Weidemiller not getting a game is interesting.

I'm worried we're a "tall short".

However....their backline is as slow as treacle(bar Jetta).

Perhaps we'll exploit that....I hope.

25 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

So who’s going to relieve Gawn in 30 degree heat? Against NickNat and Hickey.

Has Mitch Brown ever taken a hit out?

 

The game is 6.40 pm, temp will be down to between 26-24C for most of the game with sunset at 6.25 pm and relatively low humidity

 

29 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Happy with these selections 

I'm not.

14 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Weidemiller not getting a game is interesting.

Ankle might need another week.

4 minutes ago, JAG001 said:

The game is 6.40 pm, temp will be down to between 26-24C for most of the game with sunset at 6.25 pm and relatively low humidity

 

that's 6:40pm melbourne-time, i believe

so 3:40pm perth time

14 minutes ago, Jumping Jack Clennett said:

I'm worried we're a "tall short".

However....their backline is as slow as treacle(bar Jetta).

Perhaps we'll exploit that....I hope.

Will fail massively if we just bomb it in, need to be smart, that’s what worries me 

Good luck to the 5 debuts in Tomlinson, Langdon, Pickett, Bedford and Brown. I hope you all have rippers.

I can understand a pacier side. However Sparrow should be lining up at HFF instead of ANB. This just stuns me. Brown is not good enough but I will take it that weeds ankle is not right and hence TMAC will be second ruck.

Gawn can ruck most of the game with these shortened qtrs, so no need for a specific back up ruckman.

also no Jones or Vanders rotating fwd/mid allows us to play a couple of smaller forwards, as our main midfielders can now take a greater % of game time on their own, so we don't really need the extra mid rotations anyway. less inside ball winning bulls needed, and more forward half run and pressure instead. it looked like it was a big focus for us in the pre season games and it seemed to work well, so it makes sense.

also i'm glad Lockhart is in the team. our ground ball gets in the back half really needs to lift and he can help there.

i guess the main question i have is whether TMac, Brown and Fritsch is enough of a threat in the air forward though? we'll find out I suppose.

 

1 minute ago, Demon Dude said:

Gawn can ruck most of the game with these shortened qtrs, so no need for a specific back up ruckman.

also no Jones or Vanders rotating fwd/mid allows us to play a couple of smaller forwards, as our main midfielders can now take a greater % of game time on their own, so we don't really need the extra mid rotations anyway. less inside ball winning bulls needed, and more forward half run and pressure instead. it looked like it was a big focus for us in the pre season games and it seemed to work well, so it makes sense.

also i'm glad Lockhart is in the team. our ground ball gets in the back half really needs to lift and he can help there.

i guess the main question i have is whether TMac, Brown and Fritsch is enough of a threat in the air forward though? we'll find out I suppose.

 

Nice to see a balanced response. I agree. 

I think there is an expectation that the pace of games will go up with shortened quarters, placing less emphasis on the rucks and bigs. There was some evidence of this last night. 

Nonetheless, we rarely if ever went into games previously with 3 tall forwards, so I'm not sure why people are surprised. All they've done is taken Brown or Weideman. Fritsch and Melksham are both very capable in the air particularly in 1v1s. 

We are taking in many more small forwards than usual. I don't mind it, interested to see how it looks. If anything the backline looks short on depth to me... an injury down there and we don't have many to swing through. Lockhart on bench is just about it unless they plan on taking away our newfound strength with Tomlinson back there...

8 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I think people need to accept the reality that Spargo is going to get a lot of games this year. He tackle, harrasses, and links up well between mid and forward. His Marsh series was actually quite. I would have ahead ANB who is as sloppy as they come, and plays wet weather football every week.

Weideman and Lockhart get the last 2 gigs. In fact, i would be immensely surprised if Lockhart misses out.

I admire the effort & running power of ANB but he's a right-footed Simon Godfrey. If we want to be a better footy team we need to get better with the ball. Not sure Spargo is the answer but I do think he has a good footy brain. Whether he's physically up to it is my question.

So Dazzler, do you think in the short term Jones could be reinvented in the ANB role ? He has much cleaner hands, is a better decision maker & is a goal scoring threat from anywhere around 50

Happy with the 2nd tall forward call, but gee, Brown over Weid? If it is TMc that gives Gawn a chop out in the ruck, then at least we have a tall in Brown to still make Hurn, et al somewhat accountable.

I just hope Weid's ankle isn't 100% given who is playing in front of him.

