In: Scully, Trengove, Gawn, Howe

Out: Newton, Bate, Evans, Maric

B: Martin, Frawley, Bennell

HB: Nicholson, Rivers, Macdonald

C: Evans, Moloney, Trengove

HF: Sylvia, Watts, Green

F: Howe, Newton, Jurrah

R: Gawn, McKenzie, Jones

I: Scully, Jetta, Gysberts

S: Bate

Out: Warnock, Maric, Morton, Petterd

In: Howe, Scully, Gawn, Trengove

Back to basics at selection.

Warnock had a shocker, bringing in Gawn allows Martin to play back in his place where he is strong. JMac can cover for Stef when he needs to ruck.

Maric and Morton both midfielders need to lay tackles, Maric laid 1 tackle, Morton 0... Back to Casey for you two... Petterd laid 4 tackles, but didn't get enough of the ball...

  On 29/05/2011 at 08:05, eth38 said:

Don't personally think Petterd was that bad on Friday night.

Sure, he wasn't one of the best, but he did more than Juice, Bennell and Bate IMO.

It's always tough for forwards when your midfield and backs keep turning it over. Howe and Dunn wouldn't have kicked multiple goals.

His attitude & deemeanor has been horrrible the last 3 weeks eth. times up.

  On 28/05/2011 at 08:23, furious d said:

I think when the injuries came the coaches felt oblidged to give our experienced depth first crack. We needed to know if they were up to it and for me the answer is an emphatic no. Time to swing the axe and blood some kids.

Gawn was excellent at Werribee today and must play. He'd provide at least as much as Newton at FF and a hell of a lot more in the ruck.

Howe is another that has earned a call up and Blease, Strauss and McDonald could all be considered on todays form.

In- Trengove, Scully, Gawn, Howe, Blease, Strauss

Out- Newton, Bate, Bennell, Morton, Warnock, Nicholson

I agree with your thoughts furious, and then we've trialled a couple of rookies to see where they're at, and where that puts our list. The next 7 weeks will determine many's future.

What I'd like: In - Scully, Gawn, Trengove; Out - Petterd, Newton, Evans

What I think will happen: In - Dunn, Trengove; Out - Petterd, Evans.

I think Newton might be given one more week this time to play purely as a forward rather than pinch hitting as a ruckman, something here's clearly not. And I think Scully will be given one more week at Casey.

Personally, I see no long-term value in playing Newton or Dunn (or, if we had a replacement, Warnock). Whereas I see - possibly - value in Petterd, Morton, Bennell and even Bate. They won't all make it, but Dunn and Newton have had enough chances and not shown enough. Bate has had as much chance as Dunn but has shown he has a football brain, although the skill doesn't always follow. Dunn has a good motor and passable skills, but doesn't have the football brain to go with it.

I struggle to see what we gain by leaving out Nicholson after a quarter of football - and a fairly solid quarter at that. If the club had no intention of playing him properly then they should've saved their coin by not promoting him off the rookie list in the first place.

  On 29/05/2011 at 23:24, Nasher said:

I struggle to see what we gain by leaving out Nicholson after a quarter of football - and a fairly solid quarter at that. If the club had no intention of playing him properly then they should've saved their coin by not promoting him off the rookie list in the first place.

absolutely. he should get a full game next week

Bailey said Gawn was in the mix BEFORE Saturday's Casey game, and then he goes BOG for Casey. Gawn WILL play on Friday, and I for one am excited about seeing him being the tallest AFL player running around in Round 11. (Sandilands still out). I would suggest that Howe being named in the best assures him a gig also, particularly in light of Bate and Petterd's form sitting somewhere near the S bend. Trengove is an obvious, and Scully will be the unknown til Thursday.

Given the state of our season, these are exciting in's for a bit of a glimpse into the future, No?

Just keep repeating....silver lining, silver lining, silver lining, silver lining.........

Out: Warnock, Bate, Bennell, Petterd, Maric, Jurrah, Newton

In: Trengove, Dunn, Strauss, Gawn, Howe, McDonald, Blease

B: Strauss - Frawley - Macdonald

HB: McDonald - Rivers - Nicholson

C: Trengove - Gysberts - Sylvia

HF: McKenzie - Howe - Jetta

F: Dunn - Watts - Green

R: Martin - Moloney - Jones

I: Gawn - Evans - Blease - Morton

  On 29/05/2011 at 23:24, Nasher said:

I struggle to see what we gain by leaving out Nicholson after a quarter of football - and a fairly solid quarter at that. If the club had no intention of playing him properly then they should've saved their coin by not promoting him off the rookie list in the first place.

