5 hours ago, Adam The God said:

I hope we don't make too many changes. We want consistency when you win like we did the other day.

I agree. And although I I value McVee greatly it would be hard on Howes to drop him

17 minutes ago, Farmer said:

I agree. And although I I value McVee greatly it would be hard on Howes to drop him

I agree that it would be hard on Howes to drop him: but it is a good place to be in when these types of hard decisions can be made at selection. Far better than vainly trying to find a replacement for an underperformer.

Edited April 23, 2025Apr 23 by monoccular

3 hours ago, Deeman said:

Let's not forget that the Casey game is being played tomorrow morning so we need some big man strength there to counter Noah Balta.

Balta’s not playing in either the VFL nor AFL. He can’t play night games due to his curfew of 10pm which rules him out of AFL and the club have given him the week off VFL as it’s “been a big week for him”.

McVee must play AFL. It’s easy to forget how good he is but he’s a star, we’ve really missed him. Great defender, good one on one, quick, good skills, good teammate. Great in.

I hope May gets up too.

I really hope Melksham gets up too, this may be harsh as I love Fritta and he’s been such a gun for us but what he’s been doing without the ball this season is not up to it. He lacks intensity and does what I used to do in junior footy (a shocking indictment), he makes it look like he’s chasing and pressuring but mainly just corrals and never gets close enough or desperate enough for real pressure. He’s also missed some sitters, that round one snap to put us four goals up still haunts me. I’d like to see him rip it up at VFL level this week to earn his place, plus Melksham does many things well and is important for leading our forward line.

I’d stick with Fullarton, Cambell needs game time, and Fullo did enough last week to earn another go against the Richmond second rucks.

Edited April 23, 2025Apr 23 by deejammin'

3 hours ago, adonski said:

Fullerton looks like a dud

Play a tall with a future

Ooh, so edgy.

5 hours ago, Harvey Wallbanger said:

Fair point - 6 disposals and the lowest individual player rating doesn't really do it for me. Happy to see improvement from Tom in Game 2, if he plays.

The other consideration is what they expect from Max - with Turner going down, and Petty staying forward, it was suggested that Max played a more defensive role in the second half than otherwise?

Agreed. That's not a sustainable performance.

However, his first AFL game for yonks. Get the nerves outta the way. Reset for this week and hopefully a better result.

Apart from the middle to top end talent, i would think most fringe players would take a few weeks to find their feet, especially if they haven't played in years.

Hopefully he will step up.

But there's also the role playing component.

Provide a competitive chop out and neutralise against the oppo ruck where possible. Wins to advantage a bonus.

Act as a decoy at times taking your opponent away from the hot zones or lanes that Petty / Fritta / Melk / Kozzy & Tracc are looking to work into.

Draw the occasional extra defender on your own leads and / or get the ball to ground as bare minimum for the smalls to work on (front & square etc). Oppo defenders usually don't do so well when up against a 2 meter + player who hits up at the ball carrier. Especially when the ball's coming in quickly.

If he gets these basics right, provides a half decent chop out and goals occasionally, then he's played his role for the team.

The FD will be all over this anyways and he'll be well scripted as to what his minimum requirements are. Part of that will probably be work rate and 2nd efforts, multiple leads, what he does without the ball etc.

Edited April 23, 2025Apr 23 by Demon Dynasty