Roar Guru
Joined February 2016
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Essendon fan, cricket fan. Not necessarily in that order.
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Every year, at the end of the home-and-away season, the AFL’s All-Australian squad of 40 is announced. And every year, fans and media pundits…
This was just meant to be a two-week gig, but AD only got home late yesterday and I've managed to wrangle a third round…
For the most part, the footy was highly entertaining this week, with several tight, frenetic encounters. The logjam of teams competing for spots in…
AdelaideDocker is away for a couple of weeks so I’ve been asked to fill in. It’s a brave call, handing this responsibility to a…
England's World Cup campaign is wobbling, with the No.1 ranked ODI side a chance to miss the semi-finals following their heavy loss to arch-rivals…
Just over four months remain before the first ball of the 2019 World Cup and it is difficult to recall the Australian One Day…
Warmup matches for touring Test sides in Australia have become nothing more than glorified centre-wicket practice. If that somehow wasn't apparent before this cricket…
Widely tipped to be cellar-dwellers in season 2017-18, the Bulls and the Tigers flipped the domestic cricket pecking order on its head to book…
BBL07 has come to a close, with the Adelaide Strikers defeating the Hobart Hurricanes in the final. That must mean it's time for someone…
After a disappointing 12 months of One Day cricket, culminating in an awful home series loss to England, Australia is in need of a…
4-3, not 4-4. And no one really tipped then to make finals this year, let alone win one.
3 wins against 3 lowly sides, 1 win against a middle-of-the-road side (Port), and 3 losses to finals-bound teams. Seems about what was expected? Maybe even marginally better, given the way injuries are testing their depth?
Footy Fix: They lost, they let Kane Cornes off the hook ... but North might have finally worked out how to defend
After listening to BT get more and more excited as the melee built up, I realised that yes, I too am sick of the pseudo toughness.
Walsh should hang his head in shame - targeting Nick Daicos is the kind of pseudo-toughness AFL could do without
This year, Essenden is cleverly bucking that trend by also starting poorly.
AFL Power Rankings: Is the Saints' stunning start actually a mirage?
Dunno… maybe Carlton? Those articles usually only get written because they generate clicks, not because there is any meaningful analysis supporting them.
Footy Fix: Don't overreact - Essendon are still bad, it's just Port were worse
I don’t really get this article, Tim. Has anyone claimed Essendon are good? All I’ve seen from fans is commentary along the lines of ‘it was a scrappy game but the effort was there’. Which about sums it up.
Let’s not forget that Port did to Richmond last week what the Crows did to Essendon, so clearly they are capable of cutting up sides that give them too much time and space. Fortunately, the Bombers didn’t do that. They kept themselves in the contest then rode the crowd home. Given where they are right now, that’s about all an Essendon fan can ask.
Footy Fix: Don't overreact - Essendon are still bad, it's just Port were worse
The backline has been made to look a lot worse than it is by the ease with which the ball comes in. There’s a lack of skill and pace coming out of d50 but no one could have defended the Crows’ forwards last week with the silver service they got.
Footy Fix: Don't overreact - Essendon are still bad, it's just Port were worse
Probably because of his injury history. But the comment I responded to said he was overrated, which can’t be the case if no one was after him, can it?
Forget 2025, Bombers fans: your team is building towards something bigger and, hopefully, better
Not at all. He’s quickly become a favourite for Bomber fans. His work rate is excellent, as are his defensive efforts, and he can hit the scoreboard. The key will be staying on the park, which I think we all knew when he was traded.
Besides, he was picked up for BZT + loose change and wasn’t really being targeted by other clubs. It’s hard to get ‘overrated’ out of that.
Forget 2025, Bombers fans: your team is building towards something bigger and, hopefully, better
Yep. And it’s not like I can just head off to the local footy club to watch Saturday night games, either.
Saturday surrender: Is new AFL broadcast deal disaster or distortion?
Also Akila Dananjaya, Kane Williamson, Cam Gannon, Mohammad Hasnain, Arjun Nair… Not the highest profile list (in terms of bowling)
Kuhnemann's fate revealed as ICC hands down findings over alleged illegal bowling action
Having lost our last international match vs Afghanistan, and only scraping through in the previous one by a Maxwell miracle, I’m right with you.
Same old England, always losing: Buttler faces axe for early Champions Trophy exit after Afghanistan loss
Potentially. Other, less likely possibilities could be personal safety in Pakistan (maybe he had a bad experience there last time?) or the fact that the tournament is compromised by India playing in a separate country. Who knows what motivates Mitch, he seems like a pretty private sort of guy.
