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drivindrivin · 5 years

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While I don’t necessarily agree with these rankings, I always find what Jolyon has to say very interesting. He, Jack Nicholls and Jenny Gow are great on the BBC radio F1 coverage.

Jolyon’s five best drivers of the year

Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton

Charles Leclerc

Carlos Sainz

Sergio Perez

Article under the cut

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who left Renault during the 2017 season, is part of the BBC team and offers insight and analysis from the point of view of the competitors.

The Formula 1 season ended in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with a podium that summed up the season perfectly - the three outstanding drivers of the year were all on it.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton won the race, from Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. For me - and I suspect many others - they were the best three drivers in 2019. Just not quite in that order.

This is my assessment of the F1 grid in 2019.

The five best drivers of the year

1. Max Verstappen

In terms of choosing the best driver of the season, Hamilton and Verstappen were practically inseparable. Hamilton won the championship, but if I had to pick just one of them, I'd say Verstappen just edged it.

His relentless pace and consistently high level caused team-mate Pierre Gasly to be demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso in the summer break. And now the pressure is mounting on Alex Albon, Gasly's replacement, as Red Bull desperately search for someone who can operate somewhere near Verstappen's level.

In the first part of the season, Verstappen's victory in Austria, achieved while lapping his team-mate despite being behind him on the first lap, underlined his dominance over Gasly, who has excelled against both his other F1 team-mates, Brendon Hartley last year and Daniil Kvyat this.

Three race wins, extremely few mistakes and being a constant thorn in the sides of Ferrari and Mercedes shows how good Verstappen has been.

This was underlined by the fact that he finished the season comfortably third, ahead of both Ferraris, despite being in a slower car in terms of absolute pace and being wiped out by each of the Italian team's drivers at some point.

The only big downside for Verstappen are that a first pole position in Hungary should have been followed up with another in Mexico as well as Brazil, were it not for some foolhardy driving to not back off past a yellow flag.

That cost Verstappen another win. Potentially he could have exercised more caution in Belgium Turn One as well, but aside from that Verstappen's season was flawless.

2. Lewis Hamilton

Equally as impressive as Verstappen, this was an almost perfect season for Hamilton, in which he was strongly in contention for victory at nearly every single race.

When Hamilton leads out of Turn One, the race is boring. This was demonstrated once more in Abu Dhabi, although team-mate Valtteri Bottas couldn't challenge him from the back of the grid. When he doesn't, he's always a factor in the fight for victory anyway.

Hamilton has had one of his finest seasons and it has gone under the radar, because the title has been effectively wrapped up since June.

But winning 11 from 21 races proves his dominance, particularly because of the threat he's had since the summer break from Ferrari and Red Bull.

In the end, I have marked Hamilton down behind Verstappen only because he went off track while leading in Germany and hit Albon in the chaotic final couple of laps in Brazil.

In reality, there was nothing to choose between the two. Hopefully next year we can see them in a genuine title fight. That is a mouthwatering prospect.

3. Charles Leclerc

Ferrari have had a lot of stick this year - and quite rightly. They have been disappointing in every area.

Abu Dhabi was a real microcosm of their season. As Hamilton and Mercedes waltzed to an easy win, Verstappen showed up both Ferraris.

Both drivers hit the wall on Friday. Leclerc missed a final qualifying lap because of a pointless strategic timing 'gamble'. The team were investigated for a fuel irregularity before the race even began, and ultimately found guilty. And they had a seven-second pit stop with Sebastian Vettel as well for good measure.

Leclerc can sometimes get lumped into Ferrari's woeful season; he has after all made a fair few mistakes, such as crashing in Baku qualifying, in the race in Germany or hitting Verstappen on the first lap in Japan.

But this is only his second season in F1, and in reality he has been a revelation. Taking the pole position trophy for his seven poles shows how fast he has been - and he added two excellent victories as well.

Leclerc has brought numerous question marks upon the future of Vettel, because of how much he's ended up shading his team-mate as the season has gone on, combined with Vettel's own mistakes.

In fact, Leclerc has beaten Vettel on every single measure - he outscored him in the championship, took more wins, more poles and comfortably won their qualifying head-to-head. And that was despite Ferrari starting the year favouring Vettel, and imposing team orders - generally in the German's favour - a number of times.

Races such as Bahrain and Belgium show how good Leclerc can be. Hopefully, with another year's experience and a second season with Ferrari, he can cut the mistakes and become a season-long threat. Whether Ferrari can hold up their part of the bargain is a different matter.

4. Carlos Sainz

Sainz is another man who has had an exceptional year, and just managed to take sixth in the championship with a brilliant last-lap pass on Nico Hulkenberg in Abu Dhabi. With both Gasly and Albon, his rivals for that spot, spending half a year in the significantly quicker Red Bull, that is seriously impressive.

Sainz hasn't been the fastest this season. He's actually been out-qualified by rookie team-mate Lando Norris 11-10 in the head-to-head - although the Spaniard is actually ahead when taking into account only sessions in which a fair comparison can be made. But he's been relentlessly strong in the races and ultimately that is what counts.

Sainz's first laps have always been strong, and his race-craft has been superb as well. He has made several great overtakes in the year, and barely had contact with other drivers, in spite of often being in the thick of the midfield chaos.

A first podium in Brazil was thoroughly deserved. It's just a shame he didn't actually get to stand up there as the stewards dithered when handing Hamilton a penalty.

McLaren have had a brilliant season, with huge progression from last year. But they have a lot of work to do if they and Sainz can achieve any better next year.

Consolidating fourth in the constructors' championship and getting closer to the big three will likely be the aim in 2020.

5. Sergio Perez

This was a really tough call between Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo, but in the end I've given Perez the nod because the Racing Point was not as good a car as the Renault and the Mexican all but matched the Australian's points total.

It's been an under-the-radar but extremely strong season once more for Perez. Five top-seven finishes in the past nine races leapt him up to 10th in the championship, ahead of Norris and almost catching Ricciardo, despite having a slower car across the season.

There have been a few mistakes along the way, particularly in a barren patch in the middle of the season such as at Germany and Silverstone, where Perez went a full eight races in a row without scoring.

But either side of that run he failed to score in only two other races and surely punched higher than his car, with four best-of-the-rest finishes, thanks to some super race performances.

The rest of the grid

This season has been a real fall from grace for Ricciardo, since winning races with Red Bull last year. The switch to Renault hasn't been anywhere near a success. In fact, the team have dropped backwards by 31 points and a position in the constructors' championship even though they splashed out on the big-money signing of the Australian.

But Ricciardo isn't to blame for any of that. As a driver he has actually been very strong this year, outshining Nico Hulkenberg 14-7 in qualifying and 54-37 in the points.

Everyone who has raced alongside Hulkenberg rates him highly - including myself - so Ricciardo beating him in that manner, in his first season with the team, is an impressive start, personally at least.

The Pierre Gasly that drove the Toro Rosso in the second half of the season was very good. Both fast and consistent, he scored a stunning second place in Brazil in what was my favourite moment of the season.

Sadly, the Gasly that started the year in the Red Bull never got going. This was the ultimate Jekyll-and-Hyde season, with some of the best and some of the worst. Very mysterious.

George Russell, Albon and Norris have had strong rookie seasons. For Russell, he's had no competition and a terrible car, which has made gauging his performance difficult. But for what it's worth beating team-mate Robert Kubica 21-0 in qualifying was good. He had flashes of pace and barely put a foot wrong.

Albon's Toro Rosso half-season was encouraging. His Red Bull second half started in an encouraging fashion, and fell a little flat towards the end of the season. He could do with kicking on a bit next year, but hopefully a full winter of team integration can help.

Norris' season started very well. He was fairly consistently ahead of Sainz in qualifying in the first half of the year and was held back by misfortune in the races.

As the year went on, Sainz increasingly established himself over Norris as the lead McLaren driver, but points in six of the past eight races show that Norris still did a solid job. He is my rookie of the year.

At the other end of the spectrum, Kimi Raikkonen had a very good first half of the season in the Alfa Romeo, before slipping back, along with his team, in the second half.

A sequence of silly errors kicked off the second half of the season, but on the whole Raikkonen has still shown he has what it takes at 40, as he showed Antonio Giovinazzi the way, beating him in all but three races.

It was a tough year for Haas, and in particular Romain Grosjean, who was generally out-performed by team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

A number of incidents and a fair amount of radio whining didn't help the Frenchman's cause, but the team fell away from good midfielders to ninth in the constructors' this year, and for the most part had no clue why that happened.

They desperately need to understand the tyres more, as this has been their Achilles' heel since day one. One day they can be super quick, like in Barcelona when they were best of the rest. The next they are absolutely nowhere.

Finally, Kubica had the worst season of all. It was a remarkable achievement for the Pole to get back onto the grid after his rally accident in 2011, and the terrible injuries he suffered. But that's where it ends, sadly.

I was a Kubica fan in his BMW days and when he was at Renault in 2010, and I hope people will remember him as that driver, rather than the tail-end Charlie who limped around in a very poor Williams car this year.

Either his right arm and hand - which have only partial movement, and which appear to be more or less a passenger in the car - were holding him back, or so much time away simply left him rusty. Or maybe both.

Either way, his performances this year were not a true representation of a driver who is supremely naturally talented.

#f1 2019 #f1 #jolyon palmer

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iimaginedragons · 6 years

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album review

“pray for the wicked” -- panic! at the disco [2018]

the highly anticipated sequel to the commercially successful “death of a bachelor” album by emo pop punk gone alternative band panic! at the disco is here, and i decided that it would be the perfect start for my new album review segment. i’ll break this down track by track in a moment, but first, some background and overall impressions.

although i can’t call myself a longtime panic! fan as i only really discovered their entire discography less than a year ago, i definitely enjoy their music a lot. i’m kind of glad that i wasn’t there from the start, since i was able to really enjoy “death of a bachelor” when i first found it without having any attachment to their previous sound, since i hadn’t heard it before. if you saw my chaotic rant about p!atd a few days ago, i ranked my favourite albums of theirs, “a fever you can’t sweat out” taking the top spot with “death of a bachelor” in second. from what i’ve seen within the fandom, this seems to be an unpopular opinion since they’re so different. since i absolutely love these two very different eras of panic!, and i figured that this put me in a perfect place to await “pray for the wicked”; i felt ready for basically any sound and i also felt like brendon was really going to hit his prime as the sole remaining member of panic! especially after a “début” of sorts with “death of a bachelor.”

however, as a whole, i felt let down by this album, especially after such promising singles. although there were many positives in “pray for the wicked”, it was also riddled with problems all throughout. here’s my opinion on each track along with my analysis of what went right and what went wrong on this album.

#1 -- “(fuck a) silver lining”

when this song was first released a while ago along with “say amen (saturday night)” i really only thought it was “okay”. i think that compared to the big roaring chorus and instrumentation on the other track, this one fell sort of short. however, after more listens, i really came to appreciate the bass in the verses, the brass on the chorus, as well as the vocal hook on the chorus, which i initially didn’t like because the lyrics “fuck a” felt awkward to me -- now, however, i feel like i’ve absorbed the beat of it a little more and i actually really enjoy it. also, it took me several listens to hear brendon’s high notes in the ending chorus since i was initially so irked by and hung up on the “awkward” lyricism, but they’re absolutely incredible. say what you will about his music, but this man can sing. the whole idea of this song, of nothing ever being good enough or totally okay despite silvers linings also really grew on me. overall, i think this is one of the strongest tracks on the album and it’s definitely a song that i’ve been and will continue coming back to listen many times around.

