One thing I noticed about Lord is that he was often by himself with no opponent within cooee 🤔
Only time you really wanna do that is if you want that player to get the ball because you think he'll turn it over back to you.
It seemed to me that Brisbane was trying to get an extra number at the contest and Lord's opponent was often it. It was a tactic that backfired spectacularly with Lord's ability to link up and make very good use of the pill. It probably played him back into form and he'll be full of confidence for the games ahead.
In the game against the Suns, Lewis Young took a mark at CHB, faked a handpass to a teammate behind him, then played on past wrongfooted opponents. It was not what I would have expected from Young but it now seems to be the way he's playing. His round the corner goal and deft tap on for Frankie's goal are what you'd expect from a confident player enjoying the game and not feeling pressure to perform.
His ruckwork is barely competitive, but he gives it a crack, and he demands a KPD when he goes forward, making life easier for our other talls. His work in defence is still his bread and butter. Although he does tend to be on the end of some defensive breakdowns, we're losing nothing when it's his turn to man an opposition KPF or resting ruck.
Who knows why, I just hope that he can keep it up!
I think that Brisbane’s Achille’s heel is lack of depth. They have three players out injured and Gallop is suspended. We have eight players out injured, excluding Motlop and Carroll but including Lij Hollands, and we pumped them in the Magoos. Their best 25 is very good, after that, not so much.
Hipwood was a liability in defence for them and that reduced Andrews’ effectiveness, as did our forward set up and ball use.
Draper and Fort may have had the better of Pitto, Harry and Young in hitouts and hitouts to advantage, but I thought that Pitto was the best big man on the ground. His work at centre ball ups and stoppages helped stop Brisbane making the most of their hitouts to advantage and we won the centre clearances comfortably and just won stoppage clearances, with Pitto managing three of each. Pitto employed different ruck tactics throughout the game and didn’t give away any rucklotto frees. He also took three marks, two of them contested. One resulted in a goal and one was potentially goal saving deep in defence. That’s what a ruckman should bring.
Kemp’s forward craft has been good but he has been let down by his kicking for goal. What a turnaround with 5.1, a goal assist, and nine score involvements. He also did his bit providing a target when we went down the line.
What really stood out for me was the contribution from our “bottom six”, the whipping boys if you will. Acres, Cottrell, Lord (back to his best), Young, Cerra (great game) and Evans all played their part. The youngsters in Smith, Dean, Byrner, Wilson and Cowan were great and our older newbie in Derksen is playing like a veteran.
Harry’s importance to the team was emphasised by his ten marks, many of them as a marking target down the line, as well as inside 50.
The skipper had a quiet night by his standards but he still cracked in. I was disappointed that he didn’t quite get to be our seventeenth goal scorer, but I suspect that he wasn’t too fussed. It was good to see him enjoying the last quarter of his 250th, as did Haynes.
Our three imports in Hayward, Florent and Ainsworth have made a big difference with their attitude, endeavour and footy smarts and all were important last night.
The players I haven’t mentioned were either good, very good or outstanding; they know who they are!
And it was good to see Fraser giving credit to the assistant coaches for their work since the pre-season.
The US DOJ has dropped the case against Olympian, David Hearn, for deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
In a 20-page court filing DOJ lawyers conceded that the damage was the result of a “flawed installation by the contractor” as well as “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026." Hearns' lawyers also found irregularities in the grand jury process that led to Hearns' felony indictment.
So much for Taco's "deranged vandals" and US Attorney Jeanine Pirro claiming that former Olympian David Hearn was guilty of "forcefully and violently" pulling up and damaging the Reflecting Pool liner with his bare hands.
Taco will just continue to sail along without an apology or an acknowledgement that his hand-picked pool man fecked up
I doubt whether he could find his own arse with both hands, a mirror and a torch.
The other side of the coin is that Harry seems to play better when he gets to channel his inner ruckman 🙂
I was just thinking today that Harry doesn’t wear the shin guard that full and part time rucks favour. I guess that reflects the different way he goes about ruck contests; jumping vertically to take possession rather than jumping in to his opponent and trying to palm the ball.