I agree nash, I think now is the time to have as many contested ball winners in the side and all the soft ones to be hidden @ Casey. the only one I'd consider keeping would be bennell as he offers dash skill and attacking run. But the prime requisite should be hardness for the upcoming games.

No wilting violets for our TV games PLEASE!

  On 30/05/2011 at 03:41, Jimmi C said:

In: Trengove, Dunn, Strauss, Gawn, Howe, McDonald, Blease

I'm a bit at a loss to understand what he had done in the weeks prior to his suspension to automatically get a recall.

He, in my opinion, was on the brink of being dropped and probably should have been dropped already.

Petterd has been routinely criticised here (not wrongly) for his form and attitude, but Dunns was no better, maybe worse, and yet he walks back in?

Now I realise we're down on cattle but IMO there are more than a couple well ahead of him.

  On 30/05/2011 at 05:56, QueenC said:

I'm a bit at a loss to understand what he had done in the weeks prior to his suspension to automatically get a recall.

He, in my opinion, was on the brink of being dropped and probably should have been dropped already.

Petterd has been routinely criticised here (not wrongly) for his form and attitude, but Dunns was no better, maybe worse, and yet he walks back in?

Now I realise we're down on cattle but IMO there are more than a couple well ahead of him.

Absolutely Queen C.

Ins: Gawn, Trengove, Scully, Strauss, Bartram.

Outs: Newton, Evans, Maric, Warnock, Bennell.

Scully to sub.

  On 30/05/2011 at 05:56, QueenC said:

I'm a bit at a loss to understand what he had done in the weeks prior to his suspension to automatically get a recall.

He, in my opinion, was on the brink of being dropped and probably should have been dropped already.

Petterd has been routinely criticised here (not wrongly) for his form and attitude, but Dunns was no better, maybe worse, and yet he walks back in?

Now I realise we're down on cattle but IMO there are more than a couple well ahead of him.

Was curious about this myself.

What has Dunn done (haha) that Petterd hasn't?

Petterd averages more kicks, handballs, tackles, goals and frees for. They are equal on average marks (4.7 each) and Dunn averages more hitouts and frees against.

With Gawn a certainty to come in, most likely for Newton I would think, Dunn offers little as a forward and as a ruckman. Why is he an auto selection?

Come to think of it, why is anyone an auto selection? I wish the selectors had the balls to drop Davey before his injury.

  On 30/05/2011 at 05:56, QueenC said:

I'm a bit at a loss to understand what he had done in the weeks prior to his suspension to automatically get a recall.

He, in my opinion, was on the brink of being dropped and probably should have been dropped already.

Petterd has been routinely criticised here (not wrongly) for his form and attitude, but Dunns was no better, maybe worse, and yet he walks back in?

Now I realise we're down on cattle but IMO there are more than a couple well ahead of him.

Where it is hard with Dunn is that we don't know what role he is given. As a forward, we expeect him to produce goals, but in that North game, he had to play backline which isn't a strength. I have a feeling he may be doing what is asked in certain areas, but it's just that some of his game looks second rate of late. I'm not sticking up for him, I'm just trying to understand why he may come straight back in!

Anyway, changes this week, well, I'm buggered if I know. I have a sneaky little feeling that the players will flick the switch this week. I think the Club would've marked this one as our best chance during that Carl/Ess/Coll run to knock off a "top 8" side, and will play accordingly. I know I'm probably living in the dark ages thinking that Clubs, well, my Club, still do this, but who knows!

Knowing who is available is also a mystery - Davey? Bartram? Jamar?

In - Scully, Trengove, Gawn, Howe

Out - Newton, Morton, Bate, Bennell

Willing to excuse Warnock for last weeks efforts, his 2 weeks before that were very good. Don't have a repeat performance though!

Petterd gets the green singlet.

  On 30/05/2011 at 06:10, Rhino Richards said:

Absolutely Queen C.

Ins: Gawn, Trengove, Scully, Strauss, Bartram.

Outs: Newton, Evans, Maric, Warnock, Bennell.

Scully to sub.