#2 -- “say amen (saturday night)”

i was very glad this song came on right after “(fuck a) silver lining”, because this one impressed me right off the bat and still does to this day. the vocals are clean, the subtle guitar fits very well, and the brass in the chorus works within the heavy alternative beat in this amazing way that p!atd can do. the long high note is obviously impressive as hell, but i also feel like the bridge’s low notes deserve some praise too. this track feels like a strong evolution from the style in many “death of a bachelor” songs, such as “emperor’s new clothes” and “crazy=genius” which are among my favourite panic! songs of all time partially due to their thickly produced alternative choruses. i think this is truly the song that got me the most excited for the new album because it’s so grand and well-mixed. it was smart of brendon to release this one first, commercially speaking, as it got really positive reviews. sadly, i feel like it ultimately came to bite him in the ass as hardly any other songs on “pray for the wicked” were able to live up to this one.

#3 -- “hey look ma, i made it”

here’s where we unfortunately start getting into some problems. the album was obviously going very well so far, but i was especially excited for the first song that i had yet to hear, and man, was i ever let down. i feel like since this is a positive anthem with a shoutout to his mom, fans will jump all over this song; not me, sorry. we have some lukewarm vocals over a synth riff that just doesn’t do it for me at all, and a simple mellow pop beat, which is really not typical of panic! who i’ve always found to have excellent percussion, or else enough of the other things to make up for weaker drums. i also find the lyrics weak and tacky, your usual motivational, shrug off the haters and follow your dreams song. the vocal melody, especially, in the verses, is beyond dull to me. i really don’t like the “boo-hoo” before the chorus -- that’s probably what i detest the most about this track. i know it’s meant to be funny and it’s obviously sarcastic, and who doesn’t love sarcasm, right? this, however, isn’t sarcasm done right; it’s sarcasm done lazily and stupidly. brendon could have come up with a clever line or something like we all know he can, but no, we’ve got “boo-hoo”. i don’t like the trap-inspired beat on the second pre-chorus and the final chorus either; it doesn’t fit the song. i can’t say that there are many panic! at the disco songs that i would skip when listening to an album, but this is certainly one of them, unfortunately.

#4 -- high hopes

i enjoyed this one a lot when it first came out, since i get major “death of a bachelor” vibes from it. although it encorporates many aspects of mainstream pop (which isn’t inherently a bad thing of course) such as the clicking percussion in the intro, it is done well because it is cohesive with the rest of the production, notably a far more varied vocal melody, a hook that’s actually catchy, and excellent brass, all of which the previous track on the album totally lacked. although this is another motivational anthem, the lyrics aren’t awkward to me and the rhymes flow far better; they feel natural rather than forced (a fairly common problem on many tracks of this album). i think for me the vocals really make this song, as well as again, that heavy chorus. i love that acapella bit near the end, then the entrance of another typical pop build up for the rest of that chorus before finally landing into the chorus’s final renditions. i’ll stress this again: the drums, horns, and vocal melody are crafted well enough to surround and embellish the mainstream pop aspects of this song, make it different, and increase its substance; that, to me, is what alternative music is all about. this is also among the strongest tracks on the album for me.

#5 -- roaring 20s

the start of this song really caught me off guard, but i immediately had a good impression about it. i’m really gonna discuss the lyrics on this one because i’m super conflicted on it. immediately i got a “don’t threaten me with a good time” vibe, especially with the phrase “this is the strangest of summers” and the previous lyrics. however, the following lyric, “maybe i’ll medicate, maybe inebriate” is super problematic for me; this is one of those instances where the rhyme feels forced and a bit basic. same with “maybe i’ll smile a bit, maybe the opposite” -- i mean the syllables are counted just right, the words are similar and simple... it just feels extremely weak to me, as if literally any novice songwriter could have written it. i find the pre-chorus very good, and the ensuing hook “this is my roaring 20s” is fine as well, but let’s talk about “roll me like a blunt ‘cause i wanna go home”; i hate it, i think it’s absolutely stupid and it could have been tweaked just a tad to make sense (i mean, it comes up later as “roll me a blunt ‘cause i wanna go home” which makes a hell of a lot more sense and could have a deeper meaning -- is he only at home when he is high? it would totally work as the regular chorus line for the whole song if the vocal melody was altered just a tad). it’s unfortunate because i was willing to overlook the simple rhymes earlier because sonically, i find this song very catchy and unique (love the 20s vibe), but man, those lyrics... i will say this, though: it has been bothering me far less with more listens -- the sound is gradually making up for the poor lyricism everywhere (it only gets worse with the second verse). time for a huge positive score though, probably the best thing that came out of a non-single song on this entire album for me: the slowed down, 20s take on the second last chorus. i find it so incredible, well-placed within the song, and perfectly executed. it sounds authentic enough but somehow also fitting in a modern alt pop album -- i don’t know how he does it. for me, it makes the entire song worth listening to; i soldier on through the shit verse lyrics just to hear what i find to be a huge sonic achievement for not just this song or album, but for panic! in general. as i mentioned earlier, there’s also that modified lyric in the chorus that sounds far better. i kind of wish that every chorus had been like that sonicallt, but i don’t know if it would have had the same incredibly exciting effect that it had on me the first time i heard it; thanks to that, this track is the only non-single one that i’ve really been listening a lot. also, a little sidenote i just thought of: this is really the “stay frosty royal milk tea” of this album for me; i really like it sonically but the lyric issues are cringey -- let’s hope i can eventually overlook them as i mostly have with the fall out boy track.

#6 -- dancing’s not a crime

this song kicks off with a really exciting vibe aside from the obnoxious chopped electronic sample -- i like the guitar and brass as well. i’m really not a fan of the chorus, i mean lyrically it’s weak, but as i’ve been stressing this entire time, if you have enough of everything else to embellish a weaker part of a song, it can work, especially with the amount of layers there are in alternative music thanks to heavy production; here though, it just doesn’t work for me, as the drumming and bass are pretty weak as well. i’m not a fan of brendon’s vocals on the chorus either, he sounds like he is straining too much (i have heard people give the same complaint about “high hopes” and a few other p!atd songs on other records as well, which i can understand, but i guess it’s really up to personal interpretation because i personally love the vocals on “high hopes”). i think my biggest problem with this entire song is that i find it very tacky. i understand that he was sort of going for a broadway vibe on certain parts of this album, which works in some places and not at all in others; this is one of those “others”. the issue isn’t really that the song’s about dancing which in and of itself has come to be seen as a tacky theme in music; it’s more so a lack of effort in trying to make it not tacky that saddens me. the brendon that we’ve seen over the years has written of pretty common themes in music such as sex, cheating in relationships, drugs, and partying in general, but has done so in such refreshing unique ways. i’ve personally always admired his ability to make a party song that’s always a bit “too deep” to be your typical party song -- a prime example of that, again, is “don’t threaten me with a good time”; sure, it’s goofy at times, but it’s clever and it also has this dark, almost sad undertone, as if conveying already the regrets of the following days. here, however, i hear only a surface level song that tries too hard to be a jam and not hard enough to be an actually well-rounded song.

#7 -- one of the drunks

what i just talked about in terms of party related lyrics applies very well again to this track. the verse is very basic and very un-panic!-ish -- to me it sounds like something maroon 5 would write (and i really don’t mean that as a compliment). the guitar and beat in the chorus are alright, they’re mellow but in a good way this time -- i honestly don’t really have any particular problems with the chorus, but it’s also nothing special either. another one of my issues with these verses though is the very short, choppy statements; i mean, he’s not even writing fucking sentences. if you’re into that, then it’s okay i guess, but personally i like full or half sentences rather than just individual or very small groups of words just being sort of tossed around, you know? i like a cohesive statement; doesn’t have to be a story with perfect flow, but i don’t mind some sense of time and direction rather than feeling as though i am floating around in this cloud of space where words are just being chucked at me left and right with what seems to be very little thought behind them. this style of lyricism also reminds me of lots of current trap and trending hip/hop, which i find to be very weak genres lyrically-speaking. i think this song also tried to convey that “hidden sadness/depth within the party song” that i mentioned earlier, and although i do kind of feel it in the chorus, i find the vocals and production don’t convey it as well as they could have. i don’t like the bridge, but it does make that last chorus pop a hell of a lot more. this one isn’t a song i’d purposely skip, but it wouldn’t really be my first choice to listen to at any point either.

#8 -- the overpass

again, another track with an extremely promising start. that brass, those bongos... and then our typical high energy p!atd breakdown, followed by some awesome vocals and bass -- i mean i was feeling very good about this song, probably better than any other non-single start that i’d heard on the album thus far. i like the sound of the chorus, but i wouldn’t call it grand either -- i’m also not a fan of the repetition right at the start: “meet me, meet me, at the overpass, at the overpass”. i know brendon is clever enough to fill that in with some variation; it feels lazy. the vocal run before the bridge is clean and beautiful, yet the strings (which i felt lacked both quality and quantity on this album in general) on the bridge reminds me a bit of a watered down “(fuck a) silver lining” and i dislike the way brendon articulates those lyrics. although it isn’t super impressive and got a pretty positive reaction out of me initially mostly because it’s preceded by two bummers and a problematic fave, this is honestly not a bad song. there isn’t too much that’s really “wrong” with it (as you saw, i was being pretty fucking nitpicky), though of course, “not a bad song” is not a great compliment in comparison to what we are used to saying about panic!’s work.

#9 -- king of the clouds

despite being the shortest track on “pray for the wicked”, this song undoubtedly makes up in quality what it lacks in length. i was initially annoyed at brendon for dropping a fourth single since we already knew that the album was only going to be eleven songs and it was coming out in like a week anyways, so i tried to boycott it so as not to spoil the album for myself -- two minutes later i was listening, and i fell so hard for this absolute jam that i couldn’t even be angry. the acapella intro with all those layers sounds heavenly, especially as i am lucky enough to own a solid pair of beats headphones through which to experience it. that electric guitar lick hooked me immediately and i was just immersed in this song from then on out. heavy alternative production dominates, reminiscent for me of "friction”, “gold”, “smoke and mirrors”, “i’m so sorry”, and a few others off of imagine dragons’s “smoke + mirrors” album, a deliberately overproduced alternative record that just so happens to be my personal favourite of all time. the roaring chorus just demands to played at full blast. the lyrics are decent; not as existential as brendon intended them to be, but catchy nonetheless. the “below the sun” rhyme sounds, again, a bit forced, but within such a powerful track i can forgive it. the strings are really awesome here (probably their best spot in the entire album), and the outro vocals are great as well. this all sort of brings on an interesting idea for me; if you’ve been keeping up with panic! lately, you may have heard brendon discuss the making of “king of the clouds” and the fact that it was created very quickly and added to the album only an hour before their due date. for some reason, it just bothers me that my favourite and one of strongest songs on the album was created in so little time, whereas tracks like “hey look ma, i made it” were done way before and are far inferior in quality to me. it begs the question of what the fuck was he doing the entire time before the creation of “king of the clouds”? i mean “say amen (saturday night)” and other previously mentioned songs are strong and i can see time being dedicated to writing and producing them, obviously, but if it took brendon the rest of that time (aka any time way longer than it took him to make “king of the clouds” and the other strong songs) to craft something like “dancing’s not a crime”, i'd say that’s honestly kind of sad. i don’t mean to insult brendon’s work ethic; i just find that for the creativity that we know he still has to this day thanks to the “death of a bachelor” album as well as songs like “king of the clouds”, it’s disheartening to see final products like the mediocre at best songs i’ve described above. anyway, this is my personal favourite song off the entire album, i think it’s very well done.

