn't solve world hunger. It doesn't cure cancer.
It fixes players/teams using it as a tactic to cause stoppages instead of trying to continue the play. Thats it. Remove it, and that tactic goes with it.
The knock on from there is a much more free flowing game with more of a one-on-one focus because the ball will be pinging around so quickly (due to less stoppages) that teams will be found out if they don't man up. Leaving your man behind will be high risk, low reward. In turn, that will help defensively with turnovers if you start with a more defensive mindset to begin with.
Currently, its attack at all costs and if it doesn't go your way, hatch the ball, cause a stoppage and reset.
The problem that's now been created is that he hasn't been playing football on a regular basis for a while now at any level...so will essentially come in cold.
Gotta bite the bullet sometime.
Couldn't have been any worse than Binns was......which is to be expected as a debutant....but it fills a need.
