Must win & must start well

10 hours ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Out.   Chandler.  Jogging. He’s clearly injured.  Clearly.

 AMW IN !!!!  

Out.  Turner.  One good game then lost as a forward v cats and lost v blues.  Natural defender.  
 

MCADAM IN !!! (If fit) 

What about Billings, I'm not sold on him, thoughts.

I don't rate Hunter but he must be a chance to play. He is tough and he shows up.

McAdam a chance if he is fit and has a good game for Casey today.

I think it might be time for Riv to get a full game in the midfield. Woewodin or Hore can take his spot down back. The latter would mean we lose some run, but at least he'll be solid defensively.

Something has to change in the midfield and Riv is the only option I can see until Salem is fit.

Petracca up forward is a game-winning option and looks like our only chance to win the flag, which means we need to spend the next 14 games figuring out the right midfield mix when he's not there.

Edited May 9, 20241 yr by seventyfour

It’ll be a cold day in hell when Fritta is not an automatic best 22.

Did anyone actually watch the game? Fritta was moved onto Weitering in the second half and really curtailed his influence. He played a sacrificial role when it became obvious that Petty was not up for the task of drawing Weitering away from the contest. 
There is no better medium forward in the game. End of story. 
 

I would like to bring Woey into the 22. I love his ability to hit the contest and he’s a good user. Billings to sub for mine. He can make an impact but IMO we have better starting 22 options. 
If Salem is ready he will also be an automatic in, but unsure if they’ll risk him for a Perth trip post hammy. 
 

Also Chin is clearly struggling with his knee. I’d give him a well earned week off and give Kynan Brown a taste or even give Kolt another go in his home state. 
 

I wouldn’t take the Eagles at home lightly, but likewise think we can afford to try a few different things. 

Edited May 9, 20241 yr by Jaded No More

19 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

It’ll be a cold day in hell when Fritta is not an automatic best 22.

Did anyone actually watch the game? Fritta was moved onto Weitering in the second half and really curtailed his influence. He played a sacrificial role when it became obvious that Petty was not up for the task of drawing Weitering away from the contest. 
There is no better medium forward in the game. End of story. 
 

I would like to bring Woey into the 22. I love his ability to hit the contest and he’s a good user. Billings to sub for mine. He can make an impact but IMO we have better starting 22 options. 
If Salem is ready he will also be an automatic in, but unsure if they’ll risk him for a Perth trip post hammy. 
 

Also Chin is clearly struggling with his knee. I’d give him a well earned week off and give Kynan Brown a taste or even give Kolt another go in his home state. 
 

I wouldn’t take the Eagles at home lightly, but likewise think we can afford to try a few different things. 

gawn called this out in his post-match interview too

weitering did not have an intercept mark in the second half apparently? dominated the first

26 minutes ago, Jaded No More said:

It’ll be a cold day in hell when Fritta is not an automatic best 22.

Did anyone actually watch the game? Fritta was moved onto Weitering in the second half and really curtailed his influence. He played a sacrificial role when it became obvious that Petty was not up for the task of drawing Weitering away from the contest. 
There is no better medium forward in the game. End of story. 
 

I would like to bring Woey into the 22. I love his ability to hit the contest and he’s a good user. Billings to sub for mine. He can make an impact but IMO we have better starting 22 options. 
If Salem is ready he will also be an automatic in, but unsure if they’ll risk him for a Perth trip post hammy. 
 

Also Chin is clearly struggling with his knee. I’d give him a well earned week off and give Kynan Brown a taste or even give Kolt another go in his home state. 
 

I wouldn’t take the Eagles at home lightly, but likewise think we can afford to try a few different things. 

