57 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Jefferson is miles away from AFL footy, Adams needs 10 really good games for Casey at least......Turner is the only one and I believe he's injured. I'll be shocked if Schache doesn't get a guernsey. I really hope he can clunk a few, bring the rest to ground and maybe kick 1 or 2.......

One of the 3 if we have no other choice.  If we were desperate for a tall in the backline we'd be faced with the same dilemma

Take Lever & May out and what are we left with?  Maybe Tomlinson but he's best suited as a 3rd tall not the main man

If you go too medium/small in the forward line you end up conceding easy marks to the opposition

I wouldn't be playing Schache on what I've seen but again, what choice do we have?

Tomlinson is another option forward but what we need is a big bodied forward with a bit of phsicality or at least another tall who can play in front and put his body on the line

 

Edited February 8, 20241 yr by Macca

On 07/02/2024 at 18:04, Demonland said:

100% has some awareness in the legs. I’m no sports injury specialist but if his running today was solely a fitness issue as has been suggested then he is a long way off from playing.

I don’t believe that to be the case. Whilst his conditioning when arriving at the club probably wasn’t up to scratch as has also been hinted at he has shown some impressive moments on the track that I have witnessed and I would still have picked him in the opening round given that Kozzy is out. 

Today he 100% looked to be carrying something and did look uncomfortable at times. Most likely hammy awareness. Again I am not qualified to make that assessment but I wasn’t the only one to observe that. 

If that is the case then he may be pushing up hill for opening round but I am choosing to start the year positively and hope he can play in one of the practice matches and then tear the SCG apart. 

My understanding is that McAdam’s groins have flared up and he is very unlikely to play early in the season.

20 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

I believe he's also injured

My understanding is that it’s not short term either. May be lucky to play in the first half of the season. Poor fella cannot get a clear run at it.

32 minutes ago, forever demons said:

Is that all?Do you put your legs thru the loops

Do I put my legs through the loops???!!!!  Don’t be ridiculous! My arms go through the loops! 

4 hours ago, Macca said:

One of the 3 if we have no other choice.  If we were desperate for a tall in the backline we'd be faced with the same dilemma

Take Lever & May out and what are we left with?  Maybe Tomlinson but he's best suited as a 3rd tall not the main man

If you go too medium/small in the forward line you end up conceding easy marks to the opposition

I wouldn't be playing Schache on what I've seen but again, what choice do we have?

Tomlinson is another option forward but what we need is a big bodied forward with a bit of phsicality or at least another tall who can play in front and put his body on the line

 

Maybe in the event of necessity, Tomlinson will need to just step up. Sure, best suited as 3rd tall, but really very few games turn out as ideal for everyone.

If one went medium small as a forward line then of course bombing it to a pack would be stupid and fatal.  In the event all the medium smalls would just have to keep on the move with leads and dummy leads to stop presenting oppositions with marking contests.  Hard work but needs to be done. Which is why the fittest (conditioning not just injury wise) team has a huge advantage. 

52 minutes ago, monoccular said:

Maybe in the event of necessity, Tomlinson will need to just step up. Sure, best suited as 3rd tall, but really very few games turn out as ideal for everyone.

If one went medium small as a forward line then of course bombing it to a pack would be stupid and fatal.  In the event all the medium smalls would just have to keep on the move with leads and dummy leads to stop presenting oppositions with marking contests.  Hard work but needs to be done. Which is why the fittest (conditioning not just injury wise) team has a huge advantage. 

Specifically in the first game, the ground (SCG) itself is quite small.  And given the fitness of the players who can run all game and then all the flooding, class is needed in the forward line

Forwards who can win their own ball

So we should expect Sydney to crowd our forward line at every opportunity.  And they'll double team Fritsch you'd imagine.  

We need 2 big targets who will compete hard, mono.  JVR & ????

Schache?  I'm not filled with confidence

Turner or Tomlinson maybe but playing as a KPF is a lot harder than as a KPD

I'm holding out hope that T-Mac can somehow overcome the calf niggle as we know what he can bring (when fit)

Petty?  It's just fingers crossed with this bloke

By the looks of it, Jefferson isn't ready and Adams the same 

What we do know is that the MC must start planning the actual make-up of the forward line as soon as possible.  They need to practice together

It's so important to start the season off with a win 

If I was to hazard a guess I reckon Tomlinson will end up being the 2nd tall forward

B       Bowey       May       Turner

HB    Salem        Lever     McVee

C      Hunter  Brayshaw  Langdon

HF    Fritsch      JVR       Petracca

F      Chandler  Tomlinson  Billings

R      Gawn        Oliver       Viney

Int   Sparrow (Oliver)  Rivers (Brayshaw) Windsor (Hunter) ANB (Petracca) 

Sub  Tholstrup (?)

On paper, it's not a great forward line but I've got Petracca playing 35% forward as long as Clarrie plays (???) 

