CHANGES: Rd 03 vs Essendon

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,981]

28 minutes ago, Tom Dyson said:

would like to see o'mac come in but not quite sure who to drop for him and Essendon don't have a particularly tall forward line so having o'mac, may and lever probably isn't the best choice.

Agree with that. Their only tall is McKernan who I rate and killed us last year with 4 goals despite playing out the game with a pinged hammy. Certainly a lot shorter than Carlton's fwd line, but Stringer, McDonald-Tippa, Smith and Fantasia (if selected) will provide a handful.

Therefore next week might not be the week to bring back O Mac because they ain't dropping Lever or May.

On the flip side, we may need to go for some height up forward as Hooker and Hurley could mark everything given our sub-parinside 50 entries. Maybe bring in Weed and retain Jackson or drop Jackson to also include Brown.

[Young Blood 2,635]

I understand the want for T-Mac to be dropped. Was very average and I really this he doesn't look physically able to have a great impact like he did. He was always a pretty stiff player, mostly running in straight lines/leads. But the game asks more of you every year and his lateral movement is just non existent. He looks bulky and lacks pace. 

That being said he won't be dropped. I doubt there will be big changes with the forward line.

Smith was a real let down on the weekend especially in crucial moments late. I can see Hibberd coming back in. Its possible they swing Joel forward. Jackson presented well first half and then didn't seem to run out the game well. I'd say they like having him though as best tall to give Max a break to go forward.

[Fat Tony 5,290]

18 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Apparently Goodwin has already mentioned that Pickett will come straight in.

They obviously rate him highly, which is a good sign. Still, I think ANB will be stiff to get dropped.

[spirit of norm smith 16,591]

Five things

1- can’t bomb it long and watch Hooker and Hurley control the back 50.  Need Tmcd and Weideman in to make a real contest 

2- Shiel and Merrett are prime movers in their midfield.  Happy to match our guys like Viney, Petracca and Oliver. But watch for McGrath who has stepped up again. 

3- They have Stringer and Mckernan but also dangerous small forwards. Tinpungwuti and Devon Smith need to be controlled. 

4- run of Saad.  He rebounds ALOT of their back 50 transition. Most of their defence is tall with  Hooker, Hurley, Francis, Redman and Ridley. Try to keep Saad accountable by our smalls like Pickett. 

5- Gawn should get on top of Bellchambers.  Need to protect him psychically as the Dons will try to hit Gawn hard. 

[Pulp Fritschon 765]

I think we need to stick with Smith. Besides from 2 errors I think he was ok.  Lets see how he looks after he strings a few games together.

Also think we need to get Weideman in and give him a run of games. 

In: Weideman, Pickett

Out: ANB, Hunt (Both stiff but cant see us dropping Jones just yet) 

Be good to see Hannan and AVB in the side soon also. 

[spirit of norm smith 16,591]

16 minutes ago, Fat Tony said:

They obviously rate him highly, which is a good sign. Still, I think ANB will be stiff to get dropped.

Pickett in and Anb out is the obvious and needed change.  Weid might replace Jackson

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,910]

4 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Pickett in and Anb out is the obvious and needed change.  Weid might replace Jackson

Obvious? Why ANB and not Jones?

[Watts the matter 1,235]

41 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Apparently Goodwin has already mentioned that Pickett will come straight in.

Yep, not those exact words but you can take that to the bank from his interview On Triple M yesterday, said we really missed him on Saturday.

[TheKozzieExperience 258]

We haven't played Essendon twice in the same season since 2005.   Would love to know the reason behind that.

[Lord Nev 13,512]

Not saying he's completely safe, but for a team with noted forward 50 deficiencies, note these stats:

ANB - 2 goals. 4 inside 50s. 5 score involvements. 1 tackle inside 50. 1 mark inside 50. 9 disposals.

Jones - 0 goals. 2 inside 50s. 0 score involvements. 0 tackles inside 50. 0 marks inside 50. 11 disposals.

Melksham - 0 goals. 3 inside 50s. 2 score involvements. 1 tackle inside 50. 0 marks inside 50. 10 disposals.

Even if you want to argue about Melksham and Jones playing up the ground more, ANB still had more inside 50s and basically the same amount of disposals.

Seems to me that most saying ANB will come out without a doubt might be a little biased.

 

[Lord Nev 13,512]

27 minutes ago, Pulp Fritschon said:

Out: ANB, Hunt

5 goals (out of 8 in total) and 8 score involvements between them.

