PREGAME: Rd 01 vs Western Bulldogs

[picket fence 16,655]

6 hours ago, Jontee said:

The trek will soon begin.

I have booked an uber canoe to get across the swollen croc invested river to the landing where I will be met by a dog cart pulled by cassowaries for the trip to the landing strip

translates as

The Mrs is driving me to the airport in air conditioned comfort.

Go Dees

 

Sheeit for a moment there I thought you were going to Casey Fields!🫣

[layzie 32,797]

1 hour ago, binman said:

 

Of the potential/likely finalists:

The dogs have weightman out.

The blues have Walsh out

The lions have Zorko and Gardiner out

Hawkins and Duncan are probable outs for the cats (and menagola is def out),

Toby Bedford is out with a serious hammy for the giants (who probably aren't a likely finalists i guess).

The tigers will be missing soldo and tarrant (and have 6 non best 22 locks unavailable)

And the swans will be missing three best 22 plsyers in Hickey, Clarke and Fox.

 

*Re-thinks footy tips while looking at this list*

[picket fence 16,655]

3 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

i imagine they'll give him up to an hour before the bounce

This is Madness to even think about playing him! If it were a Gramd Final you would think about it, but Round 1 with big iffs???? No thanks, get him right for next week or week after rather than stupidlly risking a 5,6,7 week injury!!

[titan_uranus 24,581]

4 hours ago, Red But Mostly Blue said:

Silly?

Give me a spell. There aren't many other clubs missing the number and caliber of guys that we are. No?

I get injuries during the year. They happen. But given we were so banged up towards the mid/end of last year, it worries me that we ALREADY have injuries to 4 of our top 10 BEFORE the year has even started. Not a couple. Not our depth players. Our elite. 

I DO LIKE, however, that we are acting conservatively with these guys. Perhaps I can reframe that maybe it is decisions like these that may mean we are not so banged up, again, at the end of the year. At least I hope we won't be facing the same issues post Burgess. 

You’re posting as if the injuries are in the club’s control, which they’re not, and that other clubs seem to have avoided them, which they haven’t (as others have posted). 

It’s absolutely a silly position to take. Injuries happen (Salem’s isn’t an injury per se, but anyway). 

[Jaded No More 67,634]

14 minutes ago, layzie said:

Are you a homemade sandwich person Jaded? I used to do this a lot, need to get back into that habit and save a few bob.

I'll have a drink occasionally at the footy if I'm there with people and we're having a good time but 80% of the games I attend I don't drink. I'm there to watch the game as well and remember every moment if we won. It amazed me how many of my MFC friends got totally blotto during the Grand Final, I was stone cold sober. 

To be honest I rarely ever eat at the footy. I am generally too engrossed in the game to eat. Half time snacks are usually all I bring.

Also the idea of lining up for ages to pay $20 for a soggy hot dog or under-salted chips offends me. I was excited when they opened Royal Stacks. Tried it once. It was terrible! If they had good food and I didn't need to line up for ages, I would definitely consider indulging every now and then. 

I do love the idea of a cheese platter, which is what normally gets consumed when we are watching interstate games on TV... but it seems like a lot of work, especially when it's very cold. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Jaded No More

[Demonland 70,254]

 

[DubDee 24,338]

37oC on Saturday!

The 200 north fans that turn up to Marvel stadium might actually melt.

 

is there any hot weather rules that kick in for footy?  extra drinks breaks, etc?  not human to play footy in that temp

[layzie 32,797]

6 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

To be honest I rarely ever eat at the footy. I am generally too engrossed in the game to eat. Half time snacks are usually all I bring.

Also the idea of lining up for ages to pay $20 for a soggy hot dog or under-salted chips offends me. I was excited when they opened Royal Stacks. Tried it once. It was terrible! If they had good food and I didn't need to line up for ages, I would definitely consider indulging every now and then. 

I do love the idea of a cheese platter, which is what normally gets consumed when we are watching interstate games on TV... but it seems like a lot of work, especially when it's very cold. 

Yeah I tried Royal Stacks on that Thurs night against Bris when I came straight from work and had to shovel something down, was ok but nothing to write home about. 

Could definitely go a cheese platter, Trident and above level memberships should include cheese platter to seat service 😛

[Sir Why You Little 36,611]

4 hours ago, Red But Mostly Blue said:

It really sucks that we have 4 outs for Saturday. How can we have 4 outs to such important players when we have had so much time to prepare them? Round 1 is not a surprise event??

 

WTF are you talking about!!

This is a serious gladiator sport, so training has to be Flat out. Players aren’t rolled in Bubble Wrap before Round 1

Full Contact injuries occur 

Have you ever been to training??

[Jaded No More 67,634]

1 minute ago, layzie said:

Yeah I tried Royal Stacks on that Thurs night against Bris when I came straight from work and had to shovel something down, was ok but nothing to write home about. 

