We should play Verrel as Max’s replacement.

l believe we recruited him to be a ruckman , so surely his time has come.

He’s got to play his first game sometime - give the kid a go.

1 minute ago, Dingo said:

He’s got to play his first game sometime

Yes, when he's ready for AFL level.  Will Verrall is not at this stage of his career at this point.

12 minutes ago, Dingo said:

We should play Verrel as Max’s replacement.

l believe we recruited him to be a ruckman , so surely his time has come.

He’s got to play his first game sometime - give the kid a go.

Verrel relative? 

1 hour ago, biggestred said:

As long as we crack in and have a red hot dip for 4qs I'll be happy.

If we crack in and have a red hot dip for 4 qtrs, we'll win by 50+.

Essendon's secret weakness is the presence of an opponent!

In: Fullarton, Petty

Out: Gawn, Woewodin

Sub: Turner

Initially wanted to keep Turner in the team, but struggling to find an alternative sub and he provides flexibility forward and back.

Edited July 9, 2024Jul 9 by Nascent

5 hours ago, buck_nekkid said:

Is everyone forgetting the Schaque attack?  No? Fullarton then for the win! 

Haven't forgotten him. Just pray the selectors have.

Essendons irrelevance the last 20 years has nearly made me forget how much l despise this club.

Some of the comments I’ve heard from this mob, from Gawn being scared of Draper to the snow & cheese platter comments has me dreaming of winning without Max & Tracc playing, would make my week.

I’m strangely confident 

3 hours ago, middleagedemon said:

There's a reason the overwhelming majority (if not all) in the footballing media world agreed it was deliberate and not a trip. 

At what point are people willing to take off their glasses on here to just see an act as it is? 

So bizarre. 

If he had the opportunity to kick a match winning goal, do you think the 'trip' would have stopped him doing so? 

Just take the glasses off. 

Old news, done to death move on.

2 hours ago, Nascent said:

In: Fullarton, Petty

Out: Gawn, Woewodin

Sub: Turner

Initially wanted to keep Turner in the team, but struggling to find an alternative sub and he provides flexibility forward and back.

I'd keep Turner on the ground ahead of Fullerton and Petty.   I do think we will need to pick Petty to play Max's role, attend centre bounces and drop back to take contested marks.  JVR and Turner to help out.  Maybe TMac too.  It could really be (big) musical chairs out there.

It'd be great if we treat this like a final. Clarrie will surely shine in a contested maul.

 

1 hour ago, Witches Hat said:

Haven't forgotten him. Just pray the selectors have.

Papers were stamped after a dreadful game in rd 0 against the Swans. I was at that game and he was truly horrible. Zero physical presence or appetite for a contest 

I'm quietly optimistic that if selected Fullerton will put in a very good show.

I suspect he has been given the same message the club gave Pederson in 2017, something like "stay fit as he needs to be ready when the team needs him". 

In his WCE post game press conf Goodwin mentioned the coaches did a great job of giving the young players a simple message on their role in our game style.  Reasonable to think the same will be done for Fullerton.

We don't need anything fancy.  He just needs to follow instructions and play his role.

33 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

I'm quietly optimistic that if selected Fullerton will put in a very good show.

I suspect he has been given the same message the club gave Pederson in 2017, something like "stay fit as he needs to be ready when the team needs him". 

In his WCE post game press conf Goodwin mentioned the coaches did a great job of giving the young players a simple message on their role in our game style.  Reasonable to think the same will be done for Fullerton.

We don't need anything fancy.  He just needs to follow instructions and play his role.

Even if he's getting beaten he needs to compete and compete hard.

We will need to share Max's workload.

In a recent game Petty took the kick in after a point.  iirc that was when JvR rucked and Max rested. 

So, it could be something like:  Fullerton, if he plays, rucks CB, then goes into defence to cover the Max role there.  Then takes the d50 ruck work, while Petty takes the kick-ins and JvR stays fwd.  

When Fullerton is off the ground, TMc takes the ruck role in d50, JvR does the CB and f50 ruckwork.  This can be shared with Turner if needed.

