Deespicable

Latest weather forecast for Sydney on Sunday - up to 35mm of rain potentially - almost forces selectors hand I would think. Obviously they will monitor things on the day, but if the rain is that heavy, only a braindead person would think it is a day for bigs and given the Swans have already gone small with a forward line of - Franklin (big), resting ruck (Sinclair and Naismith/Nankervis), Heeney, Rohan, McGlynn and Rose plus another small who will play high forward/midfield anyway - ie: Hewett, Towers, it would be a bit like the Collingwood stupidty of playing three rucks. I suspect that decision will be made on the day of game, so the team will stand untweaked tonight. If it is that wet, it will get down to one of our big three defenders and obviously T-mac is safe. Frost is quicker, but O-Mac's kicking sills are better, so it won't be an easy choice - personally I'd omit O-Mac because he's less assertive at this stage in his career but if they opt for Frost it's no big deal, as his kicking is less trustworthy at this stage. Both are development players after all and whoever is the unlucky one can expect to come back in for the taller Adelaide set-up that includes Jenkins, Tex and Lynch. As to who comes in, I'd favour Grimes, although I've been wrong on him almost every time this year and they do seem to like him as the 23rd - four times this year already. So it might well be Harmes. One reason why I'd go for Grimes is because he plays percentages better and that is all you have to do in such heavy expected conditions - keep the ball moving forward. But the main reason is that if we omit a defender, then we need another defender to swing into this defensive rotation and Harmes is not as suited to this role as much as Grimes (even though he hasn't played that role much in twos this year). But who, apart from selectors, really knows what logic will come into play. Some would argue they both come in, but I can't see it happening unless someone has a minor niggle. The pace of Rohan or McGlynn means that Hunt will be required, even if the conditions don't really suit his lighter-body style. I actually reckon Jetta will get Rohan, Hunt will have McGlynn and Wags will take Heeney with Grimes (if he plays) on Rose. I'm really pleased we had a trial game in such conditions against the Hawks two weeks ago and I actually really like our chances of finally doing it for Roosy against his old side. I'm expecting Jack to tag Jones and I reckon we might try Bugg on Hannebery, but it could get down to whether Tyson/Vince can quell Kennedy as he goes incredibly well in such conditions. Viney's game on Mitchell may also have a big bearing on the outcome, although as we saw last week, you actually need contributions from everyone.

There's probably six players who will be discussed as inclusions this week - Spencer, Harmes, Garland, White, Garlett and Matt Jones - but realistically Harmes is the only chance of getting a gig and at the end of the day I reckon No Change will come up. The three players who missed the party today were: Jetta - it ain't easy having to play on a guy who is 6ft5in when you are lucky if you are 5ft11 and that's what he had to do most of the time on White. Oliver - still hasn't quite got the knack of when to run and kick instead of his usual give, but he kept working and laid quite a few tackles. Stretch - he was quiet, but he still made position well and laid a few big tackles, so it would be a big call to leave him out. But there's no doubt this is a huge game for us and our last chance to do it for Roosy against his old side. For some reason I reckon we are just about ready to do it too.

6 Gawn - Clearly the matchwinner in the second term, even though he was good all day. 5 Vince - Was prolific early, but still tended to spray it a bit. Loved the way he went on to Treloar in the second term and made him work his butt off to get a touch. Handy when down back as well. 4 Kent - All the things we like about his game was on show and seemed to enjoy being the No.1 little guy target with Jeffy out of action. Was one of about four Dees that really stood out in the first term when we were still fighting to gain control. 3 T-Mac - Can someone please show me which of his kicks were intercepted. Really reliable all day and provided plenty of run from defence. 2 Jonesy - A couple of dreadful turnovers in the first term but then just went back to being hard and clever. Next week's the big test. 1 Bugg - Poor start but then tightened screws on Sidebottom and that was a key to stopping their scoring. Apologies to so many. Petracca and O-Mac finally looked the part - both were good from the word go. Not dominant but very good. Tyson - Probably didn't give him enough credit in his battle with Pendles. Frost - Why wasn't he allowed to play his defensive role earlier in his career. Still a project player but very handy. Hoges - Along with Gawn, was the matchwinner in the second term after being ragdolled. Hunt - This guy has changed our look, almost as much as Hoges and Gawn. It won't be long before he is tagged by a small forward.

