6 hours ago, Superunknown said:

Is it just me or does Brayshaw seem a little off/lazy this year? Just watched the highlights and recalling some other games

 

genuine question, not sh5t stirring and I have not referred to stats

Was poor on the weekend. Still getting a bit of the ball but missed handballs and turned it over quite a bit. Decision making a bit off as well. Not sure what the problem is there.

5 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Was poor on the weekend. Still getting a bit of the ball but missed handballs and turned it over quite a bit. Decision making a bit off as well. Not sure what the problem is there.

We need to recruit a wingman, rather than play Brayshaw there. He struggles unless he's in the middle imo. I think this is where the media and external talk rings true, we have too many of the same types. Hard decisions need to be made at the end of the year to attain a speedy outside running mid.

Edited May 13, 20195 yr by John Demonic

Our injury list is catastrophic!

1 hour ago, Demons11 said:

Our injury list is catastrophic!

It’s actually so depressing. I can’t remember the last season we’ve had where we haven’t been decimated by injuries. Bad luck? Cursed? Poor management?

3 minutes ago, Jaded said:

It’s actually so depressing. I can’t remember the last season we’ve had where we haven’t been decimated by injuries. Bad luck? Cursed? Poor management?

I think bad luck.  Contact injuries are unavoidable and we have had a few of those in recent times. 

11 minutes ago, Jaded said:

It’s actually so depressing. I can’t remember the last season we’ve had where we haven’t been decimated by injuries. Bad luck? Cursed? Poor management?

I would bet a million dollars if I had it that in the coming weeks Brayshaw gets a concussion and Salems thyroid issue flares up.

Ladies and gentlemen,  this is Melbourne.

Edited May 13, 20195 yr by Petraccattack

Do we pack it in and close the shop for the  year, or do we draw inspiration from Richmond who are winning despite their injury crisis.

13 hours ago, Happeninghunts said:

IN: PREUSS, NEAL-BULLEN, BAKER

OUT: O'MAC, LEWIS, HIBBERD

I like the priority order you suggest for INs and OUTs. 

6 hours ago, Demon3 said:

All fair points YB, i think he has had a so so year to be honest,  his Centre Clearance attendances are down, so its different than last year.

Its just my opinion, he had a great year but he has regressed and Pendlebury doesn't fumble. 

It cannot be clearly detected so far this season, but it does seem as if many of our 'drivers' are being given other onfield duties to match the crazy game plan that we exhibit. Game styles of our better players seem to lack that excellent drive that we generated last season - the skills are still there, but the incidence/frequency of these contributions is well down as these players find themselves just out of the action points. It is not a lag due to fitness, it is happening elsewhere on the field. Collectively, we then pounce for congestion as a means of winning the pill. 

7 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

Many reasons, one being he is terrible and a liability.   Another good reason in the post below.

 

 

Having rewatched the footage,   I will just say the three stooges on Access All Areas (Lloyd, bartel, Damian Barrett)  are despicable.  O Mac could barely move and was clearly hurt, and none of them even bothered to mention it. Of course he couldnt follow his man down the field.

In. Preuss, Petty. TSmith,  ANB,  O  Baker,  

Out Lewis, Melksham,  Hibberd,  ( Inj )      Keilty  omtd.    OMAC  Disinterested or lost his nerve.

5 changes and l wouldn't be surprised.  3 compulsory.

 

Edited May 13, 20195 yr by nosoupforme

2 hours ago, Jaded said:

It’s actually so depressing. I can’t remember the last season we’ve had where we haven’t been decimated by injuries. Bad luck? Cursed? Poor management?

All of the above , Bur moreso reason 3 methinks!

Well if we have 4-5 changes and get within 10 goals against Wet Toast at home it would be a victory of sorts,

On the other hand dare we dream a win..... It will go down as the greatest win in the last 10-15 years Just saying!

2 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Do we pack it in and close the shop for the  year, or do we draw inspiration from Richmond who are winning despite their injury crisis.

