8 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

It will all depend on how we use the ball going forward.

If we just bomb it in, then Thompson and Tarrant are likely to have a field day.  If we lower our eyes and use it will then their height won't make a difference.

It's going the other way that's the problem. North had a free out all day in our first clash last year. And it won't show up in the contested stats because they were exceptionally well-drilled in protecting their flyers and blocking our path to the flight of the ball.

12 hours ago, ArtificialWisdom said:

Frost and Kent for Pedo and hunt...

interesting...

This reformed punter isn't betting against us is he??

More than interesting.

Inexplicable????

Kent? Pederson? Mystifiing.

35 minutes ago, jackaub said:

This reformed punter isn't betting against us is he??

More than interesting.

Inexplicable????

Kent? Pederson? Mystifiing.

That’s a pretty [censored] comment mate 

11 hours ago, Rusty Nails said:

Filling the whole down back with Frost / Lever (in tandem) and one less up forward means more space for Hogan, Jeffy and Tracc to work their magic Lucifer!  We don't need Hogan to mark too often, just get it to ground and get our Ferrets (Jeffy/Hunt/Kent) to pounce front and square etc.

Hope you are right 'Rusty' and that extra space isn't just used up by their spare man in defence and other than Jeffy, our small forwards haven't shown much success so far this year, at being able to pounce and snare goals. 

The make up of this weeks team is a bit of a mystery.  It supports the game plan we would like to have (midfield defence, accurate fwd 50 entries, high pressure forwards) but that isn't what we actually do or are capable of doing.   But gosh I hope this team works out!

11 hours ago, deeko said:

 

Keep it simple Goody, you cost us finals last year playing Weid early on whilst Pedo killed it in the twos and you have already cost us 4pts round 1 not playing Tyson over Maynard.

With these two ins it has to be Wags and Bugg out

Wow! 

Gee Melbourne supporters are next level. Any chance we can lose a game to a good team without an individual costing us the game? Tyson came in last week and had a whopping 22 possessions as a sole midfielder! Game changer

Wagner still in ? Ineffective and not needed as Lever slots into 3rd tall defender 

Pedersen out ??? Needed at CHF.  Battled hard to bring the footy to ground and gives us balance 

5 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Wagner still in ? Ineffective and not needed as Lever slots into 3rd tall defender 

Pedersen out ??? Needed at CHF.  Battled hard to bring the footy to ground and gives us balance 

 

Could Lever be moving to CHF?   

If Brown gets off the leash and starts kicking a few, i believe Frost will be played as a extra man in defense, if you shut down Brown you shut down North, well played Goodwin....

4 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

Glad to see Kent back.   He can be a real weapon for us if he takes his chances.

Most of us wanted Frost in to release Lever to his natural role but will Frost play forward now that Pedders is out?  Or are we going to play with only Jesse as a tall forward?   Confused.

It’s not silly to suggest Frost could play forward and make Tarrant accountable. If Tarrant is allowed to intercept all day assuming Thompson gets Hogan most of us will be screaming.

Seems strange if Frost plays in the backline and then goes into the ruck to give Max a rest. 

Lions rolled the dice last week by playing Martin in the ruck for almost the entire third quarter. If North do something similar with Goldstein would Goodwin alter the defensive structure by taking Frost out of the backline to take the ruck? Like you, I’m confused. 

Exclusive picture of Simon Goodwin picking this weeks team.

 

45 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Wagner still in ? Ineffective and not needed as Lever slots into 3rd tall defender 

Pedersen out ??? Needed at CHF.  Battled hard to bring the footy to ground and gives us balance 

Dawes used to bring the footy to ground a lot too...

Maybe he should mark the thing, I thought that was the aim.

13 hours ago, Adzman said:

Bugg must have nudes of goody on his phone. Only way I can make sense of him staying in the side....

Love the Frost inclusion, but do hope he is down back and not forward.

 

Bugg does a lot of gut running, team first, things that unfortunately seem to go unnoticed by many here.