 

This might also help counter the way Ess are playing.  Vs Pies they took a trillion uncontested marks and used short, low kicks from their d50 to their f50.  Without Max lurking down back, that game style may not work so well for them, especially if we limit Merrett's impact between the arcs.

 

It will be a fascinating game !!!

Quietly optimistic we will win!!

 

Edited July 9, 2024Jul 9 by Lucifers Hero

Looking forward to seeing how we cover Max's absence. I don't see us changing our setup very much after the good pressure we showed last game. 

It will also be a bit of an unknown for the Bombers as they, along with all the other teams in the comp set up to Max's taps most of the time and accept a negative, covering attitude at the center bounces and, to a lesser extent at stoppages around the ground. Without Max there they will need to adjust to their ruck winning more taps and their mids will need to be more aggressive at the ball rather than trying to negate our mids. It may open up the work around the stoppages for us a little.

I am sure we are doing a lot of work on all of their possible rucks to put in place a few options as to setup to ensure we get some good clearance numbers. 

Around the ground I think we can cover them. It will again require a lot of thought and planning to work our way around this but the basic nonnegotiable is that we bring the pressure for 4 quarters and force the turnovers. Force the turnovers and nail the transition with speed and being clean by hand and foot.

B: Lever, May, Bowey

HB: AM-W, TMac, McVee

C: Langdon, Oliver, Windsor

HF: ANB, JVR, Pickett

F: Melksham, Fristch, Chandler

Fol: Fullerton, Viney, Rivers

IC: Salem, Sparrow, Tholstrup, Turner, Verrall - sub

Yep... I know no Petty, and Verrall as sub. 

The forward setup last week worked as good as it has all year and I think it would be a good thing to give it another run. Petty at Casey for mine.

We do not seem to use the sub as an aggressive move at all. It may be an evolving role for all teams but I think this may work for us. Fullerton as main ruck with Turner as back up. Those two can rotate between ruck and forward as required. As long as we do not have any injuries we bring on Verrall half way through the 3rd quarter for either of them. We get to see what he has at this stage and a fresh set of legs to run the oppo ruck around a bit more.

4 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

It will be a fascinating game !!!

Quietly optimistic we will win!!

 

It most certainly will,  be fascinating,

I mean.  

First and probably only HnA game for me, and sorry I am pessimistic.

Go Dee’s.   Go hard or go home. 

22 hours ago, deejammin' said:

Except this week when Harris Andrews did the exact same thing against Adelaide in the third quarter and a throw in was called.

The commentators even called it “Neale-Bullen like” when describing their shock it wasn’t called. 
 

FWIW I think the May non called clear mark on the wing and Ed Langdons clear HTB tackle in the backline contributed more to us losing the game than ANB’s call. They’d already drawn even by then whereas the previous two calls happened when we were ahead.

I think the nibbla decision was right.

And to be honest I wish more umpires had the fortitude to make  decisions at such a critical moments.

The umpires job is to pay frees that are there regardless of the ramifications or point in the match

Too many umpires take the easy way out and avoid making a decision at all near the end of close games. The whole 'they've put the whistle away' palaver is a joke. 

So the media should be pumping him up.

But my frustration is how inconsistent the umpiring is from game to game and within matches.

On the former, tracc getting basically dragged to the ground in the dying seconds in the game against the blues is an example that comes to mind. Crystal clear free completey let go.

And on the latter, in the lions game there were several non decisions we should have got in the last quarter that cost us dearly as the free paid against nibbla.

The AFL is treating fans as a joke. We deserve more. Stop wasting money on stupid things like tracking micro chips in footies and pour it into improving the standard of umpiring.

Edited July 9, 2024Jul 9 by binman

7 minutes ago, binman said:

But my frustration is how inconsistent the umpiring is from game to game and within matches.

You are never going to get consistency with the multitude of opinions and interpretations out there on the ground now. They have all the power

6 hours ago, jnrmac said:

Papers were stamped after a dreadful game in rd 0 against the Swans. I was at that game and he was truly horrible. Zero physical presence or appetite for a contest 

Four disposals and two set shots, neither overly difficult, for no goals. Prefer others (to use racing parlance).

