CHANGES: Rd 04 vs Port Adelaide

[dazzledavey36 55,000]

5 minutes ago, David-Demon said:

You make a lot of sense but frankly I cannot see T Mac being dropped.

Why

[JimmyGadson 3,455]

On 4/5/2022 at 9:40 AM, Action Jackson said:

It will be interesting to see how Weideman would go with Brown back and TMac out.

He seemed to be playing more the deep forward role, which is what Brown usually plays more of.

Not sure he will have the running power of TMac, so not sure how they will use him.

I really want Weid to succeed, especially given the amount we gave for him. Just think he is a watch still.

Well it'd be almost certain that he couldn't do any worse than Tom has been doing. 

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,816]

William Shakespeare is giving his selection advice. He tweeted just now:

Not looking good for Tom McDonald.

Edited April 6, 2022 by La Dee-vina Comedia

[binman 43,135]

1 hour ago, Vipercrunch said:

Just because Lever is coming in, doesn't mean we have to omit a known defender.  I would have thought the obvious thing to do would be to bring Lever in and move Brayshaw back to the wing.

This brings us back to our normal 7 defenders in the team (May, Lever, Smith, Bowey, Hunt, Tomlinson and Rivers).

My suspicion is that when fit and ready, Petty will replace Tomlinson and Salem will push out Hunt, and that will then be our coaches best 7 defenders in the team (no Hibbo, Hunt or Tomlinson).

With Brayshaw returning to the wing, I think the decision then becomes who out of Jordan and Sparrow is the medical sub.

As far as the forwards go, when Brown returns (not 100% they play him after missing a week of training), I think they'll have a good look (3-4 weeks at least) of how things gel with BBB and Weeds as the KPF while TMac bides his time at Casey.

Really good calls.

I think that is exactly what will happen, with the possible exception of Tmac staying in and Weed going out. 

I was of the mind that Tmac would stay in but i think you make good point about giving Weed a crack at it now.

BB being a late out gave Weed an unexpected shot at playing and his excellent performance, combined with the need for BB to come back in, has given Goody a good opportunity to be true to his stick with a winning team philosophy AND give Weed his shot and the Weed BB combo a trial.

And as you rightly point out we can afford to give that set up a solid trial over 3 to 4 weeks. 

Funnily enough, it is a mirror of the last years back and forth about the forward line set up - with the difference being Tmac is the one at risk of being dropped, not BB or Weed (well that's not exactly true - it still could be Weed). 

And like last year, i don't think Goody minds that at all at this point in the season as it gives them something to work on and they can land on the final set up in the back third of the season. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by binman

[hemingway 7,628]

16 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Why

Team balance and game plan. We have more flexibility with TMac and Ben Brown. TMac’s height, tank, and experience forward and back make him valuable. 

Looking at the last game only you would select Weed over Tmac. Like most traditional forwards, Weed is a confidence player and requires a string of games. I like him. But despite TMacs form or lack of it, his inclusion is better for team balance. Having all three in the team throws that out of whack. 

[Ted Lasso 19,521]

Tommlinson, Smith, out: 

Brown, Lever in

Weideman and Brown forward 

McDonald and Lever slot in down back 

 

[JimmyGadson 3,455]

On 4/5/2022 at 10:14 AM, Sydee said:

I'm not trying to be a Joel Smith defender here but pretty much every player in our team will make some mistakes in every game - such is the nature of the sport. 

No one is arguing that players don't make mistakes, that's a given at AFL level. We all know that. 

There's a difference between making a mistake like missing a target going inside 50 and dropping a mark or completely missing a spoil in d50 which results directly in a goal. 

As AF says, Joel made significant and costly errors against Essendon that directly resulted in goals. Go and watch the replay if you didn't notice. 

Does it mean his positive attributes and good play are then ignored? Obviously not. 

But Jake Lever is waiting on the wings and someone needs to come out for him and I'd say that Joel Smith is the like for like player. Tomlinson didn't exactly set the world alight either but I think the FD would prefer to go with two big bodied one on one players to allow Lever to do what he does best and peel off a small to intercept. 

Smith reminds me of Frost in many ways. The defensive brain fades are too much for me and the goals he leaks are too many imo. He obviously has some positive and impressive traits as a player. But I prefer footballers over athletes. 