If you look at many of the Demons goals from the highlights package, Bugg is either in or near the goal square, or running into space to create another option. Even though it won’t reflect in his stats at the end of the game, I’m sure this doesn’t go unnoticed by the coaches and his team-mates.

I personally really like what he brings to the team.

 

13 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

Gee, we pick 22 players, have you noticed the bench on a Thursday, doesn't always match the starting 22 or bench on match day

2018 chaps not 1978

 

The positions listed usually bear little resemblance to how they line up on matchday.

I do look at the 22 and think that either Frost plays forward which I don't like (and don't think will happen)  which means we are one tall forward light. Gawn may spend more time up forward which he can do but it robs us of his best value and our back up rucks may then get worked over. If we go small in the forward line we have to be disciplined and not just bomb the ball long.

Edited April 5, 20187 yr by nutbean

I like this team, however I want Hunt to get back to his best and replace Wagner in time as he is a gun when on.

What I like is the flexibility it gives us. If we are having issues with Brown and Waite we can send Frost back and play a bit taller. But if we are on top in the midfield we can send Frost forward to apply pressure in the forward half. 

I also wouldn't be surprised to see them roll a few different players through the ruck when Gawn is resting. I wouldn't mind giving the 4 mids tactic a run like the Tigers have but only every now and then. Maybe use someone like Trac or Melksham and work on being more mobile once the ball hits the deck.

5 hours ago, Garbo said:

I'd just like to add Goodwin has shown a clear preference for players who get the tackle, spoil or perform the pressure act over the player who is more skilled with ball in hand. This might hurt us slightly in the short term but if every player knows they need to bring that in order to get a game regardless of other talents we will be a much better team for it. That is how you built a culture that stands up when it matters and why teams like the swans are always in the mix year in year out while other teams cycle in and out contention.

That is not a description of Kent! 

He was dropped last year for not doing those things, not doing the 1%'s and not playing with a 'team first' attitude.  How many times did he take it upon himself to shoot for goal when there were players in far better positions than him or hang around a pack for the easy ball.  Hopefully, we aren't relying on him as a 'pressure forward'. The ball will bounce straight back out of our fwd50 if we are.

In a nutshell, he might be fast and have other attributes but those highlighted are not in his repertoire.  More often than not he is selfish.

Edited April 5, 20187 yr by Lucifer's Hero

I don't think Frost will play on Brown, unless as relief ruck. O Mac will get Brown.

1 minute ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

That is not a description of Kent! 

He was dropped last year for not doing those things, not doing the 1%'s and not playing with a 'team first' attitude.  How many times did he take it upon himself to shoot for goal when there were players in far better positions than him or hang around a pack for the easy ball.  Hopefully, we aren't relying on him as a 'pressure forward'. The ball will bounce straight back out of our fwd50 if we are.

In a nutshell, he might be fast and have other attributes but those highlighted are not in his repertoire.  More often than not he is selfish.

There was also no two way running with Kent. One thing his shoulder reco did, was enable him to get a whole lot fitter. Agree with everything else

 

I'm not sure why people think Frost will play on Tarrant to hold him accountable.  Frost presents no danger as a forward (nor do our other tall players, except Hogan) so Tarrant will have a field day playing off him to double/triple team against Hogan. 

Edited April 5, 20187 yr by Lucifer's Hero

This week the two teams are playing for the Gysberts-Clarkson Memorial Trophy.

 

 

Edited April 5, 20187 yr by Clint Bizkit

14 hours ago, DemonLad5 said:

I’d be willing to put my house on the fact that Frost will not be playing forward 

I'm not so sure. I suspect Frost is picked for insurance to go to defence only if Brown and Waite cause problems. But team balance suggests to me that the only place for Frost is as a straight swap for Pedersen which means playing forward when he's not playing the second ruckman role. Otherwise I'm struggling like everyone else to see who plays second ruck for about 8 minutes every quarter. I know others have said Petracca, but I can't see that he has the fitness for that. Maybe Melksham? he's spontaneously done it before when a ruckman wasn't near the ball when a throw in occurred (or was it a ball up?)