Could definitely go a cheese platter, Trident and above level memberships should include cheese platter to seat service 😛

Thursday and Friday night games are hard if you are coming straight from work. I try to work from home on those days, now that I can (thanks Covid), so I am not rushing in and I can eat something before I leave home.

When my husband comes to the game, which isn't all that often, he will always buy a soft drink and hot chips (he doesn't drink alcohol), and always complain about the price and the wait times.. It's as predictable as bad umpiring and the trains running late 🙃

[rpfc 28,046]

1 hour ago, binman said:

ANB is not on the 'periphary'.

Critical player for us who does not have a like for like replacement in the twos.

Our game plan relies on out numbering the oppo at contests. Nibbler is a critical part of our ability to do so.

Outside of Langdon and Hunter, no demon player has nibbler's combination of athleticism, ability to cover the ground at pace, elite endurance and discipline.

Howe might get there, but aint there yet. No one else in the twos comes close. 

He plays a role. He plays it well when he isn’t butchering the footy, but he isn’t one of our best players.

And that is my point - you are far more likely to find an ANB than an Oliver.

[adonski 10,806]

1 hour ago, binman said:

ANB is not on the 'periphary'.

Critical player for us who does not have a like for like replacement in the twos.

Our game plan relies on out numbering the oppo at contests. Nibbler is a critical part of our ability to do so.

Outside of Langdon and Hunter, no demon player has nibbler's combination of athleticism, ability to cover the ground at pace, elite endurance and discipline.

Howe might get there, but aint there yet. No one else in the twos comes close. 

Neal-Binnen

[Red But Mostly Blue 4,425]

Just now, Sir Why You Little said:

WTF are you talking about!!

This is a serious gladiator sport, so training has to be Flat out. Players aren’t rolled in Bubble Wrap before Round 1

Full Contact injuries occur 

Have you ever been to training??

Lol, settle down SWYL. 

I understand this. My point was that our outs (in my mind) are greater than any other team's outs for R1. And I was bummed about that. I think that's fair enough. I get it's a contact sport, but many (MANY) here were complaining last year that our players were banged up at the end of the year. 

So, my point was, it is surprising to have so many out, when ideally (right?) it would be good to get them all ready for R1, rather than not. That would be the plan, yes? Not to allow the gladiators to fall to unnecessary injuries before the rounds have even started?

But as I have mentioned previously in response. I get it. Injuries happen. Just a shame we're missing 4 of our best 10 on the first night of the year. I think that's a fair sentiment? Irrespective of my thoughts on the list, and our depth (which I think we are quite well placed). 

But it's moot, we'll win anyway. 

[Demon17 5,048]

3 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

I’m sorry to have offended you. I can’t speak for other areas but In my neck of the woods it’s only too well known that pensioners can’t make plans that cost $ in the days leading up to Pension Day, in particular, the eve of such.

 

Not in the slighest. This issue, along with the Dees fans and snow  season jibes really annoy me.  I am putting it down to my current Steven May-induced stress levels for Saturday night.  It will be bad, or an heroic win for the ages. I can't decide which.  I'll know at the 5 minute mark of the first 1/4.

Keep up the good work WCW

[Sir Why You Little 36,611]

5 minutes ago, Red But Mostly Blue said:

Lol, settle down SWYL. 

I understand this. My point was that our outs (in my mind) are greater than any other team's outs for R1. And I was bummed about that. I think that's fair enough. I get it's a contact sport, but many (MANY) here were complaining last year that our players were banged up at the end of the year. 

So, my point was, it is surprising to have so many out, when ideally (right?) it would be good to get them all ready for R1, rather than not. That would be the plan, yes? Not to allow the gladiators to fall to unnecessary injuries before the rounds have even started?

But as I have mentioned previously in response. I get it. Injuries happen. Just a shame we're missing 4 of our best 10 on the first night of the year. I think that's a fair sentiment? Irrespective of my thoughts on the list, and our depth (which I think we are quite well placed). 

But it's moot, we'll win anyway. 

Fritsch had his foot stepped on

You cannot plan for that

Salem has a Medical condition 

Petracca said that training is harder than a game, you better get used to it. 

[Red But Mostly Blue 4,425]

1 minute ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Fritsch had his foot stepped on

You cannot plan for that

Salem has a Medical condition 

Petracca said that training is harder than a game, you better get used to it. 

True x 2

Don't know if I want to get used to players getting injured at training...

BUT, what I will say is I can get used to more winning.

So let's Get back to that!

Go DEES! 

[layzie 32,797]

9 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

Thursday and Friday night games are hard if you are coming straight from work. I try to work from home on those days, now that I can (thanks Covid), so I am not rushing in and I can eat something before I leave home.

When my husband comes to the game, which isn't all that often, he will always buy a soft drink and hot chips (he doesn't drink alcohol), and always complain about the price and the wait times.. It's as predictable as bad umpiring and the trains running late 🙃

I hope to have that privilege soon. The boss is one of the few people in the commercial interiors space that hasn't jumped on to the concept yet. I could certainly use a day at home to plow through some stuff without interruptions! Based in Abbotsford though so not a long trek at least.

