Changes for Qualifying final V Freo

[wolftone57]

This is funny - I've included an excerpt.

AFL promises ANZ Stadium's surface to be ?sort of safe? - Titus O'Reily

AFL Football Operations Manager Mark Evans said he thought the chances of players getting injured were ?high, but not really, really high.?
?We say we take player safety very seriously and we?re committed to continue saying that,? said Mr Evans.
?That?s why we are taking immediate steps to make the surface sort of safe for the Sydney-Fremantle game.
?I?ve spoken to both clubs and assured them the surface would be safe-ish by Saturday.?
Swans Coach John Longmire said the proposed works on the ground made him a bit less worried.
?I guess it?s good they?re doing something. I mean, I sort of thought they?d do nothing, so this is better than that,? he said.
Fremantle Captain Matthew Pavlich said he and his teammates were really looking forward to the game and hopefully not getting injured.
?It makes perfect sense to me to play at the white elephant that is ANZ Stadium, instead of the iconic SCG,? he said.
?The SCG just lacks the terrible surface, poor atmosphere and inconvenience to get to, that ANZ has in spades.?

Go Pav a real backhander to the AFL & ANZ. ANZ is a dud. The worst place to play for the players. The surface is @@@@e. We lost Tip & Mitchell in last years semi final partly because of the surface. Etihad used to be the same, slippery on top& too moist. Etihad for different reasons, faulty design. But ANZ's problem is it is built on a wetlands that should never have been built on in the first place. Footy Park is also built on wetlands but the designers there knew what they were doing and dug down almost a small skyscraper depth and then began to landfill with bedrock, sand, rubble and soil and repeat until the last layer of soil. At ANZ none of that was done, it was a rush job, cheaply done & to make matters worse they put seating on the grass when the NRL play there. Not only that they also have to wash the NRL logos off the ground to put the AFL logos on. This makes the surface even damper than normal and very slippery.

[Conor_Dillon]

Go Pav a real backhander to the AFL & ANZ. ANZ is a dud. The worst place to play for the players. The surface is @@@@e. We lost Tip & Mitchell in last years semi final partly because of the surface. Etihad used to be the same, slippery on top& too moist. Etihad for different reasons, faulty design. But ANZ's problem is it is built on a wetlands that should never have been built on in the first place. Footy Park is also built on wetlands but the designers there knew what they were doing and dug down almost a small skyscraper depth and then began to landfill with bedrock, sand, rubble and soil and repeat until the last layer of soil. At ANZ none of that was done, it was a rush job, cheaply done & to make matters worse they put seating on the grass when the NRL play there. Not only that they also have to wash the NRL logos off the ground to put the AFL logos on. This makes the surface even damper than normal and very slippery.

Hey Wolfy that's not a legit article haha...Titus is just a humorous sportsfan who writes the odd light-hearted article for the Herald Sun. If you're on twitter i highly recommend following him...very very funny!

[Flying South]

But A/sand the players that were exposed, Teddy, Reg, Shaw, Mal & Rampe are still there. They were dreadful early. Hanballing to the feet, fumbling, missing the player, kicks missing targets, total panic mode. The mids were asleep at the wheel in the first and a bit of that was Naismith's fault for gettin murdered in the ruck but our mids normally adjust and they didn't. The set ups were loose and Richmond took advantage of many uncontested possessions at stoppages. Never hope to see that a again. Not having a go at Big Sammy by the way it was always going to be a really hard task against the form ruckman of the comp.

Yeah you are right wolfy, it was going to be hard for Sammy to debut against Maric. Who I have in the leagues top 3 ruckman and no coincidence richmond have built their resurgence on the back of him returning to the team. I am a big fan of Sammy and I agree he was being slaughtered in the 1st 20min. But he got a couple of hit out towards the end of 1st quarter and his confidence lifted. I have too give him credit as he must be a quick learner as I believe he started to hold his own in the 2nd qtr. He started planting his feet and wasn't easily pushed off the contest. Not sure what happened in the 3rd when he was subbed off. Was he injured or spent? He ended up with 16 hitouts and 3 tackles. I would interested in seeing a qtr by qtr break down. Whilst probably not what he was hoping for, it was a better return considering his 1st qtr. I think he is a fast learner and this could be fast tracked with more senior appearances next year. He will learn more against big bulls in the seniors than what he is up against in the ressies.

[Go Swannies]

Yeah you are right wolfy, it was going to be hard for Sammy to debut against Maric. Who I have in the leagues top 3 ruckman and no coincidence richmond have built their resurgence on the back of him returning to the team. I am a big fan of Sammy and I agree he was being slaughtered in the 1st 20min. But he got a couple of hit out towards the end of 1st quarter and his confidence lifted. I have too give him credit as he must be a quick learner as I believe he started to hold his own in the 2nd qtr. He started planting his feet and wasn't easily pushed off the contest. Not sure what happened in the 3rd when he was subbed off. Was he injured or spent? He ended up with 16 hitouts and 3 tackles. I would interested in seeing a qtr by qtr break down. Whilst probably not what he was hoping for, it was a better return considering his 1st qtr. I think he is a fast learner and this could be fast tracked with more senior appearances next year. He will learn more against big bulls in the seniors than what he is up against in the ressies.

