Very excited, but nervious and not that confident.

Watts must play. I know Neeld may well be trying to send a strong message to him to attack the ball or play for Casey, in the long run leaving him out may well pay dividends, but it could also backfire. We are a much weaker team without him. Even when he plays badly he takes the #1 or #2 defender and sets up many goals often through cleaver tap ons and blocks, when he plays well he can be a match winner (v Richmond last year). His form midseason last year was excellent. He dropped off with the team in the last 8 weeks.

He is almost 21, he showed the desire at Casey last week and I would much prefer he given the opportunity to show us this desire in round 1.

He's actually just turned 21 the other day I noticed.

Keep the Watts posts to his thread in The Locker Room please guys.

Would i be correct in saying we have to wait until 6.30 for the teams this year due to an agreement the AFL made with 7? Very very annoying.

Yes

If you lie down with dogs don't be surprised if you get up with fleas

Would i be correct in saying we have to wait until 6.30 for the teams this year due to an agreement the AFL made with 7? Very very annoying.

Ughhhh.... Are you serious? That is so annoying!

Have 7 got the exclusive rights to show the line ups as part of their news broadcast or something?

I'm sick of everything in the AFL being about making a buck. How about letting the fans enjoy the game?

Doesn't really matter what time they name the side, it's all smoke and mirrors these day anyway

The only one that matters is the one 1hr before the bounce!

Doesn't really matter what time they name the side, it's all smoke and mirrors these day anyway

Spot On

As they say lying is the second langage of the AFL

Team for round 1:

B: Joel Macdonald, James Frawley, Clint Bartram

HB: Rohan Bail, Jared Rivers, Colin Garland

C: Jack Watts, Jack Grimes, Nathan Jones

HF: Jack Trengove, Brad Green, Jeremy Howe

F: Aaron Davey, Mitch Clark, Stef Martin

FOLL: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, James Magner

I/C: Matthew Bate, Jordie McKenzie, Sam Blease, Josh Tynan

EMG: Lynden Dunn, Tom Couch, James Sellar

That's a fairly ginger looking bench!

Tynan & Magner to debut, Grimes in the centre & Watts on the wing?

Surprised to see MacDonald but Great effort by Tynan to debut Round 1.

Also nice to see all of last years VCs and Captain make the cut, shows they have kept working hard.

Great for Tynan, also good to see Grimes included, though I'm a bit surprised Gysberts doesn't even get into the Emg.

Ughhhh.... Are you serious? That is so annoying!

Have 7 got the exclusive rights to show the line ups as part of their news broadcast or something?

I'm sick of everything in the AFL being about making a buck. How about letting the fans enjoy the game?

650,000 club members

over 7 million total match attendance a year

$240 million a year in TV rights

god knows how much for sponsorship deals eg Toyota

but hey we are competing with soccer, so they need to shaft us at every turn in order to squeeze a bit more more out, hey

Looks a good side

you wont see green at chf

No Petterd No Bennell are these guys fit?

Macdonald ahead of Sellar surprises me a bit. Tynan ahead of Dunn is a pleasant surprise. All in all I'm happy with that and can't bloody wait for the season to start now.

out of interest - what is everyone's confidence factor in that 22 players - how many question marks do you have, meaning you see a name and think 'hmm not sure about that guy'

my number is 8

No real surprises apart from maybe bennell missing out, given he posted most pre season games. I guess gysberts & tapscott will need another week or two at casey which I'm not that concerned about as they are borderline best 22 at the moment anyway.

Roll on saturday!

Great for Tynan, also good to see Grimes included, though I'm a bit surprised Gysberts doesn't even get into the Emg.

If you'd been to Casey you'd know why.

Anyone know whats wrong with Petterd? Thanks.

Jade Rawlings says Petterd a bit sore, whatever that means...???

Jade Rawlings says Petterd a bit sore, whatever that means...???

Sore he didn't get picked

I hope the Dees are comfortably in front by the time sub Josh Tynan runs onto the ground for his well deserved first game.

I'm reading the article on Dave Misson in 'Heartbeat' the club's season guide.

Says Dave on his initial assessment of the club - 'i did a bit of research and had a look at their fourth quarters. They were the worst fourth quarter team in the competition'.

No wonder he drove them into the ground in the first two months. No all we need is someone to teach them how to hit targets.

I am surprised not to see Gysberts - I thought he played as well as Watts at Casey last week.

Also fairly surprised that Jordie has made it in. He was in the rehab group for a long time and didn't play a lot during the NAB cup.

Really surprised to see Joel Mac picked - some of his basic skill errors during NAB cup were horrible and he seemed low on confidence. However, you can tell that "hard at it" players are favoured by Neeld and Joel Mac definitely fits that bill.

Stoked to see Bail in. Can't wait to see him fit and firing.

Can't see the team lining up as selected though.

the midfield is a lot more workman-like than than we must have seem for a number of years. more grunt and less flash, can't help but think of Geelong 2011...

No real surprises apart from maybe bennell missing out, given he posted most pre season games. I guess gysberts & tapscott will need another week or two at casey which I'm not that concerned about as they are borderline best 22 at the moment anyway.

Roll on saturday!

DD I am surprised you are surprised.

From what I read and saw Bennell continued his form from the majority of 2011.

4 or 5 posessions a game hardly justifies his spot.

He has played 51 games and he would have been lucky to put in 10 good games in that period.

IMO only a number of injuries will see him back any time soon.

If you'd been to Casey you'd know why.

Was he ordinary there? Care to share?