The best part about trying to pick our best 22 is that it is very difficult.  Shows our depth across many positions and how competition  for places should drive the high performance once again the season. 

Pre season team

B:     Lever  May  Rivers

HB:  Gus  Turner Salem

C:   Hunter Oliver Langdon

HF: ANB  Jvr   Spargo 

F: kozzy Petty Fritsch 

R: Gawn Trac Viney

int: sparrow Grundy Harmes Bowey

sub Tmac

I’d like to see Petty up forward for a preseason game and see how Turner hold his ground down back. 

If it doesn’t work then in round 1  you can have Turner out, Petty back in defence and tmac up forward with Gawn/grundy eventually coming in during the game. Need to start getting Turner in there to learn off Lever and may because he can eventually replace May. 

The off season additions of Grundy and Hunter undoubtedly make us a better side, we are stronger than when we won the flag in 2021. Most on here agree with how the majority of the side will line up, the fwd line is where the majority of us disagree. If you had Fritsch and Pickett as the only locks, you could have any other other combination of fwds (not counting Petracca or Gawn/Grundy resting fwd) and easily account for 12-13 other sides due to our strength in all all other areas across the ground. Inside 50’s have never been an issue for us, being predictable and our delivery hurt us last year. In addition we have too many fwds that don’t impact the scoreboard. People are quick to point out act pressure acts, two way running but we need our fwds also hitting the scoreboard.

Im not sold on Jordan personally, Spargo out for Chandler and BB out for JVR. Hibberd late start?

Rivers May Lever

Salem Petty Bowey

Langdon Oliver Hunter

Chandler TMac ANB

Fritsch  JVR Pickett

 Grundy Petracca Oliver

Gawn Brayshaw Sparrow Harmes Melksham

 

Edited January 15, 20232 yr by Bombay Airconditioning

16 hours ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

The off season additions of Grundy and Hunter undoubtedly make us a better side, we are stronger than when we won the flag in 2021. Most on here agree with how the majority of the side will line up, the fwd line is where the majority of us disagree. If you had Fritsch and Pickett as the only locks, you could have any other other combination of fwds (not counting Petracca or Gawn/Grundy resting fwd) and easily account for 12-13 other sides due to our strength in all all other areas across the ground. Inside 50’s have never been an issue for us, being predictable and our delivery hurt us last year. In addition we have too many fwds that don’t impact the scoreboard. People are quick to point out act pressure acts, two way running but we need our fwds also hitting the scoreboard.

Im not sold on Jordan personally, Spargo out for Chandler and BB out for JVR. Hibberd late start?

Rivers May Lever

Salem Petty Bowey

Langdon Oliver Hunter

Chandler TMac ANB

Fritsch  JVR Pickett

 Grundy Petracca Oliver

Gawn Brayshaw Sparrow Harmes Melksham

 

Prefer Laurie to Melksham. I think Laurie will debut this year and do a Bowey.

2 hours ago, cantstandyasam said:

Prefer Laurie to Melksham. I think Laurie will debut this year and do a Bowey.

If that happens that would be massive. I know Melksham came in due to injuries but he took his chances, played some great footy and gave us something different. Will be interesting to see how the team looks come rd 1.

17 hours ago, cantstandyasam said:

Prefer Laurie to Melksham. I think Laurie will debut this year and do a Bowey.

From what Ive seen from Laurie, I would say Melksham is still ahead.

On 1/13/2023 at 3:40 AM, whatwhat say what said:

going old school with how i used to do it back in my school notebooks...

B: Bowey (17) - May (1) - Lever (8)
HB: Brayshaw (10) - Petty (35) - Salem (3)
C: Hunter (12) - Petracca (5) - Langdon (15)
HF: Neal-Bullen (30) - McDonald (25) - Chandler (37)
F: Fritsch (31) - Gawn (11) - Pickett (36)
Foll: Grundy (6) - Oliver (13) - Viney (7)
I/c: van Rooyen (2) - Harmes (4) - Spargo (9) - Sparrow (32)
Sub: Jordon (23)
Emerg: Melksham (18) - Rivers (24) - Brown (50)

i am presuming that hibberd will not be 'ready to go' for season start, as seems to be tradition

Not bad. You would make a good selector but for mine I would have Brayshaw on HF and drop Chandler.  Bowey to HB. Rivers in pocket.  Brayshaw to change - On Ball. 

p.s. I did not know that hibberd spelt his name with a "small" "h" but I think it's the same guy so that's OK.

