10 hours ago, Cassiew said:

Yeah but in most of those games he wasn’t a standout. We never won a game without Dietrich, doesn’t mean he was the best player in the team

It's a well known fact that Tigers are not the same team without Dusty  Look at the 2018 Prelim vs Pies he played injured 

I presume you mean Carl Ditterich no one  can dispute we were a poor side when he played and Also coached us

Really had no relevance on the Tigers situation  They are much  poorer a team without Dusty who is entitled to an off year snd injury after all he has gone for them. 

2 hours ago, 58er said:

It's a well known fact that Tigers are not the same team without Dusty  Look at the 2018 Prelim vs Pies he played injured 

I presume you mean Carl Ditterich no one  can dispute we were a poor side when he played and Also coached us

Really had no relevance on the Tigers situation  They are much  poorer a team without Dusty who is entitled to an off year snd injury after all he has gone for them. 

No actually it is.

Dusty has not been impressive when he has been playing. They have actually been better as they don’t look around for and rely on him now. They actually played better against teams without him. He was rubbish in the team without us. They can win without him and they proved it.

Bring that he wasn’t his best in most games I don’t think they lost too much. They lost several by large scores. Unlikely one man could have changed that

Besides he won’t be there forever. They’re learning to win without him 

Edited January 26, 20224 yr by Cassiew

5 hours ago, Cassiew said:

No actually it is.

Dusty has not been impressive when he has been playing. They have actually been better as they don’t look around for and rely on him now. They actually played better against teams without him. He was rubbish in the team without us. They can win without him and they proved it.

Bring that he wasn’t his best in most games I don’t think they lost too much. They lost several by large scores. Unlikely one man could have changed that

Besides he won’t be there forever. They’re learning to win without him 

But when Dusty played well in 2021 they win. 

 >= 25 disposals 5W - 0L

< 25 disposals 0W - 8L

Injured during game 1W - 1L (interesting that he was on track for >25 disposals in the win and had 16 when injured, but was shutdown against us).

Did not play 2W - 6L

My conclusion is Richmond are useless without Dusty or when he doesn’t play well.  But who know if he is a symptom or a cause of their poor form.

55 minutes ago, Watson11 said:

But when Dusty played well in 2021 they win. 

 >= 25 disposals 5W - 0L

< 25 disposals 0W - 8L

Injured during game 1W - 1L (interesting that he was on track for >25 disposals in the win and had 16 when injured, but was shutdown against us).

Did not play 2W - 6L

My conclusion is Richmond are useless without Dusty or when he doesn’t play well.  But who know if he is a symptom or a cause of their poor form.

But how did they play WITH Dusty this year. Pretty ordinary. He was well below his peak before he was injured. His goal kicking was lower. Just look at how they were beating us our game. NONE of that was due to Dusty, he did virtually nothing all night even before he was injured.

My conclusion is Dusty is only going to get older and sower now. He’ll be to Richmond what Franklin is to Sydney now. It’s my opinion they should stop relying on Dusty or they’re headed for a massive rebuild  

On 1/24/2022 at 7:33 AM, John Demonic said:

The topic I replied to was who from the bottom half of the ladder could pop up and displace any of the others. I should imagine we have any of them easily covered for the next 2 years at least!

As for the "Danger game", well I thought leading into the Crows game in r10 that it was, it doesn't mean we don't have them covered on every line. It's just that the rare upset can occur from time to time. If Carlton get their [censored] together, they have the spine that could potentially have a fluke day where everything goes right for them. McKay kicks 6-8 etc. 

We know a thing or two about finals upsets against Carlton going back to the 90s.

No-one (going back to the Carlscum teams of the 90s) is playing footy anymore. Footy history is littered with episodic teams that surprised, suddenly, in a game or two to pull off a surprising dominance to win with - and displaying -  unexpected 'no-form' characteristics. By golly, the Mighty Dees did that a few times, too, across decades (as we all know) but against the Carlscum froth and bubble this week, there just ain't going to be any problem; the Dees will anihilate them. We have spirit, we have composure, we have better players and teamwork, we have earned attitude that will last; we also have Yze to call the shots and mesmerise with stunning effect - no matter who we play against. I actually agree with you, JD; we have the 'greasers' covered.

 

I do wonder if our strategy of playing near full strength teams in scratch matches is a good idea.

I get that the players are on a high and want to ride that high to wherever it takes them. But do we really need key (and aging) players like Hibbo, May, Gawn, Tomald and BBB putting themselves through the wringer in an 88 point pantsing of North out at Casey? We shouldn't become complacent but I don't see the benefit in that selection strategy for games that mean jack.

Edited March 2, 20224 yr by Colin B. Flaubert

18 minutes ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

I do wonder if our strategy of playing near full strength teams in scratch matches is a good idea.

I get that the players are on a high and want to ride that high to wherever it takes them. But do we really need key (and aging) players like Hibbo, May, Gawn, Tomald and BBB putting themselves through the wringer in an 88 point pantsing of North out at Casey? We shouldn't become complacent but I don't see the benefit in that selection strategy for games that mean jack.

Let me say one word we're all familiar with.

Connection

Let me add another.

Cohesion

1 hour ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

I do wonder if our strategy of playing near full strength teams in scratch matches is a good idea.

I get that the players are on a high and want to ride that high to wherever it takes them. But do we really need key (and aging) players like Hibbo, May, Gawn, Tomald and BBB putting themselves through the wringer in an 88 point pantsing of North out at Casey? We shouldn't become complacent but I don't see the benefit in that selection strategy for games that mean jack.

Our entire fitness strategy the last two years has been around resilience. Doing every session. Training through and playing through niggles. It worked last year and we aren’t changing course now. 
Nobody playing tomorrow is not 100% or they wouldn’t be playing (see May, Salem etc). But coming off the first shortened pre season all of these players have ever experienced, we need to gain touch and fitness. Footy is a risk. If anyone is hurt they’ll take them off immediately I’m sure. But we need to get some game form back and work out any kinks in the chain before the real deal starts. 
Most teams are playing best available this week for a reason. It’s the final dress rehearsal with the curtains go up on 2022. 

42 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

Our entire fitness strategy the last two years has been around resilience. Doing every session. Training through and playing through niggles. It worked last year and we aren’t changing course now. 
Nobody playing tomorrow is not 100% or they wouldn’t be playing (see May, Salem etc). But coming off the first shortened pre season all of these players have ever experienced, we need to gain touch and fitness. Footy is a risk. If anyone is hurt they’ll take them off immediately I’m sure. But we need to get some game form back and work out any kinks in the chain before the real deal starts. 
Most teams are playing best available this week for a reason. It’s the final dress rehearsal with the curtains go up on 2022. 

Spot on.  I'd go further and say that it's not just our fitness strategy, but our whole game style that demands players train a near match intensity, so preseason is no different - as the old saying goes train like you play so you play like you train.

The days of playing half strength teams in practice matches are long gone.  The only team I can think of that sucessfully won a premiumership by mollycoddling a significantly aging list through to a premiership was Geelong back in 2011.  They've tried to run a similar strategy every year since and look where it hasn't got them.