Somewhat surprised with the selection of Hunt, but in other ways not.  From the vision of practice match I saw of him against North, he didn't exactly set the world on fire offensively, but I thought his pressure acts, chasing and harassing of the opposition were pretty good.  On his day he can be pretty damaging as we saw from his ability to provide a target and kick goals for us last year.

In summary I don't have any real concerns of him holding his own and with his inclusion in the side, it could give us a good opportunity to at the least match them or more probability stretch them for pace all over the ground and give either him or one of our players a good oppertunity to cut loose.

35 minutes ago, old dee said:

There is nothing wrong with dreaming Hff. In fact it is probably the only thing that keeps the average Dees supporter sane.

But your not the only one,  'OD'.

5 minutes ago, dee-tox said:

That's the interesting thing. McKay and Casboult are over 200cm and McGovern 191. Maybe we'll use Max in the last line of defence?

I have a similar concern with regard to our lack of height in defence compared to the Blues forwards unless we can dominate the center and get the clearances. Depending on how things work out there may be some saying " If only we had had OMac down back...."

1 hour ago, old dee said:

Wow we are really pushing the odds with that forward line.

Of course you have to believe that is the way they will line up which seldom happens.

If we accept it in broad terms the the two key forwards are a player who has only once produced his 2018 form and a kid who is playing his first game straight from under 18’s football. 
We then have Brayshaw who has seldom been a goal kicker along with Petrecca with the same disease and another kid who has played one game since leaving the under 18’s. we are going to need 6 from Fritsch to be in the hunt.
Still taking out Spargo gives one more competent player in the 22.

We will struggle to win this game.

Re the forward line I don’t think they will line up that way but it was interesting to watch round 1 replay today of our loss to West Coast. Gee we were rusty in the first half but what kept being repeated by the commentators was our forward line/midfield disconnect which I found interesting as I missed this at the time. I remember us repeatedly bombing the ball in long to just see McGovern or Barass line up to take turns for intercept marks. Very frustrating but what I didn’t realise at the time was, as the commentators said, the problem is not the bombing long, it is the fact the forwards are all leading out toward the ball carrier only to see it go overhead. if the plan is to bomb long that is not a real problem as long as your big forwards stay long then bring the ball to ground for our small forwards to crumb but this didn’t happen. we had forwards leading with entries flying over their heads to the opposition! This is really dumb stuff but it has been there for some time but why? 

The commentators kept asking is the midfield game plan on the same page as the forward plan? The main culprits were Oliver, Langdon and Hibberd but sometimes they booted forward under pressure but our forwards weren’t in the obvious place. That is another issue. Let’s hope all is sorted now after a 10 week break but I am not confident we won’t burn another kid in Jackson. 

6 minutes ago, Hogan2014 said:

We have 4 players who have played 1 game between them this season , 2 first gamers, 2nd gamer &  1 who hasn’t played in 2+ years.. nothing against them but sounds risky.. not sure what the rational is here... May sound old school but 4 inexperienced players at the same time, understand Bennell has played but not in 2years .. 

Rivers looks like he has a pretty mature head on him.

Kosi looks like he belongs.

Harley knows how to play the game and probably is the sort of player who you would rarely play a game in the seconds if you thought he was fit and conditioned.

The way I see it Jackson is mainly there to just bring the ball to ground, but then will probably also stretch your average key position back for mobility once it hits the ground.

I don't have that many concerns in that regards.

 

Seven changes is a lot to make to a team at once, from the perspective of team cohesion, but I think most teams will be in a similar boat having not played in months, except for the really mature ones like WC, Richmond and perhaps Geelong and Collingwood.

The team selection is certainly radical 

However times are strange - unique 

I like it !!!!!!    
 

 

 

Provided we win

1 minute ago, Bitter but optimistic said:

The team selection is certainly radical 

may I quote you on that

If it wasn't round 2 I would say we are experimenting for next season.

Who knows

33 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

So...... came on here to see all the humble pie being eaten over OMac's non selection......

Walk up start, best 22.. what a joke.

Hah was wondering how long it would take.

I am disappointed he didn't get picked. As he will after what Mahoney described on the zoom session tonight as one of his best games.

Wasn't surprised though  once Smith was picked.

By the by which poster has said he is a walk up start best 22?

9 minutes ago, Hogan2014 said:

We have 4 players who have played 1 game between them this season , 2 first gamers, 2nd gamer &  1 who hasn’t played in 2+ years.. nothing against them but sounds risky.. not sure what the rational is here... May sound old school but 4 inexperienced players at the same time, understand Bennell has played but not in 2years .. 

IMO,   our footy dept' see Carlton as one of our main future opponents,  and both sides will be young next year, or one after.

 think the footy dept want to get a measure of where we are, Re matching up against their list to form our future strategies.  We will likely only get this match  to gauge ourselves against Carlton's, this year.  

We are quite close in list talent, and development.

 

So I think we have picked this young team to do this,  and also to shakeup the expectations of some, a bit more senior,  players.

4 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

may I quote you on that

If it wasn't round 2 I would say we are experimenting for next season.

Who knows

You may!

44 minutes ago, Dee man said:

Hibberd's non selection, especially at the expense of a first-gamer in Rivers, is a very bold call but I like it. Mahoney mentioned in the Zoom chat that Rivers had overtaken him.

I was just flicking through the AFL Record and remembered that Hibberd statistically had a very good game in Round 1. In some ways was back to his best in his ability to get the ball, but his delivery into the forward line was atrocious. I know it's been a long time between drinks, but it really shows that stats like metres gained and inside 50 aren't going to impress the coaches.

For a player that had 20 of 22 possessions uncontested in round 1 to go at 61% efficiency is the key stat.