I can't see too many changes this week as most players were either impressive (Vince, Tyson, Watts, Jones etc) or serviceable last week and the ones who didn't get it much (Garlett, Hoges, Dawes) aren't likely to be cast aside because of a poor game in the wet when marking is nigh on impossible for forwards. The only players who you can make a decent case for omitting are Harmes and Kent, who we've all floated as omissions at various stages over the past few weeks and the selectors have remained loyal to. Both are hardworking, heavy tackling guys and are rated by Roos as a result. I just reckon that Kennedy's good form in VFL shows that contrary to popular belief, it is OK to drop a player to the twos and get an improved performance and confidence level back. His BOG effort will probably earn an instant recall and Harmes would be the one IMO most likely to get a week back there to aid his development. If it is going to be wet again (which it isn't at this stage) then you could make a case for brining in another hardworking mid Michie or Grimes for Kent. But otherwise it will be status quo. If Garland is fit, then he will be considered but he has to oust either O-Mac or Frost and both played fairly well, so I suspect they won't rush Col and he'll have to wait another week. I imagine Frost will play on Cox, O-Mac on White and T-Mac on Clokey. After watching last week's VFL game, the two other players (Grimes and Michie aside) who have now made regular claims for selection are White and Spencer. It looks to me that White will have to wait until Wags is injured or warrants a rest or we play a side with only two talls and dispose of a big defender. As to Spencer, he has to wait for a Gawn injury or a game where a club has two ruckmen to hurt us. Given that both Gawny and Spencer have been scoring the odd goal when rested up forward, he could be plonked up forward - possibly a shock tactic at SCG where you have to go big down the spine, but not at MCG I suspect. So I'd punt on: In Kennedy. Out: Harmes.

Life isn't always fair and unfortunately when it comes to sporting clubs - that is the case the world over. Unfortunately at the moment I suspect Goody is wielding a fair degree of influence on selections and is rightly, by him, thinking of next year or 2018. But what's annoying for us all is that Roosy has an outside chance of making the eight with this squad - this year - so why he isn't staying loyal to his senior players is beyond me. Yes we can all see that Dunn and Grimes don't have explosive speed like Frost or Harmes, but they bring other things to the side and at 29 and 27, they aren't exactly over the hill yet. They also bring certain things that are unique to their game. Dunn is a thumping kick and incredibly reliable at kick-outs which is a huge plus when Salem is out. He's a bit smaller than you'd want for a player that has to play on the ruckmen, but he's made up for it by being an incredibly clever tunneler. His two games in the VFL once dropped after Saints were huge compared to Frosts - have a look at replays if you don't believe me. Grimes is incredibly fit and has an amazingly fit, is smart, courageous and has an amazing knack of getting to contests. While the anti-Grimes lobby reckon his disposal is unreliable, he invariably has been forced to play left half-back because they don't want to expose our other man - H - who can't kick left foot at all. With Wagner in, that is no longer a problem anyway. His games in the VFL when he's not 23rd man have been unbelievable - he and Dawes tore Box Hill apart. That doesn't mean they should play, but when the alternative is a developing Oscar Mc (who looks like he will become a player, but as yet does not have AFL level awareness) or Harmes (who is hard at it and quick but not always as yet reliable with his disposal) then you wonder at what point do you hold off development and stick by your policies of rewarding the best players in the VFL. Clearly we are not. My kids were in tears last night as they watched the Trengove video - poor old Grimesy was the last one to wish him well. I still think we might beat Hawthorn to keep ourselves in the mix for the finals (they are nothing like 2015) but if Oscar and Harmesy [censored] it up, then Roosy only has himself to blame.

