mo64

I'd put this down to list management rather than Roos being enamoured with Spencer. Spencer was out of contract last year, and we only had 2 tap ruckmen on our list (Jamar and Spencer). If Spencer put himself on the market, there's every chance that another club would give him a 2 year deal as a back-up ruckman. The FD probably didn't want to go into the market for another tap ruckman last year, so gave Spencer 2 years. Roos didn't play Spencer in the NAB Cup, which shows how much he rates him.

The problem with Gawn is his lack of consistency of effort and concentration. In the past 3 Casey games, he's gone from pathetic, to good to very good. Without seeing the stats, I reckon he took at least 6 contested marks against Sandy, but still made schoolboy mistakes. He has the most talent of all the ruckmen on our list, and is definitely a keeper. And like all ruckmen, he may thrive with the responsibility of the no.1 mantle. Spencer doesn't cut it because of his lack of skill and nous. Until Gawn matures, I'd trade for a stopgap ruckman like Griffin from Freo.

No, I'm saying that his height and athleticism doesn't translate into being an AFL standard player because he has no intellect for the game. I've watched the last 3 Casey games, and the number of times he misread the flight of the ball is below D Grade Amateurs level. If he played as a backman at AFL level, he'd get slaughtered. Someone of his height and athleticism should be capable of being a good VFL ruckman. We are crying out for ruckmen, and yet the FD have moved him into the backline, which is an area that we're well stocked. He's a poor man's Jesse White.

Good observation. Some people are obsessed with his height and so called athleticism. I laughed when someone on here made reference to Dustin Fletcher as a comparison. He would have the lowest football IQ at the club. When we are screaming out for ruckmen, he been shunted down to the backline. Says alot about what the FD thinks about his rucking ability.

Unless Viney and Jetta come up, can't see too many changes. If they do, I wan't to see a restructure of our backline and forward line, to assist our mids. If they come in, 2 of Pedersen, Watts, and Howe get dropped. We need to move the ball quicker. T.Mac and Dunn are the mainstays of our defence. Neither Howe nor Garland offer rebound and aren't lockdown backs. One has to make way for Jetta, and that's Howe, who'd I'd play up forward. Whilst Pedersen took some nice marks down back, he's a liability up forward with his lack of work rate and slowness of mind. Although both were average, I hope they don't drop Spencer and Toumpas.

Meaningless stats by the senior players. So many dumb decisions by them (Fitzpatrick the worst offender). Gawn, ANB and Harmes have some future at AFL level. Too early to call on O. Mac and White. Cull the rest.

Have you actually seen him play? I've watched the last 2 Casey games, and aside from Stretch and ANB, he's shown more ability to be an AFL player than most. He got injured last week and may not play, which is why he's been named on the interchange. I'd definitely give him a rookie extension, and I'd keep him ahead of Bail, Jones, Riley and McKenzie.

Seems to me that Roos is all about impacting the game in some way. Jamar - Surprised that he was dropped, but Spencer was BOG for mine at Casey last week, and he and Jamar can't play in the same team. Grimes - Anyone who thought that he played well against Freo are kidding themselves. For starters, it's a 2 way game, and he provided nothing offensively, and didn't play on Ballantyne for most of the game, as many are suggesting. Michie - If you didn't look at the stats, you hardly notice him because he rarely hurts the opposition when he has the ball. He's also slow across the ground. Riley doesn't offer much more than Michie, which is why he wasn't selected. McKenzie - Possible the most mind boggling selection in years. Toumpas - His 1st half against the Bombers last week was the most impressive display I've seen from him. Every disposal was spot on, and for the first time, he actually seemed to know what he wanted to do with the ball before he got it. Not sure why he went missing in the 2nd half. Stretch - Probably start as sub, but he has a quick burst of speed that will hopefully allow our inside mids an outlet at clearances.

We've seen a few examples this year of teams that have been smashed in the ruck and beaten in the centre clearances, yet won the game. One of the issues that STMJ alludes to is our lack of creativity in the backline. It's all very well for a backman to negate his direct opponent, but if he can't provide any rebound, in all likelihood the ball will get locked into our back half, and the opposition will ultimately score. None of the players above provides any run rebound run. You can add Grimes to that list.

Based on comments from T.Mac and Vince, the players felt that the scoreboard flattered them at 3/4 time. The only positive was that we created alot of scoring chances from limited inside 50s, and that has been the case all year.

Bit of a premature call. We selected 7 new players for round 1, and with the possible exception of Frost, they are all in our best 22. We're 5 games in, and Viney, Vince, Jetta, Dawes, Kent and JKH have all missed games. Jones and Tyson are carrying injuries, and have been below their best. Of the rest, I'd say that T. Mac, Garland and Salem have improved. Jamar, Cross and Dunn have been at the same level, which only leaves Watts and Howe.