I'm not debating that he gets involved in the game and plays well, its about the fact that we dont have a KPF when he Is in the ruck. I'd rather have my KPF sitting inside 50m, kicking 4 or 5 a game and winning Colemans. Of the talks below, which ones contest CBs? 54 - CHARLIE CURNOW (SYD) 51 - BEN KING (GC) 48 - JYE AMISS (FRE) 47 - NICK WATSON (HAW) 47 - LOGAN MORRIS (BRIS) 47 - JACK GUNSTON (HAW) 45 - JOSH TREACY (FRE) 42 - AARON NAUGHTON (WB) 41 - CHARLIE CAMERON (BRIS) 41 - JAKE WATERMAN (WCE) 39 - JEREMY CAMERON (GEE) 39 - MITCH GEORGIADES (PA) \ 39 - KAI LOHMANN (BRIS ) 37 - JACOB VAN ROOYEN (MEL ) 37 - NICK LARKEY (NM) 37 - JAKE STRINGER (GWS) 36 - SHANNON NEALE (GEE) 35 - NATE CADDY (ESS) 34 - PATRICK VOSS (FRE) 33 - DAN MCSTAY (COLL) 32 - OLIVER HENRY (GEE) 32 - JOSH RACHELE (ADE) 30 - PAUL CURTIS (NM) 30 - MITCH LEWIS (HAW) 30 - LOGAN MCDONALD (SYD) 30 - MITCH MCGOVERN (CARL)
It really makes me feel ill that our only semblance of a big key fwd has to play in the ruck.
The other side of the coin is that Harry seems to play better when he gets to channel his inner ruckman 🙂
I was just thinking today that Harry doesn’t wear the shin guard that full and part time rucks favour. I guess that reflects the different way he goes about ruck contests; jumping vertically to take possession rather than jumping in to his opponent and trying to palm the ball.
[1] H coming back helps us. Not disappointed to see Lewis Young hold his place either. [2] The ruck is an issue: Brisbane have 2 specialists. Draper is in career best form. Pitto will work hard, but... I'm not worried about Fort, but he is a specialist.
It would have been a travesty if Lewis Young had been dropped. While I always assume that his shots at goal will miss, he does provide something different as a tall forward. His game a while back where he completely shut down an in form Lobb and managed a couple of goals himself showed what he is capable of. He can play at both ends of the ground but his ruckwork leaves a bit to be desired. However, he can make Draper and Fort defend and that's a positive.
Harry's knee may well keep him out of ruck contests so Young may well be our second ruck.
It probably is a game where we could go with two ruckmen but Reidy's concussion rules him out and Draper is far too mobile for Riley. Pitto is going to have to work hard getting back in defence and drifting forward if he's going to reduce Draper's influence. Our sweeper has to be prepared to take some knocks if he is to prevent Draper breaking out from centre ball ups.
It's going to be a tough game and Brisbane have to be clear favourites ... but you never know if a few things fall our way.
An illegal knackery was processing horse meat for dog food and primarily the greyhound industry.
The inference was that butchering horses is illegal, but of course that's not the case.
You need a proper license to operate a knackery, and horse owners call them doggers because that is what is in the can!
Part of the law is designed to stop people keeping unwell animals, if a horse is unwell or too weak doggers can't take them, this actually encourages owners to act before animals suffer. And licensed doggers know what they are doing.
It is legal to butcher horses for human consumption in Australia but I believe that no licences have been issued (or sought).
My mother used to send me to the Coburg Market to buy horse meat for our dog from the pet shop there back in the 1960s. The meat was dyed blue to indicate that it wasn't for human consumption.
Apparently the claim by NSW MP Abigail Boyd (who just happens to be vegan) and reported by the ABC that “horse meat [was] detected in Australian food" is bogus. The NSW DPIRD has requested that the ABC issue an immediate correction.
An illegal knackery was processing horse meat for dog food and primarily the greyhound industry.