1 hour ago, Damo said:

Can someone explain why we cant ask the ruckman to punch it in a certain direction, say towards our goals?

Preuss does not have Gawn's finesse and to say to the midfielders I am going to swipe it left, right or forwards must give us forewarning even if it does not come off without a hitch.  Doggies midfielders will be expecting the ball to land in the circle as a result of a nil-nil ruck contest and a probable scrum.. i know i loved Strawbs and I havent moved on but why not give it a go? serious question.

 

I agree Damo, why not mix those tap outs up a bit, every so often, smash it towards our goals?

2 hours ago, Deeoldfart said:

I love it!  Both teams at near full strength.  Should be a good contest and go some way towards sorting the real contenders from the pretenders.  I think we are the former!

Exactly - if we don't win this then we are a long way off.

If we can’t beat the doggies we don’t deserve finals. 
 

Knowing us we’ll loose this one and beat the saints next week.

Great position to be in. Fit squad and Max to come back. Knock of the Doggies and we are looking good. Backs should contain them and as long as we break even in the middle reckon our forwards will get job done. Go Dees.

Weid has been building to a big performance.  Hes averaging  2 goals but  hasn't kicked more than 3 in a game yet.

Tomorrow feels like the day   - 20 touches, 11 marks 6.3 should be enough, thanks Sam

2 hours ago, Pates said:

I’m not sure if there are many Premier League fans on here but Liverpool lost the first choice keeper who had been one of their best pick ups in years early in the first game of the season just gone. Didn’t have him for about 6-7 matches I think, everyone thought the sky was falling and Liverpool were stuffed. Up stepped Adrian, who’d barely been at the club a week. He stepped in and did a bloody good job in Allison’s absence, Liverpool won the title. 

A lot of teams over the years win premierships off of incredible injury runs but most have to cover for their stars at some point. Preuss could be our Adrian!

Check again.... he made some absolute howlers in that time and was absolute rubbish. Was just lucky he had 3 of the best defenders in the world in front of him...

Would prerfer Gawn in the side but it's great we have stability Preuss will do a great job again.

Tough game. This will give us a fair indication of where we're at.

Don't underestimate English - he's probably travelling better than Grundy.

Go Dees!

3 hours ago, CYB said:

If we can’t beat the doggies we don’t deserve finals. 
 

I hate being a stick in the mud sometimes but whichever teams make the finals probably deserve to be in the finals. Channelling Ethan here, but if we lose an elimination final then we likely don't deserve to be in the finals anymore. 

3 hours ago, adsy said:

Check again.... he made some absolute howlers in that time and was absolute rubbish. Was just lucky he had 3 of the best defenders in the world in front of him...

I’m a Liverpool fan, he wasn’t Allison but he held up decently. As you said he had some of the best defenders in front of him, but he did alright (better than Mignolet and Karius) and better than I expected given his lack of time at the club. 

My point is more than you need players to step in to the team to fill a role. 

9 hours ago, drysdale demon said:

Who cares

Huh? Probably 99% of posters on this site would be interested in how the opposition line up.

Im not suggesting they are unbeatable, in fact, I think we will win, but looking at their ins, it’s worth nothing they are full strength now.

5 hours ago, Cheesy D. Pun said:

Tough game. This will give us a fair indication of where we're at.

Don't underestimate English - he's probably travelling better than Grundy.

Go Dees!

Good call - Champion Data has Grundy 8th best ruckman at present.

As you say Engish can play. I hope Goody gets Preuss right mentally in that it doesn't happen automatically.

This could be a career defining game for Braydon value-wise.

I hope he succeeds - he was fabulous last week and arguably had the most media coverage because of it - exluding Lynch that is.

10 hours ago, Flower Magic said:

Anyone know the Bulldogs' record at Metricon?

In 2020:

• Loss: -52 vs Carl
• Win: +42 vs Ess
• Win:  +5 vs GCS
• Loss:  -41 vs Rich
• Win:  +57 vs Adel

Mixed bag.  Big wins vs the poorer teams with big losses vs the better teams.  Nonetheless, they have played a lot at the ground so should know it better than us.

Someone posted that it will be windy and that won't help them being so used to playing with a closed roof.

12 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Bruce in worries me.. he kicked 4 last year when he played us and ragdolled Omac.. how will Lever go one on one.