By rights, the Dogs rebuild should be starting this year. When you lose 3 of your better experienced players in Griffin, Cooney and Higgins, and then your B&f (Libba) for the season, as a 1st year coach, Beveridge would have been excused with a bottom 4 finish. The remaining senior players in Boyd, Morris and Murphy have been injury prone over the last 18 months, and many would have thought that they were on their last legs. If Melbourne were in their situation, many on here would be calling for them to retire, and play the kids. Their start to the year has been nothing short of remarkable.

Disagree that we're coming from alot further back. Dogs rise has come on the back of players who are in their 2nd/3rd seasons in Macrea, Stringer, Bont, Lin Jong and a bunch of no-name defenders (excluding Murphy). The difference is that the Dogs have promising depth in the VFL, whilst we're stuck with players who have shown that they can't impact at AFL level. Our delistings at year end won't be a difficult task.

There's no doubting that Petracca has a skillset and a competitive instinct that many on our list are lacking. Whether he became an A, B, or C grader in his 1st season is beside the point. He'd still offer something that our fringe players can't. I would have been happy if he made the same contribution as Salem last year. He'd definitely offer more as a sub than McKenzie.

Just goes to show how irrelevant effective disposal percentages are. If you're playing with a 7 man backline, it's far easier for them to hit a target with a short pass. Conversely, the opposite's the case for the small forwards where loose ball gets are under pressure.

I think the pace of VFL footy suits Spencer. And I can't see him being effective as a resting ruckman up forward. If Jamar is out, Spencer plays.

Surely they've been replaced with McKenzie, Bail, Grimes and Jones.

Apologies to Saty for doing a review from the replay rather than being there. In order of best players: Spencer - Dominated the ruck and got plenty of it around the ground. Missed 2 regulation shots at goal. Fitzpatrick - Scorps had a loose man in the backline, so Fitz and Pannoza were able to dominate in the air. Fitz was really good at ground level, but as usual his disposal when under some pressure was average. Riley - Won plenty of the ball but only on few occasions does he impact the game. Jones - Won plenty of the ball but rarely hit a target with his disposal. ANB - A lot to like with his awareness and creative handball. Like Brayshaw, loves to tackle. Knows how to find the ball, but a question mark on his kicking. Missed a sitter from 25m out in the 3rd. Gawn - Far better this week, and was able to beat his shorter opponent in marking contests up forward. His ruckwork was also effective. Toumpas - Outstanding 1st half, and showed rare awareness with every possession. Disappeared in the 2nd half. Not sure why. Bail - Refer to Jones' comments. Missed 3 gettable goals. Harmes - Great start with 2 classy goals, and his disposal is really good. Got caught a couple of times trying to do too much. Injured during the 3rd quarter, and didn't play in the last. O. Mac - Really liked what I saw. Just looks like a footballer, with clean hands and a good kick. Couple of years in the weights room, and I think we'll have a player. Terlich - Knows had to get an easy kick, but one of the few who was beaten by his direct opponent. White - Seemed to struggle and was rarely sighted. The Bombers lacked the intensity of Footscray the week before, and Casey were able to move the ball with little pressure. Forward pressure from the Bombers was non-existent, so I wouldn't get too carried away with individual performances.

Are you serious. Debuted in round 1 of his 1st season, and was a late withdrawal for the GF.

Do you have a link to the replay Dazzler?

I do. Footscray resting ruckmen in Campbell and Minson kicked 5 on Fitzpatrick last week.

Just watched the replay and can confirm that Grimes WASN'T on Ballantyne apart from briefly at the start of the last quarter. Ballantyne didn't play as a stay at home small forward, and Garland had him for a majority of the first 3 quarters when Ballantyne was in their forward 50. Howe had Mayne until he went forward, and Grimes picked him up on occasions. Grimes was also on Neale when he kicked his goal in the last. So for anyone to say that Grimes held Ballantyne to 9 possessions is totally false.

And the Dogs played against a team that played in the GF last year, and beat them on their own dung heap. And the Dogs have had far more things go against them this year than us, but their coach has instilled a winning mentality. Stop making excuses. Sure we were beaten by a better team, but some of the efforts were deplorable.

Once Jetta, Kent and Dawes went out of the side, plus a semi-fit Tyson, we were on a hiding to nothing against Freo. At the start of the year, many were saying that it will be great that we can give the 1st year players in Brayshaw, Petracca, ANB and Stretch time to mature at Casey, but the facts are that they are probably in our best 27 players. Any players outside of that 27, and excluding the untried rookies, have shown that they are incapable of making an impact at AFL level. Roos knows how poor our depth is, and said as much in the presser. We can't afford to go into games carrying blokes who have no impact. Sadly Watts is now in that category. At least give some game time as the sub to kids who have got some AFL skillsets, like Stretch and Harmes. McKenzie, FMD!!!! Where was the logic????

Spot on. Every year our coaches have tried to find a role for Jack, and he's failed to deliver. He just hasn't got the heart for the contest, which is what AFL football is all about. Maybe things might have turned out differently for Watts if he went to a state school rather than a snooty private school.