#10 -- old fashioned

after what i just wrote on brendon, i feel kind of guilty because i love and respect him so much, so i really wish i had something nice to say right now about this next song... yet we open on this low horn type sound that i’m really not a fan of. thankfully it fades into the background, making place for a verse with a guitar style that sounds like it was sampled directly from the second verse of “say amen (saturday night)” -- the lyrics are okay in the beginning, yet the chorus is weak and the strings don’t fit the rest of the song at all. the “dead and gone so long, seventeen so gone” hook sounds like everything that is wrong with current mainstream pop. then for the bridge, we mix this broadway-like sound with nice brass, which works, but then we’ve also got the “say amen (saturday night)” type guitar and our current basic beat, getting this strange combination that really doesn’t work sonically for me. also, “get boozy”? like... really? i’m sorry, but to me that’s a pretty pathetic bridge. overall, this song is just not very exciting, and i don’t understand the thought behind so many of the sonic transitions, especially that final chorus. this is among the worst on the album for me.

#11 -- dying in la

my immediate thought with this one was “good on panic! for ending on a ballad again” as it really worked on their last album. this track begins relatively well with some nice piano (a little too broadway for my taste, but i can understand the appeal) and good vocals. however, it quickly goes downhill from there for me. maybe it’s because i was expecting another “impossible year” which is an incredibly difficult feat to top, and maybe it’s because i prefer mournful themes to dreaming, hopeful ones. either way, this song really fell short for me. i was good with it despite the cheesiness until the “dying in la” line where brendon hikes up his vocals -- i find it to be completely unnecessary and a huge turn off for the song. yes, he had been channelling his inner broadway on the album but it was subtle; this time all i could think of was some cheesy dreamer’s musical, with this song being the main character’s turnaround point where they then get shot into the wonderful life of stardom thanks to all their hard work and the fact that they believe! ...awful. i just can’t do it. i know this song is meant to be sad by talking about all these washed up people who came to this big city with their larger-than-life ambitions and simply turned into partiers, drug addicts, or whatever. it’s really a great idea for a theme and i would love a song about that, but broadway musical style is not the way to do it. the entrance of the strings really just kind of ended it right then and there for me; it felt like it was trying so hard to be dramatic, while i was sitting here just rolling my eyes. obviously brendon’s vocals are good, but i just can’t deal with the childishness of this song. this level of cheesiness is (and to me, has always been) beyond brendon; he’s always just been so above that, better than this. “impossible year” is somewhat cheesy, yet it’s way more raw and real than this staged shit. i don’t know, i feel like the fans are going to fall for this one as well because it’s meant to be sad and it’s the only ballad on there. for me, all it did was make me feel this aching melancholy for the better p!atd slow songs, such as “the end of all things” or “far too young to die”.

overall, the strong points in “pray for the wicked” for me truly laid in the singles and a couple of other songs. general layered production was decent though a bit muddy at times, the use of brass, horns, etc. within a variety of beats was admirable and refreshing despite it not paying off each time, and the overall cohesiveness of the album is the only thing it has on “death of a bachelor” which is a bit all over the place in terms of musical style. i think that it is really thanks to the consistent utilisation of those trumpets, saxophones, etc. that “pray for the wicked” feels more like an album.

however, the negative points in “pray for the wicked” aren’t few or small enough to simply overlook quickly. yes the album is cohesive, but as a whole it is relatively forgettable, with very few standout songs. there is an unfortunate immaturity and simplicity in terms of lyricism and some sonic aspects of the album that i’ve never really seen from brendon, which is really disappointing for me. certain songs also blatantly outshined others, which would be fine if those “others” weren’t as weak as they are; it’s as if all efforts were thrown into a select few songs and the rest were just tossed in there for length. although i praised the use of brass throughout the album for its uniqueness and its ability to make the whole thing sound far more collected than their previous album, i also think that it might have been overused, as it was dragged into settings (notably beats and some strings and synth arrangements) that really did not require it or sound good with it at all.

i could see this album growing on me as i listen to it some more, since i find myself to become a bit of a “lazy listener” if that makes sense; to a certain extent, i’ll absorb the awkward lyrics, weird sounds, etc. and sort of set them aside and just listen, if there’s enough of a song to salvage despite all those mistakes. “roaring 20s” for example is so catchy that i’ve already been listening to it a lot and really liking it, whereas i don’t know if i could ever genuinely enjoy “hey look ma, i made it” or “old fashioned” at all since for me the blunders in those are just too prominent and/or numerous. only time will tell, i guess.

in terms of my ranking for this album in comparison to the rest of p!atd’s work, i’d rank “pray for wicked” last along with “pretty. odd.” (which i don’t even like to count in my book because it’s just not so my style at all that i feel guilty judging its quality).

essentially i had been hoping for further evolution from the great sound of “death of a bachelor” and the singles made “pray for the wicked” seem really promising; unfortunately the rest of the album fell extremely short for me.

i’ll probably get murdered by fans for this, but my final rating for this album is a 4.5/10.

i think i’ll keep doing some more of these in-depth track and album reviews like this with both new releases and old favourites. if there’s anything you’d like me to review (even if it’s not in my tags at all), feel free to just drop a song or album in my ask anytime and i’ll get it up there asap, obviously crediting you in the process.

---mel

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musicalmatrix · 7 years

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actually the show closing has nothing to do with DEH or the show not winning tonys. CFA only won 1 Tony and they are still making a million dollars a week. the show is closing because of poor marketing choices and replying on celebrities to bring in income.

Alright, listen.

I specifically told you people not to talk to me because I’m angry as hell and it wouldn’t be good for either of us, but now you’ve pissed me off, so now you get a rant, bucko.

CFA is a beautiful show and also deserves to be running. Here’s the dealo tho: Come From Away opened in March. The Great Comet opened in November. When The Great Comet was only in it’s 4th month, they too were making over a million dollars a week! Turns out good shows make a million dollars a week when they’re only four months into their run regardless of the Tony’s!

Oh but wait, The Great Comet isn’t in it’s 4th month now, so now they gotta rely on people actually wanting to see the show! Too bad no one wants to see a show that got nominated for 12 things and lost 10 of them.

“Overall, the show just seems kind of weird. Kind of out there. I don’t know if I’ll enjoy it. Like, I understand that a lot of other people enjoy it, but maybe it just won’t be for me. Besides, if it was a risk to take, like if it’s actually that good, it would have won some awards, right? I think I’ll just spend my money on good normal shows like DEH and CFA.”

Don’t you ever EVER insinuate that awards don’t mean anything when it comes to shows like The Great Comet. Unless your show is already mega famous (like Hamilton), the Tony’s literally save shows. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder was literally making 52% of it’s potential growth before the Tony’s and skyrocketed to 101% afterwards and ran for another two years. Fun Home was making 60% pre-Tonys. After? 103%. And it played for another year. Kinky Boots was making 75% pre-Tonys. After? 102%. And it’s still running! Also, hey, remember that other show Lin Manuel wrote? In the Heights? It was making 50% pre-Tonys, and after? You guessed it! 108%!! And it got to run for three more years!!

If the point you’re trying to make is the Tony’s don’t affect the income or the longevity of a show, you my friend, are just flat out wrong. (Lin has specifically said before that he was worried going into the Tony’s for ITH because if they didn’t win big, that was the end of the show).

And none of that even touches on the fact that TGC is an incredibly expensive show to put on!! DEH has 7 cast members; CFA has 12! I could waste my time trying to count how many cast members there are in TGC, but quite frankly that would be pointless because we all know it’s waaaaaay more than either of those numbers! So not even including the actual expenses of such an intricate show, I think I can rest my case on the cost of TGC with just the performers’ salaries.

Here’s the thing that really REALLY pisses me off about your ask, though: The insinuation that TGC shouldn’t have to have celebrities to be successful. Last time I checked, BEN PLATT IS A CELEBRITY. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE GOT INTO DEH THROUGH HIM. Not everyone, but a significant number!! It’s really fucking hypocritical to criticize TGC for something DEH is doing!!

And now I feel like I’m going to get 2 types of responses to that: People who are pissed about the Oak fiasco (which I’ve addressed here) [summary: we should def be pissed about blatant racism, but then we shouldn’t have a double standard and let shows like DEH who’ve never even TRIED to be inclusive get away with being successful] and people who say “Yeah, but Ben Platt was perfect for the part.” To which I say: SO IS EVERYONE IN TGC??? Like Josh was amazing? Ingrid’s amazing? Oak is flawless? What is your argument??

And beyond that, your jab at “poor marketing choices and relying on celebrities” is honestly insulting to the entire theater industry. //Every// show DOES THAT. Especially the celebrities thing. It’s the reason Keke Palmer and Carly Rae Jepsen were in Cinderella. It’s the reason Sara Barielles was in Waitress. Chicago funnels in big names every other day. Brendon Urie just saved Kinky Boots!!!! Shows will do anything to stay running because they’ve put so much goddamn effort into it. How fucking dare you insult them for trying to stay running!

You want actual reasons to close a show?? The Phantom in POTO rn is a rapist. School of Rock is running solely because of children, and tbh those children deserve a better show. When will we as a society decide it’s FINALLY time to let go of Chicago?! (Seriously. Let it die. I’m begging you. I love it. But I’m begging you.)

Anyways this ask completely irritated me, and if you think DEH and the Tony’s had absolutely nothing to do with TGC closing, I’m going to kindly ask you to fuck off, because you’re so wrong, it hurts.

#anti deh #tgc #npatgco1812 #the great comet

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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Jolyon Palmer column: Max Verstappen edges it over Lewis Hamilton

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/jolyon-palmer-column-max-verstappen-edges-it-over-lewis-hamilton/

Jolyon Palmer column: Max Verstappen edges it over Lewis Hamilton

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who left Renault during the 2017 season, is part of the BBC team and offers insight and analysis from the point of view of the competitors.

The Formula 1 season ended in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with a podium that summed up the season perfectly – the three outstanding drivers of the year were all on it.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the race, from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. For me – and I suspect many others – they were the best three drivers in 2019. Just not quite in that order.

This is my assessment of the F1 grid in 2019.

The five best drivers of the year

1. Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen won three grands prix in 2019 and scored points in the first 12 races of the season

In terms of choosing the best driver of the season, Hamilton and Verstappen were practically inseparable. Hamilton won the championship, but if I had to pick just one of them, I’d say Verstappen just edged it.

