My thoughts from the front row Sunday

[terry smith rules]

Well we managed to get the yacht over in time, although a stiff head wind on the Derwent made it touch and go.


Only kidding, live in Tassie

So exciting to see live footy, great seats near our race.

You forget how fast and hard this game is. TV does not tell the whole story

Sharman so so exciting, moves like a natural

Steele, literally everywhere all the time

Webster out of his skin with in front of home crowd

Higgins, this guy runs both ways all day, presents continually and is going to be great for us

Hunter, not as bad as I thought, gets involved and now we have invested in him worth keeping as a reserve. Couple of really nice taps to advantage

Kent , I see someone wrote he is not hard, are you kidding, put himself into contest after contest, and clearly one of the most vocal in the team. With so few people there you could hear lots of players

Dan H, boy if he holds up, still does things that tell you he is a jet, 22 possessions on just over half the game time !!

FQF

[shanegrambeau]

Nice one Terry.
As i am 12,000 km away there is no chance...
But I only started to watch footy again from '19 with the intensity of a real follower. i too was stunned by the speed, especially the pivot, look away pea-shooter handballs that circulate like wagon wheels from many contests.

yes, I agree, Kent did and throw himself in, for sure. And he did connect well for a change. Almost made a clanger in the last, and he is still too 'busy but slow' to me, but yes, he did have his best game.

Would have loved to have been there.

[saintsRrising]

Firstly thank you for the report, and your observations.


Though not sure I agree with this one based on my TV view...

Hunter, not as bad as I thought, gets involved and now we have invested in him worth keeping as a reserve. Couple of really nice taps to advantage

However Darcy who is an excellent ruckman looked hobbled all game and the young Meeks was only playing his 9th game. We lost the HOs 43 to 32.

Now Hunter has only played 7 games, but he is 28 yrs 6 months old and in this game only gained 4 disposals , 0 marks , 6 tackles and 16 HO's in this game.

[kosifantutti]

Now Hunter has only played 7 games, but he is 28 yrs 6 months old and in this game only gained 4 disposals , 0 marks , 6 tackles and 16 HO's in this game.

How many goal assists?

[samuraisaint]

Really small crowd there terry. Was that due to Covid restrictions or was there a lack of interest or something else? I have seen footage on youtube from somebody there (neutral suppporter nominally following the Dockers for the hell of it) in the 'crowd' and it looked like a juniors match attendance on a Saturday morning at Chelsea.
I mean if that's the best we can do regarding crowd support in Hobart we are in real trouble.

[Wayne42]

Really small crowd there terry. Was that due to Covid restrictions or was there a lack of interest or something else? I have seen footage on youtube from somebody there (neutral suppporter nominally following the Dockers for the hell of it) in the 'crowd' and it looked like a juniors match attendance on a Saturday morning at Chelsea.
I mean if that's the best we can do regarding crowd support in Hobart we are in real trouble.

I think Colin Carter has the same concerns.

[kosifantutti]

I don't know what the limit was but this was in an article about the fixture
"Spectators will be required to wear masks and the crowd will be capped under the island state's COVID-19 protocols, Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein announced on Tuesday."
Masks, early start, cap on crowds. I don't think it's representative of what you would get to a regular game in Tassie.

It will be interesting to see what the restrictions are and what the results are for the two finals.

[terry smith rules]

Really small crowd there terry. Was that due to Covid restrictions or was there a lack of interest or something else? I have seen footage on youtube from somebody there (neutral suppporter nominally following the Dockers for the hell of it) in the 'crowd' and it looked like a juniors match attendance on a Saturday morning at Chelsea.
I mean if that's the best we can do regarding crowd support in Hobart we are in real trouble.

Yes the crowd we thought was really disappointing

Maybe the short notice of the game, but there are lots of Saints supporters down here and not sure why they weren’t there

[samuraisaint]

3000 is really poor.
But getting tickets to go to games at the MCG was extremely difficult mid-season so maybe it was the way tickets were allocated and sold that was the problem.
I noticed one of the North games looked similar on TV as well.

[shanegrambeau]

I've always assumed the St Kilda-Tassie thing was more of a North Coast vibe..like a Launceston-Devenport-Burnie (all those industrial port towns up there).

Is it really a Hobart thing?

(Is it even 'a thing' at all?)

[Trev from the Bush]

Getting back to the topic, which was Terry's observations from the front row. Hunter's goal assists and one-percenters barely rated a mention on the broadcast but were noticeable. He is a much smarter footballer than many believe. Kent has a genuinely hard edge and is highly competitive. Loved his two goals, just wish he could translate that ability to his set shots. Brighton boy Webster had an outstanding game, particularly the first half, and has recovered the confidence that was the hallmark of his pre-injury seasons. And, no-nerves Sharman is as composed as any newbie we have had.

Thumbs up to Hanners, in the time he has spent out of the game you tend to forget how damn good this bloke is.