1 hour ago, ProDee said:

I'm certain you are told nothing significant by the club.

You're no doubt treated with respect by the club, as they appreciate the efforts you make to attend training, but an insider you aint.

Never have stated I am an insider ProDee,  that has been bestowed on me by others, although that being said I do get a lot of info from 2 or 3 within the club which I keep to myself

Just now, Wiseblood said:

Yet you stay silent with his constant attacks on other posters.

Hypocrite.

I am allowed to defend myself

You, amongst others, keep reminding everybody it is a Public Forum, so as long as there is no abuse, posters can put what they like, again don't read it

Back on topic somebody asked about Hibberd, covered this early on, he left the track early, was open with everybody who asked, said he had a bit of a stiff neck and  was off for a massage, will be fine for Monday

TV cameraman followed him half way to AAMI

During the session showed no ill effects at all, has been doing a power of work to get back, bits of his body are grumbling about it

I go on this forum mainly to talk to myself in print, and pick up advice along the way, its fun....

Please - this is a team selection and match preview page. Let's keep it that way thanks.

What time are we expecting final teams to be announced?

I think the majority of posters underestimate what Michael hibberd is going to bring to our team! His ball use off half back is elite, he's a strong defender, good mark and he will release Bernie Vince up the ground into an attacking wingman role

2 minutes ago, DeeZee said:

What time are we expecting final teams to be announced?

It was either 5pm or 5.30pm. One of those two.

Common WJ that was pretty funny

15 hours ago, Skuit said:

On another note - the AFL website has selected Dusty as our 'bogeyman' for a 24-disposals/0-goals/0-marks match back at the start of 2015. I finally got around to checking the stats and it confirmed what I thought: Melbourne is Dusty's 'bogey-team', with his poorest career averages against us (and Carlton).

Great, if you could just see who was playing on him, we could continue the theme.

12 minutes ago, Abe said:

I think the majority of posters underestimate what Michael hibberd is going to bring to our team! His ball use off half back is elite, he's a strong defender, good mark and he will release Bernie Vince up the ground into an attacking wingman role

How do you know this Abe? Poll results pls ?

6 minutes ago, Abe said:

I think the majority of posters underestimate what Michael hibberd is going to bring to our team! His ball use off half back is elite, he's a strong defender, good mark and he will release Bernie Vince up the ground into an attacking wingman role

You should temper your expectations of a player who hasn't played for 20 months. And his previous 2 seasons at Essendon were average.

He's a powerful kick, but I'd hardly rate his ball use as elite. And as a defender, he's ok, but I don't see him as someone who can shut down a player like Tom Hawkins, let alone an elite key forward.

He fulfills a need in our backline, but my expectations aren't high. But he should offer more than his sidekick Melksham.

Just now, mo64 said:

You should temper your expectations of a player who hasn't played for 20 months. And his previous 2 seasons at Essendon were average.

He's a powerful kick, but I'd hardly rate his ball use as elite. And as a defender, he's ok, but I don't see him as someone who can shut down a player like Tom Hawkins, let alone an elite key forward.

He fulfills a need in our backline, but my expectations aren't high. But he should offer more than his sidekick Melksham.

Not sure you'd play a half back flanker on tom Hawkins but while I see your point I think he will grow into the role and become one of our most important players 

1 minute ago, Abe said:

Not sure you'd play a half back flanker on tom Hawkins but while I see your point I think he will grow into the role and become one of our most important players 

At Essendon, he played fairly deep in the backline, and I'd expect him to do the same with us. I see him playing as a 3rd tall defender, and expect him to get assignments on key forwards. He's too slow to play as a creative running half back flanker. Salem and Hunt will play those roles.

14 minutes ago, mo64 said:

At Essendon, he played fairly deep in the backline, and I'd expect him to do the same with us. I see him playing as a 3rd tall defender, and expect him to get assignments on key forwards. He's too slow to play as a creative running half back flanker. Salem and Hunt will play those roles.

Agree to disagree, I think he's been bought in to use his skills off half back and release guys like Salem and Vince up the ground, and that hunt will remain on half back to provide that run 

Perhaps we can have a seperate 'blood letting' thread rather than letting the personal stuff derail...

1 hour ago, mo64 said:

You should temper your expectations of a player who hasn't played for 20 months. And his previous 2 seasons at Essendon were average.