Don't think so mate.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Lord Nev

[BW511 2,688]

I would not have ANB in my starting side, but he did everything asked of him - and some.

He was clean, he made the most of opportunities and contributed in a meaningful way.

Selection this week will put some noses out of joint regardless, but I'm not sure it should be him or Hunt.

 

It is extraordinary that we have almost an entire list of 'confidence' players. Not many on this list give consistent effort every week. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by BW511

[DistrACTION Jackson 9,312]

Interesting thing is Essendon have beaten both Fremantle (in Melbourne) and Sydney by 6 points in both games.

Definitely not shooting the lights out, given both sides are expected to finish near the bottom.

If we can play 75% of the game at the level we played in the first quarter we will win..... seems to be a big ask for this team though.

[binman 43,921]

10 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

5 goals (out of 8 in total) and 8 score involvements between them.

Don't think so mate.

Agree.

And in addition to the stats you noted for nibbler you could argue he won us the game. He was terrific in that contest that resulted in him getting it to Tmac to enable the pass to Fritter. it was cleaver too as he was alter to the fact that the ball had not gone over the boundry (really bad error by the blues as was tmac being on his lonesome). The point Fritter then scored was the last score of the match and the winning margin.

Hunt was also important in that last 2 minutes as unlike some of his team mates was gut running to contests.

[spirit of norm smith 16,591]

“Team balance”.  Anb didn’t do anything wrong but didn’t exactly demand to stay in.  I’d have Hunt to remain in.  

[Jaded No More 68,974]

2 hours ago, loges said:

Don't know what is the biggest risk, playing Weideman and hoping he'll actually do something, or playing TMac and hoping he'll come out of his form slump.

Play both, then there is no risk that you won't be at least a little disappointed 

[Engorged Onion 10,223]

Just now, Jaded said:

Play both, then there is no risk that you won't be at least a little disappointed 

Hey come on, Weid kicked 5 on the weekend. 

[titan_uranus 25,046]

1 hour ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Five things

1- can’t bomb it long and watch Hooker and Hurley control the back 50.  Need Tmcd and Weideman in to make a real contest 

2- Shiel and Merrett are prime movers in their midfield.  Happy to match our guys like Viney, Petracca and Oliver. But watch for McGrath who has stepped up again. 

3- They have Stringer and Mckernan but also dangerous small forwards. Tinpungwuti and Devon Smith need to be controlled. 

4- run of Saad.  He rebounds ALOT of their back 50 transition. Most of their defence is tall with  Hooker, Hurley, Francis, Redman and Ridley. Try to keep Saad accountable by our smalls like Pickett. 

5- Gawn should get on top of Bellchambers.  Need to protect him psychically as the Dons will try to hit Gawn hard. 

Agree with most of these.

We can't afford to let Hurley and Hooker control the air in our forward 50 like we let McGovern and Hurn control it in Round 1. We must pick and play forwards who can compete in the air, either by taking contested marks or at least bringing the ball to ground for our smalls to work with.

Smith could play that role (and indeed should either play that role or be dropped). We have to back Weideman in to be able to play that role too. Jackson isn't ready for that role IMO. TMac needs to lift.

In terms of Saad, my concern is he'll be on Melksham or Jones and if they don't lift, he'll rip us apart on the rebound.

58 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Not saying he's completely safe, but for a team with noted forward 50 deficiencies, note these stats:

ANB - 2 goals. 4 inside 50s. 5 score involvements. 1 tackle inside 50. 1 mark inside 50. 9 disposals.

Jones - 0 goals. 2 inside 50s. 0 score involvements. 0 tackles inside 50. 0 marks inside 50. 11 disposals.

Melksham - 0 goals. 3 inside 50s. 2 score involvements. 1 tackle inside 50. 0 marks inside 50. 10 disposals.

Even if you want to argue about Melksham and Jones playing up the ground more, ANB still had more inside 50s and basically the same amount of disposals.

Seems to me that most saying ANB will come out without a doubt might be a little biased.

Whilst I'd prefer us to be in a position to drop ANB before Melksham/Jones, we're not.

Melksham has far more upside than Jones, I think. 

It should be Jones (to make way for Pickett), IMO.

[Jaded No More 68,974]

Just now, Engorged Onion said:

Hey come on, Weid kicked 5 on the weekend. 

I'm all for bringing him in, I've said so throughout this entire thread.

