Am calling this now for posterity.

B: Bartram, Warnock, Garland

HB: Grimes, Frawley, Rivers

Toughness, composure, & versatility.

Kick a winning score against these blokes and you're doing pretty f**king well.

Am calling this now for posterity.

B: Bartram, Warnock, Garland

HB: Grimes, Frawley, Rivers

Toughness, composure, & versatility.

Kick a winning score against these blokes and you're doing pretty f**king well.

B - Garland Warnock Grimes

HB - Rivers Frawley MacDonald/Bennell

Much better with MacDonald/Bennell there, and Bartram not.

We're ranked third in the competition for points against, behind only St Kilda and Sydney (i.e. we've conceded the third fewest points in the league).

That's a pretty good showing of how well our defence is going right now.

We're ranked third in the competition for points against

Pity the Dee-Attack is ranked third worst for points for.

Pity the Dee-Attack is ranked third worst for points for.

Do you have to ruin it?

Obviously we have work to do with our forward line. But at least we can say we have a strong defensive unit.

Pity the Dee-Attack is ranked third worst for points for.

To be fair, that attack is missing Jurrah, Sylvia, Morton and Watts. These 4 players will be part of our forwardline for the next 10 seasons hopefully. But until they are fit and ready, we will continue to struggle to kick a decent score.

To be fair, that attack is missing Jurrah, Sylvia, Morton and Watts.

To be fair, we let 17 goals through against a Hawks attack missing Franklin and Rioli. Collingwood and Adelaide are not exactly high-scoring sides at the best of times ... they rely more on a dour style of defensive play. Last year we only let 7 goals through against Adelaide at the MCG and lost. Guess we're two goals better at least.

Not trying to ruin it, but let's be realistic. When we've played sides like the Cats, Dogs and St Kilda we'll know more about where our Dee-Fence stands.

As for the Dee-Attack, Watts is still an unknown quantity. We had Jurrah, Sylvia and Morton last year and still struggled to kick more than a dozen.

Not trying to ruin it, but let's be realistic.

Good point. Whilst they can enjoy the raw stats for now, it's good to look a little deeper. It's better to keep your feet on the ground. Despite the excitement and knowledge that the team are hell bent on turning things around.

Joel Macdonald has now replaced Rivers ....With Garland back, i really don't see a role for Rivers in the backline unless we have injuries as he is limited in what he offers these days...

Edited April 13, 201015 yr by Kojak

Joel Macdonald has now replaced Rivers ....With Garland back, i really don't see a role for Rivers in the backline unless we have injuries as he is limited in what he offers these days...

Massive, MASSIVE facepalm for this post. Macdonald was dumped from Brisbane for a reason. He is not and cannot be part of our long term plans. He's essentially another Craig Ellis. Expect him to be around for maximum 3 years. Rivers is ahead of him at every turn.

I'd still like to see rivers in the forward line for a bit....another marking target....if newton can do it maybe rivers can do it better?

Grimes !!

To be fair, we let 17 goals through against a Hawks attack missing Franklin and Rioli. Collingwood and Adelaide are not exactly high-scoring sides at the best of times ... they rely more on a dour style of defensive play. Last year we only let 7 goals through against Adelaide at the MCG and lost. Guess we're two goals better at least.

Not trying to ruin it, but let's be realistic. When we've played sides like the Cats, Dogs and St Kilda we'll know more about where our Dee-Fence stands.

As for the Dee-Attack, Watts is still an unknown quantity. We had Jurrah, Sylvia and Morton last year and still struggled to kick more than a dozen.

blahblahblah yeah its ok, dont build yourself up for disappointment, we get it

Watts is still a no. 1 pick, Jurrah and Morton are still just kids.... doesn't take a lot of imagination to take the point that he is making, which is that to point at our forwardline at this exact second and say how much it sucks without projecting your mind into the future a little is just plain stupid

Massive, MASSIVE facepalm for this post. Macdonald was dumped from Brisbane for a reason. He is not and cannot be part of our long term plans. He's essentially another Craig Ellis. Expect him to be around for maximum 3 years. Rivers is ahead of him at every turn.

I've seen Joel MacDonald play 6 games (inc pre-season) and he was better than the last 6 games I saw Jared Rivers play

Rivers would have to have the most undeserved reputation of anyone at the club

He's good, but he hasn't shown it all that often

I would more like to see grimes in the midfield and he will be next couple years, or even half back...when he backs into those packs just inspirational

blahblahblah yeah its ok, dont build yourself up for disappointment, we get it

This board has gone from "sack the coach" to "top eight here we come" in the space of two weeks. Wonder where it will be in another two?

I've seen Joel MacDonald play 6 games (inc pre-season) and he was better than the last 6 games I saw Jared Rivers play

I too have seen Joel Mac in several games and until the last two thought he was a total dud. Even on Sunday he was serviceable without being great. Burton smashed him when they were matched up. He's not fast enough to play on the smalls and not strong enough to play on the bigs. I'm really not sold on him as a long term prospect for us.