The Restump Podcast JoJo and The Chief

What was the conversation? “Wait a minute, if you’re here and I am here… then who is….?” No worries fellas, JT had it covered! Time to Restump Podcast the trouncing of the Tigers!

Even if it was a wounded, former beast, it was extremely satisfying putting away a side by near on ten goals. It is something we rarely, if ever do so, to bank 9% and the four points… we’ll gladly take that.

The Tigers might be from Tigerland but they aren’t the Tigers of old and in the first half they weren’t very strong or very bold. To be brutally honest, we should have put the game to bed in the first half and all got on the deadly treadlies and wound down.

They got their act together in the third quarter after they had lulled us into a sleepy stupor and they threatened to make a game of it. (Maybe we were on the treadlies, metaphorically speaking) However, we’re a team that can now seem to right the ship on the run and we clicked into gear and put them to the sword. We are though still leaving the door open and who knows what a better opponent may have done.   

How good is our predominant left foot, but right foot goal kicking, inside mid going? Hayden Young is out of control inn a good way! And when you’ve got a Caleb Serong going about his top-drawer business, a future captain in Andy Brayshaw and a Matt Johnson who can step inside and belong, the middle is taken care of and it enables us the absurd luxury of having a sub by the name of Fyfe!

Luke Ryan is a speed reader. He’s finished reading a book while others are still looking at the cover. It is as if he can precisely predict the play and put himself in the exact position he needs to be. He along with Jordan Clark would have to be All Australian favourites! They didn’t give the Tiges a look in yesterday.

Up the other end of the ground, there’s a guy who is, in his own words, kicking snags and taking clunks. Josh Treacy has 18 snags to his name he’s now in the top ten in the Coleman. Four goals neat on the weekend… that’s absurd! We don’t kick with that level of accuracy at Fremantle…. who does he think he is!

All in all, we got the result most of us probably thought we would but the game against West Coast a couple of weeks back just sowed a little bit of doubt in our minds. But while we kicked a big score, won by a space and seemed to do it on the bit, the Tigers are genuinely wounded. So, we’ll run with an appropriate Ross Lyon classic, it’s never as good or as bad as it seems.

Caleb Serong was surprisingly friendless in the Mi Casa property Boutique metres gained competition this week and therefore it has jackpotted again. That means there’ll be $150 spend at 2 Bros Foods up for grabs this Friday night when we take on the likely Joel Hamling included, Swans. 

Enough waffling on here! So, join us for more waffle as we look at the game in a bit more depth and chat about everything purple. 
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I mean, we’re already over there… it’d be negligent to not test the water, wouldn’t it? Let’s get to the nuts and Boltons of it, contracts are transferable! Time to Restump Podcast the upcoming Tigger tussle! 

Let’s not call a spade a pointy diggy thing… space in the Tigers’ recovery centre is tighter than the housing market! Tom Lynch, Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper, Dion Prestia, Noah Balta, Jack Graham and Jack Ross are all jostling for rehab real estate, so it is safe to say anyone who plays Richmond at the moment is getting them at the right time.

However, we shouldn’t poke the Tiger with a short stick. As wounded and depleted as they may be, they found a way to devour the Swans in round four without a Jacob Hopper, a Dustin Martin, a Dion Prestia and a Dylan Grimes.

But season 2024 we’re taking down animals like we’re on a game hunting tour. Yes, the eagles escaped our clutches this time around, but we’ve feasted on Crows, Lions, Kangaroos and Dogs. It’s our AFL animal slaughter safari strategy and the Tigers have entered the kill zone.

We’ve made just the one change with the very unlucky Paddy Voss going out and being replaced by Jye Amiss. Paddy didn’t put a foot wrong but he has suffered the consequential desire for team balance.

Richmond have lost Jacob Hopper as mentioned, and they’ve suffered a further hit with Jack Graham succumbing to injury. There are almost 1,000 games of experience from numerous players in the Tiger’s best 23 that they’re missing. 

We inexplicably dropped a game against the Eagles that we couldn’t afford and we need to make that back at the Tiger’s expense. They may have some on-field holes to fill but they’ll run out with 11 players possessing a combined 19 premierships. So, it is safe to suggest they have enough quality and experience out there to potentially cause us some concerns. 

The Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition has jackpotted. There is a $100 voucher from 2Bros up for grabs and if you opt to chance it in our Bailey Banfield special it could be upped to $200. Get involved on the social media posts. 

We’ve played at the MCG just 6 times in the last 3 years for 2 wins and 4 losses. Sunday is the first of just two home and away games at the venue the AFL generously blessed us with so we need to start a winning trend there.

Does Jojo need to apologise? Two weeks ago, he said exactly what Sammy Draper has ridiculously been hauled over the coals for. The question will be asked of him. 

If you’ve had enough of this nonsense here then don’t tune into the pod because there are probably shedloads more of it in there. But as we always say at the Restump, lack of ability isn’t an excuse to not attempt to put out better quality nonsense. 
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It was a case of the old dog reminding other dogs he still has the tricks! Time to Restump Podcast the much-needed win over the Footscray hounds.