Also he kicked 5 in a scratch match. So did Brown. I'm not exactly engraving their names on the Coleman medal as we speak. 

[Right on Trac 0]

On 6/13/2020 at 7:40 PM, Half forward flank said:

It is not just ins and outs. Look at three big name signing.

May is not a fullback, dominated games at GC as a half back  

Lever is only useful as a third  tall.

Tomlinson is ok but not a wingman, 

And then there are the regulars, Jetta sadly is near the end. brayshaw is a plodder. Vineys role should be replaced with Harmes. Without the bullocking Viney is a rover to ther best ruckman in the league, Whoever is at his feet should be starring. Old school second rover for mine. Neil-Bullen far too happy with himself. It just goes on and on. Loved Petraccas game but to hear him say the BLues are a really good team is ridiculous. Sire say they gave hard competition, but a good team. No.

Goodwin is simply not up to it...

Sorry, but cannot agree with this. May is definitely a full back (just not his best game) and Tomlinson is brilliant on a wing. First quarter showed what we are capable of. Just give them time to gel as a team and show it on a more permanent basis.

[Jaded No More 68,974]

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

 

In terms of Saad, my concern is he'll be on Melksham or Jones and if they don't lift, he'll rip us apart on the rebound.

 

They should put Hunt on Saad in a 'defensive' forward role. He has the speed and aggressiveness to go with him. 

Jones should play off half back, allowing Harmes to go back into the centre where he belongs. 

[Dockett 32 1,239]

2 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

Not saying he's completely safe, but for a team with noted forward 50 deficiencies, note these stats:

ANB - 2 goals. 4 inside 50s. 5 score involvements. 1 tackle inside 50. 1 mark inside 50. 9 disposals.

Jones - 0 goals. 2 inside 50s. 0 score involvements. 0 tackles inside 50. 0 marks inside 50. 11 disposals.

Melksham - 0 goals. 3 inside 50s. 2 score involvements. 1 tackle inside 50. 0 marks inside 50. 10 disposals.

Even if you want to argue about Melksham and Jones playing up the ground more, ANB still had more inside 50s and basically the same amount of disposals.

Seems to me that most saying ANB will come out without a doubt might be a little biased.

 

Dunno which one goes, but you highlighted an almighty problem.

[TheKozzieExperience 258]

3 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Apparently Goodwin has already mentioned that Pickett will come straight in.

Excellent.

The Bombers draft about 4 indigenous kids a year trying to find the next Farmer or Mcleod, and they never get it right.. we will show them how its done!

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,981]

2 hours ago, Collar-Jazz-Knee said:

Interesting thing is Essendon have beaten both Fremantle (in Melbourne) and Sydney by 6 points in both games.

Definitely not shooting the lights out, given both sides are expected to finish near the bottom.

If we can play 75% of the game at the level we played in the first quarter we will win..... seems to be a big ask for this team though.

Essendon's win over Freo was as poor as our win on Saturday. They fell to pieces in the last quarter and only the siren saved them. I can recall their supporters were as savage as ours after that win over Freo

They played pretty good footy yesterday against Sydney, but unlike the premier sides, they kept on giving Sydney a sniff right to the end.

Essendon are a 7th-10th side this year, but will be had to beat with their pace and run.

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,981]

2 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

Not saying he's completely safe, but for a team with noted forward 50 deficiencies, note these stats:

ANB - 2 goals. 4 inside 50s. 5 score involvements. 1 tackle inside 50. 1 mark inside 50. 9 disposals.

Jones - 0 goals. 2 inside 50s. 0 score involvements. 0 tackles inside 50. 0 marks inside 50. 11 disposals.

Melksham - 0 goals. 3 inside 50s. 2 score involvements. 1 tackle inside 50. 0 marks inside 50. 10 disposals.

Even if you want to argue about Melksham and Jones playing up the ground more, ANB still had more inside 50s and basically the same amount of disposals.

Seems to me that most saying ANB will come out without a doubt might be a little biased.

 

On form Melksham should be dropped. Hasn't fired a shot since the Gold Coast game last year. Disappointing as I really rate him.

Jones had his career worst game on the weekend. Not good signs for an old player such as him.

Having said that, ANB didn't do much in the second half.

Both Jones and Melksham have far more upside than ANB by way of contributing to a win.

ABN's stiff but he was the player to replace Pickett, and will likely make way for him unless they want to make an early season statement like they did with Hibberd.