I honestly think water is the thing I consume most at the G, especially since those re-fill taps came in. 

 

 

[roy11 3,661]

44 minutes ago, layzie said:

It amazed me how many of my MFC friends got totally blotto during the Grand Final, I was stone cold sober.

I barely drank during the grand final (first 3 quarters) was quite the crescendo though during the 4th quarter. Goals to Drink Ratio very competitive. 

[WalkingCivilWar 39,256]

15 minutes ago, Demon17 said:

Not in the slighest. This issue, along with the Dees fans and snow  season jibes really annoy me.  I am putting it down to my current Steven May-induced stress levels for Saturday night.  It will be bad, or an heroic win for the ages. I can't decide which.  I'll know at the 5 minute mark of the first 1/4.

Keep up the good work WCW

I’m going for this outcome, D17. ❤️💙

[DeeSpencer 24,697]

1 hour ago, Jaded No More said:

 

Turner is no less experienced than Darcy though, so why can't he play on him?

I assume Petty will take Naughton and if they throw Lobb forward, which they may not be able to anyway because they will need to somehow cover both Gawn and Grundy, then we can send Gawn back to cover him.

McDonald is only a break in case of emergency solution if we lose a player MID GAME. I don't think we will start him in defence, because it will hurt us far more than bringing in another defender to cover May. 

We saw what happened to our structure when TMac went down last year, and we obviously don't believe JVR is ready to play that role yet. If he was, you could argue that TMac could swing back, but going into a game without Fritta and then throwing TMac down back is conceding we can't win enough midfield ball to win the game. And we absolutely can. 

English is super fit and will ruck high minutes with a brief chop out from Lobb and possibly Darcy. Maybe even some Bont as I doubt Bevo is scared of Grundy's marking around the ground.

Lobb chose to go to the Dogs so he can play predominantly forward. And we aren't going to use Max Gawn as a full back.

Gawn and Grundy will drop back from the ruck, which is a move we do to engineer a spare defender and that's entirely different to playing as a key defender.

Obviously the aim will be to get the ball forward, lock it in and establish our set up of the ground with Gawn or Grundy dropping out. If we could establish that consistently then yes I'd go with Turner.

But I think the Dogs mids and ball movement deserves a lot of respect and that we will have to defend one on one at times and I don't like the match ups of Turner or Lever forced to take one of Lobb or Naughton, or even Darcy with his extra height.

Where as at the other end I think we can get the resting ruck or JVR to have success against Bruce or Keath if we get the supply right. And it's chicken v egg in terms of whether we lost our drive off half back last year because Tommy was out, or if we just lost run in general and broke down more at CHF. But with Hunter and Pickett in the midfield and more midfield rotations I don't think Tom is critical to our drive from half back. The half backs just need to run and use the ball, the talls will make space.

[titan_uranus 24,581]

36 minutes ago, DubDee said:

37oC on Saturday!

The 200 north fans that turn up to Marvel stadium might actually melt.

 

is there any hot weather rules that kick in for footy?  extra drinks breaks, etc?  not human to play footy in that temp

That would have to be one of the hotter days for a game in Melbourne.

Helpfully, I believe they are forecasting a cool change to come through before our game though.

[layzie 32,797]

17 minutes ago, roy11 said:

I barely drank during the grand final (first 3 quarters) was quite the crescendo though during the 4th quarter. Goals to Drink Ratio very competitive. 

Oh I very much made up for it when that final siren went! Broke out the Fortis 😀

[Ouch! 2,205]

2 hours ago, binman said:

ANB is not on the 'periphary'.

Critical player for us who does not have a like for like replacement in the twos.

Our game plan relies on out numbering the oppo at contests. Nibbler is a critical part of our ability to do so.

Outside of Langdon and Hunter, no demon player has nibbler's combination of athleticism, ability to cover the ground at pace, elite endurance and discipline.

Howe might get there, but aint there yet. No one else in the twos comes close. 

I agree he's an important player, but I felt he with 9-17 (and Trac with 19-31) killed a lot of our momentum pushes last year with goal kicking accuracy. Trac has the midfield to his bow, and whilst appreciating the defensive pressure and elite fitness of ANB, if you are getting the chance to have that many shots on goal, conversion has to be better.
 

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,349]

1 hour ago, DubDee said:

37oC on Saturday!

The 200 north fans that turn up to Marvel stadium might actually melt.

 

is there any hot weather rules that kick in for footy?  extra drinks breaks, etc?  not human to play footy in that temp

I would guess they'll extend breaks by 2 minutes at quarter time and 5  minutes at half time, and probably employ more water boys/girls.

Not sure if the roof on Marvel will help or make conditions worse for that game.

Sounds like Saturday afternoon is going to be horrid and windy but they reckon 26 degrees by game time for our game. 22 by game's end. Should be a lovely night for footy.

[layzie 32,797]

Could get wind burnt! What's the best protection for that?