He's a powerful kick, but I'd hardly rate his ball use as elite. And as a defender, he's ok, but I don't see him as someone who can shut down a player like Tom Hawkins, let alone an elite key forward.

He fulfills a need in our backline, but my expectations aren't high. But he should offer more than his sidekick Melksham.

Well, hang on, Abe never said he was a KPD. He says he's a stronger defender. I would agree. He's a strong third tall that plays on medium sized forwards. 

Yes, we shouldn't expect him to become an AA backman this season, but I think we can expect good kicking to break defensive zones and lessen our turn overs off half back. He also has a decent amount of experience.

1 hour ago, mo64 said:

At Essendon, he played fairly deep in the backline, and I'd expect him to do the same with us. I see him playing as a 3rd tall defender, and expect him to get assignments on key forwards. He's too slow to play as a creative running half back flanker. Salem and Hunt will play those roles.

We don't play a deep defensive zone, so I'll expect him to play off half back. He might be the sort that is dragged back to the square occasionally against say a Dustin Martin, but I'd also expect Jetta to take that sort of role.

I think you're unnecessarily down on him. He might take a few weeks to get up to speed, but I agree with Abe. He'll become a very important player for us. He also releases Salem, Vince and potentially even Hunt into the midfield. 

2 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

Yet you stay silent with his constant attacks on other posters.

Hypocrite.

Him or me wiseblood?

2 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

So if I were to mention my residual dissapointment in Saty losing his grand daddy beard....would that count OD? ?

VERY VERY Happy with the rest of his work!!!

God knows RN. It seems we are all so testy on here later it might be to someone.

Edited April 22, 20178 yr by old dee

1 hour ago, Abe said:

Agree to disagree, I think he's been bought in to use his skills off half back and release guys like Salem and Vince up the ground, and that hunt will remain on half back to provide that run 

Lets hope so Abe. Vince playing deep down back is a huge win for the opposition IMO. With Frost, Hunt and IF we can add Hibberd as another attacking (run & carry) defender we might finally have a solid, but attacking defence, that will cause some severe headaches for the opposition at the selection table and on game day. Throwing Vince further up the field is exactly what's needed at the moment. Adding another experienced body that will take a significant opponent to match up on. A little less pressure on the younger blokes in general through the middle??

The return of Lewis next week should also allow Vince even more freedom to roam higher up the ground

We just might be about to take this team to another level and finally see another significant step in its development towards regular finals appearances.

The next 3 matches are all very winnable and must wins if we are to make our first finals appearance in a decade, starting Monday night.

Edited April 22, 20178 yr by Rusty Nails

16 hours ago, Skuit said:

You mean like when Jones sat out the 2015 season with a neck issue?

I have been watching Viney closely...no way is he 100%.

4 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

Lets hope so Abe. Vince playing deep down back is a huge win for the opposition IMO. With Frost, Hunt and IF we can add Hibberd as another attacking (run & carry) defender we might finally have a solid, but attacking defence, that will cause some severe headaches for the opposition at the selection table and on game day. Throwing Vince further up the field is exactly what's needed at the moment. Adding another experienced body that will take a significant opponent to match up on. A little less pressure on the younger blokes in general through the middle??

The return of Lewis next week should also allow Vince even more freedom to roam higher up the ground

We just might be about to take this team to another level and finally see another significant step in its development towards regular finals appearances.

The next 3 matches are all very winnable and must wins if we are to make our first finals appearance in a decade, starting Monday night.

Vince is in my opinion a class player and capable of being a top 3 in the bluey player if he plays in the midfield, Hibberd will allow him to do that, so not only do we get a half back who is much more suited to that role, Vince is a massive upgrade on someone like say Harmes on the Wing 

 

21 minutes ago, old dee said:

God knows RN. It seems we are all so testy on here later it might be to someone.

It's amazing what a win on Monday night would do OD.  Hugs and backslapping all round ? 

1 minute ago, Rusty Nails said:

It's amazing what a win on Monday night would do OD.  Hugs and backslapping all round ? 

Probably right.

I must admit my humour has slipped considerably the last two weeks.

I hope dusty plays and hurts his groin in the first 5 minutes. If he is carrying a dodgy groin why take the chance. But yes we do need to contain him. 

Im looking forward to see how we respond after a poor 2 weeks. 

We know all the richmond fans will be out in force. Especially since they are 4-0. Suddenly they are popping up everywhere. Gee it would be nice to wpie the smile off there faces.