Edited January 16, 20232 yr by David-Demon

B:      Lever         May     [A]

HB:   Gus            Petty   Salem

C:      Langdon   Oliver  Hunter

HF:    [B]             TMac  [B] 

F:      Kozzy        [C]       Fritsch 

R:     Gawn        Trac     Viney

Int:   Grundy  [A]   [B]   [B]

Sub: [B]

[A]   Bowey  Rivers  Disco  Pig  Tommo

[B]   ANB  JJ  Sparrow Harmes  Spargo  Melks  Chandler

[C]   JVR  BBB  Schache 

15 players competing for 8 places (7 underlined as most likely)

Edited January 17, 20232 yr by daisycutter

B: Hibberd, May, Lever

HB: Brayshaw, Petty, Salem 

C: Hunter, Oliver, Langdon 

HF: Spargo, TMac, Chandler

F: Pickett, Brown, Fritsch 

R: Gawn, Petracca, Viney 

Int: ANB, Grundy, Harmes, Tomlinson

Sub: Sparrow 

EMG: JVR, Jordon, Dunstan, Rivers 

 

I'm picking atleast four changes this year to our starting 23 line up being Grundy, Hunter, Chandler and Tomlinson. 

1. Grundy being the highest profile player to come to our club so he will be an obvious starter. 

2. With Brayshaw showing his prowess in the backline verging on AA he simply must play there again this year. and Jordon being a neat player but lacking a little flair will open the door for Hunter to take the opposite side to Langdon on the wing. Being a former BnF for the Dogs and AA with great foot skills it's his spot to lose. 

3. I put Chandler in the team this year as it's his fifth year on the list now and simply has to show something otherwise he'll be gone. He was best afield in Casey's premiership and I feel he will break into the side this year. 

4. I rate Hibberd higher than Rivers and Bowey currently who didn't have great years last year, but I fully expect them to pushing Hibberd out by mid way through the season. As for Tomlinson, he is having a great pre season, winning the time trail and having slimmed down, I think he is extremely motivated to be in the 23 this year and he could take a 3rd tall position allowing Lever to intercept all day or May can cover the most dangerous small forward as he often does in the side. Anyway food for thought...

5. JVR, Tmac, Brown and Schache will all rotate throughout the year as forwards so I wouldn't get too caught up on who's starting in the side for now. They're all in good form this year so it just comes down to the match selectors decisions. 

Lastly, the key to Melbourne success is pressure in the forward line, which then sets up our layered defence as the opposition crumble under the pressure of the smalls in our forward line causing turnover or long/high kicks out of their defence. That means having Tmac, Brown, Grundy, Gawn, Fritsch or JVR on the field at any one time will reduce that pressure we need to contain that ball in our forward line. It is therefore essential to have three of our smaller harassing players on the field to contain the ball being Spargo, Pickett and Chandler with ANB on the bench available also. It was evident last year we lost our forward pressure last year in the second half of games causing us to lose many games even when we were 5 goals up. So hopefully this year with the addition with Chandler it will rectify some forward pressure issues. 

Edited January 17, 20232 yr by Caligula's cohort

26 minutes ago, Caligula's cohort said:

B: Hibberd, May, Lever

HB: Brayshaw, Petty, Salem 

C: Hunter, Oliver, Langdon 

HF: Spargo, TMac, Chandler

F: Pickett, Brown, Fritsch 

R: Gawn, Petracca, Viney 

Int: ANB, Grundy, Harmes, Tomlinson

Sub: Sparrow 

EMG: JVR, Jordon, Dunstan, Rivers 

 

I'm picking atleast four changes this year to our starting 23 line up being Grundy, Hunter, Chandler and Tomlinson. 

1. Grundy being the highest profile player to come to our club so he will be an obvious starter. 

2. With Brayshaw showing his prowess in the backline verging on AA he simply must play there again this year. and Jordon being a neat player but lacking a little flair will open the door for Hunter to take the opposite side to Langdon on the wing. Being a former BnF for the Dogs and AA with great foot skills it's his spot to lose. 