Ok, let me say I have a pathological hatred of the Hawks that stems back to the days when Lethal wiped out Steve Smith, Peter Giles and Allen Jarrot - all three concussions on days when our men were doing super jobs. I reckon my fondest memory was watching the Dees finally break though against the Hawks at Princes Park in 1984 - Peter Tossol played the game of his life that day with two goals - that was the equivalent of Matt Jones getting two goals nowadays! But having a couple of best mates, who support the poohs and wees, continually remind me of how the Hawks have won more flags since 1964 than Melbourne has won in their entire AFL/VFL lifetime, hurts bad. For that reason I want us to pull off the upset this week and for that reason I hope Roosy and his team are working overtime to select the right side this week and to do the necessary adjustments to our press. Dear Roosy, I have 10 keys to selection: 1) Have a player tag Sam Mitchell. When the Swans did so, it worked. He is their best distributor and also best at clearance work, so please Roosy, don't let him run free like you did to last year's players' MVP Robbie Gray last week. With Viney out, there is only one qualified tagger left to use - Bernie Vince. That means he doesn't play back this week unless Mitchell gets sent forward in desperation. 2) Re-educate the players on the press. I am not asking for it to be thrown out in the bathwater, because most of us with sound minds can see it has benefits when it functions, but please stress the importance of forcing lockdowns when the break starts even if it means giving away free kicks in our forward half - the good thing is that the Hawks only have four genuine quicks in their line-up to hurt us on the switch - Smith, Hartung, Hill and Rioli. So it will be harder for them to exploit us over-pressing. Please also stress that once the diamond centre square ball-up is completed, players have to run hard back to their opponent. Talk is the key - communicating down back is essential. 3) Play Nathan Jones down back instead of Bernie. Why. Because every week we need to think about doing something that mucks up opposition plans. With Viney out, Shiels will tag Jones. Playing him down back ensures our defence talks, gives us another leader down there and forces Shiels to wonder who he goes to. 4) Play Chris Dawes. I'm sure Roosy is across this already by now, but not having a third tall up forward means that when Watts rucks and Gawny rests we have only one viable tall option to kick to - Hoges. And that means when Hoges gets it, he has to turn around and hit up ... Petracca? There is a reason why every other side plays three talls. We all have criticised Dawes for not clunking his marks in the past, but at least he makes a contest and the ball usually spills and I thought the whole point this year is that with Kent, Garlett, Harmes and Kennedy we had an abundance of crumbers. By the way, Watts can still play as second ruck - it seems to be keeping him more honest at the contest, although Ceglar may try and hammer him, but it's worth risking and the umps love Wattsy because they know he's a ball player. 5) Tell Petracca he's on his last chance. So far his training form has been the best thing about him. It's time he stood up and showed why we were all raving about him. And please Roosy, explain to him that when he takes a mark, he has to get back quickly to give himself space to launch his kick. He's still playing school footy at times thinking he can pinpoint a pass off one step - he can, of course, except the AFL guy on the mark is a little bit smarter and can get a hand on it. 6) Play Jack Grimes. Yes I know half the D'Lers don't like him, but the same guys don't like Tom Mac because they didn't quite understand that in previous years the defenders were under pressure - almost all the time - when they went to kick it. I also get that you and Goody have decided he's for the chop at year's end. I realise that you have ended his defensive days. But Grimesy is persistent - he keeps churning out inocuous 30-plus possy games in the twos and then when you make him 23rd and give him false hope that he's close, he backs up the following week and does the same thing. He also scores goals from his wing and doesn't miss from anything under 40m - this is despite the fact that you don't rate him. But sometimes coaches get it wrong - look at Luke Beveridge and his no ruckman policy at the start of last year. Eventually he had to back track and realise that a decent negating ruck is a godsend to a side that prides itself on clearances. Grimes is the second fittest bloke at the club and despite all the rhetoric that he's a turnover freak, his disposal efficiency remains mega high. He gets to contests and he links up - he's not a star but he's a role player and you need it. 7) Play Lynden Dunn - Yep I agree, he's getting slower and older and at some stage soon Oscar will be better at nudging his opponent under the contest. But at this stage Oscar is just a development player. It's been great that you've got a few games into him, but his visual awareness of what's around him is still development league stuff, even if his tank and running ability is top-end. Go back to your senior player - yes he'll be slower but in the next few weeks Dunny can play on McEvoy/Ceglar and Cloke and Tippett. He might even be quicker than them. And with Salem out, you get a reliable kick from full-back kick-ins every time. 8) Play Trengove - Yes I know your marketing guys wanted him to return for a home game, but the Hawks at the MCG is huge. They are nothing like previous years and provided we don't let them get to play keepings off down back (ie: we need to get off to a good start) then we will force them to attack and they will be exploited by us on the break. Most D'Lers know Trengove isn't quick, but nor is Neal-Bullen, and Newton is probably the slowest player at the club, so giving him a go at their expense, will actually speed us up. And the difference is that Trenners is smart - he keeps presenting and he's a good kick. He's like Jack Grimes, except he's tougher in a contest. Start him on a flank and then give him a run through the middle. 9) Play Vandenburg. Sure he's only had the one game in the VFL on his way back, but we need his presence and in particular we need him to take Smith's wing and hammer him. Some D'lers don't realise that he's the second quickest player over 50m at the club. Now that he's over his ankle injury it's time to unleash him on their main attacking weapon. It's either him or Harmes and while Harmesy has been great, he still is a bit hit and miss. There's nothing wrong with sending young guys back to the reserves, it's what all club's do for their development from time to time. And because Vanders will be blowing, have him swap with Grimes midway every quarter. Grimes may not be flash but he will stick to a task. 10) Play T-Mac on Gunston. With Roughy out, he's their go-to man and that's means T-Mac gets the job. We all know that Jetta gets Rioli, so that means Hunt goes to Breust which ain't easy but he's got to stand up and not be bumped off him. And personally I'd have Jones (see earlier rationale) on Puopolo because when Jonesy tackles, they stick. Yes I know there a lot of changes and way to many for you to cope with in a normal week. But it's time you went back to your senior players (plus Oliver). Big bodies, extra experience and hopefully a better chance. And if it doesn't work, you can say in your presser that you were playing the three-time premiers. One more thing. I'm sure you are thinking about axing Kent as well and, given his rush of blood when kicking most weeks, then I can understand that. But your whole pre-season was based around a fab four forwards - Hoges, Garlett, Watts and Kent - who are dangerous on the break. Give Kent another go and show him the tapes of what he did against Richmond and how he baulked and settled before he kicked it. My seven changes and opponents Out: Garland, Viney (inj) Newton, Neal-Bullen, Kennedy, Harmes, O.Mac In: Vandenburg, Dawes, Dunn, Oliver, Grimes, Trengove, Michie B: Jetta (Rioli) Dunn (McEvoy/Ceglar) Wagner (O'Brien/Sicily) HB: Jones (Puopolo) T-Mac (Gunston) Hunt (Breust) C: Vandenberg/Grimes (Smith) Vince (Mitchell) Stretch (Hill/Hartung) HF: Trengove (Burgoyne) Dawes (Gibson) Kent (Birchall) F: Garlett (Duryea) Hoges (Frawley) Watts (Stratton) Ru: Gawn (McEvoy/Ceglar) Tyson (Lewis) Oliver (Shiels) Int: Michie (defensive rotation), Petracca (offensive rotation), Grimes/Vanders, Bugg (midfield rotation)