Lever for Smith and I reckon Brown will be given another week so no change in the forwards as much that it pains me to see McDonald play again. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by JimmyGadson

[chook fowler 19,459]

i thought Smith was pretty good. He gave up one goal but apart from that was solid - marked well and attacked the ball and provided attack and carry. would be stiff to miss.

[dazzledavey36 55,000]

12 minutes ago, hemingway said:

Team balance and game plan. We have more flexibility with TMac and Ben Brown. TMac’s height, tank, and experience forward and back make him valuable. 

Looking at the last game only you would select Weed over Tmac. Like most traditional forwards, Weed is a confidence player and requires a string of games. I like him. But despite TMacs form or lack of it, his inclusion is better for team balance. Having all three in the team throws that out of whack. 

Can't say I agree.

Tmac up forward hasn't fired a shot since before last year's finals series. He's not living up to his worth as a forward and his game will be judged on that alone and not whether he can go back. 

Let's not forget that Tmac was in this exact same position back in 2020 and the coaching staff did not have any issues in dropping him.

He'll play this week which annoys me but only because Brown will be a little underdone.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,816]

1 minute ago, chook fowler said:

i thought Smith was pretty good. He gave up one goal but apart from that was solid - marked well and attacked the ball and provided attack and carry. would be stiff to miss.

If you watch the mini-match on the AFL website, I think you'll conclude that he gave up three goals. Two from dropped marks and one when Wanganeen pushed him out of the marking contest. Having said that, though, I would persist with him. As I've said previously, Lever should come in for Brayshaw who should go back to the wing, forcing one of Jordon or Sparrow into the sub's spot.  

[JimmyGadson 3,455]

3 minutes ago, chook fowler said:

i thought Smith was pretty good. He gave up one goal but apart from that was solid - marked well and attacked the ball and provided attack and carry. would be stiff to miss.

Gave up more than one goal. 

[dazzledavey36 55,000]

1 minute ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

If you watch the mini-match on the AFL website, I think you'll conclude that he gave up three goals. Two from dropped marks and one when Wanganeen pushed him out of the marking contest. Having said that, though, I would persist with him. As I've said previously, Lever should come in for Brayshaw who should go back to the wing, forcing one of Jordon or Sparrow into the sub's spot.  

Both Jordon and Sparrow are playing their role perfectly. 

They won't be subs.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,816]

14 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Both Jordon and Sparrow are playing their role perfectly. 

They won't be subs.

It's a nice problem to have, though, isn't it? I agree that Jordon deserves his spot. I'm less certain about Sparrow, but that's partly because it is sometimes hard to appreciate what the roles of our so-called "role players" are and therefore whether they are executing them well.

[hemingway 7,628]

20 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Can't say I agree.

Tmac up forward hasn't fired a shot since before last year's finals series. He's not living up to his worth as a forward and his game will be judged on that alone and not whether he can go back. 

Let's not forget that Tmac was in this exact same position back in 2020 and the coaching staff did not have any issues in dropping him.

He'll play this week which annoys me but only because Brown will be a little underdone.

Understand where you are coming from Dazzle. I guess we should be happy that the coaches/selectors have these options. 

[Demon3 2,541]

Interesting that Robbie Gray wont be available for selection coming off H&S protocols.. Ill be really interested to see what they do with BB. Could 2 weeks off for him be a good thing , but will it halter his momentum, yet playing the same day you get out and having to fly is a bit of a concern.

Great dilemma to have.

[Sydee 4,450]

4 minutes ago, JimmyGadson said:

No one is arguing that players don't make mistakes, that's a given at AFL level. We all know that. 

There's a difference between making a mistake like missing a target going inside 50 and dropping a mark or completely missing a spoil in d50 which results directly in a goal. 

As AF says, Joel made significant and costly errors against Essendon that directly resulted in goals. Go and watch the replay if you didn't notice. 

Does it mean his positive attributes and good play are then ignored? Obviously not. 

But Jake Lever is waiting on the wings and someone needs to come out for him and I'd say that Joel Smith is the like for like player. Tomlinson didn't exactly set the world alight either but I think the FD would prefer to go with two big bodied one on one players to allow Lever to do what he does best and peel off a small to intercept. 

Smith reminds me of Frost in many ways. The defensive brain fades are too much for me and the goals he leaks are too many imo. He obviously has some positive and impressive traits as a player. But I prefer footballers over athletes. 

Lever for Smith and I reckon Brown will be given another week so no change in the forwards. 

