Yep same. They have got a problem. It can’t restore my subscription. I’ve spammed their 24/7 feedback forum a bit and it seems to be getting looked at.
Let’s not forget that we seem to beat the teams higher than us on the ladder…unless we play finals, then the opposite happens. The way we played yesterday was sensational. I don’t know if it was because we have been so lame the last number of years but I don’t remember seeing an Essendon team playing with such intensity for a whole 4 quarters and that is including 2000. As the game wore on I grew in confidence that we would be winning the ball in congestion and getting it to the outside players. It happened over and over again which was lacking in previous years.
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Finally got around to watching the game - a random collection of thoughts:
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We immensely out-pressured Port - it was brilliant to watch relentless pressure, harassing and tackling. And it actually ****s me to because it shows that we are capable of it, and if we have done that for the past two weeks, we would be 4-0.
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Port were crap and we should have 10 goal + belted them. That period late in the third / early in the last when we were getting a lot of opportunities, but they kicked 4 straight, was annoying to say the least.
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It won’t get as much airtime here given we won but I reckon that was our worst umpired game this year. They dropped the ball, pushed us in the back and held us without it consistently for no punishment. Kept them in it.
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Goddard’s kicking was superb (our best I thought).
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On the other hand, I’d initially thought the complaints about Heppell and Hurley’s kicking must have been Blitz overraction, but boy-o-boy wowee their kicking was terrible. Hurls was credited with 75% or something kicking efficiency but most of them bounced in front of their target and ultimately resulted in a turnover.
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Joe’s game was much better than I had expected based on the raw numbers. A few really important assists.
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A lot of mention of Hooker back but I reckon McGrath back made a huge difference. Such a smart player and I reckon we look a lot steadier with him there - which is a shame as we need him to develop into a mid but I think the team need may be too great, particularly while Conor is out (and he is a better defender than Conor).
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Hartley was great, though it would be great if we had a player that took one grab marks - get well soon, Gleeson.
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Devon Smith tackles like an actual animal and it is awesome.
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I love Darcy around the contest but gee I reckon he needs to clean up his kicking if he is going to take the next step.
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After the first half I was wondering where the hype around Guelfi had come from but I definitely saw it in the second. As others mentioned, he built into the game superbly and that fact alone is super impressive for a first game player.
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No, that would be so if he got 30 contested possessions. In fact, when he gets 30, 15 to 20 of them are from us kicking it across the backline or handball receives when we already have the ball.
Don’t count possessions, watch the game.
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Is it working now? I thought I would message a mate that still works there and after my app crashed the video started working again…
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That’s not totally fair to Hurley.
Last season he finished second in intercept possessions with an average of nearly ten.
He’s a gun at that role and that’s the way the game is played now.
It’s back up on my tablet now
10pm
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Yep they’ve fixed it. I first noticed at about 5pm. Reckon they pushed an app update which somehow stuff up the subscriber synchronisation
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A great short story.
Glad you mentioned the umps. The non free’s where they just dropped the ball and we weren’t rewarded had me going ballistic!
The way the ball is kicked across halfback these days, possessions for a defender mean very very little
Yeh, I’m not saying Hurley isn’t a good player, or that he didn’t play well yesterday. just don’t count his possessions and use that as a gauge of how he played.
Possession counting is over rated. There are multiple quick handballs back and forth around a stoppage or a loose ball situation now, and you can rack up 3 possessions in a single chain that releases the ball once.
I’m not saying it isn’t good play. Just don’t count possessions as a measure of good play, like you don’t count kicks in soccer, or the number of times a player touches or passes the ball in basketball.
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As an added bonus Whineguard and Dixon ended up with broken noses and Marshall concussed
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Marshall is a seriously good player for a skinny key position 19yo. I had never seen him before (I don’t watch Port games), and I could see it the first few times he went for the ball.
pretty impressed we kept them at least 3 goals away the whole game and they never took the lead, not so impressed that we could have easily broke them and run off to a 50/60 point win but missed / fluffed so many chances / unforced errors by our most prolific midfielders
makes you think what they’re capable of if they get it all to click
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I was also taken aback by that comment but in fairness they did half save themselves by finishing off with the fact that he “has been influential” (or similar).
Like. But with trepidation.
It was ■■■■ crowds all weekend.
90k member Richmond only got 32k, 75k member hawthorn only got 40k against big 100k on anzac day eve Melbourne.
Must be the brain weight to body weight ratio…sorry to all the big blitzers.
At least this time, all in the clear. The match review statement does not even mention the incident. The obvious going for ball must have helped.
Remember when Tom Rockliff was the Inside™ midfield™ contested™ bull™ who was the difference between us winning a flag this year and finishing bottom?
Man oh man a lot of people bought into the hype.