It was the type of win we needed. Proving victorious in a hard fought, tight tussle put to bed any monkey on the back narrative development, surrounding close games. It was a win the players had to have for their own wellbeing, for the betterment of their season and for us fans after last week’s debacle.

Even the staunchest Nat Fyfe supporter would have had doubts that we’d see that type of performance from the champ again. It was a doubting Thomas crushing, never-write-me-off, nostalgic wave causing, vintage Fyfe display, proving a treat for us fans, a nightmare for the Dogs and an incredible and deserved reward for himself.

Let’s not forget his running mate Caleb Serong with his equalling 37 possessions and ridiculous record of 17 clearances. Throw in Andy Brayshaw with his 30 touches and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Dogs players complained we were hogging the ball.

We know our defensive unit is the best in the business but how it overcame the Dog’s forward line with its tall timber…. you just shake your head in disbelief! Sam Darcy, Aaron Naughton, Rory Lobb… apart from Alex Pearce we were walking in the land of the Giants!

Luke Ryan always finds a way, James Aish returned to doing James Aishy stuff, Jordan Clark could be leading the best and fairest and geez…. it was nice to have Chappy back. The balance providing Brandon Walker often unfairly gets heat from fans, but what he brings far outweighs his blues.

There was a lot of razzle dazzle about Fyfey and Serong’s exploits and rightly so, but Clunker Treacy is as big a talking point as there is. 5 contested possessions and 4 contested marks in the final quarter were vital, 3 goals neat for the game…. in the absence of Jye Amiss, he made a statement.

Bailey Banfield made amends for his recent hiccups. Being used in a variety of positions to fix and fill holes he performed admirably and it is probably a week when even his biggest cynics should give him a break and a pat on the back.     

Have we found one in Paddy Voss? Have we found another in Cooper Simpson? Both moved well and looked extremely comfortable given they were on debut. Very small sample size but no doubt we all liked what we saw.

Bailey Banfield blew out the dogs and the Mi Casa Property Boutique Metres Gained competition this week! His 171 metres final quarter effort got no love from participants. So, Jojo is doing a jackpot special next week putting up a possible $200 spend at 2 Brothers Foods. 

Plenty more to discuss so let’s get into it. You’d like to think there’d be a lot less ranting and a lot more constructive analysis this week, but nobody is going all in on that bet. Let’s dial into the pod and find out if Jojo will even bother to turn up! 
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Accusations we tempted the Footy Gods with our overconfidence are unfounded. They tipped Freo by fence panels. Sadly, it’s time to somehow Restump Podcast whatever Saturday night was.

If anyone said they saw Saturday night’s performance and result coming, they’re lying. Biff Tannen armed with his Grays Sports Almanac handbook wouldn’t have bet on West Coast in that game. 

We thought we weren’t that club any more. The team that unexpectedly puts in the most bizarre and inexplicable performance. After Saturday night, it is difficult to suggest we aren’t.

Admittedly without Freddy, without Switta, without Coxy and without Amiss we were somewhat undermanned against, really, as full strength an outfit West Coast are likely to have for some time. But it wasn’t who was and wasn’t out there, it was how we did or rather didn’t go about it.

We should have gone into this game five and zero, or at least four and one. Where was the resulting fire? Where was the anger of the two weeks in South Australia that we should have unleashed on West Coast? To the Eagle’s credit they brought and delivered what we didn’t. They monstered us, they intimidated us, they verballed and niggled us and we allowed them to do so. 

Harley Reid is a jet. He’s a generational talent and freakish for his age and experience. But while that is the case, he’s a 19 year old kid in his 6th AFL game and we allowed him to physically and verbally bully us!   

We weren’t clean with the ball, individually we rapidly descended into self-preservation mode and seemingly, or consequentially, our footy intelligence decreased. We repeatedly made terrible decisions; we were more often than not, standoffish and we were simply destroyed by a team with a substantially greater appetite. 

Maybe the extended Gather Round trip had a far greater detrimental impact than we all know? Maybe the compound effect of the Gather Round trip and the loss of Freddy, Switta and Amiss exposed our depth? In all reality we’ve been winning games off the back of our defence. We did raise the point that if they had a rare down day we’d be picked off. Still, no one thought that would be enough to see what the Eagles did to us.

We’ve now destroyed the early work we did setting up our season and at three and three we’ve lost our advantage. We’re back to the pack, run of the mill and fighting for survival! Are we fighting though? That remains to be seen this week against the Dogs.

Some drown their sorrows with alcohol, others choose to comfort eat. For the latter, it would have been a great week to win the Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition and tuck into the $50 of 2Bros foods. Deb Albrecht did just that and we hope she remembers that sharing is caring!