1 minute ago, MyFavouriteMartian said:

IMO,   our footy dept' see Carlton as one of our main future opponents,  and both sides will be young next year, or one after.

 think the footy dept want to get a measure of where we are, Re matching up against their list to form our future strategies.  We will likely only get this match  to gauge ourselves against Carlton's, this year.  

We are quite close in list talent, and development.

 

So I think we have picked this young team to do this,  and also to shakeup the expectations of some, a bit more senior,  players.

sounds like what you do for a practice match...but well argued because I'm lost

Goodwin expecting Jackson ff & Pickett to kick goals???  Looks like a preseason team not a team playing for premiership points ..  my concern is players too raw for Kpp & fear another Watts queens birthday debacle 

If it’s as a forward I definitely would’ve had Bedford over Hunt??? 

5 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

may I quote you on that

If it wasn't round 2 I would say we are experimenting for next season.

Who knows

It takes time to develop and produce a vaccine that will eliminate a disease 

21 minutes ago, binman said:

Hah was wondering how long it would take.

I am disappointed he didn't get picked. As he will after what Mahoney described on the zoom session tonight as one of his best games.

Wasn't surprised though  once Smith was picked.

By the by which poster has said he is a walk up start best 22?

Did Mahoney explain the reason behind Omac omission?

Carlton have a 204cm McKay, and 201cm Casboult up forward. Our tallest defender is 195cm tall who is Jake Lever... 

I must admit I'm a bit surprised he got dropped.

13 minutes ago, Hogan2014 said:

Goodwin expecting Jackson ff & Pickett to kick goals???  Looks like a preseason team not a team playing for premiership points ..  my concern is players too raw for Kpp & fear another Watts queens birthday debacle 

I always take the team sheet with a grain of salt, I remembered there being some downright laughable ones at one stage. Having said that, this was one of my concerns with going Jackson over Weids, I still see TMac as our main FF though hopefully getting back to the mobility that made him so hard to play on in 2018, Jackson will need to provide an option that if nothing else brings the ball to ground around Kozzi and Bennell. 

Ultimately we have to USE our forward entries, if the first quarter see us bombing aimlessly you will have to wonder exactly what is being told to the players. Fritch and Melksham have good hands and are quick on the lead, let them use the space in front of them.

As for another Watts like debut, they put him in in front of a big crowd, against one of our fiercest rivals. This weekend Jackson plays against a team who at least should be on the same level in front of no one, no way should it be anything like Watts.

6 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Did Mahoney explain the reason behind Omac omission?

Carlton have a 204cm McKay, and 201cm Casboult up forward. Our tallest defender is 195cm tall who is Jake Lever... 

I must admit I'm a bit surprised he got dropped.

Backing the defensive structure to limit one on one situations I guess. I was a little surprised at OMac's omission as well, it's funny though because May has a bigger look about him I always through he was taller than the rest of the defenders. But Oscar at 196cm is actually our tallest.

Some aggressive selection but apart from Lockhart I can't really lament any of the outs.

OMac and Bedford are replaceable.

Hunt in is a big surprise and Smith a surprise foretold.

It's a dynamic explosive pacy side.

Edited June 11, 20204 yr by Fifty-5

4 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Did Mahoney explain the reason behind Omac omission?

Carlton have a 204cm McKay, and 201cm Casboult up forward. Our tallest defender is 195cm tall who is Jake Lever... 

I must admit I'm a bit surprised he got dropped.

He wasn't asked about omac specifically. There was a question about the decision to go small this week and whether it would be a horses for courses decision.

Mahoney said lever and may play big, the focus was speed (repeating goody's comment footy would be fast this year) and that with Smith they had flexibility as he could play tall if needed.

A bit ominously for Omac he didn't answer the second part of the question. As I have said before coaches like settled defensive units so if it works omac (and Hibberd for that matter) will find it hard to get back in.

2 minutes ago, Fifty-5 said:

Some aggressive selection but apart from Lockhart I can't really lament any of the outs.

OMac and Bedford are replaceable.

Hunt in is a big surprise and Smith a surprise foretold.

It's a dynamic explosive pacy side.

Hunt was a big surprise.

But maxy said in last night's zoom session he had been dynamic since they have been back and seemed to hint he would play and do so as a forward.

The selections and goody's comments about game style seem to suggest a pretty big tactical shift. Which if true would be pretty amazing (and risky) given they only had 3 weeks back.

I guess 8 changes for the week to give Vanders a start was just a bridge too far...

i think the right defensive decisions have been made. looks more balanced to my eye. it might take a while to gel together with some new players, but it has to start sometime. think Smith offers better flexibility than OMac, and I don't particularly like Hibberd off the HBF as he's too wasteful, so happy for Rivers to get a go there.

i'm not sure about our forward line though. it probably shows why we struggle to kick goals. Goodwin can't seem to find a way for them to make it work. he has pretty much gone with the same structure as he did in R1 with one genuine key forward (TMac), and swapped one not really key forward for another(Jackson for Brown), and changed the smaller players (ANB, Bedford and Spargo, for Bennell, Hunt and Jones). we struggled to take marks and score r1, and i think there's a good chance we might struggle again if we haven't changed anything about our forward half except the players.

30 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Did Mahoney explain the reason behind Omac omission?

Carlton have a 204cm McKay, and 201cm Casboult up forward. Our tallest defender is 195cm tall who is Jake Lever... 

I must admit I'm a bit surprised he got dropped.

Imo Omac gets outmuscled to easily against his opponents. McKay and casboult would slaughter him. 

Cannot see where goals are going to come from. Unless this is a low scoring game we are in trouble