20 minutes ago, mrtwister said:

I think they'd be tracking the young boys' GPS info pretty closely to ensure they aren't fudging their wellbeing surveys by saying they feel great when really they're probably a bit fatigued and sore.

Maybe the club has fallen for it in the past and they're being extra cautious nowadays? 

Having players knocking doors down to get into the team is a first for a while as well. We are able to manage young players better because of this.

3 hours ago, Jesse Christ said:

A dummy for you probably seeing as you are always spitting yours out,  child 

One  of my favourite posters going back to your 'sloonie' days.  A real spitfire! Like your work JC!

 

5 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

lol Saints too scared to put McCartin up against Petracca

That's definitely what it looks like...

5 hours ago, DeeZee said:

Why did they just rest him if they weren't going to play Oliver the following week?

Shouldn't  he have played at Casey?

Unless he had some soreness or a tiny niggle.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Oliver come in for Pedersen.

They'll wait until Saturday to see if they need any late changes, depending on how everyone pulls up. I'm not sure you want more than three <5 gamers in the side though. Hunt, Wagner and Petracca is enough as it is.

24 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

I wouldn't be surprised to see Oliver come in for Pedersen.

I would.

10 minutes ago, Chook said:

I would.

I knew someone would say that.  Let's wait and see.

The competition for spots is pretty eye opening. I'd love Oliver to be in there but I suppose we can only have so many guys competing for the ball in the middle, which is probably why Hunt/Harmes have been backed over him, for that team balance, also Wagner has come out of nowhere and Tyson is in really good form. Good luck on seeing Salem get into that midfield any time soon too!

Bottom line is I guess that we aren't changing a winning formula. We are retaining a good mix of outside run and inside...insideness. 

Anyway it's great to see so many debutants at this early stage. They've all had an impact and then you can include Bugg and Kennedy who I wasn't 100% sure about. The new interchange cap seems to be providing an incentive to rest our younger guys, playing them only 60-70% gametime, so if anything that lessens the impact of the shorter break. Also, maybe selection is like a game of musical chairs. Oliver gets lowest possession tally- dropped. Brayshaw gets lowest possession tally- also dropped

8 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

Our balance has looked pretty spot on over the last couple of weeks.

And Frost clunked a few on the weekend as well.  He may not have a huge impact but he is certainly doing his part.

I think the side can still be improved.

I am not suggesting that Frost is playing badly - I am suggesting that he doesn't do enough and I am suggesting that Pedersen doesn't do enough either - they play a role but for me it will end up one or the other.

We dropped Brayshaw  - a mid ( although he has been playing forward) for a forward. 

I am purely speculating that Petracca will live up to his hype and therefore I feel he would take one of those two place which frees us to bring in another mid.

When we have Oliver and Brayshaw both fit I would think that either Pedersen or Frost would make way.

I also concede that both of them in the team has worked to date.

7 hours ago, AdamFarr said:

I wouldn't be surprised to see Oliver come in for Pedersen.

SOURCE??

12 hours ago, nutbean said:

Not sure what bearing Saturday's game will have. This decision is obviously not about the game, it's about Oliver. So win lose or draw makes no difference to the decision about what is best for a young player in his first season. 

I have no idea how Oliver is travelling but I do know that Brayshaw fell away in the second half of the season and Roos openly admitted they overplayed him. 

I want Oliver playing as badly as you . But I want him up and firing when he does. 

Nutbean, you might want to re-think this ambiguous language. The image of Oliver playing at Picket's standard is a bit frightening. Hopefully Picket can agree this time.

I have no problems limiting the number of young kids in the team who are struggling to play 80%+ TOG. 

With limited rotations, no subs and a fast Etihad track, we are one mid game injury away from disaster. 

Hunt, Wagner and Trac make for enough inexperience. You bring in two more mids in Oliver and Brayshaw and it's simply a risk we don't need right now

Yes it's a strange feeling, but we are not in a rebuild mode anymore. We are obviously trying to win and make finals and we need to have the fitest and most in form team out there, not put development of kids as our top priority. It's a nice change. 