Given our habit of bouncing back and a likely re-correction by our coaching staff, I now like our chances of taking on the Hawks. The corrections should come with 1) Realising that playing five small forwards is not necessarily the best way to approach sides with good foot skills. Our incredibly low tackle count, plus just four inside 50 tackles should mean that we go back to a normal forward structure with Dawes replacing one of them. At least that way we'll have an extra focal point to kick to. We had five small forwards down, so all could be dropped, but I reckon Kennedy will be the first one out and if they decide they want to bring back Vanders quickly, then I'd tip Kent having a week off as well. Harmes could make way for Trengove as well if Roosy wants to give him a go. 2) Realising that when we press up, it's not just Dunny (as he was against St Kilda) that gets exposed. The problem starts with playing slow mids who can't get back and apply pressure on the ball carrier and I'm not talking about Billy Stretch and then the defenders get exposed if they can't make a sudden intercept decision - there's not too many defenders that are like Rance. So that means Neal-Bullen and Newton make way for Oliver and our second fittest player - Grimes. 3) I reckon our defenders actually all did pretty well, except they couldn't cope with Port on the break. If one is to go it may be Garland because of injury and if so, it leaves room for Dunn, although given Roosy's attitude to him, he may want the extra pace of Frost back there. If Garland is fit, then the decision is whether to drop Oscar for Dunn or Frost.

I wasn't there - like most of us have just watched it on the television, but it's important to note that the diamond defence applies to the centre bounce set-up. Once the centre bounce passage is concluded we revert to pretty much a man-on-man defence, except several of our players have a licence to move up (press). What was incredibly poor this week (as it was against St Kilda) was that we seemed to constantly be caught allowing their players to break from the stoppage area unimpeded or at least not majorly harassed. As a result they were able to link up and go over the top and you don't miss to many running into goal from 10m out - unless you are Travis Cloke. While we all know how poor our small forwards were today, there's no doubt our lack of run through the middle (defensively as well as offensively) played a huge part. Apart from Hunt we did not seem to be able to enact any chase downs after the first quarter. You have to wonder why we went with such a young side, especially since we allowed two of our slower youngsters - Newton and Neal-Bullen - to play in tandem in our midfield - one maybe, but two is just ludicrous when you want to press. The good thing is that quite a bit of experience will be brought back into the side next week with Dawes and Grimes, plus our key stoppage youngster in Oliver. And as we've shown all year, we are a young side and we will constantly be up and down - hopefully next week is an up.

No he's a victim of the Paul Roos era - Neeld made him captain and never dropped him - and DL's derision of almost anyone who plays in defence. He'll go to the Tigers next year and sadly I expect he'll prove to be a very handy role player - he's never going to be a star, but you don't want 22 stars, you want a mix of stars and role players.