I feel like we’ve got so many more questions than answers. So, let’s see if Jojo can even up the ledger and give us a few answers and provide us some direction in life. This was a really tough one to take as the result and performance was all on us, not umpires and not freak circumstances.

Apparently, a problem shared is a problem halved so join us on the pod as we all need to band together and do a shedload of sharing.
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The pent-up anger of the last two weeks, a hunger for points lost and the reuniting of Jackarce! God help the West Coast Eagles. Time to Restump preview Podcast this Saturday’s bird cull!

After erring on the side of caution last week, Sean Darcy is tip top and ready to rock and roll right through anything in blue and gold Saturday evening. We’ll send a wreath to the funeral of those who stumble into his path.

Surprisingly, after just a few touches in the WAFL, Sammy Sturt has been thrown a lifeline. Without Freddy and the injury to Switta, this career saving opportunity has opened up and Sturty needs to grab on and not let go.

We obviously are only jesting but the reality is, it is extremely difficult to not go into this game ultra confident. Last week’s win by West Coast was an improvement, but it is false form in the greater scheme of things. You can imagine the result had Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper, Dion Prestia, Noah Balta, Dylan Grimes and Tom Lynch actually been out there for the Tiges.

With two outs and two ins it means Neil Erasmus holds his spot. The question is will he be in the  starting 22 or will he don the sub vest yet again?

Bailey Banfield judged to be the 3rd best winger in the league with Champion Data. Banfield has been good this year, albeit with a couple of recent pivotal blemishes, but apparently the same crew rate Massimo D’Ambrosio in first spot ahead of Errol Gulden!

We were all on Gaff watch but sadly the treadmill runner gets to remain in the safety of the WAFL. With his contract ending at the close of 2024, we may have just one more opportunity for some retribution for Andy Gaff's indiscretion that has gone unpunished, before he saunters off into the obscurity.

Anyway, whichever way you look at the form of this game Saturday night, the numbers just don’t stack up for the Eagles. The bookies seem to think so as well given they have us priced at $1.14.

In other news it was heartening but not surprising to hear the green cap wearing Jordan Clark sign on for a further three years.

Apparently, you can now belt someone on the field, head to the tribunal, get someone to say you’re a good bloke and it was uncharacteristic behaviour and, hey presto, get your charge downgraded.

The Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition is back for the Derby and Jojo is again putting up the prize from his 2 Brothers Foods company, so make sure you get involved.  

If you’re pacing the halls and constantly looking at your watch impatiently waiting for bounce down like us then, feel free to join us twiddling our thumbs as we preview the Freo V the feather weights Saturday night. 
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Any longer in South Australia and we’d end up putting our own bodies in the barrels! Time to Restump Podcast the end of the horrendous two weeks in bandit riddled Adelaide.

We should be strutting out of South Australia with two big wins and eight fat points, sitting pretty near the top of the ladder with all but a finals campaign berth in the bag!

But no, we’ve spent two weeks getting done over by bandits and now we’re hitch-hiking home back to WA with nothing to show for it…. except Bailey Banfield who has a Zak Butters imprinted lump on his head!

We still weren’t over the Carlton debacle from the previous week and we end up with another case of the Blues a week later against Port Adelaide! We have to look where we put our feet and stop standing on rugs that can be pulled out from under us!

To be real, we were robbed against the Blues but we’ve only really got ourselves to blame for the snatching of Saturday night defeat from the jaws of victory. A combination of mistakes, lack of composure and a serious inability to score brought us undone. We did what we always do, and that is leaving the door open for the opposition to roll us. Port Adelaide cased the joint, got their foot in the door and then lifted the four points from right under our noses.

Yes, Bailey Banfield made a couple of blunders kicking a couple out of bounds on the full, as did Matty Johnson. But if we’re singling out people then Sammy Switkowski should’ve nailed his shot just prior to ¾ time and Caleb Serong should have done better on his gettable goal. No one is getting a pass but there are many moments that should have had us in a much better position leading up to the last two minutes of the game. 

It’s becoming apparent we need to find more avenues to score. Prominent teams are getting goals from their midfield and it is something we rarely achieve. Consequently, with our forward line often malfunctioning, our fortunes are unfairly far too dependent on our magnificent defensive unit.

All Australian Alex Pearce is possessed, Luke Ryan can read opponent’s minds and Josh Treacy could catch a slippery eel in an oil slick with his bare hands! We just need a few others to climb on board.

However, if we can console ourselves by taking a momentary bigger picture view, we’ve just run two, probably top four to top six, teams to the wire and all but beaten them.

Sean Darcy is due to return, Freddy is not far away and a little increase in forward craft and cohesion and a goal or two from the mids and we’re off to the serious races.

The Mi Casa Property Boutique metres gained competition is getting traction and it’ll be back for the Derby this week so study up. 

It’s been a long painful two weeks in South Australia so let’s wrap up what was our final game there for the year. If, like us, you’re keen to extract the positives, bury the SA saga and move on, then by all means grab a shovel, join us and dig in.
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