Kent's addition is surprising. I see a couple of possibilities. First, he takes ANB's forward spot with ANB moving to a "full time" on-baller. That has some appeal given ANB's running ability. Alternatively, Kent may take Bugg's spot and Bugg moves up the ground. Either way, I think Lewis is moving permanently to half-back where he's played his best football this year as a replacement for Hunt. 

McDonald on Brown, Frost on Waite and Lever to pitch in.

27 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

I'm not sure why people think Frost will play on Tarrant to hold him accountable.  Frost presents no danger as a forward (nor do our other tall players, except Hogan) so Tarrant will have a field day playing off him to double/triple team against Hogan. 

In fairness LH, not many have suggested Frost will play on Tarrant, I simply put it out there to see where Frost fits into the equation. Opposition smalls have created havoc for our defence  so far in the first two games. 

Your points are valid, there’s nothing to suggest Frost is a dangerous forward but we are sick of seeing loose opposition talls pick us off with ease. 

Edited April 5, 20187 yr by Demon77

18 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

McDonald on Brown, Frost on Waite and Lever to pitch in.

Yep, that's how i see it

9 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I'm not so sure. I suspect Frost is picked for insurance to go to defence only if Brown and Waite cause problems. But team balance suggests to me that the only place for Frost is as a straight swap for Pedersen which means playing forward when he's not playing the second ruckman role. Otherwise I'm struggling like everyone else to see who plays second ruck for about 8 minutes every quarter. I know others have said Petracca, but I can't see that he has the fitness for that. Maybe Melksham? he's spontaneously done it before when a ruckman wasn't near the ball when a throw in occurred (or was it a ball up?)

Kent's addition is surprising. I see a couple of possibilities. First, he takes ANB's forward spot with ANB moving to a "full time" on-baller. That has some appeal given ANB's running ability. Alternatively, Kent may take Bugg's spot and Bugg moves up the ground. Either way, I think Lewis is moving permanently to half-back where he's played his best football this year as a replacement for Hunt. 

Think this could be pretty right, LDVC.  I'm surprised that Kent has been picked.  He has clearly worked hard post-Christmas to get back in the good books, but, like many players in recent times, he needs to understand that the hard work starts when you get in to the side, not when you are trying to get in to it.

I don't rate North.  We are a significantly better side than they are, and if we can go out there with a killer mindset, we will blow them away.  That said, there are two areas where we could be vulnerable against them;

- Brown's input of recent times has been the difference between us winning and losing against them. I had similar concerns about Hawkins going in to the Geelong game, yet he was held goalless, so perhaps Oscar is ready/capable to stop the influence that Brown has on the game.  If this happens, I can't see how they will get near us.

- My other concern will be how we respond when North try and rough us up.  They did it very effectively last year, and we were too dumb to just concentrate on our game.  If we get sucked in to their crap again this year, it will even things up a bit.  And mark my word, they will try and get in our heads.

 

 

2 hours ago, tappysquads said:

Wow! 

Gee Melbourne supporters are next level. Any chance we can lose a game to a good team without an individual costing us the game? Tyson came in last week and had a whopping 22 possessions as a sole midfielder! Game changer

Hardly next level. Just pick the best 22 who will win you a game. 

It was the same last year losing games to Freo by a less than a kick (not sure if Weid got a kick) and then the next week vs Tigs losing by a couple kicks. I think Tim Smith played that one (May be wrong) and may have got injured. Pedo was dominating the twos and was clearly the better player and I’m sure we would have jagged at least one win from the two. 

Tyson is clearly a better footballer than Maynard and killed it in the VFL the week before. There was no reason for him not to play. Losing by less than a kick you have to wonder what the result could have been with him in over Maynard.

If we miss out on finals by less than a game again it will be hard not to reflect on this again