His relentless pace and consistently high level caused team-mate Pierre Gasly to be demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso in the summer break. And now the pressure is mounting on Alex Albon, Gasly’s replacement, as Red Bull desperately search for someone who can operate somewhere near Verstappen’s level.

In the first part of the season, Verstappen’s victory in Austria, achieved while lapping his team-mate despite being behind him on the first lap, underlined his dominance over Gasly, who has excelled against both his other F1 team-mates, Brendon Hartley last year and Daniil Kvyat this.

Three race wins, extremely few mistakes and being a constant thorn in the sides of Ferrari and Mercedes shows how good Verstappen has been.

That cost Verstappen another win. Potentially he could have exercised more caution in Belgium Turn One as well, but aside from that Verstappen’s season was flawless.

2. Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton won 11 of the 21 races in 2019, equalling his totals in 2014 and 2018

Equally as impressive as Verstappen, this was an almost perfect season for Hamilton, in which he was strongly in contention for victory at nearly every single race.

When Hamilton leads out of Turn One, the race is boring. This was demonstrated once more in Abu Dhabi, although team-mate Valtteri Bottas couldn’t challenge him from the back of the grid. When he doesn’t, he’s always a factor in the fight for victory anyway.

Hamilton has had one of his finest seasons and it has gone under the radar, because the title has been effectively wrapped up since June.

But winning 11 from 21 races proves his dominance, particularly because of the threat he’s had since the summer break from Ferrari and Red Bull.

In the end, I have marked Hamilton down behind Verstappen only because he went off track while leading in Germany and hit Albon in the chaotic final couple of laps in Brazil.

In reality, there was nothing to choose between the two. Hopefully next year we can see them in a genuine title fight. That is a mouthwatering prospect.

3. Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc finished 24 points ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship

Ferrari have had a lot of stick this year – and quite rightly. They have been disappointing in every area.

Abu Dhabi was a real microcosm of their season. As Hamilton and Mercedes waltzed to an easy win, Verstappen showed up both Ferraris.

Both drivers hit the wall on Friday. Leclerc missed a final qualifying lap because of a pointless strategic timing ‘gamble’. The team were investigated for a fuel irregularity before the race even began, and ultimately found guilty. And they had a seven-second pit stop with Sebastian Vettel as well for good measure.

Leclerc can sometimes get lumped into Ferrari’s woeful season; he has after all made a fair few mistakes, such as crashing in Baku qualifying, in the race in Germany or hitting Verstappen on the first lap in Japan.

But this is only his second season in F1, and in reality he has been a revelation. Taking the pole position trophy for his seven poles shows how fast he has been – and he added two excellent victories as well.

Leclerc has brought numerous question marks upon the future of Vettel, because of how much he’s ended up shading his team-mate as the season has gone on, combined with Vettel’s own mistakes.

In fact, Leclerc has beaten Vettel on every single measure – he outscored him in the championship, took more wins, more poles and comfortably won their qualifying head-to-head. And that was despite Ferrari starting the year favouring Vettel, and imposing team orders – generally in the German’s favour – a number of times.

Races such as Bahrain and Belgium show how good Leclerc can be. Hopefully, with another year’s experience and a second season with Ferrari, he can cut the mistakes and become a season-long threat. Whether Ferrari can hold up their part of the bargain is a different matter.

4. Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz came sixth in the drivers’ standings, a point ahead of Pierre Gasly

Sainz hasn’t been the fastest this season. He’s actually been out-qualified by rookie team-mate Lando Norris 11-10 in the head-to-head – although the Spaniard is actually ahead when taking into account only sessions in which a fair comparison can be made. But he’s been relentlessly strong in the races and ultimately that is what counts.

Sainz’s first laps have always been strong, and his race-craft has been superb as well. He has made several great overtakes in the year, and barely had contact with other drivers, in spite of often being in the thick of the midfield chaos.

A first podium in Brazil was thoroughly deserved. It’s just a shame he didn’t actually get to stand up there as the stewards dithered when handing Hamilton a penalty.

McLaren have had a brilliant season, with huge progression from last year. But they have a lot of work to do if they and Sainz can achieve any better next year.

Consolidating fourth in the constructors’ championship and getting closer to the big three will likely be the aim in 2020.

5. Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez won 52 points this year, more than double team-mate Lance Stroll’s total

This was a really tough call between Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo, but in the end I’ve given Perez the nod because the Racing Point was not as good a car as the Renault and the Mexican all but matched the Australian’s points total.

It’s been an under-the-radar but extremely strong season once more for Perez. Five top-seven finishes in the past nine races leapt him up to 10th in the championship, ahead of Norris and almost catching Ricciardo, despite having a slower car across the season.

But either side of that run he failed to score in only two other races and surely punched higher than his car, with four best-of-the-rest finishes, thanks to some super race performances.

The rest of the grid

This season has been a real fall from grace for Ricciardo, since winning races with Red Bull last year. The switch to Renault hasn’t been anywhere near a success. In fact, the team have dropped backwards by 31 points and a position in the constructors’ championship even though they splashed out on the big-money signing of the Australian.

But Ricciardo isn’t to blame for any of that. As a driver he has actually been very strong this year, outshining Nico Hulkenberg 14-7 in qualifying and 54-37 in the points.

Everyone who has raced alongside Hulkenberg rates him highly – including myself – so Ricciardo beating him in that manner, in his first season with the team, is an impressive start, personally at least.

Sadly, the Gasly that started the year in the Red Bull never got going. This was the ultimate Jekyll-and-Hyde season, with some of the best and some of the worst. Very mysterious.

George Russell, Albon and Norris have had strong rookie seasons. For Russell, he’s had no competition and a terrible car, which has made gauging his performance difficult. But for what it’s worth beating team-mate Robert Kubica 21-0 in qualifying was good. He had flashes of pace and barely put a foot wrong.

Albon’s Toro Rosso half-season was encouraging. His Red Bull second half started in an encouraging fashion, and fell a little flat towards the end of the season. He could do with kicking on a bit next year, but hopefully a full winter of team integration can help.

Norris’ season started very well. He was fairly consistently ahead of Sainz in qualifying in the first half of the year and was held back by misfortune in the races.

At the other end of the spectrum, Kimi Raikkonen had a very good first half of the season in the Alfa Romeo, before slipping back, along with his team, in the second half.

It was a tough year for Haas, and in particular Romain Grosjean, who was generally out-performed by team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

A number of incidents and a fair amount of radio whining didn’t help the Frenchman’s cause, but the team fell away from good midfielders to ninth in the constructors’ this year, and for the most part had no clue why that happened.

They desperately need to understand the tyres more, as this has been their Achilles’ heel since day one. One day they can be super quick, like in Barcelona when they were best of the rest. The next they are absolutely nowhere.

Either his right arm and hand – which have only partial movement, and which appear to be more or less a passenger in the car – were holding him back, or so much time away simply left him rusty. Or maybe both.

Either way, his performances this year were not a true representation of a driver who is supremely naturally talented.

Hamilton dominates in Abu Dhabi for 11th win of the season

How the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix unfolded / reaction

What you voted as the moment of the 2019 F1 campaign

#Hamilton #Lewis

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halle-avalos-blog · 5 years

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♠ Halle Clarissa Avalos ♠ December 4th, 1996 ♠ Guitarist in Accidental Youth

♠ Weird girl energy ♠ Semi permanent resting bitch face ♠ Loyal as hell ♠ Will stand up for what or who she believes in ♠ Gets attached to people easily even though she doesn’t necessarily act like it ♠ Sometimes wears bras as tops ♠ Big fishnet advocate ♠ Coffee over anything ♠ Pop punk addiction ♠ Will never love another human as much as she loves Brendon Urie ♠ Always loud, mouthy and uses curses excessively ♠ Isn’t afraid of mosh pits ♠ Gets lost in daydreams constantly

Halle is the only child of Teresa and Eduardo Avalo. Eduardo owns a string of Luxury hotels in the San Diego area while Teresa was a stay at home mother.

Growing up, Halle had a very normal life.

Her mother was at home with Halle every day, and in that they became very close. Teresa was the only person she had contact with every day, she was a mama’s girl from the start, growing into her early years she wanted to be just like he mom, glamorous, strong and beautiful.

She didn’t see her father much because he was always so invested in work and business but their relationship was not one she considered to be poor. She would always be excited to see her father when he’d come home from work, beg her mother to let her stay up to see him if it was a late night. She loved her dad, she respected him as a man and as a business person, knowing that everything he was doing and all the time he was sacrificing with his family was for his family.

There was no real problems or issues in her life at home. At school she was social and made friends easily, she had big birthday parties and extravagant gifts and was absolutely spoiled. Looking back know Halle knows that her parents were making up for all the irregularity of her life without her father around, but it wasn’t anything that bothers her even to this day.

Even as she grew up into a teenager things were going steady, she didn’t fight with her parents, she didn’t get into any trouble, she hung out with her close knit group of friends and her boyfriend, Chris and did exactly what she was supposed to.

She was 15 when her and Chris started exploring being sexual. He was a year older than her and told her he loved her, to this day Halle doesn’t doubt that he did, and she loved him too. But after she got pregnant, things changed between them. Things changed for Halle completely.

Having to stand in front of her parents and tell them she was going to have a baby was the scariest and hardest thing she’d ever done. She could tell by the look on her father’s face that he wasn’t going to accept it. Almost immediately he told her to get out of his house, that she’d brought shame onto the family and she didn’t deserve all the nice things she had if she was going to act like such trash. Her mother begged and pleaded her father not to send their only child away into the night, but Halle did as Eduardo said, packed as much as she could before he started yelling again, and left.

Chris had known before he parents that she was pregnant, but when she showed up at his house crying after walking the blocks between their homes, Halle was sent away once again. He was scared to tell his parents, just like Halle’s they were extremely catholic and would want nothing to do with her or the baby.

Going to her friends house, Halle stayed there for a few days. She didn’t go to school, she just stayed in the guest room and cried until she got a phone call from her mother.

Teresa loved her daughter, Halle was her pride and joy and she wasn’t going to let her husband ruin her life. It took a few days of sneaking around, but she was able to get an apartment for her daughter, get her a car and a separate bank account set up so she could provide her daughter with the means of taking care of herself whenever she couldn’t be there with her.

It was the biggest secret, but Halle was willing to keep it if it meant she’d be able to survive, she’d be able to bring this baby to full term healthy and give it up for adoption.

Over the next 8 months, Halle changed but she had no choice. Friends she’d had before becoming pregnant were ignoring her, her boyfriend had broken up with her after she decided not to have an abortion, her mother was once again the only person in her life.

In the months she was spending time alone in apartment, Halle developed a strong love for music, but not the same music she was listening to the year before. No, it was nearly the opposite. Punk and rock and punk rock and pop punk, all these new genres were coming into her life and she didn’t feel as broken with them.

The interest picked up enough for her to buy a guitar with some of the money her mother was providing her, learning to play almost came naturally to her, like she was made for this, but she still watched video after video trying to prefect her music.

