We need to find another look in the midfield. Viney has to go, but we need someone with classy skills and tackling. I’ve said Salem, but been screamed down for it.. Maybe it is Rivers.

I like Bowey in to play back, would like to see Brown come in to create a focal point. Maybe even Deakyn Smith or Lockhart for Hibbo, who looks devoid of any confidence.  
 

Only area I have no concerns about is the wings. 

6 minutes ago, SPC said:

We need to find another look in the midfield. Viney has to go, but we need someone with classy skills and tackling. I’ve said Salem, but been screamed down for it.. Maybe it is Rivers.

I like Bowey in to play back, would like to see Brown come in to create a focal point. Maybe even Deakyn Smith or Lockhart for Hibbo, who looks devoid of any confidence.  
 

Only area I have no concerns about is the wings. 

Hibbo kept Toby to 7 possies and 3 goals, 2 of which were umpire gifts and the other one was froma smother and then good handball from a team mate, which was unstoppable.

Yes Hibbo didn't get much of it, but I am sure all his concentration was on stopping Toby.

Edited July 4, 20213 yr by Redleg

It looks like the selectors had made their mind up before the Casey game as to who would come in for Thursday.  If that is the case it is ridiculous. Looks like BBB will come in. Based on what ? We need a forward which will help TMAC and Fritch and I would prefer the weed to BBB as he is more versatile even though he peezed me off against the filth. Pickett is young so you won't get consistant performances out of him and he looks baked. To bring Melk in for him is a waste of time. Why not bring Lockhart in and play Hunt down forward more. Something is worth a try coz our forward line is shizenhausen.

4 hours ago, Wrecker46 said:

It might be time to play Petty forward again. He's been good there in the past and he is playing much better footy than Weid or BBB.

We are screaming for a key forward and he could be the best option.

Majak could play Petty's current role.

This should be tried.

We need to make a few changes given the 5 day turnaround. We lost games last year on short breaks and imo Goodwin made the mistake of not injecting enough fresh legs.

I would like to see Hunt play forward and Bowey debut with Spargo out. The kid is classy. Hunt is a different option to Spargo in that he is more a lead mark forward. I think this is something we lack as our small forwards are all ineffective in the air.

Bringing in Brown only makes sense if we are more direct with our ball movement. It also means Gawn needs to play 15% less game time. These are bigger changes than most fans realise and would require a big adjustment. I think an in form Weideman is a better fit given the way we play and how Fritsch is used.

Petracca should be spending more time forward. 

53 minutes ago, layzie said:

Take away the stigma of Brown for a sec. we need somebody in our 50 to:

a) Provide a target inside 50

b) Make a contest and bring it to ground

c) Take a good defender. 
 

When T-Mac gets up the ground and takes a good contested mark we are a tall short up forward and we just need that foil. Ok so it doesn’t need to be bombing in constantly but we seemed to like that option yesterday and may need it as a last resort occasionally. 

If people are happy with our current forward setup then fine, but our small forwards aren’t giving much in terms of goals right now and we need other ways to get a look at goal.

 

I don't mind bringing Ben Brown in, but FCS can posters drop the myth that he is a contested forward who brings the ball to ground. He lacks strength in the contest and is easily moved off the ball.

What he does give you is a lead up target who is very hard to counter with his long reach when the ball is coming in at eye height.

Could see moments yesterday when Tmac lead very hard up the ground and opened several leading channels inside forward 50. Recall watching and thinking to myself I think Ben Brown thrive in that set up. 

But teams will also counter it by failing to follow Tmac up the ground 

Bowey must be very close to a debut. Very consistent at Casey and looks to have football brain and decent skills. I’m not sure who he replaces but the mix needs a change.

12 minutes ago, Pennant St Dee said:

I don't mind bringing Ben Brown in, but FCS can posters drop the myth that he is a contested forward who brings the ball to ground. He lacks strength in the contest and is easily moved off the ball.

What he does give you is a lead up target who is very hard to counter with his long reach when the ball is coming in at eye height.

Could see moments yesterday when Tmac lead very hard up the ground and opened several leading channels inside forward 50. Recall watching and thinking to myself I think Ben Brown thrive in that set up. 