Bate and Petterd have given relatively little up forward recently, and despite making some glaring errors Newton still contributed more than both combined.

As for Bartram, someone posted that he is four weeks away.

  On 28/05/2011 at 07:59, dandeeman said:

We will have completely different football team on the park in the second half of the season.

Absolutely. It's a shame that we won't get much closer to our best side this week, even if we do make a bunch of changes.

  On 30/05/2011 at 05:56, QueenC said:

I'm a bit at a loss to understand what he had done in the weeks prior to his suspension to automatically get a recall.

He, in my opinion, was on the brink of being dropped and probably should have been dropped already.

Petterd has been routinely criticised here (not wrongly) for his form and attitude, but Dunns was no better, maybe worse, and yet be walks back in?

Now I realise we're down on cattle but IMO there are more than a couple well ahead of him.

Probably shouldn't bother quibbling over C graders - but I just feel he is a better kick & more versatile than a Petterd, Bate or Newton and could perform a defensive role. Probably wouldn't come back in if Bartram was fit.

  On 30/05/2011 at 06:25, Jimmi C said:

Probably shouldn't bother quibbling over C graders - but I just feel he is a better kick & more versatile than a Petterd, Bate or Newton and could perform a defensive role. Probably wouldn't come back in if Bartram was fit.

Well we'll beg to differ on that Jimmi, but I still don't see him deserving to come straight back in no questions asked.

Trengove for Bennell

Scully for Jetta

Dunn for Bate

Gawn for Newton

Could also potentially go Warnock out, McDonald in, from all reports he's doing well down at Casey.

Also an argument to promote Howe over Dunn, and I'm not against that plan at all.

Either way expecting a minimum of 4 changes, if not more this week.

  On 30/05/2011 at 06:10, Rhino Richards said:

Absolutely Queen C.

Ins: Gawn, Trengove, Scully, Strauss, Bartram.

Outs: Newton, Evans, Maric, Warnock, Bennell.

Scully to sub.

Why Evans, Rhino, I didn't see the game? I'm surprised after his first match.

  On 30/05/2011 at 05:56, QueenC said:

I'm a bit at a loss to understand what he had done in the weeks prior to his suspension to automatically get a recall.

Petterd has been routinely criticised here (not wrongly) for his form and attitude, but Dunns was no better, maybe worse, and yet he walks back in?

Now I realise we're down on cattle but IMO there are more than a couple well ahead of him.

Not disagreeing with you, but I would have said that Dunn offers a bit more of an alternative - certainly can take some hitouts in the forward line, and was even playing down back in his last game. Also, though he has been fairly undisciplined with it, does offer a bit of the grunt and mongrel that everyone here has been clammering for.

Unfortunate though that we should be here discussing who to include from Bate, Petterd, Newton and Dunn, when in reality, the answer we'd all prefer is probably "none of the above". Let's hope Cook and Howe come on sooner rather than later, hard to see where else we're going to get a forward line from, the usual suspects have been consistently found wanting.

  On 30/05/2011 at 05:56, QueenC said:

I'm a bit at a loss to understand what he had done in the weeks prior to his suspension to automatically get a recall.

He, in my opinion, was on the brink of being dropped and probably should have been dropped already.

Petterd has been routinely criticised here (not wrongly) for his form and attitude, but Dunns was no better, maybe worse, and yet he walks back in?

Now I realise we're down on cattle but IMO there are more than a couple well ahead of him.

100% correct.

Which leads me to these pieces of garbage:

  On 30/05/2011 at 06:15, billy2803 said:

Where it is hard with Dunn is that we don't know what role he is given. As a forward, we expeect him to produce goals, but in that North game, he had to play backline which isn't a strength. I have a feeling he may be doing what is asked in certain areas, but it's just that some of his game looks second rate of late. I'm not sticking up for him, I'm just trying to understand why he may come straight back in!

He doesn't have a role because we've given him a go basically everywhere and he's sucked everywhere. He played about 4 good games late last year as a forward, and that's it. He doesn't have the football brains to be a proper forward, he doesn't run hard enough, he is stupid, he doesn't zone properly, he is lazy, and he has poor skills.

  On 30/05/2011 at 06:25, Jimmi C said:

Probably shouldn't bother quibbling over C graders - but I just feel he is a better kick & more versatile than a Petterd, Bate or Newton and could perform a defensive role. Probably wouldn't come back in if Bartram was fit.

