Putin has to be aware that his forces can’t get a decisive victory over Ukraine’s much smaller military, albeit bolstered by some of the West’s military hardware. He must be doubly aware that his military would have little chance in a conventional war against the EU let alone the USA or NATO. Hopefully, he would also be aware that a nuclear strike would result in the obliteration of Russia … and much of the world.
It should also be apparent that time is not on his side. The longer the conflict persists, the more the disparity between the military capacity of Ukraine and that of Russia will translate into military success for Ukraine. Despite the effective Russian media control, morale and support for Putin has to take a dive.
Thought the same thing when I saw 3 Leos post. We are obviously of a similar vintage. In my first 25 years of barracking for the BlueBaggers I saw us win 7 Premierships and lose 4.
There’s a huge difference when you measure our success over the last 35 years and the 35 years before that.
I’ve been lucky enough to witness the Mighty Blues in 14 grand finals for 8 cups 🙂
It’s hard to know where we are imho. We are SO fumbly that who really knows what our game plan is ? If we could gather and hit out first option we would have a better idea of where we sit. The endevour is there in spades, it’s a bit like the mens the last couple of years the ball is just living in our backline, the weight of forward entry’s means that the backline will inevitably let through enough goals that we lose. Too often we seemed to try to handball to someone who was too close which didn’t help.
I haven't watched the game yet but I have been thinking for some time that the lack of handballing power in the women's game limits its effectiveness. It's more of a last resort than a way to fashion an attacking chain of possessions.
The BBC News reports varied responses to the thousands of Russian men trying to flee the country to avoid being sent to fight in Ukraine:
Quote
Queues have sprung up along Russia's border as men attempt to leave the country to avoid a military call-up for the war in Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation on Wednesday, which could see 300,000 people summoned to serve in the war.
The Kremlin says reports of fighting-age men fleeing are exaggerated.
But on the border with Georgia, miles-long queues of vehicles have formed including men trying to escape the war.
One man, who did not want to be named, told the BBC's Rayhan Demytrie he had grabbed his passport and headed to the border, without packing anything else, immediately after President' Putin's announcement - because he fell into the group that could potentially be sent to the war.
Some witnesses estimated the queue of cars at the Upper Lars checkpoint to be some 5km (3 miles) long, while another group said it had taken seven hours to get across the border. Video from the scene showed some drivers leaving their cars or trucks temporarily in standstill traffic.
Georgia is one of the few neighbouring countries that Russians can enter without needing to apply for a visa. Finland, which shares a 1,300km (800 mile) border with Russia, does require a visa for travel, and also reported an increase in traffic overnight - but said it was at a manageable level.
Other destinations reachable by air - such as Istanbul, Belgrade or Dubai - have seen ticket prices skyrocket immediately after the military call-up was announced, with some destinations sold out completely. Turkish media have reported a large spike in one-way ticket sales, while remaining flights to non-visa destinations can cost thousands of euros.
Germany's interior minister signalled on Thursday that Russians fleeing the draft would be welcome in her country.
Nancy Faeser said deserters threatened by "severe repression" would receive protection on a case-by-case basis, following security checks. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic struck a different tone, saying they would not offer fleeing Russians refuge.
I guess it's understandable that countries like Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic are fearful of an influx of Russian conscription refugees. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland recently banned all Russian tourists on the basis that Russians should not be enjoying democracy and freedom in Europe while Russia attacks those values in Ukraine.
More significant than the mobilisation announced in Putin's decree this week was the indefinite extension of all current military service contracts. It is thought that Putin was told his entire professional army was going to quit at the end of their contracts to avoid spending winter in trenches being bombarded by HIMARS.
The West's provision of military hardware to Ukraine is a key to the successes of the Ukraine military. Diverting funds away from that support could tip the balance back to Moscow. However, I would be very surprised if the expenditure on military hardware isn't closely matched by covert expenditure on destabilising the Russian regime, encouraging deserters, and supporting opposition to Putin's war.
Another former Collingwood player who played for tigers was Lauren Tesoriero...and that's who I was thinking of above.
And Christina played for GWS between Collingwood and Richmond, and was their leading goal kicker in 2019.
She couldn't get a run with Richmond in the earlier 2022 season and was delisted. She was a train on player with us and, although she didn't make the team, she shouldn't be too far off the pace.
Well instead of gambling on kids who could be 10 year players but most of the time fail they recruit sure things who might only have 3-5 years left but that is better than what Dow, O'Brien, Stocker, Kemp or SPS have given us.
Geelong draft just as many kids and have just as many failures as other clubs. They drafted five kids in the 2021 draft who have managed two games between them. Their three 2020 draftees have managed a total of 32 games (our two have played 28). 2019 was better in that their gamble on Sam De Koning really paid off. Their other two 2019 draftees have played 14 games between them.
They take risks with trade ins like Stengle (pass so far) and Higgins (fail) and bring in solid yet limited performers like Stanley, Henderson and Dalhaus or elite players like Dangerfield, Cameron and Ablett. I'd rank Tuohy midway between those two groups.
Geelong's real strength lies in getting the most out of later draft picks and rookies like Stewart, Zach Guthrie, Blicavs, Menegola, Duncan, Henry, etc. With the exception of Ed, Jack and Levi, we haven't had any success with late draft picks or rookies for far too long.
If only it wasn't just that year. We fecked up most of our picks between 2012 and 2015.
It wasn’t until SOS came onboard that we had any idea about how to use the draft. Apart from using our #1 picks on the obvious candidates, decades of poor on field performances produced nothing meaningful in terms of improving our list.
That’s the first Brownlow night I’ve watched from start to finish for many years (I didn’t see the red carpet). It’s not great TV but it was well worth persevering with until the end.
I did open a second bottle to get me past the cringeworthy moments 🙄
Crippa was a worthy winner and so humble and honest in victory. He spoke so well, thanks in part to Harry’s Mum plying him with water.
What a travesty it would have been if the suspension had been allowed to stand!
The only real gripe I have about the night is the goal and mark of the year. The goal of the year was OK, but not outstanding, and the mark of the year was average. It didn’t even win mark of the week.
There must be a better way to determine goal and mark of the year 🤔