But teams will also counter it by failing to follow Tmac up the ground 

Well said Pennant St Dee. Brown making those runs would open the 50 up, wasn’t strongly suggesting that he could help us get it to the deck as I don’t believe that is his strength either but 200cm 100kg he’d have to give us a little in that area wouldn’t he? Felt like we couldn’t get anything at all yesterday in terms of repeat I50 stoppages and it was back to the days of the ball pinging out of our 50. 

1 hour ago, Redleg said:

Hibbo kept Toby to 7 possies and 3 goals, 2 of which were umpire gifts and the other one was froma smother and then good handball from a team mate, which was unstoppable.

Yes Hibbo didn't get much of it, but I am sure all his concentration was on stopping Toby.

My thoughts were over the last couple of weeks. I feel he has lost touch and a bit of pace. Might be wrong, but he concerns me a heap down back 

1 hour ago, dl4e said:

It looks like the selectors had made their mind up before the Casey game as to who would come in for Thursday.  If that is the case it is ridiculous. Looks like BBB will come in. Based on what ? We need a forward which will help TMAC and Fritch and I would prefer the weed to BBB as he is more versatile even though he peezed me off against the filth. ...

If they wanted the "in" to be fresh for Thursday then yes, they had to make up their minds below the game so they knew who would only play a half. How is that ridiculous?

For mine the Weed plays a similar role to TMac, roaming around the ground, so BBB is probably the right alternative foil.

I thought we played ok in a torrid contest yesterday. Was there a better match this weekend? We were beaten by a side that I dont think can play at that level consistently. We mainly do play at that level and its just cr@p some of the criticism.

 I do think Viney stifled the outlet by being too close for Oliver and Harmes when they were around ballups. If he doesnt get it he must make an option. Its not team play otherwise and there isnt another spot he can master. I think although he has had some bad games there, Harmes needs to ply his trade on the wing and let Angus come into the middle. Harmes is playing much better lately and it hasnt been tried this year because of past failures. I also think Angus will give us much more by being around stoppages. Bring the spy in from the cold. We need to let Spargs, Jordon or Nibbler to rest for a few weeks and bring in Brown. Kozzi should get a couple of weeks more to see if he can work with new forward line. We are playing very well if not at the top of our game and these tweaks should be enough. Lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

IN: Brown
OUT: Sparrow

Viney to play as a small fwd, Jordon to the wing, Brayshaw as the 3rd mid - Gus won't get sucked into to the contest 

17 hours ago, bobby1554 said:

So counter the argument. Tell me why my analysis is wrong. Don’t just flip in a meaningless one liner. We have gone backwards over the past month.

I dare say we have been doing another pre season mid year which is not unusual for teams preparing for finals.

3 hours ago, dl4e said:

It looks like the selectors had made their mind up before the Casey game as to who would come in for Thursday.  If that is the case it is ridiculous. Looks like BBB will come in. Based on what ? We need a forward which will help TMAC and Fritch and I would prefer the weed to BBB as he is more versatile even though he peezed me off against the filth. 

Tmac and Fritsch combined for 16 goals when Brown was in the team, with Brown also contributing 5 of his own. Sounds pretty helpful to me. He draws the number one defender, and will capitalise if given any space. 

 

I wouldn’t read too much into the number of guys who had managed minutes at Casey last night. We have a 5 day turnaround. We have to keep at least 3 guys fresh to allow for mid week injuries, structural changes as well as the sub. 

1 hour ago, Demons11 said:

I dare say we have been doing another pre season mid year which is not unusual for teams preparing for finals.

Goodwin was asked this very question in his press conference during the week, and said we are not. His very words “we are not going to start getting too cute”. No, of the top 6 teams, our form in the last month has been the worst by far. Fitness shouldn’t be one of the reasons. We are putting our best 22 (bar Tomlinson) on the park. And getting beaten by bottom half clubs. At least the 2018 team won a couple of finals, this one won’t.

13 minutes ago, bobby1554 said:

Goodwin was asked this very question in his press conference during the week, and said we are not. His very words “we are not going to start getting too cute”.