'Some personal views' behind Starc's decision to withdraw from Champions Trophy
Yep. Australia and WI forfeited games in the 1996 WC due to refusing to travel to Sri Lanka
'This is wrong': Cricket world stunned by huge Champions Trophy advantage
Yep, I was honestly surprised to find out she was 34.
A star with the bat and ball: Why Annabel Sutherland is Australia’s next great all-round cricketer
She’s timing her rise perfectly, with Perry 34 and starting to succumb to injuries.
A star with the bat and ball: Why Annabel Sutherland is Australia’s next great all-round cricketer
No issue with that, I’m just genuinely not sure on what basis you think Holmes’ importance outweighs Merrett’s. He’s not having a bigger impact at the contest, on the scoreboard or defensively.
The Roar's AFL top 50 players, 30-21: Is Clayton Oliver still worthy of a spot near the top?
All those ‘pack busting runs’ would surely bear out in clearance numbers, i50s and score launches, would they not? All of which Merrett outdid Holmes in. He also averaged more goal assists. Are they ‘nothing handballs’ too? Again, there’s a point at which the numebrs are so overwhelmingly in one player’s advantage that they can’t be ignored.
The Cats (and the Power, although I’m not really arguing about JHF) were prelim finalists because they are a better team. It’s the same reason Carlton kept missing finals despite having a superstar in Cripps. You might as well claim that Holmes is better than Nick Daicos because the Pies only finished half a game above Essendon.
The Roar's AFL top 50 players, 30-21: Is Clayton Oliver still worthy of a spot near the top?
You doubt the reigning Coleman medallist will crack the current top 50 players in the AFL? Even setting aside the benefit of hindsight (he was ranked at 10 today), that’s an odd take.
The Roar's AFL top 50 players, 20-11: Two gun key defenders - but which one is the best in the business?
JHF? As I said above, I can see that argument.
Holmes? In what way? Where is his greater impact? Had you read my initial comment, you’d see he has less scoreboard and stoppage impact in literally every category.
The Roar's AFL top 50 players, 30-21: Is Clayton Oliver still worthy of a spot near the top?
I can see Short doing okay up top if it’s a really true batting surface. If there’s anything for the bowlers though, I don’t think he has the technique or the shot variety to succeed. JFM should never have been there, even ignoring his lack of rund in this format. His confidence this summer has been at a pretty low ebb, and you just can’t pick an out of form player and expect them to succeed at the next level.
Xavier Bartlett is unlucky not to be there ahead of Dwarshius or Abbott. 2 games is a tiny sample size but his ODI average is currently 4.75. I’m not sure what more he could have done to press his case.
Aussie selectors face litmus test at Champions Trophy with next generation suddenly thrust into limelight
Shiny new toys, Macca. Happens with the AA team too. The guys who do it every year often get taken for granted.
The Roar's AFL top 50 players, 20-11: Two gun key defenders - but which one is the best in the business?
Hogan and Cameron have to be top 10. Looks like Larkey and McKay won’t make it though, which I find pretty strange.
The Roar's AFL top 50 players, 20-11: Two gun key defenders - but which one is the best in the business?
The opening article said each expert picked their top 60 ‘as of this very moment’. Even if potential is taken into account, I don’t see how the possibility that Holmes might one day be the slightly better player outweighs the fact that Merrett has been elite for about 6 years.
The Roar's AFL top 50 players, 30-21: Is Clayton Oliver still worthy of a spot near the top?
Max Holmes ahead of Merrett (and JHF)? That’s absurd.
Look, I get that stats aren’t everything and we need to take into account perceived impact in games. But surely there’s a point at which the numbers are so stacked that they become impossible to ignore?
In 2024, Merrett led Holmes (per game) in disposals, disposal efficiency, clearances (both centre bounce and stoppages), inside 50s, goals, goal assists, score involvements, score launches, tackles, tackles i50, pressure acts, defensive half pressure acts and 1%ers. And he did it all while carrying his team on his back.
While I’m not entirely sold on JHF being in front of Merrett either, since IMO he’s a less complete player at this point in time, I can at least see the argument based on his impact at stoppages and on the scoreboard. But Holmes??? The disrespect here is real.
The Roar's AFL top 50 players, 30-21: Is Clayton Oliver still worthy of a spot near the top?
Essendon: wins, goes down.
North: loses, goes up.
AFL Power Rankings Round 8: It's been a great run for the Bulldogs ... but do they have enough bite to be a flag contender?