I appreciate you have a different view which is fine but I don't need to watch the replay again thanks I saw what happened the first time. We must have differing performance standards for different players 

Smith did make a poor attempt at a mark I think in the first quarter which ultimately resulted in a goal on the opposite side of the ground. A worse howler came from Jackson who dropped an absolute sitter uncontested 15 metres out which led to an easy goal - I'm not hearing anyone suggesting he gets dropped or suggesting he made a costly error  

Smiths one other "mistake" was when he was pushed under the ball by Wanganeen who ran in for a goal - that is a legitimate concern which I hope he will learn from - it was clever by Wanganeen and something that good forwards get away with every week if they know how to disguise it 

The only player in our back six that put in a complete stinker was May - again there is zero commentary on him be dropped but if it was purely a question of missing spoils or giving your opponent 10 metres head start on the lead he'd be GONE this week. I love Steven May and think he is our best full back in a very long time but his most recent performance is one he himself would admit was well below the standard required

Again I'm not wanting to be seen to be jumping to Joel's defence - if he plays poorly he doesn't deserve to retain his spot in the 22. I just think some of us are a little quick to overlook his positive contribution sometimes

 

[Willmoy1947 4,099]

29 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Both Jordon and Sparrow are playing their role perfectly. 

They won't be subs.

Agree, they are both doing a lot of the bullocking work.

[David-Demon 567]

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Why

Because their are other players ahead of him and as I said previously on this thread it is all about Team balance these days with changes while we are winning kept to a minimum. T Mac can be utilised in other areas of the ground in a productive manner. Watch this space @ Team selection 

[loges 6,767]

1 hour ago, JimmyGadson said:

Well it'd be almost certain that he couldn't do any worse than Tom has been doing. 

Played well last game, deserves his chance, Can he play worse than Tom has been, yes he can.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

1 hour ago, chook fowler said:

i thought Smith was pretty good. He gave up one goal but apart from that was solid - marked well and attacked the ball and provided attack and carry. would be stiff to miss.

Smith has barely put a foot wrong since coming back, he’s looked better than Tomlinson.

[Adam The God 30,283]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:30 AM, deelusions from afar said:

Each to their own... but I'm fairly sure that once Lever and Petty are back, Smith will still be in the team (unless he gets injured).  Though you might not be a fan, clearly the coaches are.  If not for his injury in the finals he would have stayed in the side for the grand final ahead of Hibbo.  His form has been better so far this year.  So it might be something you have to get your head around.  As others have said, every player makes mistakes... the defender's ones are often more memorable as they are close to the opposition goals.  

Smith offers us flexibility and he has improved his positioning, but there's a question mark over his positioning and disposal/decision making for me.

The coaches are a fan, we all have our own views.

Edited April 6, 2022 by A F

[DubDee 25,917]

2 hours ago, Vipercrunch said:

Just because Lever is coming in, doesn't mean we have to omit a known defender.  I would have thought the obvious thing to do would be to bring Lever in and move Brayshaw back to the wing.

This brings us back to our normal 7 defenders in the team (May, Lever, Smith, Bowey, Hunt, Tomlinson and Rivers).

My suspicion is that when fit and ready, Petty will replace Tomlinson and Salem will push out Hunt, and that will then be our coaches best 7 defenders in the team (no Hibbo, Hunt or Tomlinson).

With Brayshaw returning to the wing, I think the decision then becomes who out of Jordan and Sparrow is the medical sub.

As far as the forwards go, when Brown returns (not 100% they play him after missing a week of training), I think they'll have a good look (3-4 weeks at least) of how things gel with BBB and Weeds as the KPF while TMac bides his time at Casey.

Good points but with Port's fwd line being smallish and no Dixon, I reckon May, Tommo, Lever and Smith is too tall

[one_demon 826]

An underdone Ben Brown is still our best forward.

[DubDee 25,917]

48 minutes ago, Demon3 said:

Interesting that Robbie Gray wont be available for selection coming off H&S protocols.. Ill be really interested to see what they do with BB. Could 2 weeks off for him be a good thing , but will it halter his momentum, yet playing the same day you get out and having to fly is a bit of a concern.

Great dilemma to have.

AFL.com said Gray should be available by tomorrow.  can he confirmed out?

[one_demon 826]

I wonder if Goodwin won't pick Brown which gives him an opportunity to see if Weideman can back up last week's good game before he considers dropping McDonald.