Qualifying Final vs Melbourne, at MCG on Friday 2 September, 7.50pm AEST

[TheBloods]

I personally reckon Ollie bouncing off Viney and tearing off downfield, or the Amartey contest in the second quarter were the moments I went - yep, we're up to our necks in this - but yes, they were two great moments.

And I guess my broader point was that was the first complete midfield game we'd put together this year, and bar Parks and Mills (who were already excellent), every single player in the midfield has just got better and better since that point.

Chad was excellent last year , he got injured which wiped out half his season . Did you see him against the Crows last yr , it was Buddys first game with a crowd in over a year but by the end the crowd was louder every time Chad got it than Bud ! And it was his 4th game

[stevoswan]

No Sydney Media and no NSW umpires. Notice in the VFL the free kick count was 13 to 2 in Melbourne's favor at one stage. I can almost guarantee it will be the similar ratio in Friday's night game when the Victorian umpires have their say.! Gil M at work again.

Gil seems to have anointed Collingwood as this years Victorian AFL fairytale and as such, I do not want us to meet them in any final this year. The free kick counts from all this weeks games will be very interesting to see unfold. Three involve a Victorian team v an interstate team and one involves a Vic team v Gil's 'fairytale' team. It will be very interesting indeed.

[mcs]

Gil seems to have anointed Collingwood as this years Victorian AFL fairytale and as such, I do not want us to meet them in any final this year. The free kick counts from all this weeks games will be very interesting to see unfold. Three involve a Victorian team v an interstate team and one involves a Vic team v Gil's 'fairytale' team. It will be very interesting indeed.

They'll need 100 free kicks to beat the good teams in my opinion.

They will be shown up in finals by any decent team that has bothered to watch how we dismantled them.

They have made huge progress this year, but I don't think they are a genuine challenger for the flag either, even with the top 4 finish.

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[Faunac8]

I personally reckon Ollie bouncing off Viney and tearing off downfield, or the Amartey contest in the second quarter were the moments I went - yep, we're up to our necks in this - but yes, they were two great moments.

And I guess my broader point was that was the first complete midfield game we'd put together this year, and bar Parks and Mills (who were already excellent), every single player in the midfield has just got better and better since that point.

I posted at the time that this was a turning point of the game the contact happened just in front of me and you could hear the impact quite clearly and to see Ollie bounce off that and head off downfield without any delay made me believe that this is a team that can deliver.

[Faunac8]

Gil seems to have anointed Collingwood as this years Victorian AFL fairytale and as such, I do not want us to meet them in any final this year. The free kick counts from all this weeks games will be very interesting to see unfold. Three involve a Victorian team v an interstate team and one involves a Vic team v Gil's 'fairytale' team. It will be very interesting indeed.

I genuinely don’t believe that Gill has any input into the free kick counts and to be honest I think that the free kick count is usually a result of the flow of the game .
Unfortunately we seem to be on the opposite side of the free kick count more often than not.

[i'm-uninformed2]

I posted at the time that this was a turning point of the game the contact happened just in front of me and you could hear the impact quite clearly and to see Ollie bounce off that and head off downfield without any delay made me believe that this is a team that can deliver.

Yep, and as someone who's been frustrated by Ollie at times because I felt he could give us more, I just loved it. It was about the time of his shift down back and he's been very good ever since. Good on the coaches for having the imagination to play him down there, and good on him for seizing the opportunity. I hope he keeps kicking on and those dancing feet of his are a feature of the finals.

[TheBloods]

Article on Chad and that disgusting incident from last month in the Age, he is a great kid . Jude has also tipped Chad to be the swan made for finals, he loves the way he plays

[i'm-uninformed2]

I went back and watched the second quarter of the game v Dees earlier this year.

One: our pressure, led by Mills, Rowie, and Gulden, was off the charts.

Two: I’d actually forgotten about one my fave plays of the year. Errol, effectively at fullback, surrounded by three far taller Dees, watching a centred ball, tracing its flight, calmly going I’ve got this, and the fisting it clear, for Chad to go to Paps, to go goal. I’d forgotten the Errol bit that makes the rest happen.

Three: just how well Ben Reid played. Ben was awesome. Luke Darcy consistently called his name. Luke might struggle to spell Luke, or Ben, but boy he thought Ben played well, and Ben did indeed, and Luke is lucky to not be tying shoelaces for a living, because he’d starve.

[TheBloods]

The Chad is on the backpage of the telegraph tomorrow . good story about him.

[Mel]

Three: just how well Ben Reid played. Ben was awesome. Luke Darcy consistently called his name. Luke might struggle to spell Luke, or Ben, but boy he thought Ben played well, and Ben did indeed, and Luke is lucky to not be tying shoelaces for a living, because he’d starve.

He's been Ben in our house ever since. Seriously, why it took 3/4s of a game before somebody took him aside and told him that Ben retired years ago and the player was, in fact, SAM Reid astounds me.

[liz]

He's been Ben in our house ever since. Seriously, why it took 3/4s of a game before somebody took him aside and told him that Ben retired years ago and the player was, in fact, SAM Reid astounds me.

One of the other commentators tried to do it on air, by placing a bit more emphasis on "Sam" that is normal, but Darcy seemed oblivious to this. But yes, you'd think that after the second mention of "Ben" (one might just be an accident, common for Swans fans who've been watching Leroy Jetta, Heath Shaw, Mark McVeigh for as long as I can remember), someone would have put him straight. His own son is Sam. Can't be that hard for him to remember.

[Industrial Fan]

Someone messaged Darcy (on some social media platform) about the Sam / Ben bit recently which he acknowledged so you’d hope it doesn’t continue.

[KTigers]

He's been Ben in our house ever since. Seriously, why it took 3/4s of a game before somebody took him aside and told him that Ben retired years ago and the player was, in fact, SAM Reid astounds me.

Luke is very sensitive and bringing his gaffes to his attention must be done in a way that won't endanger his mental health.
It's very complicated and none of the other commentators want to potentially have blood on their hands so they never try to
correct him. Besides, some of them thought Sam's name was actually Patrick.

[Ludwig]

Why don't we all call Freo's Darcy, Sam, and the Dogs' Darcy, Sean? Maybe Kook Darcy will catch on eventually.

[RogueSwan]

... I hope he keeps kicking on and those dancing feet of his are a feature of the finals.

He probably has the best initial 2-3 step evasion in the game right now (I'm not biased ). There are others that are good at getting out of congestion but often require a (strong) fend off whereas Ollie seems to be able to do it with footwork alone.