3. I put Chandler in the team this year as it's his fifth year on the list now and simply has to show something otherwise he'll be gone. He was best afield in Casey's premiership and I feel he will break into the side this year. 

4. I rate Hibberd higher than Rivers and Bowey currently who didn't have great years last year, but I fully expect them to pushing Hibberd out by mid way through the season. As for Tomlinson, he is having a great pre season, winning the time trail and having slimmed down, I think he is extremely motivated to be in the 23 this year and he could take a 3rd tall position allowing Lever to intercept all day or May can cover the most dangerous small forward as he often does in the side. Anyway food for thought...

5. JVR, Tmac, Brown and Schache will all rotate throughout the year as forwards so I wouldn't get too caught up on who's starting in the side for now. They're all in good form this year so it just comes down to the match selectors decisions. 

Lastly, the key to Melbourne success is pressure in the forward line, which then sets up our layered defence as the opposition crumble under the pressure of the smalls in our forward line causing turnover or long/high kicks out of their defence. That means having Tmac, Brown, Grundy, Gawn, Fritsch or JVR on the field at any one time will reduce that pressure we need to contain that ball in our forward line. It is therefore essential to have three of our smaller harassing players on the field to contain the ball being Spargo, Pickett and Chandler with ANB on the bench available also. It was evident last year we lost our forward pressure last year in the second half of games causing us to lose many games even when we were 5 goals up. So hopefully this year with the addition with Chandler it will rectify some forward pressure issues. 

Glad you mentioned pressure which went from one of the best to one of the worst in 12 months.

It's not the team I would exactly pick but I think this will be the team that Goodwin goes with.

B: Lever, May, Hibberd

HB: Salem, Petty, Rivers

C: Langdon, Petracca, Hunter

HF: Viney, McDonald, Pickett

F: Fritsch, Brown, van Rooyen

FOLL: Gawn, Oliver, Brayshaw

IC: Bowey, Sparrow, Grundy, Neal-Bullen, Spargo

Edited January 17, 20232 yr by WERRIDEE

41 minutes ago, WERRIDEE said:

It's not the team I would exactly pick but I think this will be the team that Goodwin goes with.

B: Lever, May, Hibberd

HB: Salem, Petty, Rivers

C: Langdon, Petracca, Hunter

HF: Viney, McDonald, Pickett

F: Fritsch, Brown, van Rooyen

FOLL: Gawn, Oliver, Brayshaw

IC: Bowey, Sparrow, Grundy, Neal-Bullen, Spargo

Hibberd is a massive risk with Dodgy Calf issues,. Nearing the end the last thing he needs right now are those nagging calf strains /Tears. Bowser to cement his place! Chandler plays in Spargo's place IMV

1 hour ago, WERRIDEE said:

It's not the team I would exactly pick but I think this will be the team that Goodwin goes with.

B: Lever, May, Hibberd

HB: Salem, Petty, Rivers

C: Langdon, Petracca, Hunter

HF: Viney, McDonald, Pickett

F: Fritsch, Brown, van Rooyen

FOLL: Gawn, Oliver, Brayshaw

IC: Bowey, Sparrow, Grundy, Neal-Bullen, Spargo

I am reasonably happy with that but Chandler instead of Hibberd ( if unfit especially ) 

Not going to write my whole team, as I am similar to most I have seen. 

But a few comments:

sparrow will be in the team. They love him, as do I. 
i understand the want for chandler, has speed, but I wouldn’t be getting rid of ANB (works his bum off and allows others like trac to do what they want) or Spargo (the only one who consistently hits targets and makes the right decision). 
JVR must play, as does Tmac and at this stage BBB is a long way behind them both. I would have Schache ahead of BBB at the moment!
I would have rivers in the side ahead of Hibberd. I still think he is going to be a very very good player. 
my Smokey is Howes. If any of the first choice wingers are out (hunter and Langdon), he is in. Training the house down. He may be in already!

48 minutes ago, Yokozuna said:

Not going to write my whole team, as I am similar to most I have seen. 

