Gawn is today undergoing scans on a soft-tissue strain, with the Demons hopeful he can still take his place in the side against the Crows at Adelaide Oval.

Sources said the commanding ruckman could miss multiple weeks, but the club is preparing for him to play at this stage.

Remember 2017 without Max. We're less predictable as a clearance team. I think we'll win either way.

I remember we beat Adelaide in Adelaide without Max and Jacobs was rucking against McDonald from memory.

2 games with a lat injury.

Don't hate it tbh, gives us unpredictability in the middle for a change.

Some people have talked about Preuss, but given he was one of the players left in Melbourne originally is he even out of quarantine yet?

Edit - Apologies, 2 games, not 2 weeks.

3 minutes ago, A F said:

Remember 2017 without Max. We're less predictable as a clearance team. I think we'll win either way.

I remember we beat Adelaide in Adelaide without Max and Jacobs was rucking against McDonald from memory.

AF, that's an insult to the 2nd greatest ruckman in MFC history in Cam Pedersen who was our number 1 ruckman that night...

5 minutes ago, A F said:

Remember 2017 without Max. We're less predictable as a clearance team. I think we'll win either way.

I remember we beat Adelaide in Adelaide without Max and Jacobs was rucking against McDonald from memory.

Cam Pedersen was the saviour during that period.  Was fantastic for us while Gawn was out.

edit -  dd36 beat me to it

Edited August 3, 20205 yr by Pickett2Jackson

1 minute ago, Lord Nev said:

2 weeks with a lat injury.

Don't hate it tbh, gives us unpredictability in the middle for a change.

Some people have talked about Preuss, but given he was one of the players left in Melbourne originally is he even out of quarantine yet?

Yes they're back with the full squad now

5 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Gawn is today undergoing scans on a soft-tissue strain, with the Demons hopeful he can still take his place in the side against the Crows at Adelaide Oval.

Sources said the commanding ruckman could miss multiple weeks, but the club is preparing for him to play at this stage.

I hope desperation doesn't kick in and we play him when we shouldn't.  A critical game but not worth taking the risk.  We can't afford for him to breakdown and be out for many more weeks.

It may be a good thing to teach our mids to shark someone else and structure differently.  We have Preuss for a reason.  This is his time with support from TMac or Tomlinson.

2 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Yes they're back with the full squad now

You 100% sure? Seems a tight deadline. Quarantine is two weeks, and it's only been 2 weeks and 5 days since MFC announced they would fly up the rest of the players.

 

Edited August 3, 20205 yr by Lord Nev

Don't get me wrong. I love Max, but we can win without him. 

1 minute ago, Lord Nev said:

You 100% sure? Seems a tight deadline. Quarantine is two weeks, and it's only been 2 weeks and 5 days since MFC announced they would fly up the rest of the players.

 

They joined the squad last Friday.

I appreciate some of the attempts to spin positives out of this, some of which I agree with, but let's be clear: Gawn is a superstar and one of the few players we've had who have performed at, or above, their expected level this year.

We will be worse overall for not having him out there. If he's out for two weeks, he'll also miss the North game and probably the Collinwood game too.

Having said that, I agree we can win without him, and it may be a chance for our midfielders to think differently about how they approach stoppages.

If Preuss is available for selection then surely this is his time. What's the point in having him if he doesn't play when Gawn's unavailable? If he's not available for selection though, then I'm not sure what we do. TMac was hopeless and should be dropped. I'm not sure he's fit enough to ruck. Maybe Tomlinson gets the spot? 

1 minute ago, dazzledavey36 said:

They joined the squad last Friday.

Thanks mate, good news!

Not 100% sold on picking Preuss if he's coming in with only 1 main session with the full team and possibly only 2 with the mids. Plus, his fitness would still be a while off wouldn't it?

Who will our kickouts go to????

1 minute ago, titan_uranus said:

I appreciate some of the attempts to spin positives out of this, some of which I agree with, but let's be clear: Gawn is a superstar and one of the few players we've had who have performed at, or above, their expected level this year.

You won't find a Dees supporter who doesn't love him and think he's a superstar, but we're 5th for hitouts and 13th for clearances so a change up could be beneficial for the mids.

10 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

2 weeks with a lat injury.

Don't hate it tbh, gives us unpredictability in the middle for a change.

Some people have talked about Preuss, but given he was one of the players left in Melbourne originally is he even out of quarantine yet?

 

Yikes. Has the 2 weeks been confirmed?

3 minutes ago, ben russell said:

Yikes. Has the 2 weeks been confirmed?

Nothing is ever officially confirmed til the club says so, but this is the old mate of a mate (albeit a mate who would 100% know) so take it as a 'solid rumour' until the club announces something.

EDIT - Apologies to everyone, it's actually 2 GAMES not 2 weeks. Sorry!

Edited August 3, 20205 yr by Lord Nev

1 minute ago, Lord Nev said:

Thanks mate, good news!

Not 100% sold on picking Preuss if he's coming in with only 1 main session with the full team and possibly only 2 with the mids. Plus, his fitness would still be a while off wouldn't it?

Yeah honestly I'm the same (I have a man crush on the Pruess). I have no idea what fitness work they've done since being away. But I do hope with news that Pruess dropped 8 kilos over the summer to improve his endurance that might hopefully help in some way.

The other option is whether we do go agile and have Jackson and Tomlinson as a rucks. They won't win a lot of hitouts, but just being competitive around the ground is all we ask.

Well, 90% of Adelaides preparation to date for our game has probably gone to waste. That's probably the only positive that I can see.

Just now, Lord Nev said:

Nothing is ever officially confirmed til the club says so, but this is the old mate of a mate (albeit a mate who would 100% know) so take it as a 'solid rumour' until the club announces something.

If Max is injured he cannot play. We need 22 fit players on Wednesday 

I am definitely in the it will be good for us camp. Something needed to change and now it's time for other players to step up.

While it won't be so much of an issue against Adelaide it is bad timing with Goldstein and Grundy coming up.

Edited August 3, 20205 yr by Watts the matter

*the sound of 200K Supercoach teams being updated

15 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

Thanks mate, good news!

Not 100% sold on picking Preuss if he's coming in with only 1 main session with the full team and possibly only 2 with the mids. Plus, his fitness would still be a while off wouldn't it?

I'd go with Tomlinson as TU says. Preuss' big issue last year was his ability to get to stoppages and his fitness. I'm sure he's improved that, but Tomlinson for mine.

17 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Who will our kickouts go to????

Its time we broke the habit of kicking it to the left side straight to Max.  Not having him will force different tactics to exit our d50.

On the kickouts, I'm surprised our players rarely take a run and but kick from inside/the edge of the square.  Not to be used all the time but a good way to change things up, get over the pack, gain territory and open up space for us.

Time for exit d50 creativity.

Edited August 3, 20205 yr by Lucifer's Hero

I'd like to see a 'Preuss and Jacko' combo... less predictable for our mids, which may help them win a few more clearances without getting sliver service from Gawn. 

Goody has to be the luckiest bloke in footy. First COVID now Ganw's injury on the eve of a game that could have maked or breaked his coaching career. Excuses out the wazoo now.