That's some handy ins for them. Crozier and Johannison are good inclusions also.

Unfortunately not as confident. 

In general, Lever gets to the contest and spoils with determination - and does look for nearby feeds and / or support. That is an entirely different role play than OMac could ever produce with consistency. With May hitting his straps and a more agile Hibberd this year, I'd reckon the feed clearances and the smalls we now have will clear quite well against the Doggies; they have undoubted talent - but so do we. Further, progression of the ball to the midline and beyond is now vastly improved and scoring options and trends are now far more frequent than last year. Carna Dees! My backline concern is Salem. I'd reckon that his mobility and his tackling/presence at the ball could go up a notch if he is to be a longer-term backman. He needs to play more like Hibberd can but does not have the bulk to penetrate the contests. 

8 hours ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

Weid has been building to a big performance.  Hes averaging  2 goals but  hasn't kicked more than 3 in a game yet.

Tomorrow feels like the day   - 20 touches, 11 marks 6.3 should be enough, thanks Sam

Fritta may be the key. Accuracy is critical, otherwise his efforts can be wasteful. Hope he spent the week mastering set shots from 45 metres to inward; and, snaps from all sides 30 metres inwards. Fritta must lead well; Melk must, as well but his kicking - despite its style - is more reliable by far.

12 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

If Preuss can hold his own against Grundy last week, then I'll back him in to do the same against English.

Bruce doesn't worry me at all, although he has that 'Kent Kinglsey' vibe about him.

Johannisen will give them some dash, so he is the pick of their 'ins'.

Love the fact we made no change and I think, on paper, that we should be knocking them off by 3-4 goals.

I think it will be quite close, under 9 points. We quite often lose close ones against the Doggies - similar style teams, although our mids are stronger IMHO. 

Sorry Max. You’re out of my fantasy team.  Goldstein in. Playing top side this week. 1v3.  Must win clash. 
 

Also delisted Rampe. Brought in Steven May. ??????????

13 hours ago, cantstandyasam said:

Would've liked to see Hannan, Rivers & Smith in and rest Jones, VDB & either Harmes/Sparrow.

It just illustrates our depth. Either way, we could interchange any of those players and not have any detriment. Maybe we might look at a freshen-up change when we tackle St Kilda.

14 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Bruce in worries me.. he kicked 4 last year when he played us and ragdolled Omac.. how will Lever go one on one.

That's some handy ins for them. Crozier and Johannison are good inclusions also.

Unfortunately not as confident. 

Tomlinson will get Bruce. Worth noting AFL article today mentions Tomlinson has only had 2 goals kicked on him in the 3 rounds since going back. 

“The Tomlinson move is paying dividends, and he’s conceded only 2 goals  to a combination of Darcy Cameron, Brody Mihocek, Josh Walker, Cameron Zuurhar, Tom Lynch and Elliot Himmelberg.” Source article below

https://www.afl.com.au/news/488070/brayshaw-s-back-angus-beefs-up-midfield-time-to-find-2018-form

Lever to play third up to blunt the leaps of both Bruce and Naughton. 

 

3 hours ago, Forest Demon said:

Huh? Probably 99% of posters on this site would be interested in how the opposition line up.

Im not suggesting they are unbeatable, in fact, I think we will win, but looking at their ins, it’s worth nothing they are full strength now.

To be regarded as a top side the MFC need to play and beat other sides at their full strength on a consistent basis and until they do this they will not be in contention to win a flag. Personally I take no notice of the ins and outs of other teams

44 minutes ago, big_red_fire_engine said:

Tomlinson will get Bruce. Worth noting AFL article today mentions Tomlinson has only had 2 goals kicked on him in the 3 rounds since going back. 

“The Tomlinson move is paying dividends, and he’s conceded only 2 goals  to a combination of Darcy Cameron, Brody Mihocek, Josh Walker, Cameron Zuurhar, Tom Lynch and Elliot Himmelberg.” Source article below

https://www.afl.com.au/news/488070/brayshaw-s-back-angus-beefs-up-midfield-time-to-find-2018-form

Lever to play third up to blunt the leaps of both Bruce and Naughton. 

 

Well there you go. Well done to Tommo.

Edited August 22, 20204 yr by dazzledavey36