But a few comments:

sparrow will be in the team. They love him, as do I. 
i understand the want for chandler, has speed, but I wouldn’t be getting rid of ANB (works his bum off and allows others like trac to do what they want) or Spargo (the only one who consistently hits targets and makes the right decision). 
JVR must play, as does Tmac and at this stage BBB is a long way behind them both. I would have Schache ahead of BBB at the moment!
I would have rivers in the side ahead of Hibberd. I still think he is going to be a very very good player. 
my Smokey is Howes. If any of the first choice wingers are out (hunter and Langdon), he is in. Training the house down. He may be in already!

I find Sparrow never does enough for the side. Sure he bobs up and gets his 12-16 disposals most games with a few nice highlights here and there similar to Jordon but never dominates a game, he is just toast and no spread if you catch my drift. That's why I left him as sub in my side. 

Rivers sure has "potential" but if you watch him in most games he is a turnover merchant and makes a lot of mistakes in the games. He is a weak link in our side which is why Hibberd is a better player. But I do see Rivers becoming a very good player in the near future once he cleans up his errors. 

Interesting thoughts on Howes. I haven't been able to get down to training to see him in the flesh yet. Is he better than Jordon? if so presumably Hunter and Howes would be ahead of him now. Looks like Jordon is in for a tough year! maybe trade bait come end of the year. 

Sparrow must dominate training, that's for sure....

2 hours ago, Yokozuna said:

Not going to write my whole team, as I am similar to most I have seen. 

But a few comments:

sparrow will be in the team. They love him, as do I. 
i understand the want for chandler, has speed, but I wouldn’t be getting rid of ANB (works his bum off and allows others like trac to do what they want) or Spargo (the only one who consistently hits targets and makes the right decision). 
JVR must play, as does Tmac and at this stage BBB is a long way behind them both. I would have Schache ahead of BBB at the moment!
I would have rivers in the side ahead of Hibberd. I still think he is going to be a very very good player. 
my Smokey is Howes. If any of the first choice wingers are out (hunter and Langdon), he is in. Training the house down. He may be in already!

This constantly gets brought up, almost makes him sound like the second coming of Pendlebury. He averaged 7.5 kicks a game and managed only the 10 goals  season when we went 16 & 6 before finals, a season where we won 10 in a row. He’s consistent and reliable but he’s also limited, I put James Jordan in the same category. I like them both, they give 100% every week but we need to try something different. I would like to clarify i rate them as players to a point, but ultimately they’re role players, and yes we have a role based system but we need to try other players in some positions to see if they can offer something extra.

2 hours ago, Caligula's cohort said:

I find Sparrow never does enough for the side. Sure he bobs up and gets his 12-16 disposals most games with a few nice highlights here and there similar to Jordon but never dominates a game, he is just toast and no spread if you catch my drift. That's why I left him as sub in my side. 

Rivers sure has "potential" but if you watch him in most games he is a turnover merchant and makes a lot of mistakes in the games. He is a weak link in our side which is why Hibberd is a better player. But I do see Rivers becoming a very good player in the near future once he cleans up his errors. 

Interesting thoughts on Howes. I haven't been able to get down to training to see him in the flesh yet. Is he better than Jordon? if so presumably Hunter and Howes would be ahead of him now. Looks like Jordon is in for a tough year! maybe trade bait come end of the year. 

I find Jordon has more strings to his bow and greater upside then Sparrow.

Right now Sparrow has only shown he can be a bit player inside mid. Even when he was given greater opportunity as a starting mid against Port Adelaide when Viney was out he was underwhelming that game with a few poor turnovers.

In my opinion Jordon is a better all round midfielder and adds versatility with his ability to play inside and out but also as a half back if needed.

I know coaches absolutely love him but he's not in my best 22.

Edited January 17, 20232 yr by dazzledavey36

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I find Jordon has more strings to his bow and greater upside then Sparrow.

Right now Sparrow has only shown he can be a bit player inside mid. Even when he was given greater opportunity as a starting mid against Port Adelaide when Viney was out he was underwhelming that game with a few poor turnovers.

In my opinion Jordon is a better all round midfielder and adds versatility with his ability to play inside and out but also as a half back if needed.

I know coaches absolutely love him but he's not in my best 22.

