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Forwards can’t be inaccurate if there are no forwards.

My god. The whinging. School holidays has killed the spirit of some of you lot. I’ll be there on Saturday night supporting the club that’s given me some of life’s most memorable moments. Get to the ground. Support the Dees.

Club has done well with communicating updates about the injury to a blood hungry and irrational media. Hopefully that shuts them up and stops the pointless and harmful speculation. Hopefully the midfield can get by without him and maintain our hold on a top four spot. Viney has definitely stepped up in his absence.

I'd much rather he take as long as he needs than rush him back. In all honesty, him missing is far from the reason we've not been winning much. The mids have done a great job in his absence, Viney has really taken the bull by the horns, Sparrow has stepped up, Tracc is having a great season all bar his kicking for goal, Brayshaw has played some good footy through the middle. Together with our remarkable defence, they've been the reason we've been in a winning position in every game since he went out. Now if we can just hit the scoreboard!

Good ins. Jordon into the middle off a dominant display. Spargo best 22, provides defensive run as a high half forward and will help with our kicks inside 50. Has been managed and should be in good nick. Woey rewarded for hard work, brings the buzz of a debutante- a father son of one of few Charlie winners ti boot. From goody's comments, JVR has some work to do on his game (and possibly fitness?). He'll be back in the next couple of matches, and is best 22. They want him cherry ripe in the finals not mid winter. Good development of a very young player to be playing as a key tall.

They must be playing Spargo as the deep forward and will bomb it high to him with three defenders around him

We’ve got 2 injured players, one will be back in a month. It’s far from panic stations. We’re 4 kicks from having 3 more wins. Let’s just beat the Saints and go from there

Jeez, I am sucker for the Father Son rule.

Just call it bad luck, we make do with what we have now. Facing a little bit of adversity, let’s see how we respond and come out of it.

Yes they did. In fact this happened Woey Snr's first game: https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/1997/111219970327.html.

Interesting out in J.Smith. I wander what they want him to work on? He has been getting through a few games now (uninjured), the wet last week. I thought he deserved one more look at AFL level. The VFL really won't improve bim. Will need to dominate at that level to get back in if dropped completely. Hope they use him as a sub specialist.

I’m confused by the lack of forwards

Still the best team we have fielded in my lifetime, and people still get upset, looking purely at the W/L column. It's far more nuanced than that. We're not far off it at all. Imagined if we weren't conditioned to sensationalist media... 🤷‍♂️

Agreed. Like people have anything better to do on a Saturday night in the middle of winter anyway. I for one can't wait. School holidays have gone on for what feels like several decades, and I am ready to escape to Marvel.

This isn't supposed to be a personal attack however If we expect the players to show up week in week out with effort the least supporters can do is tough it out and attend a slightly inconvenient stadium. This is what makes pies the envy of the comp. I know ppl have lives and families, financial hardship etc (all fair and reasonable), but if the reason to not attend is cause we don't like a stadium... It's a bit soft imo

I'm attending my first Marvel Match...with my 7yo. Anyway, what I am looking forward to is BBB kicking 6 goals on his favourite deck. It's a lock.

Love the touch of having Yze announce it. Special. Loved his old man back in the day - preaching to the choir here obviously. Can’t wait to see how Taj goes. I love the way we build our young players in the VFL and let them loose when the time is right. It’s common in this team now for players to be well im to their second or even third year before they get picked. Great development.

I still have a strong hope for the rest of the season despite our shortcomings We win the ball enough and our midfield & defence is strong and classy But we fall down up forward both with delivery to the forward line (method) and also with regards to how our forwards go about it The fix is not that hard For instance, (despite the wet weather last Sunday) if we had attempted to pass the ball into the forward line with most of our 73 forward line entries, then we would have given ourselves numerous chances to take marks or win free kicks and therefore, have as a result any number of set shots at goal Of course, those would-be passes might not have all ended up with positive outcomes but that's the chance you take Anf it's imperative that our forwards play in front with the front & centre smalls playing their part The above is coached and practised in the lower leagues at suburban level and is standard practice What we are currently doing with regards to our forward entries is quite farcical and lazy. Just doesn't make sense

On the one hand it would wipe out an embarrassing record held by the club for 44 years on the other hand the percentage boost it will give Brisbane this season over us might be insurmountable. Having said that I don’t think we’ll be able to catch Brisbane now on wins so percentage may be moot and they’re likely to thrash the Eagles by a lot anyway even if they don’t exceed 190 points.

