sorry the team is minus 6 from my best 22 for round 1 2015.

I agree Vandenburg now deserves a spot in the best 22. Grimes and Frost would be emergencies (best 25). agree 9 out of best 25.

Not if we kick 3 goals and lose by 130 points

Yep, even then.

Do you want him to play 1 game and miss 4 to 6 or even tare it off the bone and miss the rest of the season.

Do you want us to take a stupid risk with him and for him to pack up and go home in a couple of years because he didn't want to play with an amateur club.

If Dawes and co can't kick a score then it points to further changes at the end of the season. We're not pushing for finals here but we are moving forward, lets see who comes along with us for the ride. I've got very high hopes for Hogan, Brayshaw, Salem, Petracca, McDonald's, Viney, vanders,Tyson and co...

It's the midfield stupid.

N Jones, Vince, Tyson, Cross, Viney and Brayshaw with two first rucks will make sure we get our hands on the ball regularly. We won't get smashed.

We're missing a heap of key players and losing Hogan and Pedersen hurts our structure but our six best midfielders have rarely played together this year. Brayshaw is getting better each game. Tyson and Viney will be in better shape than previous weeks. N Jones seems to be shaking whatever ailment (shoulder?) that has impeded him somewhat this year. Vince and Cross are in good form. Gawn is gaining in confidence. Add Toumpas and Watts coming off good games and M Jones and Bail possibly playing for their careers and Stretch and Neal-Bullen looking to prove themselves and I think we've named an exciting team.

Geelong are missing 5 ruck options in Vardy, Simpson, McIntosh, Stanley and Clark. Add Bartel, Kelly and Duncan to that list and they've been dealt a similar hand to us in terms of injuries.

I'm looking forward to this game.

Now I've just got to re-read what I've written a hundred times before the game and I might actually believe it . . . .

Jeez would have thought Mark Jamar come in instead of Spencer.

Well looks like she's all over for Russian

Do you think; or is it simply the footy dept' trying to figure out whether to let one of Pencil, or Gawnus maxim, go at end of season? trying to work out which to keep?

the brains trust may be looking for something different than you see, dd36

It will be carnage.

They were a horrible combo. We got smashed every time. Gawn cannot play forward. Defenses rebound off him like nobody's business.

Surely Gawn is a better forward than Spencer though?

IMO, they're seriously on par.

Gawn can clunk a few contested marks i50 but can't hit the side of a barn door unless 10 metres out directly in front.

Spencil can kick a goal (within 30/40 metres) and can hit leading targets but rarely marks, let alone marking i50 to get a shot at goal.

The only diff between the two for me is that Spencil loves to tackle and is presently the leading tackler (tackle averages) in the team!

The other 2 talls under discussion here up forward are Gawn, ranked equal last in tackle averages (34th behind Hogan at 33rd!), and Dawes ranked 21st.

In the match last night, apart from being generally better in their one on ones (quality) and effective ball use (with a DE% about the AFL average @ 71.8% vs the Crows @ 67.4), the Hawks only other big advantage last night was their ferocious tackling inside 50 and IMO a more effective forward press. The Hawks had 22 tackles i50 versus the Crows lousey 7! Pressure acts inside 50 were also massive for the Hawks, lead by Cyril, Puopolo and Roughead.

So if it's a choice of Gawn or Spencil resting up forward i know who i would prefer in order to improve our pressure i50 (which is generally horrid), but it's a "just".

P.S. that's if it ever gets in there vs the Cats!

Edited June 19, 201510 yr by Rusty Nails

I am away at the moment, is Clark injured or Is it his other issue?

I am away at the moment, is Clark injured or Is it his other issue?

Calf injury

13 on the injury list, about 10 of whom I would slot straight into my best 22

Into our 35th best player which for our list is about 8 too many. That's 6 players who should not be playing AFL.

Down the highway for our usual disadvantage where the ground itself, the weather, the umpires, the crowd and the travel itself creates a big disadvantage

Make no mistake, this is a 10-20 goal loss on the horizon

What's important is that we as a supporter group don't lose our minds

What happens on Sunday is NOT representative of where our club is heading

This is just a belting we have to take on the chin

With a lineup anywhere near our best, and without the away ground disadvantage this would be a contest

But that's sadly not the reality

Can I just add that any Melbourne supporter that has the aggots to actually turn up to this game has my eternal respect and admiration, for you have bones made not of calcium, but of structural steel.

13 on the injury list, about 10 of whom I would slot straight into my best 22

Into our 35th best player which for our list is about 8 too many. That's 6 players who should not be playing AFL.

Down the highway for our usual disadvantage where the ground itself, the weather, the umpires, the crowd and the travel itself creates a big disadvantage

Make no mistake, this is a 10-20 goal loss on the horizon

What's important is that we as a supporter group don't lose our minds

What happens on Sunday is NOT representative of where our club is heading

This is just a belting we have to take on the chin

With a lineup anywhere near our best, and without the away ground disadvantage this would be a contest

But that's sadly not the reality

Can I just add that any Melbourne supporter that has the aggots to actually turn up to this game has my eternal respect and admiration, for you have bones made not of calcium, but of structural steel.

Gosh you make me laugh sometimes!

If you look at Roos most recent press conference, you can see that this team is starting to wear him down. I hope McCartney and Goodwin get more involved so that we don't see our coach have a meltdown! The bye may be very beneficial for our Head Coach.

I am going to torture a real Cat during the game as part of my Voodoo rituals.

Also going to use a photo of Booby Davis as toilet paper.

"Only an idiot keeps repeating the same actions expecting different results".

