Bad loss, Hibberds been down on his output from last year but he’s a cool head down back which is so important especially in high pressure environments. 

I feel like they’ll bring Wagner in, the coaches appear to rate him and he started to show some good signs after a terrible first couple of games earlier this year. 

1 hour ago, america de cali said:

Fritsch can cover for Hibberd

Would much rather him playing through the wing & HF.  Easily the best kick in the team, on either side, outside of Nev (who would be getting more cheapies around the back).

That last kick inside 50 (and accuracy at goal) is critical to our success.  Giving the opp a significant win playing him down back for extended periods outside of 'ice time'.

Melk can cover (or at least trial it).

Tim Smith comes in to take Melks role and also resting ruck which frees up T-Mac to go full time with no draining ruck duties.  Smith also the No.1 tackler inside 50 will bring extra pressure and possibly keep the ball in our forward 50 more often vs Melk.

Edited July 18, 20187 yr by Rusty Nails

23 minutes ago, binman said:

Of course you can. Impossible to draw the conclusion that the Darwin game is the cause of the injuries to Viney and Hibberd.

 

Viney said his toe was sore before the Freo game but wanted to see how he pulled up afterwards....

40 minutes ago, poita said:

If you are ever going to do without Hibberd, this is probably the week. Geelong have Hawkins, Menzel and a bunch of quick, small types. Yes, we lose Hibberd's run and carry, so I like the idea of Fritsch playing back, but we can cover him defensively. 

More of an issue is whether Lewis and Vince can keep up with their opponents.

You forgot Dangerfield who is not in an easily boxed category, I thought Hibbo might've been our best option for him going into this game.

Edited July 18, 20187 yr by John Demonic

Melk to head back to cover his best mate

2 hours ago, praha said:

Viney and Hibberd both out shortly after Darwin trip.

Lever injured shortly after Alice.

You simply can't ignore that. Conditioning and fatigue has an affect on the body, you become unintentionally lazy and your body and mind cut corners to battle the physical and mental fatigue.

Get rid of these damn games.

Are you serious?

I realise that many here, myself included,  hate the Darwin game for potentially causing fatigue the following week [though interestingly whilst I was concerned that we may have faded out in the third quarter v Doggies it turned out to be one of our best third Qs in a very long time.]

But to say that a Darwin game caused Viney's foot to flare up is bordering on the ridiculous, and the same goes for a quad tear at training (on a very cold day)  nearly two weeks later.  If anything playing in warmer conditions could be better for the soft tissues than playing in the cold and hail and rain like Casey did the previous week, and how the guys have been training.

And doing an ACL, recurrent at that,  a full week after an Alice game in warm but dry conditions - how can one attribute it to the conditions?  NikNat did his knee one week after playing in Perth then flying further than Alice - Melbourne  - BEWARE OF PERTH!

Maybe the club needs to look at the boots the players are wearing? 

Not in Hib's case as that could happen at any time, how ever in the case of Viney, T-mac and Vanders the boots maybe be the reason for the players having so much trouble with their feet?

Typical MFC game ahead. We'll win against the odds this weekend (I'm chucking some money on now).

Then we'll get beaten by Adelaide who we thrashed and then the Sun's. 

MFC curse running strong

23 minutes ago, monoccular said:

Are you serious?

I realise that many here, myself included,  hate the Darwin game for potentially causing fatigue the following week [though interestingly whilst I was concerned that we may have faded out in the third quarter v Doggies it turned out to be one of our best third Qs in a very long time.]

But to say that a Darwin game caused Viney's foot to flare up is bordering on the ridiculous, and the same goes for a quad tear at training (on a very cold day)  nearly two weeks later.  If anything playing in warmer conditions could be better for the soft tissues than playing in the cold and hail and rain like Casey did the previous week, and how the guys have been training.

And doing an ACL, recurrent at that,  a full week after an Alice game in warm but dry conditions - how can one attribute it to the conditions?  NikNat did his knee one week after playing in Perth then flying further than Alice - Melbourne  - BEWARE OF PERTH!

Where did I say it was the cause? I made it clear that it is the catalyst in a chain of events that appear to impact performance and increase the likelihood of injury. There appears to he a consistent theme with leg injuries in the weeks following these games the past 2 seasons. With improved performance comes increased performance. These NT games are a risk now given our standing and push to make finals. Why risk and interrupt our preparation and push into the final weeks of the season with a Darwin game in 100% humidity? Either dump them, or play them in a row leading into the mid-season bye. Having a game there so close to the end of the season is ludicrous.

 

Goodwin has to look outside the box this week. I don't profess to have the answers to the problem, but he has to throw a curve ball at the cats. He cannot simply bring in Wagner to play Hibbos role. Melksham may have to be our rebound player...or Fritsch .. or both...Vince as a key defender again Ala the Adelaide game. Who goes to Menzel? He had a field day on Wagner Rd 1. These are the type of scenarios I hope the match committee are pondering. Harmes can role play in the back line. We have some good pieces to our puzzle...its whether Goodwin can place them in the most effective positions. This remains to be seen as he has failed in this regard a few times this year. Over to you MFC. 

