1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Geeze Bower has shot up!

I also thought Judd McVee probably had his best game since returning from injury. Is it just me or does he look like he’s lost a few kilos? His frame looks like he did when he first joined us. I thought he almost looked unwell, has he had any other issues other than the hammy?

26 minutes ago, ManDee said:

I also disagree with you Picket. AJ is doing his job, he is not pretty or skilful. He breaks opposition defences structure.

Currently no one at Casey is doing a better job. Max gets to rest and AJ is serviceable.

I am interested who you think fills the 2nd ruck forward roll better at the moment.

T.Mac who then goes forward Or Petty

9 hours ago, Bozo said:

An ok (but wasteful) win against a weakened opponent. Many players and coaching staff playing for their careers and it shows. The true tests are ahead. Having said that, there are some encouraging fundamental signals. Critical is evolving competition for spots in the side.

Agree.

Was there today and enjoyed the win. Whilst we had a big win we need to acknowledge at times our kicking is bloody ordinary, led by none other than Trac and Oliver. Gawns handball after receiving a 50 (40) metre penalty was just ridiculous, is his confidence that shot? He can kick them from everywhere in general play but is spooked by set shots. Also at times we were too loose defensively and I’d like to see us try and use the corridor more when transitioning after we force a turn over, this should be a focus for us moving fwd, this will / should benefit our fwds. This will seem like an odd comment just after kicking our biggest score for two years but putting aside some individual brilliance at times scoring doesn’t come naturally to us. Yes one week at a time but a massive test coming in 2 weeks against a Pies outfit that have the luxury of resting players and still dominating. Any potential change that makes us better by as little as 1% should be made. It wasn’t that long ago TMac was leading a number defensive stats across the league, I’d bring him back in and move Disco fwd in place of AJ. Disco can take a mark and can nail difficult set shots in addition to crashing packs and tapping the ball fwd. Sharp to get a full game ahead of Spargo.

Gawn can’t be killed.

Kosi must be kep at all costs.

I met Fritsch’s nan, no relevance to anything just thought I’d mention it.

What a great win, exemplified by:

• Team ‘buy in’

• Team pressure

• Team camaraderie

Go Dees ❤️💙

Kudos to the bloke in standing room behind M4, level 1 who at the 38 minute mark of the last quarter and another umpiring delay yelled out “come on, I have to go to work tomorrow”

1 minute ago, picket fence said:

T.Mac who then goes forward Or Petty

Fair call, TMac has said his ankles (I think) are not up to playing forward anymore but I do like him as a forward. Petty is already there and offers very little in the ruck.

Do you at the least see the value of AJ as a disruptor? I think he plays because he offers real aggression and cuts a path opening the game for those around him.

I would keep AJ until someone at Casey finally realises what is required, or as you say give TMac a go.

6 minutes ago, Deeoldfart said:

What a great win, exemplified by:

• Team ‘buy in’

• Team pressure

• Team camaraderie

Go Dees ❤️💙

Whilst all three of those things have improved drastically since rd 1 our pressure had not even come close to that what Collingwood brings. Big test in two weeks.

35 minutes ago, Adina88 said:

Goody's relentless optimism is something he's always bagged for

I have to admit, a couple of the things he said in press conferences eight or nine weeks ago sounded like ludicrous delusion to me. Not now.

I also think he deserves a huge amount of credit for never stooping to Sheedy-esque sooking and smokescreening, even when things looked really bleak. He's not a great public speaker, but he has a certain graciousness that few of his contemporaries stick to. (Hardwick may be a genius of a coach, but some of his press conference stuff is shrivel-into-a-ball cringeworthy.)

12 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

We won all four quarters, including 8 goals in the fourth, winning it by 3 goals despite Sydney having had 2 extra days’ break and us playing in Brisbane last week.

Any reason why Langdon only played 78% TOG? Very low by his standards. Managing him through this tough part of the fixture?

Pickett did everything he did despite only 76% TOG. He only played 3/4 of the match!

Langdon got whacked in the eye in the 3rd qtr (?)and went off for a bit.

10 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Shame he dropped the chest mark 25m out but I think you are being harsh.

He crashes packs like TMac used to do back in 2019/20. Its really important for our small fwds and there are no stats for it. He gives max a decent chop out as well.

I think that's right - you can't underestimate the importance of the key forwards bringing the ball to ground (well, ot would appear some can).

Its really their most important metric - which by the by poimts to a weakness in the Champion Data player ratings system, ie it doesn't factor in things such as adherence to role, importance to structure.

Petty and AJ were both much more influential than their ratings suggests.

AJ also brings great energy to the team, an energy that has to be infectious.

That said he can't rely on that alone. He reminds me of kolt in that regard, great energy but not enough direct impact.

He needs to start clunking some marks up forward and kicking some goals as he's actually not being used much in the ruck so he had to earn his keep as a forward.

it would appear maxy doesn't need much of a chop out.

As evidence, in a big, must win game (not to mention long and high scorin, meaning lots of centre bounces) yesterday there were 122 ruck contests - Maxy took 108 (85%) of them.

