Lil_red_fire_engine

We have a serious gap with our small forward roles. I would be putting JKH and Byrnes ahead of other choices at this time due to them either not doing enough (Blease), skills being below standard (Bail) or just no game time (Kent, Tapscott). Byrnes knows how to find the ball and is smart but is prone to one or two standout clangers a game. JKH excluded he is the best of a bad bunch at present. The alternate option is whether Viney plays that role due to his limited game time and our influx of midfielders over the summer.

As is quite usual when trying to instill a new game plan, players completely over correct. Once they switch when right, not at all costs. Kick to the line when under pressure, rather than trying to hit up a kick thats not there we will be fine. Poor contested work in the first and poor skill errors mostly by players who wont be there round 1 were the only worries. Great we had no injuries, got a good amount of game time into Hogan and Watts and have already seen enough of Tyson, Michie and Cross to be confident they will pay their way. Overall a satisfying hit out.

I usually play the AFL site version (previously DT now AFL Fantasy) but have moved to VS Dream Team this year. Trades every week and not having to lock your team until round 2 in AFL Fantasy takes almost all skill out of it and everyone ending up having close to identical sides by the half way mark.

I expect Strauss to play round 1. Michie has not gone near a back flank so far. Georgiou has been very good but I worry having him, Dunn, Frawley, T'Mac we are too top heavy. I would like to see him play on a small against Geelong and Hawthorn to see how flexible he is.

Poor again. Not close to calculations for our best 22.

Thought he shared BOG with Watts in todays intra club. He got serious amounts of pill with a good balance of contested and uncontested.

I tend to agree. He is very good at playing to his limitations. His timing of getting body on body mitigates his lack of height somewhat. He gets the ball and does not try and do more than what he is capable (T-Mac should learn from this). Hard to fit him in though in a balanced back 6.

Dunn was rested. Clisby was poor, Jetta so so, Strauss and Terlich ahead of those two.

Short summary on AFL website calling out Watts and Tyson as best. Tapscott is a 2-3 week medial Tapscott injures knee, Watts stars

Gawn played predominantly forward with some short ruck stints. What Salem did was quality but he probably had 5 touches that I saw.

Only played three periods. Michie and Watts good throughout. M Jones and Trengove built as the match went on. Hogan not many opportunities couple of grabs and probably 5 touches all up. Hopefully Dawes is just a knock on the calf as he looked good for the first two periods.

Michie, Watts, Dawes and Spencer best of first half. Salem has kicked two crackers one soccer, one set shot from pocket.

its not about the loss it's about no mention as injured but not named to play this week or last.

With Tapscott appearing to be the mystery?

If most improved is the difference between last year and this years impact excluding injury or first year at Dees then Trengove and Strauss for me.

After recovering from last night and then attempting to watch the replay on Foxtel Go on my phone to not wake the wife up general thoughts below. Great to see us run hard, use quick hands to clear the ball out of contests to give time to set up, transition the ball by foot with angles through the ground rather than just laterally to then go nowhere. Vince is not just a great kick but a smart decision maker and I cant wait to see him and Watts pairing through the middle with that style of play. When we handballed, we handballed flat and to the players advantage. When we tackled we stuck them. I thought Strauss was really good with the ball but was done in the contest particularly on the lead. I thought Terlich was great in the contest but he holds the ball for too long and causes errors up the ground. Merge the two together and that is exactly what we are looking for from a small back. JKH close to locked at least a sub spot round 1 and that was without big fella's to sit at the feet of. Trengove's game was a carbon copy of Ryan O'Keefe's style at Sydney. That is exactly who he should be modelling on. As much as he got good ball first half I found Tyson a bit disappointing first up. Missed some easy kicks and twice went in to the contest with arms rather than with his head over the ball. If we actually ever have three tall forwards I feel sorry for the poor fourth backmen that has to take Howe. As much as they are limited I expect Bail and Nicholson will play more than people expect and will play their roles well.

Can you list the key forwards who have carved him up in the last 3 years? His key job is after all to beat his opponent.

Howe/Pedo vs McBean/Vickery at the key forward posts. I am happy with our pair.

Whilst I am disappointed that I will not see Hogan run about on Friday most players will play 2 of 3 matches and I would much prefer to see a conservative approach and Dawes and Hogan play together for the Cats and Hawks game. Thats better than Hogan playing week 1, then get rested in one of the games when he should be in tandem with Dawes. The key is to ensure they are ready for round 1.

I must have been looking in the wrong direction or missed them but Salem looked like he had 3 touches early on but not much after that. Didn't really stand out to me. Matt Jones showed similar speed early last year but it seemed to disappear as the year progressed. Michie won the ball well but ran himself into trouble a couple of times and let go a couple of shocking kicks.

Just left what was as expected a scrappy affair. Those that don't like short chips across defence to transition should not watch this year. Best 5 for me were Toumpas (which included 4 goals), Jones x 2, Vince and Frawley. No obvious injuries to anyone which is the most important element.

Strauss issues in the limited chances he has had to string games together so far in his career has not been about disposal errors but errors in judgment in his positioning against his man and poor body on body play. The thing I have liked about the three times I have seen Strauss over the pre-season is he seems to be pushing himself more than I have seen before as well as doing extra work i.e.: he stayed back yesterday for 15 minutes working on flattening out his handballs with Rawlings. There is definitely spot for a running defender and if he gets a clear run with injury I think he will make the most of it.

I went for the third view this pre-season. Ball handling and intent were good but kicking was poor with some blame on the blustery conditions. Big focus on in close hands, tackling and two way running. Tyson and Grimes really stood out to me today for their hard run and clean handling and skills. Trengove will never be a jet but is clearly moving better than anytime in the last 2 years. Session went a good 2.5 hours and overall mood among the group was excellent. The guys in rehab have been mentioned but they are definitely doing a lot more than when I saw them 3 weeks ago and are building toward round 1.

This is not about wins breeding confidence in the group. This is about early losses (particularly bad ones) kicking the confidence out of them they have built over the summer. An early win against the Saints reinforces the direction and hardwork regardless of what happens in the the next couple of rounds. A 0-3 record could make you stop believing in the Roos majik that has been sprinkled everywhere over the pre-season. 2 and 3 over the first 5 is the pass mark as far as I'm concerned.

Nick Dal Santo, Marc Murphy and Dale Thomas were all part of the 2011 AA side. I would not say they give a lot of physical punishment and all have probably been tainted as not being strong at the contested ball early in their careers. Hard to evaluate your last two points when he has rarely been in scenario 2 and hasn't been in scenario 3. Not saying I expect him to reach these heights but I still don't think I can say he won't.