It's either glass half full or glass half empty the way I read people's attitudes to this game. I look at this game as s bit of an opportunity like the time in the late 90s when we went to Perth and were rank outsiders against West Coast. We had a lot of injuries and nobody gave us a chance and we looked gone but the players took the game on and we won. Robbo had a break out game and we had a good run after that.

Gawn can clunk a few contested marks i50 but can't hit the side of a barn door unless 10 metres out directly in front.

Spencil can kick a goal (within 30/40 metres) and can hit leading targets but rarely marks, let alone marking i50 to get a shot at goal.

The only diff between the two for me is that Spencil loves to tackle and is presently the leading tackler (tackle averages) in the team!

The other 2 talls under discussion here up forward are Gawn, ranked equal last in tackle averages (34th behind Hogan at 33rd!), and Dawes ranked 21st.

In the match last night, apart from being generally better in their one on ones (quality) and effective ball use (with a DE% about the AFL average @ 71.8% vs the Crows @ 67.4), the Hawks only other big advantage last night was their ferocious tackling inside 50 and IMO a more effective forward press. The Hawks had 22 tackles i50 versus the Crows lousey 7! Pressure acts inside 50 were also massive for the Hawks, lead by Cyril, Puopolo and Roughead.

So if it's a choice of Gawn or Spencil resting up forward i know who i would prefer in order to improve our pressure i50 (which is generally horrid), but it's a "just".

P.S. that's if it ever gets in there vs the Cats!

I have one problem with the above RN

When has Gawn ever clunked a few anywhere on the ground let alone in the forward fifty?

If you look at Roos most recent press conference, you can see that this team is starting to wear him down. I hope McCartney and Goodwin get more involved so that we don't see our coach have a meltdown! The bye may be very beneficial for our Head Coach.

Wearing him down!

They wore me down about 4 years ago but then I don't get paid $1 million PA.

Test of character this game. We have shown some improvement in that regard over the past two rounds. Big opportunity for Dawes to regain some credibility. What I don't want to see is the "its all to bloody hard attidtude" and consequential spanking by big numbers in the manner of the past few seasons.

It's the midfield stupid.

N Jones, Vince, Tyson, Cross, Viney and Brayshaw with two first rucks will make sure we get our hands on the ball regularly. We won't get smashed.

We're missing a heap of key players and losing Hogan and Pedersen hurts our structure but our six best midfielders have rarely played together this year. Brayshaw is getting better each game. Tyson and Viney will be in better shape than previous weeks. N Jones seems to be shaking whatever ailment (shoulder?) that has impeded him somewhat this year. Vince and Cross are in good form. Gawn is gaining in confidence. Add Toumpas and Watts coming off good games and M Jones and Bail possibly playing for their careers and Stretch and Neal-Bullen looking to prove themselves and I think we've named an exciting team.

Geelong are missing 5 ruck options in Vardy, Simpson, McIntosh, Stanley and Clark. Add Bartel, Kelly and Duncan to that list and they've been dealt a similar hand to us in terms of injuries.

I'm looking forward to this game.

Now I've just got to re-read what I've written a hundred times before the game and I might actually believe it . . . .

You have a point about our core midfield being basically intact. I count 7 players in our side who aren't currently in AFL grade form though (either through inexperience or just not being that good), in addition to Tyson who has been well below his best.

I don't see non-competitiveness as a foregone conclusion as others do, but we either need those midfielders to carry a herculean load, or those 7 or so players to all lift and surprise us all at once.

It's either glass half full or glass half empty the way I read people's attitudes to this game. I look at this game as s bit of an opportunity like the time in the late 90s when we went to Perth and were rank outsiders against West Coast. We had a lot of injuries and nobody gave us a chance and we looked gone but the players took the game on and we won. Robbo had a break out game and we had a good run after that.

I remember that game well in 1998. I was there. Huge upset. WC dominated the first half and completely folded in the second half. There were some noises made about how WC that week had received a huge fine for salary cap breaches and hints they were out to recoup their money somehow. At that time WC were flying and unbeaten for 6 or 7 games whilst we were playing like circa 2012 and decimated by injury. Events following indicated the rumours were unfounded as they fell away badly whilst we kept improving for the remainder of the season.

Edited June 19, 201510 yr by america de cali

Gawn can clunk a few contested marks i50

Really RN? Like od, I haven't seen this....

Still over 24 hours until the game starts. Plenty of time to start a new thread about the game.....

I am going to torture a real Cat during the game as part of my Voodoo rituals.

Also going to use a photo of Booby Davis as toilet paper.

"Only an idiot keeps repeating the same actions expecting different results".

I just had images of 'Bad Boy Bubby.'

That's a good boy, Bubby.

You have a point about our core midfield being basically intact. I count 7 players in our side who aren't currently in AFL grade form though (either through inexperience or just not being that good), in addition to Tyson who has been well below his best.

I don't see non-competitiveness as a foregone conclusion as others do, but we either need those midfielders to carry a herculean load, or those 7 or so players to all lift and surprise us all at once.

Whatever F50 entries we have will be marked by whom?

No Hogan

No Pedersen

Dawes pfftt

Watts or Howe.

We might get it down there but I reckon we'll really struggle to convert tomorrow.

Great to see we've gone like for like with McKenzie for Hogan. Already pencilled him in for a lazy six.

We must make the Cats backs accountable.. It's an absolute priority, otherwise Taylor will kick 5 from full back.

We can't just bomb it in as that's when Cats dominate.. It's exactly what Essendond did and they had a goalless first half. Midfield goals will be key here and overlap run off half back so that we can clear Cats defenders zoning off.

Play smart( not in our range I'll admit) but we can be competitive. Selwood and Johnson worry me. As does Hawkins on T Mac..