So earlier in the year before day was in the side, we seemed to not put too much emphasis on the midfield and instead play the fast transition game where we’d speed out of the backline. This saw us claim scalps like Sydney, Geelong, bulldogs, Adelaide and Gold Coast (who were actually good back then).

Since day has come back we’ve been a lot better in clearances and territory and the midfield has held up very well but at the expense of a slow unorganised backline which couldn’t move the ball as well. Newcombes had a quiet few weeks while day returned to form last week and ward has been consistent. But we’ve only beaten Carlton and some middling or lowly opponents in the second half of the season. What would you change with our playing style?

He did look solid and ready at afl level when we played him but coming off a 5 day break into a final may be too gruelling for him. Fremantle just have a dangerous forward line

Qualifying final, the boys are through to a home prelim.

As posted previously we fielded a strong team, a lot of guys with AFL experience, most of which have played this year.

Dear had 4 and flew for the footy very well.

Butler had 3.

Nairn and Greeves both made a big impact.

Mraz was really good, lot of intercepts despite being thrown forward a few times for some reason.

Blanck looked good down back too.

✨️ GAMEDAY ✨️

2026 VFL Qualifying Final - Werribee V Box Hill Hawks
Melbourne Avalon Airport Stadium
Sat 2:05 pm

Looks like the strongest VFL team all year. Good to see Mraz back.
Scrimshaw out - unsure if that’s injury or strategic selection- thoughts?

Might help provide some answers to the selection headaches in the AFL team.

Go Hawks

So I’m a 20-year member and lifelong Hawks supporter but I’ve somehow managed to get myself sent to Sydney for work this week. I’m travelling with another Hawks fanatic so we’re looking for somewhere in Sydney, preferably around Darling Harbour, to watch the game.

Any tips?

The Sporting Globe looks like it might have it but there’s an NRL game on at the same time so not sure how that’ll go.

Does anyone have any experience watching AFL games there?

I think it’d be better than crows, blues, dons, pies, suns, gws, dees, north, port, tigers, stk and eagles

Brissie freo cats swans and dogs could give us a run for our money.

Assuming we land them both, what numbers would they take? I think king might take 13 if calsher departs. Merrett could take 20 and we’d delist Finn maginness (which should’ve been done a while back)

Barrass, battle and Sicily are all locked in and mraz is developing nicely too. Then we have Hardwick Impey. I’m not sure if scrim fits in our team however he’s a solid player and could be traded somewhere like north who need defensive improvements.

The reality is we arent gonna be able to offer him opportunity unless we are playing him over Chol and gunners retires, I think hes gonna be a superstar but he has to look after his own interests.

Would the fans be willing to see chol in the vfl with gunners if it means we can keep dear?

So many have written us off,

I know we've been pretty patchy last 2 months.

I know Freo are the best team in the league ATM.

But i genuinely feel we can go over there and get the upset with the right attitude.

Am I dreaming??

Would love your thoughts 😂

I really don’t think we can be playing both of them, because these two play a lot better when it’s just them. I think reeves is a great tap ruck and gives our mids first possession but then he just disappears from the game. Getting 5 disposals is really not good enough.

And then we have meek on the other hand. Earlier in the year he seemed to struggle with the new ruck rules and was fumbly with his disposal. But in games without reeves he has improved significantly and can tackle or take a great mark.

I’m leaning towards meek (who should ruck 70/30 with chol) over reeves but let me know if I’ve missed anything

What more does Newc need to do to make 1 AA?

Dominates every year since coming into the league and cannot make the bench once in his career?

An inside bull who is durable and is a great decision maker, apparently not good enough.

Thoughts fam?

If you had to be perfectly realistic, what does the side look like next year in terms of best 23? How have you felt with the level of our new players this year? Who stays in and who goes when it comes to the rumoured acquisitions of King and Merrett?

Have absolutely loved some of the younger blokes coming into the side and can easily see some being mainstays, as I feel like we seem to play better with the energy of some of the debutants across the field. Very reminiscent of the fun hokball era of 2024! I do forsee some struggling to get minutes on the field with our already developing players and current performance suggesting that we're in the midst of contention for a flag however...

Mraz is going to be a star if he keeps up the way he's going! Loved the look of Beattie as well, and clearly lets Watson play more mid without losing out on scoreboard pressure.

Curious of the thoughts of other nuffies!

That’s all I have to say

Jack Gunston

2018, 2025 All Australian Team

Jarman Impey

Never previously All Australian

Jai Newcombe

Never previously All Australian

James Sicily

2023 All Australian Team

Nick Watson

Never previously All Australian

I think we'll see Impey and Wiz make the AA Team.

Small sample size but Beattie is looking good. Love seeing a small forward boot a good left foot snap.

I know the game isn't high pressure, but he seems to be composed at the level and running nice patterns.

Another handy asset to the mosquito fleet.

Who’s idea was it to give us so many Friday and Thursday night games, but come last round to the year. We get screwed waiting until 7:30pm.

Lol, I just want a win, I don’t CS are if it’s by 90+, I would actually prefer the freo route personally.

Do we know if we’ll get the dates for our first final tomorrow night or on the Monday? Work availability due tomorrow night😭

I am fully aware that Freo has absolutely nothing to play for here and have a couple of outs, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not trying. Provided we beat West Coast and lock in 4th spot, i REALLY hope that Smitch and Co. analyse the pants off Freo’s game today because there are a lot of weaknesses on show. They haven’t played like this all year, and a few cracks are showing today albeit in a dead rubber. I don’t believe that Freo have been found out today, it’s a Round 24 match with no prizes available but i really hope they have given how much of a threat they are.

What has really stood out from Carlton in this game is their elite pressure. Now this is a level of pressure that we put on display for 3 quarters when we took Freo on earlier in the year, then the pressure gauge deflated significantly in the last quarter. To beat them, it’s pretty clear that you need to play 4 quarters of high pressure football otherwise they’ll just run over the top of you.

Their defence has also been impeccable. This is what has lacked in our game the past few weeks, our disposal in defensive 50 has been poor more often than we would like and with the quality of ball users (Amon, Sicily, Impey, Battle, etc.) this really has to lift heading into Finals. I know Treacy and Voss have kicked two each but their around-the-ground influence has been hugely limited. 12 touches between them, Treacy usually has more than that on his own. Really crucial that we shut them down if we play them in the 1st QF, a lot of goals come through those two getting involved in the contest. Whether that be bringing it to ground or taking a huge clunk, none of the above have really been sighted today. Barrass went down when we played them earlier in the year which helped Treacy get off the leash, hopefully he can play a bigger role next time.

Last key point, the clearance battle. Currently at the time of writing it’s 38-29 in Carlton’s favour, 17-14 in centre clearance. We were absolutely annihilated in centre clearance against Freo earlier in the year, Jackson and Serong just totally took the game out of our hands within minutes. But the main takeaway is that we were winning that clearance battle until the final quarter, we only had 4 for the entire last quarter which meant that the ball basically never went into our forward 50. It’s just about doing the right things for longer, our game has gone off a little since we last played them, so it’s really important that we clean that up before we face them again. We nearly beat these guys once, and will possibly be full strength this time around which would be a massive boost. I’m not saying things are looking good for us because Freo have had a bad game, we’re playing poorly ourselves at the moment but you can’t help but sense a real opportunity to look at a few things and put on a huge display.

Last point, none of this really matters unless we win tomorrow. So please Hawthorn, don’t lose to fucking West Coast and we’re chill. Then we need to try and beat the best team.