I just hope that people realise that we have taken a few huge gambles by going so small at selection again. Last week we decided to go small, except for our defence, and thankfully against a young side like Brisbane with inexperienced tall forwards it did not come back to bite us. This week we stayed loyal to this small side - Michie being omitted because presumably they felt there was no clear match-up - Neade and Impey being small but quick livewires and probably more easily matched by Hunt and Kennedy. But to go with so much youth and a small forward line again is either courageous or stupid and we will find out on Saturday. If conditions are good then Dawes should be playing - apart from Jones, he is the most experienced player on our list and we have decided to bank on no injuries to our talls - god help us if Gawn goes down. Then there's the decision to play Newton again ahead of Grimes. If ever there is a player who has been hard done by, it's Grimes. He was pushed out early last year and came back and played decent football - yes I know he's not a thumping kick or huge mark or mega quick, but he's bloody fit (second to only T-Mac pre-season time trials, he's been playing huge games in the VFL and he's been 23rd man on three occasions and then had to watch as that honour amounts to nothing, whereas all other 23rd men have eventually got games. Last year he was generally told to play left side half-back because we had no decent left footers once Salem was out and he coped - sure he wasn't a star, but he was serviceable. This year he's been told that he has to go to the wing and he's proved he can be a reliable linkman. He was useful pre-season in that role, scored the odd goal (unlike Matt Jones) and then he's had to watch on as virtually every possible midfielder other than Jack Trengove has got a shot before him. I get that Paul Roos doesn't rate him that highly, but to treat him like this is disgraceful. He is a senior player who plays the percentages and does team things. He creates space and he's selfless. I get that we want speed, but please don't try and tell me that Newton or Michie or Neal-Bullen add speed. They don't. They have their own strengths but speed isn't one of them. Thankfully Port are at a lowpoint at the moment and, as with Brisbane, our confidence and intensity around the stoppages may be enough to get us across the line. But you can't buy experience and Hawthorn, the tall Pies and Sydney are just ahead. Let's see if our youth can buy us a win.

Give him a break - the guy has a flawed technique and he was taught by Windows in the U18s. If he persists with doing it, he'll end up being a regular concussion head - so it will be coached out of him - eventually.

Wow, how tough is it going to be this week. Roosy has already indicated that there might be 3-4 changes because of the six-day turnaround and that gives our super VFL stars Dawes, Grimes, Trengove, Salem, Vanders, Spencer and White a chance, although I can see only two of those getting a gig and it wouldn't surprise me if it was none. The certain ins are Jetta and Tyson (providing his illness/soreness is minor). Jetta has a date with Mr Wingard. Pedo is also a chance, but he is now battling with Dawes for that CHF/ruck spot and they are now under pressure from Watts for that role after his stellar game. The fact that Port don't have a decent ruckman means that Spencil's only chance is if Gawn is rested and that is definitely a possibility given big Max has hit a wall the past two weeks. The other issue is whether we play T-mac on Dixon or whether we again give the role to Oscar or bring in our 23rd man - Dunny. It's going to be really hard, but I really hope we go for pace and smarts because that's what you need in the Alice and that's what caused them problems pre-season. I also think it's time we bought back in some experience - Dawes, Grimes and Jetta will make us that bit smarter. OUT: Oliver (cork thigh/rest), Newton (very lucky to jump queue today), Neal-Bullen, O-Mac IN: Dawes, Jetta, Tyson, Grimes B: Hunt T-Mac (Dixon) Jetta (Wingard) HB: Vince (Gray) Garland (Westhoff) Wagner (Young) C: Stretch Bugg Harmes HF: Petracca Dawes Kent F: Garlett Hogan Watts Ru: Gawn (Spencer if sore) Viney Jones Int: Tyson, Grimes, Michie, Kennedy

6 Tom Bugg - It's nice to have our own serial pest. 5 Jesse Hogan - A classy display, although a bit unsure on the break a few times. 4 Billy Stretch - Can the Matt Jones fans please explain why he got the gig before Billy this season? 3 Jack Watts - You could hear the collective groan when he went into the ruck - but he showed us up again. 2 Nathan Jones - Was assured all game and seemed to make sure there wasn't too much lairising 1 Col Garland - All our defenders were pretty solid but I'm trying to remember a mistake

Yes, but who - that is the problem and why I think they'll stick with Harmes, Oliver and Kennedy for another week. Further to this we are playing Brisbane - who will be revved up, but will be without their two best midfielders. Given we are playing the Lions, I have had another thought. There is one more player who may be considered and that's Weideman. He's been handy (without dominating) at VFL level and they may just feel it's time to blood him at AFL level and try and fast-track him a bit against a weaker side. If that's the case then Pedo will miss, unless of course Lumumba is another week away and they decide to go with a bigger line-up.

A few interesting comments by Demonlanders and especially interesting to see who everyone blames for the zone defence breakdown - I hope those commenting were all at the ground, because otherwise you really have no idea trying to piece it together. I was at the game and it was really hard to sort who was most responsible in each instance. You could lay blame at Roos and say, why didn't you just send an extra man forward to man the Dogs, rather than trying to zone out with an extra in defence, but that's a tactic from yesteryear. To be honest we didn't seem to have enough experience down back to know who to use as our spare - Michie was good in this role, but hardly compelling in the air, while when Wagner was used as spare he was having a shocker with his disposal after a huge game the week before. Lumumba was missed, because he can do that role and Vince was playing Bont for most of the game, so wasn't tried in the role. As a result you were talking about two guys being asked to do the spare job for pretty much the first time! Obviously not having an experienced spare like Crossy is hurting and it must have really hurt our 23rd man (Grimes) that he was again overlooked for the role that once made him so indispensible that he was made our captain. Michie can beat him on skill, but he is nowhere near as good a mark - or as courageous in the air. In the first quarter the Dogs seemed to be able to break through the middle of the ground and found a man in the centre of the corridor free and once over the back it became really difficult to sort out responsibility. I think they scored something like four goals from kick-ins for the game, which is really high, but just shows that once through, we couldn't slow and stop them. To be honest, the person with the biggest blame would be our defensive coach, although he'd probably reckon our midfielders weren't working hard enough on Hunter and Bont etc.

