If ben brown is not in then Rooey will end up with Moore on him. That we dont want. We need ben brown in, he needs to be on the move all night dragging moore along with him so we can kick to one of our other forwards. long kicks into a crowded forward line should be avoided at all costs if moore is there. I hope brayshaw fixes up his kicking also, last night he turned the ball over heaps of times in the first half.  i wonder if Smith may be a better option than tomlinson down back as he probably has the jump to take on Cox better than tomlinson.

What a big game. Really looking forward to it.

It is a setting the pecking order game. 

Can we play close to perfect or at least smart footy. If not that, then hard, desperate footy for 4 quarters will do. 

Can't give them many turnovers as Colly's will make us pay because they can go very fast to their offensive transition.

Third game in Melbourne and at the MCG, plenty of time to freshen up, get routine, and stability. Which should help, mind and body be right.

C'mon Dees perform on the big stage. I remember when this was our "finals" type match for us in the season. We have come so far. Now to get it done, build our confidence, and set us up for a good year. 

Edited June 3, 20231 yr by kev martin

Never beaten on Kings birthday. Cant see it starting next round. Relax we’ve got this. 

Edited June 3, 20231 yr by Lil_red_fire_engine

37 minutes ago, Deecisive said:

If ben brown is not in then Rooey will end up with Moore on him. That we dont want. We need ben brown in, he needs to be on the move all night dragging moore along with him so we can kick to one of our other forwards. long kicks into a crowded forward line should be avoided at all costs if moore is there. I hope brayshaw fixes up his kicking also, last night he turned the ball over heaps of times in the first half.  i wonder if Smith may be a better option than tomlinson down back as he probably has the jump to take on Cox better than tomlinson.

No, Smith will play a defensive role on Moore. Bookmark it.

Any guess as to how many ' in form' dees players get suspended by ex Pies player Michael Christian prior to the KB event? This Christian dude appears to have many other work and business interests so where does he find the time of day to go over 9 long AFL games?

Will he bother watching the eagles game today against the pies? Lets wait and see if Daicos or Moore get suspended for executing a legit tackle  but the opponent bumps his head.   - no chance.

Edited June 3, 20231 yr by Deebauched

13 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

If he isn’t he should be, but I can’t see him playing every week in the VFL whilst doing a preseason.

He should have a month off and some German calves blood to be any chance.

Do vegetarians use Ox blood?

11 hours ago, Brownie said:

Yep, thought the same. Viney's having a pretty good season and we'll really need him next week.

Couldn't see Christensen citing him pfffft

Christian:"Did anyone say Viney?  Don't need to look at the tape - 2 weeks"!

1 minute ago, monoccular said:

Do vegetarians use Ox blood?

A plant based alternative of EPO might be needed 

None of the Ins and Outs here seem to include Viney as a possible Out. Is it not line ball as to whether he gets a fine or a week? (or has this been resolved?) We desperately need his hardness at the ball for this game.

I dont like the idea of Moore on JVR, please bring in another tall if possible. Collingwood will look to do a Watts on him, Ill never forget that rag doll stuff.

Much will depend on Clarrys training this week. Lets hope its not too early for his return.

Im not too worried if we dont win, as long as its under 3 goals.

 

Hibberd for Bowey seems a clear one.

If Viney gets suspended then Oliver takes his spot. If Viney doesn't get suspended then someone has to be dropped for Oliver. IMO, we still have too many mid/small forwards and mid/small defenders. McVee was fantastic last night and Rivers IMO is crucial to our future, so I imagine Chandler's going to be the one to make way.

Chandler would then take Harmes' spot as sub (whether he's suspended or not).

I still think we need another midfield rotation and if/when Dunstan's fit I'd be looking to integrate him into the side, although it's not abundantly clear to me who makes way.

Tomlinson stays. Please, please, please, the FD has to stick with three tall defenders for the rest of the year. No more making Hibberd play tall. No more trying to make Lever take talls he's never going to beat. Last night worked, even if McKay kicked 3 on Tomlinson. We stick with it.

Smith stays. No point giving him just one game. He wasn't good but he wasn't terrible. Try it again before the bye. If it doesn't work again, post-bye we get Petty back or we try Brown.

 

1 hour ago, Lil_red_fire_engine said:

Never beaten on Kings birthday. Cant see it starting next round. Relax we’ve got this. 

I hate to spoil you fun, but we have lost a few on King's birthday.

