I didn't see the match so can't make an informed comment on who 'deserves' to be dropped.

But, our win-loss record since 2016 now stands at;

16-10 with Pedo in the team

8-15 without him.

I'm not stupid, and recognise Pedo's limitations, but we structure up better with him out there - and however outlandish, he does have the (proven) capacity to help turn a close match.

I'm perplexed by his continued sidelining by our past two coaches at the first opportunity. Whatever his deficiencies, deal with it - the same way half the 'developing' team are given a pass for theirs.

It's quite amazing,Roos kept playing spud Dawes ahead of him,then last year we gave games to Weideman ahead of him,this probably cost us games. No superstar but his good can be more than useful.

People seem to forget we won 3 games at Etihad last year, including the Bombers game and should have beaten Geelong,we go OK there now.

Am I the only one that feels like we don't have an AFL capable depth?

Talk if bringing in player a) for player b) just doesn't fill me with confidence.

With the exception of Viney and Tmac I can't see how our depth is going to swing momentum. This playing group is disgustingly low in confidence and belief, and I can't see where the next win is going to come from.

I think the one big change we need to make is in ATTITUDE

...and I don't mean the glib type "show some ticker" attitude.

I mean don't close up shop, have trust in your teammate, get out and take some chances...in the last 2 games after starting well we've gone into our shells. A couple of mistakes and we're done, any semblance of working as a team goes out the window.

I think this from Cameron Smith applies to us...

“When we had a few errors in those first couple of matches, I think everyone just got a little bit tight,” he told Fox Sports.

“All we were thinking was ‘don’t drop the ball, don’t drop the ball’. People were coming in from out of their position. We were crowding each other. We weren’t giving each other room or time with the footy.

“We were playing with a little bit of confusion and a bit of frustration.

“Three weeks ago, we just said ‘boys, let’s get back to the way we know we can play. Let’s get out there and enjoy our footy’. The results have spoken for themselves.

 

Why do people have Lewis in the team, he broke his hand around 11 days ago, surely he wont be ready.

Because it was only a 1-2 week injury, he also apparently said at a function on Tuesday that he’ll be right to play v Essendon. Personally I’d rather get games into kids and he and Vince retire, but we’ve got no kids, scary really, nobody in VFL even outplaying the Casey players, scary thought.

 

Have got to the point where I just can’t afford the time to travel & watch suburban grade footballers like, Harmes, ANB, Stretch, Wagner, Kent & Garlett. 

By the way, would the fools on this site that continually go into raptures after Garlett plays his one good quarter every 4 weeks please see him for exactly what he is: an absolute cat.

Some of us on this site have been calling for only players with genuine leg speed, good decision making and kicking skills to be recruited for the last 2 Drafts now, but oh no, we continually have to select one paced mids who can’t kick the footy. 

And we can finally say the Tyson & Salem for Picks 2 (Kelly or Bontimpelli or Cripps) & 20 ( You don’t want to see the number of very good players taken at Pick 20 or after) is a FAIL. 

My last point is that before all the sycophants and eternal optimists start raving on about the Recruiting guy and Josh Mahoney and Todd Viney, just look at the terrible depth and weaknesses in our list DESPITE having so many more early picks over the last 5 years than Richmond, Adelaide, West Coast, North Melb etc, etc who continually finish higher than us every year.

 

 

 

Core issue at club and for mine fundamental

 

recruiting fails as long as I can remember 

 

 

Am I the only one that feels like we don't have an AFL capable depth?

Our midfield depth is poor, lots of flankers who go through the middle but very few genuine midfielders.

 

i HATE esseondon, but they are gonna cut us up. maybe worth chucking in young oskar baker? i'd rather stick with garlett. he might come out and win the game. spargo isn't quite there yet.. drop ANB. get pedo in (we need someone that marks it). maybe drop weids/harmes.

I guess you didn’t watch yesterday’s game.

 

I guess you didn’t watch yesterday’s game.

I think the Bombers have just as much ability to bounce back for a win as we do.

 

I guess you didn’t watch yesterday’s game.

Or else the Pies are miles ahead of us both 

 

I'm a Wagner fan but he didn't win the ball, didn't punch with conviction, doesn't tackle, doesn't intercept and how often does he break the lines and attack? I like Wagner but he seems to have won guys over by just returning to a basic level of competence. Hibberd, Hunt and Brayshaw offer more as flankers and I think we need Jetta, Lever and 2 big guys against Essendon.

I also don't want to see James Stewart kick 5 on Lever and have to start him right back from the start. 

Maybe Vince and Brayshaw go in to the midfield and that frees up a defensive spot for the tall. Or maybe they just back Lever in. I'm not sold on it like the forwards changes but we the allowance for a 2nd tall I think we have 7 defenders better. With the short break it might come down to who's up and running, I certainly have concerns with Hibberd and Jetta but I'm hoping they are right to go.

I haven't seen Michael Christian's MRO report for this game, but did you cop a week for this excellent backhanded compliment?

Changes ??

Just fresh legs

There's no skills anywhere...just fresh legs?

 

I think the one big change we need to make is in ATTITUDE

...and I don't mean the glib type "show some ticker" attitude.

I mean don't close up shop, have trust in your teammate, get out and take some chances...in the last 2 games after starting well we've gone into our shells. A couple of mistakes and we're done, any semblance of working as a team goes out the window.

I think this from Cameron Smith applies to us...

“When we had a few errors in those first couple of matches, I think everyone just got a little bit tight,” he told Fox Sports.

“All we were thinking was ‘don’t drop the ball, don’t drop the ball’. People were coming in from out of their position. We were crowding each other. We weren’t giving each other room or time with the footy.