And AJ only went to 6 of 35 centre bounce ruck contests.

Contrast that to the swans, who also have a gun number one ruck. Grundy had 95 ruck contests and Peter Ladhams 27.

If our second ruck isn't needed foe more than 15-20% if ruck contests then AJ is competing with JVR. So he Ned's to kick sme goals.

Ultimately JVR will 100% come back in, probably at AJ's expense.

But personally as much as i love JVR his development is not going to be hurt playing some more games at Casey and I'd be giving AJ a chance to get his forward craft in shape (it's worth noting he was a forward at Werribee) and build his confidence at senior level. Can only help the team.

On JVR, I wonder whether he's struggled this season with the bollocking andcerestlint work our key forwards have given do - which would be no shock given he is only 22 and not particularly tall.

Edited May 26May 26 by binman

3 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

His role isn't about possessions it's about creating a contest in the ruck when Gawn is off and creating a contest inside 50 to create opportunities for Pickett, Melksham, Fritsch etc

2nd ruck has been an issue for a while and at the moment the balance is working. You need to look at the team being more than the sum of its parts.

Yeh Pickett, what do you think Max is now getting a rest for.

On AJ, it's a sad state of affairs that he is the best we have right now in this role until JVR starts clunking them again but I agree that his efforts are admirable and I have no doubt watching him that he is a selfless player and will always commit.

In all fairness however, its a pretty low bar for him. We're talking up his scrapping and physicality when really this should be the minimum commitment for every player ever to pull on the red and blue.

A knock on here and there is yes, a positive. But to me this was offset by a couple missed handball turnovers along with a shocking chest mark he spilt about 20m straight in front. If this was JVR (as we have higher expectations) then we'd all be spitting out our frothies in disgust. Instead, being an older aged rookie we all desperately cling to his positives no mattter what they are and try to look past the mistakes.

I actually think give him another couple games to see if he gets more used to the speed of the game and see if improves further. If not, we really can't keep him in.

Petty would offer the same in the ruck (bugger all) and has more skill around the grounds. I'm confident he'll be able to replace Aidan's 4 hit outs, two tackles and no marks over the last fortnight.

Then its either JVR as a permanent forward (when he's ready) or Disco back up forward and TMAC in down back where he was doing very nicely.

22 minutes ago, ManDee said:

Fair call, TMac has said his ankles (I think) are not up to playing forward anymore but I do like him as a forward. Petty is already there and offers very little in the ruck.

Do you at the least see the value of AJ as a disruptor? I think he plays because he offers real aggression and cuts a path opening the game for those around him.

I would keep AJ until someone at Casey finally realises what is required, or as you say give TMac a go.

This is probably what will happen!

16 hours ago, Red But Mostly Blue said:

Also, it’s so good to see Narrm winning its games this year!!! 🤣

See, this is the thing, we've been Narrm for 8 games, with a 4/8 win ratio. The rubbish we don't win under Narrm is just that, rubbish. But by far this year has been the most satisfying of those :)

33 minutes ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

I met Fritsch’s nan, no relevance to anything just thought I’d mention it.

Vonnie is so lovely :)

[censored] me,

No.1 job of a key fwd is to take contested marks and kick goals. Bringing the ball to ground is a distant second and is a bi product of not marking the bloody thing to begin with. We all love the way AJ goes about it but if he is to keep his spot based on purely that and a few deft taps we’re not serious. Play Turner fwd and if Petty has to spend some time in the ruck so be it. Turner has nailed some important set shots this season from difficult angles. Against better opposition our opportunities will be less, we need key fwds who can take their chances and nail set shots.

11 minutes ago, binman said:

I think that's right - you can't underestimate the importance of the key forwards bringing the ball to ground (well, ot would appear some can).

Its really their most important metric - which by the by poimts to a weakness in the Champion Data player ratings system, ie it doesn't factor in things such as adherence to role, importance to structure.

Petty and AJ were both much more influential than their ratings suggests.

AJ also brings great energy to the team, an energy that has to be infectious.

That said he can't rely on that alone. He reminds me of kolt in that regard, great energy but not enough direct impact.

He needs to start clunking some marks up forward and kicking some goals as he's actually not being used much in the ruck so he had to earn his keep as a forward.

it would appear maxy doesn't need much of a chop out.

As evidence, in a big, must win game (not to mention long and high scorin, meaning lots of centre bounces) yesterday there were 122 ruck contests - Maxy took 108 (85%) of them.

And AJ only went to 6 of 35 centre bounce ruck contests.

Contrast that to the swans, who also have a gun number one ruck. Grundy had 95 ruck contests and Peter Ladhams 27.

If our second ruck isn't needed foe more than 15-20% if ruck contests then AJ is competing with JVR. So he Ned's to kick sme goals.

Ultimately JVR will 100% come back in, probably at AJ's expense.

But personally as much as i love JVR his development is not going to be hurt playing some more games at Casey and I'd be giving AJ a chance to get his forward craft in shape (it's worth noting he was a forward at Werribee) and build his confidence at senior level. Can only help the team.

