59 minutes ago, Waltham33 said:

Totally agree. They have lacked a chf option since TMac went out. You need a chf to win big games on the MCG. 

Yep.  And who was standing a chf at the start of the last quarter? Brayshaw.  (Gawn in the square and BB on the pine)

Out- Hunted

In - Hunters

We are the reigning premiers, biggest change required is attitude and mindset. 

With Petracca's hair line fracture they're going to need to throw him forward IMO. He can play Melksham's role which just means we need some cover in the midfield. 

IN: Dunstan, Bedford*

OUT: Melksham, Harmes*

*Only if suspended.

FB: Lever, May, Hibberd

HB: Rivers, Petty, Salem

C: Harmes*, Brayshaw, Langdon

HF: Neal-Bullen, B. Brown, Spargo

FF: Fritsch, Petracca, Pickett

FOLL: Gawn, Viney, Oliver

INT: Dunstan, Hunt, Jackson, Sparrow

SUB: Bowey

EMERG: Bedford*, J. Smith, Weideman 

I just dont get the Gawn forward thing.  He's a ruckman, one of the best in the game.  He isn't, never was, and never will be, a viable forward.  He is a ruckman, and kicks like one.

Why not try JVR?  Really, why not?

 

2 hours ago, IRW said:

Yeah post game frustration on my part 

200cm 100 kg and competes like a rag doll ,albeit one who can kick straight. But the only alternative if TMac isn't ready is Weideman and that's just crazy

The forward line needs better balance.  One genuine tall just doesn't cut it at this level, especially if your smalls go missing.

T-Mac in if he's pulled up from his match against the Swans without any issues for Melk.

If Macca aint ready i would roll the die on JVR.  He's in VG form & ready to go and couldn't do any worse than Melk last night.

Regardless of whether it's Macca or JVR...

BBB needs to play a high role more often if we're to win.  Did so on a few occasions in the 2nd half and we looked alot better but robbing Peter to pay Paul as there's then no tall genuine forward option on offer.

Same balance issue in the middle.  Too many dour plodders.  I'd be getting Bedford in for ANB.  Sharing a mid/HF role with Kozzy.  Why Goody did not move Kozzy in to the middle when he was clearly getting beaten by his opponent all night, even for 10 minutes, is beyond me.  Kozzy's willingness to run / chase down last night was also missing.  That's a mindset issue for the youngster but unacceptable at this level, let alone a final.

One of the key strengths / weakness differentials last night was the Swan's pressure and hustle inside 50 vs ours.  There's no way you're winning a final against a top four opponent with such a stark difference between the two teams inside 50.  In fact i doubt we'd beat many top 8 teams bringing that unless they were also relatively poor here.

If you want one major/key reason (and no it isn't solely this but it's pretty bloody significant) as to why we're slightly off this season vs 2021 ...this is it.  If we can't / don't bring the heat in this area from here we'll be out in straight sets.  Clarry (not a designated forward) and Fritta about the only two that were bringing decent heat here last night.

Bowey a must in for Salem as stated earlier.

Edited September 3, 20222 yr by Demon Dynasty

13 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

 

Do all teams use the marking bag in the pre-match?   I didn't see the Fritsch incident but at one stage Melk slipped coming off the bag and landed awkwardly.  Looked a little proppy as he got up.

13 minutes ago, Demon Dynasty said:

The forward line needs better balance.  One genuine tall just doesn't cut it at this level, especially if your smalls go missing.

T-Mac in if he's pulled up from his match against the Swans without any issues for Melk.

If Macca aint ready i would roll the die on JVR.  He's in VG form & ready to go and couldn't do any worse than Melk last night.

Regardless of whether it's Macca or JVR...

BBB needs to play a high role more often if we're to win.  Did so on a few occasions in the 2nd half and we looked alot better but robbing Peter to pay Paul as there's then no tall genuine forward option on offer.

