3 hours ago, The Swimming Dee said:

Flying across from Perth for the game. Hoping for a good, solid first quarter. 

Will know within the first 10 minutes if we are on. If we are then we will win comfortably - we are better than they are!

Welcome tsd.Unfortunately it takes us longer to get started than your flight time.

If Gawn only another week or two away I don't know if they will bring in Spencer to be a short term fill in. 

The last 5 weeks that we have been ruckman free we have won the clearance count on each occasion

Vs G.C  37 clearances to 34

Vs Nth  40-34

Vs Adel 49-38

Vs Hawks 37-30

Vs Drug Lords 40-31

We have won 3/5 of those games along the way. 

I'm not sure that having Jake V the Pies will help better those clearance counts whilst not having him will give us extra run around the ground.

 

3 minutes ago, fndee said:

If Gawn only another week or two away I don't know if they will bring in Spencer to be a short term fill in. 

The last 5 weeks that we have been ruckman free we have won the clearance count on each occasion

Vs G.C  37 clearances to 34

Vs Nth  40-34

Vs Adel 49-38

Vs Hawks 37-30

Vs Drug Lords 40-31

We have won 3/5 of those games along the way. 

I'm not sure that having Jake V the Pies will help better those clearance counts whilst not having him will give us extra run around the ground.

 

We've done well to go 3-2 without a ruckman.

The one game that really stings is the Hawthorn loss given how pathetic they've mostly been this year.

24 minutes ago, fndee said:

If Gawn only another week or two away I don't know if they will bring in Spencer to be a short term fill in. 

The last 5 weeks that we have been ruckman free we have won the clearance count on each occasion

Vs G.C  37 clearances to 34

Vs Nth  40-34

Vs Adel 49-38

Vs Hawks 37-30

Vs Drug Lords 40-31

We have won 3/5 of those games along the way. 

I'm not sure that having Jake V the Pies will help better those clearance counts whilst not having him will give us extra run around the ground.

 

We have done well without a ruckman. I'd be interested, to see if these figures were available quarter by quarter - I've had a bit of a look but not been able to find them.

I'm just wondering if we burst of of the blocks then as we tire a little, a ruckman could come in very handy in the last to nullify easy clearances? Collingwood seemed to take it very easy out of the middle in the last quarter against Freo, and I think their mids have a bit better stamina than ours (not saying their better, but they have more experience, so more miles in the legs).

34 minutes ago, fndee said:

If Gawn only another week or two away I don't know if they will bring in Spencer to be a short term fill in. 

The last 5 weeks that we have been ruckman free we have won the clearance count on each occasion

Vs G.C  37 clearances to 34

Vs Nth  40-34

Vs Adel 49-38

Vs Hawks 37-30

Vs Drug Lords 40-31

We have won 3/5 of those games along the way. 

I'm not sure that having Jake V the Pies will help better those clearance counts whilst not having him will give us extra run around the ground.

 

I think they will bring in Spencer. It's not just the improvement in the actual ruck, it's the flow-on effect in the rest of the structure. Pedersen plays forward/second ruck and provides a much needed target (doubly important if Hogan doesn't play), Watts stays as a permanent forward, TMac goes back to full time defence and pushes OMac out of the side.

To me, that's four positional upgrades by just adding one player. Plus it'll be nice to win the odd hitout - I know we've been on top of clearances without them, but it will still only help, surely.

It doesn't matter if Spencer only plays a game or two until Gawn returns, it's still definitely worthwhile I think. 

Spencer in will be huge. Grundy could potentially turn the game with no opposition, Spencil will fix this

11 hours ago, Grand New Flag said:

The word I am getting is Hogan still a likely starter. He is fit, wants to play, but faces a mixed view from footy department on whether he is mentally ready and physically conditioned. It will come down to selection committee on Thursday. There may also be some gamesmanship going on here.

Thats what I am hearing. It's from the top. Its by no means absolute. Just what I am hearing. 