My 5 year old daughter is already displaying better forward craft at AusKick than Petty. As I alluded to last week, most of his best stuff was underpinned by teammates neutralising the contest or Petty drifting across to mark. 
It’s not to say that Petty can’t take contested marks but he doesn’t really draw the footy like a forward and clunk contested marks. If JVR could catch a cold, I wouldn’t mind the structure as I think JVR could draw the ball and allow Petty to use his length and leap to drift in and mark. The reality is, JVR is a below average mark for a Key Forward and Petty is a below average footy IQ forward and it’s a terrible combo.

Melk or McAdam would be so so handy rn. We are in dire need for an effective 3rd tall and Disco is not crafty enough to make this work. 

Woey should be in the 22 for Bowey or Billings. Should real running power and effective kicking.

Chin's knee certainly was NQR but i suspect he will be fine after a 10 day break.  

In: Hunter, McAdam 

Out: Billings, Turner

Salem instead of Hunter if fit 

1 hour ago, Jaded No More said:

It’ll be a cold day in hell when Fritta is not an automatic best 22.

Did anyone actually watch the game? Fritta was moved onto Weitering in the second half and really curtailed his influence. He played a sacrificial role when it became obvious that Petty was not up for the task of drawing Weitering away from the contest. 
There is no better medium forward in the game. End of story. 

Toby Greene's 3 times the footballer, and I'd probably rather Jake Waterman, Will Hayward, Ollie Henry, more complete players who provide more than goals.

Good second half for Fritsch, but why did it take a new role for him when he had the easy match up for a half and could've found the ball if he was willing to lead up every now and then and provide anything more than a witches hats effort when the ball hit the deck?

Fine if it was a one-off but he was the same against Geelong, the same against Richmond. He's too talented and vital to just be Bayley the Goose out the back for half a game each week. And if that's what he'll be we may as well have him as sub so someone else can have a go for the first half.

There's no denying he's our most talented forward but he can't have invisible halves with really poor effort level. And I get the supply is bad and the forward line dysfunctional but he has chances to impact and doesn't give it his best.

12 hours ago, DemonWA said:

Minimal changes. Almost glad we got stung, as WCE aren't easy beats. With a bit of fire in the belly from that 1st quarter I'm feeling less MFCSS around the fixture. I'll be in the crowd

Salem should ready after another 10 days to recover.

McAdam simply must play

When Fritsch goes missing he can step up

No change. Maybe swap the sub around. Actually thaught billings played alright last night so should not be dropped.

1 hour ago, SthSea22 said:

McAdam simply must play

When Fritsch goes missing he can step up

Rest Chandler, he can't run and isn't contributing 

Tough loss to take but I honestly believe there are more positives to take away. Would like to think it could be a turning point in our season. Would have been easy to 'turn up the toes' and cop a hiding.Despite the despicable 5 day break we were full of running and endeavour.  Obviously Petracca was outstanding but most others will improve even if it's marginally. I reckon we will win a minimum 5 of the next seven games and go from there. Our draw is reasonably favourable. Stay healthy and I'm confident.  Finally, perhaps a bonus of being mid top 8 for awhile could be that we'll fly under the radar for a bit. Good spot to be.

 

B - McVee, May, Lever

HB - Salem, McDonald, Howes

C - Langdon, Rivers, Windsor

HF - McAdam, van Rooyen, Pickett

F - Fritsch, Petty, Petracca

Ruck - Gawn, Viney, Oliver

Int - Fullerton, Sparrow, Woewodin, Hunter

23rd - Chandler

3 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Toby Greene's 3 times the footballer, and I'd probably rather Jake Waterman, Will Hayward, Ollie Henry, more complete players who provide more than goals.

Good second half for Fritsch, but why did it take a new role for him when he had the easy match up for a half and could've found the ball if he was willing to lead up every now and then and provide anything more than a witches hats effort when the ball hit the deck?

Fine if it was a one-off but he was the same against Geelong, the same against Richmond. He's too talented and vital to just be Bayley the Goose out the back for half a game each week. And if that's what he'll be we may as well have him as sub so someone else can have a go for the first half.