Same balance issue in the middle.  Too many dour plodders.  I'd be getting Bedford in for ANB.  Sharing a mid/HF role with Kozzy.  Why Goody did not move Kozzy in to the middle when he was clearly getting beaten by his opponent all night, even for 10 minutes, is beyond me.  Kozzy's willingness to run / chase down last night was also missing.  That's a mindset issue for the youngster but unacceptable at this level, let alone a final.

One of the key strengths / weakness differentials last night was the Swan's pressure and hustle inside 50 vs ours.  There's no way you're winning a final against a top four opponent with such a stark difference between the two teams inside 50.  In fact i doubt we'd beat many top 8 teams bringing that unless they were also relatively poor here.

If you want one major/key reason (and no it isn't solely this but it's pretty bloody significant) as to why we're slightly off this season vs 2021 ...this is it.  If we can't / don't bring the heat in this area from here we'll be out in straight sets.  Clarry (not a designated forward) and Fritta about the only two that were bringing decent heat here last night.

Bowey a must in for Salem as stated earlier.

Kozzy should have got a brief run on the ball, at least at a centre bounce or 2 to mix it up a bit and/or get him into the game.

 

Last year after rd 3 when we beat the Giants I made a comment which was largely shot down by most posters on this site. I said that we shouldn’t have sung the team song after the game because of the way we played. I felt that doing so rewarded mediocre performances.

Next week we should account (again) for Brisbane easily, and if we do by all means sing the song, but I will be disappointed if our post match celebrations come anywhere near those of the Lions on Thursday night. Watching Neale thump the ground as others embraced each other like they’d won the flag. Some would argue it’s a final, or they were under a lot of pressure due to their recent history in finals. But things must put in perspective, the opposition weren’t much to write home about.

Our beef is not with the Lions, it’s with Collingwood, Geelong and the Swans. Let’s get the job done next week, let’s sing the song but keep it low key, let’s also keep things in perspective. Beating Brisbane next week in a final is still a win but losing in a preliminary the week after will be a failed season. It’s as simple as that.

Edited September 3, 20222 yr by Bombay Airconditioning

Was anyone else disappointed with Goodwin’s post match presser? I felt he didn’t really address the core of the issue. He pointed the finger at indiscipline for 3 50m goals, and not executing fundamentals in the front half etc

We haven’t beaten another top 4 team this year. We can’t seem to get our game going at the MCG, and we just lack avenues to goal when Kozzy and Fritsch aren’t getting  6-8 between them. Gawn is not and will never be the answer as a forward. We also can’t have guys like Melksham playing a negating forward when he can’t even kick a set shot or even keep his feet. 

I’m in two minds whether we just go in with no changes and see if we can replicate what we did to Brisbane two games ago and then change things up for Geelong. Surely Gawn has to play 80% ruck against Fort and absolutely dominate him.

Got no confidence whatsoever we’ll be there PF week. It wasn’t just that we lost it was the way we lost. It was the worst of us all bundled into one game. I feel like we’re the Port Adelaide of 2021. 2nd on the ladder was a massive over achievement for a team who can’t beat the teams around them. Our 2nd spot on the ladder almost feels fraudulent.

Friday night looking slightly wet and windy.

Should reduce the impact of the Brisbane talls.

Can't really see too many changes ... Bowey maybe but there's no messiah at Casey

4 hours ago, bobby1554 said:

Yes I agree. I doubt he will get up for next week. Goody also said that TMac could be in the mix depending on how he trains today. It is stating the bleeding obvious to say we need to do something different with the forward set up. I wouldn’t be averse to JVR and Bedford coming in, but doubt that will happen. Melksham, as good as he was against Carlton, is past it. Brown won’t get dropped, even though he was embarrassing last night. He needs to play within the 50 metre arc and stop this ridiculous running up the ground. I would have Bowey in, he is tough, smart and always hits a target. Maybe push Salem to defensive wing. Jackson, do we need to play 2 rucks against Brisbane? I don’t think so. For me, he goes out for that reason, as he gives us nothing up forward.

