11 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Mcstay killed us at Docklands 2 years ago.

And how many of that particular Dees team are playing this Sunday?

On 5/18/2016 at 10:08 AM, Gorgoroth said:

After how "good" the skills have been the last two times we have played them. 

I'm bracing myself for another ripping game...

The game at Etihad was the single most putrid game of football I have ever seen.

I was going for the "Damien Hardwick" clause at half time and trying to get the game called off.

14 hours ago, Peter Griffen said:

we are either going to have an off week and get belted or we're going to come to play and win this game by 80 plus. Hogan to kick another 6-7

The reason we are learning to play to specific structures and roles and NOT deviate from instructions is so that the 'on' week and 'off' week stuff becomes minimalised. We have been playing in this current particular way/set up for barely 11weeks.  seeing who is the best fit in this new style/game plan, team selection/form (still sorting the chess pieces), and tweeking/adapting the game style based on the continual learning from week to week. 

IMHO, The losses have stemmed from more the experimenting & learning rather than the above the shoulders stuff of the past.

We will win on Sunday because the systems we have in place have statistically are better chance of success than Brisbane's.

9 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

I would haveimpreferred Garland to be dropped too but I think you're forgetting just how poor Dunn's form was prior to being dropped. You're making it sound like he's a star. I think what we have learnt so far this year is neither Garland nor Dunn look like they're a part of our future anymore. 

Agree with this. They have both been fantastic servants of the club through extremely trying times but their form so far this year hasn't been up to an acceptable standard. Dunn's best Is better than anything Garland has offered up but unfortunately for him, It has only appeared during one or two matches. I think Dunn has the potential to up the ante' If he wanted to but he seems very underwhelmed/disinterested during most games so far.

I don't think Omac offers  anything greater at this early stage either except  a bit of youthful exuberance and possibly something better than the above after another 40 to 50 games (or more).

 

9 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

I would have preferred Garland to be dropped too but I think you're forgetting just how poor Dunn's form was prior to being dropped. You're making it sound like he's a star. I think what we have learnt so far this year is neither Garland nor Dunn look like they're a part of our future anymore. 

Dunn has been great at Casey though, that's the point, rewarding effort and form, dropping those who don't perform, that's what building a culture is about.

 

Dunn got 28 last game at Casey but not listed in the best. Hardly a ringing endorsement to be elevated back into the seniors. Should be at the peak of his career. 

10 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

Dunn got 28 last game at Casey but not listed in the best. Hardly a ringing endorsement to be elevated back into the seniors. Should be at the peak of his career. 

R5:

Lynden Dunn: Dunny was fantastic on the weekend. He played a defensive role for us after being dropped from the senior team. Dunny came back and worked on a few areas of his game, which he was able to do. He had 26 possessions, five marks and five inside 50s, which was a pretty solid performance. Dunny showed great leadership and great organisation with our back six.

R6:

Lynden Dunn: Dunny had 28 possessions and made several effective tackles. He was really solid for us in defence and was really strong in a lot of one-on-one contests. He came forward in a lot of contests, which we encouraged him to do. He set up a lot of our offensive play, because he kicks the ball well and can get some distance. Dunny put the ball inside 50 five times during the game, which was a really good effort. He competed really well and it was a really solid game for him.

12 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

Dunn got 28 last game at Casey but not listed in the best. Hardly a ringing endorsement to be elevated back into the seniors. Should be at the peak of his career. 

Lynden Dunn: Dunny had 28 possessions and made several effective tackles. He was really solid for us in defence and was really strong in a lot of one-on-one contests. He came forward in a lot of contests, which we encouraged him to do. He set up a lot of our offensive play, because he kicks the ball well and can get some distance. Dunny put the ball inside 50 five times during the game, which was a really good effort. He competed really well and it was a really solid game for him.

Yeah you're right, let's stick with Garland getting beaten in one on ones and his whopping 9 disposals...