19 minutes ago, fr_ap said:

Nice to see a balanced response. I agree. 

I think there is an expectation that the pace of games will go up with shortened quarters, placing less emphasis on the rucks and bigs. There was some evidence of this last night. 

Nonetheless, we rarely if ever went into games previously with 3 tall forwards, so I'm not sure why people are surprised. All they've done is taken Brown or Weideman. Fritsch and Melksham are both very capable in the air particularly in 1v1s. 

We are taking in many more small forwards than usual. I don't mind it, interested to see how it looks. If anything the backline looks short on depth to me... an injury down there and we don't have many to swing through. Lockhart on bench is just about it unless they plan on taking away our newfound strength with Tomlinson back there...

yeah i guess my main concern is i see Brown as more of a Fritsch or Melk type in the way he plays, as he's not really a key forward pack crasher/bring the ball to ground type. more of a mobile 1v1 sort. I think early on in the year big forwards aren't really that much of a threat anyway, as they usually take a couple of games before they start to hold their marks more often, so probably not going to be a huge problem for us. I just hope Kennedy and Darling are a bit rusty themselves.

9 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

I'll say it again - the bloke is out of his depth when it isn't a training report.  He's proven it time and time again.

If he was applying for employment in football, that might be a limitation. But it's a fan forum, where being out of your depth is not just permitted, it's a feature.

Surprised to not see Weideman there. Perhaps less training load of late might have tipped the scales, but at some point, he'll need to start solidifying his place I would have thought.

Happy with the rest, though Jones and Salem will be missed. I felt Jones was very good across the pre-season games.

7 minutes ago, bing181 said:

If he was applying for employment in football, that might be a limitation. But it's a fan forum, where being out of your depth is not just permitted, it's a feature.

Same goes for US presidents

Just now, binman said:

Same goes for US presidents

Not to mention Scomeo...

With Weid out, Tomlinson would be the one who has played the most ruck time out of he, TMac and Brown during the preseason games you would think. The question will be what % of game time Gawn can play after his interrupted preseason. With his existing fitness base and the shorter quarters I reckon he'll play a fairly high number of minutes.

 

1 hour ago, Demon Dude said:

Gawn can ruck most of the game with these shortened qtrs, so no need for a specific back up ruckman.

also no Jones or Vanders rotating fwd/mid allows us to play a couple of smaller forwards, as our main midfielders can now take a greater % of game time on their own, so we don't really need the extra mid rotations anyway. less inside ball winning bulls needed, and more forward half run and pressure instead. it looked like it was a big focus for us in the pre season games and it seemed to work well, so it makes sense.

also i'm glad Lockhart is in the team. our ground ball gets in the back half really needs to lift and he can help there.

i guess the main question i have is whether TMac, Brown and Fritsch is enough of a threat in the air forward though? we'll find out I suppose.

 

What's this rational, thoughtful response do'in on this forum? Mods?

Brown over Weid was an easy call.

1 hour ago, whatwhatsaywhat said:

that's 6:40pm melbourne-time, i believe

so 3:40pm perth time

Damn, your right that changes things.

2 hours ago, Go the Biff said:

I admire the effort & running power of ANB but he's a right-footed Simon Godfrey. If we want to be a better footy team we need to get better with the ball. Not sure Spargo is the answer but I do think he has a good footy brain. Whether he's physically up to it is my question.

So Dazzler, do you think in the short term Jones could be reinvented in the ANB role ? He has much cleaner hands, is a better decision maker & is a goal scoring threat from anywhere around 50

Short term would be Jones yes, but i wpuld also rather Tom Sparrow then ANB. I'd rather anyone to be honest.

IMO we have made a mistake in selecting Spargo, Pickett and Bedford together in this team. I don't think any of the three can rotate effectively to play on the ball. We will be down in Midfield rotations and WC will exploit this.

 

I think we are at least one, maybe two rotations short in the midfield with this team. if we cannot win the ball in the middle or force turnovers we have no use for a quick, small fleet of forwards as the ball will not get in there.

I would have taken Wiedeman over Brown.

3 minutes ago, CHF said:

I think we are at least one, maybe two rotations short in the midfield with this team. if we cannot win the ball in the middle or force turnovers we have no use for a quick, small fleet of forwards as the ball will not get in there.

This has me fearing that our plan is to constantly bomb it out of the middle and hope the small forwards can mop up the ground ball in the forward line ?