“…Brown won’t get dropped, even though he was embarrassing last night. He needs to play within the 50 metre arc and stop this ridiculous running up the ground…”. 
 

I would suspect that Brown would far prefer playing from the goal square and leading up.   But also I suspect that his “ridiculous running up the ground” is obeying instructions and he would risk being dropped if he didn’t. 

3 hours ago, Mr Steve said:

Depends on what happens today. Cat win we should play Friday night Pies win and it should be sat night, still the AFL tend to make it up as they go along anyway so who knows. 

AFL making it up on the fly … maybe they would send us to Kitty Litter Park?  Actually possibly could if it were 🐈‍⬛ v 🦁 🤔

1 hour ago, rpfc said:

Well how do you think Chandler or Bedford get in??

Getting there??

I needed the clarification, although I see you still didn’t say , YES  Neal -Bullen omitted.

Furthermore,  pleased to see you eventually came around to agree with my “stilted opinion” ( your words ) albeit one week and one loss too late.

 

Edited September 3, 20222 yr by Abyssal

Spargo spent the night in hospital with a knock to his throat

28 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

Friday night looking slightly wet and windy.

Should reduce the impact of the Brisbane talls.

Can't really see too many changes ... Bowey maybe but there's no messiah at Casey

We need to do something un Melbourne like. Take a big punt and play JVR. 

Tmac  comes in even if only 90%. We need a solid forward contributor. 

Injury clouds over Trac, Spargo, Fritsch and Melksham. 

Make no mistake. Winning it from here will be an incredible achievement. 

1 minute ago, old dee said:

We need to do something un Melbourne like. Take a big punt and play JVR. 

Tmac  comes in even if only 90%. We need a solid forward contributor. 

Perhaps but they don't help if the delivery and gameplan remain the same. TMac showed nothing last week while playing for Casey except that he got through the match.

If playing another tall means that BBB can play in the 50 metre arc rather than on the wing it could be worth it.

The reality is that both at AFL level and at Casey we often lack flair

Bowser in for any number of underperformers from last night.

His disposal skills at least will give mids/forwards a chance.

Harmes = Careless, Medium impact (Lloyd got up and kicked the goal), Body = Fine

Dunstan or Bedford for Petracca. Not sure which but you can’t take injured players in to finals. We also have to be good enough to win regardless then regain him for the prelim. If we throw him in underdone he’ll be stuffed for the prelim.

 

 

Over-reaction much? I stopped reading this thread after the first page. I must have been watching a different game last night and a different team all year compared with everyone else. For example, I thought Harmes was good last night (but expect he'll be suspended). I also thought ANB, while not at his best wasn't as bad as others have said. The question to be asked, though, is whether the team can be improved by a change of personnel? I wouldn't have thought so. 

Melksham had been good the previous few weeks...but is that enough? After all, he wasn't much worse than Brown or Pickett with respect to impact. However, perhaps they have more runs on the board overall.

Anyway, if Harmes is suspended, Petracca's hairline fracture keeps him out, Spargo's throat is problematic and Tom McDonald isn't ready, we may be limited on what we can choose to do, anyway.

2 hours ago, KysaiahMessiah said:

I just dont get the Gawn forward thing.  He's a ruckman, one of the best in the game.  He isn't, never was, and never will be, a viable forward.  He is a ruckman, and kicks like one.

Why not try JVR?  Really, why not?

Yeh, and drop Gawn !!!

1 hour ago, titan_uranus said:

Injury clouds over Trac, Spargo, Fritsch and Melksham. 

Make no mistake. Winning it from here will be an incredible achievement. 

I would have thought close to impossible tu. Imo the big difference between last year and this is injuries. Last year we had a dream run. This year we have a number to important players. It's hard to see us beating the Lions next weekend with injured players from last night and several down on form. Add our form at the G, I honestly would rather play them in Brisbane. 

Edited September 3, 20222 yr by old dee

 

10 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

 

At least some good news.