OMG Fritra out so drop Smith and don’t recall JVR, our best kick and best contested mark The other decent contested mark is Petty but he stays back Melksham fresh off 7 possessions stays in the forward line Hope this works but I cannot see how - I could very easily lose all interest in the remainder of the season.

Melksham and Smith are both naturals for the horrible sub position because they are both fit and can kick straight. Smith is also athletic. I have liked most of what Smith has added, but I don't believe they should both be in the 23. I am one of the few James Jordon fans, and hope he holds his place. I would have him in ANB's place because he can do all the things ANB is loved for (gut running, tackling, defensive pressure) but he can actually kick and doesn't fumble as much. No JVR looks to be a selection howler. Unsure what to make of it. Spargo very lucky, and would prefer only 2 small forwards. Stoked to see another Woewodin at the Dees. I have watched about half the Casey games and he looks more than ready. His link up play could be a real point of difference, as long as he can kick straight.

With Woewodin and JJ as ins (and only one mid out), it definitely spells a mid going forward for longer periods. It obviously won’t be Viney, so that leaves Trac or Sparrow. They can definitely both rotate at half forward and make an impact. What concerns me is the lack of reliable goal kickers. Ben Brown aside, where are the rest of the goals coming from if Kosi doesn’t have a great game (and form isn’t on his side)? I’m all for playing to the ground conditions (would have been good to see that the last two weeks), but we don’t really give any forward mix a real go consistently. Smith in for 3 weeks, two of those weeks played in awful conditions. He wasn’t amazing, but he also was not giving us less than Melksham has, and is certainly much better defensively. This can’t be the forward set up we think we take to September, unless we are very confident Fritsch will be cherry ripe for finals, Gawn will start delivering up forward, and Ben Brown is going to return to 2021 form. Long reach there.

100% Oliver coming in wouldn’t have changed our forward connection or scoring conversion. Most teams can win without 1 of their stars. We have a team full of em. No excuses.

It’s a shti hole

Woey senior was on the radio on SEN this morning. Was askes the same question. His answer: in 2022 he was predominantly a winger, this year he's had more exposure inside and at half forward.

For all the doubters about our 2022 Woe's debut is the third from our VFL flag plus Chin's 15 games. He had a reasonable wait after his first 3 or 4 AFL games. For those who have chronically undervalued our Casey Dees Flag in 2022 and the team efforts it's great credit to all the Coaches and the boys for all their training and playing and extra WA pre season work. Rooy back this week to replace Fritta would be great.

What concerns me is that the FD seems to be chasing their tail with no carefully considered and executed plan for the forwards. For example Goody was firm that Petty would be playing forward, Tommo comes good in the backline so all seems good for the plan so they drop Tommo and push Petty back. Then they talk about two/ three talls but play one. Then they select tall in torrential rain and short under the roof. It is baffling and smacks of panic planning.

The MC must be really worried about their pace off HB at the Saints on that deck… Surprised at JVR but this just means I was right - he wasn’t ‘managed’ he was dropped and that is ok, he should come back in soon and be better for it. Glad Melksham gets to 100 with some semblance of form and Brown can straighten us up to some degree. He has great forward craft and leading patterns - we need to unlock it this year to win finals, especially without Fritsch.

That’s the same reply I sms’d my son when he texted me the selections.

I think we’d all be happier if JVR was in and Melksham was out. I’d say we’ll get our wish next weekend

Correct 99* not out. I'll be there to farewell Jake and cheer on Taj - birth, family legacy, rebirth and death! It's all existential this week at Marvel 😇

I’d say he’s going back to the 2’s to learn awareness of his opponent. The last 2 have shown him a lesson. He’s not the answer. I’ll bet my left leg we’re planning on Brown and JVR being surrounded by Pickett, Spargo, ANB and Petracca within a week or 2. Oliver being out is the headache

Going in again with no recognised CHF after also losing Frisch? Why no JVR or Petty forward with Tomlinson back? The coach has lost the plot with his midget setup.

With Fritsch out injured surely Smith should have kept his spot ahead of Melk. Smith played well in the Pies game, then had 2 games in the wet where he struggled with all the other forwards but kept tackling and competing in the air and on the ground. Pity he doesn’t get to play in dry conditions under the roof. Selections again puzzling.