Six players up for consideration with only one certain inclusion IMO. The one certain in, subject to him passing concussion tests, is Lumumba and with Jetta out, there's a direct spot for him. The other five that will get some love at selection meeting, although all could miss out again are: Three midfielders 1) Grimes - the 23rd man three times now, one of the fittest blokes pre-season behind only Viney and T-Mac, and clearly the hardest done by this season - but that makes no difference I know. Would most likely play on a wing and with Billy one of our best, it would require a decision to rest Harmes for it to happen. Can't see it happening. 2) Neal-Bullen - Has been clocking up high-disposal numbers each week and is now getting close to Tom Mitchell's stats from Sydney reserves two years ago. The problem is he has to win a spot in the middle of the park, so unless they want to do the dirty on Oliver, it ain't going to happen this week. 3) Newton - Two huge weeks, including his 18 tackle game last week when he played more inside than on the wing. I reckon he's behind the other two in the queue, so unless we are making an example of a few, then he won't play. Based on rotating our 23rd man, I reckon he's a huge chance to miss the Box Hill Saturday night clash. Two defenders 1) Lynden Dunn - Has been a class above in the VFL the past two weeks, but will they go back to him given they blamed him for the zone failure against the Saints? The fact that the zone failed so dismally in the first term v the Dogs probably shows it wasn't completely his fault v the Saints. So will his superior foot skills win against the greater speed of Garland? 2) Oscar McDonald - Taller, younger, quicker than Dunn, but quite clearly not as smart (with tunnelling) or clean with the ball in hand. Quite obviously they are keen to give him a go and his extra height against Josh Schache might be the factor that gets him in ahead of Col. But personally I wouldn't do it yet. The good thing is that the game v Box Hill is a night game and will be a high level - so a good showing there will count more down the track. So I'm tipping just the one out Jetta, and just the one in with Lumumba.

Great to see so many Demonlanders in agreement that keeping Spencil is a good move with only the one smarty-pants remark from Clint Bizkit. Some of you with long memories will know how he stubbed his toe on his first shot at goal in his debut at the MCG (2010?) and most of us felt then that he would never, ever make it - too uncordinated. But my view on him changed the game about four years ago when he played against St Kilda at the MCG and was towelling McEvoy up and then decided to make dead certain of his ruck win - sending him off on a stretcher which I think cost him two weeks. His decision to stay is a huge bonus, because it means we don't have to worry about a ruck back-up for Gawny for at least another year and can continue to develop the Kings - although I suspect Max will be under pressure as the year goes on to show that he's developing enough to warrant a fourth year. Spencil is a huge bonus for our VFL side - those of you who saw how bad our ruckmen were against Mason Cox in the VFL earlier this year would know exactly what I mean. I hope he gets a bit more reward down the track - ideally a VFL flag with Casey - assuming we don't do our usual closing up shop for surgery two weeks out from the finals. He's battled injuries - even playing on for a few extra games last year when we needed him despite his foot stress injury. He's been incredibly loyal and who knows he may even get to play a bit more AFL if Gawny goes down (touch wood). And don't forget he was a key part of last year's memorable win down at Geelong and given the Cats size may be needed to work in tandem with Gawny again down there in Round 23.

You learn so much more about the logic of certain Demonlanders when we win well and they can't help but still demand the changes that they'd been hoping for all season, even when it's completely illogical. Unless there are injuries that we don't know about (I suspect that Viney will be OK, but he's one that will be monitored no doubt) then there's not a hope in hell for our VFL players to get in next week. The only two players that will come into consideration will be regulars Salem and Lumumba and even they are not walk-ups this week and if they still show any sign of lingering concussion malaise then they will be given another week off and another week of match fitness conditioning work. The only two possible outs, and they did nothing wrong, are Michie - who will be omitted if Salem is fine, because they play the same role - clever ball use from down back. The other is Billy, who would lose his spot to H with Bernie spending more time back in the middle and most likely tagging Bont with Bugg being pushed back out to Billy's wing. Garland is safe - apart from his early handpass which got everyone's back up, he was quite reliable and will be needed to play on either Redpath or resting Campbell/Roughead. I expect that Wagner will be given his biggest honour yet - a match-up with Stringer, although if H doesn't get up I reckon Bernie will be putting his hand up for him. The Dogs are now playing three talls up forward (Redpath, Campbell/Roughead and Stringer) - so I'm sorry unless this changes it is absolutely bizzare to call for Garland's omission for Salem. Hunt was very impressive against Suns, but playing on a resting Daniel or Dahlhaus is a major step up from a first-gamer.