Song writing came near the end of her pregnancy, writing the first song for her son that was in her belly that she’d be giving up soon. When she gave the baby to his parents, she gave them a CD of the song she’d written, asking them if they would just do one thing for her and let him listen to it sometimes.

Though Halle was no longer carrying a child, her life didn’t snap back to normal. She was still laser focused on music, still wanting to do everything she could to improve her craft and maybe be able to do something with it someday.

Finally not having to be overly careful of the child inside her, she could go to the concerts she wanted to, hang out with the people she met there and Ryder, the boy from school who she’d befriended when she’d pushed everyone else away. Her and Ryder would spend hours listening to music and discussing the lyrics in the songs, talking about how they really cut deep and how the guitar solo would send chills down their spines. Ryder quickly became a very important person to Halle, probably the most important aside from her mother.

Years passed and Halle and Teresa were still hiding the apartment and the money from Eduardo, the man so focused on work and raking in so much cash from his multiple hotels that it didn’t make a dent in his wallet in the slightest.

After graduating high school, Halle decided it would be best for her to skip out on college for a while, maybe go back and get a degree in music when she was ready but right now everything she had was being provided by her mother, who had kept the secret from her father for years, she wasn’t about to tempt fate and apply to college when she wasn’t sure what would happen if she did.

She kept writing songs in the comfort of her apartment, even doing a few open-mic nights at bars or singing covers at some cafe’s, anything that she could do involving music, she would.

Meeting Jackson at a concert, and then seeing him again three and four times, they had a running joke with each other that they should just plan to come together, which they eventually did. Finally, her and the two boys realized they all knew each other, and with the common ground of a love of music, decided to make a band. The final band member, Donny was a little bit harder of a sell than anyone else, but when he did agree, Halle couldn’t have been happier. Very quickly this band became everything to her and she couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to play music the way she’d wanted to for a while.

Though she isn’t hoping for huge success or crazy fame, she just wanted a way to be able to play guitar and write her songs and have fun doing it, which is exactly what she gets to do with the boys.

Halle has really been able to find herself in the last few years, she feels happy for the first time in a long time and isn’t willing to jeopardize that at all. She’s loyal, and caring but not without sarcasm and a jab or two. There are moments where she definitely wonders what her life could have been if she hadn’t gotten pregnant, where she’d be, and she doesn’t go a day without thinking about the little boy she gave up but she knew it’d be for the better for the both of them. All around, she’s ready for the next steps in her life, wherever that may take her.

#about // one more bend before we break

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footyplusau · 7 years

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Match report: Blues survive another thriller

A HERCULEAN performance from Bryce Gibbs has spearheaded Carlton to a 10-point win over Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium and kept its unlikely finals hopes flickering.

The Blues led by 29 points early in the third term, relinquished the lead during the fourth, but then steadied to win 12.11 (83) to 11.7 (73).

Full match coverage and stats

The victory is their second in succession and moves them to a 5-7 win-loss record.

On a dirty night for the Suns, Michael Barlow was stretchered off halfway through the final quarter after suffering a broken leg.

Gibbs was a colossus, finishing with 43 disposals and two crucial goals in the fourth term when the heat was on.

His first was a set shot from 50m, and the second a brilliant baulk around Pearce Hanley and finish from 40m after his side had fallen behind.

Gibbs’ second goal would put the Blues in front for the final time, before Jack Silvagni and Jed Lamb iced the job with the next two goals.

Carlton coach Brendon Bolton said Gibbs was so good, he’d break his own rule of not individualising in his post-match press conference.

“On this occasion, I think it would be remiss of me not to mention Bryce’s game,” Bolton said.

“It was huge.

“He had 43 touches, kicked a couple of goals, but more importantly, the stat to look at, he had 10 tackles, because we want to be defined by pressure.”

WATCH: Gibbs provides game for the ages

Gibbs had plenty of help though as Kade Simpson (33), Marc Murphy (31) and Sam Docherty (30) were also prolific.

Ed Curnow (21 touches) waged an enthralling duel with Suns superstar Gary Ablett (25) and had the better of the contest, while reborn defender Liam Jones completely blanketed Suns co-captain Tom Lynch.

Lynch kicked seven goals when the teams met earlier this season, but Jones kept him goalless this time and restricted him to just 10 disposals and one mark.

Carlton thoroughly deserved its win after absolutely dominating the first half.

It should have been more than 24 points in front at the main break, but poor kicking for goal kept the home team in it.

The loss is not a disaster for Gold Coast, but it’s not far short after successive wins had put them right in the finals picture.

Five talking points: Gold Coast v Carlton

“It was very poor, wasn’t it?” Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade said.

“It’s still a learning curve for us and we have to find the solution, we just have to get consistency.”

Jack Martin kicked three goals and Jarryd Lyons two as the Suns midfield was outplayed.

Carlton set the physical tone right from the opening bounce.

Curnow pushed, bumped, whacked and harassed Ablett any chance he got – as did every Blues player that came within striking distance of the Suns champion.

WATCH: Blues target Gaz

Their midfield decimated Gold Coast’s in the first two quarters.

Carlton led the disposals (227-138) and inside 50s (32-13) and just some wayward kicking in front of goal gave the Suns a slight sniff they didn’t deserve.

MEDICAL ROOM Gold Coast: Flying defender Adam Saad copped a big bump from Dale Thomas just before half-time that looked to catch him high. Saad hit the deck immediately and struggled to leave the field. He returned after the main break and played the game out. Veteran midfielder Michael Barlow will undergo surgery on Sunday after suffering a broken leg midway through the final quarter.

Carlton: The Blues seemed to get through unscathed.

NEXT UP The Blues will try to make it three-in-a-row next Sunday in what shapes as a huge match against Richmond at the MCG. Gold Coast has its own big battle to play at Etihad Stadium, taking on St Kilda in what will be Gary Ablett’s 300th game.

GOLD COAST 1.1 3.2 7.6 11.7 (73) CARLTON 4.4 6.8 7.9 12.11 (83)

GOALS Gold Coast: Lyons 2, Martin 2, Sexton, Matera, Lemmens, Barlow, Martin, Swallow, Wright Carlton: Thomas 2, Gibbs 2, Silvagni 2, Petrevski-Seton, C.Curnow, E.Curnow, Boekhorst, Wright, Lamb

BEST Gold Coast: Lyons, Swallow, Barlow, Ablett Carlton: Gibbs, Simpson, Docherty, Jones, Kreuzer, Murphy, E.Curnow

INJURIES Gold Coast: Barlow (broken leg) Carlton: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Meredith, Harris, Ryan, Mitchell

Official crowd: 11,936 at Metricon Stadium

The post Match report: Blues survive another thriller appeared first on Footy Plus.

from Footy Plus http://ift.tt/2sCr0f0 via http://footyplus.net

#Footy Plus

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madpicks · 7 years

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New Post has been published on https://www.madpicks.com/sports/nfl/15-nfl-stars-wont-believe-played-leagues/

15 NFL Stars You Won’t Believe Played In These Leagues

There are 53 active players on every NFL team. To make a roster in the NFL is one of the most difficult tasks in all of sports. A team has to look at you and decide if you’ll make their team better. But what if the team’s decision is the wrong one? There have been many attempts for the people who don’t make that cut to have a chance to show their stuff while providing entertainment and revenue for people.

For some of the groups that got that chance in a league that wasn’t the NFL they received another chance at stardom and many of them took that chance and ran with it. There are three Hall Of Famers on this list, thirteen Pro Bowlers, and multiple Come Back Players Of The Year.

These alternate routes to the league have turned out plenty of successful athletes. All of these organizations listed here were considered at least relatively successful, even so here are the 15 players you won’t believe played in these leagues.

James Harrison, OLB (Rhein Fire, NFL Europe)

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

A fan favorite for the Steelers, James Harrison almost retired from the NFL at 26 years old. Harrison bounced from practice squad to practice squad. He signed with the Steelers practice squad, was cut twice, signed by Baltimore, then sent to NFL Europe with the fire, cut again, then signed by the Steelers after their starting OLB suffered an injury. During this time Harrison strongly considered retirement to become a veterinarian(A goal he still he has for his life after football), but continued to improve during his time on the Fire and his time spent unemployed. Four years later Harrison became the NFLs defensive player of the year, while sealing his teams victory in Super Bowl XLIII with a 100 yard pick six, one of the greatest plays in NFL history.

Lincoln Kennedy, LT (Tampa Bay Storm, AFL)

via youtube.com

Lincoln Kennedy is more than just a man named after two separate presidents, he was the anchor of an excellent Oakland Raiders offensive line. Kennedy was a three-time Pro-Bowler and two-time All-Pro at Left Tackle for the Raiders. In 2002 he was the leader of a Raiders offensive line that helped Rich Gannon win NFL MVP and advance to Super Bowl XXXVII, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After becoming a host on NFL Total Access during the 2004 season, Kennedy decided his place was still on the field. Though he was cut by the Cowboys in 2005, he signed with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena League on 2 separate occasions, helping them return to the AFL Playoffs in 2007.

Dante Hall, WR/KR/PR (Scottish Claymores, NFL Europe)

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“The Human Joystick” was the nickname for Dante Hall, who was at one point the most electric player in the NFL. Hall is considered one of the greatest Kick/Punt returners in NFL history. Hall, a two-time Pro-Bowler and member of the NFL All-2000s team, had 12 return touchdowns in his 9 year career. Before dominating the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs the dynamite return man spent the 2001 season with the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe, where he led the league in kick off return yards(635), was second in punt returns with 15 for 177 yards(an amazing 11.8 average)and was second in combined net yards (1,263). The next year he would become a member of the Chiefs main squad and score six touchdowns(2PR, 1KR, 3 R).

Adam Vinatieri, K (Amsterdam Admiarls, NFL Europe)

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Adam Vinatieri is arguably the most clutch kicker of all time, and maybe one of the most clutch athletes in America. Vinatieri has kicked countless game winners, including two last second Field Goals to win Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII) and his field goal was the margin of victory in another (XXXIX). Before that however Vinatieri was being clutch on a different continent for Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe. Though Vinatieri was undrafted, his story is a bit different than others with the NFLE on here. Vinatieri tried out for the NFLE before the NFL, and successfully convinced the Admirals to sign him. The decision was a huge success as the rookie Vinatieri shined, going 9/10 on Field Goals with a long of 43 and going a perfect 4/4 on PATs. The next year Vinatieri signed as an “undrafted free agent” with the New England patriots, appearing in Super Bowl XXXI. From 1996-2006 Vinatieri would play in six football championships( World Bowl III, Super Bowls XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, and XLI) winning four (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX and XLI). At 44 years old he is currently the oldest player in the NFL.

Brent Grimes, CB (Hamburg Sea Devils, NFL Europe)

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Brent Grimes was involved in the final game in NFL Europe history (for now), a 37-28 victory for Grimes Sea Devils over the Frankfurt galaxy on June 23, 2007. Grimes had gone undrafted out of DII Shippensburg in 2006, and had signed with the Falcons shortly after. Though the Falcons waived him due to a groin injury later that year, they signed him to play for NFL Europe in 2007. Grimes became a star quickly, standing out on a championship caliber defense. Grimes nabbed two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, and also notched a sack for the Devils. Grimes would go onto join the Falcons again later in 2007, and become a shutdown corner in 2010. Since 2010 Grimes has gone to four Pro Bowls, and was voted a second team All-Pro in 2014, in spite of the fact he suffered an achilles tear during this period.