A better kick? Couldn't be more wrong.

More versatile? That's if you define versatile as 'able to be played in more than one role'. That does not imply he can actually perform in any of those roles. Which he can't. I'm not saying Bate or Newton are particularly better (they're not), but Dunn is just as hopeless, and just as undeserving of a spot.

  On 30/05/2011 at 08:22, bing181 said:

Not disagreeing with you, but I would have said that Dunn offers a bit more of an alternative - certainly can take some hitouts in the forward line, and was even playing down back in his last game. Also, though he has been fairly undisciplined with it, does offer a bit of the grunt and mongrel that everyone here has been clammering for.

A bit of grunt and mongrel? He is, for the most part, weak and soft, and when he does attempt to play with some 'grunt and mongrel' he gives free kicks and 50 metre penalties away, and/or gets reported.

Trengove is an automatic in and I'd play Scully as sub if his knee came up OK.

Bartram is an automatic in too if he's fit - not sure about the nature of his hip injury.

I'm unconvinced by Dunn, he might need a good week a Casey.

Three more first gamers in genuine contention: Gawn, McDonald and Howe - read well in the Casey review.

Looking at the MFC review Jetta, Jurrah, Maric, Newton, Petterd and Warnock are on shaky ground. And if we have a few debutants maybe Evans might be cycled back to Casey. Jurrah might get another chance.

Some sub-set of:

In: Trengove, Scully, Bartram, Gawn, McDonald, Howe

Out: Jetta, Maric, Evans, Newton, Warnock, Petterd

  On 30/05/2011 at 23:58, old55 said:

Trengove is an automatic in and I'd play Scully as sub if his knee came up OK.

Bartram is an automatic in too if he's fit - not sure about the nature of his hip injury.

I'm unconvinced by Dunn, he might need a good week a Casey.

Three more first gamers in genuine contention: Gawn, McDonald and Howe - read well in the Casey review.

Trengove, Scully, Gawn, Howe, McDonald and Strauss seem the possible ins, while Dunn is an interesting case given he was probably on the verge of being dropped before he was rubbed out. Strauss sounds like he's a chance given that he gave good drive for Casey DB has pointed out our lack of foot skills out of defence, while someone (Jaded?) wrote that Bartram was out for four weeks.

I think Jetta, Evans, Warnock, Petterd, Newton, Jurrah and perhaps Bate (although not according to the MFC.com.au player review) seem most at risk. I would have thought Nicholson would get another game, but it's plausible he could miss out since similar players might be coming into the side.

It depends a bit on how many changes we want, and how many guys with 0-2 games we're prepared to play.

I just want to check that those who are wanting Warnock out realise we're playing Essendon this week. That's right the team that plays three ruckmen every week. Warnock is our tallest and possibly toughest backman. I would think that we would need to have him play this week against the Bellchambers/Ryder/Hille trio. Otherwise we would be seriously undersized in the backline when they've also got guys like Crameri and possibly Hurley running around.

I also hope Bartram comes back because God knows we'll need him. Blease has probably done enough to warrant inclusion to, and would give us some pace and foot skills out of the backline. If not him, then Strauss.

So i'm going to go with the following this week:

In: Trengove, Scully, Bartram, Gawn, Blease/Strauss

Out: Bennell, Morton, Evans, Newton, Jetta

I reckon these changes boost our midfield, and ruck, while also giving us some extra footskills in the backline which would hopefully mean that Watts can return to playing on the half forward line.

I think Dunn goes back to Casey for a week or two unless we are to swap him with Bate and get him to play as a defensive forward on someone like Heppell.

  On 31/05/2011 at 01:47, pm24 said:

I just want to check that those who are wanting Warnock out realise we're playing Essendon this week. That's right the team that plays three ruckmen every week. Warnock is our tallest and possibly toughest backman. I would think that we would need to have him play this week against the Bellchambers/Ryder/Hille trio. Otherwise we would be seriously undersized in the backline when they've also got guys like Crameri and possibly Hurley running around.

Bellchambers - Ruck

Hille - Frawley

Ryder - Tom McDonald

Hurley - Rivers

Crameri - Joel Macdonald

If McDonald is really struggling, Martin can go down back when resting from the ruck (which will be quiet a bit due to Gawn's inclusion). There is no way Warnock deserves another game on last Fridays effort.