Edited July 9, 2024Jul 9 by M_9

B: Lever, May, McVee

HB: Moniz-Wakefield, McDonald, Salem

C: Windsor, Rivers, Langdon

HF: Tholstrup, Petty, Neal-Bullen

F: Fritsch, van Rooyen, Melksham

FOLL: Fullerton, Viney, Pickett

IC: Bowey, Oliver, Sparrow, Chandler

SUB: Turner

EMERG: Jefferson, Hore, Woewodin

 

Edited July 9, 2024Jul 9 by WERRIDEE

1 hour ago, binman said:

…The AFL is treating fans as a joke. We deserve more. Stop wasting money on stupid things like tracking micro chips in footies and pour it into improving the standard of umpiring.

Like $500k for the top ones? 
As long as they were accountable and regularly reviewed, and dropped if out of form. 
i’m pretty sure there will be people queueing up if the job paid like that.

On 09/07/2024 at 08:45, picket fence said:

Petty has been terrible all season as a forward, so I would'nt be playing him, but they probably will, why not Turner in Ruck in Tandem with JVR and debut Jeffo??

I agree with your general sentiment Picket but I don't think you can leave Petty out just as a he starts to show signs of solid form, especially for a first gamer in a must win. He should have been dropped 6 weeks ago but he wasn't, the time has passed and his stats v Brisbane suggest he may have finally turned the corner 🤞

20 hours ago, Nascent said:

In: Fullarton, Petty

Out: Gawn, Woewodin

Sub: Turner

Initially wanted to keep Turner in the team, but struggling to find an alternative sub and he provides flexibility forward and back.

Keep Turner in the team - he is approaching full 'usefulness', his form has been quite contributory.

1 hour ago, Deemania since 56 said:

Keep Turner in the team - he is approaching full 'usefulness', his form has been quite contributory.

Everyone played their part last weekend. I can’t see anyone being dropped because of form. Selection is going to be more difficult than it has in awhile.

To combat the Bombers chip kick/mark non-contested footy strategy/strength would it be wise to set up a bit deeper defensively? 

Perhaps give them the chip kick in their defensive two thirds of the ground and fill/make small their offensive third? This will mean they will have to win contests in a smaller space to generate shots. They seem to be more dangerous in space than in one on one / two on two situations. Setting up further back defensively also gives us the potential to outnumber them in their forward line. 

With our recently unveiled younger players (Kolt, AMW) and ANB playing more across the middle we've got some extra pace to spread and hurt on the counter attack/slingshot than we did earlier in the year (eg. when Billings/Hunter/McAdam etc. were in the side).

7 minutes ago, Dee*ceiving said:

To combat the Bombers chip kick/mark non-contested footy strategy/strength would it be wise to set up a bit deeper defensively? 

Perhaps give them the chip kick in their defensive two thirds of the ground and fill/make small their offensive third? This will mean they will have to win contests in a smaller space to generate shots. They seem to be more dangerous in space than in one on one / two on two situations. Setting up further back defensively also gives us the potential to outnumber them in their forward line. 

With our recently unveiled younger players (Kolt, AMW) and ANB playing more across the middle we've got some extra pace to spread and hurt on the counter attack/slingshot than we did earlier in the year (eg. when Billings/Hunter/McAdam etc. were in the side).

If we set up any deeper, we won't be on the field at all. Our defensive zone for most of the year has been deep because we've been trying to slingshot into the space created the other way.

I'd actually like us to go the other way and play a more aggressive, in your face style against Essendon. I'd rather us play the more explosive, combative style that we played against Brisbane. The old Richmond style, take territory with the ball, and push up at the ball carrier when not in possession. 

The difficult thing to predict is what sort of effect does not having Max have on our contest game. Does it make it easier to play the combative game or harder? I'd say harder because we don't have the ascendancy in the ruck, so to play the percentages, we may well sit our zone deep and look to intercept and go the other way. The wet weather won't help those attempts though.

Edited July 10, 2024Jul 10 by Binmans PA