On JVR, I wonder whether he's struggled this season with the bollocking andcerestlint work our key forwards have given do - which would be no shock given he is only 22 and not particularly tall.

Similar to your thoughts I thought Rivers played a really good game mostly on heeney despite Heeny getting 3 goals. he is really becoming one of our most important players but doesn't always impact the stat sheet

Edited May 26May 26 by jnrmac

51 minutes ago, Red But Mostly Blue said:

That's the thing. Those calling for AJ to be dropped obviously subscribe to this revolving door approach where we promote from Casey just because we think whoever was dropped should be doing better. But, guess what, the guy called up from Casey is usually not ready, so they, too, get dropped. And the cycle continues. And to top it off, AJ can ruck - which limits the pool even more!

In a perfect world, JVR would have continued his form from last year, and be on 20 goals right now. If he was, AJ would be at Casey crashing packs and shanking kicks, but no doubt doing some really handy things, and rucking.

As JVR is not where he should/could be, he has to find some form and confidence in the 2s. In the meantime, we are working with AJ, who is making the most of his opportunity and having some fun, and I think contributing to positive morale.

And he's kind of scary. And I like that. We need to bring some fear into our oppo.

He’s doing his job, and good luck to him. Hopefully the hands will get better. But to be fair, 3 of his pressure acts were needed after he dropped a mark, missed a handball, and fumbled a ground ball.

Also, his ruckwork gave away at least 3 free kicks, so that’s another thing to work on.

There are 3 other options at Casey, but none of them have done enough to take his place.

4 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

Similar to your thoughts I thought Rivers played a really good game mostly on heeney despite Heeny getting 3 goals. he is really becoming one of our most important players but doesn't always impact the stat sheet

The whole midfield has had more defensive intent over the last six weeks.

Also good to see McVee in there.

14 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

I haven’t seen the game but if their pressure was 220 in the first half and we still managed to win both quarters and lead by 20–odd, that’s a stunning outcome and, like you, probably going to be my favourite thing to come out of today.

Although also, @jnrmac will be happy as we won all four quarters!

Yes very happy. It was our most comprehensive 4 qtr performance for some time. And particularly given the pressure of the Swans in the first half. People saying Swans were putrid but in that first half they were pouring on the pressure.

Our structures behind the ball were generally outstanding. There is also a genuine understanding between our players now about where to run, spread, corral etc. Our fwd half tackles were impressive (20 tackles i50) which allowed Pickett to run riot.

I also watched Spargo closey and his work off the ball is very good. Measuring his performance on goals alone is shallow analysis

Our running between the arcs is at a very high level now with Lindsay, Langdon, Langford etc doing a great job.

We are buildoing nicely and if we can beat St Kilda it sets us up for a great Kings Birthday clash.

10 minutes ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

[censored] me,

No.1 job of a key fwd is to take contested marks and kick goals. Bringing the ball to ground is a distant second and is a bi product of not marking the bloody thing to begin with. We all love the way AJ goes about it but if he is to keep his spot based on purely that and a few deft taps we’re not serious. Play Turner fwd and if Petty has to spend some time in the ruck so be it. Turner has nailed some important set shots this season from difficult angles. Against better opposition our opportunities will be less, we need key fwds who can take their chances and nail set shots.

You're kidding yourself if you think contested marks is a benchmark. Very few fwds take more than 1 or 2 a game for a shot on goal. Its great when it happens but its not that often

17 minutes ago, Katrina Dee Fan said:

See, this is the thing, we've been Narrm for 8 games, with a 4/8 win ratio. The rubbish we don't win under Narrm is just that, rubbish. But by far this year has been the most satisfying of those :)

Sorry, I meant both our games. Have we done both in a year before? Not sure, was just pleasing to see :-)

(And absolutely!!)

Tmac can't replace AJ for 2 reasons

1- he's said himself that he has no power in his feet to jump for marks anymore, and therefore he can't play as a forward

2- he can't ruck

AJ is in direct competition with JVR, for the simple fact that we have to have a ruck backup both to help Max, and if heaven forbid Max gets injured in game.

JVR is a far superior footballer in terms of skills, and also in the way that he rucks. He's a very competitive ruckman, whereas AJ is not. AJ competes and gives you 1000% and he's the sort of player you want lining up against [censored] like Maynard, but he's also someone who drops chest marks, and fumbles and gives away frees in the ruck for not being tall enough or having a big enough leap to compensate.

There are arguments to be made about him staying in the team, or being left out for Roo, and neither are right or wrong. But he has definitely brought a different dynamic to the forwardline which has seen us win games, while at the same time I am not counting on him to kick many goals, or win many ruck contests, certainly not in the way I think JVR can.

from an article on afl.com :

Champion Data shows that since score involvements started in 2003, only four players have had 24 or more disposals, six or more clearances, 13 or more score involvements and five or more goals: Jason Akermanis in 2015, Patrick Dangerfield in 2014, Matthew Pavlich in 2010 and Pickett on Sunday.