Do the players wear full leg compression at training? During winter I think it should be compulsory.

17 minutes ago, Leoncelli_36 said:

Goodwin has to look outside the box this week. I don't profess to have the answers to the problem, but he has to throw a curve ball at the cats. He cannot simply bring in Wagner to play Hibbos role. Melksham may have to be our rebound player...or Fritsch .. or both...Vince as a key defender again Ala the Adelaide game. Who goes to Menzel? He had a field day on Wagner Rd 1. These are the type of scenarios I hope the match committee are pondering. Harmes can role play in the back line. We have some good pieces to our puzzle...its whether Goodwin can place them in the most effective positions. This remains to be seen as he has failed in this regard a few times this year. Over to you MFC. 

I think Hibberd’s actual defensive “craft” (I hate that word) is what will be missed most, and why an actual defender needs to take his place. This is why Hibberd is an important player - he’s effective in both the attacking and defensive elements of the game. Melksham, Fritsch et al can assist with the rebounding, but they’re not true defenders and I’d say will almost certainly be found wanting when the play demands solid defence.

It’s a conundrum. 

There are star players dropping like flies at all clubs. If we are good enough we will cover 

I wonder if it’s a chance to trial Jonesy

43 minutes ago, praha said:

Where did I say it was the cause? I made it clear that it is the catalyst in a chain of events that appear to impact performance and increase the likelihood of injury. There appears to he a consistent theme with leg injuries in the weeks following these games the past 2 seasons. With improved performance comes increased performance. These NT games are a risk now given our standing and push to make finals. Why risk and interrupt our preparation and push into the final weeks of the season with a Darwin game in 100% humidity? Either dump them, or play them in a row leading into the mid-season bye. Having a game there so close to the end of the season is ludicrous.

 

Further to this:

"We'll have a look at our grounds, we'll have a look at our loads, we'll have a look at all those things that potentially go into those things."

Goodwin had some padding around that comment to soften the blow, but he's clearly talking about NT.

How about Fritsch to cover Hibberd?

Did more than ok last week, is just as skilled by foot and good overhead. Maybe not the same when it comes to crash and bash, but i'd have him go back if it means keeping the likes of Wagner out. We have several HFF's that could come in (whether or not they should is another question).

19 minutes ago, praha said:

Further to this:

"We'll have a look at our grounds, we'll have a look at our loads, we'll have a look at all those things that potentially go into those things."

Goodwin had some padding around that comment to soften the blow, but he's clearly talking about NT.

No he’s not you’re being a drama queen. Explain how a flare up of VIneys toe and Levers ACL at Etihad have anything to do with interstate games? 

3 hours ago, praha said:

Viney and Hibberd both out shortly after Darwin trip.

Lever injured shortly after Alice.

You simply can't ignore that. Conditioning and fatigue has an affect on the body, you become unintentionally lazy and your body and mind cut corners to battle the physical and mental fatigue.

Get rid of these damn games.

Your correlations  you "can't ignore" are about as useful as saying injuries are occurring around the time we play at the G

I’ve been quite impressed with Harmes when he has played back as well. Did very well when he covered for lever the first time we played the Dogs. May be an option too. Like Brayshaw, his improvement from the start of the year to now has been significant. It’s why we shouldn’t be categoric about how good (or bad) a player is until they have played 50 games.

25 minutes ago, Demon Disciple said:

How about Fritsch to cover Hibberd?

I like it, but, can he do it for a whole game?  I feel like having him play there intermittently during the game is good, but I'm not sure I'd trust him there more often than that.

I still think Wagner plays through there as he can play the defensive game while also potentially giving us some run and drive off the backline.

I know others aren't fans, and I understand why, but I feel good about having Vince and Lewis down there if Hibberd is out.  Not necessarily because they can replace what he brings to the side, but they do bring a cool head, experience and the ability to marshall the troops in the defensive half of the ground.  Their leadership could prove vital on Saturday night.

Hannan is 189cm, throw him back there and see what happens. 

Edited July 18, 20187 yr by Ethan Tremblay

27 minutes ago, praha said:

Further to this:

"We'll have a look at our grounds, we'll have a look at our loads, we'll have a look at all those things that potentially go into those things."

Goodwin had some padding around that comment to soften the blow, but he's clearly talking about NT.

To me his clearly talking about our training pitches/conditioning program rather than the pitches we use 4 days of the 40 something weeks they work on. 

McDonald has to go back and Weideman plays forward. Tyson for Hannan

Just now, Roost It said:

McDonald has to go back and Weideman plays forward. Tyson for Hannan

Why do we need 3 tall defenders?  The two McDonalds and Frost is far too tall for their forward line.

Plus there is no chance we play T Mac down back.  Far too valuable as a forward for us now.

This is a huge out. With Lever and Viney, this is 3 of our top 10 out for potentially the season. It will be a monumental effort to make finals from here