McAdam is in, if fit (for Billings) 

T-Mac is in, if fit (for Tomlinson) 

As for the 2nd rucking with or without Schache, who knows?  He'll possibly play but I can't find a spot for him unless he takes the place of Turner or Tomlinson

 

Edited February 8, 20241 yr by Macca

10 hours ago, chook fowler said:

i wear one of those when near Filth supporters.

Apparently the Filth collect the used ones off the streets and recycle them as underwear

Step (over) one...Get Some!

Given our forward issues, I doubt we can win in Sydney😬

20 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

 

Overall, Shane is happy to be living in Melbourne because his uncle and cousins - with whom he’s very close - live here, as well as his brother, Ash Johnson. 

His brother is Ash Johnson?

20 hours ago, old55 said:

Burgo would have told McAdam to run it out

And there lies one of the big reasons McAdam was unsettled at Adelaide. Lots of words went back and forth between him and Burgess. McAdam said he felt an injury and he shouldn’t be in main training to make sure he doesn’t trigger anything. Burgo told him to do get in the group and as you say ‘run it out’ and an injury occurred that session and he missed 4+ weeks.

 

That’s McAdam’s version of events anyway. 

1 hour ago, The Jackson FIX said:

His brother is Ash Johnson?

Correct 

 

7 hours ago, picket fence said:

Given our forward issues, I doubt we can win in Sydney😬

I still believe we can win but we'll need a few things going our way.  And Sydney aren't a great team either

Our team can still be strong away from the overall forward line but our half forward line at least can be relatively good (Fritsch,  JVR,  Petracca/ANB)

And on a small ground like the SCG that might cover it

But the other issue is our movement into the forward line - it has to be slick otherwise we'll be entering a crowded forward line filled with replacement forwards

And it's important to note that the yips in front of goal we had against Carlton in the SF came from the replacement forward line, not our first choice forwards

That gets forgotten by the doomsayers who conveniently put aside our forward line woes as if it's not an issue

Up to 7 forwards being unavailable is unprecedented.  At least 3 of which are starters in the 22

3 hours ago, The Jackson FIX said:

His brother is Ash Johnson?

His half-brother, but I don’t like that term. I have sons who are considered half-brothers and last time I checked, they’re each a whole person 😅

15 hours ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Do I put my legs through the loops???!!!!  Don’t be ridiculous! My arms go through the loops! 

I am wondering how many Dls secretly tried on a mask over legs and arms.For me its just a comfort thing.

I think we have reached the point where MFC supporters will count their lucky stars that we have the likes of Schache and Tomlinson on our list!

Our midfield is still amongst the best, most feared in the comp.

Our backline is blessed for wealth and depth.

Our forward line round zero, given injury concerns, should read as follows,

HF: Spargo, JVR, Billings

F: Fritsch, Schache, Tholstrup

with ANB and Chandler off the bench 

21 hours ago, Demonsone said:

The jinx & curse continues .. our forwards have had the injury curse for decades, Schwartz, Lyon, jackovich, brown, Tmac, 

Glenn Swan   Jesse Hogan 

11 hours ago, Macca said:

As for the 2nd rucking with or without Schache, who knows?  He'll possibly play but I can't find a spot for him unless he takes the place of Turner or Tomlinson

 

I know it's more than reasonable for you to be unable to find a spot for Schache, but if he can't get a game with T Mac, BBB, Petty, Fullarton and McAdam all (potentially) missing round 0 then he and the club should call it a day.

He's a "break glass in case of emergency" player and round 0 is looking like an emergency at the moment.

I feel as though I'm hyping up Schahce and will probably be set up for disappointment given his track record, but he's all we've got at the moment if those calf and foot injuries linger.

Tomlinson should be in defence in round 0 as May/Lever and him work well and our excellent defence is what will keep us in the game. Has Turner ever played forward?  

 

 

 

  

27 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

His half-brother, but I don’t like that term. I have sons who are considered half-brothers and last time I checked, they’re each a whole person 😅

But only half as good as a sister :)

16 hours ago, Yze_13 said:

My understanding is that McAdam’s groins have flared up and he is very unlikely to play early in the season.

So now we have reports of his hamstring, calf and groin. Amazed he can walk.

28 minutes ago, forever demons said:

I am wondering how many Dls secretly tried on a mask over legs and arms.For me its just a comfort thing.

1 minute ago, Demonland said:

So now we have reports of his hamstring, calf and groin. Amazed he can walk.

I heard he also had a tooth ache.

Personally I'd play a half fit Oliver in the goal square, JVR and Fritsch as marking targets , with ANB, Spargo and Schache the others. Chandler as sub to replace Schache if he fails to impact.

Having said what I said about round 0 forward line,

I still think McAdam will get up!

I also add Bill to the potential bench lineup

Didn't know we are playing next week that snuck up quick we are lucky to put a side on the park, oh wait, sorry we don't play until March ....... 

No training report for today? Whats the go?