It’s a joke, so at this stage of their careers Brown & Melksham are a better bet than Van Rooyen FMD!! At least the Ashes are on

I'm surprised the loss of Fritta hasn't got more concern around here. Clarry's absence has been covered remarkably by Trac and JV this last month. But both are elite at what they do so it's not hugely surprising. Little concerned who exactly is going to take marks inside our forward 50 and have those shots at goal. After Fritta (30), out next best is Pickett (22) then it drops off. This isn't simply about a ball movement/game plan issue. The next player in is nowhere near the calibre of AA that Fritta is. Imo really need Grundy or Gawn to snag a few this week. The back up Saints ruckman from hit outs is Mitch Owens. Yes, that Mitch Owens. If you are paying $1.4 mln for 2 guys against a first year midget they better win you a game like this or at least dominate on the scoreboard.

He’ll be cherry ripe for finals, shame we won’t be in them

Why didn't they communicate the complexity of the injury to begin with? Did they not know it was a tendon issue? Why let all this [censored] fester online and in the media and cause further hurt to Clarry? Also the mind boggles why we are now giving him 3-4 weeks to recover, instead of, you know, two months ago??

On another note, is Damien Barrett the biggest turdlet on the planet? No need to answer folks, it’s a rhetorical question. I’ve got a 5 month old baby who fires off less tish than him!

MELBOURNE’S Clayton Oliver left the training track early on Wednesday due to further hamstring discomfort that he experienced during his pre-training testing. The Demons’ GM of AFL Performance Alan Richardson provided an update on the midfielder. “Clayton has a complex hamstring injury, due to the fact that the injury is located where the muscle attaches to the tendon, and to further complicate that, there is injury to two separate hamstring muscles,” Richardson said. “There is no doubt that Clayton’s recovery has been complicated by the week he was required to spend immobile in hospital. “What we have experienced so far is that Clayton can comfortably achieve 90 percent of his running capacity, but as we saw yesterday, he is unable to get to full speed to pass his minimum training markers. “This suggests that, due to the discomfort Clayton felt during his run throughs, further recovery time is required. At this stage, we expect this will be three to four weeks. “The club will continue to explore all treatment options for Clayton, but as with all players, we won’t be taking any risks with his return to play timelines.”

Can't quite, put my finger on it, or properly explain it, but I agree with the feeling the place is soulless. I find the lighting weird when the roof is closed - which it is all the time now. Too dull. And with the roof closed creates I find the acoustics are a bit weird too. And funnily enough, games are now often scrappy, congested and low scoring. I say funnily enough, because it used to be high scoring ground because of the controlled conditions. But all team defence and zones creates congestion because the ground is so narrow.

Do they? Who? I feel like most/all posters acknowledge that he talks in cliches and gives very little away.

Love the way even players who may be displaced by these announcements share in the celebrations. Happens every time.

All good points Rubbish Binny. Woey Sr. was spotted during grand final week in '21, outside the ground peering through the fence, watching us train. He's a Dee through and through. My contact @Anti Saint had a chat to him and said he's still supremely fit. So with our observations as background . . . Can we start Woey Jr. in the centre and bring Woey Sr. on as the sub in the last to run the [censored] around the Aints?

Can't believe we're favourites heading into this. And by some way too. St Kilda odds look juicy. It's also weird that posters think playing on a dry deck will sort our kicking out immediately. If my memory serves correctly, some of scrappiest and low skilled games have been when we play under that roof. Our form-line gives no confidence. Players nor coaches. Goodwin pick teams from a top hat every week, doesn't reward VFL performers and continues to play underperforming senior players. If we win this, it'll be amazing.

Doubly so, because apparently he was a very good chance to be selected in round one before he broke his thumb. That's three of the WA boys, JVR Mcvee and woey jnr, who all did some serious running work over their XMAS break back on Perth and have made the seniors. Great reward for hard work. The year woey snr won the Brownlow he was brilliant. In some ways he was ahead of his time- his run and carry and efficient ball use would fit perfectly into the best sides now.

just a little bit of clarry-fication would be welcome ... please

Saw the Collywobbles training at Gosch's on the telly (ch9). What a crowd they pull! Wish we had the same numbers. Often, I am one out of a handful, and occasionally I feel the only one there. Oh, the media has always turned up at Gosch's this season. Why don't the MFC encourage more spectators at training? I would like to see more post to say training is open, and get the Casey supporters on board out there.