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Jones for Vanders makes sense. Good move. Glad they're backing in Jackson again.

 

would of preferred Tomlinson than Jones

Hope they play Melk on wing rather than Fritta 

Jones was pretty poor in the fwd line against Carl - but happy to give him another crack for the weight he's carried this club through 

5 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Sorry LH, but you're wrong on this. The reason why Neale is having the year that he is, is because he's hitting the scoreboard. This year alone in 7 games he's played, he's kicked 8.9. His match against Adelaide he kicked 6 behinds. That tells me he's added another element to his game and hence why right now he's too 3 player in the competition. 

The only midfielder for us who's come close to those numbers is Petracca with 6 goals. 

In fact for a guy that supposedly doesn't kick enough goals, in his 166 career games he's still kicked 87 goals. That's still a lot better then what our midfielders are dishing up.

This is what's stopping the likes of Viney, Brayshaw and Oliver from truly becoming elite mids of the competition. They barely hurt the scoreboard.

Yes, this is a very important point. even if two of these three could be damaging up forward then we'd be a lot better off. 

From memory, Brayshaw in 2018 was quite damaging in terms of hitting the scoreboard and i think he could be able to get back to that but quite possibly the role he is being asked to play isnt one that lends itself to kicking 2 or 3 goals a game. 

as for oliver, i'm not sure i can see him ever consistently hitting the scoreboard, it just doesn't seem to come naturally to him. Everytime he is front of goal, he panics and sprays it completely, for me i'm just not sure he will ever get to that "stage" in his career but quite frankly i'm not too fussed about that. His ability to just go and get his own footy is astounding and extremely important for our team. 

As i said, i think if viney and Brayshaw can go forward with more efficacy than we can let oliver do his thing.  

 

 

I don't mind this. Pretty like for like, and with Martin out and the wet weather predicted, we were going to be too top heavy with Tmac as well.

Jonesy in for Vanders sits very comfortably with me, especially given the expected wet track.


I guess they don't want to lose that physical presence from the team. I thought they may have gone with T-Mac and moved him between the forward line and the wing like we did quite a bit back in 2018. It looks like nobody will be gifted a game this season.  

Tomlinson dropped after a handful of games and doesn't get a look in to replace someone who plays a pretty similar role for an older Jones. 

It's great that spots are tight but he would be feeling pretty low. 

He had 32 with 10 marks vs Hawks in the pre-season. 

Sometimes you just have to let players in and give them a few weeks to get right (Weed for example) 

Anyways...hope Jones kicks a few because I'm sure he's hungry to make an impact 

 
19 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Jones in. Perhaps a bit of a message to Tom Mac - and to all the players. No free ride, earn your spot, but if you perform we'll back you.

 

more a case of Jones being better suited to the forecasted conditions rather than a message to TMac


It's a fair change for balance reasons. TMac throws the balance out, the more so if it's rainy.

Keeps pressure on Jackson and Weideman to perform.

And gives Jones a crack to get back in and keep a spot in the 22. Let's hope he's refreshed and ready to go.

Glad to see Jonesy back, both for the grunt and the leadership. It’s a good sign that the likes of Jonesy, Tomlinson, ANB etc are struggling to get a game. Our depth is starting to grow.

43 minutes ago, A F said:

Jones for Vanders makes sense. Good move. Glad they're backing in Jackson again.

Agree.

Get the feeling that the pressure will be on Chunk to perform as well.  There are plenty of players ready and willing to take his spot, and I'd wager that if his form is just so-so that he may lose his spot for good.  No shame in that, but he knows that he isn't an automatic selection anymore.  Here's hoping that he comes back in refreshed and ready to make an impact.


I’m happy to see Jones back, I think he’ll be hungry to make this shot count. Pretty similar types of players, Jones needs to bring that pressure and tackling to his game. Hopefully he snag a goal or two as well. 

Loving the Jones selection but also the fact of leaving McDonald out. In the past we've let this go on for too long, but Goodwin has been ruthless even with our more senior experienced players.