After looking at the draw for the next 4 weeks I think it’s time to pull up stumps on the year. 

Think about this backline, which cannot get on the park:

Jetta, May, Hibbard

Lewis (?), Lever, Hore.  Hore is a first year player, doing very well.  The rest cant get near it.

We have no wings (should be hunt/baker/KK)

We have no functioning small forwards (Jeffy is getting to some good spots, and Hunt should be back or wing).  Melksham now added to that.  Lockhart looks the goods, too.

Our half forward flankers (Hannan and AVB) cant get near the park

All we have is Max and some grunt bangers in the middle.  TMac might be turning the corner, Weid is not seen, and Preuss is promising.

So, ins and outs - who is still able to play 120 minutes???  We are at that level.

Given we are down on our precision kickers like Melkshem and Lewis, does anyone think James Jordan might come into calculation for this week? I  know his young and underdone but by all reports his kicking is amongst the best on the team and he has been racking up a decent number of possessions at Casey off half back.

Edited May 13, 20195 yr by Romey

8 hours ago, loges said:

Think he just needed to get used to the higher level, and since he's still only played a handful of games, writing him off especially after the past few weeks is ridiculous.

Probably nerves,  in his first game...  then he was out.

T. Smith looks like our only player capable of taking a contested mark right now (up forward or anywhere on the ground), and almost single-handedly kept us in the contest early against the Hawks. Has to come in against West Coast.

And Preuss at least makes the opposition back-line accountable and can bring the 'ball to ground' in a suitable manner. Also seems to pluck a goal at the right time when the rest of our team can't.

Tmac meanwhile played one of the worst highest goal-scoring last-gasp match-winning games on the weekend that you're ever likely to see. And Keilty is maybe okay long-run but hasn't yet settled and isn't as mobile as required.

Meanwhile, Weid is still Weid. Equals an up-front dilemma. 

I'm of the belief that of all our current shortfalls and failings - which are many, great and varied - Tmac's poor form is our most crucial right at the surface. I don't blame anyone - coaches, recruiters or Tomald himself, but he and our forward-line simply aren't functioning.

Despite our obvious sh'ousness elsewhere, such as fumbling every [censored] ball through the mid-field, we're still generating enough inside-50s that we should be able to somehow put together far bigger scores than we have. But we are not, and it's right there for everyone to see.

Check our single goal spree this season against Essendon - coinciding exactly with when Tmac was out of the forward-line.

It's impossible to see on TV, but we're so bad with our entries forward right now - see Billy Stretch on the weekend - that I've almost come to believe that this inexplicable level of ineptitude is probably half-related to Tom. He has no confidence and can't move off his line to put pressure on. Previously this was of benefit, in that he was forced to lead and mark. 

Still: little brother Oscar offers not much other than some semi-reliable foot-skills, but can't win a contest to save himself, while for at least half a season (2016) Tmac was tracking toward AA as a defender but is horrible with ball in hand while rebounding from defense.

Ergo: I feel confident that Tom could currently play Oscar's role to better effect, as long as all he had to was spoil and pass the ball on. Not a rebounder. Told not to make the play. 

Conclusion:

In: Smith, Preuss

Out: Keilty, Omac

Plus injury considerations: unleash the chew-Baker for Hibberd, and if Meksham is down bring back ANB.

 

 

 

 

Its unlikely that anyone will be dropped given the injury list. James Jordan had a solid game for Casey and is one to watch... may get a go if Lewis doesn't come up. Pruess -> IN, Kielty goes back, T Smith -> IN

1 hour ago, Skuit said:

T. Smith looks like our only player capable of taking a contested mark right now (up forward or anywhere on the ground), and almost single-handedly kept us in the contest early against the Hawks. Has to come in against West Coast.

And Preuss at least makes the opposition back-line accountable and can bring the 'ball to ground' in a suitable manner. Also seems to pluck a goal at the right time when the rest of our team can't.