 

10 hours ago, Je Roos Salem said:

Yet Garland over Dunn makes little sense

agree Garland is playing average footy.  might be in over Dunn as he can play small and is a bit quicker.

bears dont have too many talls

May as well not play Garland if OMac is going to play

Let's just kneecap the poor bloke and be done with it. 

Salem being dropped is a good thing. I see it as a motivational move. It's not that what he is doing isn't best 22 worthy, it's more that he isn't performing as good as he can, not relative to others. Coaches must strive to get the best out of every player and you would think they are hoping for Salem to be a top 10/12 contributor, not our 15th most valuable player. It may or may not weaken us in the short term but it makes he put in until he starts performing to the level we know that he can and when he comes back he should add more to the team than he has so far this year. Good non-selection.

He has seemed either slightly off or his intensity is down and if this gives him a bit of a push, it will help us greatly in the 2nd half of the season. 

On 5/20/2016 at 10:00 AM, stuie said:

Lynden Dunn: Dunny had 28 possessions and made several effective tackles. He was really solid for us in defence and was really strong in a lot of one-on-one contests. He came forward in a lot of contests, which we encouraged him to do. He set up a lot of our offensive play, because he kicks the ball well and can get some distance. Dunny put the ball inside 50 five times during the game, which was a really good effort. He competed really well and it was a really solid game for him.

Yeah you're right, let's stick with Garland getting beaten in one on ones and his whopping 9 disposals...

 

While i agree Garland was poor and Dunn was good at Casey, i think the coaching staff might be trying to make a statement with Dunny, clearly he's doing or done something they don't like. 

Personally i'd much rather see O'mac in the side getting experience, can cop mistakes from a young player but when a senior player makes basic skill errors under no pressure you can't excuse it.

A few stats for those interested.

	MFC	BBFFC		Diff
Average Age	23.1	24.5		-1.4
Average Games	58.5	61.0		-2.5
Back Line
Ave Age	24.0	24.0		0.0
Ave Games	82.8	81.5		1.3
Fol (includes wing)
Ave Age	23.0	25.7		-2.7
Ave Games	66.2	90.2		-24.0
Fwd
Ave Age	23.8	27.3		-3.5
Ave Games	63.5	75.7		-12.2
Int
Ave Age	21.9	19.7		2.1
Ave Games	26.7	5.7		21.0
Melbourne
Games	Backline	Fol	Fwd	Int	total
0-50	2	3	3	6	14
51-100	2	2	1	1	6
101-150	1	0	2	0	3
151-200	1	0	0	0	1
200+	0	1	0	0	1
					25
BBFFC
Games	Backline	Fol	Fwd	Int	total
0-50	2	0	1	7	10
51-100	2	4	3	0	9
101-150	1	2	2	0	5
151-200	1	0	0	0	1
200+	0	0	0	0	0
					25
	MFC Back	WB Fwd		Diff
Age	24.0	27.3		-3.3
Games	82.8	75.7		7.2
	MFC Fwd	WB Back
Age	23.8	24.0		-0.2
Games	63.5	81.5		-18.0

 

So we come up against the youngest list in the comp and still manage to field a younger less experienced side on the day. I am not sure we will actually go into a game this year as the older more experienced outfit.

The only place we match the Lions in age and experience is in both the backlines and we are older and more experienced on the bench, although if you take Grimes and Newton off our bench the numbers are very close again no matter who they don't play. 

We should win this and win comfortably, the fact I still have to say should instead of will says everything about the reliability of our club. They are getting better but aren't there yet. The fact we are such favorites over the lions and we are at about the same place in development really makes me think their future isn't very bright!

So hard to know what's going on in regards to team selection from the outside.

Salem being dropped is interesting. Could be sore, could be form. Who knows.

Salem is the kind of bloke I see that could get to an elite level if he has a pre-season like Viney.

He needs to get himself much fitter and he needs to trim down if he wants to reach his potential. 

I reckon there are a few in the same boat.