Agreed. Jordon does have good upside and I feel is still developing nicely. Finishing third in the time trial is a good indication to his improvement and shows he has good two way running needed for the wing position. I just find him a bit 'Vanilla' like Sparrow which is why I have Harmes ahead of them who is a similar player but has way more flair and aggression with good overhead marking capabilities, although often bites off more than he can chew trying to be 'Dusty' with his stiff-arm fend-offs. 

Chandler offers a point of difference to me. He is strong, quick, loves a tackle with good skills and has an elite tank much like our other smalls so he could probably do Sparrows role better IMO. Sparrow, Jordon and Dunstan are our second tier mids so if they want the top job they need to show it and not by playing bit roles in the forward line or at half back. 

6 hours ago, Caligula's cohort said:

Agreed. Jordon does have good upside and I feel is still developing nicely. Finishing third in the time trial is a good indication to his improvement and shows he has good two way running needed for the wing position. I just find him a bit 'Vanilla' like Sparrow which is why I have Harmes ahead of them who is a similar player but has way more flair and aggression with good overhead marking capabilities, although often bites off more than he can chew trying to be 'Dusty' with his stiff-arm fend-offs. 

Chandler offers a point of difference to me. He is strong, quick, loves a tackle with good skills and has an elite tank much like our other smalls so he could probably do Sparrows role better IMO. Sparrow, Jordon and Dunstan are our second tier mids so if they want the top job they need to show it and not by playing bit roles in the forward line or at half back. 

Yes Jordon is vanilla. I think that's why I preferred him playing more as an inside role as he did so well back in 2021.

His hands are very clean with his tackling and enormous work rate to run both ways.

 

20 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I find Jordon has more strings to his bow and greater upside then Sparrow.

Right now Sparrow has only shown he can be a bit player inside mid. Even when he was given greater opportunity as a starting mid against Port Adelaide when Viney was out he was underwhelming that game with a few poor turnovers.

In my opinion Jordon is a better all round midfielder and adds versatility with his ability to play inside and out but also as a half back if needed.

I know coaches absolutely love him but he's not in my best 22.

It's hard to judge Sparrow because he plays high half forward in rotation with Kossie, ANB and Spargo and a bit of time on the ball.  It's not like he's a full time mid and so his figures are hard to judge.  He's also in the midfield with some pretty handy players and is most likely sacrificing his game (ball getting) for them.

Jordon played mainly wing last season and was able to be in a lot more play than Sparrow.  He was running very high (top 5) in the B&F before he injured his knee towards the end of the season.  He's a very good player and I tend to agree with Dazzle that he's ahead of Sparrow, but the match committee disagree.

As for Howes being ahead of Howes he's not and by a fair margin in my book.  Jordon is a very solid player and would be in almost every teams best 22.  

1 hour ago, Slartibartfast said:

It's hard to judge Sparrow because he plays high half forward in rotation with Kossie, ANB and Spargo and a bit of time on the ball.  It's not like he's a full time mid and so his figures are hard to judge.  He's also in the midfield with some pretty handy players and is most likely sacrificing his game (ball getting) for them.

Jordon played mainly wing last season and was able to be in a lot more play than Sparrow.  He was running very high (top 5) in the B&F before he injured his knee towards the end of the season.  He's a very good player and I tend to agree with Dazzle that he's ahead of Sparrow, but the match committee disagree.

As for Howes being ahead of Howes he's not and by a fair margin in my book.  Jordon is a very solid player and would be in almost every teams best 22.  

Are you talking about Jordon here??

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Are you talking about Jordon here??

Yep, my bad. JJ ahead of Howes. 

Edited January 18, 20232 yr by Slartibartfast

I think the biggest concern is the small defender role. Bowey needs to be playing, but I see him as a more offensive kicker and mopper upperer. I don't see him taking the Papley's of the league. That's ultimately why Hibberd probably has a role most weeks, because at this stage I can't see who else can play that lock down role.

46 minutes ago, A F said:

I think the biggest concern is the small defender role. Bowey needs to be playing, but I see him as a more offensive kicker and mopper upperer. I don't see him taking the Papley's of the league. That's ultimately why Hibberd probably has a role most weeks, because at this stage I can't see who else can play that lock down role.

Joel Smith, Hibberd and Rivers at a pinch could play the role. 

I would like to see Bowey tried as a high half forward competing against ANB if he can’t crack it past Salem and Brayshaw as high half backs.