Happy to be smashed on here for giving gossip on a "gossip site". Personally I find it entertaining. Knock yourself out!  

Looking forward to some apologies.

 

I personally love your info especially draft time, it creates discussion people just need to learn to take it less serious if it doesn't pan out 

11 hours ago, Grand New Flag said:

The word I am getting is Hogan still a likely starter. He is fit, wants to play, but faces a mixed view from footy department on whether he is mentally ready and physically conditioned. It will come down to selection committee on Thursday. There may also be some gamesmanship going on here.

Thats what I am hearing. It's from the top. Its by no means absolute. Just what I am hearing. 

Happy to be smashed on here for giving gossip on a "gossip site". Personally I find it entertaining. Knock yourself out!  

Looking forward to some apologies.

 

That is great news.

Similar to the Hogan situation, Collingwood have the same conundrum with Fasolo. I will be stunned if they pick him given his mental state. Anyone else think it is a huge cop out?

13 hours ago, Demons11 said:

The notion we lose when favs is wrong. 

Rd 2 - favs Vs Carlton - Won

Rd 4 - favs Vs Freo - Lost

Rd 6 - favs Vs Essendon - Won

Rd 7 - favs Vs Hawks - Lost

Rd 9 - favs Vs Nth - Lost

Rd 10 - favs Vs Suns - Won

Won 3, Lost 3 - so the commentary around we lose every time we are favs is rubbish

 

 

maybe,  but a 50/50 record for favourites isnt the norm...there is no doubt MFC underachieve as favourites

48 minutes ago, True Heart said:

That is great news.

Similar to the Hogan situation, Collingwood have the same conundrum with Fasolo. I will be stunned if they pick him given his mental state. Anyone else think it is a huge cop out?

Fasolo : Id be astounded...but not surprised.  I mean...Depression to the point of taking a back step.."here fella take a pill"  weeks later good to go??  That just plays with my head. Surely not.

Hogan:  Just sense there's an element of foxing here.. but don't expect him to play. The midgame is about worrying the Filth into a reactive selection...Jumping at shadows

1 hour ago, fndee said:

If Gawn only another week or two away I don't know if they will bring in Spencer to be a short term fill in. 

The last 5 weeks that we have been ruckman free we have won the clearance count on each occasion

Vs G.C  37 clearances to 34

Vs Nth  40-34

Vs Adel 49-38

Vs Hawks 37-30

Vs Drug Lords 40-31

We have won 3/5 of those games along the way. 

I'm not sure that having Jake V the Pies will help better those clearance counts whilst not having him will give us extra run around the ground.

 

interesting stat but not having a ruck has still hurt us massively imo.  We should have beaten North and Hawks, loosing hit outs was a major part of this.  Quality of clearances is not captured in stats but I am sure from watching the games that we did not cause as much damage as usual with these clearances.

Winning some taps also means you can set up to win and play on your terms rather then the other teams terms.

there is also the impact of not having a big man to kick to from kick out and down the line. Grundy would smash us

1 hour ago, True Heart said:

That is great news.

Similar to the Hogan situation, Collingwood have the same conundrum with Fasolo. I will be stunned if they pick him given his mental state. Anyone else think it is a huge cop out?

The ownership of 'mental state' goes to the individual...

15 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

COLLINGWOOD has confirmed injured trio Daniel Wells, Jamie Elliott and Tyson Goldsack will miss Monday's Queen's Birthday clash with Melbourne.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-06-06/magpie-trio-confirmed-to-miss-queens-birthday-clash

 

Damn shame.

Lets not get too excited about who is out for the collywobbles just yet. 

Remember last season against Essendon had half of their reserves team in and look what happened there.  

I sure hope the boys don't worry about who is out.  

 

I'm not concerned with Collingwood's outs. We could play their VFL team and lose and play their strongest team of the season and beat them. 

1 hour ago, True Heart said:

That is great news.