“We were playing with a little bit of confusion and a bit of frustration.

“Three weeks ago, we just said ‘boys, let’s get back to the way we know we can play. Let’s get out there and enjoy our footy’. The results have spoken for themselves.

Probably very true. The fumbling and contested footy was over the top. Losing confidence meant too many players contesting, causing the clangers and lack of ability to spread, which we did in the JLT but not in the 5 games so far.

The teams who have confidence in each other send less to the contest and then have outriders who can spread and cut you to ribbons, once the ball is flipped out to them.

We need to get back to that type of footy.

 

Our midfield depth is poor, lots of flankers who go through the middle but very few genuine midfielders.

Our depth as a whole is poor, too many players long in the tooth (Vince, Lewis) or at VFL standard (JKH, ANB, Stretch etc)

 

Probably very true. The fumbling and contested footy was over the top. Losing confidence meant too many players contesting, causing the clangers and lack of ability to spread, which we did in the JLT but not in the 5 games so far.

The teams who have confidence in each other send less to the contest and then have outriders who can spread and cut you to ribbons, once the ball is flipped out to them.

We need to get back to that type of footy.

But Red... it's ALL about the contest !!

 

Please tell me your not on the match committee. At least you have love for Pedo.

The game was very, very hot for Billy on Tuesday night and if he is to keep on developing, he needs a decent run in the ones

People have pointed out his howlers, but check out the delivery to him - horrible

Billy stays in and Pedo comes in for a luckless Kent

 

Core issue at club and for mine fundamental

 

recruiting fails as long as I can remember 

 

Not all fails....

Hogan

Oliver

Oscar

Viney

CP5

 

But Red... it's ALL about the contest !!

Sarcasm meter on Defcon 10

 

Your first sentence unfortunately sums up the state of our playing list. 

Each week brings disappointment with both individuals and "the team.""

Goodwin has a few more weeks to turn the season around, otherwise it is going to be a miserable one.

Each week brings hope and optimism but it is hard to sustain. 

A couple of good wins will of course change our view but it is difficult to see how that is going to happen. 

Cuba is looking good this year. 

Ernest, You could follow bullfighting again, after all, From the bull's perspective, there is little difference in the outcome.It is as you so eloquently termed it- "Death in the Afternoon"

In: Lewis, Fritsch

Out: Kent (inj), Harmes

A lot of the lesser players were poor, like Stretch, ANB etc.  I picked Harmes because he's been the worst over the journey for mine.  

Stretch had a really poor game as well, but I would like to see us persist, even if it's only one more match.  He had the fumbles real bad - I think this could improve with drier conditions, some confidence and a better feel for the pace of the game.

Fritsch selected because I think he's probably the best of the options available at Casey.  Also the fact that he didn't play this week helps - he will be fresh. 

Pedersen's 5 goal haul for Casey is great, but he is a specific role player and the role we might require him for is not currently vacant.  Competing with Weideman for mine, and the Weid did enough to stay in. No doubt we will use him again this year, just not yet.

Not too interested in shuffling any other players around.  I really don't see the point in swapping ANB etc for Hannan or a debutante.  One NQR for another.  That just becomes change for the same of it.  

ANB goes if TMac is ready.  I would attempt to play a three tall forward line with TMac, Weideman and Hogan; especially with the amount of turf TMac and Hogan would cover.  

Outs: Stretch - Kent - Harmes

Ins: Pedo - Fritz - Lewis 

------

FB: Jetta - Oscar (Joe D) - Hibberd

HB: Hunt - Lever (free him up to held O.Mac)  - Wagner (Stringer)

C : Salem - N.Jones - Vince (Tag Merrett)

HF: Trac - Hogan - Melksham

FF: Garlett - Pedo - Weid

R: Gawn - Oliver - Tyson

I: ANB (mid rotation) - Fritz (small fwd rotation) - Lewis (mid rotation) - Brayshaw (mid rotation)

The concern from here after two decent losses is if the players fully lose confidence, that’s what I’m worried about as we know what happens then. Hopefully the inclusion of TMac and Viney gives the boys a big lift over coming weeks, we just need to grind it out until then and get a couple of wins, if not then look out.

It’s all shuffling deck chairs. We have too many on the list NQR.

Our lack of depth is criminal, and is why I was so upset by our lack of activity during last year's trade / draft cycle. We had to turn the list over by 4 - 5 more players (Vandenberg, McKenna, Johnstone, Kennedy-Harris and Filopovic were obvious starting points), even if it was just to get a couple of rookie picks. And then when we do get some picks we waste them on even more slow, inconsistent half forward flankers.

Our bottom 8 or so players on Tuesday were truly awful and you could make a case for dropping all of them. Harmes, Stretch and Neal-Bullen have to go, plus Kent is injured (yet again). Vince and Garlett are close to the end of the road. If we wanted to play Weideman it should have been against Brisbane - he is miles away from being able to compete against the best sides. Wagner was invisible after the first quarter and Jetta still looks injured to me. Thankfully Lever and Melksham lifted from last week.

In: Pedersen, Hannan, Spargo, Balic

Out: Stretch, Neal-Bullen, Harmes, Kent

 

I'm thinking it might be worth replacing Kent with Pedersen. If we only play two tall forwards (ie, Hogan and Weiderman), that will allow Essendon to play Hooker forward. And then we'll have a problem with Essendon having three marking tall forwards (Daniher, Hooker, Stewart)  and us having only two genuine tall defenders. The alternative is to pick Frost to add height to the backline. If Essendon only play two tall forwards, Frost could play on a smaller player (Stringer, perhaps?) but that's always fraught. 

In short, I actually have no idea, but I'm not advocating picking a side without actually contemplating who we are playing against.