Tommy Maddox, QB (Los Angeles Xtreme, XFL)

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The story of Tommy Maddox is almost too movie like to be real. Maddox was a first round draft pick out of UCLA in 1992 by the Denver Broncos. He was drafted as the heir apparent to John Elway, who was 33 at that point. In 1994, with the Broncos strapped for cap space and Elway showing no signs of slowing down, Maddox was traded to the Los Angeles Rams. Maddox would underperform in his brief time with the Rams, before signing as a free agent with the Giants the next season. Maddox struggled with the Giants in 1995, and was released in the preseason of 1996. Then in 1997 he signed with the Atlanta Falcons, and was cut in the preseason. He then stepped away from football to be an insurance salesman. In a nearly three year interim Maddox continued to be around football, albeit at a high school level, and continued to hone his skills. In 2000 he signed with the New Jersey Red Dogs of the Arena League. Maddox immediately showed how the practice period had paid off. Maddox threw 64 touchdowns in 2000, while also selling his insurance company. Maddox then signed with the newly formed Los Angeles Xtreme of the XFL. Maddox led the league in touchdowns, passing pards, and led the Xtreme to the championship game, which they won 38-6. Maddox went on to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers later that year. After an injury to starter Kordell Stewart in 2001 and subpar play from Stewart in 2002, Maddox was named the starter. Maddox went on a tear and the Steelers finished 7-3-1 with him at the wheel. Yes, a guy who hadn’t started an NFL game in 10 years went 7-3-1 as a starter. Maddox nabbed the Comeback Player of the Year award and later got a ring from Super Bowl XL as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup.

Brad Johnson, QB (London Monarchs, NFL Europe)

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Brad Johnson doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Its not often people mention the 2x Pro Bowler who is also a Super Bowl winning QB. That’s the curse of playing on a team with one of the best defenses of all time, nobody looks at the offense. Before Johnson was leading the Bucs to a 27 point victory over the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, he was the starting QB for the London Monarchs of the NFLE. In 1995 Johnson became the Monarchs starting QB, and despite the fact he would become a Pro Bowl QB four years later, Johnson struggled with the Monarchs. Johnson went 194/328(59.1%) for 2,227 yards, 13 TDs and 14 picks, to finish with a QB rating of 75.1 Johnson made the modern day equivalent of $18,200 for his time with London.

Brendon Ayanbadejo, LB/ST (XFL, CFL, NFL Europe)

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Brendon Ayanbadejo isn’t as good as some of the other players on this list. That isn’t anything to slouch at. The list includes three Hall of Famers (Possibly a fourth depending on how voters view Harrison or if Delhomme decides to lace up his spikes again) and multiple Pro Bowlers. Ayanbadejo wasn’t a franchise player. But what he was is simple: A lights out special teamer who could change the game in a multitude of ways. What makes his run impressive was that he was a Pro Bowler/All-Pro(PFWA) at one position in the NFL and a CFL All-Star at a different one. Ayanbadejo was a three-time Pro-Bowler as a special teamer in the NFL and a CFL All-Star at Linebacker. In 2002 Ayanbadejo posted 77 tackles, 3 Sacks, and 3 Interceptions for the BC Lions as they finished with a record of 10-8. Ayanbadejo had less successful stunts with the Los Angeles Xtreme(The short lived XFLs only champion) and the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe.

Fred Jackson, RB (Sioux City Bandits, United Indoor Football)

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In 2012 running back Fred Jackson signed an $8.7Mil contract with the Buffalo Bills after rushing for 930 yards in 10 games. But before that Jackson was earning $200 a game for the Sioux City Bandits of the United Indoor Football league. With a bonus of $50 a win, Jackson showed the NFL what they were missing by rushing for 1,770 yards in 18 games while scoring 53 touchdowns(40 Rush, 11 Receiving, 2 Return) during his 2005 campaign, being named co-MVP of the league. Before Jackson could make his jump to the NFL however he also had to appear in NFL Europe for the Rhein Fire, where he carried the ball 157 times for a team leading 751 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson also caught 300 yards worth of passes, breaking 1K yards from scrimmage on the year. After signing with the Bills following the 2006 NFLE season, he became the starting running back in 2009, where he posted 1,300+ yards from scrimmage.

Jake Delhomme, QB (Frankfurt Galaxy, NFL Europe)

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As crazy as it sounds, 100% of the 1998 Amsterdam Admirals QB depth chart were NFL Pro-Bowlers. Jake Delhomme was undrafted in 1997, and signed with the Saints the same year. He was a practice squad player for a few years, before being moved to NFL Europe. He spent his first year (1998) as the backup to Kurt Warner for the Amsterdam Admirals. The next year was when he really took off. In 1999 Delhomme signed with the Frankfurt Galaxy. The Galaxy utitilized a unique two-Quarterback system, and Delhomme split time with fellow QB Pat Barnes. The strategy, however unorthodox, was extremely successful. Dehomme went 136/202 (67/3%) for 1,410 yards (7.0 YPA), throwing 12 TD’s to 5 INTs. The duo as a whole went 230/366 (62.8%) for 2,878 yards(7.9 YPA) 24 TDs to 13 INTs as the Galaxy went 6-4 and won the 1999 World Bowl(NFL Europe’s Super Bowl equivalent). Delhomme would later sign with the Panthers, leading them to a Super Bowl appearance and making a Pro Bowl(2005).

Jay Gruden, QB/HC (Tampa Bay Storm, AFL)

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OK, so this one might cheating, but you’d be missing out if you didn’t know about the career of Jay Gruden in the AFL. Before his brother Jon brought an offense to Tampa Bay for the Bucs, Jay brought his own to the Storm. After signing with the NFLE’s Barcelona Dragons, Gruden went back to the States to play for the Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL. Gruden was immediately dominant, winning the league MVP award in just his second year. Gruden would go onto be a two-time All-Arena selection and win four Arena Bowls during his tenure. After an outstanding career in which he was considered one of the greatest arena bowl players ever, Gruden went on to become a coach for the AFL’s Orlando Predators, winning 2 more Arena Bowls.

Jeff Garcia, QB (Calgary Stampeders, CFL)

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Any fan who follows the Eagles or 49ers knows Jeff Garcia was a outstanding QB in the NFL. In addition to being a four-time Pro-Bowler (2000-2002,2007) Garcia led the second largest comeback in NFL playoff history in 2003. Down 24 points against the New York Giants with a little over three minutes to play in the 3rd quarter Garcia ripped off a fantastic comeback, scoring 25 unanswered points, and the 49ers ended up winning 39-38 after the Giants botched a Field Goal as time expired. What many fans may not know is that Garcia was also an extremely successful QB for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL. Undrafted in 1994 Garcia signed with the Stampeders shortly after. After starting Calgary QB Doug Flutie (Yes, that Doug Flutie) suffered an injury midway through the 1995 season, Garcia stepped in. Garcia immediately made his presence known, setting multiple records for the Stampeders such as yards (546) and touchdowns(6). Garcia would become permanent starter in 1996 and would post Win-loss records of 13-4, 10-8, 12-6 the next three years. The highlight of those three was 1997, where Garcia was a CFL All-Star at QB and his team won the Grey Cup after Garcia led 80-yard game winning drive that culminated in a last second field goal. Garcia would leave Calgary for the San Francisco 49ers in 1999, becoming a Pro Bowl QB for them just one year later.

Ken Stabler, QB (Spokane Shockers, CFL)

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Most people reading that header are probably wondering why the Canadian Football League would have a team in the state of Washington. Well, that’s because the CFL Stabler played in wasn’t the Canadian Football League, it was the Continental Football League. The “CFL” lasted just 4 seasons(1967-1970) and had a “farm team” arrangement with the Oakland Raiders. Strangely enough, the oddest part of the whole experience is that Stabler wasn’t nearly as good as he was in the NFL. Despite being a Hall Of Fame QB in the NFL(and a 2x First Team All-Pro during an era with Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese, Frank Tarkenton, Joe Namath, Ken Anderson, and later Dan Marino) Stabler struggled in his limited playing time with the Shockers. In 1968 Stabler went just 17/41 (41.5%), 125 yards (3.0YPA), 0TD-3INT and a QB rating of 18.9. Despite all that, just five years after struggling with the CFL, Stabler would win an NFL MVP. Stabler was likely the best player to ever put on a Shockers jersey, yet he gave probably the worst performance of anyone on the roster. Stabler was inducted into the NFL Hall Of Fame in 2016.

Warren Moon, QB (Edmonton Eskimos, CFL)

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Quarterback Warren Moon is a Hall Of Famer in both major North American Football Leagues. A well known QB in the NFL, where Moon was a 9x Pro Bowler, he was also one of the most dominant Canadian Football League QBs ever. When Moon went undrafted (and unsigned) following the 1978 NFL Draft, he quickly signed with the Edmonton Eskimos. In his six seasons with the team, they won an astounding 5 Grey Cups. Moon was a huge part of that, winning the Most Outstanding Player award (The CFL equivalent to MVP) in 1983. In 1982 Moon became the first person in CFL (and professional football) history to throw for at least 5,000 yards (he threw exactly 5,000). The next year he did it again. During his MOP year Moon threw for a record 5,648 yards. Moon played 10 Postseason games in his CFL career, finishing with nine wins and one loss. Moon was one of the few, if not the only, player to come from an outside professional league to kick off a bidding war when he decided to try the NFL. Moon followed his coach, Hugh Campbell, to the Houston Oilers, where he would post one of the best careers in NFL history.

Kurt Warner, QB (Amsterdam Admirals, NFL Europe)

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Every football fan knows the story of Kurt Warner. From grocery bagger to NFL MVP to backup to Pro-Bowler at 37 years old. Everyone also knows Kurt Warner was also one of the best players In Arena Football League history (AFL Hall Of Famer, 2011). The league most people don’t know about was NFL Europe, where he shared a team with two other players on the list. Warner played for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, where he was a successful starter. Warner started most of 1998 for the Admirals, and seeing as he would be the NFL (and Super Bowl) MVP the next year, the fact he was good shouldn’t be surprising. Warner went 165/326( 50.6%) for 2,101 yards (6.4 YPA), throwing 15 TDs to just 6 INTs while also running in a touchdown. Warner led the league in passing touchdowns and yards. In his only year with the team the Admirals finished 7-3, but missed the playoffs. Warner would sign as a backup to Trent Green with the Rams less than a year later, and the rest is history.

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Danger signs: What your club should look out for

THERE are plenty of things that can wreck a club’s season. Danger signs that, if they are not heeded, can put finals completely out of the question.

Our writers take a close look at the problems for each club that are keeping coaches and players awake at night – the on-field and off-field issues that need a quick fix … or a long-term solution.