Fair to say we've never lost to Collingwood on King's Birthday though!

 http://demonwiki.org/Queens+Birthday

7 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

Hibberd for Bowey seems a clear one.

Hibberd’s a key defender now, if he’s fit he should come straight back in for the Tugboat but there’s no way he comes in for Bowey. Gus will go to half back and open the midfield spot for Oliver.

8 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

I still think we need another midfield rotation and if/when Dunstan's fit I'd be looking to integrate him into the side, although it's not abundantly clear to me who makes way

We haven’t been able to find a spot for Harmes or JJ both who offer more run and versatility than Dunstan. No idea why we’d want Dunstan in? If Viney, Oliver, Petracca, Sparrow with 2 rucks can’t get first hands on the pill then we are stuffed.

Goody needs to trust the half forwards to do stints. For example Chandler is absolutely primed for a crack on ball especially when Viney is on the bench.

29 minutes ago, monoccular said:

Do vegetarians use Ox blood?

Christian:"Did anyone say Viney?  Don't need to look at the tape - 2 weeks"!

I've been really impressed by the way Viney has changed his tackling style to keep his feet and bring his opponent more gently to ground (while still knocking the wind out of them and also coming close to ripping their arms off)

I reckon it would be good to see the stuff he's learnt shared and trained across the team.

The way these tackles are leading to suspensions every week (sans Collingwood and Carlton) it's vital we bring players to ground slowly while still hitting them hard.

If not Jui Jitsu lessons, then maybe a team mate running in with a tontine to place on the ground before the opponent is tackled. 😜

12 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

Hibberd’s a key defender now, if he’s fit he should come straight back in for the Tugboat but there’s no way he comes in for Bowey. Gus will go to half back and open the midfield spot for Oliver.

I'm arguing Hibberd shouldn't be a key defender. May, Lever, Tomlinson and Hibberd can work. Hibberd can play smaller and looser.

5 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

I'm arguing Hibberd shouldn't be a key defender. May, Lever, Tomlinson and Hibberd can work. Hibberd can play smaller and looser.

That means he either takes McVee’s role and has to chase smalls which he struggles to do or he plays half back and Gus is probably more suited to that.

De Goey just poleaxed a west coast player, has to get weeks.

De Goey out next week anyway.

DeGoey HAS to get 1-2 for that head high hit...out for KB

3 minutes ago, Gorgoroth said:

De Goey just poleaxed a west coast player, has to get weeks.

Gawn

3 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

I'm arguing Hibberd shouldn't be a key defender. May, Lever, Tomlinson and Hibberd can work. Hibberd can play smaller and looser.

Could Hibbo manage Mihocek 0r does May take him ? Could be a good match up......Someone's going to have to counter Cox's height - that could be a real challenge / does Max ghost him while Grundy does the bulk of the tap work? Plenty to mull over for this game...

4 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

the FD has to stick with three tall defenders for the rest of the year

This - yes please 

If De Geoy doesn’t get suspended for that I’ll burn the AFL house down 

8 minutes ago, binman said:

Gawn

I thought Adam Cerra was Gawn last week and then some clown at the Tribunal came up with a way to exonerate him.

Hewitt getting concussion test.

West already off and now Hurn hamstring.

Pies will win this by 300 points.

Can only hope Eagles try and hurt a few Pies.

Wouldn’t mind Cox doing a hammy and falling into the Daicos’s.

Edited June 3, 20231 yr by Redleg

Just now, Leopold Bloom said:

I thought Adam Cerra was Gawn last week and then some clown at the Tribunal came up with a way to exonerate him.

That is a clear cut dangerous bump. Feet left the ground, raised elbow, opponent getting a concussion test. 
It is the most obvious suspension handed out all season. 
 

So yes he will probably get off and win the Brownlow. 

In a sense, Tomlinson and Smith were our weakest players. Yet, by playing their role, both our defensive and forward structure looked much improved. Tomlinson's releasing of Lever to play interceptor - thus improving our defensive unit - has been well commented on. Less cited, has been Smith's contribution to the long-awaited return of 2021-style high intensity pressure inside our F50.

To better assess individual performance, we need to move beyond analysing individual stats to comparing unit / team performance when the Individual is present/absent. Smith will kick less goals than Brown but the team may well kick more goals with Smith. Now the experiment has been commenced, give it a decent evaluation.  

Tomlinson and Smith to both stay in. Both playing to keep their spot from Petty.