Having seen Channel 7 going over the incident involving the 50 m to Ginnevan, it looks even worse than it did at the time. I wish they would go over some of the others, to be honest, but I know they feel they have to tread lightly. But to say those decisions were critical is not an understatement: they robbed us of confidence, because we were penalized for doing the right thing and they were not penalized for doing the wrong thing.
But what do we do about it? It is too late to go back and undo their decisions. Maybe the AFL will offer the club an apology, but I wouldn't even be sure of that.
Channel 7's team appear to think that the umpires are lacking confidence and second guessing themselves. It would be hard to argue against that.
The Foxtel commentators expressed the opinion that the umpires had lost all confidence and were reluctant to make decisions. They seemed to be waiting to see what happened next before making very late calls.
The conditions didn't help, but that standard of umpiring is not acceptable in any circumstances.
The atrocious umpiring didn't help but we would have copped a hiding even if we did have competent umpires ... and brought Acres into the team for Hollands
There were a few positives:
Flynn Riley showed that he's competitive at AFL level but he needs to build up his strength and learn how to use it. Conditions weren't ideal for the big lad, but he battled hard and his five tackles is a good sign. I suspect that he will cause headaches for our opposition if he gets to rest forward.
Wade Derksen continues to work hard and make the most of his opportunities. He may be fourth banana in our KPD ranks but he deserves a place in the team, perhaps as a forward.
Mitch McGovern may have been fortunate to get a contract extension but he has certainly shown that it was a good decision. This could well be his most consistent season whether he's playing forward or in defence. He was one our players who did adapt to the conditions. I think that he may well get another year.
Frankie Evans was lucky to get a chance at a third club but, after a shaky start, he has shown that he is a capable AFL footballer. He was another one who played to the conditions.
Jack Ison has been quiet in last couple of games but I thought that he did quite well last night. He was probably a little too adventurous in the conditions but he was a presence for us even if he has a lot to learn.
I think that Adam Cerra has become a bit of a whipping boy but he was another who adapted to the conditions and worked hard all night. We might need him to a little more if Georgie's back doesn't come good.
Sam Walsh was mercurial!
I wonder if players are still taught to kick the laces surface of the ball in wet conditions
One of the girls I coached in basketball took up the pole vault, trained with Emma George, and competed at a high level (no pun intended). She said that there was nothing so exhilarating as nailing a vault. Her PB was 3.5m back in 2002.
The pole vault seems to be a discipline that attracts people from other sports. If I remember correctly, Emma George was a trapeze artist before she took up the pole vault.
4.95m is a fair effort … and high enough to do serious injury if something goes wrong. If I was ever going to take up vaulting, it would be Fierljeppen where the consequences of a mishap are nothing worse than a dunking in cold, muddy water 🙂
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party has been in a bit of strife over campaign donations. Farage thought he'd resign and recontest his seat as a show of his support by defeating all challengers. But all the other major parties decided not to stand candidates leaving Farage in a contest with a 'rubbish bin'. Count Binface is a space warrior from the planet Sigma IX. His motto..."Make Earth Great Again". He's got a job head of him.
Shifty behaviour from a shifty character. The investigations into his dodgy donations had to stop when he resigned. They can start again if he’s re-elected but Count Binface must be in with a chance 🙄
Ukraine who are the drone experts offered Trump cheap drones as well as trained operators to teach how to use them effectively but Trump refused because he said the mighty USA were the leaders in Drone technology and didnt want to feel obligated to help Zelensky back and its costing the US every day and well into the future....
Wasn't it the case that it later surfaced the mighty USA was already buying some of it's kit off the Ukraine anyway?
PS; The Ukraine are now considered global leaders in drone technology, much of it was originally donated to them by Australia! ( Our friendly Pratt family could gear up to become Australia's biggest drone Mnf, Bibi would love it if that happened! )
The cardboard drones that Ukraine is using to great effect are made by SYPAQ in Melbourne. I don't know who supplies the cardboard but it could well be Visy.
SYPAQ originally designed the cardboard drones as logistics carriers for the ADF but their offensive capabilities became obvious with the drone impact in the Ukraine war.
There's also the astronomical cost of sophisticated munitions - US PAC-3 interceptors cost USD3.7M each and they're being used to counter Shahed drones that cost Iran around USD50K.
It's estimated that it will take until 2030 before the US has replenished its pre-war munitions inventory ... and that affects all nations that rely on the US for sophisticated weaponry. At least our government is progressing local manufacture of high tech missiles and cheaper anti-drone systems but we're still too reliant on the US.
I'm not sure he's ready for the jump in class....but we're out of options. Reidy, Pittonet are injured. O'Keefe is stuggling as a forward at VFL and doing limited ruck work.
Riley has been dominating taps most games, but he doesn't always direct them well. He does have a good attitude and works hard...but may run out of puff at the pace of this game on a big ground. He also goes OK around the ground and usually picks up more disposals than his immediate opposition. It will be interesting... and given he was a mid-season pick this is what he was taken for...a break glass situation.
The glass hasn't just broken, it has shattered!
One thing that Riley does bring to the table is his ability to clunk marks. Pitto averages just over one mark a game (but he does OK at stopping his opponents marking). Riley is averaging three marks a game in the VFL and he will still be 206cm when he runs out on Saturday night.
It's probably fortunate that Hawthorn are without Reeves and it will be Riley and Harry against Meek and Chol.
The Saint Pierre series on the ABC features a guillotine.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a French collectivity off the coast of Newfoundland and the final remnant of New France under French rule.
Let’s hope Taco doesn’t learn of it or he may add it to his territorial expansion plans. Although taking on France would be a different kettle of worms to Denmark.
Of course, Taco has his hands full after going to war with Iran - without an exit strategy, clear objectives or appreciation of the consequences. Perhaps he was sound asleep during that part of the briefing, as he was during the NATO meeting 🙄
I trust we will get competent umpires this week instead of the third stringers we had against the tigers.
Third stringers Prof? That’s remarkably generous of you!
One of the lowlights of that game was a boundary throw in that barely made it into the field of play and resulted in a free against Pitto for a “block”. Nankervis wouldn’t have got to the pill if Pitto had stepped aside and waved him through 🙄
I’m disappointed that Acres wasn’t selected. Hawthorn will try to bully us and, apart from Acres’ ability to have an impact at both ends of the ground, he doesn’t take any sh1t and has the size and attitude to back it up.
