Hopefully it’s not used as another excuse, if we get rolled.

4 minutes ago, 3183 Dee said:

Hopefully it’s not used as another excuse, if we get rolled.

When...

If there’s any doubt, rest him. This season is stuffed anyway.

The Adelaide ruck O'Brien isn't a bad player.  He was very competitive against NicNat and Goldstein and moves around the ground pretty well.  He'll take care of Jackson and any other second ruck we want to throw in there.  If Gawn misses and Preuss is available he'd have to play.

Rest him.

I wouldn't be against him sitting one of these matches out anyways considering the limited recovery days and that we still need to catch up on the Essendon match.  Back in our midfielders and put some more responsibility on their shoulders (just for one week).

 

Why would you risk a further serious injury, play Pruessy. Lets shark to some other ruckman for a change.

We have become an open book for everyone to read in the last 18 months.

Edited August 3, 20205 yr by Win4theAges

I'd just give Jackson a crack at it i reckon

Give Maxy a rest

1 hour ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

Rest him.

I wouldn't be against him sitting one of these matches out anyways considering the limited recovery days and that we still need to catch up on the Essendon match.  Back in our midfielders and put some more responsibility on their shoulders (just for one week).

 

Agreed.

And, as titan added earlier, I think we need to give Preuss a crack.  We got him to the club for this very thing and we know that he can go okay.  O'Brien is no slouch and I think having the bigger body there around the contest would be a positive for us.

Why the fork was Gawn still running around in the closing minutes of Thursday's game? With a short turnaround he should have been in his tracksuit by the 10 minute mark of the last quarter. More coaching masterstrokes from the master coach.

Preuss hasn't been on an injury list for months.  So why wasn't he in the first group to go into a hub?  Poor insurance imv.

We are now without Max, Preuss is only just out of quarantine and had no opportunity to train with the team for about a month.

Either he doesn't replace Max or he comes in underdone. 

2 hours ago, Lord Nev said:

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.

Saw Maxxie resting to full advantage on one knee during the Power game. He looked sore, requiring a short rest with arms on his knee. Looked buggered, actually - so we need to worry. The likelihood of injury for him is ever-present based upon the way we overwork him. 

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Who will our kickouts go to????

I would suggest to fit within our existing systems, we put a big orange flag on one of our talls and always kick it to them. Always.

1 hour ago, Swooper1987 said:

The Adelaide ruck O'Brien isn't a bad player.  He was very competitive against NicNat and Goldstein and moves around the ground pretty well.  He'll take care of Jackson and any other second ruck we want to throw in there.  If Gawn misses and Preuss is available he'd have to play.

The Dees' turn to shark their ruckman. Could be beneficial - if they use Gus as an inside mid on the move to read the tap - and Clarrie to gobble to crumbs. Keep Viney out of the centre at rucking time - Viney runs through the centre well within an existing play, not a clearance from a ruck tap.

We gon lose ?

How can you guys not know what the Lats are? Do you even lift, bruh...? 

Edited August 3, 20205 yr by Ethan Tremblay

If Gawn is out it leaves a tricky decision.

If we're keeping TMac, then Jacko rucks. This is probably my preferred option.

I'm not sold on Preuss at all. He has some useful physical attributes but he's not a smart player and unless something significant has changed since last time we saw him, he doesn't have the tank to run out more than half a game.

I'm ok with any combination as long as it results in two talls in the forward line (not 1 or 3). 

I know some have called for Kozzy to be dropped but personally, I think he's our only genuine small forward and I wish we had two of him. His hard running and pressure work is under-rated.

3 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Who will our kickouts go to????

straight to the opposition - no change 

1 hour ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Preuss hasn't been on an injury list for months.  So why wasn't he in the first group to go into a hub?  Poor insurance imv.

We are now without Max, Preuss is only just out of quarantine and had no opportunity to train with the team for about a month.

Either he doesn't replace Max or he comes in underdone. 

I would say as he not in our plans. and would not be plan B if Gawn misses 

2 hours ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

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

edit -  dd36 beat me to it

Jack Watts also contributed in the period especially in the forward line ruck throw ins or ball ups.

Remember him ? Goody 

He had finishing skills conversion skills!!!

You find want them in players really!!

I’m not sold on Preuss either. As bad as he was last week, this could be the only thing from saving Tmac from being dropped. Although he may be undersized he could give O’Brien a bit of a run around. Giving Tmac a bit of freedom to run around might do him a world of good.

Play Preuss that's what he is on the list for to take Gawn's place if injured big ask for Jackson to ruck on his own at such a young age.

Is that our first soft-tissue issue for the year? Right on the back of a four-day break?

The AFL is putting livelihoods at risk for the sake of cash. 

I'm all for Jacko taking it on with either Tomlinson (if he plays) or Weid/Tmac giving him the chop out.

The players will have to shark O'Brien's taps regardless, and this gives us a more mobile body in the centre

If Preuss has played some scratch match minutes then I'd be bringing him as he played his best MFC game as the sole ruck against Kreuzer  last year.

But I don't think he is in contention.

So in that case Jackson takes first ruck with Tomlinson taking 5 minutes a quarter. Tomlinson took some centre bounces in last year's finals series  and also may have taken a few also at our MCG games we played earlier in the year.

T Mac survives and we revert to a two talls forward line as opposed to the three which didn't work against Brisbane and Port.

Looking forward to a little unpredictability. Soul destroying how Brisbane and Port leveraged off Gawn's ruck work. Simply not acceptable from our midfield and coaching staff.

I'm absolutely in the 'if any doubt, rest Gawn'.  I think it would do him and the midfield good, too. 

Good for him because he could spend a game watching live and thinking through what is going on in a way that isn't possible when just reviewing the tapes - grasping better what is going on and what he needs to tweak.

Good for the midfield because it should help shake off the taint of complacency that is in their game - too often they expect things to go their way from the tap and even the greatest ruckman won't give much better than a 60/40 win rate consistently., let alone a true hitout to advantage.  If it forces the midfield to play more accountably and to be ready with defensive spread, it could be an important moment in out season.

Also... if we lose to Adelaide, with or without Gawn, we're in serious crapbuckets.  North just belted them, with some of their most important players our to injury or dropped for career-worst form.

Rest Gawn if there's the slightest question on him.  If there's still any doubt, feel at peace to lay him over until it is time to face off against Grundy.