Stop Rory Sloane and you stop the Crows. Sloane averaged 29.5 possessions per game in the club’s six straight wins to start the season. But he’s since dropped off to 14.5 disposals in the past two games, with North Melbourne and Melbourne applying an old-fashioned tag to limit his input. The Crows have struggled to right the ship when things don’t go their way. They conceded 10 straight goals in an incredible first quarter against the Kangaroos, before the Demons booted nine in a row (and 15 of the last 18 of the game) to overturn a 28-point deficit. Along with shutting down Sloane, the Kangaroos and Demons successfully closed off the corridor to the Crows. Instead of going down the wings and keeping possession, the Crows persisted going through the middle at every opportunity, leading to intercept marks and turnovers. Away from their issues on the field, the biggest concern is the fact defender Jake Lever and forward Mitch McGovern are unsigned for next season. Lever wants to wait until the collective bargaining agreement is sorted before agreeing to a new deal, while McGovern’s focus is returning from a hamstring injury. – Lee Gaskin

While there’s been a lot of noticeable improvement during the first eight games of Chris Fagan’s era (conceding two goals fewer a game, and the development of Harris Andrews, Eric Hipwood and Ben Keays among them), the Lions’ inability to stop opposition momentum is alarming. In every game this season, they have conceded a string of goals that has (aside from round one against Gold Coast) cost them a chance to win. Eight straight from Essendon, seven from the Western Bulldogs, six from St Kilda and five from Hawthorn – all at times in matches where the Lions had a chance to win. They’re a young team and maintaining four quarters of consistent effort is going to be difficult, but usually the problems stem from the loss of contested ball. Since the opening two rounds, the Lions have lost that count by 21, 21, 27, 19, one and 17 respectively. There’s not much experience on the list, but most of it comes from the midfield, and that part of the ground has to arrest the momentum shifts when they start to occur. – Michael Whiting

The Blues are performing better than most pundits predicted at the start of the season, but there is plenty of room for improvement. Their backline has developed into a solid unit and the midfield, while lacking some depth, possesses plenty of class. The problem remains forward of centre, where much of the responsibility rests on the broad shoulders of big Levi Casboult. Under the expert tutelage of kicking coach Saverio Rocca, Casboult has improved his conversion to be the club’s leading goalkicker after eight rounds with 13, one ahead of Matthew Wright, who topped the goalkicking last season. Teenagers Jacob Weitering and Jack Silvagni are still learning their craft, while key playmaker Patrick Cripps could become a weapon in attack if he can improve his kicking for goal. Off the field, Carlton is seeking to secure at least 50,000 members and is well on the way with 46,755 signed at the moment. Supporters should be encouraged by the development of the team, particularly the Blues’ exciting batch of youngsters, which makes them an attractive proposition going forward. – Howard Kotton

The young Blues are getting their chance and thriving under Brendon Bolton. Picture: AFL Photos

The Pies’ two main problems this season revolve around a key aspect of the game: kicking. Their star-studded midfield generates ample possession, clearances (+4.25) and inside 50s (+4.4) but their good work has too often been ruined by poor decision-making or shoddy delivery, or both. It doesn’t help that Collingwood lacks a genuine key forward, with the enormously talented Darcy Moore still in development mode, so too raw American Mason Cox, while Jesse White and his unfulfilled talent are again out of favour. The next part of the equation is conversion – an area in which the Pies have failed miserably. In the last-gasp loss to Greater Wester Sydney last round, Collingwood scored more goals than points for the first time this season. They have fired just one fewer scoring shot than their opponents but have kicked themselves out of tight games against the Dogs, Tigers, Saints and Bombers, the chief culprit being leading goalkicker Alex Fasolo (12.16). Exacerbating the forward issues, injury-prone Ben Reid has suffered another soft-tissue injury, which again raises questions about the 27-year-old’s durability. Looming large over it all is the future of coach Nathan Buckley, who is in the last year of his contract and is logically believed to require a final-eight finish to save his job after missing the finals for the past three years. All hope is not yet lost but Buckley faces an uphill battle. – Ben Collins

From a game-style point of view, the Bombers are really struggling to get the ball inside 50. They are ranked 16th in the competition for inside 50 entries, and have lost the inside 50 count in every one of their games so far this season. It is fortunate their forward line has been able to score far better this season than recent years, in contrast to previous seasons when they could get the ball inside 50 but couldn’t convert. From a personnel perspective, Essendon’s list has an odd demographic, thanks mainly to the disastrous fallout of the supplements saga. More youth needs to go through the midfield as the season wears on, particularly as Jobe Watson, Brent Stanton, Heath Hocking and Ben Howlett are among the senior players out of contract at the end of the season and yet to strike form in 2017. The Bombers won’t want to shed too much experience or depth at once, so managing that situation is something they’ll need to be careful about when the end of the season draws closer. – Callum Twomey

Fremantle’s biggest concern is the welfare of troubled star Harley Bennell, who is struggling to deal with his latest calf setback. Bennell was intoxicated and asked to leave a flight from Melbourne to the Gold Coast last month while he was on leave from the club, and hit the headlines again for his unusual behaviour at Peel Thunder’s game on Saturday, which included pulling cousin Traye away from the three-quarter time huddle. Fremantle fined him $10,000 ($5000 of which was suspended for 12 months) and the 24-year-old has been challenged to gather himself and “reboot” by coach Ross Lyon. On the field, the Dockers deserve plenty of credit for their never-say-die attitude, coming from behind in all five wins and recovering from an 0-2 start to be on the verge of breaking into the top eight. However, at some point, Fremantle’s struggles to hit the scoreboard in the first half could come back to bite. Before last round, the Dockers were averaging the lowest score (29.7 points) in the competition to half-time and, despite being in front by five points, only booted 5.6 up until the long break against Richmond last Sunday. – Travis King

Harley Bennell remains a long way off playing senior football for Freo. Picture: AFL Photos

The Cats had been pulling wins from nowhere in 2017 through a combination of luck, individual brilliance and old-fashioned determination but three losses in a row have brought to the public’s attention the concerns Chris Scott has expressed all season. The main concern is the opposition’s ability to beat Geelong on the spread from a contest, with the Cats way down for uncontested possessions, uncontested marks and tackle differential, meaning they are not closing space, with leg speed more of an issue than attitude. The Cats will remain fighting for a long time because it’s in their DNA, but the fact is after three premierships and an unbelievable run of success, the system has dragged them back to the field. They have tried to trade their way out of trouble but it’s left their list with a few A-graders in Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield, some ageing champions in Andrew Mackie and Tom Lonergan, and a bunch of players such as Nakia Cockatoo and Brandan Parfitt still a year or two away. The biggest dilemma is not their coaching but their talent acquisition strategy in the next five years. – Peter Ryan

Prior to the season, many experts had lauded the Suns’ young spine as one of the best in the competition. But eight rounds in, and there’s question marks popping up everywhere for Gold Coast’s tall timber. Perhaps most worryingly is co-captain Steven May‘s lingering contract. May said prior to the season he was in no rush to extend his stay, and as the year drags on, the Suns get more nervous. His defensive sidekick Rory Thompson is tremendously talented, but like so many times previously has succumbed to injury in 2016, most recently making the trip to China only to withdraw with hamstring tightness in the warm up. Sam Day is out for the year with a horrific dislocated hip, so who knows how he’ll return, while perhaps the least of the long-term worries – but a headache at the moment – is the poor form of ‘Two Metre Peter’ Wright. The spine isn’t the only concern at Metricon Stadium as the Suns continue to yo-yo from week to week. They were horrible against the Giants in round two, brilliant against Hawthorn a week later, equally impressive against Geelong in round seven and then pitiful seven days later against Port Adelaide. None of this is helping alleviate the pressure on coach Rodney Eade, who is out of contract at season’s end and desperate to push for finals. – Michael Whiting

Much has been made of the amount of talent on the Giants’ list, but a shocking injury list means the club will be tested severely over the next two months. It started in the pre-season when gun recruit Brett Deledio suffered another calf issue, and the former Tiger still hasn’t played a game, and probably won’t until after the bye. Long-term ankle injuries to hard nuts Stephen Coniglio and Ryan Griffen has limited them five games collectively, and while Jacob Hopper stepped up his role onball, a broken finger added him to the rehab group. Draftee Will Setterfield (ankle, 5-7 weeks) and Tendai Mzungu (hamstring, 4-6 weeks) haven’t been able to get a run at it and would have been valuable backups. The GWS backline has also been hit hard, with Matt Buntine and Adam Kennedy done for the year with knee reconstructions, and Nick Haynes still eight weeks away after hurting a hamstring tendon. A two-game suspension for club champion Toby Greene didn’t help matters, but the positive is that the Giants are 6-2 and in second spot on the ladder. – Adam Curley

Nick Haynes is just one of a number of GWS defenders on the injury list. Picture: AFL Photos

Hawthorn’s injury list has slipped into dangerous territory – both in length and quality. Medium-term injuries to Cyril Rioli, Ben Stratton and James Frawley have the potential to leave the Hawks floundering and a finals appearance this year – already only a slim chance given the tardy start to the season – would now seem an impossibility. With three first-choice defenders – Frawley, Stratton and Grant Birchall out of the side – Hawthorn’s defensive depth will be tested like never before. It is a relatively new world for the Hawks. Many of the newer of the club’s 72,000 members are so used to the team being successful and it will be interesting to see whether the fans keep coming to games. Last Saturday’s game against the Brisbane Lions attracted the third-smallest crowd yet to Launceston. – Ashley Browne

Melbourne’s inconsistency within games continues to be a hindrance as it aims to make the finals for the first time since 2006. The 4-4 Demons have won 19 quarters for the season, the equal-fourth most in the AFL. Yet, in every one of the club’s four losses – to Geelong, Fremantle, Richmond and Hawthorn – a distinct drop-off in a particular quarter has played its part in the result. The Demons allowed the Cats to kick 40 points in the final quarter in round three, the Dockers to score 46 points in the third term in round four, the Tigers to kick 35 points in the fourth quarter in round five and the Hawks to score 34 points in the first term in round six. There have been contributing factors in those lapses, especially the loss of All Australian Max Gawn against Geelong and back-up big man Jake Spencer against Richmond, however it underlines the work Melbourne still has to do to be regarded as a finals contender. Despite being a combined -104 in the hit-out category over the past three weeks without a recognised ruckman, the Demons’ in-form midfielders have been able to successfully adapt to life without Gawn and Spencer and the club is a combined +27 in clearances over that span. – Ben Guthrie

Cam Pedersen is holding up his end for the Demons in the ruck. Picture: AFL Photos

Ben Brown‘s transformation into one of the competition’s most prolific forwards has presented an unusual problem – the Kangaroos’ overwhelming reliance on him. Brown carried a heavy burden in Jarrad Waite’s extended absence this year, with his North teammates targeting him a whopping 40 per cent of the time. They were targeted a combined 53 per cent of the time in their two matches together in 2017, and 43 per cent in the past two years. Waite returns from suspension on Sunday, after missing the Swans loss, where usual defenders Lachie Hansen and Sam Durdin were swung forward to help Brown. Drew Petrie‘s departure from Arden St at the end of last season, plus Lindsay Thomas‘ form woes, have created an interesting dynamic behind Brown and Waite. Mason Wood and Taylor Garner came back this season from torrid recent injury runs – although Garner (hamstring) has missed the past fortnight – to display their marking prowess. But the trust clearly isn’t quite there. Majak Daw was a popular target (18 per cent) in games Waite missed since last year, but injury and form issues have kept him to one AFL appearance in the first eight rounds. 2015 first-round pick Ben McKay is being groomed as Brown’s long-term partner-in-crime, while Nick Larkey is showing promising signs in the VFL. – Marc McGowan