We seem to forget that Frost has still played minimal games at AFL level.  He has amazing aerobic capacity and aggression for someone his size and every game he has played so far .....he has improved.   Marks are starting to stick & you can't question his attack at the ball also we don't have a dearth of tall players.   Peterson is a battler....great depth player  but Frost  is our future.  I am more than happy to watch him develop each week.  Oliver, Bradshaw (still showing the effects of his pre-season knee injury) & our other talented youngsters will be managed to achieve their optimum output....something we haven't managed in the past.  The exciting thing about Melbourne is the potential for so much more improvement.  Most of our list is in the early stages of their careers, heaps of mistakes still being made so there will be rocky times but the ceiling is huge....

12 hours ago, Moneider96 said:

Here's hoping that homeostasis doesn't kick in, and we don't go back to our usual selves...which is certainly within our capabilities. Real worried.

That's one I haven't tried!

It would be great if we could get the whole team on the park playing 90% tog. It would also be a contravention of the laws of the game. Someone has to spend time on the bench. To argue the non-inclusion of a young player due to recently limited game time is a suggestion that our senior players are currently overworked and would ideally spend less time on ground. 

11 hours ago, demon9 said:

Any predictions on whether the roof will be closed or not?

I say they will leave it open while saints supporters dance for rain.

2 minutes ago, Skuit said:

It would be great if we could get the whole team on the park playing 90% tog. It would also be a contravention of the laws of the game. Someone has to spend time on the bench. To argue the non-inclusion of a young player due to recently limited game time is a suggestion that our senior players are currently overworked and would ideally spend less time on ground. 

Indeed - if every single player played equal amount of time on the ground, they'd all end up with 81% TOG.  Defenders also usually spend 90% on the ground or more and the really fit ones are closer to 98% (TMac), so there is room to carry a handful of 70% or less players, but only a handful.  As midfield/flankers, Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes and Kennedy have all been regular features in this statistic in their games so far this year, I expect Petracca will be too.  I wouldn't expect to see all five in the side at the same time in the front half of this year, four at most and ideally only three if we want to maintain balance team balance.  

2 minutes ago, Nasher said:

Indeed - if every single player played equal amount of time on the ground, they'd all end up with 81% TOG.  Defenders also usually spend 90% on the ground or more and the really fit ones are closer to 98% (TMac), so there is room to carry a handful of 70% or less players, but only a handful.  As midfield/flankers, Oliver, Brayshaw, Harmes and Kennedy have all been regular features in this statistic in their games so far this year, I expect Petracca will be too.  I wouldn't expect to see all five in the side at the same time in the front half of this year, four at most and ideally only three if we want to maintain balance team balance.  

The stat on the Bulldogs was interesting (and as mentioned by King who I don't like) that no one is over 75%...

1 minute ago, Ingeniokinetikey said:

The stat on the Bulldogs was interesting (and as mentioned by King who I don't like) that no one is over 75%...

Unless I've misinterpreted, that's not physically possible, clearly not reflected in the data, and King is an idiot.

20 minutes ago, Ingeniokinetikey said:

The stat on the Bulldogs was interesting (and as mentioned by King who I don't like) that no one is over 75%...

That stat just related to % of an individual players' gametime played in the midfield. In other words, the Dogs have an even spread of players rotating through the middle.

Jack Viney had the highest % at 96% of his gametime in the middle.

North play 3 tall forwards (Petrie, Waite and Brown) to great effect but none of them are what you would call fast.

They seem to be going alright at the moment but it will be interesting how they go against the speedy Dogs tonight at the dome where the roof will be closed.

Big men don't get shorter during a game

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

SOURCE??

Opinion/feeling.

2 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Nutbean, you might want to re-think this ambiguous language. The image of Oliver playing at Picket's standard is a bit frightening. Hopefully Picket can agree this time.

Ah yes can definately agree but hasten to add, When I PLAYED just think a combo of Stevie J, Adem Yze and Bomber Hendrie! Except I was predominately a right footer!

When I was on song Sheeeit I was breathtaking  LOL ! 

Edited April 29, 20169 yr by picket fence

3 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Ah yes can definately agree but hasten to add, When I PLAYED just think a combo of Stevie J, Adem Yze and Bomber Hendrie! 

When I was on song Sheeeit I was breathtaking  LOL ! 

That's impressive given that Yze and Hendrie were left footers and Stevie J a right footer. Were you equally good at cricket like Bomber Hendrie?

8 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

Opinion/feeling.

But what are your opinion's credentials?!! Has your opinion ever PLAYED?  Does it hold a diploma in Sports Clairvoyance?? Sheeeit I'm funny.