Tmac meanwhile played one of the worst highest goal-scoring last-gasp match-winning games on the weekend that you're ever likely to see. And Keilty is maybe okay long-run but hasn't yet settled and isn't as mobile as required.

Meanwhile, Weid is still Weid. Equals an up-front dilemma. 

I'm of the belief that of all our current shortfalls and failings - which are many, great and varied - Tmac's poor form is our most crucial right at the surface. I don't blame anyone - coaches, recruiters or Tomald himself, but he and our forward-line simply aren't functioning.

Despite our obvious sh'ousness elsewhere, such as fumbling every [censored] ball through the mid-field, we're still generating enough inside-50s that we should be able to somehow put together far bigger scores than we have. But we are not, and it's right there for everyone to see.

Check our single goal spree this season against Essendon - coinciding exactly with when Tmac was out of the forward-line.

It's impossible to see on TV, but we're so bad with our entries forward right now - see Billy Stretch on the weekend - that I've almost come to believe that this inexplicable level of ineptitude is probably half-related to Tom. He has no confidence and can't move off his line to put pressure on. Previously this was of benefit, in that he was forced to lead and mark. 

Still: little brother Oscar offers not much other than some semi-reliable foot-skills, but can't win a contest to save himself, while for at least half a season (2016) Tmac was tracking toward AA as a defender but is horrible with ball in hand while rebounding from defense.

Ergo: I feel confident that Tom could currently play Oscar's role to better effect, as long as all he had to was spoil and pass the ball on. Not a rebounder. Told not to make the play. 

Conclusion:

In: Smith, Preuss

Out: Keilty, Omac

Plus injury considerations: unleash the chew-Baker for Hibberd, and if Meksham is down bring back ANB.

 

 

 

 

Some good points.

But your argument loses a bit of credibility, given the following two facts.

Tim Smith did not play against the hawks. He was a late withdrawal and replaced by keilty. Hard then for him to keep us in the match. Perhaps you meant the tigers game, in which Smith was good (not great) in so far as he took a couple of contested marks. Not sure he kept us in the match though. 

Oscar can't win a contest? If you mean aerial contests as I pointed out in another thread omac had 13 one percenters (and 10 against the hawks incidentally), which measure defensive efforts (but basically spoils) against the suns, which is elite. 7 more than any other player. As a result his (very tall) opponent could only manage one goal - and that was from a pass Oscar couldn't stop.

So whilst he is certainly slow and has other weaknesses you could have highlighted, not winning aerial contests is not an issue. Sure he doesn't win every contest and last week against the hawks he lost a couple of critical contests (none last game) but show me a defender who doesn't lose some contests. 

I would agree he perhaps doesn't win enough contested ground ball but his job as a tall defender is to stop his opponents marking it and he has done his job in that regard in the last two weeks. Two weeks that we have been defensively very strong and won both games. Would be a strange time to drop him then.

Edited May 13, 20195 yr by binman

13 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Do we pack it in and close the shop for the  year, or do we draw inspiration from Richmond who are winning despite their injury crisis.

Collingwood did it last year

TMac can’t move any faster than a jog and he can’t get off the ground, he’d be a liability in defence. 

1 minute ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

TMac can’t move any faster than a jog and he can’t get off the ground, he’d be a liability in defence. 

He is moving very slowly and looks stiff cannot buy a mark this year

He is a major part of our forward problems  and  as you say will be a liability down back

We are in a world of pain with injuries to our best players. Luckily the midfield is mainly there but missing a lot of quality at both ends of the field - need to turn the game into the ugliest defensive slogfest of all time and pray we find a way to scrape over the line by a point again

19 minutes ago, sisso said:

 need to turn the game into the ugliest defensive slogfest of all time and pray we find a way to scrape over the line by a point again

Bring in Paul Roos for this game, with Goodwin as assistant. 

Youre right, we will have to grind this one out and hit  them physically with everything we've got.  A win would be monumental with our insane injury list.