No favouritism going on here.

All the best Jonesy!

23 hours ago, Pates said:

I’d like to see us trial 3 talls but I’m not sure this is the week to do it. With it meant to be damp on the weekend I think a ground level player like AvB is probably the better choice, for me that’s Jones. 

I back Weid and LJ in to play with confidence this week, Tom’s got a fight on his hands. 

It will keep TMac on his toes that's for sure. However he might have needed to miss because of his injury no doubt.

IMO he is in our best 22.

I think Jones has played 287 games. He might not get to 300, but if he gets to 292, he'll be in the top 100 of all players to have ever played VFL/AFL. That's a fantastic achievement, especially as he missed out on playing finals for all but two of his seasons. (Hopefully, that becomes three seasons before the end of his career).  

Gold Coast forecast significantly amended from a few days ago.

Now showing little rain on Sunday.

Saturday still wet with up to 40mm


1 hour ago, A F said:

Jones for Vanders makes sense. Good move. Glad they're backing in Jackson again.

Me too 'A F'...

25 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Loving the Jones selection but also the fact of leaving McDonald out. In the past we've let this go on for too long, but Goodwin has been ruthless even with our more senior experienced players.

No favouritism going on here.

All the best Jonesy!

Agree 'dazzle'...selection looks right to me.

Let's hope they prove it on the ground.

Selections like this help build the club culture...

Edited by rjay

Both teams last week had 10 goal scorers for a similar amount of points. Tells me that both have multiple avenues to goal with the form presently. 

For me there are two keys to containing the Lions, Neale and Rayner need to be contained and corralled when possible. 

Oliver to Neale or possibly Harmes are both possible and Viney to run with Zorko.

 

11 minutes ago, rjay said:

Me too 'A F'...

Agree 'dazzle'...selection looks right to me.

Let's hope they prove it on the ground.

Selections like this help build the club culture...

Jones skills, loyalty and many years of leading the way, deserves an opportunity.
 

Hopefully we will see him chase opposition players, as his running has been poor the last few years, admittedly injury would have impacted him at times. Critical that all of our team commit to running and pressuring the Lions, as happened last week against the Hawks.

 
34 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Loving the Jones selection but also the fact of leaving McDonald out. In the past we've let this go on for too long, but Goodwin has been ruthless even with our more senior experienced players.

 

Agree on both counts.

In someways he is the closest thing to a like for like for VDB in so far as he is sort an old fashioned utility now. By that i mean he can start on the bench and come on to do a short  burst on ball (perhaps around the ground more than center bounces) play of HB as required and even push forward. 

What Jones doesn't replace however id VDB's tackling and intensity at the ball carrier. It simply cannot be underestimated how important that is for us (well you think it would be - some still mange it).

The importance of that intensity for us explains why even with his woeful kicking and relatively low numbers he is a lock in Goody's best 22.  

Others will have to fil that void and Jones will really help our disposal efficiency as a player that struggles to go at 50% DE is being replaced by one that should be around 75% DE. In a tight game that might make  a big difference.

1 hour ago, MF-C said:

would of preferred Tomlinson than Jones

Hope they play Melk on wing rather than Fritta 

Jones was pretty poor in the fwd line against Carl - but happy to give him another crack for the weight he's carried this club through 

Definitely.  Melk is a weakish link in this team right now imv and needs to take it up a notch if he's to retain a spot in the 22.  Would rather see a youngster like Bedford given an opportunity or possibly Brown for a decent block if he doesn't.  Keep the pressure on and performances on the up from all 22, making it difficult for the next rung of players down but also giving them a sniff of opportunity if someone drops the ball over a reasonable block of games.

Jones up forward and Melk to a wing.... Jones couldn't do much worse than Melk's game most weaks at this point and it avoids Jones having to connect too often coming inside 50 where he often struggles and we see some ordinary turnovers and sling shot rebounds.

Edited by Rusty Nails


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