There were plenty of lessons to learn from last night, but one really sticks in my mind; you have your better players available and you are much more likely to contend.
When was the last time the boys had a whole list to choose from? Early 1996. That is an entire generation without having our best line-up available. Not sure what our AFL program can do, but Innes and his minions can see what is required.
That said, can you see anyone who didn't play last night making a case for a spot next week? Skepper is one who comes to mind, even if her form has been pretty ordinary this season. However, 3 weeks ago I was saying that Maddy Guerin was having a less than stellar year. In the last 3 weeks she has been nothing short of brilliant. Last night she had huge numbers: 24 possessions, 11 tackles and 7 clearances. That is Cripps-like.
Of our lowest 4 possessions getters, one was Jess Good who dominated the ruck! Maddie Hendrie didn't get a lot of ball, but she did her job. I don't think she would be under pressure. Tara Bohanna only had 7 possessions and scored only 2 points, but there is no way known she'll miss. Gab Pound? 5 possessions and only 66% game time.
The thing with Gab is that she gets important possessions or lays decisive tackles when they count. She had a quiet night but her experience and footy nous could be very handy next week. I think that those four will keep their places and we may well go with an unchanged lineup.
It is a strange position to have a winning Carlton team and be looking at where we can strengthen it
Play of the night in the third quarter: Intercept mark by Vescio - kick to Vickers. Vickers - kick to Guerin. Guerin - kick to Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick - long kick to Bohanna for contested mark. Bohanna - handpass to Hill. Hill - kick to Sholz for contested mark. Sholz - handpass to Finn. Finn - GOAL!!
Taco has backflipped and removed tariffs on food items such as beef, tea, fruit juice, cocoa, bananas, tropical fruit and tomatoes.
I wonder if it finally sunk into his thick skull that his tariffs were biting with food prices rising faster than the US 20-year historical average rate. Perhaps it's a panic response to the collapse of Taco's coalition of voters at the 05 November elections.
Ironically, some of the food items that were subject to tariffs weren't produced in the US or, like beef, couldn't meet local demand.
It probably doesn't really matter how Karoline Leavitt tries to spin this, the diehard MAGA supporters will believe anything
My old man was a cricket tragic. He played one season with Carlton before the politics got to much and he went back to Coburg RSL.
Anyway, he was dead against all-rounders who could bowl a bit and bat a bit. He always maintained that an all-rounder should win his place because he was the best batsman or the best bowler for that spot in the team. For example, Richie Benaud was in the Test team because he was the best leg spinner. His ability with the bat was a bonus. Doug Walters was in the Test team because he was the best middle order batsman. His bowling was a bonus. Selectors these days seem to favour all-rounders who can bowl a bit and bat a bit.
I would call Green a batsman who can bowl but I don't think he deserves a Test spot on the strength of his batting. Webster is more of a bowl a bit and bat a bit all-rounder but, in form, his ability to bowl off spin and medium pace gives him an edge over Green.
You have to wonder why the BBC went down that road. Taco always provides great material for the news media and satirists without any need for creative editing.
A few whingers are on about our healthy share of prime time spots, despite our poor form last season. Perhaps they should consider the bums on seats we attracted right through the season.
I would have preferred more travel friendly timeslots.
I'm not sure that's right. Leaving aside the fact that Trump says a lot of contradictory things, his campaign promises were very much about draining the swamp, being the working man's President, being anti war etc. Not much on climate and environment, but people voted for him because he convinced them he was in their corner. And the fact that Democrats are beyond useless. His approval ratings are in the toilet because people have figured out that he is the opposite of what he claims.
“Got a short, got a short, got a short, got a short They've got a short must have a short they've got a short aah Short memory, they've got a.”
There not looking for that though. It's why the mainstream parties dominate both there and here. In the words of Willie Nelson "the winds of change are always blowing.". The problem is if they blow too far they just turn around and blow back in the other direction. While it may not seem evident just at the moment there have been great advances in the States in things like racial equality, sexual equality, the rights of LGBT folks...certainly since I was young.
But despite all that the country has probably never been more divided.
We can point the finger at an obvious candidate responsible for that....but what is the thinking of those people who embrace these ideas. How is it possible and what are the social conditions that give it life. It doesn't all come from.the MAGA crowd.
It is possible because the irreconcilable differences that culminated in the Civil War have never been resolved and the animosity between the antagonists is still bubbling away. The polarised politics, paranoia and conspiracy theories of the mid-19th century may have had different foci but the parallels with the 21st century are real. As Prof David Blight wrote during Taco's first term, his "ignorance of American history, his flouting of political and constitutional traditions, his embrace of racist ideas and groups, his egregious uses of fear, his own party’s moral bankruptcy in its inability to confront him" is putting the republic in great peril.
Then there's the institutions that control virtually every aspect of American life. Even the make up of school councils is determined by hard-fought elections with Democrat and Republican candidates and political policies and appointments flow from those elected. Is it any wonder that the US education system produces citizens who are largely ignorant of the world around them and have a poor understanding of maths and science? Prof Blight wrote in 2017 that "Americans are more than politically polarized; we are bitterly divided about our expanding diversity, about the proper function of government, about the right to vote and how to protect it, over women’s reproductive rights, about climate science, over whether we even believe in a social contract between citizens and the polity." In other words, they're fecked!
The other call that has disappeared from the game is carrying the ball, happens all the time in the NBA and NBL but it's ignored. At junior level it's called in Australia but it's getting less and less as the NBA standards creep in.
I watched my oldest grandson's rep game last Friday and the refs must have called 20 carries, none of which involved the player's hand going under the ball or palming it. They wouldn't have been called in any other game at rep or domestic level that I've watched over the last several years. The refs also called a dozen or so moving screens. A couple were line ball but the player's feet were set well before contact in most. At least the refs were consistent and called them on both teams but it did disrupt the flow of the game.
Here's a typical selection of NBA travels ... and a couple were called:
