At the break of Gawn

I’m not sure if it’s a chicken or the egg thing but I also think Jones on the wing was a major contributor to our poor start due to his lack of pace and also his lack of assistance in defence. Brayshaw, Oliver and Viney in the middle were our key ingredients to a good 2018. Jones needs to either be dropped or moved to half forward. I’d put Harmes on a wing. He’s quick and he uses it well most of the time. Viney to go head to head with the opp’s best mid. Viney was at his best when he was playing shut down roles but also getting his own ball.

Baker deserves another game - did some nice things and kicked 2. But I agree with the rest.

GWS were bloody good today. They came to play and their midfield was outstanding. Hard two-way running and also really hard to beat at the contest. The game was won and lost in the midfield and they took us to the cleaners. I feel in some way this is the most worrying aspect because our core midfield has been pretty good all year and it's our other ends that have let us down. I haven't seen them get that badly beaten since the PF. Another problem we had today was that when GWS got on a quick break away, the midfielders were too focused on "folding back" into defence and not focused on putting pressure on the ball carrier (hence GWS' kicking efficiency and accuracy was through the roof). This was surely coach driven and it reflects a lack of confidence with our defensive personnel but also being worried about the potency of GWS' attack. With Lever, May, Salem and Hibberd back there, you won't see this focus on folding back as much as you can trust them to a win a one-on-one. Mind you, GWS' foot skills are elite and they are also one of the most efficient team going forward this year. Paul Roos talked about this on the couch this week. He said that Jones had struggled in the wing role and it forced Goodwin to put him into the middle of the ground. Basically Goodwin had no where else to put him. Hence, he moved Brayshaw out to a wing. Brayshaw will go back into the middle once Jones is dropped/retired. I can't see him playing off half back when you have Salem, Hore, Lever, Hibberd back there.

I feel we’ve really over-rated our list. We have one genuine A grader - Max Gawn. I can name at least 10 midfielders I’d have over Oliver, and probably 20 before Brayshaw.

We just don’t have the cattle. No class through the midfield, no midfield depth, no genuine power forwards, no lock down defenders playing today. We’ve had a lot of players out, and it’s difficult to judge without a full strength side, but I think even with all those ins, we’re at least one dynamic forward, and at least 2 classy midfielders short.

Forget the talk about our poor forward line and backline. Our heralded midfield is getting smashed. The worst display since the PF.

This is an absolute belting. Beating us in every stat.

How does Salem go from no concussion symptoms to a late out? Mixed messaging again from the FD. Huge out.

Weather forecast has been updated and it looks like it’s not going to rain at all during the game or before it. It might be a bit soft after tonight, but basically it’ll be a dry game.

It’s almost game over in Tassie. Hawks all over Port.

I honestly have no idea what the FD’s plans are for him. But as an outsider looking in, it looks like they are treating him like Spencer and a “break glass in case of emergency” player.

Seems like he’s just our Jake Spencer replacement.

Some very good points there. Definitely compelling to bring Preuss in.

I’m doubtful Preuss will get selected due to the weather forecast. 90% chance of rain, showers from the afternoon to evening. If it looks like holding off to the evening, bring him in as a late change with the old ‘general soreness’ on Billy Stretch. I think Fritsch will survive. Some of his kicks through the middle of the ground last week were superb and opened the Eagles up. Although I agree he coughed it up a few times with some bad handballs last week. Therefore, In: Lewis Out: AnB Late change on Sunday (weather permitting): Out Stretch, In Preuss.

Got a good feeling about this week. We demolished them at MCG in round 23. The training run for GWS against Carlton will put them on the back foot. Bold prediction: Petracca converts his good contest and ground ball work and snags 3 goals, while Tmac also converts his chances and kicks 4.

Heavy breathing and the voice tremor reminds me a bit of panic attack symptoms when your heart rate goes through the roof. Hopefully it’s nothing sinister like that and it was just a combination of nausea/dizziness.

Simon Goodwin had to leave the presser early as he was feeling 'light headed/dizzy'. Chaplin had to take over. I hope Goody is ok! Another one to add to the injury list...

Really glad the club shared that. That was just beautiful.

When does Misso give his weekly update? Really interested to see what the time-frame is on May. He was 2-3 weeks after the Hawks game, which means he should theoretically be either available this week or back against the Crows...

Funny you say inside 50s and forwards. I re-watched the 4th qtr and Jack Viney kicked directly to McGovern/Hurn for an intercept mark on 3 occasions in the space of 10-15 minutes. It’s not just his kicking, it’s his decision making, too. On two of those occasions he had handball options over the top which would have allowed the next player to kick behind Hurn/McGovern which is one strategy to beat them. A captain just can’t be making such fundamental poor decisions. Fixing Jack Viney leads to better inside 50s and better forwards.

Lol what I meant is he made it look like he clumsily fell over and got him when we all knew there’s a sharp kneeing action hidden there.

I think 99% of the footy world knew Mummy did it deliberately, but be disguised it so well, it was impossible to suspend him.

Didn’t even get a mention in the MRO findings ?

Exactly. Injuries are a roll of the dice. Luckily our core midfielders have been relatively injury free this season to date. We’ll be saying 2021 if next year Gawn, Brayshaw, Oliver, Harmes suffer injuries during the season.

Out: Smith, AnB In: Preuss, C Wagner Mummy will 100% go based off his knee to Murphy which means Gawn/Preuss will dominate even more.