The report was that he was/is injured.

[barry]

Go Pav a real backhander to the AFL & ANZ. ANZ is a dud. The worst place to play for the players. The surface is @@@@e. We lost Tip & Mitchell in last years semi final partly because of the surface. Etihad used to be the same, slippery on top& too moist. Etihad for different reasons, faulty design. But ANZ's problem is it is built on a wetlands that should never have been built on in the first place. Footy Park is also built on wetlands but the designers there knew what they were doing and dug down almost a small skyscraper depth and then began to landfill with bedrock, sand, rubble and soil and repeat until the last layer of soil. At ANZ none of that was done, it was a rush job, cheaply done & to make matters worse they put seating on the grass when the NRL play there. Not only that they also have to wash the NRL logos off the ground to put the AFL logos on. This makes the surface even damper than normal and very slippery.

Did Pav tell you all that BS as well.

[barry]

I think we should all take a leaf out of Ross Lyons views...


But when asked if he had any concerns about the surface heading into the final, Lyon replied: "Not one iota.

"I know the AFL will provide a safe working environment for our players. I know it will be playable.

"Will the aesthetics be perfect? I don't know - it doesn't interest me.

[Go Swannies]

I think we should all take a leaf out of Ross Lyons views...


But when asked if he had any concerns about the surface heading into the final, Lyon replied: "Not one iota.

"I know the AFL will provide a safe working environment for our players. I know it will be playable.

"Will the aesthetics be perfect? I don't know - it doesn't interest me.

I endeavour not to listen to anything Ross says. But if I did I'd respond that that's exactly what I'd expect him to say.

Can you imagine him saying "I think we're stuffed trying to spoil on a bog when we have no idea how the ball will bounce - and I'm just hoping we'll get through without Pav breaking a leg"?

[jono2707]

I think we should all take a leaf out of Ross Lyons views...


But when asked if he had any concerns about the surface heading into the final, Lyon replied: "Not one iota.

"I know the AFL will provide a safe working environment for our players. I know it will be playable.

"Will the aesthetics be perfect? I don't know - it doesn't interest me.

Your previous inflammatory thread was closed due to the angst generated. I think we should all leave the venue stuff out of this thread for the sanity of all.....

[cherub]

Ross is the ultimate pragmatist. It doesn't matter what he or we think about the venue. There is no value in either coach or team wasting energy thinking about it. I prefer his "we are excited to have the opportunity" approach. Two good , hard, tough honest teams with the two most aesthetically athletic players in the game in Lance and Fyfe. I only hope that the ground is dry enough that we can witness the talents of these wonderful athletes in a true celebration of the game that we love. And that we win.

[wolftone57]

Hey Wolfy that's not a legit article haha...Titus is just a humorous sportsfan who writes the odd light-hearted article for the Herald Sun. If you're on twitter i highly recommend following him...very very funny!

I don't read the Murdoch press.

[mcs]

And that we win.

That's the only bit that matters to me this weekend. I hate ANZ and its usual terrible surface, but the only thing I will worry about is doing my bit to help get the boys home from the stands!

[barry]

That's the only bit that matters to me this weekend. I hate ANZ and its usual terrible surface, but the only thing I will worry about is doing my bit to help get the boys home from the stands!

I thought u said you werent going?

[mcs]

I thought u said you werent going?

No I never said that Barry..... on a number of occasions I quite clearly have stated that while I do not like ANZ (and generally don't go to games there in the regular season), I don't think there is any excuse for fans to not get to finals games (assuming of course they can afford to go), no matter where they are played if they are in Sydney. I will be there, down in the commons of basically the red zone, watching half the game on the big screen because of the awful viewing angles

I haven't missed a home final since the 'Nick Davis' game in 2005 (indeed I've only missed 2 finals all together in that period - being QF Adelaide in 2012 and PF Perth in 2013), and don't intend on changing that any time soon, even if it is at ANZ.

[mcs]

Sorry that should have been 3 finals ive missed - couldn't get a gf ticket in 05 as I wasnt a member.

[Meg]

Amazing, an article saying that Freo don't expect the Swans to target Fyfe with dirty play. But no mention of what might be expected from Ballantyne or Crowley!

'PERTH Fremantle coach Ross Lyon is confident Sydney won't unleash any "garbage" tactics in a bid to unsettle Dockers star midfielder Nat Fyfe in Saturday's qualifying final at ANZ Stadium.'

http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/fremantle-dockers-not-expecting-garbage-from-sydney-swans-20140903-10bs2i.html