6 Gawn (another special performance) 5 Viney (started the third term onslaught, thank christ his concussion seemed minor) 4 Vince (a rock down back and the Suns showed him no respect at times with his kicking). 3 Jones (in the old days, this game would have got him six votes) 2 Wagner (he is such a wise head down back and that tackle on Ablett ... Stringer awaits) 1 Hunt (just gets the nod ahead of Bugg. Will find it harder next week though) Note: Harmes's first quarter was the worst 14-disposal quarter I've seen. He was very efficient from then on and got his rewards on the scoreboard.

Yep, I think after last week it seems we went with a side for the likely conditions and also adjusted our defence to their lack of height. The Gold Coast, even in the early evening, can be quite muggy, so you need runners. Further to this, the Suns have added even more run to their side with Garlett, Saad and little guy MacPherson. Had we gone in with a big side we would have been prone to being exploited by their counter. But now we have got a chance to match up with them across the ground. Initially I wanted Hunt dropped, but there are so many more options on who he can play on this week - Martin, Garlett, Miller and Sexton. The key for us is that we need to exploit the fact they have been decimated by injury to their bigs and Hoges and Watts must fire again. The other key is that Gawny should be too tall for Currie, but that means Viney and Jones and Oliver have to limit the amount of times Gazza comes charging out with it. The only other big match-up will be T-Mac's battle to counter Tom Lynch. Garland will cop two-metre Peter and whilst big Pete may get the odd mark, Col should have no problems with him most of the time and if not, Pedo can be sent back to help. As to Neal-Bullen's non-selection, can someone tell me which of Viney, Jones, Vince or Tyson was going to be dropped for him. They decided to have one more mid because Vince will play down back and do the kick-in duties for Salem most of the time, but it was a choice - Oliver or ANB. Had ANB played the last three weeks as a defender, then he might have got a game ahead of Michie.

What a disgraceful post - can everyone please take note of this guy and add him to your [censored] list. He doesn't even have the guts to attempt to explain his view in a balanced way. So which defender in the league always makes the right decisions? And which Demon showed off sensational kicking skills last week - I can't think of one. It may surprise you that when team's lose the ball usually spends more time in the defence and probably means opposing sides are pressing well which means that errors become more common among all players - but this may surprise you - amazingly the errors made by backman have more impact because surprise, surprise they are closer to the goal they are attempting to defend. As a case in point on kicking skills, our best kick as judged by Paul Roos, given that he is given the kick-out duties, is apparently meant to by Christian Salem. Did you happen to notice that last week he was racing down the wing and stubbed a short kick to Pedo that was about as bad as Jordie McKenzie. So instead of picking on the guy who most sane people regard as our best defender, why don't you spot all the good things he does each week and make a note. You never know one day you may even appreciate him. And please do not ever start a topic again unless you have something to say!

Billy and Stuie - I'm loving you're Dunn argument - and whilst I know Stuie is a stirrer, I'm afraid you can't win this one Billy. I have been a big fan of Dunn because of his voice and leadershiip and against the big forwards he tunnels them well and ends up peeling back and getting a few cheap kicks and can unleash his power kicking skills without fear of failure. But a few things conspired against Dunny last week - we were playing at Etihad, the fastest and, with the roof on, a wind-free ground that meant the ball came in long and quick. Then we decided to play a defensive press and unfortunately Dunny often was the last line in the chain and could not effect any spoils or intercepts that I can remember - although he wasn't alone there. But unfortunately the style of play and the zone made Dunny look even slower than he is. He was moved as a result, just as Hunt was moved because he was easily brushed off the ball a couple of times and was too small for his match-up with Acres. Dunny and Etihad don't really mix - it's probably why in Rd 23 last year they moved him to CHF and played O-Mac on Tomlinson. Will he get dropped because of it? My guess is that he probably will because it highlighted why they were worried about him pre-season - and O-Mac was apparently handy in the reserves and has extra height to combat 2-metre Peter.

Vanders is a lot quicker than Bater, but he's a big unit so you are right, he doesn't have quite as much agility as the little guys. Jeffy is mega quick over 20m but they don't ever seem to race over that distance at training. Wattsy wasn't doing the sprints the day I saw Hunt v VB, but I have seen him beat most of the boys - I'd probably rank him third fastest over 50m. Kent and Harmes are probably ranked 4 and 5 in the 50m sprints with Viney and Kennedy not far behind them and Frost in the mix as well. But it's a different story over 400m when the stayers come into their own.

