Rhys Palmer again...I'll be out of superlatives by the end of the year everytime I talk about this kid...he's already a gun so hopefully he'll be wearing the purple his whole career
Ibbottson - showed some good pace, ran the lines and looks a goer
Sandilands - did some nice tap outs which went to our onballers. Just needs to do this for more of the game
The Wiz - generally quiet for much of the game but showed some glimpses of his old days and can hopefully snag a few goals next week
Hayden - another very solid game. got robbed of being named in the Dream Team squad. Hope he makes the All-Australian team this year...if he continues the form he's in, he'll be right in contention like last year
Michael Johnson looked good playing up forward (negative though was his disposal....3-4 possessions we lost in the forward 50 from bad disposal from him)
More passion and spirit shown in the third quarter!!!
negatives:
why didn't we tag McCleod? this guy always kills us and he did it again today. was given too much freedom and made us pay for it...to think, he could have been a Docker when he got drafted but we botched it
Cool Hand Luke & Pav - not their best game this year but given their previous performances for us, I think they get a pass
Umps!!! get their eyes check...some bloody dodgy calls. that Burton mark at the end was total BS.
On the up...
- Chris Mayne will hopefully be back next week. Also want to see Des and Heath Black back
The Acid test
- well we play the unbeatable team Geelong next week...this is a game where we need to win some respect back. I'm hoping for a miracle that we get up but given what I saw of Geelong against all comers this year, geez I hope we don't get pumped...stating the obvious but if we lose this game then its 1-5 and we have to win 11 of 16 to get into the finals...all uphill from here...not impossible though as we did have that win streak back in 2006 but that seems a long time ago now
No matter what, I will still support my beloved Dockers and fly the flag high here in VIC
If the trend continues though (and I hope it doesn't), I'll be talking about next year and the possible draft picks we can nab as well as gunning for out of contract players who can fill our needs no matter how unlikely (eg. Ben Rutten, etc)
Also just throwing it out there...wondering if Freo ever thought about getting Gerard Healy as coach or advisor. Last 4 years I was thinking if they ever even approached him cause I think he'll have some great ideas to help us
Till next week