Similar to the Hogan situation, Collingwood have the same conundrum with Fasolo. I will be stunned if they pick him given his mental state. Anyone else think it is a huge cop out?

No wonder people find it so hard to open up about mental health issues.

Having gone through some tough times myself recently, I can tell you it made a huge difference talking to someone about it. That may have been exactly what Fasolo needed, to realise that he is not alone and that there are people out there going through similar things.

To say it is a huge cop out is in my opinion, disgraceful. 

I'm not sure Jake coming in means a huge loss of speed. If he effectively replaces OMac for knock-on structural reasons, speed is not a concern. Not forgetting that Jake is pretty quick, and in his career prime for strength and stamina. I really like that he gives us a better target for kick-ins, as we've been out-marked too easily there. Due to the rise of Maxy, we haven't gone close to seeing the best of Jake Spencer. I reckon he's ready to roll. 

10 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

I'm not concerned with Collingwood's outs. We could play their VFL team and lose and play their strongest team of the season and beat them. 

this is THE conundrum 

6 minutes ago, Webber said:

I'm not sure Jake coming in means a huge loss of speed. If he effectively replaces OMac for knock-on structural reasons, speed is not a concern. Not forgetting that Jake is pretty quick, and in his career prime for strength and stamina. I really like that he gives us a better target for kick-ins, as we've been out-marked too easily there. Due to the rise of Maxy, we haven't gone close to seeing the best of Jake Spencer. I reckon he's ready to roll. 

Spencil in restores us somewhat to a 'normal' team. We don't need to play "understudy" style. This will keep the Wobblies more than honest. 

Tbh I suspect Buckley would worry as much if not more that we have a real ruck than Hogan at FF.

Spencil also allows our forward line to shuffle back to how we prefer to set up.

We spend a whole preseason drilling players into a style which had rucks as part of it.. We've had to play a different version which works as often as it doesnt ( especially the 1st qtr  )

Spencer coming in improves our forward and back structure as Watts and Pederson can spend more time up forward giving us extra marking targets , TMac can stay down back with Frost.

OMac the likely out for Spencer and Wagner for Salem

As a reluctant armchair expert - and thinker of all things implicit - as much as I hope Hogan plays and we revert back to 'ducks and drakes' with team selection - I don't recall Goodwin ever bullshiting anyone.... he has the straightest bat I have seen in a long time. Thus, Hogan not to play

14 hours ago, rjay said:

He might be but there's another concept to consider.

He's not good enough to match it with Grundy and not footy smart enough to go with him...

Just a thought.

...another thought, @Webber can you keep up your running when rehabbing a shoulder???

True, he might not be good enough to match it Grundy, but of more relevance is, is he a better option than Pedo? Which I'd suggest he is. 

15 hours ago, rjay said:

He might be but there's another concept to consider.

He's not good enough to match it with Grundy and not footy smart enough to go with him...

Just a thought.

...another thought, @Webber can you keep up your running when rehabbing a shoulder???

I believe it is not about whether Pedo is better than Spencer competing with Grundy. It's about what is better for the side. Spencer is better for the side, as Pedo can play forward and relief ruck, Watts can play permanent forward and T-Mac can play permanent back.

2 hours ago, Nasher said:

I think they will bring in Spencer. It's not just the improvement in the actual ruck, it's the flow-on effect in the rest of the structure. Pedersen plays forward/second ruck and provides a much needed target (doubly important if Hogan doesn't play), Watts stays as a permanent forward, TMac goes back to full time defence and pushes OMac out of the side.

To me, that's four positional upgrades by just adding one player. Plus it'll be nice to win the odd hitout - I know we've been on top of clearances without them, but it will still only help, surely.

It doesn't matter if Spencer only plays a game or two until Gawn returns, it's still definitely worthwhile I think. 

This

Vince's presser still not uploaded that I can see. It can't just be a resources issue. 

Why do they think people go to the website? Burgo's think pieces?

3 minutes ago, P-man said:

 Burgo's think pieces?

Lols.