Get to training one day and watch them pair off in the sprints. Fastest two over 50m are Vanders and Hunt and I actually think Vanders may have pipped Hunt, although that was before his ankle injury. Vanders was mega quick against Port pre-season but if you recall did his ankle against Dogs I think as third man up in ruck contest. He was playing hurt since - hence he didn't look mega quick in the actual AFL games and was walking wounded down in Tassie.

It's always way more interesting at selection table after a loss. Personally I think we were shown up for a lack of Etihad knowledge again. We went with a fast side (albeit without our equal fastest player Vanders and with our slowest in Dunn), which is how Etihad is regarded but St Kilda countered by going fast and increasing its mid-size players - Acres in for Lonie for example. The result was that Hunt had no-one his size to play on and was outmuscled by Acres and we had way too many small forwards (Kent, Garlett, Kennedy) trying to rove crumbs at a ground where the roof is shut and there's no wind so it rarely fell to the ground because Hoges either marked it or they did. What made Roos and his staff think we were going to have plenty of ground-balls to win outside of centre clearances is beyond me but then again, maybe they didn't get the memo about the roof being shut. Anyway I don't profess to know Metricon from the point of size dimensions, but I have seen enough of the Suns this year to know that whilst they are quick, they struggle with intensity and we are therefore a big chance if we grind the game out, rather than play with constant daring-do that we did against the Saints. I'm hoping that Viney ends up playing on Ablett again - they both will be in the middle trying to win clearances anyway. In terms of changes, it was pretty clear to me that there will be four non-negotiable changes and probably one more (five in total). Salem will miss because of concussion - he's already had a couple of knocks this year and we will be extra careful, just like I'm sure we will be with Angus. Hunt will miss because whilst he's fast and lively, he was unable to cope with Acres and now needs to go back to the VFL with his lessons from the past three weeks and make sure he's stronger over the ball. He'll be back a better player in a few weeks. Dunn will miss because everything they were worried about pre-season came to fruition with his lack of pace meaning that the Saints constantly went over the top and he could not make the spoils. Frost will miss because his flawed kicking and tackling hurt big time - and for some reason that only Roos knows, they are unwilling top play him down back - preferring to send Pedo back there before him. Go figure! But he will be back in the side soon, he's too vital with his pressure and pace. And I suspect one of our small forwards will miss - obviously it won't be Jeffy and Kent was brilliant v Richmond so it won't be him either, but I reckon one of Harmes or Kennedy will get sent back to do some time just refining their game a bit more - they've both done well, but neither has really dominated a game yet. So five outs. I'm sure others will point the finger at H, but he's been great the past three weeks and deserves an off-day - yes I agree he was terrible and couldn't escape, but if you drop him then you probably also have to drop T-Mac - that's how ludicrous it is to throw up senior players after one poor effort. I wasn't at today's VFL game so obviously I may get this wrong, but IMO, the following are the most likely five. 1) Garland - He was clearly missed against the Saints because he can play on talls and shorts. Given our gung-ho style it would probably have been better to have his old down-the-line clearance on display to break up the rush. He is a given. 2) Oliver - No club rests the future for three weeks. We aren't that dumb. He'll play. 3) Trengove - if he was tagged, then it's a sign of respect at how he's been going. He has the smarts and he has the intensity and he's now done enough game time to be fit. The other two are less clear but depends on VFL form and team balance. 4) Stretch - From the sounds of it he worked his butt off. He's a clever linkman and to be honest, to me it's either him or his buddy ANB and Billy's outside link play is better. Ultimately he's replacing Harmes or Kennedy, but with Trengove will swing from wing to half forward. 5) Oscar - This assumes Gold Coast continue to go with two-metre Peter and that he got through the VFL game OK. If Gold Coast go small, then Terlich may finally get a gig, but I suspect they'll stick with Peter for another week. Sorry but I can't find room for Grimes or Michie. I'd love to see Grimes in, but I suspect he may miss again. So: Out: Salem (inj), Hunt, Dunn, Frost and one of Kennedy or Harmes - I'm tipping Kennedy, but it could just as easily be Harmes. In: Garland, Oliver, Trengove, Stretch and Osar Mc B: Jetta T-Mac (on Lynch) O-Mac (on 2-metre Peter) HB: Vince Garland Lumumba C: Stretch Viney Bugg HF: Petracca Pedersen Watts F: Garlett Hoges Kent Rucks: Gawn Tyson N.Jones Int: Wagner (defensive rotation), Oliver (mid rotation), Trengove (forward/mid rotation), Harmes (forward rotation)