There's no denying he's our most talented forward but he can't have invisible halves with really poor effort level. And I get the supply is bad and the forward line dysfunctional but he has chances to impact and doesn't give it his best.

As much as your posts often take the extreme view of things, there's definitely merit to your views on Fritsch. Last night he showed the poor parts of his game too often: lazy/soft when it hits the deck, and playing from behind far too often.

He was pushed up into the middle at one point in the second quarter (IIRC), which I thought was interesting.

IMO he has more than enough runs on the board to guard against being dropped but that doesn't mean we can't call out the poor parts of his game and you'd hope/expect the FD see it and are working on it.

8 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

As much as your posts often take the extreme view of things, there's definitely merit to your views on Fritsch. Last night he showed the poor parts of his game too often: lazy/soft when it hits the deck, and playing from behind far too often.

He was pushed up into the middle at one point in the second quarter (IIRC), which I thought was interesting.

IMO he has more than enough runs on the board to guard against being dropped but that doesn't mean we can't call out the poor parts of his game and you'd hope/expect the FD see it and are working on it.

The last two weeks they’ve moved him up the ground including around stoppages in the second half and it’s something I’ve been asking for for years.

They need to either start him in that role or do something more drastic (Le Vest) to get more from him, especially with 3 talls and Tracc forward, and McAdam potentially in line to play soon. 

Chandler clearly needs a rest, and I'd be tempted to play Woewodin forward to get him in the team. Otherwise maybe McAdam if he makes it through at least 80% game time today.

Billings had a very good second half and was important to our improved ball movement in that period. He stays.

I'd like to have another look at Turner against lesser opposition, but he simply has to find a way to get involved in the play. At the very least he needs to be providing a contest and bringing the ball to ground. I think we need the three tall forwards, so he probably stays unless Brown kicks a bag in the VFL.

1 hour ago, samcantstandya said:

Rest Chandler, he can't run and isn't contributing 

13 disposals, 8 tackles, 26 pressure acts I’d love to know who you think we’ve got ready to come in who can provide that same defensive effort and win a good share of the footy. 

McAdam’s going to have to be really good and Chandler not recover at all before I’d make that swap. 

14 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

Not sure Turner is the answer but not sure we have any better options available. 

Ditto Billings. 

Probably no change at this stage. 

BBB for Disco would be my change, Mc Adams for Chandler ( rested)

Last week I would've put Billings on the chopping block but he responded last night with 20 touches and good ball use in the last quarter. His passing and inside 50 entries were as advertised when we recruited him.

No change this week. 

Goodwin last week said McAdam is weeks off a debut, so perhaps he debuts against St Kilda.

Our forward line needs an overhaul and I can see McAdam and Melksham (provided he recovers well from his ACL) replacing Turner and someone else (maybe Petty if he persists with these sub 10 possession/2 mark/goalless games.)

4 hours ago, MrFreeze said:

Melk or McAdam would be so so handy rn. We are in dire need for an effective 3rd tall and Disco is not crafty enough to make this work. 

Woey should be in the 22 for Bowey or Billings. Should real running power and effective kicking.

Chin's knee certainly was NQR but i suspect he will be fine after a 10 day break.  

I hope it's just his knee because he went missing this time last year for a considerable amount of games.

This needs to be a 10+ goal victory to make up for last night. No excuses, no mucking around. Get to work and get it done. We need to get on a 5-6 win run to bolster top 4 chances. Top 2 is almost out of reach atm. Cats and Sydney wont be dropping many more games from here. 

48 minutes ago, SthSea22 said:

 

B - McVee, May, Lever

HB - Salem, McDonald, Howes

C - Langdon, Rivers, Windsor

HF - McAdam, van Rooyen, Pickett

F - Fritsch, Petty, Petracca

Ruck - Gawn, Viney, Oliver

Int - Fullerton, Sparrow, Woewodin, Hunter

23rd - Chandler

Bowey?

14 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

dropping Fritsch

One of the best fwds about .

And certainly ours.