One of the only knocks on the Power is they haven’t beaten a top-eight side this season. The Power were far too strong for Sydney (15th), Fremantle (ninth), Carlton (13th), the Brisbane Lions (18th) and Gold Coast (12th), but fell short against the top three sides on the ladder – Adelaide, Greater Western Sydney and West Coast. That adds extra importance to the Power’s next game after the bye when they take on fifth-placed Geelong at Simonds Stadium in round 10. Now that their historic trip to China has been completed, the Power can get to the business of re-signing several of their off-contract contingent. In total, 17 players on their senior list are out of contract at the end of this season. That includes midfield star Brad Ebert, key defender Jack Hombsch, half-back flanker Jasper Pittard and utilities Jackson Trengove and Justin Westhoff. – Lee Gaskin

There have been warning signs for the Tigers stretching back to their 13-point win against Melbourne in round five. That was their last win, but they won just one quarter and have now won only four of their past 16. So what has changed? There has been a definite drop off in their rapid ball movement, falling from eighth in mark/play-on percentage in the first four rounds to 17th across rounds five to eight. That, and the lack of multiple tall targets in attack, has seen them struggle to get quality inside 50s. In the last four rounds they rank 18th for inside 50 kick retention (44 per cent) and 18th for scores per inside 50 (40 per cent). The loss of Ben Griffiths (concussion) is hurting, with the lack of an in-form replacement leaving too much on the shoulders of Jack Riewoldt and the smaller forwards. In the midfield, the Tigers have been comprehensively beaten in the contest, ranking 16th for contested possession differential (-10.8) in the past month. With injuries to Reece Conca (foot) and Nick Vlastuin (shoulder), among others, depth is also being tested at Tigerland and turnovers are becoming more common. Perhaps the biggest warning sign, as losses mount, is the fact that free agent Dustin Martin has not re-signed. – Nathan Schmook

The Saints have had a terrific run with injuries since the start of 2016 but their depth will be tested now. They have covered David Armitage’s absence well but losing Jimmy Webster to a broken right hand could be a bigger blow. The potential replacements – including Shane Savage, Daniel McKenzie and Bailey Rice – are unlikely to be able to replace Webster’s blend of toughness and accurate kicking. Meanwhile, Josh Bruce’s form as the primary target in attack hasn’t been stellar. He’s picked up seven disposals in each of the past two weeks and while he has kicked at least one goal in every game this season, Bruce has yet to show the form that saw him kick 50 majors in 2015. Back then, the former Giant snuck under the radar with Nick Riewoldt considered the primary threat. Riewoldt has looked hampered for the past couple of weeks by a right knee injury suffered in round one but the Saints are performing well despite his diminished output. Meanwhile, keeping Paddy McCartin happy while he languishes in the VFL poses a challenge. – Dinny Navaratnam

The Saints may struggle to cover tough defender Jimmy Webster. Picture: AFL Photos

Few would have predicted such a fall from grace for Sydney, and while they have missed some key personnel like Jarrad McVeigh, Isaac Heeney, Dane Rampe and Kurt Tippett at stages, their problems were more to do with the lack of ‘Swans footy’ being played. John Longmire’s star-studded midfield lost their hard hats early in the year and as a result the team plummeted down the rankings in contested possessions (first to ninth), clearances (second to 12th), and stoppages (second to eighth) compared to last year. Josh Kennedy (27.9 possessions per game, down from 31.5 in 2016), Dan Hannebery (24.8 from 30.8), and to a lesser extent Luke Parker (25.6 from 26.9) were all down on their output, but things are finally on the up, with Parker (66 touches and three goals), Hannebery (59 and two) and Kennedy (57 and two) back in form over the past fortnight, and it’s no coincidence the Swans have won both games easily. Rampe’s broken arm has also cost Sydney their status as the rebound 50 kings, dropping them from first to seventh in the rankings, with the League’s second be-t rebounder in 2016 playing just one game this season. – Adam Curley

Alarm bells were ringing after the round-five horror show against Hawthorn at the MCG when critics lined up to savage the Eagles’ perceived lack of toughness around the ball. But it has been a strong response from Adam Simpson’s men, who smashed Fremantle at the contest in the Western Derby, held on for a gritty win over Port on the road and then more than matched the Bulldogs’ hardness to notch three straight wins and move into third spot on the ladder. Intent has been the Eagles’ focus and they have delivered on that front, but the next issue for Simpson to solve is how to feed a hungry forward line. West Coast is ranked 13th for inside 50s, has lost the supply battle in three of the past four games (-38 differential) and had to rely on a rock-solid backline to hold on late against the Power and Bulldogs. It’s an unsustainable way to keep winning, especially if the Eagles’ forwards have an off day in front of goal – as spearhead Josh Kennedy did in booting 3.6 against the Dogs. From a glass half-full perspective, it’s positive the Eagles keep banking victories, but they aren’t getting carried away as they search for their best football. – Travis King

While the reigning premiers sit eighth with a respectable 5-3 record after the first eight rounds, they are yet to the hit the form of last September. Injuries have played a part in the sputtering start to 2017, but so has the Dogs’ inability to hit the scoreboard from ample opportunities. It plagued them for much of last season, but they managed to get it right when it counted most. The kicking efficiency going inside 50 of their prime movers has contributed to the scoring woes, with Jack Macrae (30 per cent), Lachie Hunter (31 per cent) Tom Liberatore (33 per cent) and Luke Dahlhaus (36 per cent) well below the AFL average of 50.4 per cent. Even gun playmaker Marcus Bontempelli is below standard at 47.1 per cent. Out of the regular ‘delivery men’, only Norm Smith medalist Jason Johannisen hits the mark more often than not at 59.1 per cent of the time. – Ryan Davidson

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Contract talks: Dustin Martin is ill-equipped to handle the scrutiny

Mark Williams probably believes he owes Richmond no favours after the club let him go last year in what proved an assistant coaching purge designed in part to give Damien Hardwick the best possible chance of saving his job.

Williams was aggrieved, felt he deserved better and made most in his orbit aware of just that in the steadfast belief his achievements at Tigerland had been considerable.

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Swans outlast neighbours in the wet

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AFLW plays of round 5

GWS open their account, Vescio takes a screamer, Alicia Eva shows Freo a clean pair of heals and Brisbane and Adelaide are the AFLW’s best teams.

Swans outlast neighbours in the wet

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Swans outlast neighbours in the wet

Sydney slogged their way to a 12-point JLT Series pre-season victory over GWS in torrential rain at Blacktown.

AFLW plays of the round

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AFLW plays of the round

Kaitlyn Ashmore kicks a goal of the year contender, the Pies get their first win and Tayla Harris takes down two in a huge collision.

Suns sneak past Bombers, Kangaroos down Hawks

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Suns sneak past Bombers, Kangaroos down …

Suns sneak past Bombers, Kangaroos down Hawks

The Gold Coast fight back from 24-nil down to defeat Essendon in Mackay by three points, while a strong effort from North Melbourne saw them beat Hawthorn by 11.

Melbourne and West Coast enjoy big wins

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Melbourne and West Coast enjoy big wins

Melbourne and West Coast have enjoyed 50+ point wins over Carlton and Fremantle respectively in the pre-season competition.

Richmond take pre-season victory over Crows

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Richmond take pre-season victory over …

Richmond take pre-season victory over Crows

The Tigers have made a winning start to their year with victory over the Adelaide Crows in the pre-season competition 92-73.

Sam Mitchell’s first game for West Coast

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Sam Mitchell’s first game for West Coast

The derby in Geraldton has sold out! It will be the first time people can see Sam Mitchell play in the blue and gold. Vision: Today Perth News.

AFLW plays of round 5

GWS open their account, Vescio takes a screamer, Alicia Eva shows Freo a clean pair of heals and Brisbane and Adelaide are the AFLW’s best teams.

But none of the above justifies the disservice he has done Dustin Martin in enlisting the prodigiously talented but media-paranoid star footballer as a marketing tool to promote his Sherrin Precision football.

Martin, who comes out of contract at the end of this season and who has to date refused to come to terms with the club and its long-term offer worth more than $800,000 a season, will be the focus of scrutiny until he makes a decision but is ill-equipped to handle that scrutiny.

The expression on the face of Richmond’s media manager Jaimee Damon (middle) said it all. Photo: Fox Sports

His only public tactic – avoidance – was laid bare in embarrassing circumstances again on Wednesday at the MCG when he failed to rationally handle some reasonable questions about his contract status. Journalists are not fools and they attended the Williams promotion to gain some insight into Martin, not to talk at length about a new shape of a Sherrin.

Williams must have know that. Certainly the Tigers did once they learned after the fact about Martin’s involvement in their former coach’s venture. If they worked to advise their reigning club champion about what to expect and how best to handle contract questions then the message was lost in translation.

What eventuated was a little mortifying to witness and as Martin walked away the expression on the face of Richmond’s media manager Jaimee Damon said it all. Martin, who has now twice struggled with questions about his future at two promotional appearances, abandoned the press conference leaving Williams to pick up the pieces.

Richmond claim they are confident they will come to terms with Martin although his contract negotiations have a history of turning messy. His manager Ralph Carr botched matters last time around and has been inconsistent in his version of affairs this time.

In the thick of it: Dustin Martin looks to handball. Photo: Getty Images

Reportedly the offer from Richmond is close to acceptable so maybe Martin is hedging his bets on the basis of an insecure coach and a desire to play for a successful club. Hopefully there is a good reason behind the delay otherwise Carr is doing his fragile client a bigger disservice than Williams.

In an era that football clubs obsess about messaging it was another negative message from Richmond at a time when hope remains their No.1 selling point. On Sunday, after a solid pre-season performance against Port Adelaide, Hardwick struggled again publicly when he scoffed at having to deal with a six-day break. In March. At a time when clubs can be more than flexible with their line-ups.

Several clubs have taken issue with the league’s JLT fixture and some have had a point – notably West Coast which was sent to Narrandera in the middle of New South Wales last month. But Hardwick’s comments came across as whingeing and hinted at fragility. To Brendon Bolton’s credit, after his side was thrashed by the Saints before facing the double-whammy of a six-day break and a trip to Perth, he made no mention of those peripheral issues.

The Tigers face at least five six-day breaks this season and successive ones from rounds five to seven. Surely Hardwick would be embracing the practice.

But back to Hardwick’s former coaching ally. Mark Williams is rightly proud of the manner in which he has guided and supported Martin who remains a high maintenance prospect for the Tigers. And Martin, in return, has remained loyal to his mentor.

But Williams is the experienced one. Streetwise and well-versed in these matters he should have known better than to thrust Martin into the public eye.

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