22 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

So hard to know what's going on in regards to team selection from the outside.

Salem being dropped is interesting. Could be sore, could be form. Who knows.

Salem is the kind of bloke I see that could get to an elite level if he has a pre-season like Viney.

He needs to get himself much fitter and he needs to trim down if he wants to reach his potential. 

I reckon there are a few in the same boat.

It's not that he is sore. He's been omitted. So it's form.

Not everyone can come in and have the impact that Oliver's having. It takes most blokes 50+ games to get into it. Salem has played 28 games. I suspect next year will be his year.

14 hours ago, DubDee said:

Salem is dropped as he has been performing well below his ability. Hasn't been many chase down tackles like last year. I support him being dropped. 

They showed faith in him by bringing him straight back in. I am liking the new standards. 

I think he is probably still wary of his hammy. He will be back once he has his confidence in his legs is back.

 

31 minutes ago, AdamFarr said:

It's not that he is sore. He's been omitted. So it's form.

Not everyone can come in and have the impact that Oliver's having. It takes most blokes 50+ games to get into it. Salem has played 28 games. I suspect next year will be his year.

Sometimes clubs can 'omit' a player even if they're sore/lack conditioning etc. 

I read that he was made to do a lot of short sharp 'burst' running in the off-season as a means to get his hammies in the right condition.

Anyway, I'm not asking him to have the impact Oliver is having. They're playing completely different positions anyway.

But as a half-back, the transition running required to play that role well is huge and I'm just saying that I think Salem is not at the required level of fitness to be able to play that role to the potential I think that he is capable of playing.

Of all our youngsters, I feel the most comfortable and confident when the ball is in Salem's hands. I'm just saying that I think he needs a monstrous pre-season of serious running to be able to become a really dangerous and damaging HB flanker in the mould of Shaw, Birchell, Docherty etc. All those guys are so damaging because of their use and their run.

And I think Salem can get there. 

 

I will be there tomorrow however is there a worse time for a weekend game?

A day is a totally lost for a two hour game of football.

Similar timming to the saints game I sincerely hope I feel a lot better  at 4pm than I did on that day.

2 minutes ago, old dee said:

I will be there tomorrow however is there a worse time for a weekend game?

A day is a totally lost for a two hour game of football.

Similar timming to the saints game I sincerely hope I feel a lot better  at 4pm than I did on that day.

you might want to wait an extra day OD. The G is a big place by yourself!

Some players don't play well in positions that don't sit them. This is a coaching failure as much as Salems.

I  tip of he was on the wing he would be doing better. 

2 minutes ago, Chris said:

you might want to wait an extra day OD. The G is a big place by yourself!

Good point Chris.

By the way what day is it? where am I?

Or for that matter who am I?

I suspect we will play O Mac and not Garland.

To me, Garland is either low on confidence or the game has gone past him.  Every time he gets near it it looks like he is trying to wrestle a bar of soap.

I am a Dunn fan, but I personally love the fact he isn't getting a game.  There are too many things the coaches have been frustrated about with him, and for too long we have had to accept that because there were no better alternatives.  For mine, the fact he hasn't remedied those areas and now will not get a game without doing so will lift standards across the board.

 

Got down to training for half an hour this morning.. Noticed no Newton or Grimes..

Hunt, Harmes, Kent, ANB, Omac all training so safe to say the bench will read 4 of those 5. If it was me, I'd leave Omac out but Roos has stated he'll play so one of Harmes or Hunt we'll make way I reckon  

 

 

10 minutes ago, JV7 said:

Got down to training for half an hour this morning.. Noticed no Newton or Grimes..

Hunt, Harmes, Kent, ANB, Omac all training so safe to say the bench will read 4 of those 5. If it was me, I'd leave Omac out but Roos has stated he'll play so one of Harmes or Hunt we'll make way I reckon  

Brisbane hardly have any tall forwards so we decide to bring in another tall defender?