That's not really what he said though. He didn't say we haven't/wouldn't do that, he just said we wouldn't get too cute about managing players or about tinkering with the way we play. He didn't give a definitive answer about the training. It's not like he's going to say 'yeah. we're writing off a few games so we can get some extra training in'.

 

Edited July 4, 20213 yr by Lord Nev

Reckon it will be something like this.

Out: Sparrow, one of Spargo/ANB/Kozzie/Dogga

In: BBB and Melky.

I agree we are unlikely to make too many unforced changes, but after a 5 day break we may rest some. It could be Dogga but then who rucks? 

Would like to see Bowey but don't think hunt deserves to be dropped after one poor game.

9 minutes ago, Lord Nev said:

That's not really what he said though. He didn't say we haven't/wouldn't do that, he just said we wouldn't get too cute about managing players or about tinkering with the way we play. He didn't give a definitive answer about the training. It's not like he's going to say 'yeah. we're writing off a few games so we can get some extra training in'.

 

So are you saying that the club is prepared to drop a few games, just because they are too tired because of the extra training? If so, that is just plain dumb. And cost themselves any chance of a top 4 finish? Personally I have never really understood this concept of a “mini pre season”, I think it is more likely something supporters who can’t handle the cold hard truth make up. And don’t we have the greatest fitness bloke in the world?

2 minutes ago, bobby1554 said:

So are you saying that the club is prepared to drop a few games, just because they are too tired because of the extra training? If so, that is just plain dumb. And cost themselves any chance of a top 4 finish? Personally I have never really understood this concept of a “mini pre season”, I think it is more likely something supporters who can’t handle the cold hard truth make up. And don’t we have the greatest fitness bloke in the world?

I don't think 'dropping a few games' would ever be part of a plan, but Ross Lyon was apparently saying he thought we were doing some training tapering that resulted in us looking a bit flat the last few games.

It's common for players to miss with 'general soreness' these days, particularly in the lead up to finals, so I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that a club under Burgess is doing something like an extra block of training, he's pretty famously not conservative in his approach.

I'm in agreement with you that our form has been poor, I'm particularly bothered by how slow we've become offensively and how we seem to have cut Langdon out a fair bit by going slow along the opposite boundary so often, I'm just not discounting the possibility that we have been doing the extra training.

7 hours ago, Mono said:

Sad to say, but he played like it. Looked out of place. 

Coz hes just a Rugby Player FCS

On 7/3/2021 at 6:17 PM, picket fence said:

Bowey is better than Spargo and I reckon is better than Kossy at present! Lovely ball user keeps his feet , knows where to run and is Caleb Daniels like with tenacity! Unfortunately though he is playing down back at Casey!

I keep saying to myself: '...why don't we pick up a Caleb Daniels ... there's lotsa blokes playing footy who are not built like Adonis, who play hot footy that astounds other players...', so maybe you have just hit the nail on the head in mentioning Bowey. I saw him interviewed and he seems a smart young man, very 'learnable' and keen to do realistically well. Worth a try, particularly if he is a good ball handler, disposer, ground action man and is aware of what must be done,

Why in god's earth should sparrow get dropped at least he can kick goals but not the rugby player who runs around like a headless chook and adds nothing ffs.

Have loved our luck this season with opposition teams seemingly to always get players up and back from injuries against the dees. Buddy Franklin, Lachie Neal and now Port likely with Butters and Hartlet

3 hours ago, SPC said:

My thoughts were over the last couple of weeks. I feel he has lost touch and a bit of pace. Might be wrong, but he concerns me a heap down back 

I too thought that Hibbing has  been out of sorts but looking at replays he has done a great job despite Green’s goals. 

1 hour ago, Skuit said:

Tmac and Fritsch combined for 16 goals when Brown was in the team, with Brown also contributing 5 of his own. Sounds pretty helpful to me. He draws the number one defender, and will capitalise if given any space. 

 

PS. Just saying, Weed was in those teams too.  
Association does not equate to causation. 

8 minutes ago, olisik said:

Have loved our luck this season with opposition teams seemingly to always get players up and back from injuries against the dees. Buddy Franklin, Lachie Neal and now Port likely with Butters and Hartlet

We can only try to beat the team that we face. 
(Remember that the [censored] cats didn’t have Dangerfield and Cameron when we beat them.)